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DoF doubts revenue potential of tax bill approved by committee

THE HOUSE ways and means committee approved the second tax reform package on Tuesday in a form that left the Department of Finance (DoF) “not confident” about its revenue prospects.
The unnumbered substitute bill, which has been rebranded as the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO), is going up for plenary debate at the House of Representatives after the legislation hurdled the committee yesterday following six public hearings.
The bill proposes to cut the corporate income tax rate gradually to 20% from 30%, via a 2 percentage-point reduction every other year beginning 2021.
It also proposed to limit investment incentives to a single menu and restricted availment of the perks to five years. It also limited the incentives to industries listed in the annual Strategic Investments Priority Plan (SIPP) and beneficiaries also need to meet performance targets as determined by the Board of Investments. The bill also included a sunset period of two to five years depending on the time they have enjoyed incentives under their current contracts with investment-promotion agencies (IPAs).
Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said that each 2 percentage-point reduction in the corporate income tax rate will cost the government about P62 billion, and added he was uncertain that the government can generate enough savings to offset the foregone revenue.
The substitute bill did not incorporate the DoF’s proposal to make the corporate income tax cuts conditional on the savings generated by rationalizing the tax incentives.
“I’m not confident. (Each cut is) a loss of P62 billion. We hope to (offset lost revenue) from the rationalization of fiscal incentives beginning with those industries that are considered sunset where incentives are unnecessary. That’s why originally we introduced conditions so that we are fully confident that we will not have any losses. We will do our best to offset it somehow,” Mr. Chua told reporters after the hearing, noting that the DoF will ensure a robust mechanism for identifying those who need incentives.
“By that time we hope that we can recover by having more competitive incentives, and only sectors that are targeted will benefit from them, not almost everyone,” he added.
Nevertheless, Mr. Chua claimed some wins because the substitute bill “achieved the most important points,” which include making incentives time-bound, targeted, performance-based, and transparent.
The proposed incentives in the bill include: a three-year income tax holiday; an 18% preferential rate on net taxable income with 15% paid to the national government, and the balance paid to local governments at the provincial, municipal, or city level where the enterprise is located, in lieu of local business tax.
The current incentive scheme provides for a 5% tax on gross income in lieu of all other national and local taxes granted by various Investment Promotion Agencies, enjoyed in perpetuity.
The bill “sends the signal now that the government is not driving away investments given the fact that we will allow reapplication for incentives, the investors, as long as they want to expand their business, can continue to enjoy their incentives longer than the transition period,” Rep. Dakila Carlo E. Cua (Quirino), who chairs the ways and means committee, said after the hearing.
“That’s a big change that (companies) can and will survive and I hope those who are really performing and creating jobs will expand and therefore enjoy incentives for longer,” he added.
The bill proposes the establishment of a Fiscal Incentives Review Board with oversight functions over IPAs. The board will be headed by the DoF.
Asked whether the change in House leadership affected the deliberations, Mr. Cua said: “(Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo) was very determined… and ensured that we made this our top priority.”
Julian H. Payne of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said that he was “disappointed” by the timetable of the corporate income tax reduction.
“We would have liked it to come into effect more quickly like the personal income tax. In fact we thought it’s going to be in 2019,” he said during the hearing.
He noted that he was “pleased” with the general direction of lower corporate taxes to 20% from the original proposal of 25%, but added that reductions every two years “reduce its attractiveness to business.”
“If it was done more quickly, that would be a big message to businesses. It would stimulate more investment and therefore increase the total tax take. We’re afraid that this is a little bit too late and a little bit too slow,” said Mr. Payne.
Mr. Cua, meanwhile, noted that the measure allows the President to accelerate the pace of tax reductions when adequate savings are realized from the rationalization of tax incentives.
The DoF”s Mr. Chua, however, said that instant implementation of rate cuts would “very badly” affect the country’s fiscal position.
Rey E. Untal of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, meanwhile, sought a longer transition period of 10 years for weaning companies off incentives.
“It is still our position that our global competitiveness is at risk given the fact that we will transition to a model that we will be more expensive right now compared to India,” he said.
Finance Undersecretary Chua replied to this concern that the funds have been allocated to help with the upskilling of the industry.
Albay Representative Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda also noted that the industry can tap upskilling programs offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, which has only disbursed P1.3 billion of the P7 billion set aside for the program.
Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines President Dan C. Lachica, meanwhile, asked the panel to retain preferential corporate tax rates in lieu of local business and property taxes. He added that he prefers that industry be insulated from bureaucratic process at the local government unit (LGU) level.
“The concern is not so much in the money, but having to deal with LGUs,” he said. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Rice tariff bill hurdles House on second reading

