CEBU CITY Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña said the signing of the local government’s joint venture agreement (JVA) with Gokongwei-led Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (UHRI) for an P18-billion mixed-use complex will push through today, Aug. 17, if the court does not issue a restraining order. Mr. Osmeña said on Wednesday that the case for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed earlier this week by a village official is just “harassment” by members of the opposition party who disapproved the deal. “We will let our lawyers handle that. We’re entitled to answer. It’s just harassment because they will lose the elections if we will have this project. It’s the biggest single employment of the south district. They want to stall it. It’s a matter of political survival for them,” the mayor told reporters. Mr. Osmeña said he invited Vice Mayor Edgardo C. Labella and other opposition officials to attend the JVA signing today. Mr. Labella, on the other hand, said it would be ironic for them to do so after the city council, which he chairs, did not authorize the mayor to sign the contract. — The Freeman
A solar-powered irrigation system, turned over by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Manubuan Small Water Impounding System Association (SWISA) in Cotabato last May, has improved rice harvest to as much as 124 cavans of 68 kilograms each from only 55 cavans before the facility was set up. The irrigation system, which covers SWISA’s 35-hectare area, will also allow farmers to have two cropping seasons per year from only one.
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR to the Philippines Effie Ben Matityau receives a framed Philippine Eagle stuffed toy from Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio after the ceremonial signing for the Excellence in Education: A LightHouse Project. — LEAN S. DAVAL, JR
TWENTY teachers from the Mintal Comprehensive School in Davao City are going to Israel for a capacity-building program on Innovation Science Engineering Arts and Mathematics (ISEAM). The training is part of the Excellence in Education: A LightHouse Project, a collaboration between the Israel government, non-government education network ORT Israel, social enterprise PassItForward, Davao City government, and the Department of Education-Davao Region. “The start of the project is actually almost immediate. The two parties are in the collaboration and deliberation in how to go about in this sustainable program with the first chapter, which is going to be a special training in Israel. This training is to incorporate ideas on both sides that have to be the basis on the local’s design and needs,” Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Effie Ben Matityau said during the agreement signing last Aug. 15. Mr. Matityau said the LightHouse Project is envisioned to be replicated in other public schools in the city. — Maya M. Padillo
THE EUROPEAN Commission has allocated €2 million in humanitarian aid for those who have been displaced in conflict-affected zones in parts of Mindanao. “Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes due to continued conflict in the Mindanao region. They left everything behind and are struggling to sustain their day-to-day lives,” Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said in a statement. “This assistance underlines the EU’s (European Union’s) solidarity with the people of the Philippines. It will ensure that the most vulnerable have sufficient means to get through these difficult times,” he said. The fund is channelled through the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). The EU said latest data available indicate that at least 500,000 people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance in Mindanao. Since the first humanitarian operations in 1996, the EU has allocated over €117 million in emergency assistance to victims of conflict and natural disasters in the Philippines.
THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) is considering vouchers for students in lieu of granting lower tax rates for all for-profit schools regardless of performance.
In a statement, the DoF denied that its proposed second tax package would remove tax perks enjoyed by all schools and hospitals, adding that the incentives will only be taken away from organizations that fail to meet performance standards set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Health (DoH).
“If they don’t meet [the criteria] why should we subsidize [schools which] don’t meet the criteria. Basically, we are supporting this school even though they are not helping the students,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III was quoted in the statement as saying.
“We prefer to give the assistance directly to the beneficiary through vouchers for students and universal health coverage for those who need medical treatment,” Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said, noting that implementing such assistance will be easier with the enactment of the National ID law.
The Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill, currently being deliberated in the House plenary, proposes to cut corporate income tax rates gradually from 30% to 20%, while rationalizing corporate income tax incentives.
Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV has argued that the TRABAHO bill will lead to higher tuition fees and medical bills after it removes the 10% income tax rate for schools and hospitals.
The DoF noted that some schools have been profiting from the tax incentive despite having poor passing rates in licensure exams, low accreditation levels, and only a few faculty members holding advanced degrees.
