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Never a good time for SOGIE

The problem with all the discussions surrounding the sexual orientation and gender identity legislative proposals are many. But it’s on the fundamental grounds that the flaws are truly significant.

One sees this in the opening portion, for example, of Senate Bill Nos. 159 and 689, defining the following terms:

“Gender Expression: refers to the outward manifestations of the cultural traits that enable a person to identify as male or female according to patterns that, at a particular moment in history, a given society defines as gender appropriate.”

“Gender Identity: refers to the personal sense of identity as characterized, among others, by manner of clothing, inclinations, and behavior in relation to masculine or feminine conventions. A person may have a male or female identity with the physiological characteristics of the opposite sex.”

The definitions are important because on them, along with the definition of “sexual orientation”, are practically built the entire structure of alleged “rights” that SBs 159/689 (or the “Anti-Discrimination” bill) are supposed to protect.

But one searches in vain for any factual or scientific data to back up the definitions. Or serve as sufficient rationale why additional legislation is even needed at all.

Instead, SBs 159/689 misleadingly refer to international law when no international law recognizes SOGIE “rights.”

Then SBs 159/689 rely on a five-year-old Pew survey finding “73% of adult Filipinos agree that homosexuality should be accepted by society.” But SB 689 fails to mention that “nearly two-thirds (65%) of Filipinos surveyed said homosexuality was immoral” (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

This proves that Filipinos, while correctly believing homosexuality should be tolerated, equally correctly don’t agree with it.

In the end, the SOGIE bills (House Bills 134 and 136 and Senate Bills 159 and 689) substantially base their “logic” on two UN studies without any objective factual data.

Pathetically, SOGIE’s foundations are thus revealed to be merely self-referential (e.g., Pew surveys), anecdotal, biased, or outrightly misleading.

Practically no effort was made to gather information from the relevant labor, educational, judicial, or police agencies.

And yet Filipinos are expected to acquiesce to the wholesale reengineering of Philippine society on this flimsiest of grounds?

Its congressional backers base their claim on gender being non-binary, like “a rainbow.” If true, can they at least be identified and enumerated?

How can the proposed laws protect something if even their authors don’t know what they are?

This is no way to make legislation.

The bills’ authors can’t identify the said genders because their proposed law is based on fantasy not fact.

The gender identities and expression aren’t based on biology. Nothing remotely scientific supports the claim of categorizing a gazillion genders mutable through time. Not our history or culture. Not race, which is biological as well.

What then? The only thing such “genders” are based on are the purely emotional and subjective belief of whoever claims it.

Yes, at most that’s all what SOGIE is: feelings, idea, a belief.

But as beliefs, such are already constitutionally and legislatively protected. So what reason could these additional legislation, these SOGIE bills, have?

Furthermore, not only are these proposed SOGIE laws completely unnecessary, they are also constitutionally infirm.

One may have the constitutional right to believe something and express that belief but legislation cannot be made to force you to agree to that belief or its expression. Others are also entitled to such innate constitutional rights.

What is provided for under the Constitution is the guarantee to be left alone to believe and speak as one wants, so long as such does not violate others’ rights.

To ask for more rights over and above that of others to protect your own belief, ideas, and expression violates the neutrality that government is constitutionally required to do. It violates individual property rights as well.

You are in effect asking for a privilege not available to other beliefs, speech, or expression.

It may be argued that educational institutions, religion, and even media are given dispensation but note this is mostly only as to taxes. And such is neutrally available to all beliefs, religions, or expression. Nothing is taken away from, confiscated, forced, or makes a specific belief or thought superior to or treated with privilege over and above other beliefs, expression, or religion.

Incidentally, public toilets have been long segregated based on privacy, modesty, and safety. And definitely biology. One sees this in the design difference between the toilets for men and women. Beliefs cannot be a reasonable basis to segregate toilets. Certainly not such that would justify putting one specific belief over all others.

The SOGIE bills should be defeated for their utter non-conformity not only with our Constitution but also sheer common sense.

And conflict with many other laws, particularly those protecting women, children, labor/business/property, schools, the military, as well as penal and civil relations.

And the SOGIE bills become even more repugnant when read alongside the ill-advised Safe Spaces Act.

So again: No to SOGIE.