THE House of Representatives, voting viva voce, passed on second reading the rice tariff bill, which hopes to broaden rice imports and use the tariffs to fund measures to improve competitiveness in the rice industry.
House Bill 7735, the Revised Agricultural Tariffication Act, proposes the creation the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as the government expands the role of private traders in importing rice.
The fund will help support upgrades to farming equipment and provide financing for crop loans and insurance, among others.
The fund will also be used for post-harvest, logistical projects and rice marketing, rice scholarships and vocational education and research extension services.
Albay Representative Edcel C. Lagman, prior to voting, moved to introduce a provision to automatically appropriate funds for RCEF.
“The proceeds from the rice fund shall automatically be appropriated and periodically released by the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to the DA (Department of Agriculture) in order to sustain the program on rice sufficiency and enhance the small farmers self-reliance,” Mr. Lagman said. The proposal was accepted by bill sponsor Representative Jose T. Panganiban.
The measure also proposes to restore the minimum access volume (MAV) on rice to its 2012 level of 350,000 metric tons (MT).
It also proposed that the bound rate for rice imported from non-ASEAN World Trade Organization members be set at the 40% Most Favored Nation (MFN) rate within the 350,000 MT MAV. Beyond the quota, the rate rises to 180% for MFNs.
Imports from ASEAN will follow import duty rates set out by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.
The measure will also allow the President to make adjustments in the applied rate, or regulate rice exports as well as imports, and enter into trade negotiations, relating to bound or maximum rates on rice trade. The president, however, can intervene for not more than two months.
The “Revised Agricultural Tariffication Act,” is among the priority bills listed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.
Its counterpart measure, Senate Bill 1839, authored by Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, remains pending at the committee level. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

DA seeking to tap tariffs to boost livestock competitiveness

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he may establish a separate fund for livestock growers, to emulate the proposed Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Mr. Piñol on Tuesday told reporters that the livestock subsector does not “get enough support from the government.”
“It’s only now that livestock and dairy had an increase in funding. We have programs that, although they haven’t been implemented yet. There are funds for it,” though he added he would like the industry to be “more vibrant.”
The RCEF is a proposal under Rice Tariffication Act currently pending in Congress. Tariffs collected from rice imports are to finance measures to make the domestic rice industry more competitive.
When asked if the livestock fund clashes with the current Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, Mr. Piñol said that the P5-billion ACEF does not represent the potential funding that can be collected from agricultural import tariffs.
“If we have a similar fund for livestock (funded by import tariffs) then the stakeholders can say that the tariffs go to them to improve their production,” he added.
Aside from livestock, similar funds could be set up for other crops such as corn.
Mr. Piñol is pressing for tariff-based funding after the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) budget was cut for 2019. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

June factory output growth eases to 18%

By Jochebed B. Gonzales
Senior Researcher
INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT continued to expand in the double digits in June but slowed to 18% compared to a month earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
According to preliminary results from the PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries, factory output, as measured by the Volume of Production Index (VoPI), rose by 18% year on year, against the revised 21% growth in output for May. The June result was a reversal from the 0.1% contraction in June 2017.
In the six months to June, factory output growth averaged 20.6%, significantly higher than the 6.1% posted a year earlier.
The printing industry’s output growth topped the table in June at 116.3%, followed by petroleum products (60.7%) and textiles (36.7%).
Other segments with notable gains were: miscellaneous manufactures (21%), rubber and plastic products (20.7%), machinery except electrical (20.3%), electrical machinery (17.1%), food manufacturing (14.7%) and beverages (10.1%).
Capacity utilization in June averaged 84.3%, with 12 of the 20 sectors tracked registering utilization rates of at least 80%.
Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries
“Robust domestic and higher external demand, increased investments and OFW (overseas Filipino worker) remittances, improved consumer confidence, and stable business confidence backed this growth in manufacturing,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
NEDA noted that despite growth easing in the production of construction-related manufactures, net sales of cement, glass products and basic metals also rose in the double digits in June, at 10.1%, 15.8% and 29.8%, respectively.
“The increased production of construction-related manufactures was in response to the continued demand for non-residential buildings such as industrial, commercial and institutional buildings,” NEDA added.
Asked for comment, Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion attributed the expansion in manufacturing activity to robust household and government spending.
“I really think that increasing domestic demand from increasing government spending and domestic consumption has greatly contributed to this sustained six-month double-digit growth,” he said.
“If the planned government spending continues to roll out and be absorbed by the economy, the Philippine manufacturing sector will continue to develop at its current double-digit pace,” he said, adding that infrastructure expenditure contribute to the expansion in manufacturing production.

