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How PSEi member stocks performed — September 30, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, September 30, 2019.

 

Which basic goods and services do consumers expect to spend more/less on in the next quarter?

Which basic goods and services do consumers expect to spend more less on in the next

Tussle over revenue pits UHC vs infrastructure

LEGISLATORS have declared their intent to block the use of road tax revenue on health care, saying that the proper use of the proceeds is to maintain and improve infrastructure.

Representative Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, Jr. of Camarines Sur’s second district, the author of a bill similar to the proposed Motor Vehicle Road User’s Tax Act currently being debated, said the proceeds from the tax should be dedicated to public works.

If passed, the bill proposes to allocate 50% of road tax proceeds to support Universal Health Care, which is set for its first year of implementation next year according to Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act.

Health Undersecretary Gerardo V. Bayugo told a hearing at the House that P257 billion is needed for the first year of UHC.

“In the fiscal year 2020 national expenditure program, the approved (Department of Health) budget was only P162 billion, which is P94 billion short for the implementation of the Universal Health Care,” Mr. Bayugo said.

Mr. Villafuerte, a deputy speaker, countered that health care funding has been addressed in several measures.

“I would like to emphasize we already passed measures to fund the Universal Health Care. I feel the funds (in the road tax bill) for the UHC, should really go either to the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) or DoTr (Department of Transportation),” Mr. Villafuerte said.

He added, “There are funds (for UHC) available from the tax packages,” he said, adding the roads are also a priority.

According to one version of the road tax measure, House Bill No. 4695, 50% of the proceeds will be earmarked for UHC with the remainder going to public utility vehicle modernization until 2024.

From 2025, all such revenue will be dedicated entirely to UHC.

Rep. Lorenz R. Defensor of Iloilo’s third district added that addressing transportation needs will also reduce the burden on the health system.

“The continuous modernization of our transportation sector is also tied to health care, as far as emissions and road safety are concerned. There are bills pending with the committee on transportation such as the mandatory driver education program that should be funded,” Mr. Defensor said.

Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing of Nueva Ecija’s first district questioned the basis for increasing road taxes to fund UHC.

“I agree with… Deputy Speaker Villafuerte that we should put the funds in the General Fund and not in the Universal Health Care. Kasi parang (it’s like) we are collecting additional taxes (using) universal health care as a reason,” she said. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

House sees ‘smooth’ bicam budget negotiations with Senate

THE House leadership said it is expecting the “smooth” passage of the P4.1 trillion budget in bicameral conference despite recent exchanges with the Senate about the alleged presence of pork in the 2020 spending plan.

“Relative ang word na smooth (The term smooth is relative), I expect it will be contentious in regard to what programs should be funded, I expect it to be smooth pagdating sa pork kasi wala talaga (I expect talks to be smooth when it comes to pork because there really is none),” Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a briefing Monday.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson has alleged that “insertions” were made in the proposed budget after the House approved it on final reading weeks ago.

“I invite my friends in the Senate, including Sen. Lacson to look at national development, ano bang programa ang kailangan ng pondo (I invite Sen. Lacson to view the issue in national development terms — which programs really need to be funded)“ Mr. Cayetano said.

The House approved P9.5 billion in “realignments” to the proposed national budget, including an additional P3.5 billion for the Department of Agriculture, of which P3 billion was to fund purchases of palay, or unmilled rice.

“Paano naman magiging pork ang palay and pambili ito ng palay, katulad sa Taguig, kami bibili ng palay, pero walang pondo pambili ng palay sa Taguig (How can palay purchasing palay be pork? Take for example Taguig, we will buy palay but there are no funds) so we can argue but the reality is factual lahat ng inilagay naming changes walang pork diyan (all the budget changes are factual, and none if it is pork),” he said, referring to his home district of Taguig’s plans to engage in direct palay puchasing to support farmgate prices.

Mr. Cayetano said, however, that questions about pork from the Senate have been in “good faith.”

“I assume na itong criticisms ay in good faith but hinding-hindi papayag ang House na ma-delay ang budget so huwag nating i-compare sa nangyari before… Ngayon despite the speakership fight, nagkakaisa kaming lahat (I assume the criticism is in good faith but the House will not allow the budget to be delayed. So let’s not compare what happened before… despite the speakership fight, the House is united)” he said.

He was referring to the delayed 2019 budget, which featured contentious negotiations between chambers over so-called “insertions.” The back-and-forth over changes to the budget led to a nearly four-month delay in its passage while provoking a veto from Malacañang on P95 billion worth of public works spending items.

In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled pork barrel unconstitutional in the form it then took. It was known at the time as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

“Hindi pa tapos ang transmittal, masyadong maaga silang magbatikos sa atin, may bicam conference committee pa, sama-sama tayo diyan, ang pinagbabawalan is after the House and the Senate passed the budget at pinakialaman (The budget has not yet been transmitted and we are already coming under fire. We will examine the budget together in bicam… what is not allowed is changes to the bicam version after the House and Senate agree,” according to Rep. Martin G. Romualdez, the Majority Leader from Leyte’s 1st district.

The budget will be transmitted to the Senate today, Oct. 1.

On Sept. 17, President Rodrigo R. Duterte certified the proposed 2020 national budget as urgent. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Brexit, economic reform put PHL on UK firms’ investment radar

BREXIT and the need for the UK to replace the potential loss of European trade will encourage British firms to put the Philippines on their investment radar, as will recent reforms in the Philippines, a British Chamber of Commerce Philippines official said.

“In light of Brexit, companies have been considering other markets across the globe. Of course, Europe in terms of proximity is always very close to the UK, and then I think what we’ve tried to highlight in particular is the specific benefits of the Philippines,” British Chamber of Commerce Philippines Executive Director and Trustee Chris Nelson told reporters at a media briefing on Monday.

He added that reforms such as the proposed amendments to Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Ease of Doing Business Law, and the Build, Build, Build program were helping generate fresh interest, while demographic factors such as the young and growing population and the economy’s consumer orientation were also attractive.

Mr. Nelson described ease of doing business in the Philippines as a main concern of British investors.

Mr. Nelson said British firms see opportunities in private and public infrastructure projects, including local government projects.

“The infrastructure program of the Philippines is a key area. That spending or movement in the economy will occur in the second or this half of this year. We have been very much promoting that in the UK,” he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to deliver Brexit by the Oct. 31 deadline to leave the European Union, and the unsettled trade arrangements beyond that have sent British firms on the constant lookout for markets.

He said that the chamber hopes to ”keep on presenting those opportunities the Philippines presents.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

DoF sees firms redeploying tax savings to expansion

THE Department of Finance (DoF) said it is expecting more investment from companies expanding their operations as a result of the latest round of tax reforms in anticipation of a decline in corporate tax rates, creating 1.5 million additional jobs.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a statement that the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act, currently the CITIRA bill making its way through Congress, will encourage companies to invest their tax savings in expansion.

“Our numbers are transparent. Companies will reasonably invest at least 50% of their additional money from the reduction of the corporate income tax rate (CIT) rate (to grow) their business. This will mean more jobs — a total of 1.5 million jobs actually.”

Mr. Chua also said that the “new menu of incentives” under the bill “will also encourage job creation and upskilling.”

His remarks were in response to the claims of John D. Forbes, Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines’ (JFC) senior adviser, that the bill, if enacted, will result in around 700,000 job losses in its first year, as it “destroys the highly successful incentives system that has brought in foreign investors.”

“I also want to ask them if they have included in their calculations the jobs that will be created when JFC member-companies are able to expand using the savings from a lower CIT rate,” Mr. Chua added.

He said that the tax reform “must be treated as a package” to be “fiscally prudent.”

“We cannot pursue one aspect, which is the reduction of the CIT rate, without pursuing the other, which is the modernization of the fiscal incentive system, if we want to be fiscally prudent,” he said.

Mr. Chua said there are “superior incentives” under the bill such as the additional 50% deduction on direct labor expense, a 200% deduction on training costs, double the current 100%, and the 50% deduction on local purchases of inputs from small and medium enterprises.

“The proposed system is designed to reward them for training their employees. They can essentially bill part of their expense to government,” he added.

CITIRA is the second package of the administration’s comprehensive tax reform program along with package 2+ which includes the reform of mining taxes and an increase in excise tax on alcohol products and e-cigarettes. Package three centralizes the real property valuation system and package four reorganizes the tax structure for financial investments.

Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez has said he is seeking a longer transition period for companies enjoying incentives under the current system, which will be overhauled once the bill is passed.

Mr. Lopez said he supports a five-to-seven year transition period in general and a seven to ten-year transition period for firms that employ at least 3,000.

The House of Representatives on Sept. 13 approved House Bill 4157 or the CITIRA which will gradually lower corporate income tax to 20% by 2029 from the current 30%, remove tax incentives deemed redundant and make all the rest time-bound and performance-based.

The DoF estimates the government has lost around P1.2 trillion in foregone revenue from tax incentives granted to 3,150 companies between 2015 and 2017. — Beatrice M. Laforga

DoT urged to spend more in regions

THE Department of Tourism (DoT) was pressed to spend more of its funding in the regions and to consider more local input in formulating its programs.

In a budget hearing, the DoT was questioned by Senator Richard J. Gordon about the alleged Metro Manila-centric focus of its spending plans. Mr. Gordon told reporters after the hearing that he estimates that 90.7% of the DoT’s proposed 2020 budget of P3.85 billion will be spent in the National Capital Region.

“We said to them dagdagan nila ang budget sa (to increase the budget for) local because (the regional offices) know where the destinations are and who the players are.

Mr. Gordon said the other 15 regions have been allocated less than 1% from the DoT. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was not included in the regional breakdown.

He added that DoT’s branding content or tourism marketing will be ineffective if it does not take in any input from the regions.

“Paano kayo magkakaroon ng content kung ang pera ninyo ay nasa Manila (How will you generate marketing content if your money is in Manila)?… NCR alone has 90.7% in the budget and only 10% of the total budget is (allocated) to the regions,” he said during the hearing.

The DoT’s budget is 12.7% higher than its 2019 funding. Some 68% of its spending will go to the Market and Product Development Program, of which half will go to a branding campaign.

The DoT said in 2020 it hopes to expand its global promotion of Philippine tourism and expand its range of source countries for visitor arrivals.

DoT also aims to assist local government units (LGUs) in drafting sustainable tourism development plans and develop new tourism products. The department also hopes to encourage the industry to invest more in staff training. — Gillian M. Cortez

Miners still working to overturn open-pit ban despite Palace stance

THE mining sector said it will keep up a campaign to persuade the public on the benefits of open-pit mining, despite the apparent unlikelihood of a change of heart by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who supports the current ban.

“We will continue to work with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) on their Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign informing the public (of) what responsible mining is,” Rocky G. Dimaculangan, vice-president for communications of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, said in a mobile phone message Monday when asked for comment on remarks from the Palace indicating that the ban may remain.

He added: “Open-pit mining is a globally-accepted method, can be operated safely, and can be rehabilitated properly in a manner that provides productive land use after the life of the mine.”

Mr. Dimaculangan also said the Chamber supports the recommendation of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) to lift the ban on open-pit mining.

The President’s Spokesperson, Salvador S. Panelo, said last week that he believes the President will “maintain” the ban.

“He does not like open-pit mining. That is his policy,” he said.

The ban on open-pit mining was imposed by the late former Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez, an environmental advocate, in April 2017. She was supported by Mr. Duterte, who rejected a proposal by the MICC to lift the ban in November 2017.

Rodolfo L. Velasco, head of the MGB’s Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development division, said in a conference last week that the lifting of the ban will depend on the recommendation of the current environment secretary, Roy A. Cimatu.

He noted that the ban has had a significant negative impact on the attractiveness of the country for mining investors.

The most significant project that was put on hold, according to Mr. Velasco, is the $5.9-billion Tampakan project in South Cotabato, touted as one of the largest gold prospects in the world, which Ms. Lopez rejected in 2016. Its operator is Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) which was able to secure declaration of mining feasibility and was steps away from starting operations. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Optimistic changes in dividends tax for NRFCs

“Change is inevitable. Change is constant.” — Benjamin Disraeli

Change — it may mean alteration, modification, variation, conversion, transformation, or amendment. Whichever way we view it, change will always be part of our lives whether we like it or not. Our Philippine tax laws have been recently amended to lower the tax rates on income received by individual taxpayers to keep up with the changing times. As part of the move to keep up with our neighbors and be competitive, our Congress is now aiming to amend our tax laws to reduce the corporate income tax.

A few weeks ago, the House of Representatives transmitted House Bill No. 4157 or the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA) to the Senate. HB No. 4157 aims to reduce the corporate income tax from the current rate of 30% to 20%. Aside from reducing the tax rate for domestic corporations and resident foreign corporations, the bill also proposes to amend the tax rate imposed on income received by a nonresident foreign corporation (NRFC) from Philippine sources. The current provision of the Tax Code, Section 28 (B) on tax on NRFCs, imposes a 30% tax on gross income received from the Philippines. Under the provisions of CITIRA, the tax rate under Section 28 (B) of the Tax Code is to be lowered to 20% over 10 years, with a staggered reduction of 1 percentage point per year.

One of the most common means of income received by a NRFC from Philippine sources is dividends. Under the present tax rules, the final withholding tax rate applicable to such dividends is generally 30%. This rate may be lowered for a qualified NRFC, wherein it may avail of the dividend tax sparing rate of 15% or the tax treaty rates, subject to certain conditions. These conditions include compliance with certain administrative procedures that are oftentimes the subject of debate and clarification, which could be unappealing to foreign investors.

However, the proposed gradual reduction of the general tax rate on dividends for NRFC from 30% to 20% could be a better option for NRFCs, as they need not worry about the conditions and administrative requirements related to the dividend tax sparing rate of 15% or the tax treaty rates, if they just wish to be taxed at the general dividend tax rate. If the bill is passed to a law, the general tax rate would be 20% in 2029. This rate is equal to or even better than the top prescribed dividend tax rates in some tax treaties.

A cursory check of some of the existing tax treaties of the Philippines with other countries reveals that, for India, Indonesia, and Thailand, while their respective tax treaties provide a lower rate of 10% to 15%, subject to certain conditions, the top dividend tax rate therein is still 20%, in which case the said rate would just be the same as the proposed general tax rate of 20% in 2029.

For Australia, France, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and the UK, the top dividend tax rate provided under their respective tax treaties is 25%. In this case, the proposed general tax rate under the CITIRA bill will be lower even before 2029. Similarly, the United States’ tax treaty with the Philippines provides for a 25% top rate and only 20% as the lowest rate.

Under the CITIRA bill, the President may advance the scheduled reduction in the corporate income tax rate when adequate savings are realized from the rationalization of the identified fiscal incentives, as certified by the Secretary of Finance.

While Japan, Germany, and Vietnam have tax treaties that provide a top dividend tax rate of only 15%, at least the proposed general rate of 20% will not be too high when an NRFC is considering its options.

In summary, the proposed change in the tax rate to 20% will be gladly received by everyone for several reasons. First, lowering the tax rates on the dividend income received by NRFCs may make the Philippines more attractive to investors. Second, considering that the general tax rates and those provided under some tax treaties may be the same in the future, an NRFC will now be able to enjoy lower tax rates on their dividends without going through certain conditions and administrative requirements. Third, if the NRFC will no longer file for the Certificate of Residence for Tax Treaty Relief (CORTT) forms for dividends, as the proposed general rate could be more advantageous than the tax treaty rate in some cases, the Bureau of Internal Revenue will now have fewer documents to process and review and will have more time to perform other duties.

The proposed lowering of the dividend tax rate for NRFC in CITIRA will surely be a great boost to making the Philippines a more attractive place for investment. An option to be taxed at a lower rate and not be bothered about compliance requirements on dividends tax is a positive change towards achieving the goal of making it easier to do business in the Philippines. Since change is something we cannot escape, let us just hope that the Philippine is moving towards meaningful and positive change.

Let’s Talk Tax is a weekly newspaper column of P&A Grant Thornton that aims to keep the public informed of various developments in taxation. This article is not intended to be a substitute for competent professional advice.

 

Jennylyn V. Reyes is a tax manager of Tax Advisory & Compliance division of P&A Grant Thornton, the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.

pagrantthornton@ph.gt.com

What caring to remember means: Community Transitional Justice

Forty-five years ago, a massacre took place in the town of Malisbong, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat. Those who were children then remember their fathers and older brothers being taken to the Tacbil Mosque, never to see them alive again; they remember their mothers holding their hands as they were herded to a naval boat named Mindoro where they huddled day and night under the heat of the sun and the cold of the night — no food, no water, no armor against the elements. They remember the elderly and children their own age getting so weak, sick, and being thrown overboard — bodies never to be found. They remember young women making themselves ugly in order not to be taken fancy to by armed groups and ending up being raped and sexually violated.

THE NARRATIVE OF BONES
In the years the followed, the town of Malisbong lived through their collective tragedy. A year after the massacre, 40 sacks of bones were said to have washed ashore; in 1983, human remains with hands still tied behind their backs unraveled themselves in the Tacbil fishpond; and bones were being found in places dug up for the purpose of constructing wells and water pumps in the early 1990s. Those remains were never identified but nonetheless given the appropriate burial. And once buried they can no longer be exhumed in accordance with Muslim culture.

But there are still those that have yet to be found, scattered all over the community. Malisbong, not only being a massacre site, might as well be a mass grave in itself. The community knew who died — they had their names. But they never really had a chance to be reconciled with them. There was no closure.

Politically, it was said that photos of the bones were taken and brought to Libya in relation to the 1976 Tripoli Agreement. In all likelihood, the photos were left there as part of the negotiation documentation. Other than that, there had not been any forensic initiatives at all to uncover what was still left undiscovered, to find out how people died, to identify their remains, to be reunited with their families, and, finally, be given a dignified burial they deserved — ending the chapter on the narrative of bones.

CARING FOR MEMORY: MOURNING AND THE AFTER
For the first time in 45 years, the official commemoration of the Malisbong Massacre finally happened, with support from civil society, national and local government agencies, and victims/survivors’ groups from difference parts of Mindanao. Conversations, negotiations, appeals, and consultations — moving back and forth, finding champions or even just those who empathized — telling/re-telling stories, justifying significance, and so much more. They all bore fruit!

For example, on Sept. 6, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) en banc issued Resolution CHR (V) No. AM2019-183 On the Recognition of the Palimbang/Tacbil Massacre and its Commemoration Every 24th September. On the day of the Malisbong Massacre Commemoration on Sept. 24 this year, Palimbang Mayor Joanime Kapina signed Municipal Resolution No. 2019-024 On Commemorating the Malisbong Massacre that Happened on Sept. 24, 1974 at Barangay Malisbong, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat; furthermore, a resolution was also filed at the provincial government level to enact An Ordinance Declaring September 24 as Municipal Non-working Holiday in the Municipality of Palimbang, Province of Sultan Kudarat in Commemoration of the Malisbong Massacre.

But equally important apart from these institutional recognitions, was the unprecedented coming together of victims/survivors, combatants/armed groups and their leaders, and various publics in solidarity with the commemoration of the massacre in Malisbong. These were victims/survivors who participated in the Independent Working Group on Transitional Justice and Dealing with the Past (IWG TJDwP) Listening Process Sessions from Ipil, Labangan, Ambalgan, Manili, General Santos, Jolo, Zamboanga, and Marawi that joined the commemoration, along with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and their Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the Moro National Liberation Front and their National Guard, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police.

Although the work on getting institutional measures drafted and convincing various relevant stakeholders to participate in the commemoration was done by the IWG TJDwP — including the massive coordination that the event called for — it was a community-based group led by the women of Malisbong that formed the heart and soul of the commemoration.

VOICES: PALIMBANG AND BEYOND
From caring for memory and mourning the loss, what comes after?

Most definitely, with recognition come the necessary next steps that will finally concretize the different facets of transitional justice:

1. The right to truth. At the level of communities, collective narratives should be documented and preserved; at the level of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Bangsamoro Parliament may enact legislation that would serve to institutionalize historical memory through gathering of victims/survivor testimony, engage in forensic missions to find the remains of those who have been lost for decades and give them a dignified burial, and encourage communities to memorialise their own narratives. Lessons can be learned from the experiences of Centro Nacional de Memoria Historica of Colombia.

2. The right to justice. Explore the possibility of creating a special domestic national court within our justice system to prosecute emblematic cases of mass atrocity crimes in relation to crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and (even possibly) genocide against the Bangsamoro and the indigenous peoples in Mindanao. The Bosnian War Crimes Chamber and the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh may be referred to as cases to point to.

3. The right to reparation. Consideration for setting up a permanent Human Rights Victims Claims Board by law in order to deal with claims that have never been submitted or that needed to benefit from an appeals measure. In this regard, it may be worthy to substantiate further bills previously filed along this trajectory such as House Bill 226 or An Act Amending Republic Act No. 10368 Providing Reparations for Victims of Human Rights Violations, Creating a Permanent Human Rights Claims Board, and For Other Purposes.

4. The guarantee of non-recurrence. Institutional reform definitely contributes to the realization of transitional justice. Governance infrastructure at all levels must be involved. For example, instrumental institutions at the national level are the Commission on Human Rights that could lead the way in recommending remedial legislation, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process that could implement a basic reparation program for conflict-affected areas not covered in the normalization agreement, or the Congress considering redress for other possible transitional justice issues such as the 2013 Zamboanga Siege and the most recent Marawi Siege. Of course, provincial and municipal governments are important institutional partners for community-based transitional justice efforts.

The first official commemoration of the Malisbong Massacre started as an idea — it was an impossibility that became possible because it was for the people. This is what caring to remember means — transitional justice organic to the community, to society. And Palimbang is now a model of a community-based transitional justice initiative.

 

Professor Ma. Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University. She is also the Director of the Asia Pacific Center for the Responsibility to Protect-Philippine Office (APR2P-PO) and one of the Conveners of the Independent Working Group on Transitional Justice and Dealing with the Past.

mrallonza@ateneo.edu

Why are they so enraged?

Political allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Senate are enraged by the approval by the US Senate Committee on Appropriations of an amendment on the Fiscal Year 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that prohibits entry to any Philippine Government officials involved in the imprisonment of Sen. Leila de Lima.

The amendment, proposed by US Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy, provides that “Prohibition on Entry-Section 7022 of this act shall be applied to officials of the government of the Philippines about whom the Secretary of State has credible information (that they) have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of Sen. Leila de Lima, who was arrested in 2017 on politically motivated charges.” Senators Durbin and Leahy are among the senators who have been closely observing the Duterte Administration.

While Senator Panfilo Lacson pointed out that it was premature to comment on the amendment since it has yet to be adopted by the entire US Senate and approved by the US House of Representatives, administration senators were quick to denounce the proposed prohibition.

Senate President Tito Sotto said, “They are just trying to meddle when they don’t even know about (De Lima’s) case. She is innocent until proven guilty, but those US senators are not judges here in the Philippines.” In a Viber message to reporters, he intimated, “May I echo the sentiment that the time for the United States to pull strings attached to their offer of financial aid is long gone. Mentoring us in the ways of democracy and due process smacks of racism and superiority complex. “

Senator Richard Gordon remarked in a radio interview, “No self-respecting ambassador of the Philippines would allow that. He will intervene.”

In his speech in Balangiga during the 118th anniversary of the encounter between Balangiga townsfolk and US troops, Senator Bong Go said, “I condemn this act of a handful of US senators for seeking to ban officials of the Philippine government involved in the detention of Senator Leila de Lima. This is an affront to our sovereignty and to our ability to govern ourselves. I will suggest to President Duterte to also ban these senators [from] our country for interfering [in] our internal affairs.

Senator Lacson himself could not resist the urge to express his thoughts on the issue. “Does it mean that all the witnesses who have testified against Sen. De Lima, DoJ (Department of Justice) prosecutors who found probable cause, the RTC (Regional Trial Court) judges who issued the warrants, even the nine SC (Supreme Court) justices who voted with finality to affirm the detention of Sen. De Lima will be banned from entering the US?” Lacson wondered.

I find it strange that those senators are so incensed by the proposed prohibition of entry to the US of those involved in the imprisonment of Senator De Lima. Their strong reaction indicates they anticipate being directly affected by the amendment.

They invoke Philippine sovereignty, assert our independence from the US, and protest against US interference in our affairs. Their reaction to the prospect of their being banned from entering the US should be “So what?” or “Who cares?” But they appear extremely disturbed, betraying a fear of being banned from entering the US. When former Ombudswoman Conchita Carpio-Morales and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario were denied entry to Hong Kong, not one of the aforementioned senators let out a peep of protest, much less issued a statement denouncing Hong Kong officials. Most everybody in the Duterte Administration, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin, shrugged off the snub as the sovereign right of a state to deny entry to a foreign national for any reason.

Senator Leila de Lima

Many believe that the reason Mrs. Carpio-Morales and Mr. Del Rosario were denied entry to Hong Kong was their filing of a complaint against Chinese President Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Nobody accused Hong Kong officials of meddling in our internal affairs.

The Philippines, through Secretary Locsin, has also invoked that sovereign right to prohibit any foreign national, be he or she an official of another country or a representative of the United Nations. In July, the United Nations Human Rights Council approved a resolution to compile a comprehensive report on President Duterte’s three-year war on drugs. In the television program Headstart, Secretary Locsin said he would not allow UN investigators to enter the Philippines. “I already said those bastards — especially that woman (Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions) first, the judgment, then the trial. No.”

That attitude is remarkably similar to how Senators Durbin and Healy see those involved in the imprisonment of Senator De Lima: first the judgment, then the trial, therefore no entry to the US for them.

Senator Sotto said the US senators try to meddle in our affairs when they do not even know the De Lima case. The amendment prohibiting US entry refers to “officials of the government of the Philippines about whom the Secretary of State has credible information (that they) have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of Senator Leila de Lima.”

Senator Sotto is the same senator who sees no problem with allowing Chinese fishers in Philippine waters because the Philippines and China have friendly relations and that the fish the Chinese catch in the West Philippine Sea may have swam all the way from China. But he is disturbed at US senators being concerned about the carriage of justice here. Does he think the Philippines and the US do not have friendly relations?

It should be recalled that in September 1991, while 12 senators were speaking against the extension of the PH-US Bases Treaty to uphold the country’s sovereignty, then television show Iskul Bukol star Tito Sotto was leading the chant “Yes na yes to the US bases” in front of Congress. Chanting with him was Nanette Medved, a member of the Iskul Bukol cast.

It was okay for him then for a foreign country to maintain military bases here that were not subject to Philippine laws and for a foreigner like Miss Medved to be involved in Philippine affairs. One can’t tell what stand he would take on national issues. That is because his mind floats around like the fish from China swimming in Philippine waters.

Senator Gordon accuses US senators of meddling in Philippine affairs. Yet he wants the Philippine ambassador to the US to intervene. Meddle and intervene mean the same thing. He should also be remembered as the mayor of Olongapo City who intensely spoke for the retention of the US bases here, never mind their infringement of Philippine sovereignty.

Funny that Senator Go considers the Durbin-Leahy proposal an affront to our sovereignty. Not once did he find as an affront to our sovereignty the installation by China of military facilities on islands within Philippine territory and the incursions of Chinese navy ships and fishing vessels in Philippine waters.

In reaction to the Durbin-Leahy amendment, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said, “It is an insult to the competence and capacity of our duly constituted authorities as such act makes it appear that this US Senate panel has the monopoly of what is right and just. It is an outright disrespect to our people’s clamor for law and order. It treats our country as an inferior state unqualified to run its own affairs. Nevertheless, we shall leave it to the international community to ascertain which nation values the rule of law in accordance with the principle of state sovereignty.”

But how can the community of nations ascertain that the Philippines values the rule of law when even investigators from the United Nations Human Rights Council are not allowed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin to set foot in the Philippines?

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a retired corporate executive, business consultant, and management professor. He has been a politicized citizen since his college days in the late 1950s.

The PMA Fourth Class System

I recall the Fourth Class system with fondness and gratitude because it introduced me to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) way of life which helped me do well as a leader and manager in the military, as well as in the private and public sectors.

Looking back and after undergoing tough training with the Philippine Special Forces and then, the RECONDO training with the US Special Forces in Vietnam while with the 1st PHILCAG (V), and studying the training given to Special Forces, Rangers, Marines, Seals, British SAS, and the like, I find the Fourth Class system relatively light and easy, yet fraught with catastrophic pitfalls, as the recent death of Cadet Dormitorio, allegedly a hazing victim.

I can only hazard a guess but clearly, the Fourth Class system does not seem to be aligned with the mission of PMA, i.e, to instruct, train, and develop cadets so that each graduate shall possess the character, the broad and basic military skills and the education essential to the successful pursuit of a progressive military career.

If the mission is to develop cadets to become officers, why disable or destroy them?

If the intention is to make them tough, why not let them undergo the tougher training given for special military operations, absent the risk of hazing?

The difference between the two types of training is the mindset.

In the case of the plebes (or Fourth Class), they are humorously considered as “beasts,” as in Beast Barracks, their dormitory, or low class citizens bereft of dignity and human rights (run, don’t walk, don’t reason why but do and die, etc.), while the upperclassmen are “masters” whose job is to separate the men from the boys and get rid of the unfit.

In the training for special military operations, the trainees are looked up to as future leaders and warriors, diamonds in the rough that need polishing, and who must make it so the institution can grow and endure in its duty to protect the nation and its citizens.

At the least, the PMA Fourth Class system needs an urgent review so hazing becomes a thing of the past.

This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the MAP.

 

Renato C. Valencia is the Vice-Chair of OMNIPAY.

map@map.org.ph

rcv3313@gmail.com

http://map.org.ph

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