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IEA expects shale surge to become biggest oil and gas boom in history

THE supply surge from US shale oil and gas will beat the biggest gains seen in the history of the industry, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted.

By 2025, the growth in American oil production will equal that achieved by Saudi Arabia at the height of its expansion, and increases in natural gas will surpass those of the former Soviet Union, the agency said in its annual World Energy Outlook.

The boom will turn the US, still among the biggest oil importers, into a net exporter of fossil fuels.

“The implications of the shale revolution for international markets and energy security have been profound,” said the Paris-based IEA, which advises most of the world’s major economies on energy policy. US drillers have “weathered the turbulent period of lower oil prices since 2014 with remarkable fortitude.”

While oil prices have recovered to a two-year high above $60 a barrel, they’re still about half the level traded earlier this decade, as the global market struggles to absorb the scale of the US bonanza. It’s taken the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia almost 11 months of production cuts to clear up some of the oversupply. 

“The United States will be undisputed leader of global oil and gas markets for decades to come,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “In terms of oil, big growth coming from shale oil, and as such there’ll be a big difference between the U.S. and other producers.”

The agency raised estimates for the amount of shale oil that can be technically recovered by about 30 percent to 105 billion barrels. Forecasts for shale-oil output in 2025 were bolstered by 34 percent to 9 million barrels a day.

U.S. shale “has emerged from its trial-by-fire as a leaner and hungrier version of its former self, remarkably resilient and reacting to any sign of higher prices caused by OPEC’s return to active market management,” the IEA said.

Reflecting the expected flood of supply, the agency cut its forecasts for oil prices to $83 a barrel for 2025 from $101 previously, and to $111 for 2040 from $125 before.

Lower prices are helping to support oil demand, and the IEA raised its projections for global consumption through to 2035, despite the growing popularity of electric vehicles. The world will use just over 100 million barrels of oil a day by 2025.

That will benefit the U.S. as it turns from imports to exports. The country will “see a reduction of these huge import needs,” Birol said at a press conference in London. That “will bring a lot of dollars to U.S. business.”

Nevertheless, U.S. shale output is expected to decline from the middle of the next decade, and with investment cuts taking their toll on other new supplies, the world will become increasingly reliant once again on OPEC, according to the report. The cartel, led by Middle East producers, will see its share of the market grow to 46 percent in 2040 from 43 percent now.

Yet that could still change, the IEA said.

As shale has outperformed expectations so far, the IEA added a scenario in which the industry beats current projections. If shale resources turn out to be double current estimates, and the use of electric vehicles erodes demand more than anticipated, prices could stay in a “lower-for-longer” range of $50 to $70 a barrel through to 2040.

“There could be further surprises ahead,” the IEA said. — Bloomberg

Trump’s Russia, Duterte’s China

Siegfried and Roy had a long-running and very successful act at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. The act featured two white tigers that did marvelous tricks at the crack of the trainers’ whips. Then one day, one of the tigers attacked Roy and mauled him within an inch of his life. The act has since been canceled and the rogue tiger has been put to sleep.

The obvious lesson here is that no matter how masterful you believe you are as an animal trainer, you never know when a wild beast will turn on you. That lesson holds true not just for those training tigers but also for heads of state who fancy themselves good at dealing with the Russian bear and the Chinese dragon.

American media and the US intelligence community still cannot fathom the relationship that President Donald Trump has or wants to develop with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Since his election to the presidency and up to his visit to Asia to attend the ASEAN Summit, Trump has spoken through both sides of his mouth on the issue of Russian meddling in the last US presidential elections, in spite of its implications of national security.

In response to questions by media about his stand on allegations of Russia’s interference with the very foundation of American democracy, the US intelligence community’s findings that confirmed this interference, and Putin’s denial of the allegation, Trump said that he believed Putin.

In the next breath, he also said that he believed the US intelligence service.

Huh???

On the other hand, political observers and concerned citizens are watching with growing concern the seeming passivity towards China of the notoriously pugnacious and foul-mouthed President Rodrigo Duterte. This, in spite of China’s undisguised encroachment on parts of the South China Sea being claimed by the Philippines.

Everyone who has appeared to cross Duterte has gotten an earful of invectives, including the Pope himself — everyone but Chinese President Xi Jinping.

If Trump, in his own “Trumpish” way, has been trying to “strike a balance” in his attitude towards Putin and America’s intelligence community, he promptly torpedoed that by calling the latter “political hacks.”

That has not been the first time Trump has spoken unflatteringly about America’s intelligence service, or about everyone and anyone whose views he does not agree with, including leaders of the Republican Party.

On the other hand, in spite of overwhelming evidence of Russian meddling with the US elections — not to mention Putin’s hand in the Syrian conflict and other sensitive international issues — Trump has avoided saying anything against the Russian leader.

This has led the media, the political opposition, and skeptical Americans to speculate that Putin has something on Trump or that the issue of “collusion” between the Russians and Trump’s campaign team will eventually lead Special Counsel Robert Mueller to the front steps of the White House and all the way to the Oval Office.

Yet, Trump’s apologists blithely argue that Trump’s approach is a practical and realistic way of dealing with Putin, the better to get his cooperation in solving the Syrian crisis, eliminating ISIS and cooling down other hot spots around the world.

Ranking former officials of the US intelligence services have bluntly described this approach as naïve.

In the case of Duterte, “military blackmail” appears to be the reason for his attitude towards China, which his critics have characterized as passive-to-meek-to-fawning.

Duterte has not been embarrassed to admit that going to war with China would mean total destruction for the Philippines. Never mind that this renders meaningless the words of the Philippine national anthem that vows, “Aming ligaya na pag may mangaapi, ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo (the original English lyrics went, But it is glory, ever when thou art wronged for us thy sons to suffer and die).”

But Duterte and his apologists do not end there. They unabashedly cite the carrot and stick analogy, pointing out that belligerence towards China, which they attribute to the administration of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III, only got Philippine exports banned, while making friends with the Chinese has generated economic benefits.

Early this year, after a three-day visit to China, Duterte announced that he had wangled several investment and financing agreements amounting to $24 billion — $15 billion in investments and $9 billion in terms of credit facilities. According to him, the bonanza would generate at least two million jobs.

Duterte further declared that, as part of a $10-billion investment package, “China has promised us, for all their goodness…to build two bridges over the Pasig River. Free. Gratis. And I bow in gratitude.”

One social media pundit pointed out that the loan comes with “strings attached,” to which a kibitzer quipped, “You mean, a string of islands attached.”

However, like Trump, Duterte has also spoken through both sides of his mouth in explaining his stand on the South China Sea issue. He has repeatedly insisted that he would not give up an inch of Philippine territory in his dealings with China.

Yet, after being cautioned that China was covetously eyeing more and more Philippine territory, while ostensibly setting up an environment monitoring station in the area, Duterte replied that it could not be prevented from doing so, besides which the Philippines could not afford to go to war with China.

Assuming that “the Philippines is no match to China militarily,” Senior Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio suggested five things Duterte could do, first of which was to “file a strong protest” against China’s activities.

“This is the least that the President should do,” said Carpio.

But the most stinging advice that Carpio gave was: “Avoid any act, statement or declaration that expressly or impliedly waives Philippine sovereignty to any Philippine territory in the West Philippine Sea. This will preserve for future generations of Filipinos their national patrimony in the West Philippine Sea. Any statement that the Philippines cannot stop China from building on Scarborough Shoal actually encourages China to build on Scarborough Shoal.”

Just as Trump’s intelligence branch do not buy his fawning attitude towards Putin, Duterte’s Defense chief, retired Major General Delfin Lorenzana has expressed doubts about China’s supposedly harmless “innocent passage” through Philippine territory, as rationalized by Duterte.

Said Lorenzana in a media interview, “Alam mo naman ‘yung innocent passage, Point A to Point B. Napakabagal eh. Tapos tumitigil sa isang lugar. Magtagal doon ng ilang araw. Lipat naman sa kabilang lugar. So that is not innocent passage (We know innocent passage is from Point A to Point B. But the Chinese ship was very slow. It was stopping in one area to stay there for a few days. And then it would move to another area),” he said.

Duterte has dismissed these apprehensions as alarmist. Describing the Philippines’ rosy relations with China, he chimed, “Things are getting great our way. Why spoil it?”

One astute observer, commenting on the attitudes of Trump and Duterte, described the former as “devious, with something to hide” and the latter as “naïve, with a yellow streak.”

Then he asked the rhetorical question: Which attitude is better? To which he also gave the answer: “NOTA. None of the above.”

 

Greg B. Macabenta is an advertising and communications man shuttling between San Francisco and Manila and providing unique insights on issues from both perspectives.

gregmacabenta@hotmail.com

Folayang vows to continue journey after tough defeat

HIS reign as ONE Championship world lightweight world champion might have come to an end last Friday but Filipino mixed martial arts star Eduard “Landslide” Folayang asserts that is not the conclusion of his story as a fighter and vowed to come back even better.

Fell in his second title defense to fellow champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen in their “super fight” at “ONE: Legends of the World” at the Mall of Asia Arena by way of a first-round knockout, Mr. Folayang acknowledged he was beaten fair and square and looks forward to going back to the drawing board as he charts his way back.

“I tip my hat off to Martin Nguyen. He did his homework well and came very prepared. Because of this, my hunger for improvement remains unsatiated. This is a big lesson learned. I believe challenges inside and outside the cage always bring out the best in us. I assure you that the journey doesn’t end here,” said Mr. Folayang in statement shared to members of the media in the aftermath of his defeat.

Prior to his defeat to world featherweight champion Mr. Nguyen, who is now a two-division world champion after adding the lightweight belt to his conquest, Mr. Folayang was on a roll, having won four straight, including a third-round technical knockout victory over legend Shinya Aoki that earned him his world title in November last year.

Interestingly though, Mr. Folayang’s last defeat also had the lights turned out on him, with Russian Timofey Nastyukhin KO’ing him (flying knee and soccer kicks) in December 2013 also here in Manila.

Having made to regroup anew, 32-year-old Mr. Folayang, now sporting an 18-6 record, said he is confident that he can make his way back to the top again, saying that he is adopting the verse from Ecclesiastes 9:11 as his battle cry.

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all (Ecclesiastes 9:11),” Mr. Folayang shared in his statement.

In closing, Mr. Folayang said they at Team Lakay will not stop working so as to make the country proud, which has been the motor that keeps them going every time they compete in international events.

“Team Lakay and I will exert our best efforts to wave our Philippine flag more triumphantly in 2018,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Folayang’s Team Lakay teammate Gina “Conviction” Iniong will be back in action in just two weeks’ break to face Japanese Mei Yamaguchi at “ONE: Immortal Pursuit” in Singapore on Nov. 24.

Just fought last Friday like Mr. Folayang, women’s atomweight fighter Ms. Iniong, who beat Indonesia’s Priscilla Hertati Lumbangaol by technical knockout in the second round, will take the place of currently injured champion Angela Lee against Ms. Yamaguchi.

After Ms. Lee was ruled unavailable to go following a freak car accident she was involved in, Ms. Iniong did not waste time making her intention known to step in and take the fight, saying she is ready to go to battle.