Security of tenure bill introduced to Senate plenary

SENATOR Joel J. Villanueva presented to the plenary on Tuesday the security of tenure bill, which President Rodrigo R. Duterte urged Congress to pass in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.
In his sponsorship speech, Mr. Villanueva, who chairs the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, said Senate Bill 1826 or the proposed Security of Tenure and End of Endo Act provides the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and employers clearly defined labor policies.
“Senate Bill 1826 is clear enough to meet the interests of the labor sector and the interests of the business sector… (The bill) is pro-labor, pro-business and pro-Filipino,” he said.
Mr. Villanueva added that the recent protests of contractual workers against certain corporations were rooted in the ambiguity of the Labor Code of the Philippines.
He said the bill only allows independent, licensed and specialized job contracting. It also simplifies classification of workers and tightens the rules over probationary employees. Meanwhile, the proposed measure prohibits labor-only contracting and provides penalties for companies found to be in violation.
Mr. Villanueva said the bill defines labor-only contracting as: (1) where a job contractor, whether licensed or not, merely recruits or places workers to a contractee, regardless of whether or not he or she has substantial capital, (2) the workers of the job contractor are performing activities which are directly related to the principal business of such employer, and (3) if the workers of the job contractor are under the control and supervision of the contractee.
It also provides for workers under a labor-contracting scheme to be deemed regular employees of the contractee.
Compliance orders affirmed by the DoLE Secretary shall be immediately executory unless restrained by an appropriate court. In case the order involves a regularization directive, the employment of the workers shall not be terminated pending appeal of the order.
Any termination of workers pending appeal renders the compliance order involving the regularization of workers executory.
A penalty of P5 million is imposed to violators engaging in labor-only contracting on top of the preventive or permanent closure of operations of any labor-only contractor.
The bill also classifies workers into regular and probationary employees and treats project and seasonal employees as regular employees.
It also provides for licensing and regulation of job contractors for specialized work, jobs or services. To be licensed, a contractor must show proof of an independent business with a paid-up capital of at least P5 million and proof of payment or compliance of payment of social welfare contributions.
It also requires the contractor to be an expert or specialist in the job, work or service being contracted out and to be an employer exercising control over the work performed by his or her employees.
The bill also establishes a Transition Support program providing cash assistance for workers while they are not at work or transitioning in between jobs. Workers may only avail of the program once a year.
It also authorizes DoLE to manage the program and to make reports to the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council. Funding for such operations will be generated by the registration of contractors, fines collected under Article 106 of the Labor Code, and funds from the DoLE adjustment program.
“We are proposing a law that is predictable and reliable… We expect this to reduce the cost of doing business and compliance with the law,” Mr. Villanueva said.
“Guaranteeing the right to security of tenure gives our workers certainty and social protection. It makes them more efficient and more productive which is the primary concern of every business,” he added. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Disruptive private sector investments in rice production

There is a great deal of rahrahrah these days for the magic of rice tariffication as the latest bright idea to bring down the price of rice and end the constant threat of rice-shortages from the decades of rice importation control through quota restrictions by the National Food Authority. Rice tariffication is also proposed as a magic wand to help improve the incomes of our beleaguered and aging (average age is 57) rice farmers.
I am wary about this idea as it could be just another simplistic proposal to the highly complex rice productivity problem of our country. Well-meaning legislators are proposing the use of the government’s projected rice tariff incomes (ranging from 40% to 100%) as support to farmers in terms of irrigation, free or subsidized certified seedlings, fertilizers, equipment, milling and warehousing facilities, etc. As we should know by now, whenever government goes into subsidies like this, the lengthy logistical chain gets hindered, complicated, or corrupted along the way, thus depleting the resources that actually reach if at all, the intended beneficiaries. Keep in mind the billions of pesos lost out of the PDAF. Besides, have we considered how the foreign rice suppliers will respond to radical increases in tariffs? They have other markets where tariffs might be lower! We could end up with tragic rice shortages!
The modest pay scales of our bureaucrats and their lifestyle aspirations are too far apart; and, in many cases, politicians and bureaucrats separately or together tend to supplement their incomes by using their access to resources for their own benefit. Some of the money actually gets invested in laudable things like better education and high tech equipment for their children; but it does not, alas, reach the intended beneficiaries.
Having spent much of my earlier years in the private sector, including multinationals, I can’t help thinking that we certainly could use the disciplines of efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, all of which are measurable in the private sector, if our huge corporations were to risk a little of their billions of pesos in constantly growing easy profits into agribusiness ventures in partnership with producers. Tax incentives could be provided for initiatives into the business.
I have read about an impressive model in Vietnam, a communist country, where a private entrepreneur successfully invested in rice as an agribusiness with a little help from the government. Huyn van Thorn, a dynamic entrepreneur managed to persuade the government to invest in an agribusiness joint venture with him starting with provision of land for research. The An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Company started out as a supplier of rice production inputs (chemicals, seeds and fertilizers) supplied on generous credit terms by Syngenta, (a merger between Swiss firms Ciba Geigy and Novartis).
Eventually, An Giang went into backward and forward integration following support from the Vietnamese government’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department. It began to supply technical services by hiring agricultural technicians to provide technical, organization, and environmentally healthy orientation to farmers who produced rice. An Giang also acquired combine harvesters (for efficient mechanized harvesting and threshing) and trained young people to operate them thus providing new jobs to the children of the aging farmers. An Giang also provided milling and warehousing services payable upon sale of the rice outputs, which up to that point still belonged to the rice farmers. Because An Giang offered competitive buying prices, the farmers, who still had the option to sell in the open market, chose to sell their milled rice to An Giang which began to open markets in Asia and all the way to Africa. The success of An Giang so attracted the interest of Standard Chartered Bank of England that it actually invested $90 million in exchange for 34% share in the company.
farmer
The Philippines abounds with business management graduates locally and abroad. If the huge corporations were to invest in agribusiness as a service to the country, as well as for profit, they should be willing invest in some feasibility studies to begin with, including learning trips to neighboring Vietnam and the United States (home of the global brands Sunkist and Ocean Spray cooperatives, as well as US Wheat Associates, Inc.) which is supported to facilitate global marketing by US government policies such as PL480 which enables wheat buyers to buy at subsidized credit rates. There are also countries worth learning from like the Netherlands where a flower farmers’ cooperative owns Rabobank, one of the largest infrastructure financing banks in the world.
We seem to keep repeating our mistakes, or tweaking agricultural policies and programs a little here and there. It has been said that doing the same things over and over again and getting the same lousy results is a form of idiocy.
We need to find answers to fundamental questions such as: can we expect our dwindling farms to continue producing rice? Should we consider shifting from cheap rice to high ends like red, brown and black, or glutinous rice? Why are we importing vegetables? Can’t we massively and rapidly train our farmers to intercrop vegetables on their rice and coconut farms?
We are still thinking agriculture, and therefore production. Why don’t we think agribusiness? Why don’t we consider shifting from trying to get farmers to produce more; but rather how to make them prosperous?
When Carlos Dominguez was Secretary of Agriculture, I heard that he had defined his department’s objective as: “To make the Filipino farmer prosperous.” Perhaps he can now help push this kind of thinking by sharing some insights on why it didn’t happen.
 
Teresa S. Abesamis is a former professor at the Asian Institute of Management and an independent development management consultant.
tsabesamis0114@yahoo.com

Casting doubts on the integrity of a successful elections

Our nation had taken great strides towards the improvement of our elections by shifting to automation. Arguably, traditional modes of electoral cheating and electoral violence have been prevented and minimized since its implementation. This time, Philippine democracy has been given importance through the delivery of faster election results. We have reached the stage wherein we have finally adjusted from the horrors of manual counting, tallying, and canvassing that will only resurface the evils that our society relates too well — electoral cheating and violence, where transitions of leaders will cause instability and questionable legitimacy.
We are aware that the voter participation in the Philippines have been improved with more than forty-four million Filipinos trooping to their polling precincts during the 2016 elections. This is a testament to the vigor of our democracy.
In less than a few hours after the close of the polls, results of the 2016 elections were accepted by the people and a new administration was elected. We also witnessed the Comelec’s improvement in the past years, and its efforts to oversee and protect the integrity and credibility of the whole electoral process. They were able to proclaim 99% of the elective positions ten days after the elections. Interestingly, the automation of our elections has also brought a new era to Philippine politics — the act of conceding by losing candidates immediately after the elections. Gone were the days of multitudes of election protests when every other loser claimed to be cheated attesting to the trust and belief in the integrity of the elections. The system was widely accepted and perceived to be credible not only locally, but also in the international arena. Foreign observers and members of the foreign dignitaries and governments all around the world were also impressed with the fast transmission of election results, which resulted to lesser political instability, and higher confidence in the process.
However, despite these gains, critics and some groups still sought to cast doubt on the integrity of the improved electoral exercise by questioning the whole process itself. They air their various concerns and trust issues, with allegations that question the credibility and integrity of the previous elections. One cannot understand their motivations.
While they do not question the election results in most of the positions voted upon during the 2016 elections, some critics refuse to accept the results on one single elective position and are casting doubt on the whole electoral process. Critics have yet to produce valid and verifiable facts to their allegations despite producing or presenting documents and their so-called pieces of expositions that are so far just selected snapshots and samples and are more conjectures and innuendos.
We should all remember that even before Automated Election System Law was passed, it has undergone vigorous hurdles and challenges precisely to stop the history of massive cheating of manual elections and that the only way to change it is through an amendment. There is always a bidding process where multiple interested vendors can participate. It is a matter of knowing which is more qualified, has the capacity, track record, and within budget. We call on all who have alternatives and join the bidding process. It is for the nation’s interest that the best automated election solution is deployed.
Ultimately, the automated election system has served its purpose, tabulating results correctly and efficiently without human intervention. The automated election system has been widely accepted and perceived to be credible. There has been a tremendous decline in election-related violence since automated elections were implemented in the Philippines.
Let us now focus on the upcoming 2019 National Elections.
We call on the Comelec for its early preparations to give it time to institute protocols to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in 2019. With this, stakeholders will be given an ample opportunity to conduct a review of the source code and allow parties to use software tools to test the system.
By doing so, Comelec should get a head start in making an inventory and assessing the technical and logistical requirements needed for an orderly, efficient, and credible elections.
All these issues should translate toward a renewed citizenry who are exercising their right to vote for their leaders freely.
 