And again: There are no SOGIE rights, just human rights.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter @jemygatdula

The one, most important thing in public speaking

By Raju Mandhyan

IT DID not take me long to think about the answer when I was asked the question, “What is that one, most important thing about succeeding at public speaking?”

Well, first one must consider the obstacle — some people call it the fear of public speaking and naturally shy people call it nervousness. My choice of the word to represent this malady is anxiety. Most people, whether they are the front-liners or the head honchos of an organization, they are all anxious about having to face an audience.

So, before we go into how to manage it and succeed at the interaction let us consider the source of this anxiety and the cause of this malady.

In my opinion this anxiety is generated from two aspects, two sources. First, it is generated by the fact that the speaker thinks that the audience may be too good for her. That means, they may be too knowledgeable, way too intelligent, and way to classy for her. And, that they may perceive her wrongly and may judge her too harshly. The second source is that the speaker may feel that he is too classy, much too knowledgeable, and much too advanced for the audience he is to address.

Both these extremes, if I may say so, arise from a misplaced self-image, warped self-esteem, or the manifestation of a false ego. This internal misperception and an external behavior that makes an effort to put on a show create a discord, a dissonance, and a lack of congruence in the speaker. That lack of congruence is seen and sensed by the audience and thus, they too tune out. When they tune out, the speaker and his performance come crashing down too. This does not just happen on the speaking stage but also occurs on all leadership platforms. Scroll down the history of the world and you will see that leaders came crashing down when they did not say or do what they meant or meant to do what they had said they would.

How do you manage to survive and thrive through this?

As a speaker, just before you speak and throughout speaking you need to step out of your own skin and stay vulnerable. You need to stop focusing excessively upon how good you look or not, how well you speak or not, and how perfectly placed your content is for the event and the customer-audience. Your heart, your mind, and, sometimes, even your smartphone, need to just live and breathe in kindness and a deep desire for creating value for the audience. To make the customer king, while speaking, is to get out of your own way; get out of your own skin.

How is this done?

Considering that you have done all the homework you need to have done before the speaking event, you need to calm down. You need to let go of all concerns of not doing a good job. You need, also, let go of the entire negative and excessively brittle and moral self-talk. You need to deflate. You need to bring your attention to how you are breathing. To when your breathing stops sounding and feeling like you were pumping iron, or when you choke upon the sight of a dog that you are scared of. Your breathing needs to be even like that of a baby at sleep. It needs to go easy in, easy out and through the diaphragm. Rhythmic and calm, with your shoulders, eyes, and tongue as relaxed as possible.

The moment you deflate, ground yourself, and calm down then your attention will stop obsessing over yourself and move towards being present and conscious of your audience’s space, their current state, and then their learning needs. It is then that you can and will begin to shine as a speaker, a great communicator, and a leader that inspires and makes her world evolve beautifully. At this stage your interaction with your audience becomes a dance of love, of engagement, and co-creation.

That which works in public speaking, works in running fruitful meetings. That which works in public speaking, works in bringing the best out of others. That which works in public speaking, works in leading your world to a brighter tomorrow. This is the one, most important thing in most everything in life; being in the here and now and then taking the world into their future with humility and with compassion.

 

Raju Mandhyan is an author, coach and speaker.

www.mandhyan.com

The Earth will remember humans for the mess we left behind

By Faye Flam

SOME SCIENTISTS are trying to name our current geologic epoch after us — calling it the Anthropocene. That’s no brag, because most of the changes we’re making to our planet are embarrassing.

We’ve caused huge shifts in the plants and animals sharing the planet with us, driven many species to extinction, left a layer of radioactive fallout from exploding nuclear bombs, accidentally changed the composition of our atmosphere, and left a layer of plastic that will in all likelihood still be around in a million years.

Long after time and erosion have turned all our feats of art and engineering to dust, our mess will remain. Naming this era after ourselves is more of a confession. That acknowledgement is a first step toward strategies for minimizing our damaging influence.

A fascinating feature in Nature this month describes the search for what scientists call a golden spike — a marker somewhere on the planet displaying a clear, sharp signature of significant change that would mark the dawn of the Anthropocene. What makes the process interesting isn’t what they settle on as a starting point, but what it’s revealing about the way humans have become an earth-changing force, and how long human-wrought changes will persist. With that understanding could come strategies for minimizing our damaging influence.

