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Drug rehab program gets boost

INDIVIDUALS in the Davao Region who have themselves in for drug rehabilitation will soon get help from the Yakap Bayan Framework Intervention whose P57.3-million financial assistance will help them start livelihood activities and capacity building, said Dahlia S. Padillo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Ms. Padillo said the DSWD will also extend technical assistance to local government units for their rehabilitation programs. She cited further a “case management system for social workers handling recovering drug dependents.” Ronaldo a. Rivera, technical adviser of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council, said for his part, “We teach them to lead a lifestyle that would make it difficult for them to go back or use drugs again.” — Carmelito Q. Francisco

DoTr, airlines to determine penalties on flight delays

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) and at least three airline companies are set to decide June 24 on the amount of penalties to be imposed on “unreasonable” flight delays at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), according to Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade. “Ang una po, doon sa NAIA 1, 2, 3 and 4, nagpulong-pulong po ako kasama iyong mga may-ari ng ating mga airline companies…. Nandiyan na ho iyong Philippine Airlines, ang Cebu Pacific at AirAsia na kung saan nagkasundo po na kailangan tingnan iyong tinatawag na on time punctuality record ng ating mga paliparan at iyong mga airline company (Regarding NAIA 1, 2, 3, and 4, we had a meeting with the owners of Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia where it was agreed that there is a need for time punctuality records from our airports and airline companies),” Mr. Tugade said in a Cabinet Report sa Teleradyo interview transcript emailed by the Presidential Communications Office to reporters on Saturday. “Pinag-uusapan namin iyan na by 24th of June, magkakaroon na kami ng kaliwanagan at kasunduan kung magkano iyong amount (We agreed that by the 24th of June, there will be clarification and agreement on the amount),” he added. “Napagkasunduan din ho namin na magkakaroon ng slots’ removal kung magiging sobra na iyong mga delay.” (It was also agreed that there will be removal of slots regarding delays that take too long.) On Monday last week, Civil Aeronautics Board Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla issued an advisory saying: “All scheduled air carriers are reminded of their obligation to properly explain to their passengers and make truthful announcements of the reason/s of any flight delay and cancellation.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Unpaid bills at PAF flagged

THE COMMISSION on Audit flagged the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for its laxity in imposing sanctions on military personnel for unpaid electricity and water bills and delinquent occupancy in its housing facilities. According to CoA’s annual audit report for 2018, bills on electricity, water, rentals, and garbage collection amounting to P21.8 million and charged to military personnel and concessionaires were not collected on or before their due dates. CoA noted, on the other hand, that PAF has been paying for light and water consumption out of their regular fund for 2018. “The non-collection of outstanding balances may be attributable to lenient/laxity in the enforcement of policy set by each filed bases in connection to collection of outstanding balances. Furthermore, the Command failed to impose sanction to occupants with delinquent accounts, such as but not limited to: disconnection of electricity and water, cancellation of revocable permit/contract, and eviction,” said the report. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Woodland holds nerve to stay top at US Open

PEBBLE BEACH, CA. — An ice cool Gary Woodland held his nerve under mounting pressure to secure a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the US Open after seeing off challenges from Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka at Pebble Beach on Saturday.

Woodland, who could not manage a top-10 finish in his first 27 majors, looked as if he played for the biggest prizes in the game every week as he carded a third round two-under 69 that featured three birdies and a lone bogey.

If Woodland faced intense pressure on Saturday, it is nothing to what awaits him on Sunday with former winners Rose and Koepka breathing down his neck and major champions Louis Oosthuizen and Rory McIlroy lining up to take a run.

“We just got to play golf shots and hopefully come up with one less than anyone else,” said Woodland.

“Sleep is not an issue, I’ll be rested for tomorrow. I’m playing pretty good, I’m comfortable with my game, we’re at Pebble Beach for the US Open so should be pretty exciting.”

Rose, US Open champion in 2013, started the day two shots back and ended it with a birdie for a three-under 68 that trimmed Woodland’s advantage to a single stroke.

Both Woodland and Rose will be looking over their shoulders for Koepka, who had a tidy bogey-free 68 that left him four off the pace with his hopes of becoming the first player in over a century to sweep three straight US Opens very much alive.