Claudette Guevara is the Secretary General, Democracy Watch Philippines, Deputy Executive Director for Programs, Stratbase ADR Institute

Is ‘tambay’ a crime?

“I dle, shiftless and worthless man who made no attempt to follow any legal calling, and whose habits of life were those of an immoral and dissolute good for nothing.” This is how Justice Carson described a man guilty of vagrancy.
A decade after its enactment, Act No. 519, the law punishing vagrancy, was first put to use in the case of US v. Molina wherein a 33-year-old man was found guilty under the statute and was sentenced to imprisonment for two months. With a previous conviction for violation of the Opium Law, this able-bodied man spent most of his time wandering about in the streets and frequenting cockpits. This was sufficient proof for the Supreme Court to declare him a vagrant.
One may ask: But what is this law on vagrancy for? Who benefits from this? Is this even constitutional?
According to the article “A Short History of English Vagrancy Laws, “originally, the first few anti-vagrancy laws enacted in England were aimed at improving the living conditions of its citizens. Legislators intended it for one purpose: “to force laborers (whether personally free or unfree) to accept employment at a low wage in order to ensure the landowner an adequate supply of labor at a price he could afford to pay.” However, as time went by, legislative acts became discriminatory to the poor, without much regard for their human rights. People were being branded on their skins using hot iron with either the letters “R” for rogue, “V” for vagabond or “S” for slave.
In applying these laws in the Philippine context, one may perceive this move to criminalize vagrancy as directed and disadvantageous to the poor and unemployed as well, given that in our country, 26.1% of the population live below the national poverty line. It may even seem unconstitutional as the provision considers it already a crime just to be in a mere state or circumstance where the person is assumed to be more likely to concoct a plan to commit a crime.
The Supreme Court, however, in affirming the statute’s constitutionality in the case of People v. Siton declared that offenders of this crime are not being punished for their status as a poor member of society. Rather, they are penalized for the way they conduct themselves “under such circumstances as to endanger the public peace or cause alarm and apprehension in the community.”
Modern day vagrancy, therefore, is not so much enacted so as to improve the standard of living of Filipinos, but was included in the Revised Penal Code to deter whatever future crime may be committed by these loiterers who have no apparent means of support to live on.
Although the law’s constitutionality has already been settled, fast-forward to a hundred years after the case of US v. Molina, Section 1 of Act No. 519, then Article 202 (2) of the Revised Penal Code, has been decriminalized through the enactment of Republic Act No. 10158.
Despite Article 202 being a provision concerning public order, purposed to maintain minimum standards of decency, morality and civility in human society, lawmakers saw it fit to decriminalize it, leaving only the provision on prostitution under the current Article 202 of the Code.
According to Palawan Representative Socrates, one of RA 10158’s authors, lawmakers sought this decriminalization since the provision was being used as a “convenient excuse for law enforcers to subject street dwellers to indiscriminate arrest, detention, harassment, or extortion.”
In effect, there being no other provision under the Revised Penal Code or any penal statutes imputing criminal liability, no person can be charged for loitering about in public or semi-public buildings or places, tramping or wandering about the country or streets without visible means of support. Nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege. There is no crime where there is no law punishing it.
Does that, however, mean that no one can ever be detained for wandering the streets? What then is the effect of the decriminalization of vagrancy on every city, municipality, and province?
Pursuant to the decriminalization, people are now precluded from filing a case of vagrancy against his or her neighbors before the fiscal. This is not to say, however, that local government units are left without the power to maintain peace and order, and ward off potential troublemakers in their localities.
An example would be Republic Act No. 7854 or the Charter of the City of Makati, wherein the Sangguniang Panlungsod is permitted to enact ordinances to prevent, suppress and impose appropriate penalties for vagrancy, among others. Pursuant to this directive, the City of Makati issued City Ordinance No. 2005-069 to impose penalties on those drinking intoxicating beverages in public places. Although, it should be noted that the penalties provided for in the ordinance are imposable on drunkards roaming the street. It does not apply to mere loiterers who used to be dealt with by Article 202, paragraph 2.
The same authority was granted to the City of Quezon to enforce all necessary police ordinances, in relation to the confinement and reformation of vagrants. In relation to which, Ordinance No. SP-2541, S-2016 was issued establishing the “Quezon City shelter home for senior citizens” wherein temporary shelter shall be provided for abandoned, neglected, vagrant, and homeless senior citizens. Again, like the Makati City ordinance abovementioned, this is not similar with the decriminalized vagrancy in the Revised Penal Code.
Whether this authority to impose penalties and enact ordinances in city charters still stands and may still be made the basis of imposition of fines and confinement of “tambays” that fall under what used to be considered “vagrants” under the Revised Penal Code, has yet been touched upon by our jurisprudence. In light of current events, we might soon have an answer to this query.
As it now stands, Republic Act No. 101581 has effectively decriminalized vagrancy. Whether there is a need to again penalize an “idle, shiftless and worthless man who made no attempt to follow any legal calling, and whose habits of life were those of an immoral and dissolute good for nothing” however, to allow for a more peaceful and orderly society, is a question only Congress can answer.
This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.
 
Roslyn Bianca R. Mangaser is an Associate of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution (LDRD) of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW)
rrmangaser@accralaw.com
(02) 830-8000

How two presidents handle accusations

Presidents Donald Trump and Rodrigo Duterte have both been accused of criminal behavior, the former for allegedly obstructing justice and colluding with a foreign arch enemy, and the latter for allegedly enriching himself in office. But how each one has handled the accusations provides insights into the way justice is dispensed in the United States and in the Philippines.
In the US, following the questionable firing by Trump of FBI Director James Comey, Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General (Philippine equivalent of Secretary of Justice) recused himself due to his involvement in the Trump presidential campaign, which was being investigated by the Comey for possible Russian tampering and possibly implicated Trump. This enabled Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein to assume responsibility for appointing a special counsel to look into the allegations. This was former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Mueller has since mounted what appears to be a thorough and wide-ranging investigation that has resulted in the indictment of several Trump associates and has begun to close in on members of Trump’s family and on Trump himself.
Trump’s response has been to send out tweets and speak out at rallies accusing Mueller of conducting a witchhunt and declaring, again and again like a mantra, that there has been “no collusion” between him and the Russians. Recently, to that lame defense has been added the argument that, “even if there was collusion, that is not a crime.”
Trump has also declared that the Attorney General “should” end the Mueller probe because it is an evil plot of the Democrats and it has only resulted in divisiveness and in “tainting” the reputation of the US. But White House surrogates have very quickly clarified that Trump was “just expressing an opinion and was not ordering” the termination of the investigation. According to them, Trump said “should” instead of “must” and was, therefore, “not giving an order.”
At any rate, all these have shown the president of the United States to be a lame duck in the face of possible legal problems, including impeachment. While Trump has come close to firing Rosenstein and Mueller, he has been warned against it by the Republican-controlled Senate and House because of serious consequences.
So Trump just goes on a tweeting rampage and his usual rants before his base of fanatical voters (some of whom have begun to wear t-shirts reading, “We’d rather be Russians than Democrats!”).
Trump could still become desperate enough to risk firing Rosenstein and Mueller, and let the devil take the rest. But so far, he has restrained himself.
He must be envious of his Philippine counterpart, Duterte.
In the Philippines, when you accuse the president of breaking the law, you get fired. Period. To hell with the Constitution. Such has been the fate of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arturo Carandang.
Duterte arch critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has repeatedly accused Duterte of amassing billions while still mayor of Davao and during his brief tenure as president. Trillanes has presented documents that appear to confirm millions in bank deposits in the name of Duterte and members of his family.
According to media reports, Carandang, having been asked by Trillanes, to investigate his allegations, reportedly “asked the AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Counsel) in August to do a bank inquiry and submit its final report on the alleged Duterte accounts.” The news report continued: “The Ombudsman now has a copy of bank records from the AMLC which, according to Carandang, ‘more or less’ look like the documents submitted by Trillanes.
“Bank transactions of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family through the years amount to a total of more than P1 billion, said the Office of the Ombudsman as it continues its investigation into the complaint of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV against the President.”
If this looks like an open-and-shut case or a slam dunk, it is both, but Philippine style. Duterte has slam dunked Carandang, ordering his dismissal, and the AMLC, the Department of Justice and the Legislature (which eagerly probes every possible publicity and promotional opportunity including the sex lives of prominent individuals) have not been eager to open an inquiry into the Trillanes accusations and, in fact, have quickly shut down any such attempt.
Meanwhile, questions about the “Constitutionality” of the dismissal of Carandang have been treated like the proverbial hot potato by the newly appointed Ombudsman, Samuel Martires.
Martires has danced around the question of whether Malacañang has the authority to dismiss the Deputy Ombudsman. According to him, he has “no choice” but to dismiss Carandang should Duterte’s order be final.
Of course, said Martires, Carandang “is entitled” to file a motion for reconsideration with Duterte but when that motion is denied, Martires will have no choice but to dismiss his deputy.
That’s like saying that one can ask for a reconsideration of a death certificate but if this is denied, one has no choice but to be buried alive. In other words, Carandang’s fate is sealed.
Said Martires, Carandang could turn to the Court of Appeals but then “he knows that immediately he has to leave the office….Carandang, as a lawyer, knows what are the consequences of going to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.”
Yeah, come to think of it. Every Filipino knows that. When the President decides to bury you alive, no one in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals will dare contest that, unless that foolhardy justice wants to be buried alive too.
Look what happened to Chief Justice Renato Corona and, more recently, to Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno — and, mind you, they were accused of merely fudging their statements of assets and liabilities and not depositing billions in unexplained wealth.
Asked by the media about a 2014 Supreme Court decision that said that a provision of law that gave the President the authority to discipline the deputy ombudsman was “unconstitutional,” Martires gave a reply that one can only expect from a street corner kanto boy: “No comment. Huwag niyo akong ipitin diyan.” (Don’t get me in trouble).
Yeah, of course. Duterte could also dismiss Martires — and the fellow hasn’t even warmed his seat in the Office of the Ombudsman.
The difference between the way justice is dispensed in the US and in the Philippines is clear enough, but there are similarities, too. Notice how the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives have been muted in their commentaries on the allegations against Trump. If the target had been Barack Obama, or a Democrat, the Republicans would have been frothing in the mouth with righteous rage.
And what about the Philippine Senate and House? To paraphrase Martires: “Huwag mo kaming ipitin diyan!”
 