ONE: Immortal Pursuit will be headlined by the title fight between welterweight champion Ben “Funky” Askren and Shinya Aoki. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Closed fishing season starts today in Visayan Sea

AN INTERAGENCY enforcement team has been reactivated to guard the Visayan Sea for three months, with the annual closed fishing season taking effect today, Nov. 15. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Region 7 convened on Monday the officials and representatives of concerned agencies to discuss matters in improving surveillance in the Visayan Sea to deter all forms of fishing. “We called for a meeting with all stakeholders to map out the seaborne patrol scheme and harmonize our command,” said BFAR-7 Director Dr. Allan P. Poquita. The enforcement team is composed of members of the BFAR-7 Enforcement Unit; Philippine National Police-Maritime Unit; Philippine Coast Guard-District Central Visayas; and the Philippine Navy. The closed season is prescribed under Fishery Administrative Order 167-3. Mr. Poquita said the policy is based on scientific research that identifies the three-month period as the spawning season of three marine species — sardines, herrings, and mackerels — which are found in the Visayan Sea, considered as one of the country’s major fishing grounds. The Visayan Sea is surrounded by Cebu on the southeast, Negros on the south, Panay on the west, and Masbate on the north. Violators of the closed season may be imprisoned for six months to six years, face a fine of up to P6,000, and lose their fishing license. — The Freeman

fishing

Lulu Tan Gan ‘yarn bombs’ Greenbelt’s garden

LULU TAN GAN, the queen of knitwear, has put colorful sweaters on the trees at Makati City’s Greenbelt Park. Amidst all the green in the mall’s garden, the fashion designer has injected bright pops of color, making the shoppers stop to take some pictures and marvel at the handiworks.

“The challenge is dressing something that is very tall and has 110-inch waistline,” said the designer, laughing, during the launch of her art installation called Yarn Bomb Knit Bomb.

Her art installation, on view until Jan. 14, is a collaboration between Greenbelt and Ayala Museum in a project called G.A.M.E., which commissions artists to make the mall’s garden their canvas and playground. Ms. Gan is the project’s first artist — no other artists are on the lineup yet.

“When it comes to the museum experience, traditionally, we think of white walls and art works as simply displayed in frames and on glass counters. But we see it beyond this,” said Joseph Reyes, assistant vice-president and area head of Central Manila, Ayala Malls Group.

“This is a unique gallery that goes beyond and outside the typical walls of a museum. You can touch, see, and experience the art,” added Ms. Gan of her artwork.

For this exhibition, Ms. Gan called 30 crochet hobbyists to help her with the project.

She said crochet-making is a dying art, and the project wants to revive it. Perhaps, part of the reason why crochet and knitting are being forgotten is because they are often associated with old maids and grandmas. Ms. Gan suggests making these handicrafts more modern.

“It is very important to create new products, especially for the millennials. And one of the things that has been done today is giving it a new form, a new shape. It has probably been elevated as an art form. Whereas I am into fashion design, even myself, I added on another art form which is art installation [to reinvent myself]. I think the kids will see it differently because they will see it not so ‘granny’ as you say,” she said.

She added while laughing, “Probably people should stop making coasters. That’s the old idea.”

Yarn, which can be knitted, crocheted, and woven, she said, can be used to make as accessories like laptop covers, and dresses. “It’s just a matter of redesigning it,” she said.

To help make yarn work become more fashionable and youth-friendly, Ms. Gan — who is a program consultant at the College of St. Benilde — advocates that the school’s fashion-related courses focus on a subject called “fabric design,” which could bring out the best in a designer while elevating his or her skills.

“It does bring out individualism. We also teach them how to use yarn for construction, which means you can use the same yarn to weave, the same yarn to crochet, the same yarn to knit. That is my medium for the longest time,” she said.

And she sees a good future for yarn if people, especially style arbiters like her, start thinking out of the box.

“Ten years ago I started the use of piña (pineapple fiber) as a ready-to-wear material. I was asked a lot, ‘Is it going to sell?’ ‘Who wants to wear piña?’ but now it’s 10 years [and look where piña is]. I think the role of a designer is to influence the future. We should do that. If you’ve grown enough, you should be able to inspire, recreate, and reinnovate, especially our traditional crafts,” said the queen of knit. — Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

NoKor soldier seriously wounded as he dashes across border

SEOUL — A North Korean soldier involved in an extremely rare and dramatic defection to the South was shot six times by his own side as he drove to the heavily guarded border and ran across under a hail of bullets.

The US-led United Nations Command (UNC), which monitors the Panmunjom border truce village where the defection occurred Monday, said the soldier had driven close to the heavily guarded, military demarcation line separating the two Koreas.

“He then exited the vehicle and continued fleeing south across the line as he was fired upon by other soldiers from North Korea,” the UNC said in a statement.

An official with the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North’s border guards fired at least 40 rounds.

A doctor treating the soldier — who was airlifted to a hospital for emergency surgery — said he had been shot half-a-dozen times and sustained a serious stomach injury.

“He has at least six gunshot wounds on his body and the penetrating wound in the abdomen is the most serious,” Lee Cook-Jong told reporters.

“His organs are extremely damaged… we do not know how long he can hold up,” Mr. Lee said, describing the soldier’s condition as “very serious.”

It is very rare for the North’s troops to defect at the truce village, a major tourist attraction bisected by the demarcation line and the only part of the frontier where forces from the two sides come face-to-face.

The 1953 ceasefire ending Korean War hostilities was signed at Panmunjom, and it has since hosted numerous rounds of inter-Korean talks — sometimes held in huts that straddle both sides of the border line.

The fact that the defector drove to the frontier suggests he may not have been a member of the elite corps of North Korean troops posted to Panmunjom, who are carefully vetted and selected for their loyalty. No tourists were present at the time, because tours do not run on Mondays.

According to the South Korean military there was no exchange of fire across the border, and the UNC statement stressed that no South Korean or US forces were harmed.

The incident, which happened in broad daylight around 4 p.m., comes at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula over the North’s nuclear weapons program.

Unlike the rest of the frontier, Panmunjom is not fortified with minefields and barbed wire and the border is marked only by a low concrete divider.

After racing across the frontier, the soldier took cover near a building on the South side. The Joint Chiefs of Staff official said he was found collapsed in a pile of leaves and recovered by three South Korean soldiers crawling on their stomachs to his position.

There have been previous defections at Panmunjom, most notably in 1984 when Vasily Yakovlevich Matuzok — an elite student from Moscow who was being groomed to become a Soviet diplomat — sprinted across the border and triggered a 30-minute gun battle that left four dead.

Visiting the border village with a delegation, Mr. Matuzok asked a colleague to take his picture, backed closer to the demarcation line and then suddenly turned and made a run for it. North Korean guards immediately drew their weapons and set off in pursuit. The moment they crossed the line, a shooting match erupted and Mr. Matuzok was forgotten as the rival troops engaged on the South side of the border.

It was the greatest loss of life to occur in what is technically called the Joint Security Area.

Another gun battle was recorded in 1967 when a senior journalist from the North’s state-run KCNA news agency crossed the border while covering military talks underway in Panmunjom. — AFP

Airbnb to invest $2M for tourism projects in Asia

ONLINE HOSPITALITY services provider Airbnb is investing $2 million in the Asia-Pacific region until 2020 to promote tourism projects.

Airbnb Country Manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan Robin Kwok said member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will benefit from this investment as well.

“It’s dedicated to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and just from being here in the Philippines multiple times I can already see huge opportunity for innovation, new ideas, and for SMEs (small to medium enterprises) and start-ups to participate. I look forward to Philippine communities to take advantage of this fund and to get involved,” Ms. Kwok told reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Parañaque yesterday. 

Airbnb is an online marketplace where homeowners can lease or rent out their apartments and houses on a short-term basis. At present, Ms. Kwok said the Philippines has a total of 32,000 homes under its network.

“We’ve seen about 32,000 homes here in the Philippines, everywhere from Makati, to Cebu to Palawan to Boracay. People want to host, share their space, generate that supplemental income and we’re also seeing more and more people search for the Philippines because they want to travel here,” Ms. Kwok said.

This comes amid a 12.7% increase of foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines from the January to June 2017 period to 3.36 million.

“And we believe we can be a huge supporter for the objective for ASEAN which is to have 800 million inbound international tourists by 2025,” Ms. Kwok said.

Ms. Kwok noted the Philippines reflects the global trend of Airbnb’s hosts, where 75% are located in areas outside the country’s capital and business districts. 

“That means that local mom-and-pop shops, SMEs, they’re now seeing benefits, because people are spending more time and money in those neighborhoods. And that’s great news for those in the local areas as well,” Ms. Kwok said. — Arra B. Francia

Poems in Dottyville: How two traumatized soldiers changed public’s notions of war

EDINBURGH — An imposing 19th century building with elegant manicured lawns and sweeping views of the Edinburgh skyline seems an unlikely place to have earned the nickname “Dottyville” from one of Britain’s most revered poets.

But Craiglockhart War Hospital, now part of an Edinburgh Napier University campus on the outskirts of the Scottish capital, was where traumatized souls took refuge from war and where Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen wrote about their terrifying experiences as part of treatment for shell-shock in 1917.

Their friendship and mutual admiration became the catalyst for some of the most vivid and best-known writing in English about war, playing a big part in changing public perceptions of a patriotic death being a glorious destiny.

Last weekend, Britain commemorated its war dead on Remembrance Sunday with the laying of wreaths at official ceremonies up and down the country.

Owen and Sassoon, whose work often features in such ceremonies, were treated for a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder when they were sent to Craiglockhart, a psychiatric military facility Sassoon affectionately nicknamed Dottyville in a play on the English slang word for “mad.”

The doctor treating Owen recommended a “talking cure,” urging him to write to overcome the terror of being blown into the air by a bomb, Catherine Walker, curator of the War Poets’ Collection housed at Craiglockhart, told Reuters.

His first poems were published anonymously in The Hydra, Craiglockhart’s in-house magazine, which Owen edited.

Most of his poems, however, were published posthumously.

“Dulce et Decorum est,” in which he slates the idea that dying for one’s country is an honor, portrays the terror of a soldier dying of gas-poisoning, hearing “the blood/Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,/Obscene as cancer.”

Owen was the younger of the two writers and worshipped published author Sassoon, who was from a wealthy influential family. Sassoon edited and encouraged Owen during a convalescence of several months in Scotland.

“You can certainly see that their poetry tightens up and becomes more powerful while they’re here,” said Walker. “‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ was originally ‘Anthem for Dead Youth’ and you can see in the original manuscript that ‘Dead’ is scored out and ‘Doomed’ is substituted, which was Sassoon’s influence on Owen.”

Sassoon had escaped court martial after writing an open letter, read in Britain’s parliament, declaring “willful defiance of military authority because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it.” Instead he was given leave.

Once at Craiglockhart, a former hotel, he described how it was “elaborately cheerful” during the day.

“In the evenings it became, as Sassoon said, ‘a living museum of war neuroses,’” Walker said. “People would hallucinate, have bad dreams, migraines and disturbed sleep and lots of officers stammered and were depressed.”

Their friendship and the cures espoused by their psychiatrists helped both to return to the front, driven by a loyalty to the men they fought with, despite their criticism of the war.

Owen died in battle just before the end of World War One, in 1918, aged 25. Sassoon survived the war and died aged 80.

A permanent exhibition now allows visitors to view the War Poets’ Collection, offering a glimpse into the minds and experiences of the poets, patients and medical staff at Craiglockhart through documents, photographs and memorabilia. — Reuters

Audi rules 2017 German touring car championship

AUDI announced it won all three categories of the 2017 DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters), the German-based touring car series, to beat rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Audi claimed the driver, team and manufacturer championship titles.

Team driver Rene Rast made history by taking the driver’s title in his rookie year, a feat last achieved 24 years ago by Nicola Larini.

Mr. Rast’s team, Audi Sport Team Rosberg, also clinched the team championship. Founded by former F1 world champion Keke Rosberg in 1994, the team has been competing in DTM as an Audi works squad since 2006. Drivers who have raced for Team Rosberg include 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg — the son of the team’s founder.

Audi said Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, the brand’s most successful group in DTM, followed Team Rosberg to the podium. The family-owned company ABT joined Abt-Audi TT-R in DTM in 2000-2003, winning the championship in 2002. In 2004, ABT Sportsline became an Audi factory team and has since won four more DTM driver’s titles — two each for Mattias Ekstrom and Timo Scheider.

Audi said it also managed to defend the title in the manufacturer’s championship to become one of the most successful car makers in DTM. It said it has notched nine driver’s, five team, and three manufacturer’s titles to date.

Data privacy and employment

Republic Act No. 10173, also known as the Data Privacy Act (DPA), was enacted on Aug. 15, 2012. Subsequently, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) promulgated the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on Aug. 24, 2016. The IRR took effect on Sept. 9.

Although the DPA is not a labor or social legislation per se, it has several provisions that pertain or have an impact on employer-employee relationship.

For one, it is necessary for an employer to collect, store, update, and, in some instances share, personal information, especially sensitive personal information, of its employees in relation to human resources management.

From the application of prospective employees until their severance from employment, employers collect and update personal information to process employee benefits, payment of salaries, the filing of tax returns, the remittance of contributions to government agencies, etc. Such collection and updating of personal information is within the scope of “processing,” which, in simple terms, is defined by the IRR as any operation performed upon personal data. An employer is considered as either a personal information controller or personal information processor vis-à-vis its employees, depending on whether the employer itself processes the employee data or outsources the same to third parties.

Accordingly, employers are mandated to comply with the applicable guidelines on the adoption of organizational, physical, and technical security measures as required under the IRR. Furthermore, employees enjoy the rights of data subject under the Act and employers must respect the same. Data subjects have the right to: be informed, object, access, rectification, erasure or blocking, and damages.

In this regard, the IRR provides that the data subject shall have the right to object to the processing of his personal data, and to withhold consent to the processing.

When a data subject objects or withholds consent, the personal information controller shall no longer process the personal data, unless “the collection and processing are for obvious purposes, including, when it is necessary for the performance of or in relation to a contract or service to which the data subject is a party, or when necessary or desirable in the context of an employer-employee relationship between the collector and the data subject.”

What does this mean? Does it mean then that consent is no longer required in the processing of personal data of applicants and employees?

The general rule is that, consent is necessary. Could this be one of the exceptions then? Is the employer required to get the consent of the applicant or employee if the processing is necessary or desirable in the context of an employer-employee relationship? The key here is to understand the meaning and import of the phrase “necessary or desirable in the context of an employer-employee relationship.” However, this is vague and susceptible to varying interpretations. Thus, I believe it is imperative that the NPC should clarify this.

Another provision in the Act that has a relation to employment is the one on data sharing.

The DPA and its IRR provide that further processing of personal data collected from a party other than the data subject shall be allowed if, among other requirements, the data subject consents to data sharing.

The DPA further provides that consent for data sharing shall be required even when the data is to be shared with an affiliate or mother company, or similar relationships. The Act also requires that the data subject be provided with the following information before data is shared: (a) identity of the personal information controllers or personal information processors that will be given access to the personal data; (b) purpose of data sharing; (c) categories of personal data concerned; (d) intended recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data; (e) existence of the rights of data subjects, including the right to access and correction, and the right to object; and (f) other information that would sufficiently notify the data subject of the nature and extent of data sharing and the manner of processing. Multinational companies with cross border policies on processing and transfer of personal data of their employees should take note of the foregoing requirements.

Finally, the Act and its IRR provide that the provisions on the rights of data subjects do not apply “to the processing of personal data gathered for the purpose of investigations in relation to any criminal, administrative or tax liabilities of a data subject.”

Thus, in an administrative investigation involving an employee who committed an infraction of company rules, he cannot, arguably, invoke his rights under the DPA. This interpretation is in consonance with the well-settled doctrine in labor law that technical rules do not strictly apply to administrative investigations. Only the minimum requirements of due process in administrative investigations — twin notice and administrative hearing — are required to be complied with, at least procedurally.

The foregoing discussions notwithstanding, it must be noted that any limitations on the rights of the employees as data subjects shall only be to the minimum extent necessary to achieve the purpose of the undertaking or investigation.

While consent may not be necessary or that the employees may not invoke their rights in some instances, the employer is still required to implement safety measures to protect the personal data of its employees. For, notwithstanding the title, the Act goes beyond data privacy — much of it pertains to data protection.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Neptali B. Salvanera is a Partner in the Labor and Employment Department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).

(632) 830-8000

nbsalvanera@accralaw.com

Logistics firm 2GO trims losses in 3rd quarter

LOGISTICS company 2GO, Inc. trimmed its losses by more than half during the third quarter, as robust growth in its non-shipping business offset slower revenues from shipping.

In a regulatory filing, 2GO said its net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent stood at P46.3 million for the July to September period, lower than a year ago’s P105.86 million as restated.

Third-quarter revenues increased by 19% to P5.61 billion from a year ago’s P4.71 billion, fueled by growth from its non-shipping business. 2GO revenues from sale of goods surged 112% to P1.71 billion.

For its shipping business, 2GO recorded a 6% rise in revenues from passage to P765.3 million, while revenues from freight slipped 15% to P1.06 billion.

For the nine-month period, the company’s attributable profit plunged 84% to P71.29 million, from the P452.26 million last year.

2GO attributed the lower profit to recognition of non-recurring restatement adjustments for provision for bad debts and inventory that reached P207.2 million, as well as higher fuel prices.  

Excluding the non-recurring adjustments, 2GO said its nine-month income would have dropped by 45% to P282.94 million from P511.92 million a year ago.

Revenues for the January to September period jumped 15% to P16.7 billion, fueled by a 25% growth in its non-shipping business thanks to an upgrade in services and focus on key domestic and international accounts. Non-shipping business now accounts for 61% of 2GO’s total turnover.

“The growth in revenues was led by 2GO’s distribution business, which increased by 67% as a result of gaining two new major principals during the second quarter. Similarly, the e-commerce business posted a 66% jump in revenues,” the company said.

The new management of 2GO, led by businessman Dennis A. Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Henry Sy, Sr.’s SM group hired SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. to conduct a special audit after they took over the logistics company in April.

In July, the SEC was prompted to conduct an investigation on 2GO after the audit revealed substantially lower financial results for full-year 2015 and 2016, as well as for the first quarter of 2017. — PPCM

Army, navy officers awarded for service in Marawi battle

ARMY AND Navy officers were recognized Monday for their service in Marawi, where troops battled for five months against followers of the Islamic State who took siege of the city. Gold Cross Medals were awarded to two officers and four enlisted personnel of the Philippine Marines Corps, namely; 1st Lt. Bobby Gabayno, 1st Lt. Kim Adrian Martal, Sergeant Lito Malana, Sgt. Sherwin Seraspe, Corporal Johnson Curato, and Corporal Rodrigo Palting, Jr. The six were cited for their gallantry in action during an armed engagement with an undetermined number of members of the Maute group.“I would like to congratulate all the awardees for their well-deserved medals and awards,” Lt. Gen. Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., head of the Western Mindanao Command, said at the awarding held during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony. A command plaque was also presented to Rear Admiral Rene V. Medina, commander of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, for his leadership and management skills during the Marawi crisis. Three personnel from the Naval Intelligence and Service Group-Western Mindanao were also given the Distinguished Navy Cross and the Military Merit Medal. President Rodrigo R. Duterte declared Marawi “liberated from the terrorist influence” on Oct. 17. — Albert F. Arcilla

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