Also lurking four back are South African Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion who carding a one-under 70, and Chez Reavie, who fired a 68 to move into contention.

Not to be overlooked is McIlroy, who returned a scrappy 70 to leave him five back but not out of range of a second US Open title.

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Woodland began smartly picking up two birdies on his outward nine and at one point increased his advantage to four strokes.

But a bogey at the eighth, his first in 34 holes, combined with a Rose birdie cut the advantage to two.

MONSTER PUTT
Woodland’s would post just one birdie on back nine that was highlighted by two huge par saves, a chip in for par at the 12th and monster 43-foot for another at 14 that kept him from losing ground to Rose.

“When I chipped in on 12 and made the long putt on 14 for par, he (Rose) executed putts right after that on top of that,” said Woodland. “He’s been putting well all week.

“I’m just trying to stay within myself. I’m trying to extend the lead.

“I’m trying to execute everything to the best of my ability, and I’ve done that really well.”

Two of the Pebble Beach headliners Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be reduced to opening acts on Sunday, going off early after disappointing third rounds saw them drop out of contention.

Woods, nine back to start the day, began his round in the same frustrating fashion that he ended the second round — with a bogey — and did nothing to improve his mood by picking up another at the third.

The early miscues appeared to fire up the 15-time major winner, and Woods responded with back-to-back birdies but the relief was only temporary as he gave back those two shots with bogeys at seven and 12.

Woods would birdie three of his final five holes, including the 18th but it was too little to late an even-par 71 leaving him at even par for the tournament and 10 behind the pacesetter Woodland. “I got off to a crap start,” summed up Woods. “I got off to an awful start, and clawed it around.”

While Woods at least walked off on a positive note, Mickelson signed off with a triple bogey. Runner-up at US Open a record six times and needing a victory here to complete the career grand slam, Mickelson will not get it done this year after signing for four-over 75 to leave him at three-over going into Sunday’s final round. — Reuters

Gilas FIBA World Cup preparations start rolling

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WITH the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China less than three months away, the Philippine national men’s basketball team is girding to get its preparations going, looking to put in as much practice time as possible to have a competitive showing in the global hoops spectacle.

Backed by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) anew, Gilas Pilipinas will begin twice-a-week practices beginning today, progressing to daily training eventually and lining up tune-up games abroad as part of its build-up for the World Cup.

“First consideration for us is we want the team to be able to get in enough practice days [in the lead-up]. But it is going to be a balancing act with the PBA schedule,” shared national team coach Yeng Guiao following his NLEX Road Warriors’ PBA game on Friday.

“So our once-a-week practice we made it twice a week beginning Monday (today) until August. And by August we hope to do every day practices already,” he added.

Aside from Monday, Gilas is also to do practices on Thursday.

The fiery coach, who took over the team last year, said they are set to go to Spain in August where they are to see action against the Spanish national team as well as some African teams.

Mr. Guiao expects the Spain training to help their cause as they are going up against opponents featuring world-class talents and should be a good gauge of their progress as a team.

After that, the team returns to the country and continue practicing, building on the learnings from Spain before flying to China for the tournament proper, happening from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15.

“So that is the plan. When we come back here, again [from Spain], we will reset and see how we can make adjustments and improve based on the tune-up games and then on Aug. 27 we fly to China. I don’t know if we can still get scrimmages in China, if not, then we will practice by ourselves,” the coach said.

“I think this is the best plan wherein we will have the practices needed and at the same not disrupt too much the schedule of the PBA,” Mr. Guiao said.

The PBA Commissioner’s Cup is currently ongoing and is set to reach the championship rounds come August.

Gilas Pilipinas qualified for the FIBA World Cup by way of the back door, qualifying as the best fourth-placed team in the qualifiers.

The Philippines is in Group D along with Serbia, Italy and Angola.

The other groupings are composed of Cote d’Ivoire, Poland, Venezuela and host China in Group A; Russia, Argentina, Korea and Nigeria in Group B; Spain, Iran, Puerto Rico and Tunisia in Group C; Turkey, Czech Republic, USA and Japan in Group E; Greece, New Zealand, Brazil and Montenegro in Group F; Dominican Republic, France, Germany and Jordan in Group G; and Canada, Senegal, Lithuania and Australia in Group H.

FIBA World Cup format calls for the top two teams from the eight groupings in the first round advancing to the second phase. From there the teams are further weeded out until the top two teams are left to contest the title.

PFL: Kaya races to third win in a row; Stallion routs Mendiola

KAYA FC-Iloilo kept its unblemished record in the Philippines Football League intact while Stallion Laguna FC was a big winner in league action on Saturday.

Back after the FIFA international break, Kaya hacked out a 1-0 victory over Global Cebu FC at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium with Alfred Osei providing the winning goal.

Kaya dictated the opening half with solid opportunities to score but could not complete them.

In the 52nd minute though its efforts paid off when Mr. Osei found himself in the right spot.

As Jovin Bedic was attempting to wriggle free inside Global’s box, the ball fell to Mr. Osei, who while on the ground, managed to opportunistically steer a low shot into goal for the 1-0 lead.

“Honestly, it was a lucky goal, but I’ll take that any day, especially with a performance like that, being that sloppy in front of goal. The chance was there, and I just took it. We had 19 shots in the first half, only four on target. That’s not good enough. When the ball came, I was thinking, ‘Just hit the target.’ Most importantly, we got three points on the board,” said Mr. Osei after the match.

“It’s a good thing that we got three points today. As a bonus, we were able to maintain the clean sheet. That’s all that matters. But we have to be conscious moving forward,” Iloilo head coach Noel Marcaida, for his part, said.

“It’s not that we played badly. We created chances, we were able to play that ball around well. But moving forward, we need to work on our finishing. We need to be more clinical and composed in front of goal,” he added.

The loss pushed Global to a record of 0-0-3, the lone team still without a point.

STALLION WINS TWO IN A ROW
Meanwhile, Stallion notched back-to-back wins after a 6-1 victory over Mendiola FC 1991 at the Biñan Football Stadium.

Substitute Chima Uzoka scored a hat trick, with Fitch Arboleda adding a brace and Nathan Alquiros a goal to help their team fashion out the rout.

Mr. Alquiros opened the scoring, finding the goal just two minutes into the contest.

His teammate Arboleda doubled their lead, 2-0, six minutes later.

Mendiola managed to narrow the gap, 2-1, in the 20th minute off a penalty kick of Ashley Flores.

The scored held up to the halftime break.

In the second half it was all Stallion with Mr. Uzoka scoring in the 55th and 83rd minute to make it a 4-1 count.

The home team put the finishing touches after with Messrs, Arboleda and Uzoka adding a goal each for the final score.

The win was the second straight for Stallion (2-1-1), in follow-up to its 3-0 victory over Philippine Air Force FC previously. It pushed the team to third spot in the standings with seven points.

Mendiola with the loss, meanwhile, fell to 0-1-2 with a point after three matches.

Aussie Hill takes Stage Three of Le Tour; Dutch Meijers still overall leader

LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY — Australian Samuel Hill of Team Nero Bianchi outlasted a pair of Filipino challengers in the final stretch to claim his first-ever lap victory in Stage Three even as Dutch Jeroen Meijers of Taiyuan Miogee Cycling Team of China clung to the Air21 purple jersey in the 10th Le Tour de Filipinas on Sunday.

Hill, 23, was with the small five-rider group that broke loose as early as the first three kilometers of this 183.7-kilometer stage and then made his move against local bets Dominic Perez of 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Roadbike Philippines and Mark Galedo of Celeste Cycles-Bianchi Phls in the final 10km downhill path to claim his very first stage win.

The Newcastle native clocked four hours, 33 minutes and 12 seconds while Perez and Galedo, the 2014 winner here, timed in 4:34:03 and 4:34:06, respectively, in this stage that started in Daet, Camarines Norte, and ended at the Rizal Avenue here.

It was a big turnaround from the disastrous Stage Two when Hill slipped from the lead pack after puncturing a tire.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was just a bad day and I was so sad of what happened, so this is the best feeling ever and I feel so stoked about it,” said Hill.

The podium finish for Perez and Galedo, however, gave the Filipinos, who are seeking to gain Olympic qualifying points to the 2020 Tokyo Games, something to cheer about as they were the first two local bets to crash into the top three.

And the 33-year-old Galedo, who climbed to 14th overall, hopes it will not be the last.

“There are still two stages to go so there is still a big chance for us to keep improving,” said Galedo in Filipino.

A day after losing and regaining the general classification lead in Stage Two, Meijers made sure his closest pursuer, Singaporean Goh Choon Huat of Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team of Malaysia, will not be out of sight and stuck with him the whole time and finished in the peloton that clocked 4:35:06.

After three stages, Meijers kept his grip of the general classification lead with an aggregate time of 12:34:06, or 45 seconds ahead of Goh, who was stuck at second with 12:34:51 in this five-stage race sponsored by Air21, Cargohaus, NMM, Ufreight, SPL and marked by the full cooperation of the PNP, AFP and Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

And Meijers is expected to employ the same plan in today’s 176-km Stage Four that will start and end in Legazpi City but will pass Sorsogon towns like Casiguran and Gubat.

Aussie Angus Lyons of Oliver’s Real Food Racing of Australia ended up at fourth in the stage in 4:35:01 and stayed at No. 3 overall in 12:35:44.

The Philippines’ Marcelo Felipe of 7Eleven reclaimed his spot at No. 10 from No. 11 after Stage Two with a total time of 12:36:42, a few rungs ahead of Galedo, who was at No. 14 in 12:39:16.

7Eleven’s Daniel Habtemichael (12:36:19), PGN Road Cycling Team’s Sandy Nur Hasan (12:36:31) and Aiman Cahyadi (12:36:38), Team Ukyo’s Kohei Yokotsuka (12:36:38) and Naoya Yoshioka (12:36:40) and Team Sapura Cycling’s Muhsin Al Redha Misbah (12:36:41) rounded up the top 10.

Pasig Kings win Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Patriot’s Cup’s first leg in Cebu

CEBU CITY — In case anyone forgot, the Gold’s Gym-Pasig Kings are the gold standard in Philippine 3×3 basketball.

The quartet of Taylor Statham, Joshua Munzon, Dylan Ababou, and Nikola Pavlovic ended the dream start of the Phenom-Basilan Steel, picking up a 21-15 victory with 2:08 to spare, in the Finals of the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Patriot’s Cup’s first leg presented by Coca-Cola, Sunday, at SM Seaside City.

“It’s great. Honestly this is what our team needed,” expressed Statham after Pasig went winless in the Kunshan and Tinkoff Moscow Challengers during the offseason.

Statham was unstoppable all game long, finishing with 13 points.

With Pasig clinging to a 12-10 lead midway through the contest, Statham took charge as he went on a personal 5-2 run against Basilan. The highlight of the rally was a between-the-leg pass by Joshua Munzon to a cutting Statham.

Munzon and import Nikola Pavlovic added four points each for Pasig.

Basilan import Marcus Hammond paced Phenom-Basilan with 11 points as Franky Johnson, Roosevelt Adams, and Troy Rike were shut down by the swarming Pasig defense.

To make it to the finals, Pasig needed to defeat world no. 14 VetHealth-Delhi 3BL, 21-16 (3:00).

“Those are two great teams we just played. Can’t make too many turnovers and mistakes,” shared Statham.

Pasig took home P100,000 while gaining pole position to end the first stop with 100 points.

VetHealth-Delhi, who swept Pool D that included the Zamboanga Valientes and the Tycoon-QC Ballers, played with just three players as Arsh Deep Singh’s visa was not able to make it on time.

Basilan, on the other hand, swept Pool C that featured the MiGuard-Vigan Wolves and host Max4-Birada Cebu.

Behind Fil-Am guard Franky Johnson’s 11-point explosion, Phenom-Basilan stunned Alvin Pasaol and the Wilkin’s Balanga Pure in the semis, 21-19 (1:52).

David Carlos took down the Coca-Cola Slam Dunk competition while VetHealth-Delhi’s Kiran Shastri outsniped Cebu’s Mark-Gil Panerio in the finals of the Coca-Cola Two-point shootout, 14-9.

The Scores:

Pasig 21 — Statham 13, Munzon 4, Pavlovic 4, Ababou 0

Basilan 15 — Hammonds 11, Johnson 2, Adams 2, Rike 0

Confluences of events

Competition never stops in the National Basketball Association. For those locked in battle for the ultimate prize, the next challenge comes in the here and now. It’s why the Raptors managed to hog news headlines for all of one day before their status as champions became overshadowed by subsequent events. As they celebrated in Las Vegas, they found themselves alongside the supposedly woebegone Lakers, fresh off a tumultuous season and a still-hazy offseason and yet already installed as favorites for the 2020 title following a triumphant bid for all-world Anthony Davis.

Not that the Raptors’ ascent to the top was unmerited. On the contrary, it was borne of a solid strategy that underscored the benefits of prescient management, confident personnel, and no small measure of good fortune. Yet, it’s telling that the fates of Masai Ujiri, the architect behind the ambitious roster — and culture — dismantling, and Kawhi Leonard, the superstar that carved their status as the best of the best, remain huge question marks. Their achievements have made them understandable targets for poaching, and their pursuit of the next mountain to climb has them open to the possibility of bolting.

Certainly, confluences of events have helped shape fans’ never-ending clamor for adrenaline rushes. Who would have thought the Raptors’ speculative “load management” program would net an ultra-sharp playoff-version Leonard? Who would have figured the law of averages finally catching up with the Warriors? Who would have predicted the Lakers, victimized by otherwise-debilitating dysfunction, to be winners of the Davis sweepstakes? These and more have avid followers of the pro hoops scene awaiting developments — and, meanwhile, contributing to the chatter — with edge-of-seat interest.

Considering the heightened expectations, disappointment seems the most likely outcome. If nothing else, however, the NBA has shown an uncanny capacity to deliver the goods, and how. The increased mobility of marquee names has promoted unpredictability — which, from commissioner Adam Silver’s vantage point, means success. No wonder all and sundry have no choice but to tune in. With so much happening, there is need to keep up.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operation and Human Resources management, corporate communications and business development.

BoP turnaround continues with May surplus

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it estimates that the balance of payments in May continued to reflect a surplus, of about $3.7 billion, continuing the turnaround from a deficit of $3.5 billion as recently as November.

It added that the May estimate for BoP heralds an improvement in the domestic economy in the second half of the year.

The May estimate represents a slight retreat from the nearly $3.8 billion surplus in the first quarter.

“The development in the balance of payments in the first quarter (is) to some extent… also carried over to the balance of payments projection for 2019 and 2020. (The projections) actually capture the implications of a growing economy like the Philippines. We have shown in many instances, in many cases, that the Philippine economy is one of the fastest-growing economy despite a 5.6% (GDP) performance in the first quarter,” Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in a briefing on Friday.

The BSP expects a current account deficit of $10.1 billion in 2019, revising its projection of $8.1 billion made in November. The new projection is equivalent to 2.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Mr. Guiningundo said the Philippine economy is benefiting from remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and receipts from business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and tourist arrivals, which are helping fund the current account deficit. The current account measures the gap between inflows and “current” outbound payments, or those which are due within a year.

“We see the financiability of the current account deficit. We will continue to grow, we will continue to incur a merchandise trade deficit, and therefore the current account will continue to be in a shortfall position. But the inflows of foreign investment, foreign direct investment and even kinds of other investments (will continue),” Mr. Guingundo said.

According to BSP data, the BoP in the first quarter was in surplus by $3.8 billion, a reversal of the $1.2 billion deficit recorded in the same quarter last year due to higher net inflows in the financial account, mainly on reversal of portfolio investments to net inflows and increased net inflows in other investments and direct investment accounts.

The country’s account recorded a deficit of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019, higher by 258% from the $335 million deficit in the first quarter of 2018.

“The strong performance of the financial account during the quarter was bolstered by favorable investor sentiment attributed to the country’s solid macroeconomic fundamentals and firm economic growth prospects,” BSP Department of Economic Statistics Director Redentor Paolo M. Alegre, Jr. said.

The deficit in the trade-in-goods account widened to $12.4 billion in the first quarter from $10.6 billion a year earlier as imports grew 7.6% while exports fell 0.8%.

“The continued growth in imports of goods was boosted by increased purchases of capital goods, consumer goods and raw materials and intermediate goods,” Mr. Alegre said.

Dennis D. Lapid, the central bank’s Director for the Department of Economic Research, said the outlook for the overall global economy declined this year due to external uncertainties such as the trade disputes between the United States and China, and the disruption caused by the United Kingdom’s pending exit from the European Union.

“There’s been a reduction in the overall growth outlook for the global economy… As of April 2019, the global GDP (gross domestic product) is now expected to grow at 3.3% compared with 2.7% in November,” Mr. Lapid said.

“[In] global oil markets and other non-oil commodity markets, there’s the expectation of weaker demand in going forward and that’s going to push down commodity prices,” Mr. Lapid said.

“We’re seeing weaker global economic activity and that’s pushing down demand for exports,” he added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Regional inequality narrows in 2018 as poorer areas grow faster

REGIONAL inequality in the Philippines eased in 2018 compared to 2016 and 2017, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in an economic bulletin on Friday, citing lower measures of variability in regional domestic product.

It said the coefficient of variation of gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita fell to 0.788 in 2018 from 0.791 in 2016 and 0.795 in 2017, suggesting that laggard regions closed the gap with richer regions.

The DoF said the overall narrowing of the gap was due to a decline in growth rates of the richer regions coupled with the acceleration of growth in lower-income areas like Bicol, MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), now part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

The three regions mentioned grew faster than the national average at 8.9%, 8.6% and 7.2%, respectively in 2018.

The National Capital Region (NCR) continues to lead the country in terms of GRDP per capita in 2018 with P253,893, up from P244,589 a year earlier. Region IV-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) was second at P104,708.

The regions that tallied slower growth in 2018 are Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the Davao Region at 7.3%, 3.3%, and 8.6%, respectively, slowing considerably from their 2017 rates of 12.2%, 7.1%, and 8.6%, respectively.

Poorer regions need to be supported through increasing infrastructure expenditure to improve those regions’ resource endowments, the DoF said.

The Finance Department said the national government needs to do more to reverse regional inequality by building irrigation facilities that allow multiple rice crops and more farm-to-market roads.

It also cited the need to link up the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) livelihood development centers with conditional cash transfer (CCT) beneficiaries.

The DoF said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Insurance Commission (IC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and government financial institutions need to conduct financial literacy campaigns in poor regions to channel savings to productive activities. — Kimani Eros S. Franco

DTI says corruption in gov’t now more reportable under new law

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) encouraged Cebu-based businesses to file complaints and report on corrupt practices they encounter in government transactions.

“The (ease of doing business) law is in effect already, which entitles everyone to file a complaint. Your support, through filing proper complaints, is very important in enforcing the law and to hold those government employees and officials accountable and liable for wrong practices and making doing business in the country difficult,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez was quoted in a statement as saying.

Mr. Lopez was addressing Cebu’s business community at the Entrepreneurs’ Summit on June 13.

Mr. Lopez noted the two-strike policy for violations, as well as the administrative and criminal liabilities for government employees and officials under Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

The EoDB requires all government agencies to follow a standardized timeline for simple, complex, and highly-technical transactions of three, seven and 20 days, with the classification of the processes to be decided on by each agency.

Officials who violate the law the first time will be suspended for six months while second-time offenders are liable for imprisonment of between one and six years, a fine of at least P500,000, and dismissal from the service, perpetual disqualification from public office and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

Agencies with qausi-judicial functions, however, have raised concerns on implementing the law which was initially meant to address the release ofbusiness permits or certificates.

The implementing rules and regulations of the law, however, have yet to be formally issued pending President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s selection of a Director-General for the Anti-Red Tape Authority which the EoDB law created.

In addition, Mr. Lopez noted that the business process and licensing office of the city or municipality will not require the same documents already provided by an applicant or requesting party to local government departments.

Mr. Lopez also noted that government agencies and personnel cannot sell, offer, or recommend specific brands of fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment to applicants, requesting parties, or business entities.

He said said he hopes business registrations can be performed via smartphone under a program called Doing Business Design Sprint. The pocess will require only one form for all transactions. The program started trials in 2018.

“There are a number of government initiatives we’re currently implementing. If properly executed, with your support, the whole business process — from starting your business to trading across borders — should become faster, easier, and less costly,” he added. — Janina C. Lim

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