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Extra DPWH, DILG funds eyed for Health dep’t facilities

SENATE Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon wants to restore the P24.5 billion taken from the Department of Health (DoH) in the 2019 proposed national budget to fund the agency’s health facilities program and human resources.
During deliberations on the DoH budget, Mr. Drilon proposed for the restored budget to be sourced from a portion of the additional funds allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) which were included in the 2019 national budget without the agencies’ prior knowledge.
“The amount could be sourced from the P75 billion in additional funding that went to the DPWH or the P27.7 billion supposedly for assisting local government units that went to DILG,” Mr. Drilon said.
“I hope that the good sponsor can push this in the committee on finance amendments so we can respond to the health needs of our people rather than the flood control projects,” he added.
In response, Finance committee vice-chairperson Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito said, “Yes that is very much welcome.”
About P75 billion was added to the DPWH budget, and P27 billion to the DILG’s funding under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) without the prior knowledge of the agencies concerned. The Senate on Monday moved for the deletion of DPWH’s P75 billion.
Mr. Ejercito said the P24.5 billion set to be restored to the DoH budget will fund the department’s health facilities enhancement program (HFEP) and the human resources for health (HRH) program.
“This will be a great preparation as we anticipate the first year of the implementation of the universal health care program,” he said in mobile message to reporters.
With the restored budget, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said the department will focus on acquiring equipment for its new health facilities and to complete facilities which have exceeded 70% construction progress.
“It’s a catch-up plan. The focus will be on completing the building or infrastructure programs that have been started few years back,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Senate’s budget deliberations. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Projects funded by DPWH augmented budget are undergoing House vetting

DPWH logo
OFFICIAL GAZETTE

THE House Rules Committee on Tuesday was told that projects funded by the P75-billion augmentation to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget for 2019 are only now undergoing the vetting process.
“Again the additional P75 billion. The projects were not part of the submission of the DPWH, and are only now undergoing vetting because we only saw the projects in the NEP (National Expenditure Program),” Undersecretary Maria Catalina E. Cabral told the panel.
“The vetting process now is being done by our field offices, including those that are not included in the P480-billion,” she added.
She said the DPWH proposed a P651-billion budget, but was granted a P480-billion ceiling by the Department of Budget and Management. The final NEP sent to the DPWH, however, showed a P555-billion allocation.
“The main thing that’s even more irritating is that this P75 billion which found its way to the NEP, which is now being vetted by the DPWH, have already undergone the bidding process,” House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. of the 1st district of Camarines Sur said.
In response, DBM Undersecretary Tina Rose Marie L. Canda said the DPWH is aware of the additional projects because a DPWH employee encoded the projects in the DBM’s system. “The process within DBM during budget preparation is such that where DPWH is concerned, they encode the projects and it is uploaded into our system,” Ms. Canda said.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo, meanwhile, rejected claims that DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar did not know of the augmentations, saying they were included in a DBM presentation during a cabinet meeting.
“Perhaps he was misquoted. It cannot be na he had no prior knowledge, because that was discussed in the Cabinet. That was a proposal, all of us were present and all of us consented to that,” Mr. Panelo said in a briefing on Tuesday.
Mr. Panelo also said he sees the passage of the General Appropriations Bill as a way to resolve the conflict between the House and the DBM.
“The conflict arose out of the items in the budget. So when they approve the budget there will be no conflict to speak of,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, Mr. Andaya presented five more deposit slips to back his claims that dummy contractors are being used to win government projects.
The deposit slips are in addition to the P11.4 million deposited to the account of Aremar Construction after winning a project in Bicol, as discovered by the committee on Jan. 3.
“We have established an initial paper trail of possible corrupt money transfer from dummy corporations to Aremar involving P80 million, an amount that breaches the P50 million-plunder threshold,” he said. “Maybe it is time for the Anti-Money Laundering Council to look closely into the bank transactions of Aremar Construction.”
The AMLC told the Committee it will provide the necessary assistance once a case has been filed. “We are mandated to operate and provide assistance to law enforcement agencies but this should be within the confines of the law,” AMLC officer-in-charge Mel Georgie B. Racela said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