These scientists are coming to favor atomic bomb blasts of the 1950s, which are leaving a long-lasting layer of isotopes in lake beds and deposits of ice. People have also considered the advent of widespread chicken farming, which leaves behind the bones of almost 60 billion birds each year.

There is a subjectivity to this process, said planetary scientist David Grinspoon, whose book Earth in Human Hands makes a case for the Anthropocene. A person exploring Earth 50 million years from now may not find any obvious signs that we were here, he said, but if they were trained archaeologists and did some digging, they would see that something extraordinary happened.

Naysayers argue that we don’t warrant our own geologic era because we are too short-lived a species. We’ve only been around 200,000 years, and for most of this time we did nothing to cause lasting change. It wasn’t until 50,000 years ago that people started to spread around the globe, leaving in our wake a wave of extinctions of the animals we liked to eat. And it was only in the last century — insignificant in geologic time — that we’ve really started adding new materials, such as plastics, to the geologic strata. Geologic time is long, and our existence short, at least so far.

But we can already know that our influence on the planet will last into geologic time. The nuclear remnants of our bomb blasts will last for hundreds of thousands of years, and so will traces of those mountains of plastic we’ve been throwing away, some of which is already forming a new kind of stone, dubbed plastiglomerate. Scientists estimate that human-generated changes in the chemistry and temperature of our oceans will persist for thousands of years after we learn how to stop burning fossil fuel.

In Greenland’s ice cap, layers dating back to the Roman era show contamination with industrial lead. Leaded gasoline from the 20th century will leave an even bigger layer that also includes cadmium, arsenic and chemical changes that took place when the ozone layer sprung a hole. (While the edges of the ice are melting fast, the cap itself, and buried traces of our pollution, could last another million years.)

Even more profound will be the change in the fossil record of life. The United Nations recently estimated that, globally, human activity is likely to cause a million species to go extinct. We don’t really know how many species exist now; biologists have cataloged about two million but estimate a total of around 10 million.

Another recent study showed that we’ve already radically changed the populations of living things — destroying 83% of all wild animals and half of wild plants. Currently, researchers estimate, 96% of mammals today are humans or livestock, and only 4% are wild animals.

To make the Anthropocene official, a committee called the “Anthropocene Working Group” will need to agree on a golden spike and create a proposal, which would eventually come up for approval from the International Union of Geological Sciences. But even without official sanction, the idea is catching on in the popular imagination.

Back in the 20th century, when I wrote about the predictions that greenhouse gases were warming the globe, people accused me of being arrogant for even thinking human beings could affect this vast planet. But the Earth is not, as long believed, too vast to be changed by humans, and with a population of 7 billion and climbing, we are not too small to leave an indelible mark.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Spotlight: Common Myths and Facts about Head and Neck Cancer

Dr. Ang Peng Tiam, medical director and senior consultant specializing in Medical Oncology at Parkway Cancer Centre in Singapore, talks about the common myths and facts about head and neck cancers that may include voice box, throat, tongue palate, cheeks, floor of mouth and lips. He also discusses the symptoms of these cancers, as well as the different treatment options to manage them.

Running your business the Alibaba Way, with Steve Sy

 

1. Capitalize on the digital economy. (1:57-2:46)
E-commerce, finance, logistics, and big data: These are the pillars of the digital economy. Companies with a presence in each pillar have a special advantage, which can be said for Alibaba. Their journey to this stage was gradual and organic.

“When Jack Ma started, he started with the platform of Alibaba, Taobao, then T-mall. That’s the e-commerce [part],” said Sy. “Then because of that, they need to have [a] good payments [system], so he was building his digital ecosystem… then they have a smart logistics network… and last but not the least, they have cloud computing, which is big data.”

Sy recommends starting a business on these services given that it’s still largely untapped in the country.

“Right now, we’re just starting to digitize here in the Philippines. For most of us business owners, these are the industries that you can be a part of because it’s going to grow, and grow fast,” he said.

2. Don’t create a network, build one… (3:55-4:40)
When expanding across different industries, it can get tempting to create your own brand in order to monopolize the profit. Instead, make partnerships to add value to your services.

Consider Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics network that comprises 70 percent of China’s market share. “Rather than competing with different logistics companies… they have an AI platform wherein if you’re part of that network, your truck can pick something up on the way back from a delivery. And they were able to reduce their [shipping] cost to P15 anywhere in China,” said Sy.

Making your business model more inclusive improves not only your business but the ecosystem around you.

“That’s the beauty of Jack Ma’s inclusivity mindset. He wants to make business easier for each and every individual.”

3. … and see your revenues increase. (7:33-8:01)
While strong services are surely the goal of every startup, you may be worried about the investment you’ll have to put in for it. If we are to base it on how Alibaba organized their network, it’s actually more profitable in the long run, creating what they call the network externality effect.

When a company increases its number of business units, it creates an increase in connections. Building such a support system lessens cost the more areas are covered, generating higher revenue.

“[Alibaba] has Ant Financial that supports their Taobao and TMall. They have Cainiao Network that supports Taobao, TMall, and Ant Financial,” said Sy. “And [Alibaba has] more than a thousand business units. So they keep on growing. That’s why they’re one of the biggest companies.”

4. A startup is only as strong as its people. (11:53-12:28)
This kind of support is just as important within a business. The core of a startup may be its strategy, and it may be led by its mission, vision, and values, but organization capability and performance management are necessary to implement them.

Sy uses the Bible story of Luke Chapter 5 as an example. “Sometimes we think, ‘We’ve been grinding our startup for so long, I won’t get any more fish.’ But remember: you need to have a bigger net and a stronger, bigger boat. Meaning we need to have bigger capabilities and performance or better systems. So that when you scale, [you’ll] be able to catch all the fish.”

5. Always remember why you exist. (8:47-9:01)
To further motivate one’s employees, it’s crucial to remind them why your company exists in the first place. This gives them tao, a Chinese concept that translates to path or guide.

“How does it motivate you, your employees, and your partners? So it’s a very key ingredient knowing your mission,” said Sy. “When you know your mission, you won’t be so quickly discouraged. Because you know why you exist.”

Those interested in applying for the Alibaba eFounders Program can find more information at this link. The upcoming program class will take place from Dec 2 to 12. The deadline for applications is on Oct 7.

Connected Women Shortlisted for ITU Telecom World Awards – SME Category in Budapest

Connected Women, a technology-driven social impact startup, has been shortlisted for the ITU Telecom World Awards – SME category at the International Telecommunications Union’s Telecom World 2019 exhibition, known as ITU Telecom World 2019 to be held on Sept. 9-12 in Budapest, Hungary’s capital.

Just earlier this year, the startup has been lauded as a Champion for e-Employment at the UN World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva. As an advocate of Gender Equality and Decent Work and Economic Growth, the 5th and 8th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Connected Women matches entrepreneurs (all genders) and businesses from all over the world with Filipino women looking for remote work through a tech platform which utilizes a unique proprietary algorithm to ensure a precise match. Through the Connected Women website, job seekers can apply for virtual work while entrepreneurs gain access to high-quality, affordable talent. This social enterprise also provides digital skills enhancement, continued education and training for the community while promoting tech adoption, inclusive innovation and the future of work.

Thought leaders from public and private sectors, experts in ICT, regulatory bodies, representatives of international organizations & academic institutions from across the world will deliver speeches in the conference.

Outstanding participants will receive awards in different categories, including Global SME Awards, Global Industry Awards, Government Award, Host Country SME Award and Recognition of Excellence Certificate.

ITU Telecom World 2019 is a non-profit UN-level platform that aims to accelerate ICT innovation for social and economic development by exhibiting solutions and sharing knowledge. It brings together governments, corporations and Tech SMEs, along with leaders from the public and private sectors, emerging and developed markets, as well as from across the ICT ecosystem.

According to ITU’s event website, ministers, regulators, international industry associations, major industry players, entrepreneurs, operators, vendors, service providers, content developers, media, consultants, industry visionaries and leading academics in the ICT sector are among the global audience of ITU Telecom World.

Malolos-Clark rail auction draws 11 firms

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

THE AUCTION for the contract to build the Malolos-Clark segment of the North South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project attracted “a record-high number” of bidders, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the department said nine foreign and two local firms — most of which formed joint ventures — are vying for three contract packages of the railway project, also called Philippine National Railway (PNR) Clark Phase 2. Their proposals were opened on Tuesday.

The foreign firms are Spain’s Acciona S.A.; South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd., Dong Ah Construction Industrial Co. Ltd. and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd.; Thailand’s Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd.; Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Corp.; as well as Indonesia’s PT Pembangunan Perumahan [PP], PT Waskita Karya Tbk and PT Wijaya Karya Tbk [Wika].

The local firms were EEI Corp. and Megawide Construction Corp.

PNR General Manager Junn B. Magno said the agency started yesterday evaluation of the bids that were submitted on Tuesday. “It will take probably another five to six weeks to conclude evaluation,” he said in a text message.

Three contract packages are covered by the auction: Package 1 for a 17-kilometer segment including Calumpit and Apalit stations, Package 2 for a 16 km stretch including San Fernando station and Package 3 for a 12 km section including Angeles and Clark stations.

The P283.8-billion Malolos-Clark railway of the P777.55-billion NSCR Project is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and therefore limits auction participants to ADB’s 68 member countries that include 19 outside Asia.

Mr. Magno said it could be the participants’ “biggest rail project in Southeast Asia if they ever got one package.”

The 53-km Malolos-Clark railway forms part of the 147-km NSCR project that is also composed of the 56-km Calamba-Tutuban and the 38-km Tutuban-Malolos lines.

Covered by the Malolos-Clark segment is the express railway service of NSCR that will link the train to Clark International Airport. Bids for this 8-kilometer track and the Clark depot are expected in October.

The government expects the Malolos-Clark railway, or PNR Clark Phase 2 that is scheduled to open in 2023, to reduce travel time between Clark airport and Makati Central Business District to 55 minutes from up to three hours currently.

AllHome, Axelum get final green light for IPOs

THE PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE, Inc. (PSE) has approved the maiden share sale planned by coconut products manufacturer Axelum Resources Corp. and home improvement supplies retailer AllHome Corp.

In separate notices on Wednesday, the bourse gave the final clearance for both companies to pursue their initial public offering (IPO) in October.

Axelum will be the first to conduct its IPO, from which it looks to raise up to P7.695 billion. The company will offer 400 million treasury shares and 300 million new common shares to the public, alongside 430 million existing common shares held by CP Compass Singapore Pte. Ltd, at a price of up to P6.81 per share.

This will give the company a public float of about 28.25% and market cap of 28.25% after listing.

Axelum hired First Metro Investment Corp. as transaction issue manager and bookrunner.

The company will set the final offer price on Sept. 19, in time for a Sept. 24-30 offer. Its shares are scheduled to be listed on PSE’s main board by Oct. 7.

Axelum will use the funds to expand its markets to the United States, Europe (including eastern Europe), Middle East and major countries in Asia.

Meanwhile, Villar-led AllHome is set to raise P20.7 billion in fresh capital from its IPO.

It will offer up to 1.125 billion shares made up of 750 million primary shares and up to 375 million secondary shares. It has also set aside up to 168.75 million shares for the overallotment option.

The offer price for the IPO will be finalized by Sept. 27, while the offer will run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4. The shares are scheduled to be listed on Oct. 10.

Upon listing, AllHome will have a public float of 30%, with a market capitalization of up to P60 billion.

The funds raised from the issuance will be used for construction of 38 new stores until 2020, as well as for debt repayment.

The company tapped UBS AG, Singapore Branch as the offer’s sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner. CLSA Limited and Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited will act as joint bookrunners, while PNB Capital & Investment Corp will act as local lead underwriter. China Bank Capital Corp. will also serve as co-lead local underwriter.

Axelum and AllHome will be the second and third companies, respectively, to go public this year after the maiden offering of property asset management firm Kepwealth Property Phils Inc. (KPPI). KPPI raised P384.8 million on the bourse on Aug. 19. It shares soared to P14 each on Wednesday, almost triple its P5.74 offer price. — Arra B. Francia

House body amends public service law

THE HOUSE of Representatives’ Economic Affairs committee on Wednesday approved a bill that will limit the 40% foreign ownership cap on public utilities to electricity distribution and transmission as well as water distribution and sewerage pipeline systems, in effect opening up sectors like transport and telecommunications.

“We hereby approve the committee report on House Bill No. 78, recommending its approval [in plenary session] without amendment…” said AAMBIS-OWA Party List Rep. Sharon S. Garin, who heads the committee.

The bill amends the 82-year-old Commonwealth Act No. 146, or the Public Service Act, by limiting the scope of “public utility,” a sector subject to the Constitution’s foreign ownership cap. It also prescribes a 12% rate on return cap and excludes income tax as operating expense for public utility rate-determination. — V. A. C. Ferreras

Eight PHL companies counted among Forbes’ ‘Best Over a Billion’

EIGHT LOCAL FIRMS made it to Forbes Asia magazine’s list of “Best Over a Billion 2019,” which recognizes 200 top-performing listed companies in Asia and the Pacific with revenues of more than $1 billion.

In a statement, Forbes Asia said it evaluated 3,200 listed companies in the region with at least $1 billion in revenues in their latest financial year.

Firms with declining revenues for the past five years were removed, and those remaining subjected to more than a dozen metrics like average five-year sales, operating income growth, return on capital and projected growth over the next one to two years.

Sy-led SM Investments Corp. led the Philippine firms with revenues of $7.993 billion in 2018 and a $704-million net income.

San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. followed with sales of $5.438 billion, while Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and Ayala Corp. trailed with revenues of $5.327 billion and $5.22 billion, respectively.

GT Capital Holdings, Inc., which holds auto firm Toyota Motor Philippines and lender Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., was the fifth local firm with revenues of $3.794 billion.

Tycoon Lucio L. Co’s Cosco Capital, Inc. that operates leading retailer brand Puregold was the sixth in the local list with sales of $3.198 billion.

Homegrown food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. also made it to the list with sales of $3.061 billion, followed by Megaworld Corp. with $1.022 billion.

China tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited topped overall with $56.163-billion revenues.

Tencent Holdings, another Chinese Internet firms, followed with $47.308-billion revenues.

Agribusiness company Wilmar International of Singapore, semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix of South Korea, and Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison came next with sales of $44.498 billion, $36.772 billion and $35.359 billion, respectively.

This is the first year for Forbes Asia’s “Best Over a Billion” list.

The new roster complements Forbes Asia’s annual “Best Under a Billion” list of the 200-best performing small and mid-sized companies in Asia Pacific will less than $1 billion in revenues.

Forbes Asia said the list also emphasizes the connection between the companies and members of their annual rich lists.

“The ‘Best Over A Billion’ list provides an incredible insight into which are Asia’s best-run big companies,” Forbes Asia Editor Justin Doebele said in a statement.

“Nearly two-thirds of the companies on this list are controlled by or connected to families or individuals who have appeared on Forbes Asia’s rich lists.” — Arra B. Francia

Skilled labor mobility in SE Asia to ease disruptions

COUNTRIES in Southeast Asia including the Philippines should harness labor mobility to ease skill shortages caused by urbanization, technological advances and other disruptions, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released on Wednesday.

“When employers can choose from a broader talent pool, they can make better matches and make the best possible use of a scarce resource,” ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada said in the preface of the book titled Skilled Labor Mobility and Migration.

Structural transformation, urbanization, demographic change and rapid technological advances under the Fourth Industrial Revolution could disrupt labor markets and displace workers, simultaneously spurring demand for new, more highly specialized skills that are in short supply, ADB said in the book edited by Elisabetta Gentile.

“Skilled worker mobility across ASEAN is a powerful way of alleviating skill shortages and transferring knowledge across borders,” it said. “It is also crucial to boost productivity.”

In the past 20 years, migrants within the region have more than quadrupled to 9.9 million in 2016 from 2.1 million in 1995, according to ADB. While the total volume of intra-regional migration has grown substantially over the years, the major patterns of labor mobility have not changed dramatically, it said.

The report noted that rapid economic growth of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members has led to a wealthier middle class that is willing to pay for better, higher-quality goods and services.

It has also fueled mass urbanization through both intra- and cross-country migration, as rural workers move to cities and workers from less-developed areas and countries look for better opportunities in more advanced ones.

Southeast Asia’s urban population is expected to grow by almost 100 million people to about 373 million by 2030.

Aside from demographic change due to improved living standards, rapid technological advances may disrupt labor markets, according to the ADB report.

“While industrial robots have been confined to routine and manual tasks for a long time, they are increasingly capable of undertaking non-routine and cognitive tasks,” it said.

As much as 56% of employment in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia is at risk of being displaced due to technology in the next decade or two. Occupations at high risk are largely routine tasks that can increasingly be automated — for example, as carried out by sewing machine operators, shops and salespersons, food service personnel and office clerks.

Industry experts also estimated that 47% of business process outsourcing (BPO) workers in the Philippines are focused on process-driven tasks that will be challenged by increasingly sophisticated voice, text and image recognition.

ASEAN members should introduce policies that encourage movement across a wide array of skills, the ADB report said.

Workers with regional qualifications can be prioritized in job applications in an industry that mutually benefits source and destination economies, it said. “These schemes can be devised to maximize efficiency in sharing talent.”

And since workers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are more likely to be self-employed and hold a portfolio of jobs, work visa policies and procedures in the region must be reformed, ADB said. The process of obtaining a visa cannot take longer than the stay itself and workers’ visas cannot be tied to a single employer or make it difficult to transfer to a different one.

The need to promote cross-border labor mobility goes beyond the realm of just the highly skilled, according to the report.

The demand for semi- to lower-skilled workers is already high and may increase to meet the growing need in services, healthcare and household services.

“ASEAN countries should encourage one another to work together to develop a regional human resource development plan and strategy,” the report said.

The plan can assess the adequacy of labor supply and come up with measures to fill possible gaps, it added. — Norman P. Aquino

ERC approves Meralco’s withdrawal of 3 PSAs

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) application to withdraw its power supply agreements (PSA) with three power generating companies after the Supreme Court ordered them to first go through competitive bidding before forging the deals.

In separate orders promulgated on Aug. 23, 2019, the agency approved Meralco’s three withdrawal applications, which it applied jointly with Global Luzon Energy Development Corp., Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. (RP Energy), and Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E).

The ERC order provides closure to Meralco’s plan to move forward the development of the new energy sources by entities that it is affiliated with. The proposed power plant projects are supposed to meet the power distribution utility’s future requirement.

“In view of the Supreme Court decision cited by [Meralco] and A1E as the ground relied upon for their withdrawal, the Commission hereby grants the withdrawal of applicants’ joint application,” the commission’s order states.

The ERC similarly phrased its order for the two other companies. The applications to withdraw the PSA applications were filed on June 14, 2019.

A1E is the project company of Meralco subsidiary Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen). It is building a two-unit ultra supercritical coal-fired power plant, each with a capacity of 600 megawatts (MW) in Atimonan, Quezon province.

MGen is also behind RP Energy, which is building a two-unit power plant, each with a capacity of 300 MW using the circulating fluidized bed technology.

Meralco forged the PSAs with the entities and jointly filed with their application for ERC approval on April 29, 2016. Hearings were conducted on Nov. 14, 2016, Nov. 28, 2016, and March 6, 2017 for the determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, pre-trial conference, among others.

The withdrawal of the applications came after the Supreme Court on May 3, 2019 granted the petition of Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, Inc. (ABP) to disapprove the PSAs and implement the competitive selection process (CSP). The process is meant to reach the least-cost power for consumers.

The court decision required all PSAs submitted by distribution utilities to the ERC on or after June 30, 2015 to comply with the CSP as called for by Department of Energy (DoE) Circular No. DC2018-02-003.

“Thus, in the light of the said Supreme Court Decision on the ABP Petition, applicants are constrained to move for the withdrawal of the instant Joint Application,” Meralco said in its application.

After the court ruling, Meralco has since invited bidders keen on supplying energy to the utility under three separate notices and to be conducted under a CSP as called for by the DoE circular.

For power supply from the “brownfield” power plant, or one that is already existing, Meralco sought 1,200 MW starting on Dec. 26, 2019 up to Dec. 25, 2029. The submission of bids is until Sept. 9, 2019.

For the mid-merit power, which can be supplied by power plants with ability to adjust its power output as demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day, Meralco sought 500 MW under a five-year contract. The bid submission is until Sept. 11, 2019.

Meralco also sought bids for another 1,200 MW with a target commercial operation date by March 2024 for the first unit, and full contract capacity by September 2024. In case a power plant has four units, two of them must attain commercial operation date by March 2024. The bidder must offer fuel source from high efficiency, low emission technology.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon

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