DoJ to ‘go by evidence’ on Sagay probe

November 13, 2018 | 9:06 pm

JUSTICE Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said the prosecution will go by the evidence that will be found by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in its investigation into the Oct. 20 Sagay massacre of nine sugar farm workers and the killing of a lawyer in Nov 6. “The NBI investigation is still ongoing and we’ll go by what the evidence will show,” he told reporters in a text message, when sought for comment on a statement by the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) questioning the NBI probe. “Would the DoJ then include the NFSW in the proscription list if the NBI tags the NPA as the perpetrators of the Sagay massacre or even Atty. Ben Ramos, who was red tagged April this year when his picture together with others were put in a tarpaulin together with NPA rebels in the Municipality of Moises Padilla,” NFSW asked. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

DENR to act on garbage shipped from South Korea

November 13, 2018 | 9:05 pm

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Tuesday that appropriate action will be taken once a report on garbage shipped from South Korea to the Philippines is released, possibly this week. Some 5,100 tons of garbage containing used dextrose tubes, diapers, batteries, bulbs and electronic equipment arrived at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in Misamis Oriental on July 21, carried by MV Affluent Ocean. According to Environment Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda, the agency will recommend the return of the garbage and the filing of administrative and criminal charges against those involved in the shipment are found to contain hazardous materials. The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) verified that the shipment was not covered by any importation clearance as issued by the DENR. The DENR also said the consignee, Verde Soko II Industrial Corp, is not a registered importer of recyclable materials. Verde Soko is a South Korean company which operates a 4.5 hectare waste recycling facility at Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan town. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

US Army Pacific Commander in Manila

November 13, 2018 | 9:02 pm

GENERAL Robert Brown, Commander of the US Army Pacific, visited the Philippines from November 10 to 13. His activities while in Manila included speaking at the National Defense College of the Philippines and meeting with Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Carlito Galvez, Commanding General of the Philippine Army Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto, and Defense Undersecretary Cardozo Luna.

Toll rate adjustment at MCX filed

November 13, 2018 | 9:02 pm

THE Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said toll road operator Ayala Corp. petitioned for a periodic toll rate adjustment at the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) as provisional relief provided in its concession agreement with the government. In a bulletin published in a newspaper on Tuesday, the TRB said Ayala Corp. sought for an adjustment in toll rate from P17 to P18.51 for Class 1 vehicles, from P34 to P37.62 for Class 2 and from P51 to P56.43 for Class 3. Users of the MCX are now invited to file a petition against the toll increase within 30 days from Nov. 13, which the TRB will review before issuing final decision on the concessionaire’s petition. — Denise A. Valdez

QC police denies seizing Ladlad’s ATM card

November 13, 2018 | 9:01 pm

The Quezon City Police District denied the allegation of the wife of former National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultant Vicente Ladlad that police confiscated her husband’s automated teller machine (ATM) card when he was arrested last week. “We would like to reiterate that the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card of Communist Party of the Philippines Central Committee Member and Head of its National United Front Commission, Vicente Ladlad, was not among the confiscated items during the implementation of a Search Warrant for violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition last November 8, 2018 in Novaliches, Quezon City,” said Quezon City Police Director Chief Superintendent Joselito T. Esquivel in a statement on Monday. Last week, Mr. Ladlad’s wife Fides Lim posted in her Facebook page that the police should investigate the attempts to steal from her husband’s bank account. “While the arrest operation for Imelda Marcos following her graft conviction and for the killers of human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos and the Sagay 9 deserves utmost priority, I request the concerned authorities to immediately investigate the repeated attempts to STEAL the deposit in my husband Vic Ladlad’s LANDBANK Visa Debit Card, which comprises part of his human rights compensation as a political prisoner during the corrupt, brutal Marcos regime where Imelda reigned as queenpin,” said Ms. Lim in her Facebook post last Friday, Nov. 9. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Peso strengthens anew

November 13, 2018 | 9:00 pm

peso remittance — THE PESO climbed ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ review. — *PHILSTAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES*

THE PESO strengthened against the dollar on Tuesday as traders position ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) rate-setting meeting on Thursday and amid growing external uncertainties.
The local currency closed at P53.1 versus the greenback yesterday, gaining 19 and a half centavos from the P53.295-per-dollar close on Monday.
The peso opened slightly stronger at P53.28 before peaking at P53.08. Its intraday trough, on the other hand, was at P53.30 versus the dollar.
Dollars traded grew to $738.7 million from $666.1 million on Monday.
A trader said there’s still uncertainty on whether the local central bank will continue to hike or hold interest rates.
“There’s a BSP rate decision on Thursday so the market is looking for that. So they’re trimming their position ahead of that. They’re looking that the BSP will hike, but they may follow the Fed[eral Reserve] so it can hold for now,” a trader said in a phone interview yesterday.
“If they hike rates, the dollar-peso may go down further so they’re still seeing the peso positive. But they are lightening their position as the BSP may still hike,” the trader said.
A BusinessWorld poll showed six of 11 economists expecting to hold interest rates, while the other five expect the BSP to hike rates by at least 25 basis points. The central bank has raised the policy rates by a cumulative 150 basis points since May.
The trader added that uncertainties surrounding the exit of the UK from the European Union supported the peso’s strengthening as markets are on a wait-and-see mode.
A second trader said in an email on Tuesday that the US-China trade conflict weighed on the dollar.
“The peso slightly gained strength as the greenback slightly weakened following risk-on sentiment in view of the resumption of US-China trade discussions which might ease friction caused by the trade war escalation.”
The trader added that the peso might weaken ahead of strong US inflation data. “Exchange rates are likely to move between P53.00 and P53.20 range.” — E.J.C. Tubayan

Shares slump as Wall Street dampens sentiment

November 13, 2018 | 9:00 pm

LOCAL SHARES fell on Tuesday as investors were dampened by the decline in US markets.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi)declined 1.18% or 82.37 points to 6,843.83. The broader all-shares index fell 0.98% or 41.84 points to 4,211.13.
“It has been a bad day across the Philippines board despite a US holiday with the US stocks falling over 2%, led by technology sector as Apple tumbled on signs of weak iPhone demand,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message on Tuesday. “Investors were also digesting developments in the oil market and parsed the effects of a rising US dollar, reaching its highest level in 16 months.”
In a mobile message, Timson Securities, Inc. trader Jervin S. de Celis said Saudi’s announcement to curb its oil output may have also triggered the sell-off seen across Asian markets as “the oil exporting country tries to pump prices after the commodity asset has entered the bear market probably due to low demand as the effect of trade war starts to bite other economies.”
Back home, all sub-indices were down. Holding firms plunged 1.62% or 111.34 points to 6,737.03; property slumped 1.22% or 41.62 points to 3,356.96; financials dropped 1.19% or 18.63 points to 1,544.88; mining and oil slid 0.98% or 89.89 points to 9,073.08; industrials went down 0.63% or 66.25 points to 10,397.67; and services edged down 0.39% or 5.38 points to 1,371.55.
Value turnover totaled P8.17 billion on Tuesday as 2.95 billion shares switched hands, climbing from Monday’s P6.64 billion.
Losers outnumbered advancers, 155 to 55, with 36 names unchanged.
Foreigners continued to dump shares, with net outflows totaling P1.26 billion yesterday, double Monday’s P608.95-million net sales.
Most Southeast Asian stock markets also slipped on Tuesday, tracking losses in broader Asian peers, after a rout in US tech stocks and slump in oil prices led to a sell-off on the Wall Street.
Political risks in Europe and the ongoing trade conflict between China and the United States prompted investors to unload risk-sensitive assets.
Major US stock indexes dropped more than 1% overnight, with tech-heavy Nasdaq slumping over 2%.
Weighed by a cocktail of negative factors, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.7% to a 1-1/2-week trough.
Singapore stocks were poised for a third straight session of losses, as financials weighed on the benchmark.
Malaysian shares were set to extend losses, with IOI Corp. Bhd hitting a nearly 10-month low. The country’s second-largest palm oil company, IOI Corp., reported a quarterly net profit of 143.8 million ringgit compared with 360 million ringgit in the previous year.
Thai shares traded 0.2% lower, dragged by losses in real estate and financial stocks.
Bucking the trend, Indonesian shares recovered from previous session’s losses, driven by gains in consumer staples and energy stocks. — with Reuters

Cement firm to lay off workers

November 13, 2018 | 8:55 pm

APO Cement Corporation said that it is now forced to lay-off about 30% of its employees and terminate 40% of its contractors after the shutdown of its principal raw material supplier Apo Land & Quarry Corporation (ALQC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, following a landslide in Naga, Cebu last September. In a statement, the company said it has filed a formal notice with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). “APO Cement has been in Cebu for nearly a century already, we have fostered our solidarity and malasakit to our communities for several decades now, but these are extremely challenging times and we need to make these hard decisions,” APO Cement spokesperson Chito S. Maniago said in the statement. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Business leaders mull effects of martial law

November 13, 2018 | 8:51 pm

THE local business sector has urged the government to look into the possibility of lifting martial law in some parts of Mindanao, even as investors are looking into its impact on businesses, particularly tourism. Arturo M. Milan, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce, said in a text message, when sought for comment, that it was “high time that selective lifting of martial law should be considered if the situation warrants.” But he also said “the military’s assessment should be taken into consideration because they know better (about) the peace and order situation in Mindanao.” Emil Hager, the Hager Travel and Tours operator, said for his part, “It has become a challenge to bring foreign tourists here because of martial law and the travel advisories.” He added, “Foreign tourists who are on vacation do not want to see the army.” And David Leechiu, CEO of Leechiu Property Consultants Inc., said in a briefing last week that the BPO sector has lost about 5,000 jobs because of the declaration of martial law last year and its continuing implementation this year. Before martial law, the annual growth in the BPO industry was about 2,000 jobs, he said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Mayor to be indicted for 2016 election-campaign gunfight

November 13, 2018 | 8:50 pm

THE SUPREME Court (SC) upheld a recommendation by the Commission on Election to indict Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte Mayor Angeles R. Carloto II and 18 others for inflicting threats and intimidation and violation of the gun ban in the 2016 May elections. In a statement on Nov. 13, the SC said it has denied a motion by Mr. Carloto and the 18 other respondents, including eight policemen, seeking a temporary restraining order and/or a preliminary injunction against two Comelec resolutions recommending their indictment for the said offenses. Mr. Carloto and the others were reportedly involved in a shootout at the home of his rival Alson G. Chan on May 4, 2016. Police Senior Inspector Mirdan Usama was killed in the shootout. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Nation at a Glance — (11/14/18)

November 13, 2018 | 8:48 pm

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Djokovic backs Federer in preferential treatment row

November 13, 2018 | 6:15 pm

LONDON — World number one Novak Djokovic leapt to the defense of great rival Roger Federer on Monday after claims that the Swiss enjoys preferential treatment on Tour.
Frenchman Julien Benneteau caused a stir during an interview on French radio station RMC Sport on Sunday in which he said tournament referees were often kinder to Federer when it came to scheduling his matches.
Benneteau was particularly referring to the Australian Open where he said 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer played “12 or 13” of his 14 matches at Melbourne in the past two years at night, so avoiding the often scorching temperatures.
He also suggested Federer’s Laver Cup project, an exhibition team event in which Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley is also involved, represented a conflict of interest.
Asked for his thoughts after his round-robin victory over American John Isner at the ATP Finals on Monday, Djokovic said Federer had earned the right for special treatment.
“In the end of the day, in a way he deserves the special treatment because he’s six-time champion of Australian Open and arguably the best player ever,” Djokovic told reporters.
“If he doesn’t have it, who is going to have it? People want to see him play on the center court, and they want to see him play in showtime, the best hours, which is 7:30 at night in Rod Laver Arena.
“I understand Julien’s point because sometimes it does seem that maybe certain players get more favored year after year in certain tournaments. On the other side, you have to understand that Federer is a driving force of tennis in terms of revenue, in terms of attention.
“Julien and guys like him are also benefiting from tennis, because of Roger, because of what he has done for the sport.”
Isner went even further, saying the likes of Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal should get even more privileges.
“If anything, maybe they should get more special treatment because those guys, the top players, have made other players below them a lot of money,” the American said after his 6-4 6-3 defeat.
“It is like the Tiger Woods effect in golf. So that is how you can look at a guy like Roger. He is men’s tennis in my opinion. He deserves everything and more that he’s ever had.”
Six-time champion Federer is back in action, in the night session, at the ATP Finals on Tuesday when he takes on Dominic Thiem, aiming to hit back after losing to Kei Nishikori in his opening group match on Sunday. — Reuters