THE Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) said Tuesday it will start allowing the shipment of grain through containers, as opposed to the former practice of admitting cargoes only in bulk form.
The company, a unit of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), said the practice of admitting containers of grain allows the shipment of smaller quantities of the commodity.
“In the case of grain, containers are filled with a certain type of grain and delivered to their destinations, without additional handling procedures. This keeps different grain types separate, and allows for smaller orders, as containers can only carry up to 23-24 tonnes of grain,” it said.
Grain products such as rice, wheat, corn and soybean are usually shipped in bulk, which is more laborious to load and unload.
Containerization, meanwhile, allows more savings in cost and labor hours, it said, while also minimizing the buildup of containers at ports on trans-oceanic grain shipments.
“Round-trip container shipping as a practice allows Asian countries to export consumer goods west, with the containers bringing back grain to Asia upon their return,” SBITC said.
It added fewer handling errors mean grain quality is likely to be maintained during shipment. — Denise A. Valdez
THE Department of Energy (DoE) will continue to find ways to keep consumers informed about what goes into the prices of petroleum products, its top official said Tuesday, after a court blocked the agency’s circular that it hoped would provide greater transparency.
“I’m not happy,” DoE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi told reporters after the release of the writ of preliminary injunction issued by Branch 213 of the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City that sided with petitioner Petron Corp.
He said the other ways for the DoE to determine the pricing of fuel products would include the importation of petroleum by a unit of state-led Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) or the company itself.
Last year, PNOC Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), the company’s energy exploration arm, embarked on a plan to import diesel from non-traditional foreign markets. The move has so far failed to materialize.
“Whether it’s PNOC [mother company] or PNOC-EC, it doesn’t matter,” he said, calling the initiative a “work in process” that was never dropped by the agency. Mr. Cusi chairs PNOC by virtue of his position as Energy secretary.
The court decision enjoined Mr. Cusi, who was respondent in the case in his capacity as DoE secretary, from implementing and enforcing Department Circular No. DC2019-005-008.
It said “if the implementation of the assailed circular is not restrained in the meantime, the petitioner might not be able to comply with its requirements, the first of which is the submission of the weekly reports.”
“At the same time, the petitioner might be placed at risk of losing its trade secrets and incur irreparable injury by disclosing such information to respondent DoE. The petitioner and its officers may be subjected to criminal prosecution and the administrative penalties mentioned in the circular for compliance with the same,” it said.
The circular requires persons or entities involved in the sale of petroleum products such as gasoline, automotive and industrial diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and aviation gas, household and automotive liquefied petroleum gas to file an annual or special report, or both, in such form as the DoE secretary may prescribe.
The circular, which has yet to be implemented, calls for oil companies to first notify the DoE of any adjustment in the prices of petroleum products before imposing any price adjustments.
The court said it found “clear and unmistakable right” to provisional relief sought by the petitioner to prevent the DoE from implementing the circular. — Victor V. Saulon
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ordered Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to remit withholding taxes from their foreign workers by Aug. 10.
“Aug. 10 is deadline for the monthly remittance of withholding tax on compensation,” BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel S.D. Guballa confirmed in a text message. BIR has said it has so far collected P200 million worth of tax remittances from six POGO companies.
There government currently has no definitive estimate of the total number of foreign workers employed by POGOs.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has said that the government foregoes revenue of about P2 billion a month for every 100,000 POGO workers that do not pay withholding tax on their earnings, or about P24 billion a year.
In early July, Mr. Dominguez said the BIR will start collecting taxes from foreign workers employed by POGOs. — Beatrice M. Laforga
THE PESO declined further after the US called China a “currency manipulator.”
THE PESO sank on Tuesday as tensions between the world’s two largest economies escalated further after the former tagged the latter as a “currency manipulator.”
The local currency shed 16.5 centavos to P51.955 against the greenback on Tuesday from the P51.79-per-dollar close on Monday.
The peso touched the P52-per-dollar level when it opened the session at P52.10 against the dollar, which was also its intraday low. Meanwhile, it climbed to as high as P51.88 versus the greenback.
Tuesday’s volume thinned to $1.32 billion from $1.39 billion that exchanged hands on Monday.
“The peso weakened significantly due to demand for safe-haven currencies after the US Treasury Department labelled China as a ‘currency manipulator,’ further heightening current tensions between the US and China,” a trader said in an e-mail interview.
“When trading opened at P52.10 [yesterday morning]…this was brought by market’s reaction to Chinese devaluation [on Monday],” another trader said in a separate phone interview.
“Profit taking occurred when peso hit a high of P51.88, in reaction to better-than-expected CPI (consumer price index) data as well as the market reaction to the news that BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) chief said it could ease by at least 50 bps (basis points) until the end of the year,” the second trader added.
Last Monday, financial markets took a battering after the People’s Bank of China fixed its exchange rate at 7 yuan against the dollar — the lowest in a decade — in response to US President Donald J. Trump’s plan to impose an additional 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods by Sept. 1.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the US tagged China as a “currency manipulator” for the first time since 1994, dramatically escalating the trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies.
Back home, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the general increase in prices of widely used goods and services continued to cool in July to 2.4% from 2.7% in June and 5.7% in July 2018, strengthening the case for the BSP to cut policy rates at its review on Thursday.
The latest print matched the median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts and settled at the midpoint of the 2-2.8% forecast range given by the BSP for that month.
For the year thus far, inflation averaged at 3.3%, within the central bank’s 2-4% target band for the year and the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s 2.7-3.5% assumption. However, this was still higher than the downward-revised 2.7% full-year forecast of the central bank.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Monday that BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno expects to ease policy rates by another 50 bps this year.
“The local currency might recover [today] as market participants might start taking profits following the recent sharp declines of the peso,” the first trader said.
The first trader expects peso to move within P51.80 to P52.10 today, while the second one sees it trading “at a wide range” between P51.80 and P52.20. — Mark T. Amoguis
LOCAL EQUITIES retreated further on Tuesday, as trade war tensions escalated after the United States called out China for allegedly manipulating its currency.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 1.56% or 123.27 points to close at 7,766.75 yesterday, continuing the previous session’s decline. The broader all-shares index likewise plunged 1.18% or 57.20 points to 4,763.91.
“The bloodshed trickled down to Philippine shares brought about by US and Asia as trade war continues and investors flee from equities to safe haven assets such as bonds and gold,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan said in a text message.
US President Donald J. Trump last week proposed an additional 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, including smartphones, toys, and other consumer goods.
Tensions further escalated when the US called China a “currency manipulator” following the yuan’s drop against the dollar on Monday.
With this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sunk 2.9% or 767.27 points to 25,717.74. The S&P 500 index plummeted 2.98% or 87.31 points to 2,844.74, while the Nasdaq Composite was sold down 3.47% or 278.03 points to 7,726.04.
AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun noted that the PSEi is already down by 4.5% for the week, but cited the strong economic fundamentals that could support a recovery.
“Inflation came in at 2.4%, the low end of the consensus. We have Q2 GDP (gross domestic product) coming in on Thursday and I’m still hoping it comes in above 6%. We will end the week lower but I’m banking on a recovery before the week is up,” Mr. Mangun said in an e-mail.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported Tuesday that inflation eased to a two-year low of 2.4% in July. This matched the median yield from a BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts and a research group taken last week.
All sectoral indices moved to negative territory, with the mining and oil counter falling the most as it dropped 2.01% or 165.47 points to 8,030.31. Financials slumped 1.71% or 31.18 points to 1,783.33; holding firms fell 1.69% or 130.76 points to 7,568.04; industrials lost 1.54% or 171.29 points to 10,946.18; services slipped 1.39% or 22.09 points to 1,561.84; and property dropped 1.17% or 49.09 points to 4,125.28.
Turnover swelled to P9.71 billion after some 1.40 billion issues switched hands, against Monday’s P6.37 billion.
Philstocks’ Mr. Tan noted that the value turnover was above average as most investors unloaded their shares, while only two index firms were spared from the negativity.
Foreign investors remained net sellers at P1.68 billion, higher than Monday’s P1.19 billion.
Decliners swamped advancers, 165 to 47, while 37 names were unchanged.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte and People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping exchange tokens on the sidelines of the dinner hosted by the Chinese President at the Boao State Guesthouse on April 10, 2018.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte plans to invoke a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration panel in the Hague that rebuffed Chinese claims over parts of the South China Sea when he visits Beijing later this month, his spokesman told reporters yesterday.
“Remember that I said before that there will be a time when I will invoke that arbitral ruling? This is the time, that’s why I’m going there,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo quoted the president as saying.
The United Nations tribunal in July 2016 ruled China’s efforts to assert control over the South China Sea exceeded the law, rejecting its shared claims with Taiwan to more than 80% of the main waterway.
China rejected the decision of the international court, which has failed to halt its island-building activities in areas also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The court rebuffed years of Chinese activity in the disputed sea under President Xi Jinping, whom Mr. Duterte will meet during a visit to China later this month.
Mr. Duterte, who has sought closer investment and trade ties with China since he became president in June 2016, will also bring up the alleged ramming by a Chinese ship of a Filipino fishing boat at the Reed Bank in June, Mr. Panelo said.
The president will try to resolve with his Chinese counterpart the issue of who was responsible for the incident, he said. “Who is responsible and what will be the compensation?” he added.
The president thinks it’s time to invoke the Hague ruling because his six-year term is about to end in three years, the spokesman said.
Mr. Duterte during his fifth visit to China since 2016 will also push for a 60-40 share in favor of the Philippines if joint exploration activities proceed, Mr. Panelo said.
The Department of Energy banned all exploration and drilling activities in the area starting in 2014 pending the sea dispute with China. The area is near Palawan province and the Malampaya gas field, a deepwater gas-to-power project operated by Shell Philippines Exploration BV.
After his meeting with Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang in Manila in Nov. 2017, Mr. Duterte said it was possible to lift the ban.
Also yesterday, Mr. Panelo said the Philippines won’t proceed with a plan to require Chinese nationals to undergo regular visa application procedures. The practice of giving Chinese tourists visa upon their arrival will continue.
Mr. Duterte approved a proposal to allow Chinese passports bearing the nine-dash line image to be stamped with the Philippine visa, ending a seven-year policy enforced to protest China’s sea claims.
The rubber stamp will bear a Philippine map that includes territories claimed by both countries, Mr. Panelo said.
China claims sovereignty over more than 80 percent of the South China Sea based on its so-called nine-dash line drawn on a 1940s map.
It has been building artificial islands in the disputed Spratly Islands and setting up installations including several runways.
It was Mr. Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno S. Aquino III, who sued China before the Hague tribunal. Mr. Aquino also strengthened Philippine alliance with the US to try to check China’s expansion in the main waterway.
Mr. Duterte in his yearly address to Congress last month promised to defend Philippine rights in the South China Sea “in a peaceful way.” “The West Philippine Sea is ours, there’s no ifs and buts, it is ours,” the tough-talking leader said in his address, referring to the South China Sea, more than 80% of which China claims.
But his government has to temper its territorial claims with realities, noting that an armed conflict with China would only bring “grief and misery.”
Mr. Duterte blamed his predecessor for allegedly giving way to China after a 2012 standoff in Scarborough Shoal that later allowed the regional power to occupy the shoal. — Arjay L. Balinbin
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is worried that terrorist groups linked to Islamic State may have spilled into the main island of Luzon, according to his spokesman.
Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo cited the president’s speech on Monday, when he said he had prayed to God to spare the Philippines the kind of brutality that IS has inflicted in Iraq and Syria.
“Because it will really be bloody,” Mr. Duterte had said.
The president based his information on an alert memo ordering the Northern Luzon Command to boost its operations in Laoag, Vigan, Manaoag and Tuguegarao, Mr. Panelo said.
“That’s raw intelligence,” the spokesman said. “We know that the IS group is so brutal in slaying people and we will be fighting back — and that will mean bloody encounters,” he said.
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard A. Arevalo told CNN Philippines IS does not pose a threat in Northern Luzon.
“Based on what we have seen, it’s negative,” the military spokesman said in Filipino. “But again, we should never let our guards down.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE NATIONAL Wages and Productivity Board announced a P1,000 monthly increase in the minimum wage for housekeepers in the Mimaropa region, which is made up of the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.
The minimum wage was set at P3,500 a month from P2,500, according to an order issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.
The new rate applies to all maidservants whether they are staying in or out of their employers’ houses, according to the order.
The order also does not prevent househelps from bargaining for higher wages with their employers, it said.
The law for housekeepers, which took effect in 2013, had set a minimum wage of P2,000 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities and P1,500 in other municipalities. Before that, they were at the mercy of employers as far as their wages were concerned.
Housekeepers must be paid their wages without illegal deductions at least once a month, according to the wage order.
Employers must also provide basic needs such as three full meals daily and a decent sleeping area.
Employers who fail to heed the order face a penalty of P10,000 to P40,000, it said.
The order will take effect 15 days after being published in a newspaper of general circulation. — Gillian M. Cortez
THE Philippines won’t ban the deployment of Filipino workers in Hong Kong amid street protests that have become more violent each day, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo told a briefing yesterday.
“There’s no deployment ban,” he said, adding that the Labor department’s advice is for Filipino workers in Hong Kong to avoid places where there are protests.
But Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III is monitoring the situation in Hong Kong and studying the possibility of banning deployment.
“The president will always be concerned when the safety of our countrymen is at stake,” he added.
Mr. Bello told reporters on Monday a Filipino worker had been arrested in Hong Kong after he was accused of participating in a street protest.
The semi-autonomous Chinese city has been rocked by unrest since early June, and authorities are struggling to contain demonstrations that have become more violent.
The protests were sparked by an extradition bill that would allow suspects to be sent to China for trial. — ALB
THE SUPREME Court has approved the rules allowing inmates to undergo trial using video-conferencing technology, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The guidelines, which allow an accused criminal to remotely testify in court, seek to prevent security and health risks posed by some inmates, according to the high court.
“This will also guarantee the accused’s rights to be present and confront witnesses against them and to ensure the continuity of proceedings in criminal cases,” the court said.
“The dignity and solemnity in a videoconference proceeding shall be the same as those of an in-court proceeding,” it said. “The remote location shall be viewed as an extension of the courtroom.”
The practice will be tested for two years at jails in Davao City, Bicutan in Taguig and at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Under the rules, the high court may suspend a remote trial if a technical issue may affect fairness, or when an inmate’s presence in the courtroom is needed.
The tribunal in 2001 allowed family courts to use video-conferencing equipment during trials that involve testimonies of children. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) on Tuesday declared a national dengue epidemic, with patients reaching nearly 150,000 so far this year. “It is important that a national epidemic be declared… to identify where a localized response is needed and to enable the local government units to use their Quick Response Fund to address the epidemic situation,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said in a press conference. A total of 146,062 dengue cases, including 622 deaths, were recorded from January to June 20 this year, up by 98% from the same period in 2018, according to Mr. Duque. The Western Visayas Region still had the most number of dengue cases with 23,330. The four others with the highest cases were: CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) with 16,515; Zamboanga Peninsula, 12, 317; Northern Mindanao, 11, 455; and SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City), 11,083. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Chairperson and Defense Secretary Delfin S. Lorenzana said he has released a memorandum circular calling on all NDRRMC-member departments to help in addressing the health issue. “I, as the chairman of the NDRRMC, issued a memorandum circular subject to enjoin all member agencies to… support the efforts of the DoH to stop this epidemic,” he said. Mr. Lorenzana also said there is no need to declare a national state of calamity since the mosquito-borne disease is not seriously affecting all areas. He noted that local governments have the discretion to declare a localized state of calamity. The briefing was also attended by Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña. — Gillian M. Cortez
THE NEED to clarify and strengthen protocols on the suspension of motorboat trips as well as emergency response coordination has been put on the spotlight following Saturday’s mishap at the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait wherein three boats capsized and claimed the lives of at least 28 people. Commodore Allan Victor T. Dela Vega, district commander of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Region 6, explained during a press conference Monday afternoon that the varying number of casualties reported by media was due in part to unclear protocol among emergency response authorities. “There was identification of the 11 bodies and a confusion on their identification. The protocol for single accounting procedure was not yet ironed out until yesterday (Sunday),” he said. As of 3 p.m. Aug. 6, the Joint Incident Command Post reported that casualties remained at 28, while three are still unaccounted for. The number of survivors is 64, including 52 passengers and 12 crew members for all three boats. The total number of passengers was 83, of whom 10 were not in the manifesto. Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head Donna P. Magno said two cadavers found in Dumangas town have yet to be identified.
PROBE
An investigation on the incidents is being conducted by an inter-agency team, including the PCG and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA). Mr. Dela Vega acknowledged that there is a “gray area” on the suspension of voyages of motorboats. “There is a covering protocol procedure, which is both drafted and approved by the provincial government, the coastguard and the inter-agency body, so we are guided with this protocol… Because the weather condition then, during departure were clear, it’s not prohibited… and that protocol is a gray area,” he explained. The first incident that involved two boats took place at 12:15 p.m., while the third boat capsized about three hours later. MARINA, in a statement on Wednesday, said it has suspended operations of all passenger motorboats operating the Iloilo–Guimaras route and will be subject to review and assessment of safety conditions. Two roll-on, roll off vessels continue to serve the route.
PRESIDENT’S VISIT
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo R. Duterte is set to visit the victims of the sea tragedy on Wednesday afternoon, Malacañang said on Tuesday. “Tomorrow… Usually hapon iyon (that would be in the afternoon),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a press briefing on Tuesday. — Emme Rose S. SantiagudowithArjay L. Balinbin
