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Your Weekend Guide (September 21, 2018)

Lungs

THE SANDBOX Collective and 9 Works Theatrical present the Philippine debut of Lungs, a play by Duncan Macmillan, until Oct. 7 at the Power MAC Center Spotlight, Circuit Makati. With temperatures warming, sea levels rising, and the planet slowly dying, one couple considers the unthinkable — having a baby. Directed by Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, it stars Sab Jose and Jake Cuenca, with Gabs Santos playing the role of M on Sept. 29 shows. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Lani and Morissette live

LANI MISALUCHA and Morissette Amon star in Solaire Resort & Casino’s presentation of A Lani Morissette Concert: Musical Journey on Sept. 22 and 23, 8 p.m., at The Theater at Solaire. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

No frills concert

WAREHOUSE Eight and Kwago present Echoes, a series of gigs for musicians to freely express who they are and to closely connect with people in a no-frills setting, at Warehouse Eight on Sept. 22, 4 p.m. Door charge is at P350. Children below 10 years will be charged P150. Tickets come with a receipt poem by Dutch poet Roy Voragen. Warehouse Eight is located at La Fuerza Plaza 2241 Don Chino Roces, Makati city. For updates, follow bit.ly/echoesatthewarehouse.

“New Cycles” talk

THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) will hold a discussion, “New Cycles,” on moments in the Philippines marking influential development of language and image-making in the political and cultural landscape, on Sept. 22, 1 p.m., at the CCP MKP Hall. The Panelists are AG de Mesa, Christian Tablazon, Marco Ugoy, and Tanya Villanueva. The program will start with the screening of Portraits of Mosquito Press by JL Burgos. For more information, contact the Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department at 832-1125 loc. 1504/1505, 832-3702, 0917-603-3809, e-mail ccp.exhibits@gmail.com, or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.

UDD live

UDD performs live at Festival Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. Listen as members Armi Millare, Carlos Tañada, Ean Mayor, and Paul Yap play their hits like “Tadhana” and “Indak” from the group’s latest album Capacities, fan favorites “Oo” and “Sana” and more, on Sept. 22, 6 p.m., at the Upper Ground Floor Expansion Wing (near Geox).

M. Butterfly

JHETT TOLENTINO and Frontrow Entertainment present M. Butterfly, a restaging of the 1998 Tony Award winner for Best Play by David Henry Hwang, until Sept. 30 at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater, BGC Arts Center in Taguig city. Directed by Kanakan-Balintagos, the story follows René Gallimard who meets and falls in love with Chinese opera star Song Liling, a woman whom he considers to be the embodiment of the perfect woman, Madame Butterfly. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

A Doll’s House Part 2

RED TURNIP Theater presents Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 until Oct. 7 at the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall, BGC Arts Center in Taguig city. Directed by Cris Villonco, the show stars Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as Nora and Carlitos Siguion-Reyna as Torvald in this “sequel” to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Rapunzel: A Very Hairy Fairy Tale

REPERTORY Philippines’ Theater for Young Audiences and the City of Makati present Rapunzel: A Very Hairy Fairy Tale until Jan. 27 at Onstage Theatre in Greenbelt 1, Makati city. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Workshops with G-Force

THE G-FORCE Project 2018 Sembreak Dance Workshop will be held at the G-Force Dance Center, Expansion Wing of Festival Mall, on Sept. 22, 23, 29, and 30 for Batch 1, and Oct. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, and 21 for Batch 2. The workshops from all participating G-Force branches will culminate in a dance concert on Oct. 31 in The Theatre at Solaire. Enrollment fee is P8,500 for six sessions of one type of class (except the #WhiteShirtLove class), inclusive of performance at the concert. Returning students who present their previous G-Force Project ID and students taking two or more types of classes will receive discounts. For more information, download the G-Force Dance Center app on Android and iOS.

Mexican film Saturdays

INSTITUTO Cervantes and the Embassy of Mexico present “La Literatura en el Cine Mexicano,” a showing of Mexican films based on classic literary works, every Saturday at the new Intramuros branch of the Spanish cultural center, located at Casa Azul, Plaza San Luis Complex. The Sept. 22 program features Santa, directed by Antonio Moreno, based on the novel by Federico Gamboa. The melodrama, considered to be Mexico’s first talking picture, tells the story of an innocent Mexican girl who lives happily with her family until a soldier arrives in her hometown, seduces and abandons her. The young woman, who married the soldier against her family’s wishes, then turns to a life of prostitution, becoming the most popular working girl. All films in the series are in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit the Instituto Cervantes’ website (manila.cervantes.es) or Instituto Cervantes Facebook page (facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila).

Side Show

ATLANTIS Theatrical Entertainment Group presents the musical Side Show until Sept. 23 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. Nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical, Side Show is about love, loss, sisterhood, and what it truly means to be unique. Gab Pangilinan and Kayla Rivera star as the conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Beautiful Strangers

THE Ikarus Theater Collaborative and Storyboard Junkies present two-time Palanca Award winning playwright Jay Crisostomo IV’s play Beautiful Strangers on Sept. 22 and 23, 7 p.m., at DITO: Bahay ng Sining on J. Molina St., Concepcion Uno, Marikina City. It is a story about five people with varying states of beauty and ugliness. For ticket inquiries and reservations, send a message to 0917-863-2364, or e-mail ikarusbeautifulstrangers@gmail.com.

Awiting kay GLEEng

SHOW CHOIRS present harana — the old-fashioned Filipino way of expressing love through songs — in Awiting kay GLEEng, Festival Mall’s amateur choral competition. The grand finals are set on Sept. 22, at the UGF Expansion Hall of Festival Mall in Alabang Muntinlupa.

Soundscapes of Central Europe

THE concert Soundscapes of Central Europe: an evening of works by Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Slovak composers will be held on Sept. 22, 7 p.m., at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium, UP College of Music, UP Diliman, QC. It features the UP College of Music Keyboard Department Faculty and the Lozada Piano Trio.

Ten defenses against an incompetent boss

My boss tells us that we should not be yes-men by encouraging us to challenge his ideas. However, we feel that this is a ploy to hide his incompetence, allowing him to blame someone later on in case of a major blooper. What can I do to protect myself from his wicked ways? — Overly Cautious.
A woman who was preparing to entertain guests went to a grocery to buy food. She stopped at a meat counter and asked the attendant for a large chicken. He reached down into the cold storage compartment, grabbed the last chicken he had, and placed it on the scale. “This one weighs four pounds, Ma’am,” he said.
“I’m not sure that will be enough,” the customer replied. “Don’t you have a bigger one?”
The attendant put the chicken back into the compartment, pretended to search through the melting ice for another, and then brought out the same bird, while discreetly applying some finger pressure to the scale.
“Ah,” the storekeeper said with a smile. “This one weighs six pounds.”
The woman frowned: “I’m not sure if that’s enough for my guests. Anyway, I’ll take both chickens.”
Someday, somehow, deception will be discovered and that would be disastrous for the offender. This rings true for your work relationship with your incompetent boss, who may be protecting himself for a future mistake.
If you fail to clarify the boss’s instructions and proceed right away in accordance with your own understanding of what he wants, then that could spell disaster for you. On the other hand, if the boss asks you to do something and you don’t bring up your current workload of more important tasks, then it’s likely that you’ll get your priorities wrong.
Therefore, what counts is your ability to be smart about handling those difficult situations. Here are some strategies you can use to protect you from a deceptive boss:
One, clarify things. Record the exchanges via email or SMS, so you can refer back to his instructions in case of any doubt. Do this when you’re given a complex verbal instruction and you’re not sure if you’ve understood it correctly.
Two, propose a better way of doing things. As long as your proposal is both efficient and effective, then I’m sure no one, including your boss, can argue against it. It’s always advisable to offer alternative solutions even to a toxic boss.
Three, ask for authority to pursue action when necessary. There are times that your boss may not be around to make decisions. That alone is a good reason to be empowered to a certain degreed.
Four, develop a reputation for reliable work performance. If you’re a good worker and the organization knows it, no one, even the most difficult boss, could possibly undermine you. One or two mistakes won’t derail you if you have a track record of excellence.
Five, show initiative in discovering issues and providing solutions. Don’t worry if certain things are not part of your job description. Many people will credit you with a “can do” attitude if you’re not the type who quibbles over whether or not you’re overworked or underpaid.
Six, volunteer for projects that give you the chance to show your talent. But not to the point of neglecting your primary duties. Making your talents known to a wide range of other ranking managers could help increase your chances of career success.
Seven, prioritize working on tasks that are valued by your boss. It’s not you who will decide what’s important or not, even if you have an incompetent boss. Just the same, seek a positive balance between the two, or else reconcile them to enjoy the best of both worlds, without incurring the ire of your boss.
Eight, make an extra effort to be polite even to an incompetent boss. It’s difficult, but that’s one way for you not to be the subject of the boss’s first attack. Being courteous to people is a reflection of your character as a person, not the other way around. It also gives you the advantage over other workers who don’t show this kind of respect.
Nine, establish both social and professional relationships with the boss. This is generally welcome in any organization. It will broaden your horizons and helps you understand the situation of your boss and other workers. What at first may seem strange to you could quickly become a positive experience.
Last, admit mistakes when they are clearly your fault. It’s the best way to disarm a toxic boss. Be honest and emphasize what you’re doing to correct the issue. Don’t delay. Outline a clear action plan to prevent it from happening again. Reasonable people will generally calm down when they see your readiness to accept responsibility.
ELBONOMICS: Frequent excuses can’t lead to a lasting solution
 
Send questions or feedback to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting

Power distributors back Panay power company

PRIVATE Electric Power Operators Association (PEPOA), an umbrella organization of private power distributors, has opposed the franchise application of a new industry player in Iloilo City.
In a statement, the group warned that a power crisis could occur in the city and nearby towns if the franchise of utility operator Panay Electric Co. (PECO) is not renewed and given instead to an applicant. The organization said the applicant had yet to put up the needed infrastructure for electric distribution utility in the area. It said PECO had been operating in Iloilo City for nearly a century.
PEPOA said its members were “shocked to learn of the hasty approval of the franchise application” of More Minerals Corp. (MMC) to the detriment of the incumbent power distribution utility PECO. It quoted a letter it had sent to a legislator as saying: “This development is deeply concerning to us as it puts a highly urbanized city like Iloilo at risk.”
PEPOA President Ranulfo M. Ocampo said MMC is a mining company and does not have the technical capability to operate and maintain a power distribution utility.
“Even if MMC were to change its primary purpose into power distribution, no company can get the required experience and qualifications in just a few days,” Mr. Ocampo said, adding that PECO is among the top 15% in terms of positive reliability performance compared to the other 146 electric distribution utilities in the country.

How PSEi member stocks performed — September 20, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, September 20, 2018.

 
Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — September 20, 2018

How does the Philippines compare in balancing environment protection and development of energy sources?

How does the Philippines compare in balancing environment protection and development of energy sources?

Palace tells LANDBANK to ease lending requirements for farmers

MALACAÑANG said Thursday that President Rodrigo R. Duterte wants the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) to reduce the hurdles for obtaining farm loans.
According to the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Mr. Duterte met with Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, Land Bank of the Philippines President and CEO Alex V. Buenaventura, and Development Bank of the Philippines Chairman Alberto G. Romulo at the Palace on Wednesday.
In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said Mr. Duterte, during the meeting, expressed his desire for the LANDBANK to fulfill its mandate to help farmers.
“It isn’t right for a government bank formed to help farmers to be unapproachable by small farmers because they are unable to comply with lending requirements,” he said.
He said LANDBANK, currently a universal bank, needs to go back to the basics and help even farmers who cannot meet lending requirements, and to work around the need for project loan applicants to submit feasibility studies, among others.
He said the bank needs “to provide instant credit” for farmers, including “victims of natural calamities.”
“That was the president’s message — to provide quick assistance during times of calamity… and not to insist on a long list of requirements,” Mr. Roque said.
Asked for comment, Mr. Buenaventura, the LANDBANK President and CEO, had not responded at deadline time.
According to its Web site, LANDBANK has partnered with the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Agrarian Reform (DAR), and Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to provide “credit assistance to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) through their respective organizations and support their on-farm and off-farm activities whether individual or communal projects.”
Criteria for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs), Farmers Organizations (FOs) other than ARBOs, and Peoples Organizations (POs) include: legal personality, registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Cooperative Development Authority (CDA); the ARB membership list; a core management team (i.e. manager, cashier, bookkeeper); and a track record of operations in the preceding six months, among others. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Emerging Asia expected to drive continued demand for natural gas — IEA

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Associate Editor

BARCELONA — The natural gas industry is expected to continue growing in the near future, with emerging Asia seen as the main driver for demand growth, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) senior analyst.
“In the near future, we do expect emerging Asia will be the main driver for natural gas demand growth… We also expect some growth from other regions, resource-rich regions such as the Middle East also North America, not just for domestic uses but also for exports,” Jean-Baptiste Dubreuil, IEA senior natural gas analyst, said during a presentation at the Gastech Exhibition & Conference here on Wednesday.
He noted natural gas demand growth will continue in the long and medium term, particularly as China is expected to be a major importer.
This is also being driven by the shift in consumption from demand growth fueled by power generation to demand growth fueled by industry, especially in emerging markets, Mr. Dubreuil said.
“We anticipate in all of the IEA long-term scenarios that natural gas will have a positive contribution to the energy mix and therefore the volumes of natural gas consumption are expected to rise in all our long-term scenarios, even the most restrictive with GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions,” he said.
However, challenges remain for the natural gas industry.
“For the future to remain bright, natural gas has to overcome a number of challenges — to remain competitive in terms of price in those price-sensitive markets in emerging Asia and Africa, and to continue to improve its environmental performance,” Mr. Dubreuil said.
The IEA senior analyst said natural gas can play a key role in “overcoming the challenges of local air pollution, climate change and energy access.”
US OUTLOOK
Meanwhile, the United States is expected to become the world’s top supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2028, and remain the biggest natural gas producer to 2040, according to energy industry consultancy Wood Mackenzie at a press conference here.
Kristy Kramer, Wood Mackenzie head of Americas gas research, noted the shale gas revolution has pushed the United States to become the top gas producer in the world, accounting for 23% of total production.
“At the start of 2014, more than 50% of US gas production was from shale and today it has reached 65%. Wood Mackenzie forecasts continued production growth of 47% by 2035,” she said.
Ms. Kramer said the outlook for US natural gas is “extremely promising.”
“With an abundance of low-cost gas resource and sustained demand growth, the size of the US natural gas market will greatly expand over the next 20 years. We expect the US to be the largest natural gas producer by 2040, with production increasing to almost 130 bcfd (billion cubic feet per day) — more than 50% over today’s level,” she said.
Wood Mackenzie also raised its forecast of the LNG supply-demand gap for new projects.
“By 2035, US LNG exports are forecast to reach more than 140 mmtpa (million metric ton per annum) — far above that of Qatar (100 mmtpa) and Australia (80 mmtpa) as the next largest exporters,” Ms. Kramer said.
The bullish outlook on the US natural gas market comes as Gastech’s next edition will be held in Houston in September 2019.
“Houston is effectively the hub of all the energy activity in the US,” Ms. Kramer added.

Bond issue to fund Marawi rehab expected to raise P50-60 billion

THE government is hoping to raise P50-60 billion from retail Treasury bonds (RTB) next month to fund the rehabilitation of Marawi City, Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) said Thursday.
In a news conference in Makati City, TFBM chair Eduardo D. del Rosario said the government intends to raise around P50-60 billion through a retail Treasury bond offering which is scheduled for next month.
“The issuance of Marawi bonds… will be launched by next month. We intend to raise maybe P50-60 billion from these Marawi bonds,” Mr. Del Rosario said.
He added the final issue size will ultimately depend on “the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) and the Department of Finance, who will determine how much will be needed.”
In a text message yesterday, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the bonds are still “subject to [approximation]” and an evaluation of market appetite.
Ms. De Leon said last month that the Treasury has obtained the necessary approvals for the planned issue at an indicative volume of P50-60 billion, but the timing has yet to be determined.
She added that the RTB offer will be done online.
However, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. President Felixberto U. Bustos, Jr. said the Marawi bonds will likely be issued in either late October or early November as the fund-raising activity will need to be marketed next month.
“Next month is marketing. I think [the issuance will happen] in either late October or early November. But we want to do it before the end of the year,” Mr. Bustos told reporters following the news conference.
Mr. Del Rosario added that the proceeds of the bond offer will supplement the funds allocated by the government as well as pledges and development assistance from other countries and private firms.
Mr. Del Rosario estimated the overall cost of the city’s rehabilitation at about P62.2 billion, with P47.2 billion going to locations outside the most affected area of the city and an additional P15 billion for the so-called “ground zero” where fighting to retake the city from terrorists was most intense.
The estimate was lower than the P86.5 billion previously provided. This includes government-led construction outside the most affected area, rebuilding of ground zero under a public-private partnership as well as livelihood assistance.
Meanwhile, Mr. Del Rosario, who also chairs the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, said the council is planning to build 6,400 temporary shelters as well as 3,400-3,500 permanent units for residents affected by the siege, although construction of the permanent housing cannot start as transactions with lot owners are yet to be finalized.
“The main challenge now in Marawi is the availability of permanent lots that we can purchase. We cannot start the construction of permanent housing because we need about 40 hectares of land,” he said.
“I hope that within October, we can finalize the transactions and negotiations with some lot owners and start with the site development by November.”
In May 2017, Marawi City was taken over by the Islamic State-inspired Maute group, displacing a total of 115,880 families. The city was recaptured by government forces on Oct. 23, or five months after.
The groundbreaking on the rehabilitation is expected to take place in late September or early October, depending on the schedule of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Mr. Del Rosario noted. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Senators back extra P160 billion in funding for Transportation dep’t

SENATORS on Thursday said they will seek to restore P160 billion in funding for the Department of Transportation (DoTr) in the General Appropriations bill after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved only P73 billion for the department in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“I really believe that we really have to invest in infrastructure. I think this is really our weakest link… I think we’re 30 years behind so I would support the retention of the P160 billion,” Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito told reporters after the DoTr budget hearing.
Mr. Ejercito chairs the Senate finance subcommittee tasked to present the DoTr’s budget to the plenary.
“Our economy will not soar if we have no infrastructure. That’s the backbone, so we will support initiatives to restore some of your proposals,” Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara told DoTr officials.
Sen. Loren B. Legarda, who chairs the Senate committee on finance, said she wants more regional airports to be upgraded for evening flights.
According to Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo, the agency has been given funding to upgrade only five airports to be rated for night operations in 2019.
He said the upgrades cover airports in Panglao, Bohol; Cauayan, Isabela; Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte; Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur; and Cotabato City, Maguindanao. Of the 44 commercially-served airports, about 19 are equipped for evening flights, Mr. Tamayo added.
Ms. Legarda said she will introduce amendments to the proposed budget in order to provide additional funding for night rating upgrades in Antique, Sanga-sanga airport in Tawi-Tawi, and the Vigan airport in Ilocos Sur.
“We will night-rate (Antique airport)… It will be my amendment for my home province,” she said.
“For security reasons and tourism and trade and in anticipation of the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic law, we want to help our Muslim brothers and sisters. It’s important that we have 24/7 access to Tawi-Tawi and we will night rate so we can land anytime… We can promote the north aggressively if Vigan is night rated,” she added.
Mr. Tamayo said night rating upgrades to provincial airports will help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as this will allow more domestic evening flights.
“In NAIA, we have a lot of free slots from 12 (midnight) to six in the morning but domestic flights cannot go to specific destinations because of this limitation. If we move flights to these open slots, it will decongest Manila not only in the air, but it will also decongest (road) traffic,” he said.
Under the NEP, the proposed budget for DoTr’s aviation infrastructure program is P2.16 billion. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

NFA transfer to Agriculture dep’t to improve timing of rice imports

THE National Food Authority said on Thursday that its transfer to the control of the Department of Agriculture will help the two agencies better coordinate rice procurement and imports.
In a statement, the agency said that it “believes that the agency’s transfer to DA will give the two agencies the ability to synchronize agricultural policies like the timing of rice importation and market intervention as well as strengthen farmer assistance through NFA’s marketing channels, among others.”
In a text message, NFA Spokesperson Rex C. Estoperez said that the decision to place NFA under DA is for the better as there will be “close coordination [between] production and marketing.”
On Sept. 19, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 62, placing the NFA, Philippine Coconut Authority and the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority under DA. The three agencies, along with the National Irrigation Administration used to be controlled by the DA but were transferred by Mr. Duterte’s predecessor Benigno C. Aquino III to the control of the Office of the President.
“The President has delivered a strong message that food security is his primary concern and he wants a more unified and realistic approach to agricultural development and food sufficiency programs for the country by putting together all agencies involved in these concerns,” the NFA said.
In a briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio L. Roque noted that the DA has domestic production data to aid it in deciding when and how much rice to import.
“We believe that DA’s data on domestic production will make the process of determining when to import more efficient,” Mr. Roque added.
Mr. Roque said that the three agencies were only removed from DA during Mr. Aquino’s presidency to give Senator Francis N. Pangilinan a job as head of food security and agricultural modernization.
“These agencies were originally under the Department of Agriculture. They were only separated when Senator Pangilinan needed to be given a job,” according to Mr. Roque.
Meanwhile, the NFA assured the public that the rice inventory is sufficient in the regions affected by Typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut).
“The NFA has sufficient stocks overall in Luzon, with at least 840,000 bags in the warehouses. The lower inventories in regions 2 and 3 were augmented by transferring 12,000 bags [of] additional rice stocks to Region 2,” Mr. Estoperez said in a statement.
“Because of the typhoons, we will propose to the NFA Council to allow us to import in advance. Many of our crops are damaged so we have to import earlier,” according to Mr. Estoperez.
More NFA rice outlets will also be opened after the agency signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, Inc (PAGASA).
“There is also a possibility that the approved rice imports for NFA will be fast-tracked to arrive before December to ensure that there will be continuous supply of NFA rice in the markets as commercial rice prices remain high,” according to NFA.
Meanwhile, for Region II, NFA Regional Director Rocky L. Valdez said: “The region has sufficient rice stocks and we are still awaiting the additional rice allocation of 155,000 bags from Subic.”
“Unloading in Subic was obviously slowed down by inclement weather. That is why we asked NFA-NCR to transfer an additional 50,000 bags to Region 2 while our rice allocation from Subic is not yet delivered,” Mr. Valdez explained. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio with Arjay L. Balinbin

Oil import bill rises over 34% in first half on weak peso

THE OIL IMPORT bill rose by 34.4% in the first half to $6.312 billion, in part due to a depreciating peso, making shipments of crude oil and finished petroleum products more expensive.
“This was attributed to the combined effects of higher import cost and increased import volume of crude oil vis-a-vis last year,” the Department of Energy (DoE) said in its report issued on Thursday for the first semester.
The department said the total import cost in the first half of 2018 was made up of 53.8% finished produced and 46.2% crude oil.
Crude oil imports amounted to $2.915 million, up 54% because of the higher cost, insurance and freight (CIF) price per barrel at $69.827 from $52.559 a year earlier.
DoE figures were based on an average dollar rate of P51.974, up 4% from the first half of last year.
Offsetting against oil exports, the net oil import bill was $5.679 billion, up 32.8% from a year earlier.
In terms of volume, crude oil imports in the first six months reached 41.747 million barrels (MB), an increase of 15.9% from the same period last year.
Of the total, about 37.7% or 15.754 MB was sourced from Saudi Arabia, followed by 24.6% from Kuwait. Around 90% of the total crude oil import mix was sourced from the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman accounted for 18.6%, 6.2% and 2.6%, respectively.
A total of 3.849 MB of crude oil was sourced from Russia. The other sources of imported oil are member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Taiwan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, petroleum product imports hit 45.403 MB, down 6.1% from a year earlier. Diesel was the top imported product, although volume slipped by 8.3%. The amount of imported gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene and aviation turbo fuel also fell. In contrast, imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rose by 2.2%.
Petron Corp. remained the leading importer with a market share of 27.08% of total petroleum products. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. was second with a share of 18.5%, followed by Chevron Philippines, Inc. with 7.86%. The “big three” accounted for 53.4% of the total demand.
They were followed by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. with a share of 7.08%, Seaoil Philippines, Inc. with 4.48%, and Unioil Petroleum Philippines, Inc. with 3.08%.
Petron also had the biggest share of the LPG market with nearly 29%, followed by Liquigaz Philippines Corp. with 22.9% and South Pacific, Inc. with 14.1%.
At the end of the first half, the country had an inventory of 21.844 MB, which is equivalent to a 46-day supply. This is broken down as 38 days for crude oil and products in-country and eight days worth of product in transit. The inventory was down 12.1% from the end of June 2017.
The government continues to enforce a minimum inventory requirement given the continuing risks faced by the downstream oil industry sector such as geopolitical instability and supply delivery problems to areas affected by calamities.
The current required minimum inventory for refiners is in-country stocks equivalent to 30 days, while an equivalent of 15 days stock is required for bulk marketers and seven days for the LPG industry. — Victor V. Saulon

The Philippines in the Apostille Convention

Say goodbye to the red ribbons. The Philippines on September 12 deposited the instruments of Philippine accession to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.
Better known as the Hague Apostille Convention (or simply the Apostille Convention; i.e., a certification, from the Latin post illa and the French for a marginal note), the Convention should entitle the Philippines to simplify procedures in the use of public documents abroad or from abroad here in the Philippines.
Hence, starting from 14 May 2019 (the date of effectivity of the Apostille Convention for the Philippines), the “only formality that may be required in order to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears, is the addition of the certificate [i.e., placed on the document itself or on an “allonge”], issued by the competent authority of the State from which the document emanates. However, the formality mentioned cannot be required when either the laws, regulations, or practice in force in the State where the document is produced or an agreement between two or more Contracting States have abolished or simplified it, or exempt the document itself from legalization.”
For purposes of the Apostille Convention, the term “public documents” refer to:
documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with the courts or tribunals of the State, including those emanating from a public prosecutor, a clerk of a court or a process-server (“huissier de justice”);
administrative documents; notarial acts; official certificates placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or its existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures.
However, the Apostille Convention shall not apply:
to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;
to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations.
Essentially, as its name implies, the Apostille is a certificate giving a “public document” as defined above legal effect in other countries (by which is meant those countries that are members of the Apostille Convention). The Apostille is attached to that public document by the designated government agency (for the Philippines it is the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Consular Affairs) and essentially indicates the signature of the relevant official (perhaps a notary public) and declaring that such is valid signature.
Previously, as described by Wiki, “the document must be certified by the foreign ministry of the country in which the document originated, and then by the foreign ministry of the government of the state in which the document will be used; one of the certifications will often be performed at an embassy or consulate. In practice this means the document must be certified twice before it can have legal effect in the receiving country.”
So, for example, in relation to the United States, any US public document that is to be used in the Philippines will have to receive Certificate from the Secretary of State, plus other additional steps before the documents can be presented to the Philippine Embassy or Consulate office.
That previous procedure required almost half to a dozen steps, which the Apostille Convention cuts to one or two. The present system does away with the traditional red ribbon attached to documents for presentation in other countries. Effectively, it works like notarizing the notarization.
Despite the term “public,” private documents like contracts or wills are included within the ambit of the Apostille Convention by virtue of notarization and is thus able to have legal effect in member countries to the Apostille Convention.
Note that the Apostille only certifies the signature, the capacity of the signer, and the seal or stamp it bears. It does not certify the content for which the document was issued.
The aforementioned Office of Consular Affairs will need to “keep a register or card index in which it shall record the certificates issued, specifying:
the number and date of the certificate, the name of the person signing the public document and the capacity in which he has acted, or in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority which affixed the seal or stamp.
At the request of any interested person, the authority which has issued the certificate shall verify whether the particulars in the certificate correspond with those in the register or card index.”
The Supreme Court, however, may need to make certain adjustments to the Rules of Court regarding the use of foreign public documents.
In any event, the Philippines will certainly benefit from the Apostille Convention. Kudos to the DFA’s Hague Ambassador Jaime Victor Ledda, Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Eduardo Malaya III, and Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Neil Frank Ferrer for shepherding the accession process through.
 
Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.
jemygatdula@yahoo.com
www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com
facebook.com/jemy.gatdula
Twitter @jemygatdula

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