Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 11479

Duterte, Sri Lanka leader witness signing of 5 agreements

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte and Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday witnessed the signing of five bilateral agreements at Malacañang Palace, including cooperation on defense, agriculture, education, and tourism.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of the following Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs):

1. A training exchange and military education agreement between the Department of National Defense and the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka.

2. An agriculture and fisheries agreement.

3. An academic cooperation agreement between the Commission on Higher Education and the Sri Lankan Ministry of City Planning, Water Supply, and Higher Education.

4. An agreement between the Department of Tourism and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs.

5. An agreement between the University of the Philippines Los Baños and the Sri Lanka Council for Agriculture Research Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Economic Affairs, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (MAREALIFARD).

In his message, Mr. Duterte said that in his meeting with the Sri Lankan President, both countries “resolved to further strengthen their engagement in trade, defense, agriculture, and tourism, education, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.”
He added that they “both recognized that the proliferation of illegal drugs is a threat to our nations and peoples and to the very fabric of [our] growing societies.”
“I said this before and let me say it again: The Philippines’ destiny is in Asia. Sri Lanka’s destiny is also in Asia. Asia’s destiny lies among Asians,” Mr. Duterte added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Gov’t launches real-time budget, treasury management system

THE GOVERNMENT launched its first real-time public financial management system on Wednesday, which is designed to streamline the monitoring of agencies’ transactions.
The web-based Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) will fast-track, standardize, and automate the process of obligating, disbursing, and reporting of all government expenditures, doing away with the manual filling of forms.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Bureau of the Treasury partnered with Globe Telecom, Inc. and Canadian software company Free Balance Inc. for the P495-million project.
“This will revolutionize the way we do things, further improving the ability to deliver public services. It will strengthen the performance of public financial management functions to allow us to keep an eye on government financial status in real time. It will give us a more efficient, reliable public financial management system,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said in a speech in Manila on Wednesday.
“With this BTMS, all the expenditures will be recorded real-time. They will be able to know how much money was spent for this bridge, this school, this hospital, in real time… Paying the contractor is very easy for the government, it will be able to manage the funds and call the attention of all agencies involved if they are behind schedule,” DBM Undersecretary Lilia C. Guillermo said.
“Agencies would be able to really have a more efficient budgeting process, or spend less time on it. We can see how much is the spending of the agency, and the spending patterns,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said.
The DBM issued Circular Letter 2019-4, ordering all national government agencies to adopt the BTMS by July.
The circular said that agencies should input all high-value transactions amounting to P1 million and above in the BTMS by July.
The BTMS was piloted in 2017, starting with selected line agencies the Department of Works and Highways, Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

DBM office procured some projects for DoTr

THE procurement function for some projects under the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program was performed by the Department of Budget and Management, instead of the Department of Transportation, House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. said.
Mr. Andaya said the DBM, through its Procurement Service (DBM-PS), procured P168 billion for 2018 on behalf of DoTr.
“These are all the ‘Build, Build, Build’ projects of the national government,” he said in a briefing Wednesday.
He noted that the DoTr budget, under the General Appropriations Act of 2018, was only P38 billion.
“How could you now have done that? You procure for 1 year worth 168 billion with just one department when that department’s budget was only 38 billion?” he said.
The DBM-PS typically procures commonly-used goods and supplies for the national government, worth P7 billion per year.
“Would not the DoTr have the expertise to have these projects procured? They would have the engineers, they would have the know-how,” he said.
“Why put it in an office which has no mandate to do these because their mandate is only for the procurement of paper, ball pens and paperclips.”
Mr. Andaya did not disclose which projects were involved, but said he will release “details of the project tomorrow.”
Asked whether he will file a complaint against Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno before the Ombudsman, he said “eventually we have to get there.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan

China central bank’s record $83-B injection heightens worries over ailing economy

