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Smart offers roaming products at this weekend’s Travel Sale Fair

IN A bid to change how Filipino travelers view roaming, Smart Communications has partnered with the Travel Sale Fair — which runs from Oct. 12 to 14 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City — to promote their new travel products and packages.
“We felt we wanted to take our travel products to the next level and improving our user experience,” Katrina Luna-Abelarde, FVP and group head of international roaming & carrier business for PLDT and Smart, told reporters shortly after a press conference on Oct. 8 at Sentro 1771 restaurant in Makati City.
“When you say ‘roaming’ it’s associated with so many negative things — it’s expensive, it’s not seamless — and we wanted to change that,” she explained.
During the three-day fair, Ms. Luna-Abelarde said they will be offering their data roaming products for half-off their original prices so travelers “can enjoy a more convenient and worry-free getaways in over 153 destinations,” she said in a release.
The offer includes half-off for its GigaRoam which offers 1GB data roaming valid for five days (regular price: P999) and the Roam Lite which offers web surfing and social media apps access valid for 24 hours (regular price: as low as P150).
Smart also offers data packs for select social media and messaging apps starting at P150, valid for 24 hours. These data packs, she said, are targeted more towards prepaid subscribers which she says is a growing market for the telecom’s roaming products.
Travelers who attend the fair can pre-book the packages for future trips and the service is available in 153 countries.
“Unlike postpaid subscribers who want to see the bill afterwards, prepaid subscribers like to plan ahead and only subscribe to what they need,” she said before noting that many prepaid subscribers are millennials who love travelling on a budget.
And in the spirit of transparency and “giving back the control” to subscribers, Smart launched the Smart Data Roaming Manager portal that features all available data roaming products as well as keeps track of data roaming usage while on the go.
“This way, they know, in real-time, how much data they’ve consumed,” she said.
The Smart Travel Sale Fair runs from Oct. 12 to 14 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — ZBC

MRC Allied names Cosio as new president, CEO

MRC ALLIED, Inc. is consolidating all its assets and portfolio under the listed company, while its operating subsidiaries will be implementing the projects, the company said on Thursday.
As part of the reorganization, it announced the appointment of Augusto M. Cosio, Jr. as president and chief executive officer, replacing Gladys N. Nalda. The appointment was unanimously approved by the board on Thursday.
Ms. Nalda also resigned from MRC Allied’s board of directors, while Mr. Cosio was named as a new member. Both actions will take effect on Oct. 16, 2018.
“The Company will continue to pursue renewable energy projects thru Menlo Renewable Energy Corp. (MREN) and Ms. Nalda will be appointed as its new President & CEO,” MRC Allied said.
MRC Allied, which diversified into energy development early last year from property development, had announced plans to invest between P80 billion and P100 billion in the next 10 years to achieve its aspirational goal of putting up 10,000 megawatts (MW) of power capacity.
The company described its new chief as “a known advocate for investing and the development of the Philippine capital markets.”
“Having gained a wealth of experience in the global capital markets after working in Hong Kong and Singapore for global investment banks such as Deutsche Bank and BNP-Paribas, he is a passionate crusader for investment literacy among Filipinos,” the company said.
Mr. Cosio had spearheaded The Capital Market Seminar Series conducted regularly by First Metro Securities Brokers and First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI).
Mr. Cosio, who finished a course in Social Sciences from the University of the Philippines, had been FAMI president for nine years or until June 2018. FAMI is a fund management company with around P11 billion of assets under management, it added.
“In his stint with the First Metro Investment Corp., Gus (Mr. Cosio’s nickname) steered the creation and the listing of the first Exchange Traded Fund or ETF in the Philippine Stock exchange,” it said.
On Thursday, shares in MRC Allied closed unchanged at P0.59 each. — Victor V. Saulon

Kaizen proposal for a dictator-manager

My boss is a jerk who doesn’t listen to employee suggestions. He often jokes: “My way or the highway.” I know that this approach makes the employees become demotivated, if not make them act like robots. As one of his managerial deputies in the department, I’m planning to establish a Kaizen program to help people come out with a structured system to help streamline our business operations and cut costs at the same time. I’m worried that even my idea would be dumped. What’s the best approach to convince our boss? – Worried Much.
Your situation reminded me of Steve Jobs who was often described as a ruthless, dictator boss. He was known to have violated many basic rules of effective communication and leadership. “He was not a consensus-builder but a dictator who listened mainly to his own intuition. He was a maniacal micromanager,” according to Frederick Allen, author of “Steve Jobs Broke Every Leadership Rule. Don’t Try it yourself,” an article that was published by Forbes.
But Jobs was the same person who said: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” That’s why I believe that your boss has the same capacity and mentality to act like Jobs, but still would be open to many employee ideas, except that you may not have taken the right approach in convincing him, maybe due in part to his tough management style.
Let’s give your boss the benefit of the doubt. Don’t lose hope. I’m sure he has been misinterpreted due to some issues that may have emerged in past dealings with other people.
One of the basic tools for management success is the ability to listen. This is particularly true as employee engagement and empowerment replace the traditional top-to-bottom flow of communication. Indeed, solid two-way communication is impossible unless you and your boss master the art of being a good listener.
So, how would you convince your dictatorial boss to accept a Kaizen program? Take time to think through the following:
One, change the foreign Kaizen terms into something generic. Don’t give your boss the excuse that Kaizen is only for the Japanese and exclusively for the manufacturing sector. Remove that clear obstacle. Regardless of your industry focus, use a generic term like “employee suggestion program” or “employee participation scheme” or similar theme with the same force and effect.
If not, use the term “Lean Thinking” or “Lean Problem-Solving” as it is being used in the US. It started with similar programs like Lean Healthcare, when applied in medical clinics and hospitals, or Lean Banking, when applied in banks and financial institutions, among others. You only have to discover what would interest your boss and focus it to your sector.
Two, find a solution to something that turns off your boss. If he’s complaining about production delays, offer some ideas on how the workers are trying their best to eliminate the backlog. Justify the fact that management cannot handle it alone without the active support and participation of the workers.
Be practical. Focus on what irritates the boss and solve it with the active help of people. If you can get consistent small wins, it will be easy for your boss to accept your employee suggestion program. This can only happen if you continue to motivate the workers and train them with basic problem-solving tools to make it happen.
Three, ensure that your suggestion program is inexpensive. Management will always be thinking of budgets and financial controls. You can’t argue against that. Therefore, the best approach is to make the program easy to implement and without necessarily requiring a big budget. If ever, guaranteed RoI must be clear and easily achieved in a short period of time.
Instead of giving material rewards to people with excellent ideas, make it an integral part of their key performance indicators and the organization’s succession planning and career development track. Many times, people are motivated to contribute their ideas if the organization has a structure and framework to make it happen.
Four, calculate the actual cost of operational issues. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” is a popular cliché. You have to figure out the cost of waiting customers, inventory of raw materials, unused materials and machines, among other things. If you can accurately show the company’s recurring losses to your boss, he would not hesitate to agree on your program.
Review the company’s quality management policy, if there is one, and reconcile it with your proposal. If there is none, it’s an opportunity for you to create one. Under these circumstances, very few people, including your boss, are likely to reject your program if the advantages and benefits are clear for the organization.
Last, stand your ground if your boss rejects your proposal. Be ready for any possible questions he can raise. Defend your answers to prove your point. Go back to the actual cost and how it could end up depleting organizational resources. Who knows? Maybe your boss is trying to test your determination to proceed with your program.
Whatever happens, don’t give him an excuse to blame you later on. If he rejects your proposal, maintain a paper trail demonstrating how you did your best. Protect your flanks. Email exchanges or even marginal notes on your documents will prove that you did your best.
ELBONOMICS: Effective listening is understanding what’s not being said.
 
Send workplace questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting
Anonymity is guaranteed for those who seek it.

BPI Securities sees PSEi at 8,900 by end-2019

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
BPI Securities Corp. projects to see the local stock barometer at the 8,900 level by the end of 2019, factoring in concerns on inflation and rising interest rates.
“We think 8,900 is a good target for next year because that will already price in not only the inflation concerns but some of the adjustments we’ve seen in interest rates,” BPI Securities President and Chief Executive Officer Hermenegildo Z. Narvaez told BusinessWorld in a recent interview.
The 2019 projection is 8.54% higher than BPI Securities’ estimate that the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) will close at around the 8,200 level this year, as per an expected rally sometime in December.
The PSEi is currently at the 7,000 level, finishing Friday’s trading at 7,078.20. This marks a 21.87% drop, or nearly 2,000 points, from the market’s record close of 9,058.62 last Jan. 29.
Mr. Narvaez said the main concern for investors as of the moment is inflation, which could potentially hamper the earnings growth of some companies. The Philippine Statistics Authority last Friday reported that the consumer price index accelerated by 6.7% in September, bringing the nine-month average to 5%.
BPI Securities said it expects inflation to continue moving up until it peaks to around seven percent in December, bringing the full-year 2018 figure to about 5.5-5.6%.
“We think that inflation this year should be somewhere between 5.5-6% or somewhere closer, and next year somewhere closer to about 3.5%, as the growth in oil prices normalize… We have to see inflation start to normalize before 4% for the people to be a bit more comfortable,” Mr. Narvaez explained.
The continued outflow of foreign funds has also contributed to the lackluster performance of the PSEi.
As of Oct. 5, the local stock market has logged 27 straight days of net foreign selling, with a record figure of P1.42 billion in net sales for a single day. Foreign investors have recently shunned emerging markets in favor of more developed markets where they could have more stable returns.
Asked what would bring back foreign funds into the country, Mr. Narvaez said the Philippine economy would have to grow faster than 6.5% to attract more investors.
“We have to see an acceleration of growth. If we’re just going to continue to grow at maybe 6-6.5%, that may not compel investors to come back in a major way. We should see growth upwards of 6.5%,” he said.
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 6% in the second quarter of the year, compared to the 6.6% growth in the first quarter. A number of global institutions have already lowered their Philippine GDP forecasts for this year, including the International Monetary Fund which slashed its forecast to 6.5% from 6.7%, and the World Bank which cut its target to 6.5% from 6.7%.

Can entrepreneurship be taught and learned?

THE start-up scene all over the world is still flourishing. In the Philippines, there are currently more than 300 start-ups in the country and over 200 of them are actively operating, according to the first study profiling the Philippine start-up ecosystem by PwC Philippines and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
While globally we are seeing the strongest resurgence of the start-up craze since the dot-com era, we will not see them all succeed commercially. A Fortune survey among founders of failed business ventures indicate the stark reality that 9 out of 10 start-ups fail. In the Philippines, probably it’s higher to the tune of 19 out of 20.
Why do they fail despite the plethora of business incubators, accelerators, venture capitalist funds, mentors, and courses on entrepreneurship? The answer is not straightforward, but a combination of three factors — the teacher, content, and the learner.
First is the teacher. Aristotle said, “Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.” We often rely on successful entrepreneurs and start-up builders to teach entrepreneurship informally or formally in school, but they are usually not the best teachers. “As you get better and better at what you do, your ability to communicate your understanding or to help others learn that skill often gets worse and worse,” as cited by Adam Grant in a New York Times article. Social scientists call it the curse of knowledge.
Entrepreneurs are not necessarily good teachers. When they teach would-be entrepreneurs, they usually tell stories of how they started their venture, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. While all of these are inspiring, it doesn’t give the learner the guideposts or what Peter Senge calls “mental models”, i.e. an explanation of how something works in the real world.
A great teacher of entrepreneurship is someone “who communicates the material as well as on how well the teacher knows the material”, as Grant avers. They are the teachers that study effective methods of teaching entrepreneurship, rather than experts only in running a business.
Content is the second component. I’ve seen the content of many entrepreneurship courses in the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as those offered by NGOs. They talk about having an entrepreneurial mind-set, building a business plan, and registering the company. Then the next topic suddenly jumps to operating the business, doing marketing, and so on, leaving the learners clueless on how to scale the business, or what Geoffrey Moore calls “crossing the chasm”.
The lack of a framework, preparation, and training for a newbie entrepreneur to scale the business to sustainable level, and this is the main reason why startups fail. Since the resources of a startup are limited, it needs to spend wisely on what matters most in acquiring customers. I’ve developed this framework, have written extensively about it, and currently teach start-ups and business managers.
Entrepreneurship is also best learned while applying the concepts. Sprints of short learning modules and then applying the learned principles will ensure effective learning in the field, instead of studying for months and even years.
The last component is the learner. Would-be entrepreneurs jump into setting up a business because of a great idea or a passion on doing things. This is all laudable along with other traits as determination, creativity, competitiveness, decisiveness, and so on. But the most important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is resilience, i.e. the ability to move through hardship and become better.
Because entrepreneurs choose a life of hardship alongside achievement, joy, and satisfaction, they have to go through a life of chaos, confusion, change, fear, and disappointment. That’s why not all are cut out to become entrepreneurs.
So, can entrepreneurship be taught and learned? The answer is yes. But to enable aspiring entrepreneurs and startup founders, there has to be a program that takes into account these there components. The best the best is to teach them young…starting in grade school.
 
Reynaldo C. Lugtu, Jr. is President & CEO of Hungry Workhorse Consultancy Inc, a digital and culture transformation firm. He is the Chairman of the ICT Committee of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). He teaches strategic management in the MBA Program of De La Salle University.
reylugtu@gmail.com

Your Weekend Guide (October 12, 2018)

Giant mall sale


ROBINSONS Malls hosts free live shows to be held in time with its Robinsons Malls Giant Sale from Oct. 12 to 17, with a wide array of stores and outlets offering up to 50% off. On Oct. 12, stars from the Kapuso shows My Special Tatay and The Stepdaughters will visit Robinsons Place Pangasinan. At Robinsons Place Lipa, the cast of Halik top-billed by Gab Lagman, Yen Santos, Sam Milby, Yam Concepcion, Jane de Leon and JC Alcantara will be coming over on Oct. 13. At Robinsons Place Palawan, Ika-5 Utos stars Migo Adecer, Inah de Belen, Jake Vargas, Jeric Gonzales and Klea Pineda will be entertaining their fans on Oct. 13. They will also be visiting Robinsons Place Malolos together with actress Marika Sasaki on Oct. 14. At Robinsons Starmills Pampanga, a Kapuso Mall Show with the stars of My Special Tatay will be held on Oct. 14, with a special performance from JBK The Millenial Trio. There will also be the ABS-CBN Star Hunt: The Kapamilya Grand Auditions at Robinsons Place Ilocos from Oct. 13 to 14. On Oct. 13, December Avenue will be performing at Robinsons Place Antipolo while Silent Sanctuary will be at Robinsons Place Naga. The latter will again perform Robinsons Metro East on Oct. 14. For details on Robinsons Malls’ latest offerings and promos, visit www.robinsonsmalls.com.

Breast Cancer Awareness

ARANETA Center goes pink this month to raise awareness about breast cancer and show support to patients and survivors. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Araneta Center has painted its pedestrian lanes pink. There will also be a breast cancer awareness event, Beauty and Bravery: Empowering Women Against Breast Cancer, on Oct. 14 at the Gateway Mall activity area featuring inspirational and self-care talks. Dr. Claire Soliman, president of Philippine Society of Medical Oncologist, will talk about breast cancer, its causes, prevention, and treatment, while breast cancer survivor Gertrudes Calderon will share her story. Meanwhile, Kundalani Yoga teacher Tet Bachmann will discuss techniques on managing daily stress and resisting illness. Aside from the talks, the Philippine Cancer Society will offer free breast exams. Attendees can have their hair colored with washable pink dye for free at the event. For more information and other Araneta Center updates, follow @TheAranetaCenter on Facebook.

Weekends at Shang

THE EDSA Shangri-La Manila will hold a Travel Voucher Sale at the Level 4 hallway fronting Muji on Oct. 12 to 14 and one can visit the Thai Airways Travel Fair at the Grand Atrium for special offers on trips to Thailand and other destinations. Rising local star and former IV of Spades member UNIQUE will also be performing on Oct. 13, 7 p.m., at the East Atrium.