It said that of over 6,000 non-sectarian higher educational institutions, only 8% have at least a level one accreditation with CHED, and 29% have faculty members with graduate degrees.
The Finance department also noted that the non-performing schools only have a 37% average passing rates on licensure exams.
The Finance department noted that one school earned a P624 million net profit in 2015 and paid P61 million in taxes, and was able to pay dividends worth P250 million even though it did not meet performance criteria set by CHED.
“Surprisingly the school did not meet any of the criteria but is also profitable,” said Mr. Chua.
The DoF however clarified that religious, non-stock, and non-profit schools will continue to be exempt and the 10% special rate will continue to apply to non-profit schools and hospitals.
However the bill also states that schools and hospitals that meet the performance criteria will still enjoy lower rates within their industries.
“Those that fail however to meet the established performance criteria shall pay a tax of 10% on their taxable income two years after the effectivity of this Act, 15% in the succeeding three years, and 20% thereafter if the educational institutions and hospitals fail to meet the established criteria,” according to the bill.
“Schools and hospitals that are up to standard need not worry. We need to make sure that our children study in good schools and that we go to hospitals that provide quality medical care,” Mr. Chua said.
He said that the TRABAHO bill will encourage private hospitals and educational institutions to upgrade to qualify for the special tax rate. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
OPTIMISM over quality of life and the economy’s prospects in the next 12 months remain “excellent” despite a decline in some categories from the previous survey — Social Weather Stations — PHILSTAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
OPTIMISM over quality of life and the economy’s prospects in the next 12 months remain “excellent” despite a decline in some categories from the previous survey, Social Weather Stations said Thursday.
Conducted among 1,200 respondents in late June, the SWS survey found that those who believe their personal quality of life will improve in the next 12 months were at +44 on a net basis, up from +40 in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, net economic optimism was at +30, lower than the +31 last March.
The net score is the difference between percentage of respondents expecting an improvement, classified by SWS as “optimists,” and those expecting conditions to deteriorate, or “pessimists.”
SWS said it considers both net scores to be “excellent.”
The survey also found that 32% of Filipinos said their lives improved while 27% said their lives worsened, for a net score of +5, which SWS classified as high. But this result was 15 points below the +20 score reported in March and the lowest since the +3 in April 2016.
Balance Luzon, which excludes Metro Manila, yielded the highest net personal optimism among other areas of +49, against +40 in the preceding quarter. In Metro Manila, the net score rose to excellent with +41 in the June survey.
Visayas was unchanged at +31 in June. In Mindanao, the net score fell two points to +48 in the June survey.
Net personal optimism rose across all classes from the previous quarter, from +42 in March to +44 in June for class ABC, from +42 to +45 for class D, and from +31 to +41 for class E.
Meanwhile, net optimism in the economy remained “excellent” in all areas except for Metro Manila where it fell 15 points to +13 in the June survey. It fell in Visayas to +20 from +32 but remained “excellent.”
Net optimism in the economy also rose in class ABC from +35 in March to +42 in June and class E from +24 in March to +38 in June. The net total fell in class D from +32 in March to +27 in June.
The survey was conducted on 300 adults each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with sampling error margins of plus or minus ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% for the regions. — Camille A. Aguinaldo
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR to the Philippines Effie Ben Matityau receives a framed Philippine Eagle toy from Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio after the ceremonial signing of an education development agreement. — LEAN S. DAVAL, JR.
DAVAO CITY — Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Effie Ben Matityau said technology partnerships are expected to be signed during President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s visit to Israel in September.
Calling technology “a major story,” he said Globe Telecom, Inc. and Smart Communications are expected to be in the thick of the action, as will other representatives of the Philippine business community, Mr. Matityau said in a news conference here during the signing of an education development project with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“We have a very successful business community in the Philippines and very energized and very mainstream. Israel basically is a high-tech environment. We have a very sophisticated technological environment,” Mr. Matityau said.
He added that the partnerships will benefit both countries because the two have “complementary” economies.”We don’t have competition and we can only complement one another and create partnerships.”
“It’s amazing to see how many contracts we have to sign. People are negotiating and coming up with good ideas, and numbers-wise it is very promising. And because we are talking about a joint venture and about investments and they are not always visible measured in exports and imports. We look at it as a very promising in so many areas,” he said.
The envoy said the embassy hopes to work with Go Negosyo, the advocacy of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), to tap Israeli mentors for Philippine businesses.
“That’s another great contribution and one of the agreements on the table,” he said.
Mr. Duterte is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin and are expected to discuss labor, tourism, trade, agriculture, counterterrorism and law enforcement issues.
“This is the first time that a President of the Philippines is going to visit Israel. We have a long range of issues starting with defense and Israel is a very close ally of the Philippines,” Mr. Matityau said.
Israel, he said, has also committed to come up with regulations to ensure that overseas Filipino workers in Israel receive equitable compensation and benefits. — Maya M. Padillo
TRADE SECRETARY Ramon M. Lopez said a shift to federalism will mean that regions will have to compete to attract investors, regardless of the aid available to the poorest regions.
“It will be a more competitive scenario where states will compete with each other. It won’t be one province per state. It will be groups of provinces. If the region is poor it will receive assistance from a fund, but the least-developed ones will really have to attract investment,” he told reporters in Pasay City on the sidelines of the 6th Competitiveness Summit held Thursday.
He said the shift will be accompanied by a “balancing mechanism” in the form of greater incentives that can be offered by least developed areas.
“They can attract more investment if they have the flexibility to offer more incentives. In our case we support incentives being offered possibly at the local level. But the overall incentive scheme has to be aligned with that of the federal government. Right now we have many incentives; whether or not they are used is their call,” he added.
Business groups have expressed support for the country’s economic managers who called for a review on the fiscal risks associated with a move to federalism.
Mr. Lopez said that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) supports further study of the economic implications and benefits of shifting to federalism.
“Of course I support a further review but what’s important is in this federal system the regions raise their competitiveness. Any form can work as long as it functions well,” he added, noting that the system’s success will also depend on low levels of corruption. — Janina C. Lim
THE Department of Finance issued an economic bulletin last month warning that the declining fish catch will drive inflation going forward. One of the proposed measures to counter this trend is to import fish more freely at lower tariffs. — PHILSTAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
THE central bank said it is hard to estimate the impact on inflation of proposed tariff cuts on food imports, as Congress adjourns, giving the President the authority to adjust tariffs on his own while the legislature is in recess.
During a Senate hearing yesterday addressing inflation, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that the move to cut tariffs on selected goods will have “some incremental impact,” but it is unsure whether the impact will be significant.
“There are other aspects to the issue for fish. Is it because of the tariff?” Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said, noting that it was difficult to quantify the effect of lower tariffs.
The Department of Finance (DoF) issued an economic bulletin last month warning that the declining fish catch will drive inflation going forward. Fish prices are politically sensitive because the poor depend on it as a low-cost source of protein. One of the proposed measures to counter this trend is to import fish more freely at lower tariffs.
Mr. Guinigundo said other things could be more significant in influencing prices like ”weather disturbances, climate change, degradation of coastal habitats, overfishing or overexploitation of fishing grounds. Second is fuel prices, which accounts for more than half of operating expenses for fishermen which rose sharply in the first half of 2018. Third is feeds (for aquaculture), which actually is about 68 to 70% of the total production cost.”
“It’s very difficult to quantify. The point that we are making is one, there are other aspects why fish prices and probably meat prices are rising. Number two, while lowering tariff duties may help, it’s an empirical question how much it is going to be of use in lowering inflation,” he told reporters after the hearing.
Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV also warned against rushing to lower tariffs while Congress is adjourned between Aug. 16 and 27. While it is in recess, the President is authorized to issue an Executive Order (EO) lowering tariffs.
He also asked whether the Executive branch can identify other measures to address supply issues to slow down inflation, such as subsidizing some input costs.
“Can’t we try to make feeds cheaper? I don’t know if that has come up. Maybe lowering tariffs isn’t the best way. We’re just worried lowering tariffs could be a knee-jerk reaction,” Mr. Aquino said during the hearing.
“We are in recess and there might be an EO. So the decision might be rushed,” he added.
Mr. Guinigundo meanwhile said that “anything that can mitigate the current situation will be useful.”
Inflation in July hit 5.7%, the highest in five years.
Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo, said that the position of the Cabinet-level Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) is that “there’s no need to adjust tariff rates.”
“What will be needed are volume-enhancing moves from the Department of Agriculture through a department administrative order removing special safeguard measures, like the prohibition on imported fish being sold at retail and restricting its use to processors. This can be suspended to allow more supply in the public markets,” said Ms. Castelo.
“Also the utilization of minimum access volumes for chicken and pork could raise supply. We also need, to run after hoarders and traders hoarding supplies of agricultural products,” she added.
She added however that the CTRM will communicate its position to the National Economic and Development Board, chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo R. Serrano also noted that farmers will not be able to compete with lower prices from imported meat, adding that farm gate prices are actually low.
“It’s really the traders that increase the prices. For example, a kilo of carrots has a farm gate price of P7, but it’s sold in the market at P18. So why penalize farmers by allowing cheaper imports… the problem isn’t with the farmers but in the trading sector,” he added.
Preliminary DoF estimates show that a 5% tariff on imported fish and chicken will reduce government revenue by P2.8 billion, though higher import volumes may make up for the decline. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Philippine Statistics Authority said aquaculture farms and commercial offshore fishing operations posted increases in output, while municipal fishery output declined 2.46% to 295,640 MT due to bad weather. — BW FILE PHOTO
FISHERIES output rose 2.64% year-on-year to 1.13 million metric tons (MT) in the second quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
In its Fisheries Quarterly Performance Report for the three months to June, the PSA said aquaculture farms and commercial offshore fishing operations posted increases in output, while municipal fishery output declined 2.46% to 295,640 MT due to bad weather, which discouraged fishermen from heading out.
Of the total, marine fisheries accounted for 86.40% while the remainder was generated from inland fisheries.
“The decline was due to reduced fishing effort brought about by weather disturbances that prevailed during the period,” the PSA said.
Commercial fisheries output rose 2.27% to 287,680 MT led by skipjack tuna landed at the General Santos City Fish Port. Skipjack tuna is mainly used in canning.
Aquaculture farm production rose 5.81% to 550,010 MT amid higher yields in Central Luzon and the MIMAROPA region, boosted by government distribution of fingerlings and other materials.
Seaweed posted a 2.28% increase in production during the quarter.
The PSA said tilapia output rose 0.15% year-on-year while that of skipjack rose 0.51% in the second quarter.
Output of milkfish fell 0.34%, tiger prawn was down 0.05%, round scad fell 0.32%, and yellowfin tuna declined 0.06%.
The Department of Agriculture on Wednesday authorized the import of 117,000 metric tons of round scad, commonly known as galunggong, to ensure sufficient domestic supply during closed fishing season. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it has delivered 95% of the right-of-way required for the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10 and expects the main line in Valenzuela City to be completed by the end of the year.
DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar said after an inspection of the site on Thursday that the government is targeting its opening by the third or fourth quarter.
“It will depend on the final 5% (right of way), which we hope to obtain immediately. We’re really going to push. I want to finish it by this year,” Mr. Villar told reporters.
The P16.5-billion project is a public-private partnership between the government and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) through its unit NLEX Corp.
The 8.25-kilometer, four-lane toll road is divided into the 5.6-kilometer main line connecting Karuhatan, Valenzuela City to C3 road in Caloocan City, and the 2.6-kilometer extension road from C3 in Caloocan City to Radial Road 10 (R-10) in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas City.
NLEX Corp. said in a statement that the available right-of-way in the Valenzuela City portion is now at 96%, while the Caloocan City section is at 86%.
Mr. Villar said the main line will extend to C3. For the spur road linking the highway to R-10, he said the target completion is the fourth quarter of 2019.
“The full weight of this government will be here to make sure this project will be completed at the soonest possible time,” he added.
MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong-Kong based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez
