UNIONBANK transferred tokenized fiat from Singapore to a local rural bank.
UNIONBANK of the Philippines, Inc. piloted its cross-border remittance service for local rural banks through blockchain, as it aims to push financial inclusion in rural areas.
In a statement yesterday, the Aboitiz-led bank said it successfully transferred tokenized fiat from OCBC Bank in Singapore to an account in Cantilan Bank, a Surigao Del Sur-based rural lender via UnionBank’s blockchain platform i2i.
The fund was remitted using the Adhara liquidity management and international payments platform.
“Using blockchain technology for bank-to-bank cross-border remittance promotes financial inclusion, particularly in underserved areas, as customers will see significant cost savings and near real-time transfers at the touch of a button,” UnionBank said in the statement.
i2i is a blockchain-based platform that connects rural banks to each other and to UnionBank, providing small lenders access to value added services which can be coursed through the system. Launched in 2018, i2i is now handled by UBX, UnionBank’s financial technology arm.
Blockchain is a distributed data ledger which involves a large network of entities where data is stored in “blocks.” The storage units are continuously updated and being secured using cryptography, making data management and data-driven processes decentralized, tamper-proof and more transparent.
“With the pilot’s use of i2i, rural banks can now receive direct-to-account remittances, and this is only the beginning,” UnionBank Senior Vice President and Head of the Fintech Business Group Ramon Vicente V. De Vera II said. “This empowers rural banks that were once financially excluded, with access to universal banking services.”
Currently, rural banks have limited access to financial networks and clearing systems, with remittances from abroad taking days before being credited to onshore accounts. As an alternative, Filipinos rely on non-bank remittance counters that require remitting the funds physically and are subject to high fees.
“Blockchain and emerging technologies make this possible at scale by collaborating with institutions on the spot and promoting inclusion,” said UnionBank Chairman Justo A. Ortiz.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is eyeing to raise the share of e-payments to 20% of all transactions in the Philippines by 2020, coming from a measly 1% share back in 2013.
BSP Deputy Director Melchor T. Plabasan said the monetary authority anticipates “greater adoption of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies” given their potential of reducing unnecessary points of friction in payments and remittance. — K.A.N. Vidal
THIS season Ballet Manila will be presenting Snow White.
BALLET MANILA will be staging a classic, two fairytales, an opera and a cantata for its 24th season at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City.
The season’s theme, “On Pointe,” pertains to an important element in a ballerina’s performance — the pointé shoes which give the dancers their ability to stand and dance gracefully on their toes.
“It defines what classical ballet is — being able to dance on pointé,” Ballet Manila CEO and artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde was quoted as saying in a press release.
The dance company — known for its adherence to the Russian Vaganova style of training and dancing — will be restaging Snow White which will run from Sept. 7 and 8; Giselle on Oct. 19 and 20; Sleeping Beauty on Dec. 7 and 8; and Carmina Burana and La Traviata, a collaboration of opera, ballet, and orchestra on Feb. 29 and March 1, 2020.
“I always want to inject something new and completely unexpected from a ballet performance,” Ms. Macuja Elizalde told BusinessWorld, shortly after the press launch on July 15 at S Maison in Pasay City.
“In Snow White, I brought in an actual magician who [will give] the Queen options for fruits. Then the queen will approve of the apple. For Sleeping Beauty. I’m going to put in the dragon,” she said of the elements added to make the ballets appeal to young audiences.
“When I plan a season, I first program the full-length classical ballet that we need to present every year. My teacher and mentor Tatiana Udalenkova told me that I should always have a classical warhorse every season to strengthen the company,” Ms. Macuja Elizalde said in the press release, on the decision to perform Giselle, the 1841 romantic ballet of two acts.
For the finale, Ballet Manila will showcase a ballet adaptation of Carmina Burana, a cantata based on songs and poems composed by minstrels and monks in the 13th century, and La Traviata, a three-act opera by Guiseppe Verdi. It follows Persian courtesan Violetta who gives up the man she loves to save her family’s reputation.
Of all the season’s productions, Ms. Macuja Elizalde admitted that La Traviata is the most challenging. “For the first time, I’m tackling a tragedy,” she said, adding that the story deals with human emotions of betrayal, lust, and greed.
“I’ve been really lucky that the [previous] ballets have been successful. The goal for me as artistic director is to make something available for every kind of audience,” she said.
MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. is investing P2.2 billion to replace 312 kilometers of old pipes in its concession area in the west zone of the greater Metro Manila area.
In a statement on Tuesday, the company said pipes will be replaced in parts of Quezon City, Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, and Bacoor City. This will allow Maynilad to recover about 28 million liters of water per day (MLD), which can cater to about 200,000 customers.
“Replacing old pipes is part of the strategy to maximize existing supply for distribution to more areas. This is particularly important now, as we strive to meet the ever-increasing water requirements of a growing population,” Ramoncito S. Fernandez, president and chief executive officer of Maynilad, said in a statement.
The West Zone concessionaire has already replaced about 2,355 kilometers of pipelines as of April 2019. This is equivalent to 58% of its old system that it had when it was re-privatized in 2007.
Maynilad supplies water in some areas of Manila, Quezon City, Makati City, as well as other cities in Metro Manila, which include Caloocan City, Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, Muntinlupa City, Valenzuela City, Navotas City, and Malabon City.
It also caters to some parts of Cavite, namely Cavite City, Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario.
Early this year, the company said it is allotting P100 billion as capital expenditure in five years until 2022, which covers its fifth rate rebasing, of which P40 billion will cover the construction of new sewage treatment plants (STPs).
Specifically, Maynilad said it is investing P26.4 billion in the next five years to build new STPs and lay sewer lines in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Kawit in Cavite. For this year, it is investing P11.4 billion for wastewater projects.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
MORE LIGHT THAN HEAT an exhibit of works by Lesley-Anne Cao and Lao Lianben will be on view at Calle Wright starting July 28 until Oct. 27. Cao presents a series of video works based around our notions and perception. Lao’s minimalist works, taken work from his personal collection, are painted from his own instincts. Calle Wright is at 1890 Vasquez St., Malate, Manila. Viewing hours are from noon to 7 p.m., Friday to Sunday. For inquiries, contact info@callewright.com or 0917-587-4011.
Tanghalang Ateneo presents Dolorosa
TANGHALANG ATENEO will kick off its 41st season, “Écriture Féminine|Sulat-Babae: The Women’s Season,” this August with a full-length version of Dolorosa at the Doreen Black Box, Arts Wing, Areté. Jenny Jamora will direct the material, which was originally a one-act play and part of the Virgin Labfest 14 staged readings last year. Playwright Peter Zaragoza Mayshle has expanded “Dolorosa” for this season’s opener, in which a one-of-a-kind wooden statue of the Mater Dolorosa, which is a family’s prized heirloom, is put together and made whole by three siblings every year for the Holy Week procession in Paete, Laguna. On this Maundy Thursday, they await the visit of their mother Pilar, who mysteriously abandoned them 15 years ago. When she arrives, they will confront the ghosts of their past and one shattering truth about their beloved Dolorosa statue. Dolorosa will feature veteran actors Bibeth Orteza and Ron Capinding, Clyde Enriquez, Zoë de Ocampo, and Rainbow Gutierrez. The play will run Thursdays to Sundays from Aug. 15 to 31. Tickets are available at P450 for ADMU students and P500 for the general public. For details contact Nicole at 0906-266-2563.
Celebration of Visayan culture at CCP
THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) through its Cultural Exchange Department (CED) presents three prominent Visayan Performing groups in PAGSAULOG: A Celebration of Visayan Culture on July 25, 3 and 7 p.m., at the CCP Little Theater under the CED‘s Ugnayan sa Sining program. The featured groups are the University of Visayas Chorale of Cebu City, Kabataang Silay Rondalla of Silay City, and Artes Bailes of the Iloilo National High School. Pagsaulog is an articulation of the Visayan culture through dance, and music which are the core of every Filipino traditional celebration known as fiesta. After the CCP run, Pagsaulog will have performances at the Marinduque State College, Boac, Marinduque from July 26-29. For more information, contact the CCP Cultural Exchange Dept. at 832-1125 locals 1708-1709.
Tertulia de Memoria looks into heritage
PALACIO DE MEMORIA hosts its first heritage weekend lecture series, dubbed Tertulia de Memoria, on July 27 and 28. The restored pre-war Roxas Boulevard estate and gardens serve as the backdrop and venue for this two-day event that aims to foster a renewed sense of heritage appreciation from attendees. With respected broadcast journalist Ces Drilon as moderator, the invited speakers include heritage and cultural advocate Isidra Reyes; architect, author and professor Dr. Gerardo Lico; ABS-CBN Film Restoration head Leo Katigbak; Cultural Heritage Studies Program Head of the Ateneo de Manila University, Dr. Fernando N. Zialcita; playwright and essayist Floy Quintos; and Heritage Conservation Society trustee Conrado Alampay. Key topics to be presented during the forums cover adaptive reuse for buildings, to art and film restoration. The talks will be capped by special sunset movie screenings of digitally re-mastered and restored Filipino movies courtesy of ABS-CBN Restoration and Cinema One. On July 27, 5 p.m., Peque Gallagas’ 1982 masterpiece Oro, Plata, Mata will be shown, while on July 28, 5 p.m., National Artist Eddie Romero’s 1976 film, Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon completes the weekend event. Tickets are available at Palacio de Memoria on 95 Roxas Blvd., Parañaque, www.ticketworld.com.ph, and at selected Ticket World outlets. For details visit https://www.facebook.com/thepalaciodememoria/.
Deadline for proposals for venue grants
THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Visual Arts and Museum Division (VAMD), is accepting proposals for the 2020 Venue Grant Program. The grant offers free use of exhibit space and curatorial assistance. The VAMD also organizes artist talks, workshops, and other public programs in conjunction with exhibitions. Artists, curators, art organizations, and institutions are welcome to submit proposals for the following venues at the CCP Main Theater Building: Little Theater Lobby, 2F Hallway Gallery, Small Gallery, 4F Floor Hallway Gallery, and the Outdoor Mural Wall. Proposals for exhibitions for the succeeding year shall be submitted to the Visual Arts and Museum Division from January to Sept. 30 of the current year. All proposals submitted shall be reviewed by the VAMD and presented to the CCP Artistic Programming Committee for final approval. Proponents of approved proposals for exhibitions shall be notified via e-mail and invited for a production meeting three months prior to their scheduled exhibit. Deadline for 2020 exhibitions is on Sept. 30. Proposals may be sent via e-mail to ccp.exhibitproposal@gmail.com or delivered to: Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department, 4F, CCP Main Theater Building, Cultural Center of the Philippines Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City from Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For details contact 832-1125 loc. 1504/1505 and 832-3702, 0917-603-3809 or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
Academic Book Fair at SM Megamall
REMAINDERS for sale at the Academic Book Fair
THE 2019 Philippine Academic Book Fair will be held on July 24-26, at the Megatrade Hall 1, 5th Level, Building B, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. The only book fair in the country that focuses to the education market, the 2019 Philippine Academic Book Fair will feature books, magazines, journals, and other learning materials that will be up for sale at special prices. Visitors to the fair will find, among many other books, the New English-Filipino Comprehensive Dictionary: Millennial Edition, an easy-to-read, large print dictionary ideal for home, school, or office (Golden Books Services booths); award-winning books, from children’s books to distinguished nonfiction books, including Newberry, Caldecott, and even Pulitzer Prize titles, from the IBC Books booth; Singapore K-12 assessment books to help Philippine educators gauge student’s skills in English, Math, and Science (GoldenBooksServices.com); e-products ranging from non-print educational materials and resources, to educational videos and school management systems (F&J De Jesus Inc.); and a big bargain sale with remainder books from the exhibitors ranging from general reference books to journals with prices slashed up to 90 percent. For more details about the 23rd Philippine Academic Book Fair, call 896-0682 or 896-0661 or e-mail info@primetradeasia.com.
Exhibit ongoing at Robinsons Galleria
SOME of the paintings in Remidiated
ROBINSONS GALLERIA host another art exhibit, Remediated, featuring 11 artists from the Baybay Art Society of Laguna. It is ongoing at Level 3 of the Veranda until July 31. The participating artists are Almer Moneda, Amador Barquilla, Ann Baldemor-Moneda, Darwin Japat Guevarra, Ferdinand Sanchez, Gemo Velda, Glenn Cagandahan, Jeff Dahilan, Ramon Cajipe, Romer “Pio” Kagayutan, and Roy Parungao. The artists’ conceptualized this exhibit to reverse or stop environmental damage that is happening now.
Rajo Laurel does Sweeney Todd
ATLANTIS Theatrical Entertainment Group, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year, has announced that couturier Rajo Laurel will be designing costumes for its staging of Sweeney Todd, starring Tony and Olivier Award winner Lea Salonga and rock star Jett Pangan. Mr. Laurel designed for Atlantis productions in the past, namely for The Rocky Horror Show and Dreamgirls, both directed by Bobby Garcia, who will also be directing Sweeney Todd. The musical runs from Oct. 11-27 at the Theatre at Solaire. Tickets are available through Ticketworld at www.ticketworld.com.ph.
Palanca-winning play to be staged
DE LA SALLE-College of Saint Benilde’s Theater Arts Program students and Teatro 77 are set to stage the late Alberto Florentino’s Palanca-winning play Cadaver starting today, July 24, at the College’s Black Box Theater. Cadaver won First Honorable Mention in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1954, following his well-known work The World Is An Apple, which also bagged the First Prize for drama that same year. While the one-act play pays tribute to Mr. Florentino and stays true to the original narrative which follows three people living in a cemetery, tackling the idea of man’s responsibility towards the consequences of his action, Benilde’s iteration also explores the director’s vision to use the stage to speak against the fascism and as a call to action in the context of “patayin ang kahirapan, huwag ang mahihirap” (kill poverty and not the poor). Directed by Kyle Confesor, it stars Elijah Castillo, Ioel Briones, Julia Enriquez and Alexandria Farrales. Cadaver will open with a 7 p.m. tonight, and will have performances at 1 and 7 p.m. from July 25 to July 27. Tickets are priced at P150 and P120 (for senior citizens and PWDs). Shows will be at the Black Box Theater, 6th Floor, School of Design and Arts Campus, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Pablo Ocampo (Vito Cruz) St., Malate, Manila. For ticket reservations, contact 0977-294-7124 or e-mail teatro77ph@gmail.com.
Cast of Madagascar announced
ATLANTIS Theatrical has announced the full cast of Madagascar: A Musical Adventure, its maiden production for Atlantis Imaginarium Young Theatre. The show, based on the hit Dreamworks Animated Motion Picture, will open on Aug. 2 at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater, BGC Arts Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The musical follows Alex the Lion and his friends Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe who escape from New York’s Central Park Zoo and set off on a madcap journey from Grand Central Station to the incredibly zany world of Madagascar. The cast is composed of Markus Mann as Alex the Lion, Nelsito Gomez as Marty the Zebra, Sarah Facuri as Gloria the Hippo, Altair Alonso as Melman the Giraffe, and George Schulze as King Julien. Completing this roster are Mica Fajardo, Jep Go, Barbara Jance, Franco Ramos, and Ber Reyes. Madagascar: A Musical Adventure is directed by Steven Conde, with choreography by Cecile Martinez, and musical direction by Farley Asuncion. The Asian premiere will run from Aug. 2 to 18. Buy four tickets and get another one for free. Book at www.ticketworld.com.ph or call 891-9999.
THE ERA of quantitative tightening by major central banks is proving to be short-lived.
Net bond purchases by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) will swing back above zero from September, according to an analysis of their balance sheets by Bloomberg Economics. That’s just eleven months since they collectively hit reverse having spent a decade pumping stimulus into their economies via quantitative easing (QE).
The outlook shows how quickly central banks have been forced to turn tail after spending much of last year leaning toward tightening monetary policy, only to now be looking to loosen it as the world economy slows. It also underscores how their balance sheets are likely to remain permanently larger than the pre-crisis years.
Wall Street and the White House may be delighted by the decision. Many traders blamed the Fed-led withdrawal of stimulus for a sell-off in stocks near the end of 2018. President Donald Trump also attacked the Fed, tweeting as recently as Friday that it “must stop with the crazy quantitative tightening.”
For investors, the switch back, coupled with shifts toward lower interest rates, strengthens the case for buying bonds given the increased demand and shrinking supply of them. That could add fuel to a rally that’s already pushed average yields on global bonds down by almost 1 percentage point since November, left an almost $13 trillion pile of negative-yielding bonds and sparked predictions that US 10-year borrowing costs could also hit zero. Those lower yields would tend to push investors back into stocks.
The conclusion of quantitative tightening in the US will probably come as the Fed is easing borrowing costs for the first time since 2008.
Since the Fed began reversing QE in October 2017, it has shed about $370 billion in Treasuries from its balance sheet which had hit $4.5 trillion in 2015. Those holdings will begin to rise later this year as the Fed ends the unwind and engineers plans to move back to pre-crisis norms of holding only government debt by slowly replacing its $1.5 trillion in mortgage-debt holdings with Treasuries.
According to an estimate by Wells Fargo & Co., the US central bank’s balance sheet will rise past its historic peak as it adds over $2 trillion to its Treasury debt holdings in the next decade. The analysts predict the Fed will opt to focus some of their new purchases on Treasury bills, which will combine with other forces to steepen the yield curve.
“The Fed’s plans for the balance sheet are to shift out of MBS (mortgage-backed securities) and into Treasuries and, given their guidance, they should be buying some bills,” said Mike Schumacher, strategist at Wells Fargo. “That will cause the curve to steepen.”
As for the European Central Bank, Bloomberg Economics is among those predicting it will announce in September that it will be purchasing bonds again. Its base case is that the ECB will start €45 billion of monthly net asset purchases to run for a year, starting in the fourth quarter.
ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure, the head of market operations and a driving force behind QE when it was launched in 2015, said this month that policy makers could hypothetically restart net asset purchases if circumstances demanded. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are also predicting a return to the pumps.
In contrast to the ECB and Fed, the Bank of Japan ran out of time to officially taper its program of buying stocks and bonds before the policy debate shifted back to the need for more stimulus.
The central bank has some room to expand its purchases of government debt after scaling back its buying to well below half an 80 trillion yen annual target as markets helped to keep bond yields low. A higher national sales tax this October could be the trigger for the BoJ to do more.
Other central banks may also step up. Economists have started to speculate that the Reserve Bank of Australia may eventually begin doing so amid the potential for its benchmark to go below 1%.
With Bank of America Corp. estimating central banks worldwide bought more than $12 trillion of assets since the crisis of 2008, there are concerns further rounds will have less impact than in the past.
Deutsche Bank AG chief economist Torsten Slok waded through 16 academic studies and found that most reckoned there is a diminishing impact from QE and the success of such programs in the past in controlling long-rates and inflation expectations was mainly focused on the effect of the announcement.
“Academic papers evaluating QE across countries show that it is no longer a useful instrument,” said Slok. — Bloomberg
THE MAIN INDEX eked out gains on Tuesday as investors went bargain hunting ahead of the second-quarter earnings season.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 0.05% or 4.63 points to close at 8,251.46, a day after President Rodrigo R. Duterte delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). Meanwhile, the broader all-shares index slipped 0.07% or 3.72 points to 4,990.95.
“Late afternoon bargain hunting lifted the local market… Investors will now be shifting their focus on second-quarter earnings and upcoming policy meetings from monetary authorities both here and abroad,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a market note.
For Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, investors were watching out for the US Federal Reserve’s action on interest rates during its July 30-31 policy meeting.
“Investors adjusted expectations immediately after the SONA and around a widely anticipated rate cut by the Federal Reserve at the end of the month,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.
Mr. Duterte on Monday asked Congress to pass at least 18 bills, including the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) and the rest of the tax reform packages. The TRABAHO bill will reduce corporate income tax rates and update fiscal incentives, and could “energize” micro, small, and medium enterprises.
On the other hand, the Federal Reserve is expected to reduce benchmark rates by 25 basis points in a bid to sustain the US’ economic expansion.
This led to a more positive performance for markets overseas. The Dow Jones Industrial Average firmed up 0.07% or 17.70 points to 27,171.90. The S&P 500 index increased 0.28% or 8.42 points to 2,985.03, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.71% or 57.65 points to 8,204.14.
Most Southeast Asian stock markets also inched higher on Tuesday on expectations of monetary policy easing by major central banks such as the Fed.
Back home, four sectoral indices moved to positive territory, led by mining and oil which jumped 0.65% or 52.87 points to 8,130.69. Holding firms advanced 0.56% or 44.80 points to 7,996.20; industrials rose 0.13% or 15.83 points to 11,720.14, while property went up 0.08% or 3.53 points to 4,389.13.
In contrast, services plunged 0.97% or 16.37 points to 1,655.25, while financials shed 0.37% or 6.94 points to 1,868.88.
Turnover climbed to P6.72 billion after some 1.45 billion issues switched hands, against the previous session’s P5.99 billion.
Decliners outpaced advancers, 103 to 88, while 57 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors remained net buyers for the eighth straight session, albeit at a smaller P45.64 million versus Monday’s P631.99 million.
THE PESO weakened further against the dollar on Tuesday as market players await the policy decision of the European Central Bank (ECB).
The local unit closed Tuesday’s session at P51.135 versus the dollar, 5.9 centavos weaker than its P51.076 finish on Monday.
The peso opened the session at its intraday high of P51.12, while its worst showing stood at P51.20 against the US currency.
Trading volume grew slightly to $754.11 million from the $725.91 million that switched hands the previous day.
“The peso continued to weaken as markets bet on possible dovish guidance from the European Central Bank policy meeting later this week,” a trader said in an e-mail yesterday.
The ECB is seen to cut its interest rates by 10 basis points during its policy meeting on Thursday to quell the effects of global trade tensions as well as pale regional inflation, Reuters reported.
“We saw cautious trade as the market awaited the ECB rate decision on Thursday,” another trader said. “The base is no rate change, but the probability of a 10-basis-point cut is currently growing at around 34% chance.”
The trader said the peso weakened as the dollar strengthened against most currencies.
“The dollar strength across was still due to its recovery ahead of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting next week,” the trader said.
The US Federal Reserve is also expected to trim interest rates during its July 30-31 meeting. However, the case of a 50-basis-point cut was trimmed after the New York Fed clarified that hawkish comments from its president John Williams were not meant to imply there would be an aggressive rate cut.
For today, the first trader expects the peso to trade between P51.05 and P51.25 versus the dollar, while the other gave a P51.05-P51.20 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
THE Senate on Tuesday elected the heads of its various committees starting with the finance body, which will be headed by Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara.
Senator Pia S. Cayetano will head the ways and means committee, while Senator Imee R. Marcos was given the economic affairs committee.
Senator Aquilino L. Pimentel III was given the foreign relations committee, while Senator Panfilo M. Lacson got national defense.
Neophyte Senators Ronald M. Dela Rosa, Christopher Lawrence T. Go, and Francis N. Tolentino will head the committees on public order and dangerous drugs, health and demography, and local government respectively.
Returning Senator Ramon B. Revilla, Jr. will head the public information committee.
Meanwhile, Senators Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares, Richard J. Gordon, and Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva retained their seats as heads of the committees on public services, blue ribbon, and labor.
Likewise, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian will continue as energy committee chairman, while Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay still has the tourism committee. Senator Cynthia A. Villar retained he agriculture committee, while Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao again got public works.
Minority Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel will keep her post as head of the committee on women, children. Detained Senator Leila M. de Lima will continue as head of the social justice committee, while Senator Francis N. Pangilinan will head the constitutional amendments committee.
At the House of Representatives, Manila Rep. Bienvenido M. Abante Jr. was voted as minority leader after losing the speakership to Taguig Rep. Alan Peter S. Cayetano.
“We do not want to be disruptive,” Mr. Abante said. “I want the minority to be the glass so other public officials can look at themselves and let the glass tell them what is wrong,” he added.
The following were elected deputy majority floor leaders: Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo, Batangas Rep. Lianda B. Bolilia, Manila Rep. Amanda Christina L. Bagatsing, Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc and Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia. — Charmaine A. TadalanandVince Angelo C. Ferreras
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued guidelines on the ban of provincial buses from the main highway of Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
Under a memo that will take effect on Aug. 1, provincial buses going to Metro Manila will have to end at terminals in Valenzuela City, Parañaque City and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The ban will only cover EDSA-based terminals that have been shut down by some local government units. About 1,480 provincial buses coming from the north with terminals along EDSA will have to end their trips at the Valenzuela terminal.
About 380 buses coming from South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with terminals in Cubao, Quezon City will be redirected to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
About 890 buses from South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with terminals in Pasay City will be relocated to the Sta. Rosa Interim Terminal in Laguna.
About 450 city buses with routes close to the north must extend their services to the Valenzuela Interim Terminal, while about 240 city buses close to the south must extend their routes to the Sta. Rosa Interim Terminal in Laguna.
Fares must change accordingly, according to the memo. Affected buses may ply EDSA at a “window time” to be determined by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) so they can go from designated points in Valenzuela, Parañaque and Sta. Rosa to their respective terminals. — DAV
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte will certify as urgent a bill seeking to restore the death penalty for drug trafficking, plunder and other heinous crimes, his spokesman said yesterday.
“If you ask him, death by hanging is cheaper,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said at a briefing in Manila. “But I think we will stick with the old method of using lethal injection,” he said in Filipino.
Mr. Duterte in his annual address to Congress on Monday said drug traffickers must be put to death, noting that the illegal drug menace persists despite his deadly war on drugs that has killed thousands.
“I am aware that we still have a long way to go in our fight against this social menace,” the president told lawmakers. “That’s the reason why I advocate the imposition of the death penalty for crimes related to illegal drugs.”
Reinstating capital punishment will be among the priority bills of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III told reporters.
“If it is confined to high-level drug trafficking, it stands a good chance,” the senator said. “It could be a squeaker, but it could pass in the Senate.”
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo I . Guevarra said capital punishment might deter some serious crimes.
“The fear of being put to death for the commission of a crime will naturally prompt a criminally minded person to think twice,” he said in a text message.
Philippine National Police chief General Oscar D. Albayalde for his part said something needs to be done to the justice system to ensure innocent people won’t suffer. Law enforcers, he added, make mistakes during operations.
Being able to execute criminals “will be a game changer in our continuing campaign against illegal drugs,” he said, even as he admitted that Congress won’t restore the death penalty without putting safeguards.
The Philippines became the first Asian country to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, but it was reintroduced in late 1993 for 46 different offenses, according to Amnesty International.
Executions resumed in 1999 after 23 years, according to the London-based group focused on human rights. Former President Joseph E. Estrada in 2000 announced a halt on executions, which his successor ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo continued.
The Philippines under Mrs. Arroyo again suspended capital punishment in 2006 through a law. Before that, she commuted the death sentences of 1,230 inmates to life imprisonment, which Amnesty International said was the “largest ever commutation of death sentences.”
In 2007, the country became a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights regarding the abolition of the death penalty.
“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” Amnesty International said on its website. “Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception — regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence or method of execution.” — Vann M. Villegas, Vince Angelo C. FerrerasandArjay L. Balinbin
CHINA DOES not own and control the South China Sea, contrary to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s claim in justifying his foreign policy stance, a Supreme Court magistrate said on Tuesday.
Senior Associate Justice Mr. Antonio T. Carpio in a statement refuted the president’s claim, noting that China “is in possession of seven features in the Spratlys plus Scarborough Shoal,”
“In addition, during the Duterte administration, China seized Sandy Cay from the Philippines,” the magistrate said, adding that the total area of these geologic features, including their territorial seas is less than 7% of the South China Sea.
Mr. Carpio said foreign naval powers such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Japan, and Canada continuously sail and conduct naval drills in the South China Sea, which shows that China is not in possession of the waterway.
Mr. Duterte in his annual state of the nation address to Congress on Monday said the Philippines is not in a position to assert its rights in the disputed sea because China is in possession of it.
He blamed Benigno S.C. Aquino III, his predecessor, for allegedly giving way to China after a 2012 standoff in Scarborough Shoal that later allowed the regional power to occupy the shoal.
China has been building artificial islands in the disputed Spratly Islands and setting up installations including several runways. China claims sovereignty over more than 80 percent of the waterway based on its so-called nine-dash line drawn on a 1940s map.
President Duterte has sought closer investment and trade ties with Beijing, including over resources in the South China Sea, since taking power in 2016.
His predecessor sued China before an international arbitration tribunal over its territorial claims, and won. He also strengthened Philippine alliance with the US to try to check China’s expansion in the main waterway.
In his speech, Mr. Duterte also said China has “traditional fishing rights” which Mr. Carpio also refuted. The magistrate said there can be no traditional fishing within the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone.
“This is very clear in the arbitral award of July 12, 2016,” he said. “Reed Bank is part of Philippine exclusive economic zone. There can be no traditional fishing in Reed Bank.”
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said the Philippines should allow Chinese fishermen in the disputed area provided the Philippines is also allowed there.
A Chinese fishing vessel allegedly rammed a Filipino fishing boat near the Reed Bank and abandoned the 22 Filipino crew members in the sea after the ship sank.
Majority of Filipinos think that the Philippines should regain control of disputed islets occupied by China, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll in June.
Such sentiment has grown steadily in the past four SWS polls in the past year, according to the report e-mailed late Wednesday.
The polling company said 93 percent of Filipinos think the country should recover the islands in the disputed South China Sea, based on a June 22 to 26 poll. The proportion has risen from 89 percent in December, and 87 percent in earlier polls last year. — Vann M. VillegasandCharmaine A. Tadalan
