Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 10149

Senate panel approves P8.2-B OP funding

THE Senate finance committee on Wednesday approved the P8.201-billion budget of the Office of the President (OP) for 2020 with no interpellation.

Former special assistant to the president and Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go chaired the finance committee sub-panel that approved the budget within 11 minutes.

“Opposite sides na tayo ngayon, pero (we are on opposite sides now, but) it doesn’t mean that I will not scrutinize you all,” Mr. Go told representatives of the Office of the President, led by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea.

The OP budget is 21.07% higher in 2020.

Some P1.070 billion will fund personnel services, P6.703 billion maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), and P427.46 million capital outlays. The same spending plan was approved by the House Appropriations committee in under six minutes last week.

When asked about the swift approval, Mr. Go vouched for the performance of the OP officials he has worked with.

“Alam ko naman ‘yung mga taga-Office of the President, kilala ko naman sila (I know the people at OP). I’ve been there for the past three years,” he told reporters in a chance interview Wednesday.

“At meron pa naman plenary, kung gusto nilang magtanong, scrutinize nila (the budget can still be questioned at plenary).”

The House appropriations committee on Tuesday approved the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, as proposed under the National Expenditure Program.

The panel endorsed the 2020 General Appropriations Bill for plenary deliberation on Wednesday, with a final approval target of Oct. 4.

Both Houses plan to submit the 2020 national budget by Dec. 15 for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Foreign chambers see amendments to FIA raising investment

THE Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) on Wednesday welcomed the final approval by the House of Representatives of the bill which proposes to amend the Foreign Investments Act (FIA).

With 201 affirmative votes, six negative votes and seven abstentions, House Bill No. 300, which proposes to amend Republic Act No. 7042, or the Foreign Investments Act (FIA) of 1991, was passed by the chamber on third and final reading.

The amendments ease the restrictions on foreigners practicing their professions in the Philippines.

“This ends the confusion in the Foreign Investment Negative List of ‘professions’… There are 45 laws for professions, each of which contains a reciprocity provision allowing qualified foreign professionals to practice in the Philippines so long as their home country allows Filipinos to do the same,” JFC said in a statement.

Another amendment to the FIA that the bill proposes is reducing to 15 from 50 the minimum number of direct local hires required of foreign investors setting up small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with minimum paid-in capital of $100,000.

“The passage of this FIA amendments bill will attract new investment and give smaller foreign investors a better opportunity to start a business in the Philippines, especially in creative industries and innovative enterprises. At the same time, it is not expected to compete with micro-small enterprises,” JFC said.

The bill was on the group’s wish list of measures, along with some Filipino business groups, which they submitted to the Office of the President and both chambers of Congress last month. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

E-cigarette industry calls for ‘fair’ tax regime

THE electronic cigarette lobby said its products need to be fairly taxed and regulated, especially if the Philippines hopes to fund its Universal Health Care system in part with the proceeds of a tax on e-cigarettes.

Tikki Pang, who was conducting a briefing on behalf of e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs Inc., added that the industry’s products offer an opportunity for smokers to wean themselves from traditional tobacco products, effectively improving health outcomes.

“Universal Health Care is about prevention, about reducing the harm not about discouraging a product. That will burden your healthcare system,” he said.

“To deny smokers of a product that can improve their health, to me, is a human rights violation.”

Legislators are considering higher excise taxes on products categorized as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS/ENNDS) to help fund the UHC law. Under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) Package 2+, the excise tax on ENDS/ENNDS products will be at par with traditional tobacco products.

The Department of Health (DoH) contests the claim that e-cigarettes and vapes are not proven to be safe alternatives to tobacco products. It issued Administrative Order 2019-0007 in June calling for the licensing of ENDS/ENNDS sellers, distributors, and manufacturers. The AO also called for the prohibition of product sales to people under 18 years.

Mr. Pang agreed with these regulations on reducing general access and added that Juul has recently adopted a policy ruling out the sale of its products for potential buyers who cannot prove they are older than 18

Mr. Pang, a former WHO Technical Advisory Group member, argued that heavy taxation and regulation would increase the risks for the 17 million Filipino smokers, many of whom are low-income.

Mr. Pang, a public policy expert whose affiliations include the National University of Singapore, according to an Internet search,backed the regulation of the industry’s products as consumer goods, and not as medical devices.

Medical-device status, he said, means smokers “have to go to a physician to get a prescription and interestingly, that will stigmatize this… It should be available as a consumer product just like cigarettes but with certain safeguards.”

He cited a New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) study published in February, researchers from the UK found that users of e-cigarettes have a higher success rate in quitting smoking compared with users of nicotine-replacement products such as gum and nose sprays.

He also backed a quality control regime for device makers.

The DoH will be releasing joint guidelines soon with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regarding device standards, after reports of users injured by exploding devices.

He opposed level taxation with traditional tobacco products, which he said would restrict access by low-income smokers.

“The people who stand to benefit the most are usually from the lower-income groups so if you increase the tax, these products will be less affordable for them. The whole idea is to use these products to help them quit smoking… What will they do if they cannot afford it? They will just continue smoking, “ he said.

“(ENDS/ENNDS) are 95% less harmful so why tax it the same rate as something more harmful?”

Later this year, the DoH will issue guidelines regulating ENDS/ENNDS packaging, e-liquid flavors, the licensing of businesses, and the registration of ENDS/ENNDS products. It intends to prohibit flavors that will appeal to the young people.

Juul has said in its position paper on the proposed higher excise taxes on ENDS/ENNDS products that flavored products “play a critical role in (keeping) adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes” but added that it supports a ban on flavored e-liquids that resemble dessert foods, cannabis, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Juul sells only four flavors in the Philippines: mint, tobacco, mango, and creme. — Gillian M. Cortez

Why Southeast Asia shouldn’t worry about ‘brain drain’

By Elisabetta Gentile

HERE’S WHY the perception that skilled migration damages the source country is wrong.

The brain drain is a myth that reduces skilled migration to a zero-sum game in which one country “gains” brain-power which is “drained” out of another. Southeast Asian countries — both sending and receiving — should dismiss this outdated notion and instead view skill mobility as a catalyst for economic growth. By putting in place suitable policies, countries in the Asia and Pacific region will be able to maximize the gains from its young, dynamic, and skilled labor force.

The perception that skilled migration damages the source country is wrong for three reasons.

First, the supply of skilled workers is not fixed; workers respond to labor market opportunities by accumulating more and different skills, and the possibility to migrate is itself a powerful incentive for individuals to invest in human capital.

Second, not everyone who acquires new skills with the intent to migrate will be successful.

Third, those who emigrate are not “lost”: when they return, they bring home new ideas, skills and financial assets. Even when they do not return, they form diaspora networks that open doors to global labor markets, trade, and business opportunities.

In 1993, the British government shifted towards a more selective education-based policy for recruiting Nepali nationals to work in the British Army. Because this is a lucrative foreign employment opportunity for Nepali men, more and more of them responded to the policy change by completing secondary education. However, the number of new recruits per year did not change: the result was an increase in the human capital stock, reflected in improvements in job quality and wages.

In the period 2000–2007, the US dramatically expanded the availability of visas for migrant nurses and their families. Consequently, the number of nursing graduates in the Philippines — the largest exporter of nurses in the world — grew from 9,000 to 70,000, and not all of them could migrate to the United States, resulting in a net increase in the supply of nurses in the Philippines.

Research shows that skilled immigrants boost the economies of their host countries by expanding the workforce, filling shortages in specific industries or occupations, contributing to new inventions, and starting new businesses. But it is important to also acknowledge that they affect the opportunities of their native counterparts. What this effect will depend on the degree of substitutability between the two groups.

For example, math-analytical skills are more easily transferred across countries than managerial and communication skills, which are more culture- and country-specific. It is no coincidence, then, that immigrants tend to be concentrated in occupations intensive in math-analytical skills. Native workers will respond by moving towards skills that complement those supplied by immigrants, such as managerial and communication skills, in which they have a comparative advantage. This move will enhance the complementarities and reduce competition between immigrants and natives.

THE NOTION OF ‘BRAIN DRAIN’ IS OUTDATED
The mid-1990s internet boom led to a surge in demand for computer scientists in the US. As in the previous examples, the prospect of migration increased the computer science workforce in India and raised India’s overall IT output by 5%. In the US, on the other hand, workers left the sector, reducing the native computer science workforce by 9%. Consumers in both countries benefited from larger overall IT output, leading to lower prices for IT products. The combined income of both countries rose by 0.36% because of this flow of IT professionals from India to the US. The computer science workers who couldn’t migrate to the US joined the rapidly growing IT sector in India, and by the early 2000s those who had migrated had returned with newly acquired skills and connections. This brought the US-led boom to India, and by the mid-2000s India had surpassed the US in software exports.

There is no reason why this recipe for success cannot be replicated in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), if it takes full advantage of skills mobility. Currently, the ASEAN region relies on Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) that cover eight regulated professions — accounting, architecture, dentistry, engineering, medicine, nursing, surveying, and tourism. But the definition of “skilled worker” is in constant evolution. It is no longer closely associated with the regulated professions, and it increasingly involves vocational occupations. An effective framework for skills mobility must be flexible enough to quickly respond to labor market needs.

For any skills mobility framework to work, ASEAN countries must eliminate the many technical and political barriers — both national and regional — that interfere with the ability of skilled workers to move within the region and do the jobs they are trained to do. Those barriers include burdensome legal requirements on employers, stringent standards for the transferability of education and training credentials, the lack of portability of social security benefits, and restrictive immigration rules. The development of common regional standards regulating the various industries would also eliminate technical barriers to skill mobility.

Currently, citizens of ASEAN member states do not enjoy priority status when applying for work visas in other ASEAN countries, and they may well find it easier to emigrate to OECD or Gulf countries. The implementation of a preferential work-based immigration system for ASEAN citizens would help retain more talent, create better employer-employee matches, and boost productivity within the region.

Barriers hampering skills portability in ASEAN are as outdated as the notion of a brain drain. Once they’re dismantled, the huge potential of the region’s talented young workers will be unleashed — with life-changing benefits lasting for generations.

This piece is based on research from the publication Skilled Labor Mobility and Migration: Challenges and Opportunities for the ASEAN Economic Community. http://bit.ly/labormigration

 

Elisabetta Gentile is an economist in the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department of the Asian Development Bank.

Are you comfortable?

By Tony Samson

ONLY in our country do we refer to toilets as “comfort rooms.” I can only surmise how that came about. Was it the relief expected from a visit there? Ask for directions where the comfort room is in North America and you get a quizzical look, unless the party being queried happens to be a compatriot.

Toilets have now been politicized (after sidewalks and schoolrooms) and turned into discomfort rooms. While the clearly female character in the eyewear ad seemed embarrassed at entering the men’s room by mistake due to poor eyesight, the social clarity of matching gender and assigned space is now up in the air, even for the clear-eyed.

True, even before the passage of the now much-discussed law, there was no problem with a janitress wandering into the men’s room even when it was occupied to clean up around the urinals. But could a janitor wander into the ladies’ room and expect the same nonchalant reaction?

“Comfort” is a modifier used for such nouns as rooms (toilet) and food (familiar home-cooking). In commerce, a “comfort letter” is designed to provide assurances that conditions for a deal will be met. Some years back, “comfort women”, as a victimized group, sparked the move for them to be indemnified to right a historical injustice. They got an apology instead.

In psychology, a “comfort zone” is defined as a mental state of well-being. When one is in his comfort zone, he confidently goes about his business. His assignments and disposition are aligned to give him a feeling of control, even mastery.

“Comfort zone” was originally a term in physics referring to temperature in an equilibrium state. The body neither sweats nor shivers when the temperature is between 28 to 30 degrees centigrade. This neither-hot-nor-cold condition (also known as the Goldilocks state in economics) provides comfort and safety.

Leaving one’s comfort zone is seldom a self-initiated move. Newton’s Law of Inertia, where a body at rest wants to stay in that state, applies to people. Thus, being forced out of a job’s comfort zone, after a long and secure tenure is sure to be a disturbing experience.

FREEPIK

Even among birds, fledglings with newly acquired feathers need to be pushed out of their comfortable nest to try flying after just lying around and being fed worms lying down on a warm spot of interlocking twigs — open your mouth.

Being pushed out of a comfort zone, even by those who do not consider your well-being, can turn into a blessing in disguise. After a momentary sense of confusion, the new state (accompanied by a sense of falling) can lead to flight, or a loud thud being the last sound heard before losing consciousness.

Even for the comfortable, the state of not perspiring and not shivering can be boring. The goals in one’s early life may be simple. But eventually owning a new car and a home almost fully paid is only comforting after a while. The sense of well-being is temporary. Envy of one’s cohorts in school or work can set in — did they move up faster? Aren’t the rich envious of those who are richer?

The state of discomfort at what has already been achieved is referred to as a “mid-life crisis.” Usually, in one’s late forties after realizing childish dreams or accepting that they must be scaled down, sometimes craziness beckons. And wild things happen — he got into a franchise for a siomai cart business which failed, and then ran off with a masseuse.

Jumping off a bridge is not always the suicidal event it may seem at first — only an extreme sport (if there is a bungee rope attaching the body to a solid support that can bear a falling weight). Some mid-life crisis events are less risky — like training for a triathlon or joining a monastic cult.

The choice is not binary then — leaving or staying in the comfort zone. One can leave without having to cut off ties to sanity.

The equilibrium that a comfort zone offers may be unexciting. Still, the need to rest, recharge, take stock, and consolidate is part of being comfortable. Then it is off again to the risky outdoors where temperatures can change, usually to the very hot and sweaty. After straying a bit, the enticement of the comfort zone can be strong… but sometimes no longer available.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

No ID, No Entry

A newspaper report quoted NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia as claiming that a National ID System — which in our case, rolls out this month — will help curb leakages in the government’s cash transfer programs as it can help better identify “deserving beneficiaries” and also correct the “lag between the need of the citizens who merit assistance, and the provision of the budget.”

In this line, I urge the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to hype up its pilot registration for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) that starts this September, so that it can achieve its target of having the entire population registered before the end of 2022. Many still lack valid proof of identity that contains both basic personal information and biometric data.

It is bewildering how some private enterprises go about checking one’s identity in line with their own security protocols. In my opinion, some of these protocols defy logic. And since there doesn’t seem to be any government-set standards for such processes, there is no opportunity or recourse to question them. The use of a national ID can help set a standard for security checks.

Perhaps not unlike a few others, I always carry an “old” ID card for identification purposes — an expired driver’s license — when walking about the city sans wallet and credit cards. Just cash in my pocket, the old ID, house keys, and an old mobile phone. I carry the ID so that in case of an emergency or an accident, people can “identify” me.

Despite its “expiration,” the details on the old license — name, date of birth, address, personal statistics, signature, and emergency contact number — remain valid and current. It is only the ID that has expired, but not its details. Even the picture is somewhat updated. What is important, I believe, is that I can be identified by name and photograph.

I tried a simple experiment in this regard. I carried three sets of identification: a “valid” driver’s license issued in 2017 and good for five years; the driver’s license that “expired” in 2017; and, a Social Security System (SSS) ID card issued about 20 years ago. Then, I tried to enter an office building in Makati City.

Upon entry, I handed the license card that expired about two years ago, and it was immediately rejected. When I inquired as to why, the woman behind the counter said that the ID was invalid because it was expired. When I argued that the details were still valid, including the address and the picture, she insisted that I give a “valid” ID instead.

I then gave her my SSS ID, which she accepted and considered “valid” for the simple reason that it did not carry an expiration date. And this is despite the fact that the ID carried only my name, SSS number, date of birth, and signature. It did not have my residential address nor my personal statistics such as sex, height, and weight. Worse, it carried a photograph taken 20 years ago. But it was deemed valid because it did not have an expiry date.

I did not bother to take out my current license, nor to argue the point that the details and photographs on both the expired and the valid license cards were the same. But, if the logic behind leaving an ID to gain entry is to identify a person entering a building, and leaving some from of trace or trackability in the future for whatever purpose, why then should an expiry date — or the lack thereof, in the case of the SSS ID — be the point of contention? An expiry date does not validate nor invalidate the details on the ID.

Go to a bank or any other establishment with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols as required by the government, and you can also expect the same line of thinking or logic. My SSS ID, despite its deficiencies and age, remains a valid and acceptable form of identification as opposed to a recently “expired” driver’s license that has updated details and a more current photograph.

In this line, despite its lack of an entry for residential address, a passport with biometric features as well as a relatively new driver’s license also with biometric features will be your best bets for valid and acceptable government-issued identification cards. In many instances, two government-issued IDs are required for service, and these two will suffice.

The problem is that not everyone has a passport or a driver’s license. And while a motorist regularly carries his or her license, people carry their passport only when they are traveling. As such, many people will be one ID card short when dealing with banks and other institutions that require the presentation of two government IDs.

In rural areas, people usually don’t have either. No passport, no license. Thus, no ID. And, not everybody votes. In my case, despite being a registered voter, I never got a voter’s ID. And only a few people bother to get a postal ID. Senior cards and PWD cards are given only to a few. In this regard, I believe there is an actual need for a national ID card.

In a column this March, I also noted NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia’s concern that about 14% of Filipinos have limited to no access to government as well as financial services for lack of proper identification or proper documentation. This, again, further highlights the need for the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys, and the issuance of a “National ID” with a specific or unique and permanent PhilSys number for citizens and resident aliens. It should have personal details and biometric information.

As I understand the process, people will have to be registered, and then be given a permanent ID number and issued national ID cards after personal information submitted are “authenticated.” The national ID can be used for public and private transactions, and can serve as one of the two usually required when dealing with banks and like.

Many people actually fake their birth year for various reasons: to get a driver’s license at age 15 or 16; to get a senior card even before the age of 60; to delay retirement from government service by one to three years; to compete in sporting competitions in specific age groups; to get married; or to draw benefits or incentives, etc. Some simply pay to shortcut the licensing process.

Well, those days may be numbered. One indirect consequence of this national ID effort is the possible audit of all existing ID cards and weeding out those with false or fraudulent information. Linking public and private databases for the purpose of authenticating personal and biometric information will help purge the system of fake identification details.

It is about time that such a purge occurs. People with fake entries should now work on correcting them, even if it means paying a penalty. Once the national ID system is in place, all information made public might be vetted and authenticated, and any mismatch might just lead to confusion or delay or more penalties for the ID applicant.

As Secretary Pernia connects the national ID to conditional cash transfers, and as more banks and other financial institutions accept the national ID as a form of identification, and with a banking digital ID registry also under way, then surely we are now seeing the advent of the shift where “No ID, No Entry” will soon become “No ID, No Money.”

 

Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com

More politics will worsen the Philippines’ power deficiency

It is pathetic that people often politicize many things, whether food or medicines or electricity. Like creating a new energy company by legislation instead of the normal ERC-SEC process, or getting the Supreme Court to stop implementation of certain provisions of the EPIRA law of 2001 (RA 9136) such as the retail competition and open access (RCOA).

The Philippines, till today, is among the countries with the lowest electricity generation in Asia, both in absolute amount and per capita. I derived the per capita electricity production below from two data sources: generation from BP Statistical Review of World Energy (June 2019), and population from IMF World Economic Outlook database (April 2019). (see table 1)

We need to stop further politicizing the power sector because low power capacity automatically means that electricity prices will remain high as demand continues to rise. We should encourage more generation companies (gencos) to build more power plants and compete with each other in supplying (1) electric cooperatives, (2) private distribution utilities (DUs), (3) retail electricity suppliers (RES), and (4) the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). More market competition will lead to lower prices while more political intervention will lead to higher prices as gencos, DUs and RES have to factor in the cost of politics and more regulations and restrictions.

Recently, leftist Bayan Muna led by ex-Cong. Colmenares and Cong. Zarate went to the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the implementation of another provision of EPIRA law, the competitive selection process (CSP) on certain DUs. The target, as usual, is the biggest DU in the country, Meralco — demonized for entertaining a sister genco company. Earlier, there were attempts to stop — also via politics — this big DU from getting supply contracts from new big coal plants (to help “save the planet,” the protesting party-list said).

Is it possible that big non-coal plants and companies — say, big gas plants — are desperately trying to stop these coal contracts to force Meralco into buying their power after these new coal plants have been demonized and isolated? If so, it’s a lousy and ugly business model; and lefties are playing along.

Below I try to derive why there were many yellow and red alerts from March to July this year, and how much estimated available power there was during those five months.

First, I computed the implied capacity factor (ICF, measured as: ICF = (Generation)/(installed capacity x 24 hours x 365 days). For oil plants that are used mainly for peak load, I assumed an ICF of 70%, running for only around 6 hours/day for 200 days. From the ICF, the implied available capacity (IAC) can be derived (see table 2).

Then I made projections from 2019 to 2023. Peak demand from 2015 to 2018 rose by 5.7% a year on average, so for 2019 to 2023, I projected a 5% annual increase due to the recent GDP growth deceleration. From there, I computed the projected reserves (see table 3).

We should have reserves of at least 20%, not 2% or even -7%. Of course, there are power plants from the Visayas grid to augment Luzon, but Visayas provinces are also growing fast on their own.

Lefties like Bayan Muna have bad analysis and lousy mathematics in assuming that things in the power sector will be okay in the coming years. More politics, more Congressional harassment, and SC’s TRO will not protect the public from blackouts and high electricity prices.

They should not announce their intellectual mediocrity and do more realistic power projections. Neither should they drag the country toward darkness, as dark as their leftist philosophical advocacies.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Clarity and purpose in communications

By Raju Mandhyan

SUCCESSFUL selling skills are a reflection of good interpersonal skills. Every sale achieved is an outcome of assessing, approaching, and navigating several interactions between a salesperson and her buyer. Manage and master your ability to connect, engage and ethically influence a prospect and he will become your customer for life.

Research on communication skills from several schools of thought has revealed fundamental practices followed by great communicators in managing their interaction with people so that a large percentage of their conversations rake in success and wealth.

An old story about Socrates goes like this: One day, he was walking the streets of Athens when an acquaintance ran up to him and shouted, “Socrates, Socrates! I have something to tell you about Demosthenes. It’s real juicy stuff!”

Socrates held up his hand and gestured for the man to stop and cool down. “Tell me,” he says, “the thing that you’re about to tell me about Demosthenes, is it a fact? Is it the truth and were you personally witness to it?”

Flabbergasted, the man splutters and stops in his tracks, “No, I wasn’t personally a witness to it; I just overheard some folks down the street talking about it.”

“Well then, in that case,” responded Socrates, “will the content of this juicy stuff do you, me or Demosthenes any real good?” His friend sank to the ground and muttered, “I’m not sure I… Uh, I don’t think it will benefit Demosthenes, you or myself.”

“So let me understand,” said Socrates, “you don’t know if the story you’re about to tell me is the truth and neither will it benefit you, me or Demosthenes. So, what exactly is your purpose in wanting to share this juicy stuff with me?”

Socrates’s acquaintance lowered his head, backed away, and disappeared into the crowded streets of Athens.

The point of the story is whenever we indulge in talk and conversation and prior to creating noise with our mouths, we must carefully reflect upon what we are about to say, why we want to say it, and what positive outcome we hope to generate from the conversation.

Good communicators and effective salespeople are crystal clear about their messages. They spend time researching, reading and pondering upon what to share and ask customers and partners and where to direct their conversations. Think before you speak. First, think through what you want, why you want it, and what it is you might create.

Crystal-clear purpose and well-thought-out objectives will take away anxiety and doubt in how you communicate. It will build confidence and discipline towards achieving positive results in business.

 

Raju Mandhyan is an author, coach and facilitator

www.mandhyan.com

Net foreign buying helps fuel last-minute rebound

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL SHARES recovered on Wednesday as investors bought up select names towards the market’s close, with those abroad remaining predominantly bullish for the second straight day.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.48% or 38.42 points to close at 7,967.90, recovering from Tuesday’s slump, while the broader all-shares index likewise rose 0.38% or 18.37 points to 4,804.82.

“It was a dull day for the market early on in the day, until a buy-up at the close led the index to finish 38.42 points higher,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail.

Mr. Perez noted that sustained net foreign buying could drive the index higher in the coming days.

Foreign investors remained net buyers for the second straight day at P143.15 million, albeit smaller than Tuesday’s P609.78 million.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan also attributed the market’s performance to the rally near the end of the trading session.

“(I)nvestors quietly bought into key names towards closing. US stocks also rallied in the last 10 minutes of the session to end the day little-changed on Tuesday, weighed down by a continuing decline in growth stocks,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Overseas, major Wall Street indices were mostly unchanged as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28% or 73.92 points to 26,909.43; the S&P 500 index edged up 0.03% or 0.96 point to 2,979.39; while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.04% or 3.28 points to 8,084.16.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.96%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.78%, while the Shanghai Composite tumbled by 0.41%.

Back home, all sectoral indices moved to positive territory, led by the mining and oil counter which surged 1.28% or 119.76 points to 9,473.64. Property rallied 0.82% or 33.28 points to 4,061.47; industrials went up 0.66% or 72.87 points to 10,965.83; holding firms gained 0.54% or 42.53 points to 7,890.15; services edged higher by 0.21% or 3.37 points to 1,617.04; while financials went up 0.01% or 0.24 point to 1,824.93.

Some 713.50 million shares worth P6.66 billion switched hands, compared to Tuesday’s 613.73 million issues worth P5.22 billion.

Stocks that advanced were nearly double those that lost at 119 to 65, while 58 others ended flat. Half of Wednesday’s 20 most active stocks ended with gains, including PXP Energy Corp. (up 11.17%); Xurpas, Inc. (up 9.38%); Ayala Land, Inc (up 2.04%); PLDT, Inc. (up 1.44%); and SM Investments Corp. (up 0.99%).

Seven stocks on the same list dropped, led by Puregold Price Club, Inc. (down 2.95%) and Globe Telecom, Inc. (down 1.52%).

Peso weakens as dollar rebounds vs most units

THE PESO declined versus the dollar as the greenback regained its strength amid positive developments in the US-China trade war. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO weakened on Wednesday as the dollar regained its dominance across global markets.

The local unit closed at P52.15 against the greenback on Wednesday, declining by 17 centavos from its P51.98-to-a-dollar finish on Tuesday.

The peso opened slightly weaker at P52.05 versus the greenback. Its weakest point was recorded at P52.195, while its intraday best logged at P52.05 against the dollar.

Dollars traded on Wednesday dropped to $1.436 billion against the $1.495 billion seen on Tuesday.

“The dollar’s strength was evident across all markets. Yield take-up is getting more attractive with US Treasury bonds yields bouncing back,” one trader said, adding that positive developments in the US-China trade war also boosted the dollar against most currencies.

US Treasury yields climbed to fresh three-week peaks on Tuesday, tracking German bonds, as risk appetite continued to improve amid diminishing US-China trade tensions and expectations of fiscal stimulus measures from Germany, Europe’s largest economy.

Washington and Beijing could be back at the negotiating table sometime this month.

US yields rose for a second straight session, with investors also awaiting a key monetary policy meeting at the European Central Bank on Thursday. Investors expect the ECB to cut interest rates, but may introduce some form of compensation for banks to offset the unwelcome side effects of negative interest rates.

“The greenback gained on news that the German government is considering to inject fiscal stimulus which driven off some appetite for the euro over the US dollar,” another trader said.

Germany’s 30-year government bond yield briefly turned positive on Tuesday, ahead of the ECB meeting and bolstered by possible stimulus measures from its government.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday the government can counter a possible economic crisis by injecting billions of euros into the economy, signaling readiness for a big stimulus package if the economy tips into recession.

