THE Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises is backing the passage of a bill that will create a development authority for Baguio City and its surrounding municipalities before the 17th Congress ends.
“It’s an idea that needs to be done, Metro Baguio. Let us also include in the development its neighboring towns,” committee chair Senator Richard J. Gordon told reporters after the hearing.
“Even if Congress is on break, I am pursuing this before the 17th Congress ends,” he added.
The committee held a public hearing on Monday to tackle House Bill No. 6974 and Senate Bill No. 1692, which creates the Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay Development Authority (BLISTTDA).
The proposed body is tasked to formulate and regulate the implementation of the medium- and long-term plans and programs for the delivery of services and regulation of land use within the covered area.
It will also set policies on traffic management and impose fines and penalties for all kinds of violations of traffic rules and regulations.
During the hearing, former La Trinidad mayor Edna Tabanan flagged potential conflicts that might occur with local government units if the BLISTTDA is established.
“The authority will have taxing powers. How would it affect (the local government unit’s) taxing powers also? So there could be some conflicts, there could be duplication,” she said.
“We have our own development plans, we have our own vision… because we have different situations in different localities,” he added.
Baguio City Rep. Mark O. Go said the House bill does not give the BLISTTDA powers to impose taxes and to exercise eminent domain. But he said these functions could be included as amendments by the Senate.
Former NEDA Regional Director Joseph M. Alabanza said BLISTTDA will allow cooperation and interaction among local government units.
“We’d like to use BLISTTDA (as an opportunity) to plan together. (LGUs need to) interconnect with each other, they cannot isolate themselves from each other. So that is why we are suggesting we create BLISSTDA so that interaction comes in,” he said.
Mr. Gordon said the Baguio authority would have a different “legal infrastructure” to the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
“We will change the legal infrastructure because I don’t believe it should be similar to Metro Manila… We will improve the technical aspect, the engineers, architects, for the zoning plans and traffic design. And we can bring back Baguio to its former glory,” he said.
“We can create a game-changing law that will restore not only Baguio but create development in its surrounding areas,” he added. — Camille A. Aguinaldo
THE Energy Conservation and Efficiency Bill is expected to be signed into law before the adjournment of the 17th Congress in June, 1-CARE Rep. Carlos Roman L. Uybarreta said.
House Bill No. 8629, passed on third reading on Dec. 3, will lay down the framework for “implementing the 2017-2040 National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Roadmap,” Mr. Uybarreta, Vice Chair of the House Committee on Energy and one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement on Monday.
Mr. Uybarreta also said the measure is “essentially similar” to its counterpart, Senate Bill No. 1531, which was approved on third reading in February 2018.
When asked when both Houses will convene to reconcile the measures, Mr. Uybarreta said in a phone message, “We will push for it to be scheduled January.” The 17th Congress officially completes its the third regular session on June 7.
Both measures designate the Department of Energy (DoE) as the implementing agency, tasked to update and develop the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan and Database.
The Department is tasked with strengthening the current Energy Service Company Accreditation System by requiring companies to prove its technical and managerial competence.
“The development of this service sector shall help stimulate economic development through the enhancement of cost competitiveness and promote Philippine energy security,” as stated in Section 11 of the House Bill.
Further, the DoE shall issue the Minimum Energy Performance (MEP) standards, which shall serve as guidelines, subjecting products to an energy performance testing.
The House Bill will also include energy efficient projects in the government’s Strategic Investments Priorities Plan, entitling them to incentives within the first 15 years of enactment of the bill.
This include income tax holidays, a zero percent value-added tax rate on purchases, and tax and duty exemption on imported capital equipment directly used for energy efficiency.
The Senate version, likewise, granted energy efficient projects incentives, as provided under “Executive Order No. 266, or the ‘Omnibus Investment Code of the Philippines’.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan
POWER PRICES at the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) slipped to an average of P3.17 per kilowatt (kWh) in November, slightly lower than price levels a month and a year earlier, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Inc. (IEMOP).
The market operator said the spot prices in recent months were “relatively low for the past three years.”
In its report on Wednesday, prices so far this year were highest in March at P5.05 per kWh, and fell steadily in succeeding months to reach their low in August at P2.66 per kWh. Prices picked up in September to P2.91 per kWh and P3.58 per kWh in October.
“The recent low spot prices provide an indication that they will continue to be low for the rest of December 2018 since lower demand levels are still expected during this time of the year,” IEMOP said.
“Congestion is still frequently observed at the Cebu-Negros submarine cable given that the high output from renewable energy and conventional plants in the islands of Negros and Panay continue to be exported towards Cebu,” it added.
In its report, the market operator said the aggregate peak demand in the third quarter for Luzon and the Visayas reached 12,326 megawatts (MW), up 8% from a year earlier.
“This increase was largely driven by the increase in demand in the Luzon grid,” it said.
It also said power supply levels were “generally sufficient to support the demand requirements” for the third quarter.
But it said it had recorded periods “that reflected tight supply conditions.” The periods were between Oct. 9-12, Oct. 17, Oct. 25, and Nov. 5-7, 2018 “where forced outages and/or de-ratings further depleted the supply levels during these periods.”
“Coincidentally, price spikes were experienced at the same time most of these tight supply conditions manifested. Such conditions, however, were momentary, as they did not trigger the activation of the secondary price cap,” it said.
IEMOP is a non-stock, non-profit corporation governed by a board of directors composed of individuals not affiliated with any of the electric companies that trade in the WESM.
The company facilitates the registration and participation of generating companies, distribution utilities, directly connected customers or bulk users, suppliers and contestable customers in the WESM.
It also manages the metering, billing, settlement and collection of spot trading amounts for the benefit of the market participants. — Victor V. Saulon
JAKARTA — Indonesia on Sunday signed an economic agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) aimed at increasing trade and investment, concluding almost eight years of negotiations.
Under the deal, tariffs and non-tariff barriers would be eliminated for thousands of products traded between Indonesia and the EFTA countries — Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland, according to government statements.
Among those products, Indonesian palm oil would get full market access in Iceland and Norway, with an exception of palm products for animal feed other than for fish, according to Jakarta’s statement.
Switzerland would also grant easier access for palm oil, but under certain quotas, its embassy in Jakarta said in a statement.
Enggartiasto Lukita, Indonesian Trade Minister, said discussion on market access for palm oil was the sticking point that dragged negotiations on for years. The first round of talks were held in early 2011.
“They held back our palm,” Mr. Lukita told reporters after the signing of the agreement.
“I said, we’ve gone a long way. You will benefit from this and I too. So if you don’t open up for our palm, let’s just forget about this,” adding that he had threatened to leave Norwegian salmon out of the deal.
Swiss Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann said the agreement was based on sustainable palm oil production.
“As far as palm oil is concerned, believe me, we had intensive discussions in Switzerland as well and we found a solution with our partners here in Indonesia, a solution to balance the interests and to stay at the same time very respectful as far as the palm oil concern,” he said at a news conference.
The world’s top palm oil producer and exporter Indonesia has often tried to reassure buyers that its palm oil is produced sustainably.
Lukita on Sunday repeated the government’s argument that palm oil production requires less land than other vegetable oils, making it unfair to blame deforestation on palm plantations. — Reuters
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it is opening 20,000 slots for transport operators who wish to register as a transportation network vehicle service (TNVS).
The regulator said in a statement on Monday it started accepting applications yesterday through online registration and will accept applications until Jan. 3.
The board said many of the drivers put forward by transport network companies (TNCs) such as Grab Philippines have yet to move forward with the process of being accredited by applying for a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC).
It said the slots were opened because there were very few TNVS that went on to acquire a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) from the master list submitted by transport network companies (TNCs) to the LTFRB. The CPC is the franchise needed to operate as a TNVS.
“We gave Dec. 15 as the deadline for those on the Masterlist of the TNCs to apply for a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC). But very few applied for a CPC so the board agreed to once again open online registration,” it said.
The LTFRB opened in August 10,000 slots for TNVS franchises in hopes of filling the 65,000 cap for the common supply base in Metro Manila.
It said on Monday there are only more or less 35,000 TNVS that have a CPC or provisional authority (PA) in its latest count. A PA is given as a temporary franchise for TNVS operators.
Grab Philippines (MyTaxi.PH, Inc.), one of the biggest TNCs in Metro Manila, said last week it has around 33,000 active drivers. Other TNCs that take a share from the common supply base of TNVS are Hype Transport Systems, Inc.; GoLag, Inc.; Owto (iPara Technologies and Solutions, Inc.); E-Pick Me Up, Inc.; SnappyCab (Aztech Solution International Corp.) and RYD Global, Inc.
Two other TNCs are accredited by the LTFRB, Hirna Mobility Solutions, Inc. and Micab Systems Corp., but they offer only taxi-hailing services and do not take up a quota from the TNVS supply base. — Denise A. Valdez
THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said the Port of Zamboanga hit its collection target for 2018, making it the third regional port to do so.
The Port of Zamboanga collected P351.79 million in the year to date, exceeding its P288 million by 22.15%.
In December to date, it collected P38.66 million, exceeding the month’s target by 53.65%.
“According to Segundo Sigmundfreud Z. Barte, Jr., Acting District-Collector, the intensified anti-smuggling drive resulted in the rise in the revenue collection from the importation of rice and cement. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), round logs and refined bleach and deodorized palm oil also contributed to the higher collection records of the port,” the BoC said in a statement.
The ports of Cebu and Tacloban hit their 2018 collection target as of mid-December.
The BoC said depreciation of the peso and the increase in global fuel prices have also helped the bureau increase its collections. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
For someone to be forgiven, the truth must first be told. Be it in a quarrel between lovers, wrongdoing by a child, or even in confession to a priest, you must first admit the truth before being forgiven.
The proposed General Tax Amnesty, which is now awaiting the signature of the President, is no exception to this general rule. Under the proposed General Tax Amnesty, taxpayers who want to avail of the privileges of the amnesty must truthfully divulge very important information: their true total assets or true net worth. The General Tax Amnesty Return that a taxpayer must file with the Bureau of Internal Revenue should be accompanied by a notarized Statement of Total Assets (STA) or notarized Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) as of Dec. 31, 2017.
In exchange for disclosing their true total assets or net worth, taxpayers will be allowed to avail of the general tax amnesty program that shall cover their taxes, subject to some exceptions, for taxable year 2017 and prior years. The General Tax Amnesty will give taxpayers the option to choose a rate between 2% of their total assets or 5% of their net worth.
The Bill defines total assets as the amount of the aggregate assets, whether within or outside the Philippines, real or personal, tangible or intangible, ordinary or capital; net worth, on the other hand, is the difference between the taxpayer’s total assets and total liabilities. The taxpayer availing of the amnesty must admit all assets they have and all liabilities they owe as of Dec. 31, 2017 in the STA or SALN.
The STA shall contain a declaration of the total assets as of Dec. 31, 2017; while the SALN to be filed shall contain the following:
1. Assets located within or outside the Philippines, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, and regardless of whether used in trade or business;
2. Description of classification, exact location, and valuation of real properties;
3. Personal properties other than money with specific description of the kind and number of assets and their value;
4. Conversion into the corresponding Philippine currency equivalent of assets that are denominated in foreign currency as of the date of the SALN;
5. Cash on hand and in bank in Philippine pesos as of the date of the SALN; and
6. All existing liabilities that are legitimate and enforceable, secured or unsecured, whether or not incurred in trade or business, disclosing or indicating clearly the name and address of the creditor and the amount of the corresponding liability.
To entice taxpayers to declare or disclose their true total assets or true net worth, any information contained in the Tax Amnesty Return, STA/SALN and other accompanying documents shall be confidential in nature and may not be used in any investigation or prosecution against the taxpayer. However, the information that the taxpayers will declare should be truthful; otherwise, the taxpayers could be subject to the crime of perjury.
If the disclosed information is discovered to be untruthful, the taxpayer could also be investigated for tax fraud. For juridical persons, the penalty shall be imposed on the partner, president, general manager, treasurer, officer-in-charge, and employees responsible for the violation.
Thus, although there is a presumption of correctness of the SALN, taxpayers must still file a correct STA or SALN. The Tax Amnesty Bill provides hefty penalties to any person who will file an incorrect STA or SALN.
With regard to the confidentiality of the information to be declared to the BIR, the Tax Amnesty Bill will also penalize any person having knowledge of the Tax Amnesty Return and appurtenant documents and who will disclose any related information. A fine and imprisonment will be imposed on the violator. If the offender is an officer or employee of the BIR or any government entity, the penalty will include perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
The Tax Amnesty Bill is just a signature away from becoming law, and is expected to be implemented within early 2019. Taxpayers may want to consider taking another look at the value of their assets, liabilities, and net worth vis-à-vis the aggregate amount of their potential tax exposures in taxable year 2017 and in prior years. In doing so, taxpayers should ensure that, if they decide to avail of the amnesty program, they will be able to comply with the requirements in the declaration of the true STA or SLN. As the saying goes, the “truth will set us free.” P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing services firms in the Philippines. You may contact the author thru RG.Moreno@ph.gt.com, or call us at tel. nos. +63(2) 988-2288.
Rufino Gerard G. Moreno III is an associate of the Tax Advisory and Compliance of P&A Grant Thornton.
Following is a condensed version of the acceptance speech delivered by the author when he received recently the “MAP Management Man of the Year 2018” Award from the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). This is the notion that I would like to put forward today — that the ingredients to bring the country to the next level are already within our grasp.
Good afternoon. Let me first thank all those involved in making this event and recognition possible. Thank you to the MAP Board of Governors led by Mon Fernandez, the MAP Management Man of the Year Judging and Search Committees led by Gigi Montinola, Ed Chua, Marife Zamora, and Perry Pe. I also extend a very special thanks to the individuals who have so kindly nominated me for this honor: Amb. Albert Del Rosario, Lilia De Lima, Tony Aquino, and Jess Estanislao, as well as the many others behind the scenes who were involved in the nomination process. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the incoming Board of Governors, and your incoming President, Riza Mantaring.
Allow me to also acknowledge representatives from the senior management of Ayala present today. My brother Jaime and I often discuss how privileged we are to be able to work with these exceptional individuals. They are passionate about our country and share our desire to bring the Philippines to the highest stage of development within the community of nations.
I would also like to express my warmest appreciation to the many friends, partners, and customers of the Ayala group of companies. Our group’s stability and success would not have been possible without your continued trust, and we are very thankful for your faith in us throughout the years. Let me also acknowledge a good friend of our family, Mr. Fred Borromeo, who joined MAP in 1954, and at 92 years old is certainly the wisest MAP member in the room. Last but certainly not the least, I would like to thank the members of my family present today — my parents, my wife Kit and siblings, spouses and friends. We owe so much to my father, who took a risk and entrusted the leadership of Ayala to Jaime and I at a fairly young age. He had already set high standards of professionalism in the company and a deep sense of commitment to the developmental goals of the country. Jaime and I had a great platform to build from.
I am deeply honored to receive this recognition, and greatly humbled to join the company of such an illustrious group of individuals — many of whom I have admired and respected, and have had many fond memories with as friends, business partners, and mentors. We are also deeply honored as a family that I am now the third member of the family, after my father and brother, to be recognized for this award.
MAP’s overarching theme for 2018 is “Competing in the Age of Disruption.” As I was reflecting on the many achievements of our esteemed previous awardees, as well as MAP’s enduring work in advancing the management profession in the country, I realize that this theme remains relevant and resonant, regardless of the period. In every timeframe in our history, we have had to deal with disruptions on various fronts. These challenge us to continuously find ways to put our organizations — and our country through our collective contributions — on a clear path to shared prosperity.
We live in a world that is very volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. But while current developments appear bleak, today’s dynamic times have likewise given birth to impressive advances and amazing possibilities. We live in an era where technological innovation, new business models, and new ways of thinking can be used to benefit a larger number of our population.
This is the notion that I would like to put forward today — that the ingredients to bring the country to the next level are already within our grasp. MAP and our individual organizations carry the challenge and responsibility to properly harness the potentials of today and use them to create a progressive, equitable, and Future-Ready Philippines.
Our journey towards future-readiness requires a strong platform from where we can launch ourselves. I believe that we have already been building this over the last few years. I refer to our macroeconomic foundations, and our highly talented and committed human capital.
On the former, I think we would all agree that we have had a unique period of continued economic growth that has transformed our country. This growth has largely been consumer-led, supported by strong overseas remittances, the growing BPO and services sector, and complemented by increasing investments. I would also like to emphasize the enormous role that local private capital from many of the companies represented here today has played in the growth of our economy.
We also see many positive developments with our people, whose median age is 24 and where a third of the total population are millennials. We are also seeing a continuing influx of young and talented Filipinos who have studied and trained overseas. These young Filipino professionals not only possess excellent technical skills, but are also technologically adept, and more importantly, have the ideals and innate passion to contribute to national development. They are also prepared to take on significant managerial responsibilities at a much younger age than we may have been used to in the past.
The challenge we all now face as a business community is to determine where we want our country to be in the next 10, 20 and 30 years. There are many areas where the private sector is focusing its efforts. From our point of view in Ayala, we have decided that four areas hold tremendous potential to make a lasting and meaningful impact as we build a Future-Ready Philippines. These sectors are: inclusive finance, education, health care, and sustainable tourism.
Let me start with financial inclusion. It is unacceptable that only 23% of Filipinos are part of the banking system. The rest are exposed to unauthorized lenders charging exorbitant rates and face the risks of the unofficial economy.
We are doing our part through banking channels and mobile solutions. BPI formed BanKo a few years ago to serve micro, small, and medium enterprises with their lending requirements. We further recognize that mobile technology has likewise provided a unique opportunity to serve the financial needs of a broad segment of our people. Through one’s mobile device, there are now several solutions available for payments and mobile wallets, digital lending, plus wealth management and credit analytics. Our partnership with Ant Financial, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has brought forth an enormous amount of knowledge in the fintech and mobile space, given the cutting-edge technology that China has been deploying for their population. While the Philippines is still far from having fintech as ubiquitous as it is in China, together with Ant Financial, we are excited to further develop our fintech industry to reach our financially underserved countrymen. Ensuring the success of our financial inclusion efforts through mobile technology, however, requires massive investments in telecom infrastructure. The telcos have been spending record amounts to keep up with the exponential demand for more data and faster connections.
Let me now shift to education. McKinsey estimates that up to 15% of the global labor force, or 375 million workers, will have to switch jobs by 2030. As certain professions are rendered irrelevant, new opportunities will emerge. However, this will require the right type of training in 21st century skills and values.
On a more basic level, we must immediately tackle the serious condition we face in many of our schools, wherein 3.6 million Filipino youths find themselves out of school. Even more stunning are the findings of the Philippine National Employability Report, published in 2017 by employability assessment firm Aspiring Minds. From their survey of 60,000 fresh graduates from 80 tertiary level institutions, they found that 65% of Filipino graduates lacked the appropriate skills and were thus unemployable in their sector of choice.
Our educational system is in serious need of help and it is very encouraging that the private sector has been contributing in a significant way. In our own case, our solutions revolve around some of the key problems that we have had to address through our schools. These include a huge reduction in dropout rates; increasing the employability of our students; and producing competent teachers to sustain education reform. At the basic education level, through CENTEX and APEC Schools, we have changed the way students are taught with a curriculum that focuses on practical skills and innovative teaching methods. Through close coordination with the needs of industry, we were also able to design programs where recent graduates are employed within 90 days and receive starting salaries that are significantly higher than the average. At the teacher level, we are delighted that through our partnership with the National Teachers College, we now have an opportunity to equip our teachers with the necessary skills to drastically improve the quality of instruction in the country.
Aside from our students, we also need to give the work force an opportunity to upskill and retrain themselves. A number of online digital learning solutions are readily accessible with content from the world’s top universities offering customized training programs, suited to the individual’s needs, and at a very modest cost. We have recently launched Ayala University, a digital learning platform that brings together carefully selected online global content from the best schools to upskill our employees at an exponential scale.
The third sector I want to highlight is health care. I strongly believe that the next critical need for the country is a ramp up in affordable, quality health care. How can we possibly have a productive workforce and a higher quality of life for our people without proper health care? Our research is staggering: 43% of low- to middle-income Filipinos have not seen a doctor in more than a year, with 6 out of 10 Filipinos dying without even seeing a doctor. The Economist ranked the Philippines 78th out of 80 countries in an index that measures the quality and availability of the country’s palliative care environment, which includes hospices, nursing homes, and professionals.
The Filipino patient deserves better — from birth to end-of-life. At Ayala, we strongly believe that health care is a fundamental right for all. This principle has shaped our approach to our health care business. Our focus has been to find disruptive models and technologies that make healthcare products and services more accessible and affordable to a broader segment of the population. A critical part of this offering is a strong emphasis on preventive health care, which we believe will significantly impact health outcomes and our stakeholders’ disposable incomes. This is essential as the World Health Organization reports that lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, account for as much as 70% of deaths worldwide — deaths that are easily preventable if there is a focus on proactive and preventive medicine. Towards this end, we continue to grow our FamilyDoc clinical network to expand the reach of primary care to more Filipinos. Meanwhile, through our investment in Generika drugstore, we are expanding the reach of generic medicines to help provide affordable options for preventive health care. We view this as a key component to democratize health care and promote disease prevention, as our research shows that generic medicines can be cheaper by up to 85% compared to their branded equivalents. The elements to substantially improve the state of our health care are within our grasp. We have excellent health care professionals, a plethora of health technologies are available, and favorable regulation, through the Universal Healthcare Act, exist. Let us not let this opportunity pass us by. Let us boost our efforts at giving our people the health care that they deserve.
Lastly, let me focus on tourism. I believe it is time to dramatically focus on tourism as an industry that can have an enormous impact to our country. To illustrate the magnitude of its effects, consider Thailand that attracted close to 35 million visitors last year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism directly contributed close to 10% to Thai GDP in 2017.
I feel that we have yet to adequately embrace tourism as a valuable component of our development. While tourism continues to contribute much to the economy, there remains significant value to be unlocked. I say this because while we invest only $1.9 billion for tourism — which is close to last in ASEAN and below the global average — our numbers are steadily increasing. For instance, international arrivals grew from 2.8 million in 2006 to a record 6.6 million in 2017. Tourism’s direct economic impact has also more than doubled over the last 10 years, accounting for 8.7% of GDP and 2.3 million jobs. The World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts that by 2028, tourism could directly account for P2.5 trillion, close to 10% of GDP, and support 3.2 million jobs. If we are to make a quantum leap in tourism, we need to involve many more partners, have a far more holistic and visitor-centric masterplan, and be more aggressive and strategic in deploying capital.
I believe that this is where the Philippines can differentiate itself from our neighbors. Too many Asian countries have developed their tourism sectors too quickly, and in the process, have severely damaged their ecosystems. It is wonderful to hear that the tourism agenda currently being discussed under Secretary Berna Romulo Puyat is one that strongly includes environmental protection and sustainability. To support this drive, we must create the appropriate governance structures to ensure that there is proper planning and project execution in our best tourism sites. This includes ensuring a seamless and exceptional visitor experience — from arrival at the airport, to transportation to hotels, and to the overall experience at the destination. Let me also emphasize the need for strong visitor impact management — that is that we properly manage what practitioners call as carrying capacity and limits of acceptable change or put simply, the maximum number of visitors and degree of impact that any single destination can take and withstand.
From our point of view, we have moved into substantial tracts of land and are looking for more in the hope that we can create several sustainable tourism environments. In all our tourism developments, we want to make sure that the employment benefits to the local communities are maximized, environmental impact is properly managed, and that these destinations can serve as a showcase for the rest of the world on how tourism’s potentials can and should be harnessed. The multiplier effects of tourism and the impact that it can have on communities — especially the poor — is enormous.
As the Ayala group enters its 185th year in 2019, we are more committed than ever, along with the rest of the business community, to continue building our growth platforms for our country, and to ensure that Filipinos have the skills necessary to take advantage of these opportunities.
It is interesting that as far back as 1962, John F. Kennedy was already anticipating the same challenge and responsibility that the world continues to face today. He stated in a speech and I quote, “if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, then they have the talent to put those men back to work.” Generating new jobs for the next generation and providing opportunities for value creation will be our utmost priority.
This, however, requires a comprehensive response from the private sector and the full support of government. Like many of you, I am a great believer in the critical role that the business community plays in nation-building. Today’s disrupted times, while alarming on many instances gives us access to several resources: capital is accessible for new ventures; new technologies and business models are available to be harnessed; and there is a wealth of talent among our people waiting to be unleashed.
Through MAP and the other business organizations in the country, the private sector can accelerate efforts to build a progressive, inclusive, dynamic, and Future-Ready Philippines that we can all be proud of. With a unified public and private sector; an appropriate plan designed for the medium and long term; and a consistent vision that will keep us on track through political cycles, we can certainly direct our country on an irreversible path towards equitable and sustainable progress.
Once again, good afternoon, and thank you very much for this great honor.
Fernando Zobel de Ayala is the “MAP Management Man of the Year 2018” of the Management Association of the Philippines and the president and COO of the Ayala Corporation . map@map.org.ph http://map.org.ph
A report in BusinessWorld yesterday, Dec. 17, said that the country’s foreign debt grew 5.6% to $76.4 billion as of end-September 2018.
The Bureau of the Treasury data of the Philippines’ outstanding debt showed P7.167-trillion total as of October 2018, composed of P4.62-trillion domestic debt and P2.546-trillion external debt.
These are huge numbers. With or without economic crisis and financial turmoil, the figures keep rising, never flatlining or declining.
But this is not unique for the Philippines. Other countries have bigger debt even if they are already industrialized, and even if they have a smaller population. See the numbers for external debt alone.
There is one term or description for the ever-rising debt of governments around the world: fiscal irresponsibility. Spend-spend-spend, tax-tax-tax, borrow-borrow-borrow, as if the money comes from the sky falling on governments forever.
At the household and micro level, when a person always spends beyond his/her means, he is called “mayabang, gastador, maluho, iresponsable” etc. When governments do this, they are not called as such, they even get self-congratulatory labels of practicing “fiscal prudence.”
In the Philippines and other countries, certain sectors realize the value of savings, of living within their means or below their means to have forced savings.
To have sufficient savings, people use the formula: Income — Spending = Savings.
There is a problem here. If Savings are not targeted, spending can eat up the whole income and savings will be small, if not negative.
The appropriate attitude then should be: Income — Savings = Spending.
There should be forced savings target and spending should be variable and adjusted downwards to reach the targeted level of savings.
This is among the important discipline and messages that the Palawan Savers Club (PSC) has adopted for its members and friends under the guidance of their founder, Peter “Pidro” Sing.
Pidro is a self-made successful businessman. He did not inherit money or business from his parents or close relatives. He is a friend from the University of the Philippines Diliman. In the 1980s, we both stayed in Narra dormitory and we were both student-activists when Marcos was still the President of the Philippines. His CV is a roller coaster of hirings, resignations, and start-ups (he knows what it’s like to start a business, go bankrupt, start another, close it, start another — sometimes simultaneously. He did not get a formal business education; he was enrolled in the “school of life.”
When Pidro formed the PSC in July 2014, there were only 20+ members. To date, it has 800+ member-savers. They are mall and office employees, vendors and sari-sari store owners, tricycle and van drivers, tour guides, OFWs, students, professionals (like doctors, veterinarians, lawyers), and government employees.
Pidro gives lectures on “Savings for Success (S4S): An introduction to financial education” at least once a week in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. If out of town, he speaks two to four times a week to optimize his time. Sometimes he has two speaking engagements in a day.
He spends his own money and time for his personal advocacy. After going through cycles of wealth and bankruptcy, he realized that the key to wealth is not so much how big the monthly or yearly income is, but how big and consistent is the forced personal and household savings.
Government’s fiscal irresponsibility should be tempered by citizens who know the value of living within their means, the value of forced savings, and limited spending. And government should learn to live below its means when there is no economic and financial turmoil in order to accumulate fiscal surplus and pay off huge debts.
Pidro and PSC — and other groups with similar advocacies — are setting the needed social and political change that we hope to see in our lifetime.
One of the top Philippine stories of 2018 — not only in sports but also in national affairs — is the magical run of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons. For a few weeks, the Maroons became headline news as the team clawed its way back from elimination and upset heavy contenders toward reaching the championship series.
The Maroons eventually lost to the defending champion, the Ateneo Blue Eagles. But Ateneo’s winning ways have become repetitious and boring. On the other hand, the UP’s campaign during the season generated astonishment, excitement, and drama, even among the nonpartisans.
Thus the meme: “Ateneo won the finals… but UP won the Season!” Or: “The UP Fighting Maroons may not have taken home the championship, but they’ve stolen our hearts forever.”
But Ateneo also has a story to tell about how lessons from winning a basketball championship apply to life.
Ateneo’s basketball coach, Tad Baldwin, has instilled in the team a system in which individual talent plays second fiddle to collective effort. Each player has a role to play; each player contributes to the team’s advance and ultimately to being a champion.
It is not surprising then that no player from Ateneo made it to the Mythical Five selection, even if it was the winningest team in the league. Being in the Mythical Five recognizes the talent of a basketball player. But the Ateneo team does not emphasize individual greatness. Ateneo has a rotation in which the so-called second stringers are as good as the first team.
Even the team’s top performers vary from game to game. In one game, the Nieto twins, Matt and Mike, explode; in another game, Thirdy Ravena leads the charge. And so on. But the point is, the individual performance springs from selfless play and teamwork.
To be sure, this winning formula of team spirit and cooperation is not unique to the 2018 champion team. But the lesson got buried in the past, as amateur basketball copied professional basketball’s penchant for superstars and dazzling plays that show off individual skills. Fortunately, the old wisdom has returned in light of Ateneo’s success.
More than three decades ago, an unassuming guy donned the blue-and-white uniform. He was no superstar; he was some sort of benchwarmer. The only Superstar in his mind was Jesus Christ Superstar; he loved rock music and he was spiritual. But he was part of Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan’s team because the coach saw him as an exemplar of the sacrificing and hardworking team player.
His name is Jose Antonio “Joey” M. Pengson. He died in October 2018 without witnessing the championship, which was played the way he learned to play it.
The best tribute to Joey that I have read comes from our classmate Bobby Tesoro. It’s an unpublicized tribute, which Bobby shared with classmates through Viber.
Bobby, the manager of the 1975 champion team that included Joey, recalls a story of the championship game. Upon deeper reflection, Bobby sees it as a life story with a lesson. It is an anecdote that, in my book, is a parable.
Here, I quote Bobby:
“My story is about Joey’s role in the championship game between Ateneo and Letran in 1975.
“We were short of guards. The team captain, Gerry Verzosa, still recovering from hospitalization, showed up pale and gaunt on that championship day. But we had the talented Chito Narvasa, who was acknowledged to be the designated court general, taking over the captain’s brand of play and floor leadership.
“During that season, Chito showed signs of being a prima donna. He skipped practices citing ‘injured, weary knees’ as reason. Coach Baby Dalupan never uttered a word and just nodded whenever Chito gave an excuse. (This was the young Chito, and since those years of unripeness, he has evolved as a mature person. In the book Virgilio ‘Baby’ Dalupan: The Maestro of Philippine Basketball, Chito expresses gratitude to his mentor for disciplining him and molding his character.)
“To return to the game, Ateneo was in trouble. With the team behind, coach D had to make a substitution. At that point, he had already used 11 players. The gallery started calling Chito’s name.
“Baby D stood up and went down the bench, passed up Chito and at the very end of the line, pulled out our Joey Pengson, to the astonishment of the Ateneo gallery. With an arm on Joey’s shoulder and talking to our late friend like a father to his son, Baby told Joey, ‘You will play in this championship game, and you will help the team win.’
“True enough, that move fired up the whole team, knowing only too well that Joey exemplified to his teammates what it meant to be a team player. He rode the bench most of the time, he never complained, never skipped practice, and was always prompt. You name it, Joey did it right. That is why I called him Cap (for Captain). He was the silent force that the team looked up to in and out of the court.”
Bobby is spot on in describing Joey: A team player, looked up to by the team. He was a man for others, a Cap not only in the game of basketball, but also in the game of life.
Indeed, Joey’s being a team player, being a low-profile leader, and being selfless extended beyond the basketball court. He was involved in many worthy causes — in his community, his alma mater, and our society.
He participated in many struggles, always as a team player, contributing significantly albeit silently. He fought the dictatorship; he fought corruption, plunder, and human rights violations. He promoted social awareness among the youth, and encouraged the Ateneo students to speak up on political issues. He was at the forefront of clean and credible elections. He was Mr. Clean.
The 2018 Ateneo champion team has displayed the same team spirit that the 1975 team, Joey included, is remembered for. But the distinct lesson imparted to us by Joey is that there is a larger team that we have to join and a bigger game we have to play.
In this light, Joey exemplifies what the friendly basketball rivals — UP and Ateneo — stand for. UP says: Fight! Ateneo says, One big fight! Ateneo says, be a man for others. UP says, serve the people.
Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III coordinates the Action for Economic Reforms. www.aer.ph
By Tony Samson
BY this time, the hoopla and excitement from the finals series of two games in the men’s college basketball contest must have already faded just a bit. Even at its peak, the emotional high was limited to no more than a million students, alumni, family, significant others, friends, photo bombers, and, let’s not forget, yet unborn babies. The last group was represented by mothers with baby bumps under tightly stretched maroon T-shirts declaring the hashtag, roughly translated as “this is ours” — yes, ma’am, that one’s all yours.
The illusion of a college sporting event occupying the national psyche if only for a few days, because of the surprise pairing of two schools sharing one avenue, has only to be tested by this thought experiment — do you care what’s going on at the Horological Association of the Philippines? What if one of its new directors posted a note on social media that three timepieces in the museum need to be wound? Who will man up for this task? The unexpected negative reaction may be over the top. He protests that the word “wound” is the past participle form of the verb “wind.” There was no intent to imply inflicting physical harm to anyone. Still, he was ousted and asked to watch his language. Everybody just got wound up.
Here are five questions that a Man from Mars might ask about all the curious hullabaloo over Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). There have been contests between traditional rivals before, which did not attract these kinds of emotions, and ticket shortages. Here are some narratives not yet covered by the media attention on this heretofore low-key event.
Which of the four venues in the 17 games you watched was the worst? Easily, it was the one game in an Antipolo stadium, no need to mention its name. The parking lot intended for visitors featured instead a pop-up flea market so that cars needed to park three blocks away — Sir, you can take a tricycle to get to your seat behind the goal. That contest also featured two schools with the same color coding, so the boundaries for the cheering were fluid — Ma’am, that’s Ahanmisi you’re jumping about. (Well, he’s on my side.)
What’s the meaning of all this post-shot prancing around and posturing? This is a tradition in a shoot-and-run back format of basketball. It’s intended to pump up the crowd. The movements include the following: front-shirt pulling and airing of outer garment, revealing a black undershirt; raising of both arms at shoulder level to show muscle formation; raising both arms above the head at the crowd to cheer louder; and a new one — flapping the arms rhythmically like a bird in flight after a dunk shot — this one believes he can fly like Mike or is he auditioning for the corps de ballet of Swan Lake? Can they please provide a blue tutu?
Why is the top team that became back-to-back champion not represented in the Mythical Five selection? Well, it’s a mathematical formula that has no bearing on the placement of the team and its chances of winning the trophy. Winning as a team doesn’t count. Next question please.
In the last game of the finals, how did you get to the toilet? With the crowd at 20% over seating capacity, the SRO ticket holders clogged up the back-passage area of the sections. This required the leaky ones to squeeze through and press close to the wall in an act of intimacy that had gone beyond first-name calling and three meetings over coffee. If walls could sue, this would be a clear case of harassment. Facing forward with the back to the wall might have resulted in a slap on the face. (Ma’am, that’s my cellphone in my pocket.)
What happened to the indifference and ennui previously accorded to this puerile pursuit? Aren’t there more pressing concerns like the West Philippine Sea and the budget deficit? Did other more momentous things like board meetings and legislative agendas really stop that Wednesday before the buzzer sounded and the confetti fell to the floor full of photographers, with the score frozen at 99-81? Well, it is what it is.
Anyway, there is a difference between wearing blue and feeling blue. No problem, all my shirts are blue.
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo Senior Reporter
DOWN 3-2 in their best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup finals series, the Alaska Aces are choosing not to fret too much and are instead focusing on getting the next two games to complete their title quest.
Narrowly missed having the upper hand after absorbing a 79-78 heartbreaker to finals foes Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in Game Five on Friday, the Aces find themselves needing to sweep the remaining games of the series if they are to become the lone surviving team in the season-ending PBA tournament.
Having found itself in the same predicament earlier in the series though, Alaska is not losing confidence in its ability to do it again this time around.
“It’s not really new to us. We were down 0-2 at the beginning of the series, so we’re just really gonna get back to the gym and work even harder, clean up some of the things that we need to clean up,” said Aces guard Simon Enciso following their Game Five defeat.
He was quick to say though that they have to be on top of their game right from the get-go and not bank too much on charging back in games, a situation that has not worked in their favor for much of the time in the series.
“We really got to throw the first punch because I feel like in the first half, they did. We kinda have to match their energy in the beginning. We can’t always just play catch-up each time, right? We can’t always be like that,” he said, adding, “But next game, you guys will see a new Alaska team with the old Alaska teamwork. We’re gonna pressure on them and do our best. We just gotta get back to our base.”
For Alaska coach Alex Compton, the intention from here on is to win it all even as he said that it would not be easy against a Magnolia team raring to have the series over and done with.
“We’ll certainly try to do it. I am a basketball fan, so I will be watching on Wednesday. But I would say all the basketball fans should watch. These two teams can’t play any harder,” Mr. Compton said.
Like Mr. Enciso, the Alaska coach also underscored the need for them to get it going right from the start, citing what happened to them in Game Five.
“I am just disappointed in our first half. If you will ask me, we lost in the first half. We did not have what we showed in the second,” said Mr. Compton, who nonetheless praised the effort that his players showed in the previous game.
In Game Five, import Mike Harris led the Aces with 28 points, 20 rebounds and five assists.
Mr. Enciso and Kevin Racal, meanwhile, each had 13 points.
Game Six of the finals is on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