NFA sets palay procurement target at 350,000 MT

THE National Food Authority’s (NFA) domestic rice purchasing target in the first half is about 350,000 metric tons of palay, or unmilled rice, also known as “paddy,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said on Tuesday.
“With an initial budget of P7 billion, the NFA aims to buy 350,000 metric tons (MT) of paddy rice for the first half of 2019. This is equivalent to 227,500 MT or 4.450 million bags of (milled) rice,” Mr. Piñol said in a Facebook post.
“With a buying price of P17 per kilo plus an incentive of P3.70 per kilo, the NFA expects to hit the 350,000-metric ton procurement target well ahead of time,” Mr. Piñol added.
The NFA’s import functions are being taken away by the rice tariffication law and it is restructuring to become a purely domestic rice procurement agency, with a mission to maintain a rice buffer stock to smooth out local supply imbalances.
“We are projecting that in eight months, there will be no more imported rice at the NFA, and we have to prepare for September, October, November, December, during which the NFA will have to supply the market with locally-procured rice,” Mr. Piñol said in a briefing in Pasay City.
Mr. Piñol said 350,000 MT of palay is equivalent to 7 million bags.
Mr. Piñol said that NFA is willing to assist farmers if farmgate prices drop by buying more from farmers.
“We are not ruling out the possibility that if we need to assist in the pricing at farmgate level, we can access loans to procure more,” Mr. Piñol said.
Last year, the NFA Council approved the importation of 750,000 MT of rice from Thailand and Vietnam, which represents the last batch of rice imports by the NFA. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

DoLE says TUCP’s national wage hike petition will violate law

LABOR SECRETARY Silvestre H. Bello III said plans to petition for a national wage hike will run counter to the law, which allows only one wage adjustment a year.
“Under the law, wage adjustments comes only once a year but there is an exception in case there is supervening event,” Mr. Bello told reporters in briefing on Tuesday.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President and TUCP Party-list Representative Raymond Mendoza said in a statement on Tuesday that the organization will file for a wage hike petition of P313-355 covering all regions.
The labor group said the wage hike is due to supervening conditions such as high prices of goods which still affect millions of minimum wage earners.
“We will be citing supervening conditions in filing the petitions. We are also going to test once again the capacity of the wage boards to remain relevant with their mandate to raise the minimum wage to an amount that can ably support a family,” the congressman said.
The P313 to 355 range is based on TUCP’s calculations incorporating the prices of commodities and services and the wages needed to cover such basic needs. As of 2018, wage increases have ranged from P8.50 to P56, depending on the region.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bello said that later this month, the department will release a plan on how to handle wage-related matters within all branches of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) nationwide.
“Jan. 24, we’ll be having a DoLE-wide (and) corporate plan on how to address wage adjustment,” he said.
Last month, DoLE said it is planning a study on the effectiveness of the current wage setting system in the Philippines, engaging a third party to conduct the study. — Gillian M. Cortez

Davao airport authority measure clears House

DAVAO CITY — The business sector is pinning its hopes on a new airport authority to improve the operations of this city’s Francisco Bangoy International Airport, with legislation creating the new body recently clearing the House of Representatives.
“With the creation of Davao International Airport Authority, we hope to see major improvements in its terminal facilities and services, making it one of the premier airports in the country,” Arturo M. Milan, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told BusinessWorld in a text message last week.
Mr. Milan called on the Senate to expedite its version of House Bill No. 8691, the Charter of the Davao International Airport Authority (DIAA).
The counterpart measure, Senate Bill 1213, written by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, remains pending at the committee level.
Compostela Valley 1st District Rep. Maria Carmen S. Zamora, one the main authors of the bill, announced last week that the House bill was transmitted to the Senate last December.
“More than accelerating the development of the means of transportation and communications in the country, the measure will further upgrade the facilities of the existing Francisco Bangoy International Airport and extend assistance in formulating international acceptable standards of airport and accommodation service,” Ms. Zamora said.
Under the proposal, the authority will be in charge of operating and managing the airport as well all other airports in the Davao region, including those that have yet to be set up.
The Davao airport is currently under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
Mr. Milan earlier said the establishment of the DIAA, which will be similar to the bodies supervising Mactan International Airport in Cebu and Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the capital, will pave the way for the modernization of the Davao airport as it will be independent from CAAP and national funding.
“(Its) earning capacity should be an encouragement to stand on its own,” he told BusinessWorld last year. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Dominguez pitches TRABAHO as winning issue in midterm polls

THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) said approving the second tax reform package on corporate income tax and fiscal incentives will be positive for legislators seeking re-election during the midterm elections.
The Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill remains pending at the committee on ways and means. The House approved its version in September.
“Considering the political implications of the second package, if they actually think about it, it’s actually good. Can you imagine you are giving a tax break to 99% of the corporations in the Philippines by reducing the corporate income tax… that is a big incentive for the people. If you think about it that way you should be able to pass it in a flash,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said late Friday.
“Except there are a few corporations which I’m sure certainly do not make up even 1% of the total number of corporations who are very noisy about it. It’s really a question of who the legislators are going to listen to — The vast majority of Filipino companies or a few foreign companies? Who are they going to listen to? That is the issue now,” he added.
The DoF wants to have the TRABAHO bill passed before the 17th Congress ends in mid-2019.
The TRABAHO bill, which is the second tax package after the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, seeks to cut the corporate income tax rate gradually from 30% currently to 20% by 2029 via a two-percentage-point reduction every other year starting 2021.
Fiscal incentives will be limited to industries identified in the Strategic Investments Priority Plan (SIPP) and will make them subject to performance benchmarks. Incentives will be harmonized into a single menu, including: a three-year income tax holiday, after which, a special net income tax rate of 17% will be charged starting 2021; deductions for labor, research and development, training, and infrastructure development expenses; and some customs duties exemptions for up to five years.
Following this, companies will be taxed at the prevailing corporate tax scheme. Currently, income tax holidays can be as long as nine years, with a 5% tax on gross income earned in lieu of all other taxes.
Legislative session will be suspended for three months starting Feb. 9 to make way for the campaign period and the midterm elections, followed by a small May 20-June 7 window as the final session of the 17th Congress
The Senate committee on ways and means has so far conducted one public hearing, putting in focus the potential job losses that the TRABAHO bill might cause.
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and private economic zone locators have been vocal about lost investment or withdrawals of operations due to the restructuring of fiscal incentives.
“You’re holding hostage an entire business community to the interest of the few which are not even sure that they will be affected badly. I cannot understand why you would not want to benefit the majority of your voters to the possible detriment, not even the detriment, to the remote possibility that some non-voters are going to get hurt or not have such a good deal as before. That’s just a possibility,” said Mr. Dominguez.
The committee’s chair, Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara meanwhile said that the 2019 budget, that is also pending upper chamber approval, takes precedence over the TRABAHO bill.
“We can’t move on that front while the budget bill is in session under senate rules. Still a need for more hearings and consultations,” he said in a mobile phone message yesterday.
Other tax packages include: higher excise taxes on mineral, alcohol and tobacco products, harmonization of property valuation, and the rationalization in capital income and financial taxes — which have all hurdled the lower chamber of Congress as of December and is now up for Senate committee-level talks. The tax amnesty program meanwhile is up for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Easing inflation rate: A hopeful start to 2019?

Duterte’s economic managers finally got a much-needed reprieve at the start of 2019. After months of struggling to contain increasing commodity prices, the inflation rate finally showed signs of slowing down. First, it clocked in at 6% in November, before easing further to 5.1% in December, recording a month-on-month deceleration of -0.3% and -0.4%, respectively. This is the lowest inflation rate since June. The latest inflation figure puts the full-year average at 5.2%, matching the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2018 forecast but exceeding its 4% target.
In December, the inflation rate was attributed to the slower price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as in transport.
While food items have been the main inflation drivers since August, its contribution to inflation has tempered since. Among the food items, rice, the staple Filipino food, contributed the most to inflation.
The unreliable rice supply is symptomatic of our country’s longstanding problems in our rice policy. Last year, the already tenuous situation was aggravated by the failure of the National Food Authority (NFA) to import rice on time. At one point, the NFA already depleted its buffer stock, pushing commercial rice prices even higher. Thankfully, the rice supply eventually improved with the harvest season and additional supply from imports.
Duterte’s economic team repeatedly called for a shift to rice tariffication from quantitative restrictions on imports to address lingering rice supply issues, a measure it deemed as fundamental to stabilizing food prices. By the government’s own estimate, the reform will lower prices by as much as P7 per kilo. The bill was finally ratified by lawmakers last November 2018 and is now awaiting the President’s signature.
Apart from rice, other food items that consistently drive inflation include fish, meat, and vegetables. The shortfall in supply in these commodities only unmasked the vulnerabilities of the agriculture sector. As a stopgap measure, Malacañang released Administrative Order 13 last September to streamline the importation of agricultural commodities.
External factors also played a hand in stoking commodity prices. In January 2018, crude prices just averaged at $66 per barrel. By October, it reached a peak of $79 per barrel amidst threats of US sanctions on Iran. The weaker peso also made it costlier to import crude, of which 90% are imported from the Middle East, with over a third sourced from Saudi Arabia alone. After opening the year at P50.5 against the dollar, the peso peaked at P54/USD in October.
However, in December, oil prices slumped to its lowest level since October 2017 due to excess supply, worsened by a gloomier outlook on global economic growth and the ongoing dispute between the US and China. With falling fuel prices, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) called for a provisional fare rollback of jeepneys in Mega Manila. For the same reason, the government also called off plans to suspend the next round of oil tax increase in 2019 under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
To manage the rising inflation rate, the central bank raised interest rates five times since May 2018, bringing the overnight borrowing rate to 4.75% from 3%. According to the BSP, it adjusted the rate to curb inflation expectations, including those attributed to external uncertainties amid tighter global financial conditions and trade tensions, and to avoid second-round inflationary effects. In its last monetary board meeting for 2018, however, the BSP decided to keep interest rates steady, citing weaker price pressures, lower crude prices, and stabilization of the exchange rate.
For 2019, the BSP is already expecting inflation to fall to 3.5%, comfortably within its 2% to 4% target. In addition to expectations of lower global oil prices, the central bank expressed confidence that inflation will be in line with its target primarily because of the impacts of key reforms — the rice tariffication law and the successive interest rate adjustments — executed in the previous year. Monetary authorities are also expecting inflation to slip back to its target during the first quarter, earlier than its initial forecast of the first half of 2019.
While the easing inflation figure is a bullish start to the new year, our top bureaucrats cannot rest on their laurels just yet. The supply-side issues on food items, for example, require long-term reforms in the agriculture sector.
Of course, the upcoming midterm election incentivizes keeping inflation in check for our government officials. After all, economic issues are the top concerns of Filipinos. However, these reforms should go beyond the election cycle to be truly effective.
 
Weslene Uy is an economic fellow of Stratbase ADR Institute.

America’s Wailing Wall

In Washington DC and wherever in the US federal employees proliferate, there is a lot of weeping and wailing over a wall.
This not Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall. It is President Donald Trump’s border wall.
It is the border wall between the US and Mexico that Trump boasted the Southern neighbor would pay for…uh, er, he means…Mexico will pay for it one way or the other…uh, er, he means, through the renegotiated trade deal that Trump forged with Mexico but, in the meantime, the American taxpayers must pay for ….uh, er, he means a barrier, not necessarily a concrete wall…
Whatever it is that Trump means — and he means something other than what he says from day to day, which makes it difficult to guess what he really means — if it spells W-A-L-L, the new Democratic majority on Capitol Hill, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has flatly said no way. WALA!
Trump wants $5 billion for his wall. The Democrats refuse to provide for it in the budget. Trump says he needs the wall for “border security.” The Democrats are willing to provide funds for border security but not for what they describe as a stupid wall. But Trump doesn’t want the Democrats’ version of border security. He insists on his wall.
In other words, Trump is facing a blank wall.
On the other hand, Trump has vowed that unless he gets his wall funded, he will continue to stonewall and not sign any legislation that will reopen the partially shut-down federal government. Which explains why there is a lot of weeping and wailing among federal employees who have either been furloughed or have been made to work without pay for the longest time now, since shutting down the government became the hostage-taking weapon of choice in Washington DC.
That leaves the Republicans with their backs against the wall, because the majority of Americans blame Trump and the GOP for the shutdown. They vividly remember that meeting at the oval office, between Trump and Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer where Trump boasted that he was proud to cause a government shutdown in the name of border security and that he would take full responsibility for it.
Of course, the King of Weaselers (in Tagalog, “Hari ng Palusot”) is now saying that “everyone” is to blame for the shutdown, particularly the Democrats.
During the presidential campaign, “a border wall that Mexico will pay for” was the centerpiece of the Trump platform. Two years into his presidency, Trump, who holds the world record for being a bare-faced liar among world leaders (making him The Lyin’ King) has been unable to deliver on his promise — not that his conscience bothers him, but that his voter base, egged on by conservative radio and TV hosts, are holding him to his promise.
For perspective, the US Congress has to pass spending bills and the President has to sign it in order for the federal government to operate. The states have their own budgets and are only affected by the shutdown of federal departments on whose operations they depend.
Congress has approved and Trump has signed five bills providing funding for defense, energy and water, labor, health and human services, the legislative branch and veterans affairs. Seven other bills need congressional action and presidential approval. These would fund the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Interior, State, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, as well as some other smaller agencies.
Thus, these departments have been shut down for lack of approved budgets. In the Philippines, this would not have happened. If Congress and Malacañang fail to pass a budget for the new fiscal year, the budget for the previous year is “reenacted” and used as the basis for spending. The downside is that new appropriations and budget increases cannot be activated — but, at least, the government is able to continue operations.
Not so in the US. Without an approved budget, funds cannot be appropriated. This has left over 800,000 federal employees either furloughed or going without paychecks.
Those in the Philippines who think that living in America is like living in a land of endless wealth should realize that we all survive, literally, from bill to bill — bills for the house mortgage or apartment rent, bills for the car installments or lease, bills for school, grocery bills, light and water bills, health insurance bills.
Like the boxer who gets KO’d we cannot be saved by the bills.
After the recent missed paychecks, affected federal workers will fall behind on their payments — and, believe me, landlords (like the Trump businesses) are heartless. You fail to pay, you get thrown out onto the street and may have to live in your car.
They could add to America’s surplus of homeless families who live in the cold in such cities as San Francisco. The sight of these poor people is reminiscent of those in Manila who live under bridges, trucks and kariton. With no other options, they pay no attention to signs like, “Bawal umihi dito.”
According to my old lawyer friend, Nestor Valenzuela, “What they’re doing is not against the law. It’s against the wall.”
Trump insists that he will refuse to sign a spending bill that does not provide for his wall. According to him, he will hold his ground even if takes months. He wants the Democrats to negotiate. The Democrats insist that they will only negotiate if the shutdown is lifted first, otherwise, Trump will use the same blackmail tactic over and over again.
The majority of Americans are blaming Trump and the Republicans for this stalemate. This situations has the leaders of the GOP either climbing up a blank wall or banging their heads on it.
This reminds me of a mantra that I drilled into my assistants when I was CEO of an ad agency in Manila: “If you face a blank wall, go around it, go over it, or dig a hole under it. If none of that works, break down the damn wall.”
Trump is about ready to do that, in effect. He and the White House have begun to drum up visions of a “crisis” at the US-Mexico border that can only be prevented by a wall. In fact, the only real crisis confronting the United States, according to pundits, is Donald Trump himself.
Some beleaguered federal employees have begun to stage demonstrations to force an end to the shutdown. We pray that they don’t resort to violence, as some desperate folks do.
To paraphrase my lawyer friend, if these desperate employees decide to march on the White House, it may not be against the law.
It will be against the wall.
 
Greg B. Macabenta is an advertising and communications man shuttling between San Francisco and Manila and providing unique insights on issues from both perspectives.
gregmacabenta@hotmail.com

The HeART of Public Speaking

By Raju Mandhyan
MANY A TIMES in my workshops on public speaking, sales, negotiations and other soft skills, I have stressed the importance of acutely aligning our internal resources like our mood, our state of mind and most importantly our authentic agenda behind the conversation.
I have also stressed, referring to the 55+38+7 percentage rule of Dr. Albert Mehrebian which highlights the impact of body language, nonverbal behavior and words used in our conversations.. The 55+38+7 percentage rule on impact and effectiveness states that of a 100% impact upon our listeners, 7% comes from words, 35% from tonality and other nonverbal behavior and 55% from our bodily movements and total presence.
Now this is only partially understood by many and completely misinterpreted by many a trainer and coach of interpersonal communications. When Dr. Mehrebian, originally, conducted studies on communication patterns the results of the studies were widely circulated in the press, in abbreviated form, leading to blithe acceptance and generalization of his thesis.
Dr. Mehrabian’s research was to decipher the relative impact of facial expressions and spoken words. His subjects were asked to listen to a recording of a voice saying the single word “maybe” in three tonalities, to convey liking, disliking and neutrality. The subjects were then shown pictures of the faces conveying the same three emotions. Then subjects were asked to guess the emotions portrayed by the recorded voice, the pictures and both combined. The subjects’ assessment of the picture plus voice drew more accurate responses.
In another study, subjects listened to nine recorded words, three meant to convey liking (honey, dear and thanks), three to convey neutrality (maybe, really and oh) and three to convey disliking (don’t, brute and terrible). The words were spoken with varying tonalities and subjects were asked to guess the emotions behind the spoken words. The finding was that tone created more impact and meaning than words alone.
Thus the 55+38+7 rule was born and has been promoted around for years and decades across disciplines and other learning interaction. Years later, Dr. Mehrebian declared he never intended his results to be applied to everyday conversations and public speakers cannot just depend on 55+38% impact alone. The truth is that the spoken word has several intangible components and a flat out application or the assumption of this rule would be a fallacy. All interactions must equally depend on the three factors, i.e., body, nonverbal and the words. The percentages of each may resemble the rule for 100% impact but in reality will vary upon depending on the medium and the context.
What true and heavy impact will really depend upon is the clarity, the purpose and the authentic agenda of the speaker. Through the filters of the body, the tonality, the gestures, the micro-gestures and flowery language what are truly seen, heard and sensed well are the purpose and the agenda of the speaker. Getting an alignment and agreement between what we truly want, feel and need helps make the outward expression of it more viable, acceptable and impact heavy. Alignment of our internal resources: spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical is guaranteed to create resonance and consensus easily.
In public speaking this is the heart of it. When any speaker or business leader manages to dive deep into her own self and surfaces with valuable insights and resources that will serve and please her audience then she just doesn’t communicate effectively but evokes great emotions and drives transformations. Back in the day, they used to say that when Socrates spoke people claimed “great speech, great speech!” and when Demosthenes spoke people used to get on their feet and claim “let’s march!”
In today’s milieu people experience anxiety, doubt and fear when it comes to facing large audience because we feel we will be judged and truly so. Yes, we will be judged by several pairs of eyes and ears. These eyes and ears and other senses will zero in and probe into what exactly you wish to achieve as speaker and a leader. If you wish to benefit and authentically serve your audiences then most all anxiety, doubt and fear will fizzle away because your heart and mind will move away from being self-focused and more into serving the gift of your knowledge and wisdom to others. The heart of public speaking, as a leader, may be yours but it beats because of your audiences and your world.
 
Raju Mandhyan is an author, coach and speaker.
www.mandhyan.com

Working from home

By Tony Samson
THE NEW BILL on telecommuting, allowing employees to work from home, has more implications than just employment status and traffic. What is its impact on office attire? Will working from home shift office attire towards sleepwear — like boxer shorts and school tee shirts (Back-two-Back)?
Even the most liberal work cultures, like those involved in the creativity business including advertising and media, have office rules on “Casual Friday.” They’ve loosened up on shorts. But this abbreviated outerwear needs to meet certain requirements like being plain colored, having a zipper in front and a belt, as well as extending down to the knees. And the material should not be thin and clingy so as not to attract attention. Working from home does away with such rules.
What about the impact on leases and office rents?
Due to rising occupancy costs (rent, fixtures, and utilities), companies have already done away with the big reception area, big executive rooms, and cubicles with desks. Going too are permanent space assignments. The office worker is assigned whatever space, usually just a counter with plugs, is available. This employs the hoteling approach, where even a regular guest is given any vacant room that fits his requirements (non-smoking floor, king-sized bed, extra towels).
To ensure that spaces are available, employees are obliged to work from home at least one day in the workweek. Thus, at any one time, at least 20% of the employees are not at the office, and usually more than that percentage if one includes workers on field visits, sales calls, vacation leaves, and travel. This hoteling approach reduces rental and utilities overhead and optimizes space utilization on an “as needed” basis. Lockers are provided for the personal effects of the employee, including family photos and coffee mugs which move with him to his current workstation.
This shrinking of the office space will only accelerate with homes becoming free-rent work stations for the company.
The home/office executive does leave his house for breakfast and lunch meetings, organizing these into designated out-of-home days preferably in the same general location, and wearing more traditional business attire, though the same boxer shorts he typically wears around the home/office during work may be used as underwear.
The “always on” digital culture already allows work to follow the workhorse around through phones with e-mail or group chat access. This can happen while on vacation in Madrid, so why not during regular working days as well?
The home executive dispenses with commuting from bed to desk as the latter is just downstairs from the bedroom with no need to even dress up. The impact on traffic (that’s another topic) as well as savings on clothes, gasoline, and stress levels argue for working from home.
Some unforeseen corporate-culture issues, however, arise in the shift from office to home.
When calls are made, there may be unfamiliar background sounds like barking dogs (are you in a park?) and bawling babies. (I’m in the maternity ward of a hospital, checking our billboards.) This can be solved by having a sound-proofed room for making calls. But you still need to run to it when the mobile phone rings. Also, the designated room needs to look presentable in case of a video conference — is that a female guest in the background, hurrying to the bathroom? (What were you saying, again?)
The biggest problem in working from home is keeping up with office politics. How do you read the body language of the coffee server who knows who’s in and who’s out with the boss? If you’re staying at home all the time, won’t they talk about you? (Is he still alive?) The office can get so used to your absence that they may decide to make it permanent.
Also, what about all those corporate clothes? Well, there are still meetings and luncheons, and association meetings. Also, every Friday, the casual day at work, it’s possible to wear more formal clothes to the corner office downstairs, just to stay in practice.
The home office works best for entrepreneurs, wedding gown designers, pastry bakers, event planners, talent managers, consultants, and venture capitalists. Still, they may have some clients who want to check out the office address — isn’t this where you live?
Somehow, the client’s trust and confidence are boosted by a nice office layout…and the sight of busy bees in the cubicle farm. Besides, who do you have coffee gossip with?
 
A.R. Samson is chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Metrobank supports FFCCCII Marawi dome project & Operation Barrio Schools


Metrobank Group Chairman Arthur Ty–accompanied by Metrobank president Fabian Dee and Metrobank Foundation President Chito Sobrepeña–on January 10 turned over donations totaling P4 million pesos to Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) led by President Domingo Yap, Vice-President David Chua and Secretary-General Dr. Fernando Gan to support two major philanthropic projects.
The donations were made in memory of the late Metrobank Group founder Dr. George S. K. Ty, who was senior executive adviser of the FFCCCII and who passed away on November 23, 2018. Arthur Ty is son and successor of philanthropist and foremost art patron Dr. George S. K. Ty. Zamboanga-born industrialist and realty businessman Domingo Yap is the first ever FFCCCII president from the Mindanao region.
Metrobank includes Phillipine Savings Bank, AXA Philippines, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., Federal Land, Inc. and others.
The two philanthropic projects supported by Metrobank Group are:
***P2 million contribution to the Filipino Chinese community’s civic project to build a P200 million “Filipino Chinese Friendship Dome” in war-ravaged Marawi City as a new 4,000-seat civic, cultural and sports center. This dome is designed by Mindanao-born topnotch Arch. Jose Siao Ling for free as his contribution, he is also designer of Henry Sy family’s 20,000 seat Mall of Arena.
***P2 million for FFCCCII’s longstanding “Operation Barrio Schools” to construct and donate public schoolbuildings for disadvantaged rural areas all over the Philippines. The late Dr. George S. K. Ty has been donating rural public schools all over the Philippines in partnership with FFCCCII’s “Operation Barrio Schools”, starting with his first barrio school donation in 1970 in Jolo municipality, Sulu province.
The “Filipino Chinese Friendship Dome” multi-purpose center, which is expected to be completed in 16 to 18 months from groundbreaking, will be constructed in a two-hectare area in Marawi City.
FFCCCII president Domingo Yap said the dome shall showcase Marawi’s culture, facilitate commerce, promote athletics, and provide a home for other events and community needs. He said: “It is the Filipino-Chinese community’s fervent wish that this donation will help in the healing of the people of Marawi from the scars of war and destruction.”
Yap further said that the dome was designed for free by architect Jose Siao Ling, who hails from Zamboanga City.
Apart from FFCCCII, Yap said 11 other Filipino Chinese business and civic associations “came together as one, under the leadership of the Federation to seek the guidance of the government on the kind of contribution it can make.” These supporting organizations are FFCCCII Foundation, Inc.; Federation of Filipino-Chinese Associations of the Philippines; World News Daily; Filipino Chinese Amity Club; Overseas Chinese Alumni Association of the Philippines; Filipino-Chinese Shin Lian Association, Inc.; Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc.; Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the Philippines, Inc.; Philippine Soong Ching Ling Foundation; Philippine Jin Jiang Shen Fu Zhen Association, Inc; and World Fujian Youth Association & Business Club, Inc.
FFCCCII’s “Operation Barrio Schools” has also in late 2018 joined GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc. led by chairman Atty. Felipe Gozon and COO Rikki Escudero Catibog to donate new, modern public schoolbuildings for the students of Marawi City. FFCCCII has its “Operation Barrio Schools” since the 1960s, donating public schoolbuildings to disadvantaged rural communities all over the Philippines. It also supports diverse other socio-civic projects, including the Filipino Chinese fire volunteer brigades, disaster relief operations, free medical missions and other philanthropic projects.

Peso rebounds to 8-month high

peso dollar bills
THE PESO reached a new eight-month peak on Tuesday.

THE PESO rebounded against the dollar on Tuesday to a fresh eight-month high amid increased risk appetite from investors following the US central bank’s reassurance that it will be patient in hiking interest rates this year.
The local unit ended yesterday’s session at P52.03 versus the greenback, 23 centavos stronger than the P52.26-per-dollar finish last Monday. This is a fresh high for the peso, being its strongest finish since May 10, when it closed at P51.80 to the dollar.
The peso traded stronger the whole day, opening the session at its intraday trough of P52.17 per greenback. Meanwhile, its best showing stood at its closing rate.
A foreign exchange trader said in an e-mail that the peso gained amid risk-on sentiment following the interview with US Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida.
In an interview with Fox Business Channel, Mr. Clarida echoed the mantra of the Fed, saying it will take a “patient” approach to its interest rate hike cycle given that there is a “good momentum” in the American economy amid slowdown abroad, Reuters reported.
“Reduced odds of Fed rate hikes amid reiteration of dovish statements by the Federal Reserve and its officials have partly led to lower US dollar vs. major global currencies,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a text message.
He added that the local unit strengthened to a new peak amid continued net foreign buying at the local stock market.
“Net foreign portfolio investment inflows since the start of 2019 also partly led to lower local interest rates, including the recent decline in short-term yields, amid easing trend in inflation,” Mr. Ricafort said.
For today, Mr. Ricafort expects the peso to trade between P51.80 and P52.10, while the trader gave a P51.95-P52.15 range.
“The peso might appreciate further following the release of upbeat [Philippine] remittances data for November,” the trader noted. — K.A.N. Vidal

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