For today, the first trader said the peso may continue to weaken due to optimism on a US-China trade deal and ahead of US consumer price index data. The trader expects the local unit to move around the P52.00-P52.40-per-dollar band.

“The local currency might weaken further due to broad market expectations of dovish cues from the European Central Bank policy meeting [today]. Exchange rates might move within the P52.00 and P52.30 range,” the second trader said. — Luz Wendy T. Noble with Reuters

Duterte won’t beg for emergency traffic power

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday said would not beg for emergency powers from Congress to solve the traffic gridlock in the capital.

“I didn’t ask for it,” the president said at a briefing, adding that it was Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade who was keen on getting the authority for him.

Mr. Duterte said he asked his officials not to pursue it anymore after a lady senator had said they couldn’t be trusted with more powers.

He also recalled telling lawmakers that he was unable to “clear EDSA with the remaining years of my term.” Mr. Duterte is halfway through his six-year term.

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the public service committee, earlier said the body is not inclined to grant the Transportation department’s renewed plea for emergency powers to solve traffic congestion in the capital.

The senator, who opposed a similar proposal in the past Congress, said Mr. Duterte could ease traffic in Metro Manila without emergency powers from Congress.

Senators during a hearing on Tuesday also cited the Transportation department’s lack of a master plan.

The Transportation department can hasten road projects including stage three of the Metro Manila Skyway project, and roll out more trains for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 or MRT-3, among other solutions, Ms. Llamanzares said.

Transportation Secretary Tugade last week renewed his call for emergency powers to solve the traffic gridlock on the main EDSA highway in the capital. During a House of Representatives hearing on his agency’s budget, Mr. Tugade said it was possible to solve the traffic problem but it would take longer without giving special powers to the president.

The government aims to open by early next year the third stage of the Metro Manila Skyway, an 18.7-kilometer toll road connecting Buendia Avenue in Makati City to Balintawak in Quezon City.

Several bills were filed in the previous Congress seeking emergency powers for Mr. Duterte to ease traffic congestion. The measures sought to give the Transportation chief “full power” to manage traffic on EDSA and control road use.

The House approved the bill but the Senate version did not progress. The bills have been re-filed in both Houses. — Arjay L. Balinbin

De Lima asks DoJ to dismiss sedition case

JAILED Senator Leila M. de Lima denied allegations that she was part of a group that plotted the ouster of President Rodrigo R. Duterte by linking him and his family to the illegal drug trade.

In an affidavit submitted to the Justice department, the senator, a critic of the president’s deadly war on drugs, said the police’s complaint of sedition against her and Mr. Duterte’s political opponents lacked sufficient evidence.

“Since the complaint does not impute any particular act against me, it appears that I am not even a respondent, but merely one of those vaguely identified as ‘enumerated personalities’ against whom they have no sufficient proof to make a categorical allegation,” she said in her filing.

Aside from inciting to sedition, police in July also filed cyberlibel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice against Ms. De Lima, Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo and more than 30 others whom it accused of circulating a video about the president’s alleged drug links.

Included in the complaint was Peter Joemel Advincula, the self-confessed drug dealer who was featured in the videos.

Mr. Advincula first surfaced in May to seek legal assistance in filing charges against members of the drug syndicate he was formerly in. Later that month he surrendered to police for estafa and tagged the Liberal Party to be behind the propaganda.

Ms. De Lima said she had not committed libel in connection with a press briefing of Mr. Advincula early this year because she has been detained since February, 2017.

“I am expected to refute allegations of fact, not conclusions of law,” the lawmaker said. “Without such allegation of fact, there is nothing for me to even refute.”

She also denied the allegation of Mr. Advincula that he had talked to Ms. de Lima’s staff.

Human Rights Watch has called on authorities to drop the “preposterous complaint,” saying it was an attempt to harass and silence critics of the government’s bloody war on drugs.

A conviction for incitement to sedition carries a maximum penalty of six years in jail.

Ms. De Lima is in jail for allegedly conspiring to commit illegal drug trade inside the national jail in Muntinlupa City when she was still the Justice secretary. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

1...10,14810,14910,150...13,892Page 10,149 of 13,892
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube