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Peso inches up on US-China trade deal

THE PESO ended sideways on Monday as the market awaits clearer details from the “phase one” deal between the US and China and as investors close their books for the year.

The local unit finished trading at P50.635 against the greenback on Monday, almost flat from its P50.64 close on Friday, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened the session at P50.65 against the dollar. Its weakest showing was at P50.67, while its intraday best was at P50.57 versus the greenback.

Dollars traded sank to $502 million from $1.327 billion on Friday.

A trader attributed the peso’s sideways movement to the market still waiting for clearer details regarding a deal between the world’s two biggest economies which have been in a 17-month long trade siege.

“The peso moved sideways with the market looking for new leads from the phase one deal as the deal is still very vague so they are on the lookout for the bigger picture. Market investors are also already closing their books as we come closer to yearend,” the trader said in a phone call.

Reuters reported that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Sunday in an interview with CBS that the “phase one” of the trade deal will nearly multiply US exports to China by a twofold for the next two years.

Mr. Lighthizer also said there would be some routine “scrubs” to the text of the deal but it is “totally done, absolutely.”

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort also said phase one deal helped the peso gain ground.

“Better BoP (balance of payments) and current account data as of the third quarter also supported the peso,” Mr. Ricafort added.

On Friday, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed the country’s BoP position in the third quarter stood at a surplus of $778 million, a reversal of the $1.9-billion deficit logged in the same period a year ago. The current account reversed to a surplus of $654 million in the third quarter from the $2.081-billion deficit a year ago.

For today, the trader sees the peso trading at P50.50-50.70 against the dollar, while Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P50.50-50.75. — LWTN with Reuters

Duterte won’t divulge net worth, Palace says

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte won’t release a copy of his net worth statement to the public, the presidential palace said on Monday, raising questions about his administration’s policy on honesty and openness.

The Office of the Ombudsman would have to decide whether to publish the president’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2018, his spokesman Salvador S. Panelo told reporters.

“As far as the president is concerned, there is no issue,” Mr. Panelo said, noting that Mr. Duterte had filed the statement before the April 30 deadline. “You want to get a copy of it, then ask the Ombudsman.”

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) earlier called Mr. Duterte “a most secretive president,” noting that eight months after the deadline, he had yet to release a copy of his net worth statement.

“Duterte, a most secretive President when it comes to the details of his wealth, does not always do what he says,” PCIJ said in a report. “Indeed, by all indications, Duterte sticks out as the lie of his own Freedom of Information edict.”

This would be the first time in the past 30 years that a president failed to release his SALN, PCIJ said. Since the SALN Law was enacted on Feb. 20, 1989, all five presidents before Mr. Duterte had publicly disclosed their annual SALNs without fail, year on year, via either the Office of the Ombudsman or the Office of the President, it added.

Mr. Panelo said Malacañang would not succumb to public pressure by forcing Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires to divulge his so-called SALN.

“We do not interfere with any constitutional body. Let them do their work,” Mr. Panelo said. He added that the president had nothing to hide.

Mr. Panelo noted that while past presidents and other government officials had made their SALN public, the law does not require this. “That’s their style. This president’s style is different but he has not transgressed any law.”

In 2016, Mr. Duterte issued Executive Order 2, which operationalized freedom of information in the Executive branch.

“All public officials are reminded of their obligation to file and make available for scrutiny their SALN in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations, and the spirit and letter of this order,” according to the order.

PCIJ said it had filed multiple requests for a copy of the president’s net worth statement and was denied because the Ombudsman had yet to finalize its new rules on the release of SALNs. — Gillian M. Cortez

Court rejects P200-B lawsuit vs Marcoses

THE country’s anti-graft court has rejected a government attempt to recover P200 billion of alleged ill-gotten assets of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and his family for lack of evidence.

In a 58-page decision, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the three-decade-old forfeiture case against Mr. Marcos, his wife Imelda, children Ferdinand Jr., Imee Marcos-Manotoc and Irene Marcos-Araneta, and Constante Rubio.

“The court acknowledges the atrocities committed during Martial Law under the Marcos regime and the ‘plunder’ committed on the country’s resources,” the court said. “However, absent sufficient evidence that may lead to the conclusion that the subject properties were indeed ill-gotten by the Marcoses, the court cannot simply order the return of the same to the national treasury,” it added.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government had accused the Marcos family of amassing P976 million in ill-gotten assets deposited in Security Bank Corp. and Trust Co. and about P711 million in the shuttered Traders Royal Bank.

They were also accused of stealing 33 parcels of residential property worth P18 million and 21,700 hectares of agricultural land in Leyte worth P33 million.

The Marcos family were also accused of stealing 625 million shares, including 2.4 million stocks of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. worth P1.6 billion.

The family were also said to have stolen $292 million deposited in foreign banks, $98 million investments in foreign bank accounts, 177 paintings, 42 crates of jewelry, Philippine and US currencies, certificates of time deposits, and jewelry worth P236 billion seized at the Honolulu Airport.

The anti-graft court has junked at least five government lawsuits seeking to recover billions of pesos of alleged stolen assets from the Marcos family and their cronies in the past four months.

In August, the Sandiganbayan rejected a P102-billion ill-gotten wealth case against Mr. Marcos, his wife and their cronies including Roberto Benedicto.

In September, the court also affirmed the dismissal of a civil case against the heirs of Luis Yulo, a known Marcos associate.

A month later, the court rejected a P1.05-billion lawsuit against Bienvenido Tantoco, Sr. and the Marcos couple involving 11 properties in the Philippines, Hawaii and Rome, shares of stocks in 19 companies, various cash, jewelry and other possessions.

Also in October, the Sandiganbayan junked a P267-million ill-gotten wealth case against the late dictator, his wife and several of their associates for insufficient evidence. — Genshen L. Espedido

Farmers get 120,000 hectares of land under agrarian reform

THE government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte has given out more than 120,000 hectares of land for agrarian purposes, according to the presidential palace.

This was more than any other regime before him, his spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement on Monday.

“The palace notes that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program was enacted more than 30 years ago but it is only during the Duterte Administration where Filipinos have witnessed a political will from the government to fully implement it,” he said.

Mr. Panelo said 120,889 hectares of land were distributed to 77,275 agrarian reform beneficiaries nationwide between July 2016 and June this year. More than 600,000 hectares of agrarian land were due for distribution when Mr. Duterte assumed office In July 2016, he said.

Under the law, unused public and private agricultural lands will be redistributed to farmers.

In February, Mr. Duterte ordered agencies to identify unused government land suitable for agricultural use and distribute these to qualified beneficiaries.

The Agrarian Reform and Justice departments issued the rules that will implement the executive order in June.

Mr. Panelo noted that at least 300,000 hectares more had been allotted for agrarian reform.

He added that said the government had also given out machinery, seeds, seedlings and farm animals to farmers.

The Agrarian Reform department will ensure that the lands remain in farmers’ hands through follow-through support services. “This is real agrarian reform.” — Gillian M. Cortez

Gov’t, Bangsamoro to resolve issues through agency

THE government expects to resolve issues between the National Government and newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the creation of an intergovernmental body.

“Through this Intergovernmental Relations Body, we hope to achieve informed and constructive discussions aimed at exploring the best plausible solutions to transform points of differences into points of cooperation,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a speech during a meeting in Davao City on Monday, according to a statement.

Officials of the National Government-Bangsamoro Government Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) met for the first time to discuss the terms of reference for the agency headed by Mr. Dominguez and Bangsamoro Minister Mohagher Iqbal.

“I am confident that we will be able to thresh out the protocols and procedures as we go along,” Mr. Dominguez said. “What is important is that we commence with the work of this vital institutional mechanism as well as move forward with the consolidation of all the institutions of regional autonomy.” — Beatrice M. Laforga

Holiday cease-fire hangs in balance

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte will leave it up to his defense advisers whether to declare a cease-fire with Maoist rebels during the holiday season, his spokesman said on Monday.

The president trusts the judgment of the Armed Forces and Interior and Local Government department on this, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said.

