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Human right group files motion at ICC

HUMAN RIGHTS group Rise Up for Life filed a supplemental motion before the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging it to open an investigation on the war on drugs in the Philippines which constitutes a crime against humanity.

In its second supplemental motion, it asked the court to admit additional evidence, noting that the number of deaths in the Philippines due to the bloody war on drugs continue to rise.

“Complainants submit that the information herein on the killings in the Philippines, alongside any future information from the UNHRC [United Nations Human Rights Council] probe, form part of evidence in this preliminary examination,” Rise Up said.

“Taken together with previous submissions, these are sufficient to prove that respondent Duterte is guilty of Crimes Against Humanity. We urge the speedy disposition of our case in the hope that said decision may stem the rising number of deaths,” it added.

The group noted that in August 2018, when the communication to the ICC was filed, the government said a total of 4,410 person were killed during police operations as of July 2018. In November 2018, the number of killings breached 5,000.

According to the Philippine National Police, 6,600 persons were killed since the formal start of the anti-drug campaign in June 30, 2016. But official data from the government under the “Real Numbers PH” campaign stated that 5,526 people were killed as of June 30 that year.

Rise Up also said that 74 Filipino children were among the casualties.

The Philippines withdrew from the Hague-based ICC in March 17, a year after it submitted its intention to withdraw to the United Nations secretary-general. This came following the announcement of the ICC Prosecutor in Feb. 8, 2018 that it would conduct a preliminary examination on the war on drugs. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

ERC releases draft rules on commercial operations of distributed, hybrid energy

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has released a draft of the rules that include distributed energy resources and hybrid energy systems as among those that need prior certification from the agency before they can commercially operate.

In the draft, which the ERC posted on its website for industry comment, the agency will start issuing a certificate of compliance (CoC) to these systems, which are gaining greater use.

The CoC is proof a power plant complies with the applicable regulations clearing it as safe to switch on and operate. Revised ERC CoC Rules of 2014 states no person or entity may engage in electricity generation unless it has secured a CoC from the ERC to operate a generation facility.

Distributed energy resources are smaller power sources that can be aggregated or grouped together to provide power necessary to meet regular demand. These are also called demand- and supply-side resources that can be deployed throughout the system of an electric utility to meet the energy and reliability needs of the customers served by the system.

The proposed rules also require a new CoC application for any addition or replacement of any unit of a power plant. A consolidated certificate will be issued upon the renewal of the existing units provided that they are located in a contiguous area.

A power generation company owning a hybrid system is also required to file a separate CoC application for each generation component facility. Hybrid systems are energy generation facilities that make use of two or more types of technologies using both conventional and renewable fuel sources. These include integrated solar-wind systems, biomass-fossil fuel systems, with a minimum of 10% of the annual energy output provided by the renewable energy component.

Distributed energy resources include renewable energy facilities, managed loads including electric vehicles, energy storage, and other measures necessary to incorporate renewable generation resources, including load management and ancillary services.

The ERC is giving interested parties to submit their comments on or before Oct. 21. It has also set public consultations on the revised rules next month in its field offices in the Visayas and Mindanao, and in its head office in Pasig City. — Victor V. Saulon

Sugar groups get House backing vs liberalization of sugar imports

SUGAR GROUPS fighting against the liberalization of sugar importation have gained support from the House of Representatives (HoR) as legislators passed a resolution earlier this week condemning the Department of Finance (DoF)’s deregulation plan.

The Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) and Confederation of Sugar Producers (Confed) said in separate statements Friday they are backing House Resolution No. 412 which formalized the opposition of legislators on the liberalization of sugar imports.

House Resolution No. 412, which was introduced by 21 congressmen, resolved to “express strong opposition to the planned liberalization or deregulation of sugar importation for the purpose of safeguarding the welfare of farmers and farm and mill workers across the country.” The resolution was received on Oct. 2.

“We are grateful for the support (congressmen have) given to the sugar industry,” Executive Director Jesus “Cocoy” L. Barrera said in the PSMA statement. “They have defended us from the time we were fighting for the passage of the Sugar Industry Development Act and for the increase in excise taxes on sweetened beverages using imported high-fructose corn syrup.”

Confed shared the same sentiment, saying getting the HoR to support its dissent towards sugar import liberalization is instrumental in convincing economic managers to reconsider its decision.

“We in Confed have never been prouder of our champions in the House of Representatives for feeling the sentiments of the sugar producers, including millions of others who in one way or another are dependent on the sugar industry for their day-to-day needs,” Confed Spokesperson Raymond V. Montinola said.

To recall, the DoF made a formal proposal on Sept. 27 to liberalize the importation of sugar, replicating what the government has also recently implemented for the rice industry.

Part of the plan was to put up tariffs and safeguard measures to replace quantitative restrictions set by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on sugar importation. This will supposedly result to improved transparency and pricing in sugar trade, as the DoF said domestic prices are currently double the world market price.

But PSMA’s Mr. Barrera said having regulations on sugar importation is necessary. He said this practice is also observed in other countries, as this is meant to “effectively protect their sugar industries against subsidized sugar in the world market.”

“It is unfair and incorrect to say that locally produced sugar renders Philippine food exporters uncompetitive in the world market. Food processors import sugar duty-free and tax-free through their custom bonded warehouses,” he added.

Mr. Montinola of Confed noted pushing through with the liberalization of sugar importation will gravely damage the local sugar industry.

“We have been harping on this since DoF issued the pronouncements that they will once again pursue sugar liberalization as this is disastrous to the industry,” he said. “The high cost of retail prices in the domestic market has no correlation with millgate prices, which is also why time and again, we have asked DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) to look into this.”

Mr. Montinola also called on the government to focus on stabilizing the price of locally produced sugar, as he said it currently cannot compete with world prices. He said if there will be any importation program to be implemented by the government, it must be under the supervision of the SRA. — Denise A. Valdez

PHL companies urged to adopt sustainable finance

By Beatrice M. Laforga

PHILIPPINE companies are being urged to consider sustainable financing solutions, as their operations may face risks brought by climate change in the future.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Ephyro Luis B. Amatong warned that as Philippines is among the top countries to be affected by climate change, companies in the country should also understand the impact of such risks to their businesses.

“We think that sustainability is not just a CSR (corporate social responsibility) exercise, it should be a fundamental part of doing business because the risks associated with climate change affect the fundamental business,” Mr. Amatong said at a sustainable finance forum arranged by ING N.V Manila Branch on Thursday.

He noted that firms should know how to mitigate the climate change risks and discuss it with stakeholders since it may affect their business models in the near future.

For ING Bank Manila Country Manager Hans B. Sicat, sustainability efforts are “alive and kicking” as seen in the rising issuances of sustainable financing options such as green and social bonds.

Mr. Sicat said, citing data from Bloomberg, that issuance of such instruments rose to $267 billion in the nine months to September, already exceeding the total issuance recorded in 2018.

Bloomberg likewise reported that over the past two years, sustainable investments grew by 34% to $30.7 trillion globally.

However, Mr. Amatong pointed out that the Southeast Asia as a region “lags” in terms environmental, social and governance investments but is catching up.

“Now under the chairmanship of Thailand, sustainability and sustainable capital markets is a key theme for ASEAN. From starting behind, we are growing very fast and we hope that by putting regulation that will facilitate the discussion between issuers and investors, you can help grow this market even faster,” he said.

Mr. Amatong said companies in the Philippines have improved in terms of financing sustainable projects, or those that support environment-friendly causes.

“The interesting thing is even though we haven’t fully implemented our sustainability reporting guidelines, the Philippines seems to be doing well already… But we could do better and we need to do better,” he said.

Governments, corporations and financial institutions issue green bonds which are instruments that support environment-friendly projects.

Eligible projects based on the ASEAN Green Bonds Standards include renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, clean transportation, sustainable water management, climate change adaptation and green buildings.

Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Guidelines on the Issuance of Sustainability Bonds under the ASEAN Sustainability Bond Standards (SUS).

Issuance of green bonds, just like the regular bonds, are listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. Firms who issue sustainability bonds are also required to submit an annual report containing the use of proceeds to ensure that they were actually used for environmental purposes.

Solar PHL allowed to keep its financial model confidential

SOLAR Philippines Tarlac Corp. (SPTC) has secured approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to treat its financial model as confidential information, which, if disclosed to the public, might adversely affect the company’s competitiveness in future projects.

However, the ERC denied the company owned by businessman Leandro L. Leviste to similarly declare as confidential the project cost estimates as well as the breakdown of the total project cost into plant side and non-plant side costs.

“After reviewing the information sought to be declared confidential by the Applicant, the Commission rules that the following document with proprietary value be treated confidential until the end or termination of the Connection Agreement between NGCP and SPTC,” the agency said, identifying that document as the company’s financial model.

SPTC sought the confidential treatment relating to its application for authority to develop, own and operate dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities, to connect its 100-megawatt (MW) solar farm to the transmission system of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

“The document contains valuable and sensitive commercial and financial information regarding the business operations of SPTC, thus, constitute trade secrets,” the ERC said.

It said the information in the financial model are being used by SPTC in its business, which can be unfairly utilized by its business competitors to gain advantage and to the prejudice of the company, if disclosed.

However, the ERC said the other documents being sought to be treated confidentially “do not have any valuable proprietary interest to warrant them confidential treatment.” — Victor V. Saulon

SMC lists P10-B bonds

SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) has successfully listed on Friday its P10-billion fixed rate bonds at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

The diversified conglomerate held a listing ceremony at the PDEx office in Makati City to officially kick off the fundraising activity. It is the last tranche of the company’s P60-billion shelf registration.

SMC earlier said the proceeds from the bond issuance will be used to either fund the redemption of its outstanding preferred shares or for the refinancing or re-denomination of an existing loan obligation.

The issuance on Friday is for five-year Series H bonds which are due in 2024 and have a fixed rate of 5.55%. It will be issued in minimum denominations of P50,000 each and in integral multiples of P10,000, which will trade on the secondary market in P10,000 denominations. — Denise A. Valdez

Insurers’ BPO deals now require IC approval

INSURANCE and reinsurance firms will now have to get approval from the Insurance Commission (IC) before they enter agreements with any business process outsourcing (BPO) providers.

According to the Circular Letter No. 2019-49 issued and signed by Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa, the application for pre-approval of an outsourcing agreement will be filed before the IC’s Regulation, Enforcement and Prosecution Division (REPD).

“An insurer/reinsurer shall not enter into an outsourcing agreement/contract with a BPO Provider unless said agreement/contract has been pre-approved by this Commission,” the circular read.

The REPD will submit a recommendation to the Insurance Commissioner if the proposed agreement has no violations based on the guidelines for BPO activities as stated in the Circular Letter No. 2018-72.

The commissioner will have the power to approve or reject the application.

The REPD will also have to keep a record of all approved outsourcing contracts.

The guidelines for outsourcing activities of insurance or reinsurance companies released in December did not require prior approval of entering into BPO agreements. The rules stated that insurers should be “ultimately responsible to their policyholders” for all outsourced activities and ensure that they are conducted in a “safe and sound manner”.

However, BPO providers are not allowed to do solicitation activities or perform loss adjustment because they should only be done by insurance firms, licensed agents and brokers.

Solicitation activities refer to actions that persuade a person to buy insurance products, including explaining the contract, making recommendations, as well as completing orders or application forms in behalf of the client.

Also, the insurance firm should be capable of continuing its operations if the provider cannot perform its duty.

Mr. Funa said in January that the guidelines are meant to ensure that companies will protect the interest of their insured clients and strengthen the industry as well. — B.M. Laforga

Peso climbs further as inflation eases

THE PESO extended its climb on Friday amid slower inflation and bets of another rate cut in the United States.

The local unit ended at P51.73 against the greenback on Friday, gaining 8.5 centavos from its P51.815-to-a-dollar close on Thursday.

Week on week, it climbed 14 centavos from the P51.875 close on Sept. 27.

The peso opened at P51.70 versus the dollar. It weakened to as low as P51.77 during the session, while its intraday best was at P51.65 against the greenback.

Dollars traded slipped to $1.12 billion from $1.186 billion on Thursday.

“The peso appreciated from market optimism following the release of softer-than-expected Philippine inflation report for September 2019,” a trader said in an email.

Headline inflation eased further to 0.9% in September from the 1.7% print in August on the back of softer prices in nearly all commodities. Last month’s rate was also slower from the record-high 6.7% logged in September 2018.

Another trader attributed the dollar’s weakness to US non-manufacturing data.

“There have been signals that the market is trying to grasp a US slowdown. The market is also expecting for one or two more rate cuts this year,” the second trader said in a phone call.

US services sector activity slowed to a three-year low in September amid rising concerns about tariffs, suggesting that trade tensions were spilling over to the broader economy.

The Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing activity index fell to a reading of 52.6 in September, the lowest since August 2016, from 56.4 in August. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity. — LWTN with Reuters

CIC’s credit reports now available for P10 each

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS can now avail credit reports from the Credit Information Corporation (CIC) for an introductory fee of P10 until March 2020.

In a statement on Friday, the state-run CIC said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) en banc has approved its request for a P10 introductory price until March 2020 as part of the large-scale use of credit reports for financial institutions (FI).

“The ten-peso introductory price for FIs is a way to lower any investment risk in using the CIC data, which some information users may consider a new entrant into the credit information delivery business,” CIC President and CEO Jaime Casto Jose P. Garchitorena was quoted as saying.

The price is inclusive of the value-added tax but starting April 2020, its commercial value will be set at P55.

Lenders or other submitting entities can access CIC’s basic credit data if they agree to pay for the services, comply with the minimum six months of continuous submission and complete all required documents including the Memorandum of Agreement.

Access to CIC data is not mandatory but is subject to terms and conditions.

“Even at the full price of P55, with our comprehensive gathering of credit information from the full range of lenders — from commercial banks to MFIs and coops — we believe that our product is worth the money,” Mr. Garchitorena said.

“With the CIC data, even individuals with no actual credit history can have some type of data-driven basis for being assessed for creditworthiness,” he added.

The CIC’s database has nearly nine million unique borrowers and more than 45 million contracts.

Its credit reports contain consolidated positive and negative credit data and detailed financial contracts and credit card records, among others. These will be available online for qualified institutions.

CIC started rolling out paid access since July this year.

Those that can participate are credit card issuers, universal and commercial banks, thrift banks, rural banks, cooperatives and cooperative banks, savings and loan associations, private lending institutions, private leasing, and financing companies, microfinance institutions, government-owned and controlled corporations, and insurance companies.

Created by the Republic Act No. 9510, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act, CIC is mandated is to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information on credit of all participating institutions. — B.M. Laforga

Local shares bounce back as inflation eases

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

LOCAL shares bounced back at the end of the trading week as investors reacted to the news of inflation easing more than expected in September and to the possibility of the Fed lowering interest rates again this month.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) surged 2.11% or 159.05 points to close at 7,704.60 on Friday. The broader all-shares index likewise jumped 1.56% or 71.59 points to 4,675.60.

“With inflation falling below consensus estimates, and the probability of US rate cut increasing, investors finally turned into bargain hunters to end the last trading session for the week,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported headline inflation slowed to 0.9% in September from 1.7% in August, reaching a more than three-year low.

Gabriel Jose F. Perez, sales associate at Papa Securities Corp., said the inflation report on Friday morning likely drove the activity of the stock market which also got a lift from the US markets’ performance overnight.

Fed policymakers expressed possibility of announcing another rate cut after its meeting this month, a Reuters report said, which is in line with expectations of investors.

Foreign investors remained sellers on Friday, with a net foreign selling of P1.32 billion from P1.26 billion on Thursday.

All sectoral indices closed in green territory, led by by the industrial index which climbed 1.34% or 138.62 points to 10,477.26.

Mining and oil grew 2.05% or 177.65 points to close at 8,843.07, followed by holding firms which increased 1.58% or 117.10 points to 7,551.58.

Next is the property index which widened 2.91% or 113.40 points to 4,010.90, then financials which improved 3.03% or 53.13 points to 1,805.59. Services saw an uptick of 0.53% or 7.98 points to 1,510.64.

Value turnover declined to P5.08 billion from P8.30 billion on Thursday, with 420.38 million issues changing hands.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 112-60, while 46 names were unchanged.

In the coming week, Mr. Perez said the movement of the PSE may be influenced by the US market.

“Movement next week for the PSEi should still be highly likely influenced by US market movement. Support remains at May’s low of 7,475,” he said.

Star City fire disrupts ballet performances, choir festival

BECAUSE of the destruction of the Aliw and Star Theaters during the fire at the Star City complex early Wednesday morning, events scheduled to be held at the theaters have been either postponed or moved.

The Star Theater has been completely destroyed while the bigger Aliw Theater has sustained damage, noted Ballet Manila (BM), which has called the two theaters “home” for nearly 20 years.

The ballet company, led by prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, has announced that it will be moving next door to the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), for one performance of Giselle on Oct. 17, 8 p.m. The ballet is part of the group’s 24th performance season, “On Pointe.”

In a statement released by Osias Barroso, Ballet Manila’s co-artistic director and ballet master, on his Facebook page, the dance company said that all tickets which had been purchased for the originally scheduled shows on Oct. 19 and 20 at the Aliw Theater will be honored at the Oct. 17 performance at the CCP. Buyers also have the option to get a refund. More information on how to purchase tickets for the Oct. 17 show will be released soon.

“The battle cry of our CEO and Artistic Director is ‘Let’s Dance’ That we will; despite the attendant circumstances. See you at the ballet!,” ends the BM statement.

Meanwhile, the management of the Manila Broadcasting Company announced in a Facebook post that it will be canceling this year’s MBC National Choral Competition.

“We greatly appreciate the support of the choral community and hope we can count on you again for any future projects when circumstances return to normal. Maraming salamat sa patuloy ninyong pagtangkilik sa aming pagsasahimpapawid… Mabuhay ang korong Pilipino!” the statement, which included the hashtag #bangonMBC, said.

The MBC National Choral Competitions, which attract choirs from around the country, were scheduled to be held on Dec. 10-14 at the Star Theater, Star City Complex, Pasay City.

Seagate Launches Nytro 1000 SATA SSD Series with Unique DuraWrite Technology

Expanding on its Nytro portfolio of enterprise flash products, Seagate  announced the launch of its new Nytro 1000 Series SATA SSD drives.

The Seagate Nytro 1000 SATA SSD series (which includes the Nytro 1351 and Nytro 1551 SSDs) delivers ultra-fast, consistent performance for read-intensive workloads.

The Nytro SSD series is designed to serve as the backbone of the enterprise’s cloud infrastructure, making it ideal for data center managers looking to upgrade their existing systems.

Unique DuraWrite technology reduces cumulative amount of data written

Among the innovations behind the Nytro SSD is Seagate DuraWrite technology, a unique lossless data reduction technology which compresses data flowing through Seagate’s internally-developed controller. The NAND flash memory inside SSDs is sensitive to the cumulative amount of data written to it; the more data written to flash, the shorter the SSD’s service life and the sooner its performance will degrade.

Seagate’s DuraWrite technology uses intelligent lossless compression techniques to reduce the amount of data stored on the flash. That enables up to 3.5 times higher random-write performance than competitive offerings, along with greater power efficiency and cost savings.

“No other company offers this type of technology,” says YevKoup, enterprise SSD product marketing manager. “Having less data to write leads to better SSD endurance and performance.”

Suited for the most demanding database and cloud environments

The Nytro SSD offers impressive speeds, with random-write performance of 55,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second), making it well-suited for the most demanding database and cloud environments, Koup explains.

The Nytro 1000 SSD is available in several capacity options, from 240GB up to 3.84TB. The Nytro SSD line supports “tunable capacity,” Koup says, which means data center managers get the flexibility to optimize the drive for performance or capacity considerations. In addition, it comes with a range of Seagate Secure™ data-protection options for peace-of-mind security.

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