Bridal fair

SHANGRI-LA at the Fort, Manila hosts the Bridal Lounge, a wedding pop-up display at the hotel lobby’s Level 2 which will be open from Oct. 13 to 26, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Couples who confirm their wedding at the Bridal Lounge from Oct. 13 to Nov. 8 will receive exclusive privileges applicable to their event.

Pinoy Playlist

THE BGC Arts Center and Sun Life Foundation present Pinoy Playlist until Oct. 20 at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in BGC, Taguig city. A six-day celebration of Filipino musical talent across all genres and decades, the show is co-curated by Ryan Cayabyab, Moy Ortiz and Noel Ferrer. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Guadalupe The Musical

JULIE Borromeo’s Performing Arts Foundations presents Guadalupe The Musical at the Meralco Theater until Oct. 14. With book and lyrics by Joel Trinidad and direction by Baby Barredo, the story is based on the apparition of the Virgin Mary to peasant Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Mamma Mia! returns

MAMMA MIA!, the popular jukebox musical featuring songs by ABBA, returns to Manila at the Theater at Solaire until Oct. 20. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Rep’s Rapunzel

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

Sembreak workshops

THE G-FORCE Project 2018 Sembreak Dance Workshop will be held at the G-Force Dance Center, Expansion Wing of Festival Mall on Oct. 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.

Habi Trade Fair

SOME of the finest examples of Philippine-made textile products take center stage at this year’s HABI trade fair. The three-day trade Woven Voyages: 8th Likhang Habi Textile Fair 2018 will take place at the Activity Area of the Glorietta Mall in Ayala Center, Makati City on Oct. 12 to 14. It is open to the public. More than 80 exhibitors will take part this year, making it HABI’s biggest trade fair to date. And for the first time, the show will include textile exhibitors from the ASEAN region, namely, the weaving communities of Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The fair includes a fashion show highlighting the woven fabrics in designs by Patis Tesoro, Len Cabili of Filip+Inna, LARA Samar, Jor-el Espina, Boy Guino-o of Alfonso Davao, Twinkle Ferraren, Malaysian designer Edric Ong, and Laura Fontan of Vietnam fashion house Chula. There will also be an exhibit featuring the textile art of Filipina-French artist Olivia d’Aboville, and the works of the winners of the Lourdes Montinola Weaving Competition. There will also be workshops and lectures on sustainability, and a tribal food lounge. On Oct. 12, there will be a talk on Junknot Upcycling: Building a Sustainable Future at 2 p.m., followed at 3 p.m. by The Starving Artist: Building a Neighborhood through Public Art, Food and Culture, and a performance by KontraGapi at 5 p.m. On Oct 13, the events are Learn the Art of Lumban Piña Embroidery at 11 a.m.; a performance by the St. Scholastica School at noon; Learn the Art of T’boli Embroidery at 1 p.m.; Manila Seed Kit: How to Grow Philippine Cotton at 2 p.m.; Tarduguk Sama Cultural Troup performance at 3 p.m.; the Lourdes Montinola Piña Weaving Competition Award at 4:45 p.m. followed at 5 p.m. the the Woven Voyage fashion show. On Oct. 14, at 11 p.m., there will be two simultaneous events at two stages, the Learn the Art of T’boli Embroidery talk and Fashion Revolution. At 1 p.m. there will be a show, Dita Sandico: Journey Beyond Fashion, at 2 p.m.; Cold Dye Shibori, 3 p.m.; Learn the Art of Lumban Piña Embroidery; 4 p.m. Tarduguk Sama Cultural Troup performance followed at 5 p.m. with a workshop on Sama dance; and also at 5 p.m., Clothes Styling with Twinkle Ferraren.

Prudential Guarantee opens in Davao

Prudential Guarantee and Assurance, Inc. (PGA), the leading non-life insurance company in the Philippines, recently inaugurated its new branch office in Davao City, led by PGA Chairman Robert Coyiuto, Jr. (second from right) with brand ambassador Sebastian “Baste” Duterte (third from right). Also in photo are (from left to right): PGA President and CEO Atty. Celestino L. Ang, PGA Vice-President Prudencio T. Coyiuto, PGA Senior Vice-President Samuel G. Coyiuto, PGA AVP-Davao Branch Nellida K. Dalapo and PGA Vice-President Anthony G. Sy.

Food and sin products continue to weigh on inflation

Food and sin products continue to weigh on inflation

How PSEi member stocks performed — October 11, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, October 11, 2018.

 
Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — October 11, 2018

PHL missing out on investment amid US-China tensions — PEZA

THE Philippines is missing out on the opportunity to attract investors during a period of trade tensions between the United States and China, due to uncertainty surrounding the country’s tax incentive regime, the head of the economic zone regulator said.
“TRAIN 2 (or package two of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law) is really badly timed. You know why? Because of the trade war between US and China,” Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director-General Charito B. Plaza told reporters on the sidelines of an awards event in Makati City on Wednesday evening.
“I have received many expressions of intent from companies in China looking to transfer to the Philippines so they can export to the US and Europe,” she added.
The Philippines benefits from US and European Union generalized system of preferences programs or preferential tariffs allowing selected developing countries to pay reduced or zero duties on exports, making it an attractive export base for manufacturers taking cover from the trade war, she said.
The potential relocators that have approached PEZA are engaged in manufacturing, information technology-business process outsourcing, and other industries. She said they remain wary of the Philippines pending the passage of the second phase of tax reform, which is known in Congress as the TRABAHO bill.
She said the investors are also considering other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam which enjoy similar GSP privileges and offer lower costs for power and labor.
In a mobile message, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his department had received at least four inquiries to relocate here, including a bag manufacturer a manufacturer of bags.
The Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines confirmed receiving such interest at midyear, losing out to Myanmar.
“There was one that was supposed to come here in the fourth quarter of the year They pulled out and they went to Myanmar. That’s about 2,500 workers,” Teresita Jocson-Agoncillo, executive director of CWEP, said in a phone interview.
“It did not go through because of all our uncertainties,” she added.
Ms. Jocson-Agoncillo said the Philippines is currently unable to compete with Myanmar, whose apparel exports are about $3 billion annually, against the $1.02 billion posted by the Philippines last year.
Ms. Plaza said incentives are one way for the Philippines to make up for its infrastructure deficiencies.
“We have a lot of deficiencies on infrastructure, it infrastructure. Our power costs are one of highest. The thing that attracts investors now is incentives,” Ms. Plaza added.
She added that some PEZA locators are preparing to move operations out of the Philippines once the tax reform bill rationalizing incentives is passed.
“They are now preparing to transfer because they are multinationals, they have other branches. It’s easy for them to transfer,” Ms. Plaza said, without naming any companies.
During her speech at the 27th Business Journalism Awards of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, Inc., Ms. Plaza also revealed her plan to take the matter up with President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“Enough of the scolding, enough of the bullying from other leaders of government… I am now very vocal (about) not pushing through with TRAIN 2,” Ms. Plaza said.
On the sidelines, Ms. Plaza said PEZA has given up trying to plead its case to the Cabinet’s economic managers.
“The technocrats like the DoF (Department of Finance) people see it differently… All they are thinking is where to get taxes,” Ms. Plaza said.
She said Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua’s “exposure to the realities on the ground is not credible.”
Ms. Plaza has sought an appointment with President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“I still hope the President will understand, especially now with inflation,” which she claims was caused by excise taxes imposed under TRAIN 1. “The President, I think will listen,” Ms. Plaza said. — Janina C. Lim

Sin tax hike may fund universal healthcare law

SENATOR Joseph Victor G. Ejercito is looking to increase so-called “sin taxes,” particularly on tobacco products, as a source of funding for the implementation of the universal healthcare (UHC) bill in the next years.
During the Kapihan sa Senado media forum on Thursday, Mr. Ejercito said the budget for the program’s first year of the implementation was sufficient but he is worried about funding in succeeding years as more Filipinos register under the program. The proposed measure seeks to provide automatic health insurance coverage to all Filipinos whether as direct or indirect contributors to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“Maybe in the first year, it looks like the budget could cover it but I would think in the second or third year, it may be inadequate. That’s why I will still push for additional possible revenues, particularly this sin tax. Maybe we can raise it, particularly the tobacco tax,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“I still feel that we have room to increase because we raised the sin tax in 2012. If we compare prices of tobacco products with the rest of Asia, ours is the lowest and the cheapest. As chairman of the committee on health, I would want to hit two birds with one stone so let’s do this as a revenue generating measure to raise (sin taxes),” he added.
Mr. Ejercito estimated the funding required for the program’s first year of implementation at P200 billion. PhilHealth has said 93% of Filipinos are already covered by health insurance.
The UHC bill was approved on third and final reading in the Senate on Wednesday while its counterpart measure in the House of Representatives was passed on Sept. 6, 2017.
Under the bill, the funds collected from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCor), the incremental sin tax collections from tobacco and alcohol products, and the sugar tax will be pooled for the universal healthcare program.
In a statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, principal author of the bill, said the funds collected from various sources come on top of the regular annual appropriations for the Department of Health (DoH), PhilHealth as well as the mandates and programs under the UHC.
“The bill earmarks a raft of funding sources… It cannot be reduced. We are benchmarking the minimum funding requirements,” Mr. Recto said.
Several measures have been filed in Congress seeking to raise sin taxes, especially on tobacco. Senate Bill No. 1599, introduced by Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, proposes to increase the unitary cigarette tax to P60. Meanwhile Senate Bill No. 1605, authored by Mr. Ejercito, sets the excise tax to P90. Both measures remain pending at committee level.
Following the passage of the health care bill in the Senate, Mr. Ejercito said both chambers of Congress plan to hold their bicameral conference committee discussions next week, after the filing period for certificates of candidacy (CoCs) for the 2019 midterm elections. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

ADB backs move away from ‘paper-based’ SALN administration

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) called for more automation in monitoring officials’ wealth in coordination with banks and land registries, and affirmed the need to maintain the requirement for civil servants to file Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
“While the SALN administration in the Philippines has an enormous paper-based workload associated with it, and the rate of prosecution is low, it is better to have it than not. Within the existing framework, improvements to the system could be made through automation and data matching with banks, property registries, and other third parties, much like a tax administration does to detect risk in taxpayers,” it said.
“If such systems’ functionality within a tax authority already exists for taxpayers’ wealth checks, it could be extended to the financial affairs of tax officials,” the ADB added.
It added that technical training packages for Philippine revenue officials should also address management skills, apart from upgrading their core revenue-generating skills.
“Corporate services such as human resources and training within a tax authority are often overlooked when technical assistance is provided, with emphasis on revenue-producing areas such as audit, collection, ICT (information and communications technology), or indeed, tax policy areas such as expanding the tax base, rationalizing incentives/exemptions, and changing rates,” the ADB said in a report, “Tax and Development Challenges in Asia and the Pacific.”
“Apart from technical skills, it is equally important to pay attention to ‘soft skills,’ such as communication, leadership, and strategic planning, which are vital to the success of a tax authority,” it added.
The regional lender provided a $1 million technical assistance loan in 2013 to help raise tax revenue.
The program, which ADB described as “successful,” helped the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) establish a new staff training system for newly-recruited officials.
It provided assistance on international best practices for staff training and tax administration; a training strategy and medium-term training plan; the training of lecturers, and new training courses for recruits.
“There is considerable value to be realized from investment in the training function, in terms of domestic revenue mobilization,” it said.
It also noted the training function can “promote messages of anti-corruption, desired behavior, and ethics,” which could be incorporated into management training and existing courses.
The government in February launched the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA) for tax collectors and administrators and selected applicants from the private sector.
Republic Act No. 10143 of 2009 states that all existing officials and personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, and the Bureau of Local Government Finance shall be required to undergo the “re-tooling and enhancement seminars and training programs to be conducted by the Philippine Tax Academy” and that all applicants to these bureaus should “pass the basic courses before they can be hired whether on contractual or permanent status.” — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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