SHANGHAI — China’s central bank injected a record $83 billion into the country’s financial system on Wednesday, seeking to avoid a cash crunch that would put further pressure on the weakening economy.
China’s policymakers are pledging to step up stimulus measures this year and do more to protect jobs as economic growth cools to 28-year lows.
But a raft of measures last year from big rail projects to tax cuts seem to have had little impact so far, with recent data suggesting activity is cooling more quickly than expected.
“The news is clear — the economy needs help,” said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist for emerging Asia at Natixis in Hong Kong.
Wednesday’s open-market operation, the bank’s largest net single-day injection on record, came a day after China’s state planner, central bank and finance ministry all offered reassurances to investors, signaling more spending and other types of policy support.
But shockingly weak December trade data released earlier this week, along with shrinking factory activity, are stirring speculation over whether more rapid and aggressive policy measures are needed to turn the world’s second-largest economy around.
Authorities now agree the economy needs more decisive support “and today’s large injection reflects that,” Nguyen added.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said Wednesday’s injection was aimed at ensuring there are ample funds in the financial system, which is facing strains as tax payments peak in mid-January, and as demand for cash picks up ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays starting in early February.
“The banking system’s overall liquidity is falling rapidly,” it said in a statement.
While sizable injections are common this time of year ahead of the long holidays, the addition was much heftier than usual and follows a large cut in banks’ reserve ratios announced this month, which will free up a total of $116 billion for new bank lending.
The first stage, a 50-basis-point cut, came into effect on Tuesday. An equal-sized cut is scheduled for Jan. 25.
The move also came a day after money supply data showed several of China’s key credit gauges continue to languish around record lows, despite government efforts to channel more funds to cash-starved companies and lower their financing costs.
While authorities have urged banks to keep lending to struggling firms and even dangled incentives, banks are wary of bad loans after a long regulatory crackdown on riskier lending.
Many businesses, facing slowing sales, are in no mood to make the fresh investments that Beijing is counting on. New medium- and long-term corporate loans last month fell to less than half of average December levels, Nomura noted.
MORE HELP ON THE WAY
Chinese officials have repeatedly pledged more support for the economy while vowing they will not resort to “flood-like” stimulus that Beijing has unleashed in the past, which quickly juiced growth rates but left a mountain of debt.
Asked if the PBOC needed to cut benchmark interest rates, a PBOC deputy said on Tuesday that existing policy measures should be improved.
Analysts at OCBC said the comments suggest the PBOC is willing to give existing measures time to work, and is in no rush to switch to more aggressive tactics at this point.
“I have never seen such huge amounts of reverse repos … the central bank is making its attitude known,” said a trader at a brokerage house in Shanghai.
“It’s saying, ‘don’t question my determination’” to stabilize market expectations, the trader said.
Markets appear to agree that policymakers will stick with modest measures for some time yet.
Chinese stocks and money market rates, sensitive to hints of policy shifts, were little changed on Wednesday. The seven-day repo rate, CN7DRP=CFXS, a closely watched measure of liquidity, was 2.6142 percent on Wednesday afternoon, slightly lower than the previous day’s close.
“While the (PBOC’s) net injection is big, it’s little versus what a rate cut would release, which is what people in the market are watching for,” said Ken Cheung, senior Asian FX strategist at Mizuho in Hong Kong.
WEAKEST GROWTH IN 3 DECADES
In a rare encouraging sign, home prices remained buoyant in December, suggesting that at least some of Beijing’s efforts at support are beginning to have an effect. Construction also appears to be slowly picking up as regulators fast-track approvals of more infrastructure projects.
But analysts agree steps so far will take some time to percolate through the broader economy, with most not expecting activity to convincingly bottom out until summer.
On Monday, China is expected to report the economy grew 6.6% in 2018, cooling from 6.9% the previous year and the slowest rate of expansion the country has seen in 28 years.
The pace is expected to slow further to around 6.2% this year. Some analysts’ in-house models suggesting activity is already much weaker than official data suggests.
Darkening the picture further, hopes are dimming once again that China will be able to reach a trade deal with the United States in current negotiations. U.S. tariffs have increasingly weighed on Chinese exports in recent months, disrupting its supply chains and dragging down business and consumer confidence.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer did not see any progress made on structural issues during U.S. talks with China last week, Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said on Tuesday. — Reuters

Conflict on the irrevocability rule

One of the well-established doctrines in the legal practice is stare decisis — a Latin term for “to stand by things decided”. It is based on the principle that once a question of law has been examined and decided, it should be deemed settled and closed from further argument. As aptly discussed by then Chief Justice Reynato Puno, there are two types of stare decisis: vertical and horizontal. The first pertains to the duty of lower courts to apply the decisions of the higher courts to cases involving the same facts, while the second requires that the high court must follow its own precedents. The application of stare decisis is a bar to any attempt to re-litigate the same issues, necessary for two simple reasons, i.e. economy and stability.
On March 7, 2018, the Supreme Court’s Third Division, through the ponencia of Justice Samuel Martires, settled a novel issue on the irrevocability of the option to refund by the taxpayer. The Court held that the irrevocability rule found under Section 76 of the Tax Code only applies to the carryover option and not to the refund option. Although the taxpayer initially elected the refund option in its annual income tax return (ITR), the subsequent carryover it made the following year effectively abandoned its refund claim from the government. The Court explained that the last sentence of Section 76 of the Tax Code unmistakably discloses that the irrevocable option refers only to the carryover option.
In a complete turnaround in a separate case on Aug. 1, 2018, the same division of the Supreme Court rendered a new ruling that appears to contradict its earlier pronouncement. Through the ponencia of incumbent Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, the Court took the position that once elected, the option to refund is already irrevocable regardless of the subsequent carryover by the taxpayer. The Court held that the Court of Tax Appeals misappreciated the fact that the taxpayer already exercised the option to refund its unutilized creditable withholding tax for the year 2005 when it filed its annual ITR. It went on to explain that the requisites for entitlement to refund were sufficiently satisfied by the taxpayer, which are: (1) the refund must be filed within the two-year reglementary period; (2) the income is declared on the ITR; and (3) the fact of withholding is established by a copy of the withholding tax statement.
Given the conflicting decisions of the Supreme Court, how should we interpret the two decisions?
The application or interpretation placed by the Supreme Court upon a law is part of the law as of the date of its enactment since the Court’s application or interpretation merely establishes the contemporaneous legislative intent that the construed law purports to carry into effect. Following the 1987 Philippine Constitution, no doctrine or principle of law laid down by the Supreme Court in a decision rendered En Banc or in Division may be modified or reversed except by the Court sitting En Banc.
This is not the first instance where the Supreme Court had conflicting positions in its decisions. Based on the precedent decisions, the Supreme Court would tend to uphold the validity of a later ruling which contradicts an established doctrine laid out by its previous ruling on the matter. This is irrespective of whether the later decision was decided by the Court sitting En Banc or in Division.
In dealing with inconsistencies, there are two approaches applied by the Supreme Court — either to harmonize the varying positions or to abandon one of the rulings.
As the highest tribunal, never in its history has the Supreme Court declared any decision rendered by its divisions as invalid. Based on a survey of decided cases, the Supreme Court tends to harmonize decisions rendered by its divisions by reconciling conflicting points, treating the latest decision as a mere clarification and not an abandonment of earlier rulings.
In certain cases, however, the Supreme Court’s latest decision on the matter serves as an abandonment of its previous decisions. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court recognizes the prospective application of such decisions, hence, upholding the validity of its earlier ruling. It should not apply to parties who had relied on the old doctrine.
A good example of the second approach would be the Supreme Court decisions involving the reckoning of the two-year prescriptive period for input VAT refund. Following the Atlas doctrine promulgated on June 8, 2007, the two-year prescriptive period for filing a claim for refund/credit of input VAT on zero-rated sales should be reckoned from the date of filing of the return and payment of the tax due. However, this was reversed by the Mirant doctrine on Sept. 12, 2008, where the Court held that the two-year period is reckoned from the close of the taxable quarter when the relevant sales were made. In resolving the two doctrines in the San Roque case, the Supreme Court En Banc held that the Atlas doctrine is only effective from its promulgation on June 8, 2007 until its abandonment on Sept. 12, 2008 by the Mirant doctrine.
Of the two approaches, which one did the Supreme Court take on the irrevocability rule?
It may be inferred that the March decision was abandoned and superseded by the August decision of Chief Justice Bersamin. However, it would be good if the Court En Banc would be able to clarify and settle this issue just like what it did in the San Roque case.
The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.
 
