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ADB to fund technical assistance for three PHL transport projects

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) is preparing $5 million worth of technical assistance grants for transport projects in Southeast Asia, with the Philippines getting funding for three projects.
The ADB approved the Southeast Asia Transport Project Preparatory Facility on Nov. 16, which provides technical assistance grants for eight infrastructure projects across the region.
The Philippines will obtain assistance for three projects: the Bataan-Cavite Bridge Project, the Laguna Lakeside Road Project, and the Manila Mass Rapid Transit Line 4.
“The regional transaction technical assistance (TA) facility will provide project preparation support and capacity building to a series of ensuing transport sector projects in Southeast Asia,” the ADB said.
The fund will also assist Cambodia’s Second Road Network Improvement Project, provide additional support to the Second Northern Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Transport Network Improvement Project in Laos; and Thailand’s Bangkok Urban Transport Development — West Orange Line, Regional Airports Improvement Project, and Tak Mae Sot Road Tunnel Project.
“The Vision 2030 of the Southeast Asia Department’s aims for ADB to become the go-to partner in Southeast Asia by improving the efficiency of delivery mechanisms, providing innovative finance and knowledge solutions,” the ADB said.
ADB’s pipeline for transport projects for the next three years includes 27 new loan and periodic financing request approvals worth $7.2 billion and over $12 billion on a facility basis, which will add to the existing 55 loans and grants worth $5.3 billion.
“The pipeline is on one side expanding into new subsectors such as railways, road tunnels and air transport in Thailand and large bridges and railway infrastructure investments in the Philippines. On the other hand, more traditional road projects in Cambodia and Lao PDR shall increase in size of the project for better relevance of ADB’s investment and reduced transaction cost,” the bank said.
The ADB’s country partnership strategy has set aside $7.8 billion for lending in 2018-2021, after more than the $5 billion worth of loans approved in 2011-2017. Some 47% of the current lending pipeline will go to the transport sector, with public sector management taking 21%, and financial sector reforms 13%.
“This significant increase in portfolio size will come together with a reduction of the number of projects financed, hence the individual projects will increase in size and complexity. Therefore, efforts to increase project readiness while preparing these more complex and larger projects must be taken, while at the same time, the portfolio performance needs to be improved.
“This indicates that more emphasis must be drawn on project preparation and project implementation for the significantly increasing portfolio to avoid start-up delays such as often phased-in procurement or safeguards implementation of newly-approved projects,” it added. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Honoring George Ty

By Manuel V. Pangilinan
We lost George Ty only days ago, but we will miss him for a long time. We will miss his kind person, his large presence, and the long and happy life we had wished for him.
I cannot recall exactly when I first met Mr. Ty, or the circumstances. It must have been in the ’90s, when I was still based in Hong Kong.
I do know that I first me Mr. Ty in an “official capacity” in the year 2000. That was five years after Metro Pacific had won the bid to develop Fort Bonifacio. It was bad timing, as you know. The Asian financial crisis hit Asia in 1997, and all of a sudden, we were saddled with debts, which we started to pay down largely by way of dacion. I recall we went to see Mr. Ty at his office at Metrobank Plaza to offer our Fort Bonifacio properties for the unsecured loans extended by Metrobank to Metro Pacific, aggregating about P2 billion. We proposed to settle this by way of real estate — 55% of the 11.5 hectares in the northern part of Fort Bonifacio plus a number of Pacific Plaza Tower units we owned. We gave up our last holding in Fort Bonifacio in exchange for finally wiping our slate clean with Metrobank.
If you’re doing the math: Metrobank got the Fort Bonifacio property for P20,000 per square meter, after netting out the value of the Pacific Plaza units. Just five years earlier, we had paid P33,000 per square meter for the same piece of land.
I’m sharing this story not to highlight how astute a businessman Mr. Ty was — although he was that. I’m telling this story to tell you that throughout this process of finding our way out of paralyzing debt, there was never rancor or resentment. And we never looked at him only as a lender, or as a collector. Indeed, we — and I personally — looked to him as a friend and savior. The meeting went beyond business — there was genuine empathy. Ultimately, he helped us back on our feet. I remember him admonishing us: You got caught in a perfect storm, and who wouldn’t be hurting after that. He added: Tomorrow you could dust yourselves off, wisened and humbled, and you will remain proud and dignified, and ready for a new day.
My regard for Mr. Ty rose immensely on that day, and it hasn’t dwindled to this day. To bookend this first encounter account — the last time I met Mr. Ty was at the lobby of the Grand Hyatt, that magnificent hotel standing right there at the land we used to own. It was his hotel, on the place that will forever mark an important chapter in Metro Pacific’s story. On my birthday this year, he waited at the hotel lobby to greet me. I was so touched by the gesture, yet felt deep empathy for him because he looked weak that evening — to the point where I respectfully suggested that he shouldn’t be here — but at home resting. Being the vintage Mr. Ty, he insisted on joining me at the ballroom, where he stayed to have tea for 20 minutes. When he left, I fought hard to control my tears, because Mr. Ty’s birthday gift of friendship was priceless — and memorable. That the only gift I received that day or ever — which I will remember for the rest of my life was his caring presence.
In between these two memorable private encounters with Mr. Ty, I remember as well the many lunches and dinners he hosted, here and in Hong Kong, over the two decades I’ve known him. But more than the food were the advice he would give.
When the future of PLDT was at a crossroads in 2002, between being sold to the Gokongweis or staying with First Pacific, the debates and passions were very public. Mr. Ty was not an invested stakeholder in any of the groups involved, and yet, because he was friends with all, he provided the calming figure and sober voice. I took his counsel for the wisdom and weight it carried.
He asked me to see him three times about this episode in my life. I particularly remember how he reminded me to value the relationships I’ve built with Anthoni Salim, and the histories between people that should count for something. He valued people and relationships, and showed it.
And this mentor often preached prudence. “Be prudent,” he would say to me. “This calls for prudence.” This line is so etched in my mind — he preached prudence so often in my presence — that I began to ask others around me: Bakit sa akin siya nakatingin? Aggressive daw kasi ako.
We all know Mr. Ty goes through every detail of every operation and every deal. I probably have some of that quality in me as well. I do know I share his work ethic, and his emphasis on integrity. The conventional admonition — relax and enjoy life — does not belong to both our vocabularies.
He never missed sending gifts for my birthdays or on Christmas. I can only imagine how he expressed his love to his family. He told me once: Please take care of Alfred. Which I took to mean, be a mentor to him, even though, Alfred already had the best mentor in his life. He also told me to continue working with Arthur, and, specifically, he said — forget that he is my son — by which I took to mean — You could trust my son because I raised him well. Arthur, your father saw in you as he saw in Alfred, not just the professionalism the rest of us only glimpsed and heard of with reverence, but the lessons he personally imparted.
I heard Mr. Ty was a man of faith, and for all that he did and for all whom he helped, that explains a lot. But it is Mrs. Ty whom I regularly see at San Antonio Church. Mrs. Ty, I am reluctant to approach you in any of those Sunday mornings, because I do not want to encroach on your personal, spiritual space. But clearly God smiles on your family, Mrs. Ty.
In business, strong passions are the norm. Mr. Ty was a strong man. He was shrewd. He was decisive. I have seen him make decisions that could determine the fortunes of a business — as in our case 18 years ago. Those were his finest hours.
Where did that confidence come from? Where was that strength acquired? It is the courage of a boy who left China when he was young. It is the courage of a young man who dared to dream big things and act on them — Metrobank being the outstanding example. It is the courage of a man who waited on the Lord to finally call him home.
When the sun sets on our shores this Monday, December 3rd, a great success story will close.
I heard it said that people die twice — once, with their last breath, and once more, later on, when people say their name for the last time. I’d like to think that Mr. Ty made sure that his second death does not happen — that indeed we will remember him for a long time.
So in these final days, we say our formal goodbyes. It is a fond salute to a man we cherish. It is a grateful salute to a man whose exceptional life was devoted to service. It is a respectful salute to a man who by any standard was one of the giants of our time.
Finally, let me recall what the Romans of Antiquity said as they bade goodbye to their beloved departed — which I say now — Ave atque vale — hail and farewell, Mr. Ty.

A union for a dangerous trade

Press freedom is protected by the 1987 Constitution because of the vital role of the news media in providing the information the citizenry needs in making intelligent decisions on matters of public interest. But despite Article III, Section 4, journalism is still a dangerous calling in the Philippines.
The killing of journalists and its impact on the democratization process initially alarmed only a very few media advocacy groups. And yet 164 journalists, most of them from community (provincial) newspapers and radio stations, have been deliberately targeted and killed in this country since 1986, when the restrictions on the institutions of Philippine elite democracy, among them a free press, were lifted with the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship.
The killings nevertheless happened during all the administrations that followed that of Marcos — from the Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Joseph Estrada regimes to those of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III. They are still happening during the Duterte regime, with 12 so far killed for their work since 2016.
It was the murder of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur journalist Edgar Damalerio in 2002 that convinced major media organizations and advocacy groups as well as journalists’ associations of the gravity of the situation, and called the attention of international press freedom watch networks to what was happening in this “peaceful democracy.” But the Nov. 23, 2009 killing of 32 journalists and media workers who were among the 58 men and women massacred in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, made the safety of journalists a key national and global issue.
Journalists’, media advocacy and free expression groups marked this year the ninth anniversary of that foul attack on journalists — it was also the worst incident of election-related violence in the Philippines — with forums, conferences and statements, in some instances with the support of international press freedom advocacy organizations.
Among those activities was the multi-stakeholder consultation on crafting a national plan of action on journalists’ safety organized by the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) and the European Union’s International Media Support (IMS) last Nov. 7.
Two conferences on the present state of the media were also held in Quezon City on Nov. 9 and in Davao City last Nov. 16-17 by Freedom for Media, Freedom for All, a coalition that has for members the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), among others.
The quest for the means that will address safety issues and hopefully reduce the instances of, if not completely end, journalists’ being killed for their reports, opinion pieces, and commentaries on public issues has included engagement with government agencies, the introduction of media literacy and safety courses in the country’s schools, and the further training of journalists in ethical and professional responsibility. All have been tried with mixed results, since, despite these measures, the killings are still going on, and so are the threats, physical assaults, and other forms of harassment from mostly State actors (local and national officials, police and military personnel).
What has not been tried as a means of reducing corruption and other ethical issues, improving coverage, as well as protecting journalists, is an industry-wide trade union. The NUJP was originally founded by the late Antonio Nieva with that in mind, but was diverted from that path by the many challenges to press freedom and free expression in the Philippines. But it can still be the union Nieva envisioned.
The disparities in wages and benefits, as well as the often uncertain provisions for safety equipment and insurance for journalists covering potentially dangerous events and areas such as armed confrontations and conflict zones, were among the concerns raised by journalists as well as media advocacy groups during the AIJC consultation.
An industry-wide journalists’ union — in which every journalist, whether in print, broadcasting, or online, must be a member as part of his or her terms of employment — could address these and other economic and safety issues.
Such a union could compel the adoption of the “equal pay for equal work” standard among all media organizations. It would correct a situation in which some journalists in the communities are not paid for their work as journalists but as solicitors for advertising contracts from which they earn commissions.
The practice not only leads to conflicts of interest, in which journalists are unable to freely and honestly report on the local politicians and officials who are the usual sources of advertising revenue in the communities. In addition, it identifies journalists with the camps of politician-advertisers, who, in too many instances, compel them to either report favorably on them or to be critical of their rivals, or both, which in turn leads to their being threatened, harassed or even killed by their patrons’ political enemies.
The union can craft the conditions of work of journalists including their being provided with safety equipment, insurance, and even hazard pay. It can assure practitioners of job security, and as a result improve their coverage of public events and issues by enhancing their independence from the political and economic interests of the media organizations in which they’re employed.
The terms of their employment can specify that they cannot be prevented from reporting newsworthy issues and events of public relevance. Because journalists would be better paid, the union would also be helping reduce corruption by making accepting bribes in exchange for favorable reporting less tempting.
Among the consequences of a better, more ethical and more professional press is public support and appreciation for the work journalists do, and therefore their being alerted on, and protected from threats by the communities they serve. In the independent exercise of their craft, for example, nothing would prevent the members of an industry-wide union from supporting policy initiatives beneficial to those communities, or combating those that are not, thus earning them the gratitude and protection of the population. That would be in contrast to the indifference with which much of the public today regards the harassment and threats many journalists experience.
But against an industry-wide journalists’ union, it has been argued that some newspapers and radio stations, particularly in the communities, cannot afford to pay just wages, or provide safety equipment and insurance, and are compelled by their financial limitations to “pay” practitioners through the commissions they make as advertising solicitors. They claim they would otherwise go out of business.
This self-serving argument in effect legitimizes in the name of economic sustainability the conflicts of interest, the corruption, and practitioners’ resulting endangerment as well as the persistence of biased, one-sided, incomplete and even inaccurate reporting.
It should be obvious that such media organizations are of no use to anyone except those who own and profit from them. Because neither the public nor journalism is made any better by their continued existence, the country, the Philippine press and the need for reliable information as a necessary input to democratic discourse would be so much the better off without them.
Industry-wide journalists’ unions have been tried and tested in Europe and other parts of the world for over a hundred years. They can help free journalists from the threats and harassments many are subjected to, and even reduce the number of journalists killed each year if not altogether end the killings. It is about time one is tried in the present Philippine context, in which journalists have to contend with one of the most hostile media environments on the planet: a country that the New York-based press freedom watch group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) once described as “the most murderous place in the world” for journalists.
 
Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro). The views expressed in Vantage Point are his own and do not represent the views of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.
www.luisteodoro.com

More smokers and drinkers needed to fund more UHC?

“The man of system…is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it….He does not consider that in the great chess-board of human society, every single piece has a principle of motion of its own, altogether different from that which the legislature might choose to impress upon it.”

— Adam Smith,
Theory of Moral Sentiments
(1759)

That observation by Adam Smith also applies to the plan of many sectors to further raise tobacco and alcohol taxes to fund higher resources for universal health care (UHC).
There is a clear contradiction here. The stated goal is to further reduce smoking and drinking but there is implicit demand for more smokers and drinkers who will pay more tobacco and alcohol taxes to fund more UHC beneficiaries and health care providers.
There are four stories in BusinessWorld this week related to this:

1. House hearing bills on P40-P60 per pack increase in cigarette tax (Nov. 26),

2. Senate panel opens hearing on raising tobacco tax (Nov. 26),

3. Alcohol tax hike hurdles House committee on 2nd reading (Nov. 26),

4. Tobacco excise bill hurdles House on 2nd reading (Nov. 28).

In report #2, Senator Pacquiao’s bill proposes a cigarette tax hike to P60 per pack, Senator Ejercito’s bill wants to raise the tax up to P90 per pack, to cover the estimated P164-billion funding gap in UHC on top of current funding of only P93 billion.
In report #3, the plan is to generate P60 billion for five years in higher alcohol tax rates. Distilled spirits ad valorem tax on net retail price (NRP) per proof liter will rise from 20% to 22%, in addition to a rise in specific tax from P23.40 to P30 per liter in 2019, P35 in 2020, P40 in 2021, P45 in 2022 and annual increase of 4% be changed to 7% beginning 2023.
In report #4, the approved excise tax hike is P2.50 per pack per year on top of current P35/pack until it reaches P45/pack in 2022, then annual increase of 4%.
My 54-page paper, “Assessment of the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012” was released last Monday Nov. 26 by Stratbase-Albert Del Rosario Institute (ADRi). I made my own estimates of price elasticity of demand (PED) for both alcohol and tobacco products based on estimated retail price (ERP), changes in tax revenues and volume removals. The various estimates of tobacco smuggling are also summarized here (see Table 1).
There was consistent decline in volume removals except in 2015, and consistent rise in ERP, resulting in average PED of -0.31 for 2013-2016. This paper’s estimate is lower than the PED findings of Quimbo, et al (2012) of -0.87 and DoH (2012) of -0.58.
But all three estimates have one conclusion: PED is below 1 and hence, is inelastic, meaning less- or non-price responsive. A 10% increase in the price because of higher taxes did not result in 10% decline in tobacco consumption, only 3% decline as estimated in my paper.
So for tobacco products, the Sin Tax law was successful only in raising more money for the government but a failure in significantly reducing tobacco use.
For alcohol products — beer, wine and distilled spirits — the average PED from 2013 to 2016 is 0.40 (see Table 2).
Both tobacco and cigarettes products exhibited inelastic demand. If government imposes even higher taxes, many smokers and drinkers will simply shift to (a) cheaper legal brands with lower taxes, or (b) cheaper illegal products with little or no taxes. Thus, a potential failure to address high smoking and drinking incidence and at the same time, revenue loss for the government.
Instead of calling for higher sin tax rates, government should focus on significantly controlling smuggled and illicit products that are cheap and readily available. Newton’s 3rd law of motion (for every action, there is an equal opposite reaction) restated — for every government intervention and taxation, there is an equal opposite distortion — seems to apply in our tobacco-alcohol taxation experience.
Sin Tax
 
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers
minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Abortion and the tragedy of rape

A few years ago, this column tackled the issue of “Rape and the hook-up culture” (May 17, 2014). Sadly, the rape numbers for the Philippines essentially remain disturbing.
According to the Philippine Commission on Women, 4% of women age 15-49 experienced forced first sexual intercourse and 10% of women age 15-49 experienced sexual violence.
The Center for Women’s Resource reported that cases of rape “have reached an alarming level. For the year 2010, a total of 4,572 cases of rape were documented by the Women and Children Protection Center of the Philippine National Police (WCPC-PNP), 19 of which were incestuous or perpetrated by a victim’s blood relative. This was equivalent to a 13% increase in reported cases of rape and incest from 4,048 in 2009.”
Philippine National Police data do indicate an 11.65% drop in rape, from 4,301 in 2015 to 3,800 in 2016. The true figures, however, could be much higher. Of course, there’s also the reported alleged rape committed by elements within the PNP itself.
It is partly due to the tragic reality of women impregnated due to rape that moves to legalize abortion in the Philippines became foreseeable. The argument has a strong emotional pull. Whether it is the right thing to do is another matter.
One statistic brought up was the Alan Guttmacher Institute’s finding that around 50% of Philippine pregnancies were unintended. This, however, should be distinguished from pregnancies arising from rape. To put a not too fine point: unintended pregnancies do not necessarily mean the sexual act was also unintended and non-consensual.
The Philippines is not alone with regard to banning abortions. From the World Economic Forum, “26 countries still ban abortion altogether, with no explicit legal reason for exception” and a “further 37 countries ban abortion unless it is necessary to save the life of the woman. These include major economies such as Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Indonesia and the UAE.”
In the Philippines (although our laws don’t expressly say so), if doctors fully intending to save a mother’s life effected fetal abortion as an unfortunate happenstance such should arguably not lead to criminal prosecution.
Nevertheless, whether the Philippines is alone or not isn’t important. The one question that truly matters is: can a deliberately intended abortion be ever considered right?
Sandra Mahkorn, (MD, MPH, MS and former counselor for sexual assault victims) puts that issue in perspective: “The number and percent of pregnancies resulting from rape is frequently overstated. There are two main reasons why relatively few rapes result in pregnancy. The average rate of pregnancy from a single act of unprotected sexual intercourse ranges from 2 to 4 percent. In addition, 10.9 percent of U.S. women of childbearing age are infertile and over 41 percent have undergone surgical sterilization or are using a continuous form of contraception, reducing (though not eliminating) the likelihood of pregnancy. A survey of U.S. women’s reasons for choosing abortion found that only one percent reported ‘rape’ as a reason and less than one half of one percent reported that rape was the main reason.”
“The abortion rate among rape victims (50 percent) is not substantially higher than among all women who report an ‘unintended pregnancy’ (40 percent). The majority of those who decided against abortion chose to raise their child, while a small percentage opted for adoption. A study of 164 such women found that the majority of those who had abortions regretted having done so and said the abortion caused them additional problems.”
Ultimately, however, as Dr. Mahkorn points out: “we are dealing not with a statistical issue, but a human one.”
So, setting aside what’s basically a tautological argument that abortion is “a choice”: what exactly is being aborted?
Princeton’s Robert George’s remarks before the American Political Science Association Convention is relevant: “A human being is conceived when a human sperm containing twenty-three chromosomes fuses with a human egg also containing twenty-three chromosomes (albeit of a different kind) producing a single-cell human zygote containing, in the normal case, forty-six chromosomes that are mixed differently from the forty-six chromosomes as found in the mother or father. Unlike the gametes (that is, the sperm and egg), the zygote is genetically unique and distinct from its parents. Biologically, it is a separate organism.”
Thusly, anybody can now logically conclude, as George does, that: “The scientific evidence establishes the fact that each of us was, from conception, a human being. Science, not religion, vindicates this crucial premise of the pro-life claim. From it, there is no avoiding the conclusion that deliberate feticide is a form of homicide.”
This is why abortion, intended or in negligence, is considered criminal under the Revised Penal Code.
This is why rights are granted to the unborn under the Civil Code
This is why the unborn is protected under the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
This is why we call pregnant women “nagdadalang tao.”
A good society knows this.
 
Jemy Gatdula is a senior fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.
jemygatdula@yahoo.com
www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com
facebook.com/jemy.gatdula
Twitter @jemygatdula

Peso climbs vs dollar

THE PESO strengthened on Thursday as the greenback slid against major and Asian currencies following the dovish speech of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The local unit ended the week at P52.45 versus the dollar, stronger than the P52.585-per-dollar finish last Wednesday.
The peso traded stronger the whole day, opening the session at P52.47 against the dollar. It climbed to as high as P52.29 and logged an intraday trough of P52.48.
Trading volume climbed to $1.161 billion from the $1.053 billion tallied the previous day.
Foreign exchange traders interviewed yesterday said the peso climbed against the dollar following Mr. Powell’s speech.
“The peso strengthened further following a dovish remark from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell that US policy rates might be closer towards the neutral rate, which is suggestive of possible fewer US rate hikes for next year,” a trader said
“Interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy — that is, neither speeding up nor slowing down growth,” Mr. Powell told the Economic Club of New York.
“What we heard from Powell was quite different from his speech last Oct. 3 wherein he said that the Fed was ‘far from neutral,’” another trader said. “After his speech, the market reaction pushed the dollar lower versus major currencies and even Asian currencies.”
The second trader also speculated that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas offered huge bids in the afternoon session that pushed the closing rate near the intraday low.
Markets are closed today in commemoration of the Bonifacio Day. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Main index ends lower on profit taking after rally

THE MAIN INDEX tumbled on the last trading day of November, failing to sustain early morning gains due to the MSCI rebalancing and dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve chief, accompanied by window dressing.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) hit a high of 7,482.35 intraday on Thursday before falling 0.19% or 14.58 points to close at 7,367.85 — its low for the day.
The broader all-shares index likewise dipped 0.04% or 2.05 points to 4,441.33.
“Philippine shares finished slightly lower, but overall closed the month on another strong rally on the combination of window dressing, MSCI rebalancing and the comments made by Fed Chairman Powell,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said that the key benchmark interest rate is “near the neutral rate,” which analysts took to mean that the Fed will stop hiking rates sooner than expected.
Wall Street’s major indices soared following this comment, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 2.5% or 617.70 points to 25,366.43. The S&P 500 index climbed 2.3% or 61.62 points to 2,743.78, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 2.95% or 208.89 points to 7,291.59.
Most Asian markets also rallied following Mr. Powell’s comments.
“A couple weeks ago, the MSCI released the new weighting for its Philippine index, and most fund managers aligned with the portfolio. The biggest change was Metrobank, which saw huge fund flows this week,” Mr. Limlingan added.
Stocks in Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. were the most actively traded yesterday, dropping 1.65% or P1.25 to close at P74.60 each.
Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer Tan, meanwhile, noted that the PSEi broke its two-month losing streak despite the lower daily performance for Friday.
“The market at last trading seemingly saw investors take profit from the rally this week,” Mr. Tan said via text.
Four sectoral indices moved to negative territory, led by holding firms which fell 0.71% or 51.99 points to 7,230.90. Services slipped 0.68% or 9.63 points to 1,401.55; industrials shed 0.52% or 55.65 points to 10,655.14; while mining and oil declined 0.26% or 22.29 points to 8,487.63.
Meanwhile, the property counter surged 1.67% or 59.47 points to 3,601.14, while financials climbed 0.26% or 4.62 points to 1,758.25.
Turnover swelled to P20.09 billion after some 1.32 billion issues switched hands, versus the previous session’s P7.22 billion.
Advancers outnumbered decliners, 112 to 78, while 52 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors returned to a net selling position after two straight sessions of net purchases. Net foreign outflows reached P680.48 million against Wednesday’s P265.94-million net inflow. — Arra B. Francia

Satur Ocampo, 73 others held at Davao del Norte

A GROUP with former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur C. Ocampo is being held at the Talaingod police station in Davao del Norte province after they were stopped at a checkpoint Wednesday evening, according to the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom).
In a statement released Thursday morning, EastMinCom said the group, which included schoolchildren, were on board five vans. “(The) group is carrying a still undetermined number of minors…who are allegedly students of Salugpungan School. This happened after the Salugpungan School at Sitio Dulyan, Palma Gil, Talaingod Davao Del Norte was padlocked by the IP (indigenous people) Leaders in the area.”
“Currently, the group (is) still at the Talaingod Police Station for blotter and for the MSWDO (Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office) to conduct profiling to the affected children,” EastMinCom added.
Non-government group Save Our Schools (SOS) Network condemned what they called “fascist attacks against human rights defenders and children in Talaingod” and called for the release of the “Talaingod 74.”
In a statement, SOS said the group also includes members of the National Solidarity and Fact Finding Mission (NSFFM) who were investigating cases of attacks on IP schools and communities.
“The NSFFM team rescued the children and teachers but were met with indiscriminate firing, harassment and questioning” from the military and police, SOS said. “They were brought to the police precinct and were threatened with trumped up charges of kidnapping and violation of RA 7610,” it added. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Cops in Kian delos Santos murder convicted

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas
OVER A YEAR after his death, a Caloocan City Court has found three policemen guilty of the Aug. 16, 2017, murder of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos, the first conviction involving police officers in connection with the government’s war against illegal drugs.
Caloocan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 125 has sentenced Police Officer (PO) 3 Arnel G. Oares, PO1 Jeremias T. Pereda, and PO1 Jerwin R. Cruz to reclusion perpetua, or 20 to 40 years of imprisonment, without eligibility for parole.
However, they were acquitted of planting evidence/firearms and violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 as the prosecution failed to prove their guilt in these charges.
Judge Roldolfo P. Azucena, Jr. of Branch 125 directed the accused to indemnify the family of Mr. delos Santos in the amounts of P100,000 as civil indemnity, P100,000 as moral damages, P45,000 as actual damages, and P100,000 as exemplary damages.
In the decision, Mr. Azucena stated that the prosecution witnesses “positively identified” that Messrs. Pereda and Oares shot Mr. delos Santos in a dark alley while Mr. Cruz stood guard and did not prevent his co-officers from killing the minor.
The decision also stated that there is treachery as the accused deliberately attacked the victim and he was not given the opportunity to defend himself. “He was in a sitting position, covering his head with his hands and pleading, ‘Sir, huwag po’ (Sir, please don’t).”
“The court commiserates with our policemen who regularly thrust their lives in zones of danger in order to maintain peace and order and acknowledges the apprehension faced by their families whenever they go on duty. But the use of unnecessary force or wanton violence is not justified when the fulfilment of their duty as law enforcers can effected otherwise,” the decision read in part.
“A shoot first, think later attitude can never be countenanced in a civil society. Never has homicide or murder been a function of law enforcement. The public peace is never predicated on the cost of human life,” it added.
Mr. Oares claimed that they were conducting “One Time Big Time” Operation in Barangay 160, Libis Baesa, Caloocan City, when they were met by gunshots and he chased the gunman and retaliated by firing. Mr. Pereda denied that he shot the victim. However, closed-circuit television footage from the barangay showed the accused were manhandling the person.
Mr. Azucena ordered an alias warrant of arrest against police informant Renato P. Loveras who still remained at large.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said the conviction of the three cops “debunks the myth that there is a culture of impunity in the government’s war against drugs.”
Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams in a statement said the conviction is “a triumph of justice and accountability and a warning to members of the Philippine National Police to respect due process and the rights of civilians as they do their job.”
“But at the same time that we are heartened by this, we are also wary because Duterte has promised to pardon police officers convicted in the ‘drug war’ killings. There is reason to suspect that he will keep that promise,” he said. “This is why it remains important that the government create an independent commission to investigate these killings.”
Asked if there is assurance that the President will not pardon the police officers, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said: “Of course. You must remember that this is a murder, there is intention to kill; the President will never tolerate that. What he said was, ‘If you do it in accordance with your job, in the performance of your duty, then I will help you — not when you violate the law,’ that is what he said.”
Philippine National Police Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said the ruling is a reminder to the policemen to be “extra diligent” in their work.
“But this will not cause us to waiver a bit in our resolve to rid this society of the menace of illegal drugs. We will be equally resolute in standing behind our front line personnel toiling in this war while fully upholding the constitutional rights of everyone,” he said.

Lizada moved to Civil Service

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has transferred Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Member Aileen Lourdes A. Lizada to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
He also promoted to undersecretary Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary Waldo R. Carpio, brother of his son-in-law Manases “Mans” R. Carpio.
The Palace released to reporters on Thursday the Nov. 27 appointment paper of Mr. Carpio, who was first appointed DA assistant secretary on Sep. 4 last year.
For her part, Ms. Lizada’s appointment paper dated Nov. 9 states: “Pursuant to the provisions of the Section 16, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution and existing laws, you are hereby appointed ad interim commissioner, Civil Service Commission, for a term expiring on 02 February 2025, vice Robert S. Martinez.”
To recall, the LTFRB called out Ms. Lizada on Nov. 23 for airing her dissenting opinions to the media in relation to an unofficial memorandum circular regarding the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).
“We were informed that she called media reporters to air the unofficial document with her dissenting opinion and notes,” the LTFRB said.
“Note that BM Lizada was already reminded several times in the past not to release to media documents that are not officially issued to avoid any confusion nor unnecessary speculations. One may have noticed that the unofficial document she prematurely released was unnumbered, and was not even attested by LTFRB Executive Director Sam Jardin,” the agency added.
The President also signed the appointment papers of Nayong Pilipino Board of Trustees members Ruth Marie I. Equipaje and Cesar D.G. Aljama; Philippine National Railway Board of Directors member Roy M. Villa; Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Carim L. Panumpang; and Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Allan B. Gepty.

Businessman assassinated in Subic

BUSINESSMAN Dominic L. Sytin was shot dead on Wednesday night by a still unidentified assailant, police said as of Thursday.
Mr. Sytin is CEO of United Auctioneers, Inc., chairman of Chinese truck brand Foton Philippines, and director and chairman of the board of listed company LMG Chemicals Corp.
He and his bodyguard Efren Espartero were shot at by a still unidentified male suspect in front of the Lighthouse Hotel along Waterfront Road at Subic Bay Freeport Zone on Wednesday night, Nov. 29. Mr. Sytin died on the spot and Mr. Espartero was rushed to the nearest hospital and remains critical as of this reporting.
The suspect drove away in a black Mio motorcycle heading towards the Kalaklan Gate of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
SBMA chairperson Wilma T. Eisma in a statement said, “The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority condemns in the strongest possible term what is apparently a targeted assassination of a business locator in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.”
She added, “This is sad news for us, not only because a prominent businessman who has been a very active member of the Subic Freeport community has fallen prey to violence, but also because one life has been snuffed out just like that.”
“In this light, we ask for the cooperation of the public as we impose strict security measures in the Subic Bay Freeport, and urge any person with information to help authorities solve this crime,” she also said. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Sea dispute stance not a factor in CJ selection, Palace insists

MALACAÑANG on Thursday said the South China Sea issue was not a factor in the selection of the new Supreme court chief justice even as President Rodrigo R. Duterte had criticized Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio’s position in his remarks in Lanao del Norte last Wednesday. In his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Panguil Bay Bridge in Tubod, Lanao del Norte last Wednesday evening, Mr. Duterte announced that he appointed Court of Appeals Associate Justice Rosmari D. Carandang as Supreme Court justice and Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin as the country’s 25th chief justice. “Carandang, she’s actually the most senior in the Court of Appeals. She’s a woman. She and Carpio were classmates. But Carpio was only salutatorian. He was not the valedictorian. It was Carandang. But Carandang was stuck in the Court of Appeals,” the President said. Mr. Duterte then questioned Mr. Carpio’s stand on the South China Sea issue. “Just because you’re a salutatorian, it does not mean a shi* to me. You keep on hankering that you’ll attack the — you do something. What do you want me to do? Arbitration, so I’ll order my military and the police to go there in Palawan and shoot it out? It will be a massacre. We will not win there. We won’t get anything from it,” he said. Mr. Carpio, who has written a book and lectures on the country’s rights to a portion of the South China Sea, was part of the legal team in the arbitration case that was won by the Philippines in an international tribunal. For his part, Presidential Salvador S. Panelo said in an interview with reporters on Thursday that Mr. Carpio’s position on the South China Sea issue had nothing to do with the selection, and reiterated that such decisions were “discretionary” for the President. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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