“I think both of them are against it and usually the president defers to whatever recommendations those people on the ground give him,” he added.

Earlier this month, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said a cease-fire was least likely to happen this holiday season.

On Sunday, the military and Defense department said they would tighten security against communist rebels, who remained a public threat. The military said it won’t recommend a cease-fire.

Mr. Duterte earlier said he would send an envoy to Europe where communist leader Jose Maria Sison is in self-exile, in a bid to resume peace talks. — Gillian M. Cortez

Gov’t meeting with Maynilad, Manila Water will be next year

JUSTICE SECRETARY Menardo I. Guevarra said a date has yet to be set for the government’s meeting with the two Metro Manila water concessionaires regarding their contracts, and it will not be taking place before the end of the year. “For discussion pa muna uli sa (again at the) Cabinet sa next meeting in early January,” he told reporters in a message through Viber. Mr. Guevarra said a team has already been formed to draft the revised concession agreements with Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and Manila Water, Inc. The team is composed of lawyers from the Office of the Solicitor General, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, Department of Finance, and Department of Justice. President Rodrigo R. Duterte has lashed at the two companies and ordered the revision due to alleged onerous provisions in the water distribution contracts, which were originally signed in 1987. Mr. Guevarra said the department found a “dozen provisions deemed onerous,” including the non-interference of the government in rate-setting and the government’s liability to the corporation in case they suffer losses. The Justice secretary also said the extension of their contracts until 2037 from the initial 2022 is irregular. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Davao de Oro capital signs agreement with LANDBANK for e-payment system

NABUNTURAN, the capital of Davao de Oro province, has signed an agreement with Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and systems provider Rameses Systems Office for an electronic payment scheme for business permits and other fees. Lucky Siegfred M. Balleque, Department of Trade and Industry-Davao de Oro provincial director, said the partnership was inked in November and the e-payment system is now being developed. The system, he said, will “help those who will renew their business permits because they will only need a good Internet connection and an account with LandBank so that they could pay the fees even without going to the BPLO (Business Permit and Licensing Office), provided their documents are in order.” The system will compute the applicant’s taxes, which can be deducted from the LandBank account. Two years ago, the municipal government also tapped Rameses Systems for the upgrade of its Enhanced Tax Revenue and Collection System, which was started in 2009 with support from the Australian Assistance for International Development. Mr. Balleque said it is hard for other municipalities of the province to develop a similar payment system “because of the unstable Internet connection.” He added, “We hope the providers will be able to upgrade their systems so that other LGUs (local government units) will be able to replicate this system.”

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Meanwhile, Mr. Balleque said they are optimistic of attracting more businesses in the province with its recent name change to Davao de Oro from Compostela Valley. “We’ve been pushing for new investments in the province and that we hope the change of name will help us catch the attention of prospective investors,” he told BusinessWorld. He said the provincial government has continuously been facilitating business matching between locals and their counterparts, either from other parts of the country or foreign, abroad. Last year, the province received about P1.3 billion worth of new investment leads after the holding of a business forum. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

BDO to boost financial literacy campaign for OFWs, their families in Mindanao

BDO Unibank Inc. will enhance its financial literacy activities in Mindanao next year to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families better manage their funds. At a press conference Saturday during the bank’s event to honor OFWs, BDO Senior Vice President Geneva T. Gloria said they will “collaborate with the (SM) malls” in providing financial education to OFWs and their relatives in Mindanao. The bank will also tap its subsidiary BDO Network Bank, which has about 100 branches in Mindanao. “Raising their financial knowledge should start at the onset, meaning, we teach them what they can do with their hard-earned money by allocating a portion to savings and looking for investments which can serve their-term goals,” Ms. Gloria, also the head of remittance distribution, said. BDO’s Kabayan Savings, a product specifically for OFWs, has about two million accounts. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

5 dead, 6 missing in Mindanao earthquake

FIVE PEOPLE have been confirmed to have died, all in Davao del Sur province, due to the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Mindanao on Dec. 15.

Three deaths were at the three-floor Southern Trade commercial building in Padada town that collapsed, while six others are reportedly still trapped inside, according to Davao del Sur Provincial Information Officer Hiru Gustavo A. Undalok.

Rescue and retrieval operations were ongoing as of Monday as emergency teams coped with continued aftershocks.

The two other deaths, as reported by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, were a six-year old girl in Matanao town and another person in Hagonoy.

Meanwhile, all major thoroughfares in the affected provinces are “passable,” the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) reported on Monday.

The DPWH regional and district offices are still conducting assessments to determine the extent of damage and check on the structural integrity of other roads, bridges, and public buildings.

Several local governments have suspended classes as well as work until DPWH and local engineers have given clearance to buildings.

“I have advised the regional prosecutor covering the Davao provinces to abide by any directive of the building official to temporarily stop work until the Hall of Justice and other structures housing our prosecutors’ offices have been inspected and cleared,” Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra told reporters in a mobile-phone message.

On relief operations, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Davao regional office said it has so far distributed about P1.178 million in goods to 1,145 families in the affected towns of Matanao, Padada, and Digos City.

A satellite operation center has been set up at the capitol complex in Digos City to “monitor the status of the internally displaced persons” as well as coordinate overall relief operations. — Carmelito Q. Francisco with reports from Vann Marlo M. Villegas and Arjay L. Balinbin

All hands on deck

Rescue units — including the Eastern Mindanao Command’s 512th Engineering Battalion, police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the local disaster management office — work together for the search, rescue, and retrieval operations at the collapsed Southern Trade commercial building in Padada, Davao del Sur following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Dec. 15. Emergency response teams from various local governments in Mindanao have also been deployed to help in the operations.

Nationwide round-up

VP Robredo defers drug war report in earthquake’s wake

OVP PHOTO

VICE PRESIDENT Maria Leonor G. Robredo on Monday deferred the release of her report on the government’s drug war, citing the need to focus first on assisting those affected by Sunday’s earthquake in the Davao Region. In a press conference, Ms. Robredo said in Filipino that it would be “very wrong timing” to tend to the report on the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) amid the calamity. “Meron pa namang panahon para pag-usapan ito (There is still time to talk about this),” she said. Ms. Robredo was appointed co-chair of ICAD by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last November 6, but was fired after 19 days for supposedly failing her duties. Her designation came after she criticized the government’s anti-drug campaign, specifically on the alleged high death toll. Ms. Robredo was not given access to the list of high-value targets of the anti-illegal drugs campaign during her stint. Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo criticized Ms. Robredo’s decision to postpone the release of her report, hinting that she has nothing irregular to reveal. “As I said, kung meron siyang ilalalabas na masama o iregularidad, dapat (if there is something bad or irregular, it should be that) from the very time of discovery, dapat nilabas niya (she should have revealed it then). Apparently, wala naman (There is none),” Mr. Panelo said at a briefing in Malacañang. — Genshen L. Espedido and Gillian M. Cortez

House committee approves consolidated OFWs department bill

THE HOUSE of Representatives’ committee on appropriations approved on Monday the appropriation provisions in the substitute bill that will create the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Foreign Employment. The still unnumbered substitute bill, which consolidates 39 measures, will be known as the Department of Filipinos Overseas (DFO) Act of 2019. Under the bill, the new department will be tasked to formulate, recommend, and implement national policies, plans, programs, and guidelines that will ensure the protection of OFWs and their families. Section 23 of the substitute bill states that “the amount needed for the initial operation of the Department shall be taken from the current years of appropriation of the agencies, entities, divisions, sections or bodies subsumed with the Department,” adding that “sums as may be necessary for the continued implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.” Rep. Mario Vittorio A. Mariño (Batangas, 5th District), chair of the committee on government reorganization, noted during the hearing on Monday the major economic contribution of OFWs through their remittances, which account for 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that OFW remittances grew by 4.6% in October year-to-date. Mr. Mariño also said the creation of an OFW department would address persistent problems, particularly human trafficking and inadequate safety nets for displaced OFWs. — Genshen L. Espedido

Nation at a Glance — (12/17/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Nation at a Glance — (12/17/19)

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