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UnionBank sets up P30-B fund-raising program

UnionBank
BW FILE PHOTO

UNIONBANK OF THE Philippines, Inc. is set to offer P30 billion worth of corporate bonds or commercial papers to raise funds.
In a disclosure to the local bourse on Tuesday, the Aboitiz-led lender said its board of directors approved during its Feb. 22 meeting the issuance of corporate bonds or commercial papers amounting to P30 billion.
UnionBank has yet to establish the timetable and other details of the issuance.
The bank’s P30-billion fundraising program will be on top of its P20-billion peso bond and commercial paper program approved in August 2018.
Of the P20 billion, P11 billion was already raised in December though a fixed-rate bond issuance. The two-year debt papers carry a coupon rate of 7.061% per annum to be paid quarterly.
UnionBank Chief Financial Officer Jose Emmanuel U. Hilado, in a previous disclosure, was quoted to have said that the fixed-rate bond issuance late last year will “help support our strategic business expansion plans, while providing a new shorter-dated investment instrument to our institutional and retail clients.”
Circular No. 1010 issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in August 2018 simplifies the process for universal and commercial banks looking to raise funds via bonds, aligning the industry with standards for other privately-owned firms.
The reform forms part of BSP’s streamlined rules designed to help deepen Philippine capital markets.
Apart from UnionBank, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Bank of the Philippine Islands, as well as BDO Unibank, Inc. have recently peso-denominated instruments to diversify funding sources and expand its businesses.
Security Bank Corp. and Philippine National Bank have also established their own peso-denominated bond programs worth P50 billion and P100 billion, respectively, to be issued through tranches.
Meanwhile, the bank also said in the disclosure that UnionBank President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin R. Bautista will remain at the helm of the lender, as his term of service was extended until 2022.
UnionBank shares closed at P61.55 apiece on Tuesday, down 45 centavos or 0.73%. — KANV

55 artists honored in NCCA’s Ani ng Dangal

THE National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) ends this year’s National Arts Month by awarding 55 artists in various fields at its annual Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors), to be held today at the Diamond Hotel in Malate, Manila.
At the top of the list of this year’s awardees is NCCA Arts Ambassador, visual artist, and actor Ian Veneracion who won the Best Actor award for his performance in Dan Villegas’ horror film Ilawod (2017) at the 38th Osporto International Film Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.
Joining Mr. Veneracion on the list is Rhiza “Ryza” Cenon Simbulan who won the Yakushi Pearl Award in the 13th Osaka Asian Film Festival. Other awardees in the film category are Allen Dizon, Angeli Nicole Sanoy, Christian Apolinario, Christian Bables, Timothy Castillo. The films, Panahon ng Halimaw (2018), Bagahe (2017), Call Her Ganda (2018), and Jodilerks dela Cruz: Employee of the Month (2017), and directors Arjanmar Rebeta and Mikhail Red and scriptwriter Shereen Seno will also receive awards during the ceremony.
“For the first time, we had awardees in all the art forms, across all categories,” Teddy O. Co, commission for the arts and head of the subcommission for the arts, said at a press conference on Feb. 19 at the NCCA offices in Intramuros, Manila.
Now on its 11th year, the Ani ng Dangal ceremonies were envisioned to recognize Filipinos and Filipino works in the arts field who brought glory to the country in the past year. The awards are given for architecture and the allied arts, broadcast arts, cinema, dance, dramatic arts, literary arts, music and visual arts.
“[The Ani ng Dangal] is given to those who garnered the top awards in legitimate festivals,” Marichu G. Tellano, deputy executive director of the NCCA said in the same press conference. For the Ani ng Dangal, the NCCA only recognizes competitions which have existed for not less than five years and which have adjudicators.
This year, the three awards will be given in the architecture category, two in broadcast arts, 17 in cinema, five in dance, one in dramatic arts, one in literary arts, 16 in music, and 10 in visual arts. Below is the complete list of awardees:
ARCHITECTURE AND ALLIED ARTS
• Earl Patrick Forlales, Grand Prize, Cities for Our Future Competition, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the UK National Commission of UNESCO, United Kingdom, November 2018
• Kenneth Cobonpue, Best Seating Award, 22nd Annual IIDA/HD Product Design Competition, Las Vegas, Nevada, May 2018
• Noriel Estipular, Best Sustainability Award, 34th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Hong Kong, December 2018
BROADCAST ARTS
• ABS-CBN Di Ka Pasisiil, Gold World Medal, News: Reports/Feature Category, 2018 New York Festival Awards TV & Film, New York, April 2018
• GMA Network, Inc. Reel Time’s Hawla The Untold Story of the Village Monster, Gold World Medal, Documentary Category, 2018 New York Festival Awards TV & Film, New York, April 2018
CINEMA
• Allen Dizon, Best Actor for Bomba, 16th Dhaka International Film Festival, Bangladesh, January 2018
• Ang Panahon ng Halimaw by Lav Diaz, Best Picture, Bildrausch Film Festival, Basel, Switzerland, June 2018, and Best Film, 58th Festival Internacional de Cine Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, March, 2018
• Angeli Nicole Sanoy, Best Actress for Bomba, Imagine India International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, May 2018
• Arjanmar Henrandez Rebeta, Best Director for Complicated Dance to the Wheel of Life, 7th Hak-İş International Short Film Festival , Ankara, Turkey, November 2018
• Bagahe by Zig Dulay, Golden Cyclo Award, 2018 Vesoul International Film Festival for Asian Cinema, France, February 2018
• Call Her Ganda by PJ Raval, Grand Jury Prize, Outstanding North American Documentary, 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Southern California, May 2018
• Christian Apolinario, Best International Actor for The Complicated Dance to the Wheel of Life, 2018 Focus on Ability Film Festival, Australia, September 2018
• Christian Bables, Best Actor for Signal Rock, Hanoi International Film Festival 2018, Hanoi, Vietnam, October 2018
• Jodilerks dela Cruz: Employee of the Month by Carlo Manatad, Best Southeast Asian Short Film, Southeast Asian Short Film Competition, 28th Singapore International Film Festival, Singapore, December 2017
• Last Order by Joji Villanueva Alonzo, Best Short Film, 16th Pyongyang International Film Festival, North Korea, September 2018
• Mikhail Red, Most Promising Talent Award for Neo Manila, 13th Osaka Asian Film Festival, Osaka, Japan, March 2018
• Nabubulok by Crisanto Calvento, Best Film, 15th Asian Film Festival , Bologna, Italy, July 2018
• Ngiti ng Nazareno by Louie Ignacio, Best Short Film, 41st Lucas International Festival for Young Film Lovers, Frankfurt, Germany, September 2018
• Rhiza Ann Cenon Simbulan, Yakushi Pearl Award for Mr. and Mrs. Cruz, 13th Osaka Asian Film Festival, Osaka, Japan, March 2018
• Shireen Seno, Best Scriptwriter Award for Nervous Translation, Asian New Talent Award competition of the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival, Shanghai, China, September 2018
• Ian Veneracion, Best Actor for Ilawod, 38th Oporto International Film Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, May 2018
• Timothy Castillo, Best Actor for Neo Manila, 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Southern California, May 2018
DANCE
• Halili-Cruz Dance Company for receiving nine Golds, three Silvers, and 10 Bronzes at the 20th Asia Pacific Dance Competition, Victoria Theater, Singapore, September 2018
• Kenyo Street Family, Champion, World Supremacy Battlegrounds 2018 International Championship, Sydney, Australia, October 2018
• Poveda Enciende, Gold Champion, 14th US Open World Championships (Dance Worlds), Orlando, Florida, April 2018
• Sidlakan Dance Company, Grand Champion, International Youth Fellowships’ (IYF) World, Cultural Dance Festival , South Korea, July 2018
• Assumption College Dance Troupe, Gold Champion, 14th US Open World Championships (Dance Worlds), Orlando, Florida, April, 2018
DRAMATIC ARTS
• Clem Marnel Rama Burgos, Champion, 5th International Competition of Arts and Culture, Yerevan, Armenia, July 2018
LITERARY ARTS
• Lawrence Ypil, 1st Prize for Unpublished Manuscript for the Anglophone Poetry by Authors Asian Heritage, Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize, United State of America, August 2018
MUSIC
• Imusicapella, Grand Prix Varna, 39th International May choir Competition, Varna, Bulgaria, May 2018; the Grand Prix, 57th Concorso Internazionale di Canto Corale Seghizzi 2018; Gorizia, Italy, July 2018; 1st Prize, 47th Florilege Vocal de Tours; and, Grand Prix de La Ville de Tours, Debrezen, Hungary, June 2018
• Micah Jane Baybay, Grand Prix, Senior Division Category, Arpeggio International Singing Competition 2018, Malta, June 2018
• Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra, 1st Prize, 12th Summa Cum Laude International Music Festival, Viena, Austria, July, 2018
• University of the East Chorale, Grand Prix, 11th Orientale Concentus International Choir Festival 2018, Singapore, August 2018
• Conchords, Grand Champion, A Cappella Championship 2018, Singapore, July 2018
• Ian Gabriel Torres Corpuz, 1st Prize, Busan Choral Composition, South Korea, January 2018
• Alyssa Trisha Garcia, 1st Prize, Junior Secondary Category, Singapore Lyric Opera–ASEAN Vocal Competition 2018, Singapore, October 2018
• Kammerchor Manila, Grand Prix, Leonardo Da Vinci International Choral Festival, Florence, Italy, July 2017
• Rag-O Duo, 1st Prize, Wind Instrument Category, Princess Galyani Vadhana Ensemble Competition, Bangkok, Thailand, July 2018
• Astrafellas, Champion, Open Division Vocal Band International Category, Hong Kong International A Cappella Contest 2018, Hong Kong, November 2018
• Jay Kent, Champion, Euro Pop Contest 2018, Germany, December 2018
• UP Singing Ambassadors, Grand Prix, 66th International Choral Competition Polifonico Guido d’Arezzo 2018, Arrezo, Italy, August 2018; 1st Prize Habanera and Polyphony Category, Public Choice Award, 64th International Habaneras and Polyphony Competition, Torrevieja, Spain, September 2018
• Cipriano Mercado de Guzman, Jr., 1st Prize, Senior/Professional Open Category, 17th Roma International Music Competition, Grand Prize Virtuoso at Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy, December 2018
• Rachel Gabreza, Grand Prix, Stars of the Albion Grand Prix 2018, 5th International Performing Arts Festival & Competition, London, United Kingdom, February, 2018
• Tristan Ignacio, Best Conductor, 57th Cocorso Internazionale di Canto Chorale Seghizzi 2018, Gorizia, Italy, July, 2018
• Los Cantates de Manila, 1st Prize, Popular Choir Music, 15th International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf 2017, Orlando, Florida, June, 2017
VISUAL ARTS
• Anthony Tario Austria, Grand Prize, Fujairah Photography Awards, United Arab Emirates, December 2018
• Danilo Victoriano, 1st Prize, APEC Photo Contest 2018, Papua New Guinea, November 2018
• Donell Gumiran, Portrait Photographer of the Year, Asian Geographic Images of Asia Photography Competition 2019, Singapore, December 2018
• Edwin S. Loyola, 1st Prize, 2018 International Day of Forests Photo Contest, Rome, Italy, July 2018
• Jesus Ramos Tejada, 1st Place, Adult Category, 2018 SPECTRA Annual Art Carnival, Bahrain, December 2018
• Jeuz Sumangil, Grand Prize, Talent House’s Venom Alternative Poster Competition, California, October 2018
• Joey Cabarles Ramos II, 1st Place, 4383 days of Childhood International Photo Contest, Russia, March 2018
• Jophel Botero Ybiosa, 1st Place, Events Photographer of the year, Professional Events Category, Moscow International Foto Awards 2018, Russia, December 2018
• Ma. Angelica Tejada, 1st Prize, AEGEAN Arts Children’s International Arts Competition 2018, Greece, July 2018; Grand Prize, Age category 8-12 years old, 2018 Draw Me Peace International Drawing Contest, Paris, France, January 2018
• Mario Bejagan Cardenas, Grand Winner, FIBA Photo Contest, Switzerland, August 2018 — Zsarlene B. Chua

Construction delays hit GenSan solar power plant

HARBOR STAR Shipping Services, Inc. on Tuesday said the commissioning of a subsidiary’s solar power plant project in General Santos City has been pushed back to next month, due to construction delays.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, Harbor Star said the commissioning of Astronergy Development Gensan, Inc.’s (ADGI) project was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, and has now been moved to before March 31.
“The causes of delay were: (a) construction delays of support structures by the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor and its subcontractors; and (b) delay in the delivery of equipment and accessories needed for the substation to connect to the grid,” the company said.
Harbor Star said delays in the construction due to the fault of the EPC contractor will be subject to penalties, under the contract.
“All the equipment and accessories are now in or en route to the project site,” the company said.
In 2017, Harbor Star’s wholly owned subsidiary Harbor Star Energy Corp. (HSEC) acquired a 60% stake in ADGI, which expanded to 100% stake last year. ADGI is licensed to operate a 25 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in General Santos City, which is expandable to 75 MW.
In the same disclosure, the tugboat and cargo vessel firm said its three-year exclusivity contract with Palau-based firm Palau Sea and Air Transport Agency (PSATA) is on hold per advice of the company.
“(PSATA) informed (Harbor Star’s) Management that there would be a delay in the implementation of the projects in Micronesia for various reasons. Thus, (Harbor Star) committed its tug and barge tandems for the Cebu-Cordoba Link Expressway (CCLEx),” it said.
“(PSATA) continues to request (Harbor Star) for barges but (Harbor Star’s) Management decided to allocate its resources to the more profitable CCLEx and Cavite Gateway projects,” it added.
Last year, Harbor Star signed a P118-million contract with Cebu Link Joint Venture (CLJV) to provide two specialized barges for the construction of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC)’s CCLEx project.
It is also a barge operator at the Cavite Gateway Terminal, a project of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) operated by subsidiary Cavite Gateway Terminal, Inc.
Harbor Star reported flat attributable net income at P66.26 million during January to September 2018, from P65.73 million the previous year. — Denise A. Valdez

Expanded card use to push growth in digital transactions

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THERE IS huge scope to raise digital transactions in the country by pushing more Filipinos to use their bank cards beyond cash withdrawals, payments provider Visa said.
Newly appointed Visa Country Manager Dan Wolbert said prodding consumers to use their debit cards beyond just withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) towards over-the-counter and even e-commerce payments would drive increased activity in the online space.
“Debit is very popular — there are more debit cards in the market, but a lot of those are being used for ATMs. There’s an opportunity to try shifting a lot of that purchasing power to more point-of-sale,” Mr. Wolbert said during a roundtable discussion with reporters yesterday.
Credit cards are also popular in the local scene and generate higher spending compared to debit cards, he added.
Mr. Wolbert pointed out that there is “tremendous” potential for the global payments firm to expand their business in the Philippines, given an industry push towards more digital transactions led by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Under the National Retail Payment System, the central bank targets to shift cash-heavy transactions to digital avenues — which, in turn, should help broaden access to financial services and spur increased economic activity.
The BSP is looking to lift the share of digital payments to 20% of total transactions from a measly 1% recorded in 2013, with the country still cash-reliant at present.
“That’s where a lot of the growth will be coming from. You can imagine moving from one percent of total transactions… If the central bank will be able to achieve 20% over time, that’s where the growth is,” Mr. Wolbert added.
“I think the important thing is we know it’s going in the right direction. Universally, whatever you think that number should be, we all agree that number is just too low where it is currently.”
The Philippines remains cash-heavy to date, and lags behind other Southeast Asian peers in terms of e-payment activities. Digital transactions in Singapore and Malaysia average as much as 60% of total payments, while many other economies in the region also enjoy a double-digit share to overall settlements.
Mr. Wolbert, who heads Visa’s operations in the Philippines and Guam, added that more digital products and services coupled with financial education are needed to help e-payments gain more traction.
“Behavioral changes” can also be done through e-commerce, with a good number online shoppers move away from cash on delivery payment options.

Absorbing Vincent: Van Gogh goes immersive in Paris exhibition

PARIS — A Paris gallery is offering visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the colorscapes of Vincent Van Gogh like never before.
L’Atelier des Lumieres is projecting digitized, multilayered versions of some of the artist’s most famous works, including Starry Night Over the Rhone and Churchyard in the Rain, onto its floor and walls
Conveying at different stages the illusion of water rippling in the light and raindrops falling, the show is accompanied by a rich soundtrack.
“Obviously, we have The Starry Night, we have the sunflowers, we have the irises,” gallery director Michael Couzigou told Reuters TV.
“The idea here is to propose something that’s different from classic museums. It’s to allow the visitors to really get inside the paintings.”
Van Gogh, La Nuit Etoilée, which opens on Friday and runs until Dec. 31, is the gallery’s second immersive art project, following a Gustav Klimt show in 2018. — Reuters

GERI rolls out 2nd tower of Tulip Gardens

GLOBAL-ESTATE Resorts, Inc. (GERI) is rolling out the second tower of its residential condominium Tulip Gardens at its Laguna township, which is expected to generate P1.3 billion in sales.
The leisure and tourism property unit of Megaworld Corp. said the 22-storey Burgundy Tower will offer 361 residential units sized up to 24.5 square meters (sq.m.) for studio, and up to 41.5 sq.m for one-bedroom with balcony.
The Burgundy Tower will feature amenities such as jogging paths, adult and kiddie pools, pool deck and cabanas, a fitness center, indoor playroom and outdoor playground, as well as a multipurpose hall for functions and gatherings.
GERI expects to complete the tower by 2024.
Tulip Gardens is located within Megaworld’s 561-hectare mixed-use estate called Southwoods City covering the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna. GERI said the residential project is within walking distance of Southwoods Mall, its 58,000-square meter mall that opened in 2017, as well as the Sto. Niño de Cebu Parish.
The launch of the Burgundy tower follows the strong take-up seen in Tulip Gardens’ first tower in July 2018. Before Tulip Gardens, the company introduced its first residential project called Holland Park in 2015.
The company noted all four towers of Holland Park, comprised of 622 units worth P2.7 billion, were sold out.
“The interest of buyers in Southwoods City is overwhelming, and this has been the trend since we introduced our first residential development, the Holland Park, three years ago,” Megaworld Global-Estate, Inc. Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Mary Rachelle I. Peñaflorida said in a statement.
GERI attributed the demand for properties in Southwoods City to its proximity to business districts in Metro Manila, noting that it is 30 minutes away from the Makati Central Business District and Fort Bonifacio. It is also 10 minutes away from the business district of Alabang.
The company’s net income rose by 14% to P1.29 billion in the first nine months of 2018, following a seven percent uptick in consolidated revenues to P5.25 billion.
Shares in GERI jumped 1.57% or two centavos to close at P1.29 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 26, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.

 
Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — February 26, 2019.

Are the years of low infrastructure spending over?

Are the years of low infrastructure spending over?

DA signals willingness to protect poultry industry from import surge

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking at the possibility of removing the minimum access volume (MAV) on chicken as a preliminary step in imposing special safeguards (SSGs) to protect domestic producers.
“UBRA [the United Broiler Raisers Association] has suggested [the removal of the MAV] which we are looking into right now,” Mr. Piñol said in an interview with DZMM.
He said the proposal for concrete action was more “welcome” than some of the criticism the DA has come in for as local producers find themselves pressured by weak prices due to competition from imports of pork and chicken.
“There was a marked increase in the importation of pork and chicken, but these are problems actually that we can address if we sit down together and discuss the solutions rather than label us as the Department of Importation,” Mr. Piñol said in the radio interview.
The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) led by Chairman Rosendo O. So called the DA the Department of Importation in the course of lobbying for a total meat import ban from Europe, which he said will minimize the chances of African Swine Fever (ASF) reaching the Philippines.
In letters to Senator Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares and Senator Cynthia A. Villar dated Feb. 26, SINAG requested a public hearing to tackle ASF and falling hog prices.
“The ASF outbreak has reached Vietnam, making the Philippines more susceptible to the ASF pandemic and yet the quarantine and border control measures at our airports and seaports and other contingency preparations supposedly being carried out by the DA remain inadequate given the personal testaments and reports reaching us over a period of four weeks. The DA may be unaware of the devastating impact to the agriculture sector once ASF reaches the country. Or perhaps, that is the intention to justify more pork importation which is our second pressing concern,” SINAG said.
“Backyard farmers have been raising their concern about the progressive decrease of farmgate prices for hogs in the last six months, as imported pork is flooding the market. Some (imports) are now being brazenly sold at wet markets. At no moment in our country’s history have we been importing this much pork — a whopping 392 million kilos for 2018. Chicken imports on the other hand for 2018 were 311 million kilos,” SINAG added.
On Sunday, UBRA President Elias Jose M. Inciong said that his group is “calling for the abolition of the MAV for chicken so that the special safeguard (SSG) trade remedy can apply to all imports.” — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Piñol says not dragging feet on rice tariffication

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has rejected claims that his department is delaying the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203, or the Rice Tariffication law, saying that consultations are currently under way in key rice growing areas to facilitate the drafting of the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian suggested in a DZBB radio interview last week that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is resisting rice tariffication.
“Contrary to the claim of Senator Gatchalian, the DA is in fact facilitating the conduct of nationwide information campaign and consultations to explain to the rice industry stakeholders what the law is all about,” Mr. Piñol said in a social media post on Tuesday.
“The consultations will start in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija today (Tuesday) and will move to three other areas all over the country within the week “ Mr. Piñol added.
Last week, Mr. Gatchalian called on Mr. Piñol to cooperate in implementing the newly signed law which is about to take effect starting March 5. Mr. Gatchalian is one of the authors of the law.
“(Mr. Piñol) must work for the success of the law even if he is against it,” Mr. Gatchalian said in the interview.
Mr. Piñol said that consultations are part of the process of drafting the law’s IRR.
“These consultations are needed in the formulation of the IRR which are requirements before the Rice Tariffication Law can take effect,” Mr. Piñol said.
“To clearly state, the DA and I, a supporter and friend of President [Rodrigo R.] Duterte, support the law he has signed. It has to be implemented effectively and we in government must ensure that there are no problems encountered in its implementation,” Mr. Piñol added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Palace: China warns against unlawful deportations

CHINESE AMBASSADOR to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua warned the Philippines against arbitrary deportations of Chinese nationals, and conveyed a warning that Beijing might retaliate, the president’s spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said.
Mr. Panelo said in a briefing Tuesday that Mr. Zhao told him over dinner that “if this government will just deport Chinese, not in accordance with the law, then we will also do the same. That’s tit for tat.”
Mr. Panelo also clarified that the government’s intent is to crack down on Chinese nationals who are working in the country without the required permits.
“The President wish to clarify that the immigration laws will be strictly enforced against anyone who violates it. He was actually referring to Chinese workers with working permits — they will be protected because they have been [given] the green light to work here. (All he is saying is that) if there are hundreds of Chinese immigrants perceived to be working illegally here, we cannot be so harsh and reckless to just deport them (because) the Chinese government may also react (because) there are 300,000 Filipinos (in China),” he said.
Asked to comment, Liu Yiqun, Second Secretary at the Chinese Embassy said via text message that the embassy will not be releasing a statement on the matter. “Now, no statement to be released. Thank you.”
Mr. Panelo said in a statement: “Chinese workers who have working permits and are compliant with immigration rules and do not violate the laws of the land will be accorded the protection they are entitled to.”
“The Government will tread cautiously and in accordance with the Constitution in dealing with any matter involving Chinese migrants perceived or alleged to be staying illegally, given the situation of thousands of Filipinos staying in China,” he added.
Mr. Duterte said in a speech at a campaign rally in Laguna on Feb. 23 that he would not order the deportation of Chinese nationals who are illegally working in the country, noting that at least 300,000 Filipinos work in China. — Arjay L. Balinbin

DoLE to require more funding to issue Special Working Permits

SECRETARY Silvestre H. Bello III said the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) lacks the funding and manpower to issue special working permits (SWPs) to foreigners, after Congress last week proposed to give DoLE that authority.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Feb 26, Mr. Bello said DoLE will ask legislators to authorize more personnel and funding if SWPs authority is transferred to it from the Bureau of Immigration (BI). The DoLE currently issues Alien Employment Permits (AEP).
SWPs are effective for six months at most pending the processing of AEP applications.
“We will ask Congress to provide plantilla items so we can have employees to perform this procedure,” he said. A plantilla item is an authorized slot for personnel in a government agency, duly funded. He also added, “If we are given that responsibility, we may have to ask for a bigger budget.” Mr. Bello said that if not given enough funding, it will affect the issuances of the SWPs, adding, “We do not have that capacity.”
Last week, Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva said during a hearing on the influx of Chinese workers that he proposes to remove the authority of the BI to issue SWPs.
DoLE issued 169,000 AEPs between 2015 to 2018. Mr. Villanueva added that the BI issued nearly 185,000 in the past 11 months.
DoLE will take part in an interagency meeting on March 1 along with the BI, Department of Finance (DoF), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Justice (DoJ), and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), which regulates gaming companies that employ many Chinese.
“There will be an interagency committee that will to address this concern about the employment of foreigners in our country,” Mr. Bello said.
He added that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will also take part in the meeting as requested by DoF, saying “(They included) BIR because of the concern of the DoF of foreign workers not paying taxes.” — Gillian M. Cortez

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