Archie D. Guevarra is a manager at the Tax Services Department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.
(02) 845-27 28
archie.d.guevarra@ph.pwc.com

Hitting a home run in affordable housing

We need roughly 11 million homes put up and sold to buyers in the next 11 years, or an average of one million homes every year. That is, if we are to address the backlog or shortage in the supply of affordable housing from now until 2030, as estimated in a study by the University of Asia and the Pacific.
The reality, however, is that even if we add to the hundreds of housing developers already out there, they can all put up and sell only so many housing units in a year. The backlog is huge, at this point. Moreover, there are concerns regarding availability of land, cost of development, affordability to buyers, as well as cost of financing.
Frankly, up until recently, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the housing problem — or the size of the backlog — and how it has been driving the growth of the housing industry. On the surface, to me, it didn’t seem like there was much to gain for investors to get into “socialized,” “economic” or “low-cost” housing.
By government definition, “socialized housing” are units costing not more than P450,000; and, “economic housing” are homes costing P450,000 to P1.7 million. These two brackets cover mostly the lower-income class, and around 85% of the housing backlog. “Low-cost housing” are homes costing P1.7 million to P3 million.
I had always felt that housing was a difficult business, given problems bandied about particularly when it comes to collecting payments. Then, there is the ever-rising cost of land and construction materials. I have always had the impression that in housing development, profit margins were slim, risks were high, and work was difficult.
That’s what I thought, at least, until not too long ago, when I was introduced to people in the “affordable housing” business. And what I learned from my informal talks with them made me realize the strong potential of the housing industry. Demand is so great that there is money surely to be made for those who are ready to work hard.
In fact, I am no longer surprised that the same group of people I spoke with months ago had just opted to tap the capital markets, I believe for the first time. And I am talking about San Pedro, Laguna-based PA Alvarez Properties or PA Properties, and what I believe to be their “unusual” decision to offer Perpetual Notes to investors.
In a statement released recently, PA Properties said it had issued the first tranche of its Perpetual Notes offering to institutional lenders, the proceeds of which would be used to partially finance property development and land banking initiatives in the next five years in line with the company’s expansion. A second tranche is expected to be issued within this quarter, said PA Properties Chairman Romarico “Bing” Alvarez.
The PA notes offering is said to be only the second of its kind to be offered in the domestic market, with another Philippine company having reportedly done the same in 2017. While other big Philippine companies have likewise been issuing Perpetual Notes, these were all in the foreign market.
In 2015, port terminal operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) — a listed company — offered $450 million in perpetual bonds at 5.5% per annum. It went back to the notes market, for another $350 million, in 2018. The company reportedly had been selling perpetual notes since 2011.
house
In late 2017, Ayala Corp. — also a listed company — went to the overseas bond market with $400 million in Perpetual Notes, or “fixed-for-life” corporate paper. The notes carried an annual coupon of 5.125% for life, with no step-up or resetting deal. Aside from ICTSI and Ayala Corp., other blue-chip Philippine companies have either sold such notes or were reportedly planning to do so soon, either locally or abroad.
PNB Capital & Investment Corp., the Issue Manager and Lead Arranger of the PA Properties notes, was quoted by PA as saying that it was expecting more Philippine companies to issue Perpetual Notes as the market becomes more familiar with hybrid securities.
I find PA’s decision unusual because unlike regular debt papers or corporate bonds, Perpetual Notes have no maturity date. Also, perpetual bonds are fixed-income securities that are required to regularly pay coupons (returns to investors) in perpetuity or “forever.” As such, they are considered “hybrid” because they are more in the nature of equity, rather than debt, but with a fixed return as opposed to dividends.
Such notes are usually issued only by big blue-chip companies, and local or municipal governments, because the issuer should have a very strong balance sheet to afford such a borrowing. It is necessary for the issuer to have consistently high revenues and profits in the long term, so it can assure payment of the “fixed” coupon or return to investors practically for life — or when the issuer opts to buy back or redeem the notes.
Based on PA’s brief for investors, it was offering an initial tranche of P1 billion in notes, and a second tranche of an additional P1 billion. “Step-up” date is five years from date of issue, which means that after five years, the rate of return on the notes may go up. In this case, the coupon will go up to 10-year BVAL reference rate + 800 basis points, from the initial interest rate of 5-year BVAL reference rate + 400 basis points. PA also has the option to redeem the notes on the step-up date.
It will be difficult for an issuer to make such a commitment unless it was certain it can make money for its investors. In PA’s case, it appears confident of returns on the investments. After all, in the case of this low-key developer, a relative unknown compared to the likes of Ayala Land, SM, and Megaworld, it has managed to consistently post a steady growth in sales and assets over the years.
In 2015-2017, for instance, sales grew from P1.33 billion in 2015 to P1.97 billion in 2017, while real estate assets went up from P7.49 billion in 2015 to P11.77 billion in 2017. Net income hit P458 million in 2017 from P101 million in 2015, while gross profit margin grew from 42% to 49% in the same period. Sales are also forecast to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 22% from 2018 to 2023.
And, when Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group was looking for a partner in the Philippines, as it started investing all over Asia, instead of going with the bigger names here in affordable housing, it opted for PA Properties. Hankyu is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as having a market capitalization of around US$8.28 billion.
Since 2017, PA Properties has signed three joint venture agreements with Hankyu subsidiary Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp. with a combined value of over P3 billion. Projected revenues from these ventures with the Japanese partner — all in housing — is estimated at about P11.25 billion.
I met the PA Properties people months back when I was invited as a resource person during their media training. To be honest, when I arrived at their San Pedro, Laguna office for the two-day training, I got the impression that they were just “small” players; modest, low-key developers of small housing communities in the provinces.
But I was surprised as they introduced themselves and noted that they have been in business for almost 25 years. Starting in 1994 by developing a small rice field in Laguna into a residential community, Bing Alvarez and his motley group are now capitalized at P3.3 billion and have already built almost 20,000 housing units in Southern Luzon. And, they have about 15,000 more units planned for construction.
To me, PA Properties is now ready to break out of its old mold. It’s ripe for expansion, particularly to other parts of the country. So, next time you think that the “socialized” or “low-cost” housing business doesn’t make much sense, or that the property business is on the way down, think again. As PA Properties clearly shows, in its niche, things are just beginning to heat up.
 
Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.
matort@yahoo.com

Setting entrepreneurship education at senior high school

I fully support the Department of Education’s advocacy to require senior high school (SHS) students from all strands take an Entrepreneurship subject. After all, one of the supposed benefits of the SHS program is preparing students for livelihood even before college. However, one of our considerations should be that entrepreneurship is a course best taught in an applied manner beyond the confines of a traditional classroom.
As such, how should entrepreneurship be taught at the senior high school level?
My short answer is that we should be able to SET students up for entrepreneurial activity. I discuss this in detail by offering three points that form the SET acronym.
(1) Social mission. Much has been written and advocated about how businesses are not supposed to be profit-making machines only. Rather, businesses can and should be viable mechanisms for solving social problems such as poverty and job creation. In setting up our students for entrepreneurial activity, they must be exposed to both commercial and social orientations in recognizing opportunities. Some activities that allow for imbibing a pro-social orientation include immersions, ideating, and prototyping products together with marginalized communities.
(2) Entrepreneurship ecosystem. One of the weaknesses of traditional management and entrepreneurship education is the limits of classroom-based pedagogy. To effectively encourage entrepreneurship and authentically perform outcomes-based education, schools should explore cultivating an entrepreneurship ecosystem. Such ecosystem should allow for rapid feedback, iterations of products and business models, and a safe space to fail. Business enterprise simulations through school bazaars and “entrep fairs” can cultivate these action-oriented entrepreneurial education.
(3) Thinking processes. Effective entrepreneurship education goes beyond memorization of concepts. Teaching should be able to instill certain disciplines in terms of thinking processes. For example, my favorite discussion is when I teach frameworks such as the business model canvas (for internal analysis) and PESTEL framework (for external analysis). This allows learners to better make sense of their intuitions, reflections, and assumptions. We should be able to transition to teaching the “how” of thinking instead of telling students “what” to think.
We are at a very important point where we can truly shape the directions of our educational innovations. Although there are still ways to go in perfecting our SHS system, it has provided opportunities to look at how entrepreneurship can be meaningfully taught and learned. It is now in our hands to SET students up for entrepreneurial activity, if not entrepreneurial success.
 
Patrick Adriel H. Aure is vice-chair of the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University (DLSU), and is a junior research fellow of the DLSU Center for Business Research and Development. He is excited about exploring cases featuring social enterprises, sustainability, innovation, and new business models.
patrick.aure@dlsu.edu.ph

True or polls

By Tony Samson
THE STATUS of “frontrunner” has been bestowed on familiar-sounding candidates by polls that have recently come out on the senatorial race. (Jail time did not seem to damage the popularity of at least two declared candidates.) In these polls featured on front pages of newspapers with photos as well as on prime-time TV, the candidates are clustered in groups as: the top, middle, bottom, and “you can forget about them.”
Elections, the polls that really matter, do not use the category “likely to vote for” preferring instead the simple tag of “winners.” While surveys do not claim to be definitive, relying as they do on a sampling of the voting population, they do move the needle for the likely winners.
Henry Kissinger says about clout that “the perception of power is power.” The same can be said of surveys: the perception of winning is winning. Frontrunners as the election draws nearer (just four months away) enjoy many advantages.
They can draw on the best team of strategists, political analysts, think tanks, PR operators, and provincial allies who control local vote-getting machines. The aura of having a good chance of winning is like a magnet attracting iron filings.
Financial support sits on the sidelines until a pattern of possible winners emerges. Surveys bestow legitimacy on the leaders. The money goes to the front of the line. This preference of funders for frontrunners translates into a widening circle of support. Early supporters donate air time and billboards which drive voter registration and further support, and like a self-fulfilling prophecy provides momentum for victory.
The donor-beneficiary relationship is tilted in favor of frontrunners as the favorable survey results do oblige leaders to exchange promises with the donor’s support. It is the latter who feels he is just paying an entrance fee to get to the big tent.
Debate organizers on TV and other public fora cannot accommodate all the hopefuls. They reduce the number of candidates on stage to achieve a more manageable discussion of ideas and policies. Tail-enders with statistical asterisks after their names can only share their ideas with household pets, after they feed them.
The difficulties of the tail-enders multiply as they drop further down in the survey rankings.
Support dries up. The first-class talents already in the campaign move elsewhere, not necessarily to the frontrunners but back to their day jobs. It is harder to make appointments with fat cats who seem to be tied up in other endeavors — Sir, he will be hunting alligators in Florida at that time.
Laggards are not newsworthy and desperate to be interviewed even by paid bloggers. Quotes are in the form of gripes against popularity and personality politics — what’s wrong with my personality? The assertions can be grating as the interviewee doesn’t even wait to be asked a question as he launches into the unfairness of the process. (Who is paying for these surveys?)
Naturally, proxies jump in. They are touted in TV interviews as “resource persons” or “political analysts,” often from academe and pretending to be impartial. They try to discredit the methodology of the survey without even checking the questionnaire — why wasn’t “my client” in the list of fifty names to choose from? The futile attempt to throw doubt into the survey mechanics is hoped to also undermine the results, especially when the client is not even on the jump page for the list for numbers 30-36.
Perhaps, frontrunners don’t always end up winning. But it is even truer that tail-enders in the bottom seldom improve their electoral chances, even when their tongues are hanging out from all the speeches they deliver in empty basketball courts.
Survey leaders, however, even in the top five cannot be complacent. Being too much in the news is not always an advantage. A slip of the tongue on some issue like religion, the war on drugs, or contested islands in the South Seas may wake up the troll army and wreak havoc on the brand. The headlines can then turn around as a frontrunner becomes a lightning rod of attacks.
While the argument on “mind conditioning” implies sinister motives behind surveys, results do promote a bandwagon effect to provide momentum for a candidate. Whether the polls are true or misleading, in a multiple-winner format like the senate race, the laggards tend to remain under the radar, always as oddities — oh, is he really a candidate?
 
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Ivanka as president of the World Bank? Don’t Laugh

By Tyler Cowen
WHAT if Donald Trump were to nominate Ivanka Trump to be president of the World Bank? I know the White House has denied the rumor that he will, but it has denied rumors before. And I am here to tell you that it might not be so bad.
For one, picking Ivanka could work out well for the bank’s current standing in Washington. Republicans in Congress have long failed to embrace foreign aid with enthusiasm, even if they sometimes voted for it. If Ivanka were running the World Bank, suddenly Republicans would be committed to the idea of foreign aid in general and the bank in particular.
If you think this unlikely, remember that in the Trump era Republicans in Congress have proved themselves to be a remarkably flexible bunch. They will put up with, defend or deny almost anything, including campaign contacts with Russia or the confiscation of private property under a “state of emergency” to build an anti-immigration wall. Surely they can swallow the mildly bitter pill that is embracing the World Bank. Libertarians may not like that landing point for the Republican Party, but if you want a durable and politically popular World Bank, Ivanka’s tenure might just be a dream come true.
You might argue that Ivanka is not qualified to run the World Bank, and I might agree with you. (She would not be my personal pick; how about Carly Fiorina, Kristin J. Forbes or Arthur Brooks?) Yet consider that the previous president, Jim Yong Kim, was highly qualified on paper. He co-founded a famous foreign-aid public health group, has a Ph.D. in anthropology, was a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health and then president of Dartmouth. As an Asian-American, he had the potential to be a powerful symbol of multicultural governance.
Yet by most accounts his tenure at the bank was a failure. He alienated much of the staff, and his organizational changes (after first creating chaos and bad morale) were largely reversed. Now he is leaving suddenly, years before his term is up, allowing Trump to appoint his replacement. Not only that, Kim is moving to a for-profit infrastructure firm, hardly the best symbolism for the leader of an institution that is supposed to be about helping the global poor.
The sad reality is this: If Ivanka took over the reins of the bank, she probably would be an improvement.
Remember that Ivanka already has played a role in the World Bank. In 2017 she was a leading force behind setting up a $1-billion fund, supported by Saudi Arabia, for the bank to encourage entrepreneurship by women. Would it be so terrible if that were the new priority, with bipartisan support? She could spend her time lobbying the US government for a capital increase.

meeting Ivanka
If you think this unlikely, remember that in the Trump era Republicans in Congress have proved themselves to be a remarkably flexible bunch.

That said, if Trump is a one-term president, she could be gone before she could have much of an impact, one way or the other. It is worth noting that the bank has a large and well-trained staff, the institution is difficult to control or steer, and the processes for loans and projects stretch for many years.
There is also the question of nepotism. I would argue that a modest degree of nepotism is an unfortunate but survivable feature of the US political system. President Bill Clinton picked Hillary Clinton to spearhead his health care plan, after all, and many Democrats supported that idea at the time and remained loyal to the Clintons for years thereafter.
As for the reputation of the World Bank, recall that President George W. Bush nominated Paul Wolfowitz, one of the intellectual architects of the Iraq War, to be president of the bank. For an international institution that does so much work in the Middle East and receives so much support from Europe, such a pick was fraught with reputational dangers. But the work of the World Bank proceeded more or less on normal terms under Wolfowitz, who was president for only two years.
Ivanka, in contrast to Wolfowitz, is actually a pretty popular figure in many countries, especially China.
There is also the possibility that Trump is not really intending to appoint Ivanka to the post, as it would involve too many tedious meetings and limit her ability to speak publicly. Maybe it is a negotiating ploy so that everyone will sigh with relief when the president picks some boring, Trumpian white guy instead.
Again, I would not pick her myself. And her mere nomination by her father would not necessarily get Ivanka the job; the president of the World Bank is chosen by the board. But these days I am “long popcorn.” If her name appears in the headlines, I am not going to be disappointed.
Disclaimer: In the distant past I did some consulting for the World Bank. — Bloomberg
 
Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. His books include The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream.
tcowen2@bloomberg.net

Northport opens PHL Cup bid with win over Blackwater

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
NORTHPORT Batang Pier began their PBA Philippine Cup bid with a victory on Wednesday, defeating the Blackwater Elite, 117-91, in the league curtain-raiser at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Engaged in a back-and-forth duel in the opening half, the Batang Pier did not relent when they got their collective groove as the game progressed to book their first win in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association tournament.
Northport opened the game strong, going on an 8-0 run in the first minute of the opening quarter, extending its lead to 11-2 by the 9:50 mark led by rookie Robert Bolick and star guard Stanley Pringle.
Roy Sumang though would lead a 16-7 blast by Blackwater in the next five minutes to level the count at 18-all.
The Elite used the run as leverage for the rest of the first canto to hold a 31-22 advantage after the first 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Batang Pier angled to recover some lost ground only to be met defiantly by the Elite, who continued to hold sway, 42-33, six minutes into the period.
But Northport was undeterred and kept fighting its way back.
It would overtake Blackwater, 48-45, with less than two minutes in the quarter, eventually settling for a seven-point cushion, 55-48, at halftime.
At the start of the third frame it was the Elite’s turn to make a run.
Northport though would be ready for it, led by forward Paolo Taha, taking a 10-point lead, 69-59 by the 6:35 mark.
The Batang Pier sustained control of the quarter after, posting a separation of 88-75 heading into the final period.
With momentum on its side, Northport moved to go for the jugular early in the fourth quarter.
It stretched its lead to 21 points, 97-76, with 8:46 to go.
From there it was all Batang Pier.
The count stood at 108-80 with six minutes to play before the rout was completed.
Mr. Bolick, the third pick in the 2018 PBA rookie draft, had a game-high 26 points in his debut outing for Northport.
Mr. Taha had 21 points while Sean Anthony chipped in 19.
Mr. Pringle, meanwhile, finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
For Northport it was rookie big man Abu Tratter who led the way with 18 points and nine boards with Mr. Sumang ending up with 16 points.
“Bolick really complemented the team. The team is ready for this season,” said Northport coach Pido Jarencio after their victory, making special mention of their prized rookie Bolick.
“We’re happy with the win but there is still a long ways to go for us. We’ll take it one game at a time,” he added.

Australia’s Rogic stuns Syrians with late strike to clinch berth in last 16

AL AIN — Tom Rogic smashed home an injury time winner to earn defending champions Australia a 3-2 win over Syria on Tuesday evening and a place in the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup.
The Celtic midfielder struck from 25 yards out to see off a determined Syrian side in an incident-packed clash, with victory ensuring the Socceroos advance to the Round of 16 in second place in group B alongside Jordan.
The Jordanians won the group after playing out a goalless draw with Palestine, leaving the Syrians bottom of the group and out of the competition.
“Tommy is key to what we do with the ball,” said Australia coach Graham Arnold.
“A lot of time we don’t find him when he’s free, but when you get him free and free him up he can do anything.
“He’s a wonderful player and a joy to coach.”
The Australians soaked up some early pressure before taking the lead in the 41st minute when Awer Mabil netted with a beautiful curling strike from the edge of the area that gave Ibrahim Alma no hope in the Syrian goal.
Australia’s lead, however, was to only last two minutes as Mouaiad Al Ajaan scampered down the left flank to deliver a cross to Omar Khrbin, who scored on the rebound after Mat Ryan saved his initial header from close range.
Chris Ikonomidis put the Australians back in front nine minutes into the second half when his first-time shot was judged to have crossed the line by Mexican referee Cesar Ramos despite a desperate attempted clearance by Omro Al Midani.
Arnold’s team had further good fortune on the hour mark when the ball bounced up to hit Mark Milligan on the arm inside the Australia penalty area, only for Ramos to wave away the Syrians’ protests.
Ramos, though, awarded the Syrians a penalty 10 minutes from time when Omar Al Soma went down in the box — apparently having been tripped by his own player — – and the Al Ahli man converted.
Rogic took matters into his own hands three minutes into injury time, however, smashing home his left foot shot from 25 yards to give the Socceroos the points and a place in the next round. — Reuters

AFC Asian Cup 2019 in UAE a digital hit

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
APART from churning out exciting matches on the field, the ongoing AFC Asian Cup 2019 in the United Arab Emirates has proven to be a digital platform hit as well.
In numbers shared by the Asian Football Confederation to global media, the latest edition of the quadrennial continental sporting spectacle has allowed the football body to expand its reach to 122 million to date through its official social media platforms.
The AFC said in a week of action its Facebook (fb.com/theafcasiancup) page has seen almost 40 million people engaged while the official Instagram account (instagram.com/afcasiancup) has clocked up more than 49 million impressions on the collection of stunning images from the competition.
Video highlights are also capturing attention with more than 7.9 million views on YouTube, watching a total of 14.1 million minutes of content — and a further 1.5 million Arabic viewers have tuned in through the AFC Arabic official Twitter account (twitter.com/afcasiancup_ar).
There have also been close to six million people watching the video coverage on Facebook and 20.9 million have followed the exclusive insights on Instagram Stories.
On Twitter, there have been more than 22.4 million impressions — compared to just three million in the entire tournament in Australia, where just a million were engaged via Instagram in 2015, while the Facebook numbers totaled 11 million.
The impressive numbers it has been getting on social media platforms, the AFC said, is a testament to how its efforts to cultivate the community and the scene is steadily bearing fruit and that future could only be brighter.
“It is clear that we have grown our digital community in the last four years and now the reward is being seen with record numbers on the official Asian Cup accounts — and these records have been created in just one week of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates,” AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said in a statement as he hailed the impressive feat.
“The sheer numbers reinforce the AFC’s Vision and Mission to better engage with our passionate fans by staging world-class competitions for our players and teams and exemplifies the undeniable prestige and stature of the AFC Asian Cup,” he added.

1...11,47811,47911,480...14,244Page 11,479 of 14,244
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube