BusinessMirror September 28, 2018

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DENR okays quarrying as ‘BBB’ impact is raised

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

WEEK after temporarily halting the quarrying operations in selected regions following the tragic landslide near the site of the Apo-Cemex quarry in Naga City, Cebu, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu lifted the suspension order.

In a hastily called press conference on Thursday afternoon, Cimatu allowed quarrying operations to resume in select areas after teams from the Department of

Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted a quick assessment and site inspection in their areas of operations.

The decision to fast-track the

investigation was made so as not to affect the price of cement and other construction materials that might impact on the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure program of

60%

Share of the national cement requirement filled by Apo-Cemex

TAMING INFLATION, CENTRAL BANK DELIVERS 50-BPS HIKE

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By Bianca Cuaresma

the Duterte administration.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez requested Cimatu to expedite the inspection of quarrying activities it ordered suspended and placed under review. The DENR issued the order following twin landslides that killed at least 62 people in Naga City, Cebu, and 78 people in Itogon, Benguet.

The DENR review teams assured the public of the safety of the quarry

N a move widely anticipated by markets, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decided to hike key policy rates for the fourth consecutive time this year in an effort to pull down high consumer prices.

At its meeting on Thursday, the Monetary Board decided to raise the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 4.5 percent effective on Friday, September 28.

The interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also raised accordingly.

The strong action from the BSP is the fourth rate hike for the year, and the second consecutive 50-basis-point hike for 2018.

Continued on A4

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With e-money license, Grab touts digital wallet power

DA suspends online scheme for imports of ‘galunggong’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

GRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has ordered the manual processing of import permits for galunggong (round scad) that will be sold in wet markets to ease high food prices.

Piñol issued Memorandum Order 28, which suspended the online application and approval for import permits of round scad covered by the certificate of necessity to import. MO 28 also gave Piñol the authority to determine the volume that will be allocated to each qualified trader.

The MO amends Section 6 of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Administrative Circular 7 of 2018 and Fisheries Administrative Order 195 of 1998 that outlines the procedures for importation of fish products for See “Galunggong,” A2

@BcuaresmaBM

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

& Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

R MEGAWORLD IN ‘HALL OF FAME’ AS DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR Property giant Megaworld dominated the Property and Real Estate Awards by the International Real Estate Federation, bagging the first-ever Hall of Fame for “Outstanding Developer of the Year,” an honor it has received for three consecutive years since 2015. Megaworld Chairman Dr. Andrew L. Tan was awarded the first-ever Hall of Fame for “Property Man of the Year,” while a subsidiary, Global-Estate Resorts Inc., was named this year’s “Developer of the Year.” Megaworld took home seven other major awards in various categories. Receiving the awards are Megaworld executives, led by Chief Operating Officer Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso (10th from left) and Senior Vice President and Treasurer Dr. Francis C. Canuto (11th from left).

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.2690

IDE-HAILING service provider Grab Philippines reported it has obtained an electronic money (emoney) license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), allowing it to expand its GrabPay service in the country.

The granting of the e-money license to Grab Philippines in August by the BSP will enable the company to expand the services provided by its GrabPay mobile wallet, allowing customers to eventually be able to pay for other services apart

n JAPAN 0.4815 n UK 71.4831 n HK 6.9463 n CHINA 7.8890 n SINGAPORE 39.7459 n AUSTRALIA 39.3776 n EU 63.7227 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4709

See “Grab,” A2

Source: BSP (27 September 2018 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, September 28, 2018

Palace: Cha-cha in backseat for now, inflation top priority

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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@BNicolasBM

ALACAÑANG said on Thursday Charter change will take a backseat for now as it focuses on easing high consumer prices, apparently heeding the people’s signals in a poll showing inflation is the people’s most urgent concern and constitutional amendments are last.

President ia l Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said on Thursday that “everything is sidelined now” because fighting inf lation is the government’s “foremost priority,” although he also quickly assured that the government is not totally abandoning the shift to federalism.

“This is because, we did not rea l ly e x pect t he immed i ate rise of oil and fuel prices. So I would say that even the administration acknowledges that it is more important to face the problems which is immediately felt by the citizens,” he said in a briefing. “Although we are not abandoning federalism, we will get there, but we also know that there still needs to be more discussion, more studies, and more [i n for m at ion] d i ssem i n at ion for federalism.”

The Palace issued the statement following the release of the latest Pulse Asia survey results showing that the top two most urgent national concerns that majority of Filipinos want the

‘Galunggong’. . .

Continued from A1

wet markets. The two orders indicated that application of import permits shall be done with the office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director. The BFAR director or his duly authorized representative may issue the permit.

Under MO 28, the BFAR is mandated to “perform the data gathering and other ministerial functions involved in the processing of application to import.”

This means that interested importers would still file their applications at the BFAR office. Within 48 hours of receiving the application forms, the BFAR would submit them to Piñol’s office for approval.

“The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, in the exercise of sound discretion, shall determine the allowable volume and issue importation permit to the qualified importer,” MO 28, which was signed on September 18, read.

“Technical personnel from the BFAR shall be designated to assist the DAOsec in connection with the above mentioned functions,” it added.

The DA earlier allowed the entry of 17,000 metric tons of galunggong after Piñol issued the Certificate of Necessity to Import (CNI) for Metro Manila markets.

More galunggong imports are expected to enter the country after President Duterte issued Administrative Order 13 directing the DA to expand the present volume under the issued CNI. The government allowed the importation and sale of round scad in wet markets after the inflation rate in August surged to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent.

Aside from importing galunggong, the government has also scrapped administrative constraints and nontariff barriers on some imported farm products to boost food supply.

government to address are controlling inf lation (63 percent) and improving workers’ wages (50 percent).

Of the 15 national issues, Charter change was listed as the least urgent national concern for Filipinos, registering only 3 percent.

The survey, which was conducted from September 1 to 7, coincided with the Philippine Statistics Authority’s announcement of August inflation at 6.4 percent, which is the highest in nine years.

With the August inflation figure, the average inflation for the year is already at 4.8 percent.

The Palace said, however, that the government is doing everything it can to immediately address inflation.

Earlier this week, Malacañang released four executive issuances in a bid to curb inflation by removing nontariff barriers and streamlining streamlining administrative procedures on the importation of agricultural products.

“You can see that the economic team is very active, including the Department of Agriculture and

Grab. . .

Continued from A1

from paying for their rides and deliveries. “We believe that the Philippines is one of the most attractive markets in Southeast Asia for mobile payments and that is why we are very happy to be here.... We believe that we can make cashless more convenient than cash with GrabPay,”said GrabPay Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines, Managing Director Ooi Huey Tyng, at the sidelines of the Seamless Philippines 2018 Conference at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday.

The new services that will be offered include bills payment as well as in-store and in-restaurant purchases, among others. Grab Philippines eyes to launch the first feature of its GrabPay service to be the option to top-up prepaid load.

“As compared to national average of 1 percent, cashless penetration in our Grab application is 20 percent of cashless transactions. And we believe that we will play a very significant role in moving the Philippines forward in the digital economy and very aligned with BSP’s vision eventually,” she added.

The Philippines will be the fifth country in Southeast Asia to have the full suite of GrabPay services available to consumers, with other countries being Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

“We are happy to also announce that GrabPay has been granted emoney license which opens up all kinds of possibilities,” she said.

Also, Grab Philippines will be launching on October 8 its Grab Superapp, an enhanced interface of its application wherein users are presented with quick access to their GrabPay wallet, easy navigation to all Grab services, and a personalized news feed.

“By October 8, 100 percent of the

63%, 3%

The respective percentages of Filipinos who want the government to address controlling inflation and those who listed Charter change as an urgent national concern different agencies to address the rising prices of goods, although the rise in oil prices is really out of our hands. Although as I said, there is our initiative to import cheaper diesel and other oil products from non-Opec [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] countries,” Roque said.

The September 2018 Pulse Asia survey results also showed greater public disapproval of the work done by the government in controlling inflation, increasing by 22 percentage points to +51 from +29 recorded in its June 2018 survey.

Roque took up the cudgels for the government, saying the anti-inf lationary measures being taken by the government were still new.

In the long run, he said, “we are first and foremost expecting” that oil prices will no longer rise. And, even if they do rise, “we are still expecting that at least we can bring down the prices of goods. That’s why we decided to open the local market for imported food items even though we are previously protecting local farmers because it is a must that we bring down at least the prices of goods.”

Moreover, Roque said that everything including federalism will have to play “second fiddle to the national budget for now,” when asked if the government sees the Grab users will already see the Grab Superapp interface,” she added.

Tyng explained that the company will bank on the trust of its users around Southeast Asia to further enhance its GrabPay service, and that it will provide rewards for the consumers who use the application.

“So today in the Philippines, one in every two smartphones already have our application downloaded.

Our goal is to be the regional wallet or the Southeast Asia wallet. And all we want to do is to move Southeast Asia forward in digital payments. For the Philippines, we are present in 10 cities already and I would say that we would continue to grow as we expand further as well,” she said.

Southeast Asia AS Southeast Asia’s largest onlineto-online platform, Grab is banking on the ubiquity of its transport application here in the Philippines to also succeed in a market that it plans to take over, not only in the country, but in the whole of Southeast Asia, a top executive said.

Tyng said her group is now expanding its platform to include digital payments services for retail, a service that will be available soon after it successfully acquires merchants and partners in the country.

It recently received a e-money license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, a certification that allows the company to issue digital money to its customers electronic wallets found in their apps.

“We see the Philippines as one of the most attractive markets in terms of e-wallet,” Tyng said in an interview.

“The Philippines has one of the highest percentages of people in Southeast Asia who do not have a bank account and who transact in cash.”

Data from the Central B ank showed that more than 98 percent of total transactions in the Philippines is still in cash, while 86 percent of the coun-

budget deliberations as a hurdle for federalism’s push.

Congress aims to pass the proposed 2019 budget of P3.757 trillion next month before its recess on October 12.

Roque said he is optimistic that federalism can be tackled by both houses after they finish budget deliberations and that it can still be an election issue for the midterm elections.

Nene’s pitch: Fill priority needs, push federalism

MEANWHILE, Consultative Committee (Con-com) member and former Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. said the priority needs of the people must be given immediate attention by the government.

Still, Pimentel said he will still promote for federalism.

“As a private person, I will continue discussing federalism as a probable system of government that we can adopt to speed up the development of the country and end the shooting war among our people,” he told BusinessMirror in a message.

For his part, Con-com member Arthur N. Aguilar agreed that the government must first address inflation. “But federalism would have given the regions more flexibility and shorter response time to rising prices.

“The situation is acute due to the rice supply problem. If the regions had the power and resources to respond to the rice shor tages, the inf lation rate could have been mitigated,” Aguilar told BusinessMirror.

One of the President’s key campaign promises was to shift the country’s form of government from the present unitary to federal in a bid to spur economic growth across all regions and not just in “imperial Manila.” try’s population remains unbanked.

Filipinos are no stranger to digital wallets, as telecommunications companies started offering the product to their consumers as far as a decade ago.

Despite this, the market is still highly unsaturated.

“Even if we have no shortage of e-wallet providers here, the adoption is still very low. I see the challenge is more about consumer adoption,” Tyng said. And this opportunity is the very strength that Grab wants to tap into, she said, explaining the popularity of Grab in the Philippines.

“In the Philippines, we are present in one in every two smartphones.

Consumers are trusting and relying on our platform,” she said, pertaining to Grab’s ride-hailing application.

Wide suite of services TYNG added that GrabPay’s success will also be boosted by the fact that Grab drivers will be enabled to top-up their customer’s e-wallets with credits, aside from soon-to-be-launched partners such as convenience stores and kiosk operators.

Services of GrabPay, she said, will include the following: airtime top up, bills payment, remittance, money transfer and retail.

“Definitely, what the consumer needs is the solution to pain points about paying cash,” she said.

Today, Grab is aggressively acquiring merchants such as restaurants and even small business to carry GrabPay’s QR technology, which in a nutshell allows users to pay for their purchases using the app by scanning a merchant’s unique code.

Tyng noted that its large customer base will help “incentivize the adoption” of mobile payments among Filipino merchants.

Grab receives more than 600,000 booking requests per day, and has over 35,000 driver partners in Manila alone. It also has operations in nine other Philippine cities.

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‘Erratic trend’ in number of those marrying now swings highest since ‘15

By Cai U. Ordinario

B

@cuo_bm

Y the time a worker living in Quezon City commutes to the office in Makati City, there would have been at least 50 Filipinos who got hitched.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday showed there were 439,932 marriages that occurred in 2017. This is the highest since 2015 when there were 439,424 marriages registered PSA said there was a decrease in marriages in a span of 10 years to 10.6 percent between 2008 and 2017, from the 14.4-percent increase between 2007 and 2016.

This was after an increase of 15,304 marriages between 2017 and 2016.

“The number of registered marriages showed an erratic trend from 2008 to 2017, with noticeable varying of figures in 2012 to 2013,” PSA said.

A third of the total number of marriages in 2017 was recorded in the months of May (11.6 percent), December (11.5 percent) and February (10.4 percent).

There were a total of 50,305 marriages in May or a daily average of 1,623 marriages per day; or around 68 per hour. In December, there were a total of 49,826 marriages or 1,607 per day, or 67 per hour.

In February, there were around 45,401 marriages or 1,621 per day.

This translated to around 68 marriages per hour, still higher than the national average per hour.

November least preferred

THE month of November was the least-preferred month for marriage, recording the lowest at 5 percent. There were only 21,796 marriages in November which translated to a daily average of 727 and 30 marriages per hour.

In terms of age, more women married younger than men. On average, women married at 27 years old while men married at 29 years old.

“The median age of women that got married in 2017 was two years lower than the median age of their male counterparts. It was observed that the median age for men and women went up a single year from last year,” PSA said.

A third of the couples got married between the ages of 25 and 29 years old. There were a total of 157,407 grooms in this age bracket

or 36.2 percent of the total marriages, and brides with 148,618 or 34.2 percent in this age bracket.

PSA also said there are four teenage brides for ever one teenage groom in 2017. There were around 32,404 teenage brides and 7,609 teenage grooms last year.

There were also 685 men aged 75 years old and over who married in 2017. This is six times more than 114 women in this age group who got hitched last year.

Catholic rites

MEANWHILE, four out of 10 marriages were contracted though civil rites. There were a total of 174,300 marriages contracted through civil ceremonies while unions done through Catholic rites reached 166,057 in 2017.

Around 94,564 marriages were contracted according to Muslim tradition at 6,646 marriages; tribal ceremonies, 2,473; and other religious rites, 85,445.

“It could be noted that more brides and grooms aged 25-29 years old preferred to be solemnized in the Roman Catholic Church than any other types of marriage ceremony,” PSA said.

Of the total number of marriages in 2017, the majority or around 419,675 of them were between Filipino brides and grooms and 15,257 involved foreign nationals.

Among foreign nationals, the highest frequency of intermarriages involved Filipino grooms and Australians (298), followed by Chinese (273), Americans (162), Canadians (135) and Japanese (123) brides.

The highest number of intermarriages involved Filipino brides and American grooms (3,168), followed

by Japanese (1,490).

In terms of regions, around 14 out of 17 regions showed an increase in marriages to 2017 from 2016.

The top three regions with positive percent change were found in Mindanao area. The highest increase was observed in ARMM with 43.3 percent, followed by Soccsksargen and Northern Mindanao with 11.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

Among the three regions with negative percent change, Zamboanga Peninsula had the highest decrease of 12.1 percent. The other two regions were Cagayan Valley and Caraga with 5.9 percent and 4.9 percent decrease, respectively, from 2016 to 2017.

With larger right-of-way outlay, infra projects seen done faster

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ASTER implementation of infrastructure projects is expected now that the government is proposing larger allocations to settle right-of-way disputes under the 2019 budget, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.

Compared with the previous year’s total right-of-way (ROW) budget provisions for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) at P36.7 billion, the 2019 ROW budget is P19.6 billion higher at P56.3 billion.

Diokno told the BusinessM irror the higher ROW budget allocations for 2019 were based on their best estimate of what’s needed for the 2019 and 2020 infrastructure projects.

“We’re implementing more infra projects in 2019, and we expect to have more in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This is consistent with our Build, Build, Build program,” he said a message.

Under the government’s massive infrastructure program, 75 infrastructure projects are expected to be rolled out with a total budget of around P8 trillion to P9 trillion to usher in what the Duterte administration calls the “golden age of infrastructure.”

For 2019, the DBM said in a a statement that it has allocated P29.4 billion for DPWH and P26.9 billion for the DOTr. This is higher than the 2018 ROW budget allocations for both agencies, which was posted at P20.6 billion for DPWH and

P16.1 billion for DOTr. In 2017, the ROW budget was also slightly lower at a total of P34 billion, with P19.6 billion going to the DPWH and P14.7 billion to the DOTr. Moreover, the National Irrigation Administration’s right-of-way provision surged to 200 million in 2019 from P30 billion in 2017 and 2018.

Also, the National Housing Authority has been allocated an amount of P577 million for its Resettlement Program, part of which will go to the cost incurred from ROW acquisitions.

According to DBM, resettlement costs are already part of the ROW budgets for DPWH and DOTr. Diokno also noted that projects have to be implementation-ready under the cash-based budgeting system.

“As a matter of policy, each project should have a feasibility study and detailed engineering and its ROW issue resolved for ease of implementation,” he said.

The government seeks to shift to a “revolutionary” cash-based budgeting system from multiyear obligationsbased system in order to fast-track completion of projects.

As opposed to the multiyear obligations-based system, the annual cashbased budgeting system limits incurring obligations and disbursing payments for goods delivered and services rendered, inspected and accepted within the fiscal year. Bernadette D. Nicolas

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

SC ruling affirms new compensation scheme for bus drivers, conductors

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Supreme Court (SC) has given the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) the go signal to implement a part-fixed, part-performance based compensation system for publicutility bus (PUB) drivers and conductors to ensure road safety and counter their risk-taking behavior.

In a 52-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC en banc unanimously dismissed the petition filed by several groups of bus operators questioning the constitutionality of DOLE Department Order 118-12 Series of January 2012 (Rules and Regulations Governing the Employment and Working Conditions of Drivers and Conductors in the PUB Transport Industry) and LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2012-001, which requires all PUB operators to secure Labor Standards Compliance Certificate in order to avoid revocation of their existing certificate of public convenience or denial of an application for a new certificate.

The compensation scheme approved by the DOLE to cover PUB drivers and conductors mandates a fixed salary not lower than the applicable minimum wage in the region.

On the other hand, the performance-based component shall be based on the net income of the operator or bus company and employee safety records covering road accidents, commission on traffic violations and observance of road courtesies.

The Labor Standards Compliance Certificate, on the other hand, was issued by the LTFRB to ensure road safety by linking labor standards compliance with franchise regulation.

In justifying the imposition of such requirement before the issuance of a permit to operate, the LTFRB noted that the “risk-taking behavior” of bus drivers can be attributed to their “lack of income security under a purely commissionbased compensation scheme.”

The petitioners—Bus Operators Association of the Philippines, the Southern Luzon Bus Operators Association Inc., the Inter City Bus Operators Association, and the City of San Jose del Monte Bus Operators Association—argued that the DOLE order and LTFRB circular violate the constitutional rights of PUB operators to due process of law, equal protection of the law and nonimpairment of obligation of contracts.

Specifically, the petitioners con-

tended that the provisions of DOLE Order 118-12 on part-fixed, partperformance based wage impair their obligations with their bus drivers under their existing collective bargaining agreements where they agreed on a commission or boundary basis.

On the other hand, they argued that the LTFRB circular deprive them of the capital they invested in their business in violation of their right to due process of law.

Petitioners also claimed that the initial implementation of the DOLE order within Metro Manila created an arbitrary distinction between bus operators in the country’s capital and those operating in the provinces, in violation of their right to equal protection of laws.

The DOLE and LTFRB, on the other hand, insisted that the assailed orders are valid issuances in the exercise of their quasi-legislative powers.

They also denied violating the petitioners’ rights to nonimpairment of obligation contracts, due process of law, and equal protection of the laws.

The SC agreed with the DOLE and LTFRB that their respective orders were issued in the exercise of their quasi-legislative powers, thus, notice and hearing are not required in order for it to be considered valid.

It also did not give weight to the claim of the petitioners that the said order and circular violate their right to due process.

“There can be no meaningful implementation of Department Order 118-12 if violating it has no consequence. As such, the LTFRB was not unreasonable when it required bus operators to comply with the part-fixed, part-performance-based payment scheme under pain of revocation of their certificates of public convenience,” the Court explained.

“In sum, Department Order 118-12 and Memorandum Circular 2012-001 are in the nature of social legislation to enhance the economic status of bus drivers and conductors and to promote the general welfare of the riding public. They are reasonable and are not violative of due process,” the SC added.

Likewise, the SC dismissed the contention of bus operators that the assailed issuances violate their right to nonimpairment of obligation of contracts saying that labor contracts are “impressed with public interest, and therefore, must yield to the common good.”

“Labor contracts are subject to the special laws on wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects. In other words, labor contracts are subject to the police power of the State,” the SC pointed out.

Airbus pitches for A400M heavy lift plane to military

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OLLOWING the delivery of three C-295 MPA twin-turbo jet airplanes to the Philippine Air Force to boost the country’s maritime patrol capability, Airbus is now offering one of the latest heavy airlifter that could take off and land on shorelines.

The A400M, a four-engine plane, is a “21st-century airlifter,” according to Johan Pelissier, head of Airbus Defense and Space for South East Asia. He said the A400M “is capable of carrying 37 tons of cargo, ideal for delivering troops, tanks, helicopters and even heavy excavators.”

Airbus is currently participating in the ongoing 3rd Asian Defense, Security and Crisis Management Exhibition and Conference at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

The A400M has the ability to fly at a greater distance at a faster and higher altitude and carries nearly twice the payload of current tactical airlifters.

Dubbed as the world’s most versatile airlifter, it can help make every mission a success, be it aerial delivery, paratroopers or air-to-air refueling.

The A400M has shown its unique capability by landing on the shore-

lines of Pembrey Sands-South Wales, the United Kingdom, demonstrating the excellent performance of the airlifter onto such a surface.

The A400M is designed to operate from unpaved airfields, or short runway because of its short-landing and take-off capability.

It can operate in limited space for parkingormaneuveringandnogroundhandlingfacilities,conditionsthatpresent severe constraints for other tactical airlifters that makes it especially suited for Philippine conditions.

On the other hand, the C-295 could be used for special maritime patrol “because the Philippines has a large coastline.” The same plane could be a replacement to the 50-year-old workhorse, the C-130 Hercules troop and cargo carrier,” because the C-295 is twice as fast at twice the distance, and twice the payload.

For maritime patrol, the airplane could be equipped with Hadar interactive radar maps, electronic sensor or for detecting submarines. “The C-295 can be weaponized for antisubmarine warfare and anti-ships,” Pelissier said. Recto Mercene

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, September 28, 2018 A3

Do not do what we did, Honasan tells soldiers in ‘Red October’ plot

S

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ENATORS are not keen to conduct an inquiry into the reported “Red October” power grab plot to oust President Duterte, which, according to a declassified military intelligence report, was allegedly being hatched by disgruntled elements linking leftist and rightwing groups with the political opposition.

Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II, chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense and National Security, expressed his misgivings on Thursday about holding a Senate hearing on coup talks as this may not be in the public interest.

According to Honasan, “it is not

good for the country” for the Senate Defense Committee to still call a hearing on alleged plots against the government.

“We do not want to fan public anxiety,” he told the BusinessMirror in a brief interview, adding that calling the defense and military of-

ficers to a public hearing “will distract authorities from their work of securing the State.”

A bemedalled Army colonelturned-senator, Honasan indicated he now believes that unrest in the military cannot be resolved through coups or mutinies, blurting out this message to anyone tempted to mount any of these: “Do not do what we did.”

Honasan, a military hero in the 1986 People Power uprising that began as a mutiny, later got on the wrong side of the law for involvement in several coup attempts against the new democratic government he helped install.

This developed as another rebel soldier-turned-lawmaker, Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, is facing arrest after the Duterte administration revoked the amnesty granted to Trillanes for alleged lack of documentation.

Trillanes, however, remains under Senate custody even after

posting bail on a rebellion case in a Makati court.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, in a separate interview, confirmed that Trillanes, as a sitting senator, cannot be barred from staying at his office in the Senate.

“As far as I know, he is still there and nobody can stop him if he opts to sleep there. That is his office.

He can do what he wants in his office except that I am not allowing the maintenance engineers to not follow their standard operating procedure [SOP],” the Senate President said, adding, “And their SOP is that at 10 p.m. up to 6 a.m., they put off the air-conditioning of the entire building.”

Sotto pointed out that “the entire building is six floors, it is a huge building with centralized air-conditioning. We do not want the people to say we are paying for a huge sum for electricity [to run the centralized air-con system] just for one office.”

DICT taps foreign partners to enhance cybersecurity

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

T

HE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is hammering a partnership with around four other foreign countries on the enhancement of Philippine cybersecurity measures DICT Assistant Secretary Allan S. Cabanlong told reporters that the Philippine government, through the DICT, is eyeing to sign a number of memoranda of understanding (MOU) with other countries, who can help strengthen cybersecurity in the country.

“This will help us strengthen our

cybersecurity posture, whether it be Russia, the US, Singapore, Asean member-states, Europe—they are all welcome to be here to conduct business. At the end of the day, as a country, we should be moving forward as a nation. That is why the DICT is gathering best practices, at some point maybe when this strategy will be done, we can stand on our own two feet,” said Cabanlong during the Seamless Philippines 2018 Conference at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Wednesday.

Cabanlong explained that he will be flying to the US this weekend to discuss international standards

and best practices in line with cybersecurity, adding that plan to sign an MOU with Singapore, Australia and Malaysia are being eyed by the DICT, as well. “[In the case of] Russia we [have] signed an MOU with them last Monday, then the US, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia. All of us should be working together to strengthen cybersecurity,” he added.

Although no definitive time frame was given for the signing of the MOU with the four countries, Cabanlong pointed out that the DICT is open to forging partnerships with more countries in the future.

Last Monday the DICT for-

SolGen threatens to file libel rap vs Trillanes for ‘thief’ tag S OLICITOR General Jose C. Calida on Thursday threatened to file libel charges against beleaguered opposition Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV for accusing him of stealing his amnesty application document to justify the issuance by President Duterte of Proclamation No. 572 that nullified the grant of amnesty granted to the former Navy officer by the Aquino administration.

In a news statement, Calida pointed out that it was record custodian Lt. Col. Thea Joan N. Andrade, chief of the Discipline, Law and Order Division of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (J1) who issued a certification that there is no available copy of Trillanes’s application for amnesty in the records Calida added that he has never entered the offices of the J1 or the Personnel Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Camp Aguinaldo, thus, rendering Trillanes’s accusation that he stole his documents baseless.

“Unless Mr. Trillanes expresses his sincere apology for calling me a thief, I shall be constrained to file a criminal case for libel plus damages against him,” Calida said.

Calida said Trillanes should have read thoroughly read the contents of Proclamation No. 572 before hurling such an accusation.

He explained that the revocation of the senator’s amnesty is based on his failure to comply with the two minimum requirements to be eligible for such.

First, Calida said, Trillanes did not file an Official Amnesty Application Form and the sworn statement or narration of his participation in the Oakwood and Manila Peninsula incidents, which was required to be annexed to his application.

Second, Trillanes did not express his guilt for the crimes that he committed, that is the Oakwood coup d’etat and the Manila Peninsula rebellion when he stated during an interview on January 5, 2011, that “they were not admitting guilt to

the mutiny and coup d’etat charges lodged against them both in the civil and military courts.”

In the same interview, Trillanes expressed belief they were wrongly charged with the said crimes.

“If we follow the convoluted logic of Mr. Trillanes, he’s saying that he did not commit the crimes that were covered by the amnesty.

If that is what he really means, then he has no need for amnesty because, when one applies for amnesty, he must expressly admit his guilt to the crimes he committed,” Calida said.

In a news briefing last Wednesday, Trillanes asked the military why it allowed Calida to take his documents from their custody.

“I am calling on the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense, particularly AFP’s J1. They knew that I applied. They knew that I have the documents. Why did they allow Mr. Calida to take it and lose it?”

Trillanes said. Joel R. San Juan

Arroyo bill seeks to transform VMMC to a juridical entity

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@cuo_bm

HE House Committee on Ways andMeanshasapprovedabillthat seeks to transform the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City into a corporation.

In a news statement, the unnumbered substitute bill to House Bil l 1240, authored by for mer President and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, seeks to provide the VMMC with a “ juridical or corporate personality.”

“The VMMC is one of the landmark institutions dedicated to honor the bravery and nationalism of Filipino soldiers.

It is one of the historical institutions that remind us of the patriotism of our soldiers, [who are] ready to fight and defend our sovereignty,” Arroyo said.

Based on the provisions of the bill, the VMMC, acting through its Board of Trustees, shall be authorized to acquire and hold properties; enter into contracts; and open accounts in banks and other financial institutions.

The bill will also allow the VMMC to

enterintoagreementsandarrangements with other hospitals or institutions, and establish branches in other cities or provinces in the Philippines, among others.

The Board of Trustees shall be incharge of governing and overseeing the medical institution.

The VMMC may also request for assistance from any department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the government, including the government-owned and -controlled corporations, if the hospital finds the need to do so.

mally signed an MOU with Russia’s BiZone Limited Liability Co. (BiZone), in the hope that the partnership will contribute to enhancing cybersecurity in the Philippines.

The MOU mandates enhancing the Philippines’s cybersecurity through information sharing with Russia, mutual response to cybersecurity incidents, exchange of information on cyber threats, as well as sharing policies related to cybersecurity.

The MOU entails a period of three years, leading to the possible signing of a memorandum of agreement between the two countries.

OFW in Saudi shot dead after reportedly stabbing manager, Pakistani coworker

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

S

ECURITY personnel of an electric company in Saudi Arabia shot and killed a Filipino overseas worker after reportedly stabbing his Saudi manager and a Pakistani fellow worker.

The incident happened in Farasan Island, Saudi Arabia, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“We have been informed that an overseas Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia was shot and killed after allegedly stabbing to death his Saudi manager and a Pakistani coworker and wounding several others on Wednesday afternoon,” the DFA report said.

Initial reports from the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah said Farasan Island is some 50 kilometers offshore from the southern city of Jizan.

Consul General Edgar Badajos said that based on initial reports, the Filipino allegedly first stabbed the Pakistani after an argument and later on stabbed the Saudi manager and several other coworkers when they tried to intervene.

Badajos said security personnel of the company immediately responded and shot and killed the Filipino OFW. He said a team from the Consulate is being dispatched to Jizan, located more than 600 k i lome te r s f rom Je dd a h , to gather more information about the incident and assist in repatriating the remains of the Filipino, whose identify is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Friday, September 28, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

DTI to NFA: Support govt effort to beef up rice supply

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has appealed to the National Food Authority (NFA) to relax the licensing requirements for rice to support government efforts to beef up the supply of the staple food in the market.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday, Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo said supermarkets are having a difficult time implementing an agreement with the government to sell NFA rice. The supermarkets attributed this to the number of requirements needed to sell rice, as well as the cost of applying for a license.

“The memorandum of agreement was signed last week, but up to now only one supermarket has been able to sell NFA rice,” Castelo said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The DTI and the NFA entered into a deal with the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc. (Pagasa) allowing members of the group to sell NFA rice. The agreement

is aimed at helping the government with its objective of flooding the market with cheap rice.

“In our meeting, we relayed the concern to [NFA Spokesman Rex C. Estoperez. We reminded him of Memorandum Order 26 that states we have to adopt measures to beef up the retail of NFA rice in the markets,” Castelo said.

“We would probably have to relax some measures and streamline the requirements to hasten the application process,” she added.

Pagasa President Steven T. Cua lamented the cost of acquiring a license to sell NFA rice. He said supermarkets with paid-up capital of P10 million have to pay P115,000 just to obtain a license—in spite of the fact that they are simply tapped by the government to help in boosting the market presence of cheap rice.

“That’s just too much, and it makes it not only difficult [to sell

NFA rice], but also impossible to help out [in this initiative of the government],” Cua told reporters.

According to Castelo, the NFA vowed to study Pagasa’s sentiment and gave its word to address it the soonest.

“Director Estoperez committed to look into what they can do under also the virtue of Memorandum Order 26,” she said.

Memorandum Order 26 issued last week by President Duterte directs the DTI and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to adopt measures that will reduce the gap between farm-gate prices and retail prices of agricultural products.

This includes the setting up of public outlets and cold storages where producers of farm goods, as well as poultry producers, can sell directly to consumers. The DTI and the DA are told to submit a progress report within one month from the effectivity of the order.

Taming inflation, Central Bank delivers 50-bps hike continued from a1 “The Monetary Board recognized that a further tightening of monetary policy was warranted by persistent signs of sustained and broadening price pressures,” BSP Officer in Charge Chuchi G. Fonacier said in the post-Monetary Board briefing on Thursday.

Revised inflation forecast

IN particular, the BSP’s forecasts reflected deviations from their target range of 2 to 4 percent for both 2018 and 2019.

The BSP said inflation rate is now expected to average 5.2 percent, from the 4.9 percent it projected in its August 9 meeting.

For 2019 inflation is also now expected to breach target and hit 4.3 percent, faster than the previous forecast of 3.7 percent.

“Latest baseline forecasts have shifted higher for both 2018 and 2019, with risks to the outlook still leaning toward the upside.

With supply-side forces expected to continue to drive inflation in the coming months, inflation expectations have remained elevated amid indications of second round effects,” Fonacier said.

“The Monetary Board believed that a tighter monetary policy stance will help steer inflation toward a target-consistent path over the medium term by reducing further risks to the inflation outlook including those emanating from exchange rate, volatility given the continued uncertainty in the external environment and geopolitical tensions and the normalization of monetary policy in advanced economies,” she added.

Finding the compromise: House extends deliberations on new mining fiscal regime

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

HE House Committee on Ways and Means extended the deliberations on the proposed new mining fiscal regime as the government and industry stakeholders look for a middle ground.

Rep. Estrelia Suansing of the First District of Nueva Ecija, committee chairman, heeded the request of Rep. Johnny Ty Pimentel of Second District of Surigao del Sur to deliberate further on the substitute bill, which would establish a new fiscal regime for the mining sector following an appeal from the mining sector.

“We should take into consideration that the mining industry is one thriving industry in the country. And we cannot deny that it is contributing billions of pesos and tax revenues, and it is employing hundreds of thousands of employees,” Pimentel said.

“And I think we should really sit down and have a compromise, wherein both parties will be satisfied with the revenues,” Pimentel added.

Pimentel noted that if the mining taxes imposed are too high, these could “kill” the mining industry. “ This would entail losing thousands of jobs. One of our problems is unemployment. And I would say that the mining industry is one venue where we can solve our unemployment problem,” he said.

“We know well that our government is looking for revenues to fund this ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. The mining industry is contributing for the tax revenues,” he added.

Suansing granted Pimentel ’s request and agreed to reconvene with the concerned parties on Monday for a technical working group.

Members of the mining industry relayed to the committee that they already submitted to the finance department their proposals on the new fiscal regime.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines Chairman Gerard H. Brimo said among their proposals were: 5-percent tax on gross revenues of nickel mines; 2-percent royalty based on income for open-pit mining of copper, gold and other metals; and 1-percent tax on income for underground mining and windfall profits tax.

Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa S. Habitan disclosed that the Department of Finance (DOF) and the mining industry have reached an agreement on fiscal regime structure, but specific rates of which have not yet been finalized.

However, the rates of which they need to fully agree on have not yet been finalized, according to Habitan.

However, Habitan said the DOF “is still in full support of the substitute bill drafted by the committee.”

BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. was out of the office for treatment and will be back on the first week of October.

Nonmonetary measures

FONACIER also said the Monetary Board emphasized the need for “timely and appropr iate” nonmonetary measures that will further mitigate the impact of supply-side factors on inflation, including rice tariffication.

BSP Assistant Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said the conversion of the quantitative restriction on rice into tariffs will bring the inflation rate back to within target next year.

Despite the uptrend seen in inflation in recent months, Dakila said the BSP believes inflation will peak in the third quarter of the year.

More rate hikes?

FOLLOWING the Monetary Board meeting on Thursday, ING Bank Manila said it is possible that the BSP is not yet done increasing key rates as inflation remains elevated.

“Although inflation is expected to slow down in the fourth quarter, the BSP may still be called to enact another round of rate hikes as inflation expectation remains elevated going into 2019,” ING Bank said.

“Thus, it will be imperative for nonmonetary policy measures to help alleviate price pressures as we approach the all-important Christmas season, a crucial turning point ahead of the midterm election in May,” it added.

The BSP is expected to hold its next monetary policy meeting on November 15.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOT seeks more tourists, investments from the UK

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

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HE Department of Tourism (DOT) is looking forward to more tourists and investments in tourism enterprises from the United Kingdom, as the Philippine government made its economic presentations to over 280 business executives in London on Tuesday.

In her report, “Build Build Build and Creating a Culture of Sustainable Tourism,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat pointed to the growing importance of the UK market as a source of tourists for the Philippines. From January to July 2017, visitor arrivals from the UK grew a significant 9.4 percent to 121,289 from 110,903 in the same period last year, making them the eighth-largest source of tourists for the country.

She also noted the double-digit increases in various tourism sectors in terms of tourism gross value added (TGVA) in 2017, with food and beverage expanding the most at 37.1 percent, followed by entertainment and recreation at 30.4 percent, shopping at 28.8 percent, transport at 26.5 percent, accommodation at 26.2 percent and trade/reservation agents at 24 percent, among others. Total TGVA in 2017 amounted to $38.3 billion, contributing 12.2 percent to the local economy in terms of gross domestic product, underscoring the tremendous benefits of the economy from the tourism industry.

The sector of Travel Agents/ Tour Operators/Tour Guides grew the largest in terms of employment in 2017, expanding by 6.06 percent to 35,000. Although the growth in employment in passenger transport services was only 3.53 percent last year, Romulo Puyat said the sector accounted for the most number of persons employed at close to 2 million.

While the accommodation, food and beverage sector slipped by 0.91 percent last year, it employed 1.74 million, and accounted for the second-highest number of tourism jobs.

In her report, the DOT chief highlighted anew the sustainable tourism

advocacy of the Duterte administration, using Boracay Island’s six-month closure for rehabilitation work as an example. In response to a question from a guest at the economic briefing, Romulo Puyat said the island, famous around the world for its long, white beach, will be opened in three phases.

“There will be a soft opening on October 26. So far, 25 establishments with about 2,000 rooms have fully complied with environmental laws,” she said. “President Duterte has said no resorts will be allowed to open if they are not 100-percent compliant [with environmental laws],” she added.

The second phase of Boracay’s reopening will be on July 2019, and the third phase on December 2019, Romulo Puyat added.

The DOT has failed to announce any new accredited resorts for the past three consecutive Fridays, since its initial announcement of compliant resorts on August 31. (See “25 Boracay resorts allowed to reopen on October 26,” in the BusinessMirror, online August 31, 2018.) According to DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation and Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr., “there is no update from partner agencies as of this time,” referring to the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The Cabinet-level members of Task Force Boracay will be meeting on the island on Friday to finalize guidelines of the reopening on October 26.

Romulo Puyat also met with travel trade and media partners in the UK on Monday evening, according to Boncato, although he did not say what issues were raised during the meeting.

The briefing by the economic managers in London was led by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, and included Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar.

Labor dept lifts ‘total’ OFW deployment ban to Micronesia

O

VERSEAS Filipino workers (OFWs) with existing employment contract are now allowed to return to the Federated States of Micronesia.

In a news conference on Thursday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III announced the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board, which he heads, has decided to impose a partial deployment ban in the Pacific Island nation.

“This is on the basis of the recommendation of the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] to lift the ban,” Bello said.

While the new issuance enables returning OFWs or balik manggagawa to travel to Micronesia, it bars new hires from working in the said country.

The POEA made the decision amid the appeal from some OFWs affected by the deployment ban imposed last month.

The POEA imposed the ban last month after Micronesian authorities still refused to heed the concerns of OFWs, who allegedly suffered unfair labor practice of the Chuuk State Hospital.

In a related development, Bello said they will no longer allow the deployment of OFWs to Libya.

This was after the DFA raised the security alert level for Libya from 2 to 3 due to the “escalating violence”

in the North African country.

Deployment of OFWs in Libya has drastically declined since 2011 due to internal conflict.

Under alert level 3, a total deployment ban will be imposed for a certain country and the remaining Filipinos there will be asked to undergo repatriation.

The DFA earlier said there are 3,500 remaining OFWs in Libya.

Samuel P. Medenilla

DENR okays quarrying as ‘BBB’ impact is raised continued from a1 operations, prompting Cimatu to greenlight most of them.

During the press conference, without giving exact numbers, Cimatu said about 90 percent of all quarrying companies are now allowed to resume operation, with just 10 percent hanging in the balance.

“There are also no communities that may be affected in the sites,” Cimatu told reporters.

According to Cimatu, drones helped the teams come up with the quick assessment.

A partial list of quarrying operations covered by the lifting of suspension orders included: Holcim Mining and Development Corp. in La Union, Northern Cement Corp. in Sison, Pangasinan, Heirs of Elias E. Olegano in Pangasinan, ISAG, Holcim Mining and Development Corp. in Bulacan, Republic Cement in Bulacan, Eagle Cement in Bulacan; ISAG in the Province of Pampanga and one in Zambales; Republic Cement and Building Materials Inc. in Taysan, Batangas, Lafarge Holcim Aggregates Corp. in Ango-

no, Rizal, Orophil Stonecraft Corp. in Baao, Camarines Sur, Holcim Resources and Development Corp. in Lugait, Misamis Oriental and Dalipuga, Iligan City; and Holcim Mining and Development Corp. in Davao City.

in the Itogon landslide has reached 78, with still 30 others listed as missing. The victims are small-scale miners who took shelter in old shanties that were buried by tons of rocks and soil debris during the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong.

62 bodies

DTI’s plea

MEANWHILE, the search and retrieval team in Naga has so far recovered the bodies of 62 people.

A total of 28 others are listed as “missing” as of September 27.

Cimatu issued the temporary suspension order stopping all quarrying operations in Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao and Caraga regions a day after landslides in two separate sites buried 30 houses.

Before the Naga City landslide, another landslide had occurred in the mining tenement of Benguet Corp. in Barangay Ucab, in the municipality of Itogon, Benguet province.

As of September 27, the death toll

THE environment department on Thursday was urged to fast-track its evaluation of quarrying sites to ensure the country’s cement production and supply remain stable.

Trade Undersec ret a r y Rut h B. Castelo said Lopez wants the normalization of quarrying operations soon to ensure supply of cement remains stable in the market.

“Cement prices as of now are still stable. However, with the suspension order of the DENR, the production of Apo [Land and Quarry Corp.], one of the biggest cement manufacturers in the Philippines, is affected,” Castelo told reporters in a mix of English and Filipino.

“I understand it [Apo] contributes 60 percent of the national requirement,” she added.

The trade official explained it is crucial to have a steady production and supply of cement given that the government is undertaking a massive infrastructure program.

She warned that a slowdown in cement production might take a toll on several big-ticket public infrastructure this administration is putting up.

“We will not allow...a shortage in supply,” Castelo said.

“We will arrest any possibility as early as now. More importations could be possible to beef up the supply here and for the government’s Build, Build, Build to not take any of the impact, especially now that it is in full swing,” she revealed.

Apo operations nationwide are covered by the DENR suspension order. The quarrying firm has the mining rights to the area where the landslide in Naga City took place.

Editor: Angel R. Calso | www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World

FED HIKES RATES FOR 3RD TIME THIS YEAR, 1 MORE EXPECTED

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ASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve (the fed) signaled its confidence on Wednesday in the US economy by raising a key interest rate for a third time this year, forecasting another rate hike before year’s end and predicting that it will continue to tighten credit into 2020 to manage growth and inflation.

The Fed lifted its short-term rate—a benchmark for many consumer and business loans—by a modest quarter-point to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent. It was its eighth hike since late 2015. The central bank also stuck with a previous forecast for three more rate hikes in 2019.

In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed dropped phrasing it had long used that characterized its policy as “accommodative”— that is, favoring low rates. The Fed had used variations of that pledge in the seven years that it kept its key rate at a record low near zero and over the past nearly three years in which it’s gradually tightened credit.

By removing that language, the Fed may be signaling its resolve to keep raising rates. In a news conference after its meeting, though, Chairman Jerome Powell said the removal of the “accommodative” language did not amount to a policy change.

“Our economy is strong,” Powell declared at the start of his news conference. “Growth is running at a healthy clip, unemployment is low.

The number of people working is rising steadily, and wages are up. Inflation is low and stable, all of these are very good signs.”

The chairman added, though: “That’s not to say everything is perfect. The benefits of this strong economy have not reached all Americans. Many of our country’s economic challenges are beyond the scope of the Fed.” The Fed’s actions and its updated economic forecasts on Wednesday had been widely anticipated. Initially, there was little reaction in the stock or bond markets. But later in the afternoon, stocks sold off, and major indexes closed modestly lower.

“The Fed stuck to script today, pushing ahead with another rate hike,” said Michael Pearce, senior US economist at Capital Economics.

But Pearce added, “Our view is that officials are still underestimating just how quickly the economy is likely to lose momentum next year.”

He said he expects the Fed to suspend its rate hikes by mid-2019—and then feel compelled to cut rates by early-2020 to support the economy.

In its updated outlook on Wednesday, the

Fed foresees one final rate hike after 2019—in 2020—which would leave its benchmark at 3.4 percent. At that point, it would regard its policy as modestly restraining growth. The Fed seeks to slow the economy when it reaches full employment to prevent a tight job market from raising inflation too high.

During a late-afternoon news conference in New York, President Donald J. Trump said he was “not happy” about the Fed’s latest rate hike. In a highly unusual move for a president, Trump has publicly complained that the Fed’s rate increases could blunt his efforts to boost growth through tax cuts and deregulation.

Earlier, Powell said during his news conference that such outside criticism would have no effect on the Fed’s use of rates to try to maximize employment and stabilize prices.

“We’ve been given a really important job to do on behalf of the American people,” Powell said.

“My colleagues and I are focused, exclusively, on carrying out that mission.”

The Fed’s latest forecast predicts that the unemployment rate, now 3.9 percent, will reach 3.7 percent by the end of this year and then 3.5 percent next year. Not since the late-1960s has unemployment fallen that low.

The central bank expects unemployment to begin rising to 3.7 percent at the end of 2021.

It foresees the economy growing 3.1 percent this year before slowing to 2.5 percent in 2019, 2 percent in 2020 and 1.8 percent in 2021. The Fed sees the economy’s long-run growth at a 1.8-percent annual rate—far below the Trump administration’s projections for a sustained rate of 3 percent. Many analysts think the economy could weaken next year, in part from the effects of the trade conflicts Trump has pursued with China, Canada, Europe and other trading partners. The tariffs Trump has imposed on imported steel and Chinese goods, in particular, complicate the Fed’s decision-making.

That’s because the tariffs—and the resulting retaliation from America’s trading partners— could weaken the US economy. The Fed would normally respond to weaker growth by cutting interest rates. But tariffs, which are an import tax, can inflate prices. And the Fed typically counters higher inflation by raising rates.

Megan Greene, global chief economist at Manulife Asset Management, said she thought the tariffs were more likely to slow the economy than to accelerate inflation. AP

Trump says Xi might not be friend anymore over election meddling

TRUMP speaks during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on September 25. JEENAH MOON/BLOOMBERG

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RESIDENT Donald J. Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping might not be friends anymore after he accused Beijing on Wednesday of trying to interfere in US congressional elections in November.

“Maybe he’s not anymore,” Trump answered when asked how he could remain friends with Xi at a news conference on Wednesday after the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Even while US - China trade tensions have r isen in recent months, Tr ump has repeated ly touted his persona l fr iendship w ith X i. His l atest rem a rk s sig na l a f u r t her deterioration in ties, feeding fears that the two countries are heading toward a longer-ter m confrontation that cou ld have w idespread geopolitica l ramifications.

Tr u mp’s t rade feud w it h t he world’s most populous nation escalated during his visit to the UN as the president accused China of attempting to meddle in the US midterm election. He provided no evidence at a UN Security Council meeting where he first leveled the allegation, with a Chinese official sitting nearby.

“We have evidence,” Trump said at his news conference. The charge

“didn’t come out of nowhere, I’ll tell you.”

Trump said during the Security Council meeting he hosted that Beijing sought to help his political opponents in the midterms. His remarks came three days after China placed an advertising supplement in Iowa’s largest newspaper attacking Trump’s trade war.

“We do not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the Security Council meeting, through a translator. “We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China.”

Trump has slapped tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods as part of an escalating trade war between the two countries. China has retaliated with tariffs on $110 billion of US products.

Asked earlier on Wednesday about his claim that China was attempting to meddle, Trump highlighted Chinese counter-tariffs that have targeted farmers and a public-relations campaign focused on states like Iowa.

“I don’t like it when they attack our farmers. And I don’t like it when they put out false messages,’’ Trump told reporters earlier. “But beside that, we learned that they are trying to meddle in our election.’’ Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

Friday, September 28, 2018

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Isolated Trump insults allies, dismisses the world at UN

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RESIDENT Donald J. Trump arrived at the United Nations this week looking to rally global support against Iran and show that his policies on North Korea were lowering the risk of nuclear war.

By Wednesday he made clear he didn’t care whether he persuaded anyone.

“It doesn’t matter what world leaders think on Iran,” he said after absorbing criticism from America’s allies up close, insisting that “Iran’s going to come back to me and make a deal.”

The comment was emblematic of Trump’s entire approach at a meeting many world leaders use to help narrow divides, not widen them. After doubling down on his “America First” approach, with its insistence on national sovereignty and rejection of globalism, he’ll leave New York this week with allies and adversaries as frustrated as ever with the US over issues from trade to climate change to Iran’s nuclear program.

For a meeting of diplomats, there was little diplomacy to be seen on either side.

The pushback on Trump and his approach to foreign policy started during his speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, when a murmur of laughter g reeted the president’s claim that his administration had accomplished more than almost any in US history. A day later at a Security Council meeting he hosted, Bolivian President Evo Morales, who has long-standing anti-American sentiments, insulted the US to Trump’s face, saying America had no interest in upholding democracy.

More sur pr ising was the chiding from allies.

In a reference to Trump’s rebuke of alliances and multilateral institutions, UK Prime Minister T heresa May said that delivering for citizens at home “does not have to be at the expense of global cooperation.” French President Emmanuel Macron disputed Trump’s claim that ties with France were “99 percent good,” saying “the disagreements are known and they are more than 1 percent,” citing a divergence over issues including climate change and Iran.

“It’s never been like this before,” said Daniel Kurtzer, a former ambassador to Egypt and Israel under President George W. Bush who’s now a professor at Princeton. “US policy always has engendered opposition from allies—Germany and France during the 2003 invasion of Iraq—but what’s new is the derision.”

China’s interference

NO one was in a bridge-building mood. With US-China trade tensions only getting worse, Trump suggested his muchtouted friendship with President Xi Jinping was coming to an end, and accused Beijing of interfering in the upcoming US midterm elections.

Almost as glaring was the mini-drama that unfurled at a luncheon for leaders on Tuesday, when cameras caught the president ignoring Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s attempt to say hello. Trump then

curtly shook his hand but would not get up from his seat as he did for other leaders.

Trump later said at a freewheeling press conference on Wednesday evening that he rejected Trudeau’s request for a one-on-one meeting, saying “Canada has treated us very badly.” Trudeau later said he had never sought a meeting.

“Lashing out at the Canadians in highly personal terms was diplomatic carnage,” said Richard Gowan, a senior fellow at the United Nations University’s Center for Policy Research.

Gowan called Trump’s more than hour-long press conference “a steaming hot mess.”

Trump’s successes

TRUMP and his team believe they can afford to be dismissive. Iran’s economy has been pinched by US sanctions that he vows will only get tougher.

Trump said his outreach to North Korea helped stave off a nuclear war that looked imminent when he came to office. If Canada doesn’t back down on dairy tariffs, Trump argued, he’ll just tax cars imported from the north. “ T he world loathes what Tr u mp s ay s, but t he y pay deep attent ion to t he new credible threats of economic and militar y coercion,” said Charles Lipson, professor

emeritus of political science at the University of Chicago. “ Trump sees the old international order as fundamentally unsustainable.”

As the week went on, domestic politics proved to be increasingly distracting, with stories about his embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh crowding Trump’s foreign policy agenda out of the headlines.

That led to some awkward moments. Most glaring was du r i ng t he open i ng of h i s meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, when he accused Democrats of “ bringing people out of the woods” to smear Kavanaugh, who will confront allegations of sexual assault at a Senate hearing on Thursday.

“They can do that to anybody, they can do it to anybody,” Trump said as he sat next to Abe. “Other than perhaps Prime Minister Abe because he’s so pure.”

As his UN trip wound down, Trump declined to acknowledge the distress he appeared to have left in his wake. Asked about the laughter that greeted the opening of his General Assembly speech, the US president said the audience was laughing with him, not at him.

“We had fun,” Trump said.

“People had a good time with me.” Bloomberg News

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Friday, September 28, 2018

The World BusinessMirror

Argentina, IMF reach deal to boost financing to $57B

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UENOS AIRES, Argentina—The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed on Wednesday to increase a lending package with Argentina by $7.1 billion to a total of $57.1 billion, seeking to calm markets over the country’s ability to meet its debt amid growing economic turmoil.

Argentina had secured $50 billion in financing as part of a deal worked out with the IMF in June after South America’s secondlargest economy was battered by a run on the Argentine peso amid double-digit inflation.

IMF Director Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that Argentina’s central bank has agreed as part of the deal to intervene in currency markets only in case of extreme circumstances and that the new amount will help Argentina’s government face its challenges. “ The Central Bank of Argentina has decided to adopt a f loating exchange rate regime without intervention,” Lagarde said at a joint news conference with A rgentine Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne in New York.

“In the event of extreme overshooting of the exchange rate, the [bank] may conduct limited intervention in foreign exchange markets to prevent disorderly market conditions.”

Argentine Central Bank Chief

Guido Sandleris later told reporters that under the revised deal, the central bank initially will intervene only by selling $150 million worth of pesos a day when the currency drops below 34 pesos or rises above 44 pesos per US dollar.

“This will allow us to reduce inflation and recover the stability and predictability in prices that Argentina so badly needs,” said Sandleris, who was named to the job on Tuesday after Luis Caputo surprisingly resigned.

The new deal will also speed up disbursements to $13.4 billion from $6 billion previously agreed for this year and to $22.8 billion from $11.4 billion previously approved for 2019.

Argentina has been badly hit by a severe drought that has damaged crop yields in the world’s thirdlargest exporter of soybean and corn. The situation worsened beginning in the first quarter of 2018 as world oil prices rose and then interest-rate hikes in the United

China cuts some tariffs but no action to address US complaints

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EIJING—China announced more tariff cuts on Wednesday on imports of construction machinery and other goods, but took no action to address the US complaints about its technology policy that are fueling an escalating trade battle.

Th e m o ve re f l e c t s t h e C h i n e s e government’s desire to stick to plans to make the economy more competitive and its intention to press on with stateled development of industry. It gave no indication the reductions would apply to US goods, on which Beijing has imposed additional taxes of 5 to 25 percent.

The tariff cut, effective on November 1, applies to 1,585 types of goods, including construc tion equipment, industrial machinery, paper products and building materials. It is the second reduction in less than a year following a cut last November for food and consumer goods.

President Xi Jinping’s administration has this year announced a series of measures to open up the Chinese market to outside competition, but none addresses US complaints that the government steals or pressures foreign companies into handing over technology.

The United States, Europe and other trading partners say initiatives such as “Made in China 2025,” which calls for stateled creation of champions in robotics and other fields, violate Beijing’s obligations to open up its market to foreign companies.

American officials worry they might erode US industrial leadership.

US President Donald J. Trump went ahead on Monday with a tariff increase on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Beijing responded by imposing penalties on $60 billion of American products. That was on top of an earlier duty increase by both sides on $50 billion of each other’s goods.

Negotiations were impossible while Washington “holds a knife” to Beijing’s neck by imposing tariff hikes, a Chinese d e p u t y c o m m e r c e m i n i s t e r, Wa n g Shouwen, said on Tuesday.

A Chinese government repor t on

Monday accused Trump of bullying other countries and destroying “mutual trust” required for international relations. That dampened hopes for a settlement and prompted suggestions China might go so far as waiting for Trump to leave office instead of negotiating.

Meanwhile, exper ts are tr ying to understand what economic impact the trade war might have.

In research published on Wednesday, economists at the European Central Bank said they simulated a wide-ranging trade war and found it would hurt the US economy significantly, making households poorer and destroying jobs, while China would not suffer as much. The researchers concluded that stock and bond markets could be hurt by a general loss of confidence in the economy, and that “an escalation of trade tensions could have significant adverse global effects” on growth.

The Asian Development Bank said Wednesday that trade conflicts, rising debt and the potential impact from rising interest rates in the US will likely dampen growth in the coming year.

The regional lender based in Manila said it expects economic growth in Asia to remain at a robust 6 percent in 2018 but to slip to 5.8 percent next year.

China’s economy is expected to expand at a 6.6-percent annual pace this year but slow to 6.3 percent in 2019, it said.

Chinese Communist leaders have tried to deflect foreign frustration over their industr y plans by highlighting China’s growth as an import market, better protection of foreign patents and copyrights and other gains.

They see initiatives, such as “Made in China 2025,” as a path to prosperity and global influence. Under the latest changes, tariffs on electronic equipment and other industrial products will be cut from 12.2 percent to 8.8 percent, according to a Cabinet statement. It said charges on textiles and building materials will fall from 11.5 percent to 8.4 percent, and those on paper and other resource products from 6.6 percent to 5.4 percent. AP

ARGENTINA’S newly appointed central bank President Guido Sandleris gives a news conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday. The former economic policy secretary replaces central bank chief Luis Caputo, who resigned on Tuesday amid negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. AP/NATACHA PISARENKO

States led investors to pull dollars out of Argentina.

That caused panic among Argentines, who have stashed away dollars as a cushion since the country’s worst crisis in 2001 when banks froze deposits and the currency tumbled.

The rush to buy dollars led the peso’s value to collapse. Despite several interest-rate hikes by the central bank, the peso has lost more than half its value this year, making it one of the world’s worstperforming currencies.

Following the run on the peso, President Mauricio Macri began pushing for early IMF disbursements under a revised deal. He aimed to restore investor confidence and ease concerns that Argentina will not be able to meet its debt obligations next year.

Consumer prices are rising at an estimated annual rate of about 40 percent. Many Argentines joined

in a nationwide strike on Tuesday to protest Macri’s handling of the economic crisis and his decision to turn to the IMF for help.

Most Argentines blame the international lending institution for encouraging policies that led to the country’s economic implosion in 2001. It resulted in one of every five Argentines being unemployed and millions sliding into poverty.

The IMF has admitted it made a string of mistakes that contributed to the economic implosion.

A 2004 report by the IMF’s internal audit unit concluded it failed to provide enough oversight and overestimated growth and the success of economic reforms, while it continued to lend Argentina money when its debt burden had turned unsustainable.

Without further IMF support, the government was forced to declare a record $100 -billion sovereign debt default. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Editor: Angel R. Calso

EU plan to sidestep sanctions on Iran won’t keep oil flowing

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PROPOSED plan by the European Union (EU), Russia and China to sidestep US sanctions on Iran by using an alternative payment system won’t give its oil buyers a free pass to handle Iranian crude.

Legal sanctions experts and oil traders said the creation of a special-purpose vehicle and payments channel to keep trade open with Iran, unveiled this week by EU Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini, would still leave traders buying or selling crude from the Islamic Republic vulnerable to punitive actions by the US Treasury Department.

“I think it is a welcome development,” Daniel Martin, a partner and sanctions expert at Holman Fenwick Willan in London, said of the EU’s alternative plan. “But oil is not the arena it is going to be tested and used first.”

Crude is the key driving force behind Iran’s economy, and the Trump administration is trying to cripple the regime by reimposing sanctions, despite a deal struck in 2015 that saw the country agree to curtail its nuclear program.

Even if Iran’s customers used an alternative payment system incorporating bartering, envisioned in the proposal from the EU, Russia and China, any customer would still be vulnerable to secondary sanctions for simply buying the oil.

“I don’t think you can make out a case that a barter transaction is not a purchase,” Martin said.

Risk premium

THE only oil trading companies willing to use the proposed system would also have to be willing to take on the risk of being sanctioned themselves, Martin said.

The biggest traders, such as

Vitol Group and Trafigura Group Pte Ltd., who are based in Europe, transact mostly in US dollars and have operations in America and would be unwilling to take that risk.

Gunvor Group Ltd., which handles about 2.7 million barrels a day of crude and products, and opened offices in Houston and Stamford, Connecticut, last year, said it won’t be handling Iranian oil anytime soon.

“Gunvor does no trading with Iran. We comply strictly with all applicable international sanctions, and will not trade oil or products with any country, including Iran, that would consist of a violation of those sanctions,” Seth Pietras, a company spokesman, said.

Trafigura and Vitol also don’t plan to use the proposed payment channel, people familiar with the traders’ plans said.

T he rel at ively h igh dol l a r value of crude cargoes will also make oil an unlikely product to be traded under the proposed bartering system. A supertanker with a full cargo of oil would be worth about $160 million at today’s prices.

That means some form of traditional commodity trade financing, outside of the special payments channel, would likely be necessary, even though banks and financial institutions are reluctant to support legal trade with Iran, Martin said.

The plan also wouldn’t address reputational risks for oil traders, Martin said. Those trying to use the payment system would likely face US entities refusing to do business with them for handling Iran oil, even if they weren’t technically violating the US sanctions. Bloomberg News

US, Japan to negotiate free-trade agreement

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NITED NATIONS—T he United States and Japan announced on Wednesday that they will open negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement between the world’s first- and third-largest economies.

It’s a significant shift by Tokyo, which has been a strong advocate of a multination trans-Pacific trade pact that President Donald J. Trump withdrew from soon after taking office. The move won Japan relief from the immediate threat of punitive tariffs on its auto exports to the US. Trump made the announcement after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

He said that Japan had been unwilling in the past to enter into such talks, but now is and such a deal “will be something very exciting.”

A be has cu lt ivated c lose t ies w it h Tr u mp si nce a f ter his 2016 elect ion, but trade relations have been difficu lt, s i nce t he R e pu bl ic a n pre s i dent w ithdrew from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), that had been negotiated by the Obama administration and championed by Abe despite considerable domestic political opposition in Japan.

The Trump administration, pushing to narrow the US trade imbalance with Japan, has since imposed steel and aluminum ta r if fs on its a l ly. Imposing higher tariffs on auto imports that would have escalated trade tensions significantly.

A joint statement said that the US is seeking more access to the Japanese auto market, and that the Japanese won’t go beyond any previous commitments to open their protected agriculture market. “It’s

PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday in New York. AP/EVAN VUCCI

a line in the sand” from Japan, said Ted Murphy, a partner at the law firm Baker McKenzie. “You guys think auto are important. We think agriculture is important.”

Abe said the US will hold off on threatened tariffs on Japanese autos while the negotiations are underway. The statement also adds that the two sides will make efforts” to resolve differences over US tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Murphy said he suspects that Japan dropped its objections to bilateral trade talks with the US after seeing Mexico agree to a trade deal with Washington last month.

“We’ve agreed today to start t r a d e ne got i at ion s b e t w e e n the United States and Japan,” Trump told reporters, alongside Abe before their meeting.

“This was something that for various reasons over the years Japan was unwilling to do. And now they are willing to do. So we’re very happy about that. And I’m sure they will come to a satisfactory conclusion,” he said.

Abe, who could face criticism

at home that he’s caved in to US pressure, insisted the negotiations would lead to a trade agreement on goods that would be different to comprehensive free-trade agreements that Japan has entered into before.

Japanese officials said that was because past agreements also covered ser vices and trade rules, and focusing on goods would make it easier to reach quick results.

The joint statement said negotiations will begin after completion of necessary domestic procedures in each country.

U S Tr a d e R e p r e s e nt a t i v e Rober t Lighthizer told repor ters that he wou ld be ta lk ing to Cong ress on T hursd ay about seek ing trade promotion aut hor it y for t he president to negotiate the agreement.

The statement said the proposed agreement will cover goods and other key areas, including services, that can produce “early achievements.” The US and Japan would then negotiate on other trade and investment items.

Senior Japanese trade official

Atsuyuki Oike, who helped negotiate the TPP, said the two sides have yet to identify where those “early achievements” might be.

“We are at the entrance of any negotiations so we don’t know what the outcomes will be,” he said.

The TPP has proceeded without the US, and in his speech to the United Nations on Tuesday, Abe described himself as a “flagbearer for free trade,” and said “there has been no greater joy for me” than when it was approved

by Japan’s parliament. He also pointedly noted that Japanese investment supports 850,000 jobs in the United States and that 3.8 million Japanese cars are manufactured annually in the US, more than double the number it exports to the United States.

T he ot her m ajor topic at Wednesday’s meeting with Trump was North Korea. Abe credited the US president with a “major transformational change” in relations with North Korea after his June summit with Kim Jong Un. A b e l at e r t o l d r e p o r t e r s , “next it’s my tur n,” say ing he wants to “ break the shell of mutua l mistr ust” w ith Nor th Korea and meet with K im himself.

But he added that no meeting has been decided on yet, and any meeting that ta kes place wou ld have to contr ibute to the resolution of the cases of Japanese nationa ls who were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abe is the odd man out among the major powers in Northeast Asia in not having met with Kim this year. The leaders of South Korea and China have done so multiple times. Trump is planning a second summit, and his top diplomat Mike Pompeo is traveling to Pyongyang again next month. AP

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, September 28, 2018

Govt vows to implement rules on VMS

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas & Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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HE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assured that the rules on vesselmonitoring systems (VMS) would soon be in place to boost government efforts to stop illegal fishing in the Philippines.

The BFAR said the Nationa l Fisher ies and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC) has adopted a draft Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) governing the operation of VMS and endorsed it for the approval of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol.

The NFARMC serves as the Department of Agriculture’s advisory and recommendatory body to policies related to the fisheries sector.

The BFAR is an attached agency of the DA. The agency issued the statement after nongovernment organization Oceana Philippines disclosed that it is planning to ask the Supreme Court (SC) to compel the BFAR to implement Republic Act (RA) 10654, or the Amended Philippine Fisheries Code of 2015.

“The BFAR is seriously committed to carry out its mandates as stipulated by the implementing rules and regulations of the Amended Fisheries Code,” the BFAR said in a statement sent

to the BusinessMirror. “ The BFAR has been working on the subject regulations since the late-2016 followed by consultations participated by stakeholders including Oceana,” it added.

BFAR Assistant Director Drusila Esther E. Bayate told the BusinessMirror that once the FAO is signed, then the rules on VMS are automatically promulgated.

The attached agency of the DA said the draft FAO was adopted by the NFARMC on September 4 in General Santos City.

Bayate also said the Bfar has allocated over P600 million, which would be used for the procurement of transponders next year.

Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines, earlier said the BFAR has yet to implement various provisions of RA 10654, including the promulgation of the rules on VMS. The non-implementation of the provisions drove Ramos’s group to consider filing a petition for a writ of continuing

THIS file photo shows the patrol boats that were deployed to boost the protection of Tañon Strait against illegal-fishing activities. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said the government would soon implement rules on vesselmonitoring systems to boost its campaign against illegal fishing.

mandamus before the SC.

Protection for fishing grounds

OCEANA has also called on the government to issue guidelines that will protect the country’s major fishing grounds against overfishing and illegal fishing activities in municipal waters.

According to the group, such rules should ensure that the livelihood of small fishers all over the Philippines.

Oceana is referring to a draft Administrative Order designating 15 major fishing grounds as a Fisheries Management Area. Once declared as an FMA, a fishing ground will undergo a management regime that will ensure stronger protection measure geared toward sustainability.

A n island archipelago, the Philippines is a major producer and exporter of fish. However, dwindling fish catch has taken its toll on small fishermen who complained of poor income and consumers who complained of the high price of wild-caught fish that had exceeded the price of chicken, pork and beef.

The government has intermittently enforced closed fishing seasons to allow fish stock to replenish, and has allowed the importation of round scad to arrest the rising price of fish in the market.

Round scad is considered “the poor man’s fish” in the Philippines decades ago, because it is affordable and is commonly sold in fish markets all year round.

“The policy, as among those

provided for under the amended Fisheries Code, pertains to the designation of Fisheries Management Areas, or FMAs, in the country,” Ramos said in a statement.

“It is envisioned that a comprehensive science-based fisheriesmanagement plan will be enforced on these areas to ensure sustained productivity and protect them from overfishing, illegal fishing and destructive fishing practices that destroy critical marine habitats,” she added.

The designation of FMAs is needed to rebuild and restore the abundance of the country’s fishing grounds.

Based on recent studies, Ramos said two-thirds of the country’s fishing grounds are considered as overfished.

NFA officials cry foul over ‘tara’ system allegation O FFICIALS of the National Food Authority (NFA) on Thursday cried foul over the allegations of Sen. Risa HontiverosBaraquel that they pocketed some P2 billion in grease money from rice imports.

In a statement, NFA officials “expressed disgust that they were collectively accused of wrongdoing for simply performing their job as part of standard operating procedures in the agency.”

In a privilege speech delivered on September 24, Hontiveros alleged that NFA Administrator Jason Aquino, NFA Deputy Administrator for Operations Judy Carol Dansal, Assistant Administrator for Operations Mercedes Yacapin, former Grains Marketing Operations Department Director Rocky Valdez and Executive Assistant Richie Carpio benefited from the so-called tara system.

“We have faithfully served the agency and the public for more than 40 years. It is lamentable that somebody, speaking under the cloak of immunity of the Senate, would destroy our names and reputation in a few minutes of privileged speech,” they said in a statement issued on September 27.

“We are appalled at how some politicians have made malicious imputations on activities that are being done in the course of business of the agency,” they added.

Hontiveros said the NFA officials earned anywhere from P100 to P150 for every bag of imported rice. In total, the NFA officials pocketed about P2 billion from the alleged tara system, according to the senator.

The NFA officials denied the allegations of the senator and said that all importation under the so-called minimum access volume (MAV)undertaken by private

traders are “aboveboard.”

They also said that the implementation of an auction via service fee for the 2017-2018 MAV was approved by the NFA Council, the grains agency’s highest policymaking body.

Under the auction, the applicant with the highest service fee would have the priority to acquire an import allocation under the MAV scheme.

“This process was preferred because the Council members believe that it is a very transparent system since the bidders shall right-away see the result of the process, in real time,” they said.

“The auction of service fee generated around P1.4 billion and this amount is currently held by Land Bank of the Philippines,” they added.

The NFA officials also denied that they prevented the inspection and supervision of the agency’s personnel over rice imports at the ports.

The officials explained that under the approved terms of reference by the NFAC, the 2017 NFA rice importation was Cost, Insurance, Freight, Delivered At Place, which means that rice imports are delivered by the supplier up to the designated NFA warehouses.

“Hence, there is no need for the presence of NFA personnel at the ports. Besides, the NFA only pays for the good stock delivered at the warehouses,” they said.

“Guidelines used for the unloading operations were generally the same guidelines used in previous unloading operations, thus to save cost on the part of the NFA and there being no new issues to be discussed, there is no need for a briefing to be conducted,” they added.

The NFA officials also argued that the delay in the unloading of its rice imports was not man-made to create an artificial shortage. They

said the availability of berthing space and weather conditions upon arrival of the rice stocks are no longer within their control.

“The berthing of vessels at the Port of Discharge is under the control of the Philippine Ports Authority [PPA]. Port congestion, coupled with the monsoon rains and typhoons during the months of August and September, were the factors that contributed to the delay in the discharging of NFA rice imports from the vessels,” they added.

The NFA officials said the food agency fined the suppliers for late delivery of supply.

“As provided for in the contract, all late deliveries are subject to... penalties. For the 250,000 MT contracted by the NFA in August 2017, a total of $201, 010.09 in penalties have been imposed upon the suppliers with the late deliveries,” they said. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

SM Foundation helps green PHL through 60,000 trees

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S SM celebrates its 60th anniversary, SM Foundation launches “60,000 Trees: The AweSM Tree Count,” an initiative that follows through the Grow A Million Trees campaign of SM. The project supports the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program.

In partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, SM employee volunteers came together with the aim to plant 60,000 trees all over the country. Simultaneous tree-planting activities were held in five locations—Batangas, Davao, Iloilo, Olongapo and Pampanga. The 60,000 trees campaign will run for five years.

In Davao City SM collaborates with a new community in Upper Kibalang, Marilog, Davao City, the Upper Kibalang Agro-Forestry Farmers Association Inc. (UKAFFAI). The group of over a hundred farmer-members, organized in 1994, operates with guidance from the government’s integrated social forestry directions, giving them authority to develop, guard and rehabilitate their area which was once exploited by loggers.

Together with SM, UKAFFAI will be instrumental in greening Davao City, one fruit-bearing plant at a time.

SM employee volunteers from SM Lanang Premier, SM City Davao, SM Park Inn by Radisson Davao, Toy Kingdom, The SM Store, Ace Hardware, Surplus, and SM Supermarket, along with SM scholars, planted trees on September 23. The campaign aims to grow a total of 12,000 trees in Davao City.

In 2013 SM Foundation collaborated with a group of farmers in Suawan, Marilog, Davao City, as part of its greening efforts through the Grow A Million Trees project. The project covered 20 hectares of land and touched lives of upland residents.

Providing and growing cacao and rubber tree seedlings did not only give 20 families of farmers a better way of life and education for their children—these created sustainable farming livelihood for years to come.

One of the farmers who benefited from the SM tree-planting project is Maximino Gumop-as, a father of eight. The land that he owns and manages is now home to 2,000 cacao trees and 50 rubber trees. He has experienced two years of year-round harvest, peaking from September to December, since 2014. He reaps as much as 50 kilos of dry cacao beans every harvest season.

He said that a nearby buy-and-sell market keeps his livelihood going, with good rates of as much as P120 per kilogram.

Gumop-as said that planting cacao changed the way he and his colleagues in Kibangay Unified Farmers Association view farming for a living.

The chairman of the group said that sustainability was a gift that they all welcomed. “Farming was tedious and challenging when we did corn back in the day,” he said. With cacao, he said, there is rhythm production.

Where it’s so dry even cows shower, climate change gets ignored

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ROM cooling showers for cows to airport runways designed for higher sea levels, businesses and parts of Australia’s A$2.7 trillion ($2 trillion) pension industry are starting to find ways to live with rising temperatures.

In the world’s driest inhabited continent, enduring a devastating drought that arrived in mid-winter, private action to prepare for climate change contrasts with years of division on energy and environmental policies. Australia’s latest climate casualties are its farmers, who are being forced to slaughter livestock and watch crops wither amid one of the worst droughts on record.

Leeanne Oldfield has abandoned expansion plans and the few dozen malnourished sheep that remain of her 300-strong flock can’t even drink from the dam anymore, as it has gone dry.

“In good years, this is usually full to the brim with water,” said Oldfield on her farm three hours’

OLDFIELD at the dried-up freshwater dam on her farm. BRENDON THORNE/BLOOMBERG

drive from Sydney, pointing to the muddy pit where the dam should be.

Frustrated by a lack of government action, she’s helped organize donations of truckloads of hay and grain to other farms.

“Farmers in this country are getting desperate, they’re on their knees,” said Oldfield.

Dry conditions are set to continue

with eastern states including New South Wales—the most populous and the powerhouse of the economy—the worst affected. Economists estimate the drought could cut as much as 0.75 percent from gross domestic product growth.

Shortly after taking over as prime minister last month, Scott Morrison got on a plane and toured a drought-

stricken farm in Queensland, announcing measures to aid the stressed agricultural sector. Yet as for broader climate policy, Australia appears as far away as it has ever been from a consensus on what should be done.

“The staggering thing is we aren’t leading the world,” said John Hewson, former leader of the now ruling Liberal Party who has worked as an economist for the Reserve Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

“We should be showing them what can be done and the business opportunities from that in terms of investment, in terms of jobs, in terms of growth, are very significant. And they’ve just been cast aside like they don’t matter.”

The road block: politics. Morrison came to the prime ministership after months of toxic infighting over energy policy saw Malcolm Turnbull lose a leadership vote that resulted in the nation’s sixth change of leader in 11 years. The new prime minis-

ter—who once brandished a chunk of coal in parliament as a show of allegiance to that sector—quickly ditched Turnbull’s contentious plan to lock in carbon-emission reductions, leaving the government with no settled energy policy ahead of an election that must be called by May. With Australia battling bush fires in winter and the Great Barrier Reef facing slow destruction due to coral bleach-

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ing, voters want action. An Australia Institute poll this month showed that 73 percent of Australians are concerned about climate change, up from 66 percent last year. And just over half of people surveyed think governments aren’t doing enough. Bloomberg News

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Friday, September 28, 2018

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

‘Infra ramp-up merits insuring’

By Rea Cu

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@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said the Philippine government met with officials of Lloyd’s of London (Lloyd’s) and the World Bank to discuss possible insurance structures that could be applied to cover the country’s expanding roster of government assets and properties.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said he met with officials from Lloyd’s during his visit in London, to learn about global best practices and ways of strengthening the Philippines’s fiscal resilience to varied risks in the event of disasters and climate changerelated incidents, especially now that the government is rolling out a massive infrastructure program.

“We are embarking on a large infrastructure program and we expect to spend somewhere [between] $150 billion and $170 billion in improving our physical infrastruc-

ture. Leaving it and building it without thinking about risk management is irresponsible,” Dominguez told Lloyd’s officials during the meeting.

He said the government’s growing list of assets would include underground rails, long-span bridges, light rail and additional railways, airports and seaports under President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure program.

“These assets are all owned by the national government, some by state-owned enterprises, and most

of these have no solid framework for risk management,” he added.

Among the officials of Lloyd’s present at the meeting were Dr. Trevor Maynard, head of Innovation, and Lucy Stanbrough, innovation associate, among others.

Nicola Jenns and Dr. Daniel Clarke of the United Kingdon Department for International Development and Olivier Mahul, global lead and program manager for Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance of the World Bank, were also at the meeting.

Lloyd’s officials gave the finance chief and National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon an overview of the different public asset insurance structures that the Philippine government can tap to improve coverage for its assets and properties.

After the briefing, Dominguez instructed de Leon to continue the Bureau of the Treasur y’s (BTr) engagement with Lloyd’s and the World Bank to discuss an appropriate insurance protection structure that could be put in place at the soonest possible time for the government’s assets and properties.

According to Dominguez, the Philippine government wants to create a national system where various state entities can rely on a rational structure to evaluate risks

and access resources for risk protection and management through a public asset insurance program.

He acknowledged that the government faces an enormous task of formulating this type of public insurance structure, given that the Philippines is now just starting to come up with its registry of national assets.

A pending bill seeking to create a Department of Disaster Management and Resilience would complement the government’s initiative to improve insurance coverage of state-owned assets.

“It’s our job in the DOF to spearhead this effort of expanding insurance coverage for state assets,” he said.

In terms of natural disasters, a catastrophic risk modeling developed for the Philippines shows that the country is expected to incur, on average, P177 billion in annual losses to public and private-sector assets arising from typhoons and earthquakes.

A pilot program to inventory government assets and properties through a National Asset Registry System is currently being done by the Departments of Education, Public Works and Highways, Health and of Social Welfare and Development, and National Irrigation Authority, in coordination with the BTr.

Social Watch youth, community leaders turn over 200K signatures to JV for UHC, tobacco tax hike

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OME 250 students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and Social Watch Philippines (SWP) Youth recently turned over to the Senate the 200,000 signatures they gathered in support of the passage of the universal health care bill and the tobacco tax hike bill.

The chairman of the Health committee, Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, received the signatures during a Manila Youth Leader’s Assembly.

SWP gathered the 200,000 signatures from different universities and families from poor communities in the National Capital Region, underscoring popular support for universal health care and tobacco tax increase.

The number equates to the estimated annual number of Filipinos who will be prevented from starting to smoke if the tax on cigarettes per pack will be increased to at least 100 percent more than the current unitary rates.

“Despite the increase of tobacco products in 2012, our cigarettes are still the cheapest around the world.

So instead of taxing oil products to raise additional revenues, why not tax the tobacco products? This way, we will lessen the smokers in our country.” Ejercito said.

Ejercito, author of Senate Bill 1605, which seeks to increase tobacco tax to P90 per pack, welcomes the overwhelming support of the youth to the tobacco tax increase. He is also the main sponsor of the Senate Bill 1896, or the universal health care bill, certified as urgent measure by

SEN. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito and former Deputy House Speaker Erin R. Tañada III sign the Social Watch Philippines’s Declaration of Unity on increased tobacco tax to the maximum level for universal health care at the recent Manila Youth Assembly held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Ejercito, Committee on Health chairman, is the author and main sponsor of the universal health care bill (Senate Bill 1896) and the bill increasing tobacco tax rate to P90 per pack (Senate Bill 1605).

President Duterte.

“It is important that we tax tobacco to the max!” Ejercito said, reiterating SWP’s campaign tagline “Tax Tobacco to the Max,” which supports the passage of the highest tobacco tax rate. Sen. Emmanuel D. Pacquiao and Ejercito filed tobacco tax increase bills in 2017, pending at the Senate Committee on Ways and Means chaired by Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara.

Aside from the health impact of taxing tobacco, he also emphasized the importance of the passage of the

Senate Bill 1605 to support the funding needs of the universal health care bill. “Financing is the biggest challenge to the universal health care bill. We need billions of pesos to fund universal health care; we will need additional source of revenue, that is, from tobacco tax increase,” Ejercito said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The financing for the full implementation of the universal health care bill is estimated at P270 billion in the first year alone.

“Poor Filipinos look forward to the passage of universal health care.

Mr. Senator, we thank you for your hard work in ensuring that UHC will be funded,” Sara Salvador, national coordinator of a coalition of community organizations, Aktib, told him in response.

Meanwhile, as part of voters’ education program of the youth, PUP Youth and Social Watch Youth vowed to support Ejercito and former Rep. Erin R. Tañada III (who was also guest speaker at the assembly) for their efforts for the passage of people-centered legislation such as the universal health care bill.

Insular Life names 2 execs to key posts

I

NSULAR Life announced the following key appointments: Ma. Noemi G. Azura as president and CEO of Insular Health Care Inc. and Miriam Z. Choa as first vice president and chief marketing officer.

Azura brings with her a solid track record in business transformation, sales and distribution, audit and compliance gained through her 29 years of experience in consumer banking and health maintenance organizations (HMO). As president of Insular Health Care, Insular Life’s HMO subsidiary, Azura leads in enriching the core business to deliver best-in-class customer experience, an expanded product suite and distribution channels and operational excellence. She is also concurrently InLife chief strategy officer.

She was previously connected with

PhilCare, Citibank, American Express and Australia New Zealand Bank. She received the Icons of Healthcare Singapore Award for Female Healthcare Professional of the Year, given by the Business Excellence and Research Group Singapore for her contribution to providing access to modern-age digital health-care services to Filipinos.

She graduated from De La Salle University with a degree in accountancy, and obtained her Master in Business Administration degree from the University of the Philippines.

Choa has overall leadership of brand management, product management, segments marketing, market research, digital marketing and e-commerce. She brings with her 26 years of work experience in brand management, advertis-

AZURA

CHOA

ing, research, digital marketing and ecommerce gained from local and multinational companies where she implemented campaigns that won prestigious international and local awards.

Choa graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with an AB Communica-

tion Arts degree, and earned her Master of Arts in Communication Research degree from the University of the Philippines. She also completed a summer course on Strategic Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom.

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SSS collects P2.1B from 2nd loan restructuring

T

HE Social Security System (SSS) has reported collections amounting to P2.1 billion from the 296,086 member-borrowers who availed themselves of the second Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) offered by the state-run pension fund starting April this year.

As of end-August, a total of P2.1 billion was collected from the 296,086 member-borrowers who availed themselves of the second LRP, according to SSS President and CEO Emmanuel F. Dooc.

During the LRP’s implementation from April to August, the SSS condoned P4.3 billion in penalties, resulting in P4.9 billion in restructured loans.

“We’re glad that the LRP has once again served its purpose of providing members an immense relief from paying their loan delinquencies through flexible and affordable payment terms and conditional condonation of loan penalties,” Dooc said.

The state-run pension fund pointed out that the second LRP ends on October 1, 2018.

Members can pay the overdue loans in full within 30 days with no additional interest, or apply for an installment payment term of up to five years with a minimal interest rate of 3 percent per annum. Member-applicants should be residing in calamity areas declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) or the national

government, with the loan being overdue for six months.

SSS members who want to access the LRP should present duly accomplished LRP forms, valid identification documents, and letter of authority if it will be filed by a representative.

“If they failed to apply for the LRP, their loan interest and penalty will continue to accumulate, making it harder for them to pay back their loans. That is why we advise them to file as early as now so that they can conveniently settle their loan obligation with the nearest SSS branch and enjoy their future SSS benefits without any deduction,” he added.

In April the state-run pension fund started processing applications for loan penalty condonation under its second LRP in all SSS branches nationwide. The program is expected to benefit some 250,000 delinquent member-borrowers during the six-month implementation of the program.

The LRP allows member-borrowers to clean up their overdue loan principal and interest payments in full or by installment under a restructured term depending on their capacity.

It said borrowers with approved LRPs in 2016 and 2017, members with final benefit claim prior to the LRP availment period, and those who committed fraud against SSS are disqualified from the program. Rea Cu

Defining a strategic board

O

NE of the success factors of an association is the good working relationship between the board and the management team. The board’s key roles include strategic direction, oversight, policy setting, and fundraising while that of management are the day-to-day operations of the association. My column today will cover how a strategic board is defined, the success factors for creating one, and barriers to achieving these.

The research study, “Creating and Sustaining a Strategic Board,” by the US-based Association Laboratory, a consulting firm specializing in research and strategy for associations, defines a strategic board as one that: n Understands and values the necessity of informed, future-focused strategic discussions; n Places importance on establishing strategic goals and the corresponding standards or criteria relevant to overseeing the implementation of strategies to achieve these goals; n Models critical thinking skills, objective analysis and decision-making, as well as challenges existing assumptions regarding the association’s future role and corresponding business strategy within the industry or profession; and n Values and supports an objective and accountable partnership with management.

The most important success factors for creating and sustaining a strategic board revolve around the need for associations to: n Implement strategies for volunteer identification, recruitment and development that ensure a funnel of high-quality leadership into the association; n Develop strategies to orient all volunteers of their role and the unique characteristics and corresponding expectations of a peer-topeer decision-making environment; Have and be led by a chief executive officer and management team that understand and model strategic thinking and can apply these competencies to support the board; n Make their business processes support the board’s ability to make decisions within a strategic framework; and n Create and support a culture of personal and organizational accountability and continuous improvement.

On the other hand, the biggest challenges to creating and sustain-

Association World Octavio Peralta ing a strategic board include: n Being pressured to make poor decisions by external industry or professional influences; n Not composed of individuals with the necessary skills or competencies; and n Not having appropriate expectations regarding their role on the board, or the role of the board within the organization.

For an association, the challenges include: n Not investing sufficient resources in the orientation, training and ongoing support of a strategic board; n Not led by a chief elected officer or chief executive officer with the commitment and competencies to sustain a strategic board; n Reinforces a culture that focuses on short-term, operational thinking and decision-making and disincentivizes strategic thought and action; n Operates a governance system that creates substantial barriers to strategic decision-making and the establishment of a strategic board culture; and Has operational or financial environment and support systems in a state of flux.

Despite these challenges, the research suggests that associations which develop and sustain strategic leadership decision-making bodies are well-positioned to be successful in an increasingly complex and competitive world.

The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE is holding its Sixth Associations Summit on November 23 and 24, 2018, at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

The event is hosted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and supported by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, TPB and the Philippine International Convention Center.

E-mail: obp@adfiap.org

The Regions BusinessMirror

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Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Friday, September 28, 2018

Duterte declares Ompong-hit regions under state of calamity

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

P

@BNicolasBM

RESIDENT Duterte has declared state of calamity in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon) and Cordillera Administrative Region due to the “widespread destruction, substantial damage and deaths” brought by Typhoon Ompong (international code name Mangkhut).

Signed on September 25, Presidential Proclamation 593 was issued after the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recommended the declaration of a state of calamity in those regions.

Under Section 6 of Republic Act 7581 or The Price Act, prices of basic necessities in an area under state of calamity shall be frozen at their prevailing price, unless otherwise declared by the President.

“The state of calamity shall remain in force and effect until lifted by the President,” the proclamation read.

The proclamation also stated that the declaration of state of calamity “will hasten the rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation

efforts of the government and the private sector, including any international humanitarian assistance.”

Also, the declaration will also provide basis for price-control measures, which can mitigate the economic impact to affected populations and effectively provide the national government, as well as the local government units, ample latitude in the utilization of funds for recovery and rehabilitation efforts and delivery of basic needs and services.

All departments and other concerned government agencies are hereby directed to implement and execute rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation work and are also directed to coordinate with, and provide or augment the basic

services and facilities of, affected local government units.

On Monday Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said farm sector damage caused by Ompong has reached P26.7 billion, the highest since Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) wrought havoc in 2013 and caused P35 billion in production losses.

The Department of Agriculture also reported that Region 2 suffered the most production losses at P13.944 billion, with about 786,240 metric tons of output damaged and 303,827 farmers affected.

Meanwhile, infrastructure damage caused by Typhoon Ompong has already reached P6.948 billion, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Workers in 4 regions to get wage increases

M

INIMUM-WAGE earners in four more regions may soon finally get additional pay, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Citing the report from the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NPWC), Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Northern Mindanao is expected to release its new wage order in the coming days.

He explained the RTWPB-Region 10 has submitted the draft wage order to the NWPC for review after completing the necessary public consultations.

After the review, the labor official said the wage order will be published before it could take effect.

“I believe that will be the first wage order among those regional wage boards which have not yet issued a new wage order,” Lagunzad said.

Aside from Northern Mindanao, he said the RTWPBs in Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa and National Capital Region (NCR) are also in various stages of processing their wage deliberations.

Next to Region 10, the RTWPB in Regions 2 and 4B are the closest to completing the process in the issuance of a new wage order since they are scheduled to start their public hearing on October 12 and 4, respectively.

“After the public hearing there is a deliberation. And once a decision is made, the wage order can be ef-

fective 15 days after publication,” Lagunzad said.

The RTWPB-NCR is expected to be the last to issue a new wage order, since its wage consultations will only start after the anniversary date of its previous wage order on October 5, 2018.

Lagunzad said members of the RTWPB-NCR will meet next to determine final date of its public hearing.

“The tentative date of publication of notice of public hearing is October 8,” Lagunzad said.

He clarified there is still no definite amount for the possible wage hike for NCR since it will still subjected to change during public consultations.

As of September 7, NWPC reported the following regions have already issued their respective wage orders for 2018: Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Labor groups criticized previous wage orders released by 11 RTWPBs, stating it is insufficient to allow workers to pay for rising costs of basic goods and services.

Labor Undersecretary Joel B. Maglunsod admitted the wage increase may be indeed insufficient for the daily needs of workers so they are exploring other means to provide them assistance. He said this includes their proposal to Malacañang to provide a cash subsidy for minimum-wage earners and to impose a price freeze for certain basic commodities. Samuel P. Medenilla

Boracay Water prepares for more sewer connections

B

ORACAY Island Water Co. (Boracay Water) announced recently its readiness to accept new sewer connections and treat huge volume of wastewater coming from residential and commercial customers on Boracay Island.

The company issued a statement in response to the latest memorandum order released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which directed hotels, resort and similar establishments to connect to the island’s concessionaires, in preparation for the Island’s scheduled reopening in October.

The order was signed by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and dated September 18. It provided the guidelines on the installation or construction of individual sewage treatment plants (STPs) per establishment in Boracay. At the same time, the DENR ordered concessionaires to collect and treat the wastewater of their respective clients.

It also ordered concessionaires to issue certifications that their respective customers are either connected

to the sewer line or have their own compliant individuals STPs. The said certification will serve as a requirement for the hotel or establishment to operate come opening date on October 26.

The world-renowned Boracay is famous for its white-sand beaches and pristine waters. But direct discharge of untreated wastewater contaminated surrounding waters to the point that the island experienced algal bloom, a sign of the presence of high levels of coliform bacteria in the water.

The government closed the island for six months starting on April 26.

As part of a directive, the concessionaires are asked to provide the DENR with data on water billed volume and volume of wastewater received for treatment for monitoring and planning purposes.

The memorandum also requested all hotels having their own individuals STPs to discharge their treated eff luents through the sewer lines and treated water lines of their water providers for eventual proper disposal. Jonathan L. Mayuga

FISH MONTH

Fisherman Romeo Bonaobra walks along the shore of Barangay Paang Bundok, Gumaca, Quezon; his fishing ground, on August 19. Bonaobra looks forward to more bountiful harvest after storms pass in the coming months. BERNARD TESTA

DENR intensifies protection of Masinloc-Oyon Bay MPA

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HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently launched Maggie, a mascot flagship species of the Masinloc-Oyon Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape (MOBPLS), as it vowed to intensify the protection of the region’s coastal and marine resources, particularly in the town of Masinloc, Zambales province.

Maggie’s first public appearance was during the September 22 simultaneous International Coastal Cleanup activity spearheaded by the DENR Region 3 (Central Luzon), particularly in the coastal areas of Zambales province.

The launching of the mascot flagship species signals the intensified campaign on the protection and conservation of marine resources in the more than 7,000 -hectare Masinloc- Oyon Bay MPA, an initiative under the Costal and Marine Ecosystem Management Program (CMEMP).

Arthur Salazar, deputy director for Technical Services of DENR Central Luzon, said in a statement that mascot Maggie symbolizes the blue-spotted rabbitfish (scientific name Siganus corallinus), which is now threatened in the MOBPLS. Salazar explained that Maggie was named after the pristine Magalawa Island in Zambales. He added fishing for this flagship species is now being regulated by the

local government unit because of its declining population.

He said that local communities chose the blue-spotted rabbitfish as flagship species because of its economic and ecological importance, being a major food source and livelihood for the fisherfolk in the area.

“We have to protect and save our fish resources and other marine life because they are an important part of our ecosystem and a source of food to the increasing coastal population,” Salazar pointed out.

According to Minerva Martinez, chief of the conservation division, Maggie is a symbol to bring public awareness on the protection and conservation of coastal and marine resources and to bring unity of purpose in protecting the Masinloc-Oyon Bay. “Maggie is not just a mascot but is meant to remind us that each of our actions, whether big or small, has an impact on other living creatures. Caring for our oceans and waterways not only benefits us but [also] a myriad of other living creatures,” she explained.

The Masinloc-Oyon Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape were declared a protected area by virtue of the newly legislated Republic Act 11038 or the E-Nipas Act, together with 31 other marine-protected areas in the Philippines. This ensures that the over

7,000-hectare area in Zambales will be protected to maintain its natural conditions to the greatest extent possible.

CMEMP aims to comprehensively manage, address and effectively reduce the drivers and threats of degradation of the coastal and marine ecosystem in order to achieve and promote sustainability of ecosystem services, food security and climatechange resiliency for the benefit of the present and future generations.

According to a recent study, the Philippines’s coastal and marine resources have a value of over P24 billion but support fisheries worth P125 billion annually. It has been estimated that the total potential and sustainable economic net benefits from coral reefs in the nation is worth P55 billion annually, the study added.

“CMEMP will effectively not just aim to protect the MOBPLS, nor will it be limited to Central Luzon’s 803 kilometers of coastline. Rather, it aims to create a network of the various protected areas of the Philippines, thereby strengthening our capabilit y in car ing for them.”

Salazar said.

DENR reports state that the program is anchored in six approaches, including integrated coastal management and valuation of ecosystem services. Jonathan L. Mayuga

A9

Low industry yield to stymie quality of desiccated coconut

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CIT Y—The quality of the country’s desiccated coconut products is at risk as the industry grapples with poor yield.

Such discourages possible client countries from entering in regular supply contract with Filipino producers, a study has indicated.

“For coconut products, in terms of desiccated coconuts, the Philippines is known to have the best quality,” according to Marian Boquirin, consultant of the Value Chain Analysis of the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture.

An accompanying advantage of the Philippine desiccated coconut products is also having the biggest desiccated coconut manufacturing plants in the country, and in Mindanao.

Desiccated coconut refers to the meat of the coconut that has been grated and powdered and dried.

This is used in a variety of recipes of cakes, pastries and cookies.

But Boquirin said “one problem that we will have is on the price competitiveness, as well as the volume and stable supply of nuts.”

She added the country would have to boost its yield by rehabilitating and replanting the old coconut farms.

“For coconut, the most critical factor would be the replacement or replanting of old, aging tress where we need both the cooperation of the farmers, private-sector players and government support,” Boquirin said.

She added the government “cannot do replanting it alone.”

“We would need lead firms to invest in the replanting of the trees and the farmers to take care of the plants, apply good agricultural practices, follow planting protocols,” she explained.

Boquirin said the Philippine coconut industry could compete in both traditional and nontraditional coconut products.

“But there is a need to improve the competitiveness in terms of the price and ensuring the quality of coconut products, as well as its product differentiation.”

Its competitive advantage could be shown in the recent PRDP’s National Value Chain Analysis Stakeholders’ Consultation for coconut.

The consultation revealed the Philippines ranks first in terms of hectares of farm area. The country is the second-largest producer of coconut among its top competitors like Brazil, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand.

In 1997 the Philippines achieved a 15-percent increase in terms of planted area from 3.13 million hectares to 3.61 million hectares in 2017, or an increase of almost 477.887 hectares.

Last year’s first-quarter production rate also increased from 3.07 metric tons (MT) to 3.3 MT in first quarter of 2018.

“The increase happened after the recovery of coconut farms from calamities like typhoon and dry spells,” the PRDP said.

Value adding efforts have gone far also.

Currently, the PRDP said there are existing process plants for coconut products in the country. These include 65 oil mills with a milling capacity of 3,975,340 metric ton per year, 17 companies that process desiccated coconut with total capacity of 549.787 MT per year, more than 109 processors of virgin coconut oil, about 20 manufacturers for coconut water, a total of 1,301,410 decorticating husk per day or equivalent to 130 MT of coir, 16 charcoal plants with total production capacity of 59,149 MT, 20 companies that process activated carbon, and 30 producers of cocosyrup with to total volume production of 2,305 MT.

A10 Friday, September 28, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

How old is a criminal?

A

S parents or other adults in authority over children such as schoolteachers, we face an enormous responsibility raising future generations. We know that discipline must be instilled at an early age. We must teach that actions have consequences, whether it is touching a hot stove or punching a sibling.

However, this training must account for the age of the child. Discipline must include some form of punishment at times, and here also, there must be a critical balance. The “punishment must fit the crime” and as adults we must understand and teach the difference between a mistake and a deliberate action.

We know that humans of any age can be monsters. Even pre-adolescent children are capable of horrible actions including murder, torture, and rape just like adults. These incidents may be aberrations, but society has an obligation to deal with juvenile crimes, as well as for adults.

The statistics for juvenile—under the age of majority, which is usually 18 years of age—crime are disturbing. Juveniles committed 17 percent of all serious violent crimes in the United States. For society trying to protect itself, the critical question becomes, at what age should “criminal responsibility” be applicable?

Children’s rights and penal reform groups in general claim that a child under the age of criminal responsibility lacks the capacity to commit a crime. This means they are immune from criminal prosecution.

The significance of the minimum age is that it recognizes that a child at that particular age has attained the emotional, mental and intellectual maturity to be held responsible for his actions.

However, what should the age of criminal responsibility be? It varies widely from nation to nation.

The United States government can charge a child with criminal offenses at 11 years old. But many individual states do not have a minimum age and leave it to the discretion of the courts. Currently, the Philippine criminal responsibility age is 15 years old and there is a push to lower that age.

Among 160 countries, the average age is 14 years old for criminal prosecution. These include Bolivia, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan. However, there are some striking differences. In Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay—interestingly all Latin American nations—responsibility comes with majority at age 18. Canada and Belgium declare that at age 12, you have criminal liability.

Yet, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and Switzerland can bring a person before a criminal court at age 10. In the United Kingdom, including Scotland and in Indonesia, a child can be declared a criminal at age eight.

Perhaps shockingly, the nations of India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the nation that many people would like to see the Philippines emulate— Singapore—can charge a person with a criminal offense at seven years old. Ten years ago the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended an “absolute minimum” age of 12 for criminal responsibility.

Senate Bill 2026 filed by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 to lower the age of criminal liability from the current 15 to 13 years old.

Filipinos are slightly more inclined to keep the age at 15 years. Some people say that the government should only concentrate on the root causes of crime. Others claim that the age of responsibility is “only a number” that is completely arbitrary. But the law requires a “number” and we must decide what that number is.

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A lasting legacy of laws Sonny M. Angara

BETTER DAYS

L

AST Monday, September 24, was the 84th birth anniversary of my father, the former Senate President.

My father wore many hats. He was a state university president, an educator, a cabinet member, an agriculturist and farmer, a banker, diplomat, lawyer and law professor, constitution drafter, Namfrel chairman, hotelier, patron of the arts (as a former chair of the Metropolitan Museum and the Philippine Philharmonic), sports supporter, book writer and publisher, newspaper columnist (mostly for the Manila Bulletin since 1980!), husband, father and grandfather.

Of the many roles he played, his time as senator of the Republic was his most treasured—next only to being a doting lolo to his grand kids.

Indeed, he was arguably the longestserving senator in the post-Edsa Senate. He called them the best years of his life. The relationships and bonds he formed there were perhaps among his most enduring.

He understood the important role the Senate played in the nation’s evolution and the improvement of its people’s lives. And that’s why he worked so diligently—albeit quietly—on numerous landmark legislations that even current generations are enjoying.

To safeguard the youth’s future, he championed their education, instituting reforms like the Early Years Act, which strengthened early childhood care and development; the K to 12 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act; the Free High School Act; and the laws which created the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. He also conceived the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education, which by far is the biggest government scholarship program in the country.

To provide millions of Filipinos access to proper health care, he

‘The Rule of Law’ Part One

Remarks by Ambassador Albert F. del Rosario, former secretary of Foreign Affairs, at the Conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities by the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) on September 25, 2018, at the Rev. Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

F

IRST of all, I would like to proffer my profound thanks to the Ateneo for sharing its tradition of excellence with us on this incredible day. It is a great honor to receive this conferment from the Ateneo and I am deeply humbled by it.

With your kind indulgence, I have chosen to speak on the “Rule of Law” which I believe to be a timely and important subject. For many of us, this concept of the rule of law applies only in a domestic concept.

That is to say, it governs the relationships within a Nation State, between its citizens and various juridical entities, within the government, and between the government and the people.

Indeed, all countries should be governed by the rule of law. Democracies, as the saying goes, are governments of law and not of men.

However, what we must never forget is that the rule of law must also govern relations among states

and other international entities.

After suffering two world wars, the international community had strived to establish international law as the bedrock foundation for the lawful governance of global affairs.

The United Nations is the centerpiece of these efforts to outlaw aggression between states and to promote more peaceful relations.

Other international mechanisms, including the Bretton Woods system and the multilateral trading system anchored on the World Trade Organization, similarly aimed to have more order, stability and predictability in international economic relations.

Now, however, this international order seems beset by challenges on

authored the PhilHealth Law, the Nursing Act of 1991, the Generics Law of 1988, and the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers, among many others.

He shepherded numerous agriculture laws, including the Magna Carta of Small Farmers, the Rural Banks Act and the Agricultural Tariffication Act. From 1999 to 2001, he served as agriculture secretary, gaining the rare opportunity to implement a law he conceived—the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act. He introduced significant banking reforms including the Personal Equity and Retirement Account Act, and the Credit Information System Act. He helped small and large businesses through the Cooperative Code of the Philippines, and the Magna Carta for Small Enterprises, among many others. He helped ensure that our government remained upright, transparent and corruption-free by establishing the Office of the Ombudsman and introducing the Procurement Reform Act. Overseas Filipino workers can now vote because he authored the Overseas Absentee Voting Act. Our grandfathers and grandmothers enjoy discounts on food, medicine, public transport and other essentials because he authored the Senior Citizens Law. Throughout his career, my father always acted on an urge to give back.

He pushed for all forms of government support and assistance because he himself wouldn’t have reached far and achieved much in life if he didn’t receive a leg-up from others.

He used to say that not once did he have to pay for his education, from Baler Elementary School to the University of Michigan, because of the scholarships granted to him. If it weren’t for such educational support, he may not have gone on to establish one of the most recognized and sought-after law firms in the country, become UP president, get elected to the Senate, serve as agriculture secretary, or represent our nation’s interests on the world stage. Perhaps that’s why he worked so hard to make sure that our government worked to give every Filipino a fighting chance in life. Indeed, like I said during my eulogy for him at the Senate, my father was a boy from Baler who made good and who gave back.

I am certain he enjoyed every minute he devoted his time and energy for the nation’s betterment. And so as we celebrate his first birth anniversary since his passing, we give him proper tribute by remembering the lasting legacy of laws he has left us with.

Sen. Sonny M. Angara was elected in 2013, and is now the chairman of the Senate Committees on Local Government, and Ways and Means.

Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara.

all sides. Alienated, disaffected and angry elements appear intent on tearing down much of what the international community has built in the post-World War II era.

We face threats from embittered, anti-immigrant and right wing populists, to economic super-nationalists, to the neo-authoritarians pushing against liberal democracy at home and asserting their power overseas, to religious extremists of so many kinds.

Here, in our own region, we have seen an example of such unilateralist action right on our very doorstep. In the South China Sea, despite our best efforts to find a peaceful and lasting resolution to our disputes that would account for the legitimate interests of all parties, we find China still obstinately acting in a contrary manner.

As a result, we are now in a new era of uncertainty. There is now disarray in the ranks of governments. We are casting around for ways to respond in a meaningful fashion to preserve the established order, while answering the frustration and fury of many electorates.

To be fair, much of the disenchantment arises from the failures of the

current systems. Despite its many achievements, the United Nations has seemed increasingly powerless against so many instances of conflict.

The UN did help in preventing the outbreak of general war since 1945 alongside the nuclear superpower balance. But there has been an explosion of substate conflict involving nonstate actors and as well terrible humanitarian catastrophes.

Economic globalization did reduce the number of absolute poor in the world, lifting up many developing nations, enabling them to participate and contribute at unprecedented levels in the global economy. But that progress has been uneven and too many have been left behind. Furthermore, repeated financial meltdowns, greater than the Great Depression of the 1930s, also a product of globalization, has shaken the core of the global economy.

The IT revolution has taken down barriers, facilitated communication, boosted creativity and productivity and brought people together more closely than ever before. But, paradoxically, the IT revolution has also fuelled extremism and hate.

See “The Rule,” A11

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

God: Let’s talk through faith

Online manners and right conduct

BusinessMirror

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

SERVANT LEADER

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”—Jeremiah 33:2.

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S we continue our journey in life, God is always calling us to follow Him through His words and through faith. In spite of our many sins, God never gave up on us and continuously showed us His light and grace. However, our journey in life always has challenges that, sometimes, these make us feel weary and test our faith in God. These challenges sometimes confuse us and lead us to question the presence of God. Recognizing that situational reality, we in Radio Veritas have come up with the idea of spreading the truth about God, using not only our existing platforms but also the mainstream media and through big screens.

Every now and then, new media technologies are being introduced, and we are taking that opportunity to bring all the faithful to new evangelization. We are totally maximizing the use of mainstream media by widening the scope of our collaboration with our media partners and by looking for other forms of media, as these will help our community to grow and learn about God. To achieve our goal of evangelizing the Catholics, Radio Veritas Asia and Radio Veritas 846 successfully collaborated with Pioneer Films, DDBS Advertising Unlimited Inc., Inquirer Libre, Inquirer Bandera, the BusinessMirror, Skyhigh Media, BakeRite, Aficionado, PhilPilgrimage.Com and Colegio de Sta. Teresa de Avila Foundation Inc. for the special screening of the movie An Interview with God on October 1, 6 p.m. at the Trinoma Mall Cinema 6.

The film will showcase a story about struggles, faith, reflection, life, relationships, mysteries and self-realization about who do we say God is. It brings the idea of talking to God and raising

the question: “If you have questions for God, what would they be?” Moreover, the film was made for charities and will focus on foster care.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not forget that God is always with us and will remain in our life to give us strength and courage to face the darkest moments of our life.

We have to listen, “for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

For inquiries, please call 925-7932 to 39 local 130 or 132 and look for Bro. Clifford Sorita or Ms. Audrey Elli.

Netizens may also visit the radio station’s web site at www.veritas846.ph and follow its Twitter and Instragram accounts @veritasph, and Facebook page @Veritasph for more details.

To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www.caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@ gmail.com.

The nature of ownership for condominium corporations Atty. Jose Emilio M. Teves

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS

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S of September 19, 2018, there are reportedly 40,000 foreigners granted Alien Employment Permits for the last 18 months. All of these individuals would need places to live while they contribute to the Philippine economy.

The simplest solution for anyone would be to have their own property.

However, we must remember that, as a general rule, aliens cannot acquire land in the Philippines. The 1987 Constitution embodies this principle: “No Private Lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.” These qualified persons and corporations are Filipinos, or a corporation/association, which has 60 percent Filipino ownership.

Unless an alien wishes to become a Filipino citizen, it appears that an alien cannot acquire private lands. However, Bernas, citing JG Summit v. Court of Appeals (GR 124293) notes that the prohibition does not apply to all immovable or real property as defined by the Civil Code. Such property, which is considered immovable for being attached to land, include buildings and construction of all kinds attached to the soil. Simply, the alien can own the house, but not the land it is built on. It is possible that the alien is just leasing the privately owned land.

Furthermore, there is a simpler, more cost-effective way for an alien to have a home while he stays in the Philippines—rent real property. The 1987 Constitution allows foreigners to enter into long-term leases over private lands and real estate.

If the alien wishes, he may also purchase a condominium unit. The Condominium Act defines the condominium,

thus: “A condominium is an interest in real property consisting of separate interest in a unit in a residential, industrial or commercial building and an undivided interest in common, directly or indirectly, in the land on which it is located and in other common areas of the building.” It is a condominium corporation that shall be the entity created holding “title to the common areas, including the land, or the appurtenant interests in such areas in which the holders of separate interest shall automatically be members or shareholders, to the exclusion of others, in proportion to the appurtenant interest of their respective units in the common areas.”

Putting everything together, it is clear that it is the condominium corporation that holds the title to the land upon which the condominium is built. As is worded by the law, what is sold or rented is the interest in the real property, and not the real property itself. This allows aliens currently working in the country to validly purchase condominium units.

The author is a junior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as, a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice.

If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at josemilio. teves@bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001 local 150.

Friday, September 28, 2018 A11

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RE there no rules online?

Can one just kill anyone virtually?

If there is one thing I am thankful for the e-mail, it is its lack of protocol. Or, maybe it has a new protocol.

The death of letter-writing did not begin with the slow demise of the postal services but with letters that begin with the word “Greetings.”

Some even abused the goodwill of this writing tradition by including “Greetings of Peace.”

Growing up when Christmas caroling was not yet within the dominance of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, I was always tasked with writing the Christmas carol letter, the one that begins with “Greetings” or “Peace.” Working in a government corporation, I was surprised that business letters started to have this salutation. Be the letter to an auditor or a complaining customer, it always felt like the Nativity. So much for the rules of business-letter writing; the corporate letters sounded like they were written by the descendants of the Three Magi—without the divinity and fate connected to those Wise Men, without even the wisdom.

Are we not ever thankful when the Internet gave us the e-mail? The norms shifted: Letters were meant to be brisk and quick, perhaps as a response to the dawning of the “Send” command. Touch that key and the world—or a portion of the massive universe of communicators—receives anything you have composed.

Soon, the e-mail underwent evolutions. Chat rooms were set up. We did not simply write; we entered that room and participated in the most awesome, forbidden, unforgettable interactions. Anonymity became sexy. Sex became anonymous and, if you are skilled in the ways of the new words, unanimous. Imagine the varied scenarios. The conjured identity is the key to a new kinship. One could create new, altered identities; one could invent as many identities as possible.

New letters were generated. “U” became universal; acronyms were shaped, many of them without any

The Rule. . .

continued from A10

More ominously, it has permitted cybercriminality, which respects neither law nor national borders, to spread like an uncontrollable cancer.

What does all this mean for the Philippines? How do we manage in an era of uncertainty that is perhaps deeper and darker than at any time in a generation? We seem to be drifting, like so many other nations, into a nebulous unknown.

The first, I believe, is to realize that the Philippines has a fundamental and enduring stake in the international system.

We have always been an open and welcoming country. Over the past 20 years, we have also made profound decisions to become ever more engaged with the world in all dimensions. Politically, economically, technologically and in terms of people-to-people relations, the Philippines has not been wanting in efforts to reach out and work with other countries for the common good.

The second, and more important, is that the Philippines is not insignificant on the world stage.

As a member of the community of nations, we have been active in global efforts to create rules for international order that would save us from a dog-eat-dog world of competing powers and naked interests. The Philippines was a charter member of the UN Charter. We worked for greater respect for humanity as a drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We participated

guide to understanding.

And soon, conversations were established and designed online, without any rule, without any guideline. The idea was that the human groups civilized to a point would bring their own sense of civilization—decorum and dignity, polish and politesse, breeding and bearing—to the untried exchanges and verbal engagement. But that would not be the case. There are irritants online as there are aggravations offline, in the traditional domains of communications.

To address the burden that I have to face everytime I engage with anyone online, I came up with these rules, just for the sake of lightening the heaviness in my heart. In no particular order, here they are: 1. The conversations online have been given an appropriate name: thread. Therefore, when you are writing a response to a thread, follow that thread. Do not weave your own. If the thread began with someone promoting a new design for a bag, do not start to talk about apparition. Not only are apparitions different from craft, they are, at best, suspect. If you see a long-lost friend or aunt online, do not greet each other. The thread is not some street corner where you can swap hellos and farewells. There is a PM, which means you can deliver your most private desires and delusions about apparitions and the deluge away from topics on bags and baggage.

2. Be consistent. The Internet, for all its technological newness, is a human invention. It can still be affected by the principle, “things you say can come back to haunt you.” Remember what opinions you have posted with regard to certain issues. If you have rallied against the cutting of trees, make sure when your favorite politico makes his stand against it, you do not go

around rallying behind this leader.

The law of Karma can always transform you into an opinionated tree in the future.

3. Do not rain on somebody else’s parade unless you are doing an impersonation of Barbra Streisand. Besides, Streisand impersonators have become so common you can see them everywhere from Youtube to game shows with white mice as mediators. When someone has written a fine, moving essay about gratitude, comment on the essay. In fact, you can even post a constructive criticism of that essay. But, never, ever write lengthily about your own experience and claim that you and the writer share exactly the same situation, because verisimilitude is a trick that belongs inside a magician’s bag. Remember, again, that a thread does not allow you to be a columnist at the expense of another writer. The best thing is to apply as a writer and there write letters to the world that will forever haunt others.

When that time comes, you may forget everything about “thread” and, maybe, just maybe, if you do see that word again, it will be in the domain of tailors and seamstresses.

4. Be polite. Politeness is always fabulous and glamorous. Cordial and deferential words are like the breath of an angel when around us spew the vile and uncouth phrases from spokesmen and leaders. I have nothing against confrontational statements; they have a place in

forums where everyone is given time and space to defend to death perspectives and opinions. We are talking about online talk, the closest we can see and hear and feel the ease of the fleeting, the tenuous and singular grace of the ephemera. Do not destroy the moment.

5. Think zen, think Japanese. Cliché as this last idea may be, the Japanese concept of ichigo ichie applies to the beauty of the impermanence in an online meeting. As that old Japanese phrase implies, which literally means “one time, one meeting,” the encounter online is never assured of a repetition, of a certainty that you will meet again, even of the possibility that when you do see each other that you will exchange greetings of words. Make that encounter, that flow of dialogue exemplary and surpassing. Even the samurai warriors, it is said, would unsheathe their swords and leave them at the entrance of the teahouse so they could partake of the tea. The drinking itself was done in a long, careful ceremony because who knows whether, in that period of violent uncertainty, they would never see the same people again.

But if you must use verbal swords or guns, the online forum is not meant for you. You have to go somewhere, perhaps live in this country called the Philippines, where Asia wears a smirk, bloodshed and brutality.

actively in the decades-long effort that produced the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

The Philippines took part in United Nations peacekeeping, from Korea to the Golan Heights. We have, within our means, joined mercy and humanitarian missions, including the Red Cross.

We helped forge international rules and norms for global disarmament and arms control, for trade and development, for health, for climate change and for migration, among others.

We are one of the five founding members of the Asean and an advocate of its multiplicity of dialogue mechanisms. We helped create Apec, the East Asian Summit and the Asean Regional Forum.

Throughout this time, through successive administrations, the explicit or implicit operating assumption of the Philippines was that we were helping to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. The lodestone for all this effort, accomplished in various diplomatic forms, has been an abiding faith in the centrality of the rule of law.

As a developing country, albeit now a fast-growing one, which seeks both security and progress through engagement with the world, it is crucial for the Philippines to maintain solidarity with other countries and all stakeholders who share a similar faith. Whether it is to solidify peace and stability through Unclos in the South China Sea, or to save the rules-based multi lateral trading system in the World Trade Organization, or to protect our planet

Earth through the implementation of the Paris Accords, or to avoid a nuclear catastrophe with the NonProliferation Treaty, we must stand steadfast with responsible nations for the rule of law.

In this regard, may I recall that the Philippines has already made a tremendous contribution to the advancement of the Rule of Law. By initiating and winning its South China Sea arbitral case against China on July 12, 2016, we have shown the world that our country sought to resolve a serious dispute state-to-state in its regional neighborhood solely through legal, peaceful and transparent means.

The arbitral award safeguarded vital Philippine sovereign interests in the South China Sea against unjust encroachments by Beijing.

By ruling against the legality of the so-called nine-dash line claim, the Arbitral Tribunal demonstrated that Beijing had not acted in accordance with international law on areas affecting the maritime claims of the Philippines.

Allow me to quote Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio on this crucial point: “Among coastal states in the South China Sea, the most important aspect of the award is the ruling that China’s so-called historic nine-dash line cannot serve as legal basis to claim any part of the waters or resources of the South China Sea. China, like all the other coastal states in the South China Sea, can only claim maritime zones not exceeding 350 NM [nautical miles] from its coastline.

“The award in effect affirmed the

existence of high seas in the South China, comprising about 25 percent of the waters of the South China Sea, and all around these high seas are the EEZs [exclusive economic zones] of the adjacent coastal states. In the EEZs, all the fish, oil, gas and other mineral resources can be exploited solely, and exclusively, only by the adjacent coastal state.”

Let me also recall that the decision to go to court, so to speak, was not done rashly in haste. The Philippines tried in vain to engage with China in discussions to resolve our differences. And since the ruling, China has continued its unilateralist actions leading to an increased militarization of the South China Sea through more construction on its artificial islands and naval upgrades.

It is truly unfortunate that Beijing chose not to work with us in finding an enduring legal way out of the disputes. If Beijing had taken part in the arbitration, the legal parameters of our common concerns would have been established for the eventual longer-term resolution of our disputes through further negotiation.

Let me add further that such negotiations, after the tribunal outcome, would have placed the Philippines on a stronger footing vis-a-vis the rising power of China.

In any case, Beijing’s rejection of the arbitral ruling is considered immaterial. The ruling is now an integral part of international law.

Even the presidential spokesman has recognized this.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

To be continued