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

Big changes for Mini Models

Text and photos by Kap Maceda Aguila

IT’S not yet quite an all-new generation, but the new iterations of Mini’s hatches and convertible might as well be. Boasting sweeping changes in and out, the Mini 3 Door, 5 Door, and Cabrio have benefited in “visual appearance and extensive technological advancements,” according to a statement by the Oxford-headquartered car maker. In summary, the changes are reflected in “new engine-transmission combinations, an extended range of standard features, newly designed headlights and rear lights, additional body finishes and cutting-edge connectivity technology for convenience and infotainment.”
Through its Asian office and local importer British United Automobiles, the new automobiles were unveiled locally on Aug. 3 at the Mini Philippines flagship showroom at Bonifacio Global City. In an exclusive interview, national sales manager Jefferson Lizardo explained that aside from new innovations, the new units highlight features that used to be options but which now are standard.
One of these are the Minis’ LED headlamps with anti-dazzle features, which are now also brighter in both high- and low-beam settings. “The LED daytime driving light and the turn indicator light are generated by a ring which surrounds the entire contour of the headlight,” according to the statement.
Mr. Lizardo also pointed out the new interpretation of the Mini logo, which appears as a decal on the hood, tailgate, steering wheel, central instrument display and remote control in all models. Compared to the old logo, the new one “assumes a two-dimensional ‘flat design.’”
The new Minis also sport a Union Jack pattern on their taillights (appearing in conjunction with LED adaptive headlights). The flag motif is recreated in the structure of the light functions. The turn indicators are horizontally arranged and the brake lights are vertically aligned, with the taillight additionally representing the diagonal lines of the British flag. “I think the move is in keeping with or paying homage to its iconic heritage,” added Mr. Lizardo.
The Union Jack theme also appears in the optional, so-called Mini Yours Interior Style in Piano Black. “Surfaces in the area of the doors and center console finished in Piano Black… this also includes a rear-lit decorative strip for the instrument panel on the passenger side. The latter is likewise finished in Piano Black, as well as bearing a stylized Union Jack motif. The color of the background lighting for the decorative strip is the same as the mood of the ambient lighting selected by the driver as part of the Mini Excitement Package.”
The company also introduces three new exterior colors: Emerald Gray Metallic, Starlight Blue Metallic and Solaris Orange. Exclusive to the Mini Cabrio is Carribean Aqua. New 17-inch alloy wheels have also been unveiled: Propeller Spoke Two-Tone for the Cooper and Rail Spoke Two-Tone for the Cooper S.
A wide customization option of seat surfaces, interior surfaces and color lines “add a touch of individual style to the interior of the new Mini 3 Door, Mini 5 Door and Mini Cabrio.” The 3 Door receives a Chester leather trim in Malt Brown and a color line in the same hue.
While the cars’ engines remain basically unchanged, they have been tweaked — leading to reduced fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions by “as much as 5%.” In addition, all gasoline engines feature direct injection (maximum pressure increased from 200 bar to 350 bar) and turbocharger blades made of highly heat-resilient material. Torque values have also received a bump.
The engines find expression through a seven-speed Steptronic transmission with double clutch — optionally available for the Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S. “The new transmission offers very fast gearshifts for sporty acceleration maneuvers without torque interrupt,” said Mr. Lizardo. It is operated using a newly designed electronic gear selector lever. A seven-speed Steptronic sports transmission with double clutch is also available for the Mini Cooper S, which includes shift paddles behind the steering wheel.
Speaking of which, the steering wheel of the Mini 3 Door, 5 Door and the Cabrio has been recast with multi-function buttons. A sports leather steering wheel, a Mini Yours sports leather steering wheel and a John Cooper Works leather steering wheel are optionally available. “The standard trim also includes an audio system with a 6.5-inch color screen in the central instrument and mobile phone integration via Bluetooth. The control display offers a touch screen function in conjunction with the optional Radio Mini Visual Boost and a navigation system.”
An available Mini Excitement Package now also includes the Mini logo projection on the driver‘s side. When the vehicle is opened and closed, the new logo is projected onto the ground in front of the door from a light source in the exterior mirror and can be seen there for 20 seconds, or permanently if the door is left ajar.
Prices of the new Minis are as follows: Cooper 3 Door, P2.55 million; Cooper S 3 Door, P3 million; John Cooper Works 3 Door, P3.85 million; Cooper 5 Door, P2.65 million; Cooper S 5 Door, P3.1 million; Cooper SD Convertible, P3.35 million.

Nissan becomes first Japanese featured brand in Monterey show

A BRE Datsun 510 race car from the early 1970s is set to lead Nissan Motor’s lineup at the 2018 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (RMMR), which will recognize Nissan as its first Japanese featured marque. Held annually during Monterey Car Week, which features the world-renowned Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the RMMR is one of the most prestigious vintage racing events in North America.
This year’s Monterey Car Week is scheduled on Aug. 17-23.
According to Nissan, more than 50 Nissan/Datsun race cars have registered to compete on track at RMMR this year. These include the Daytona Le Mans-winning Nissan 300ZX Turbo of IMSA champion Steve Millen, and the BRE Datsun 240Z of John Morton. Comedian and vintage car collector Adam Carolla will drive his SCCA National GT-1 Championship 300ZX Turbo that was originally raced by Paul Newman.
“The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion has honored a variety of legendary marques steeped in racing history since the event began in 1974,” said Barry Toepke, vice-president of communication and historic racing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “Never before has a Japanese automaker been so honored. We wanted to change that course and feature Nissan and Datsun because the brands resonate internationally and have fully established their racing pedigree.”
Nissan said its North America operation has chosen 14 cars for display in its paddock, three of which have never been shown in the US — the 1969 Japan Grand Prix-winning Nissan R382, the R390 GT1 road car and the GT-R50 by Italdesign. Other cars will include the original BRE Datsun 510 that won the 1971 and 1972 SCCA titles, the GTP ZX-Turbo Geoff Brabham piloted to eight wins and an IMSA driver’s championship in 1988, and Bob Sharp’s four-time SCCA C-Production Champion 240Z.

Fresh batch of Civic Type R headlines 2018 range of special Honda variants

A NEW batch of Honda Civic Type R models allocated to the Philippines has arrived in the country, with deliveries to customers set to begin in October.
Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) said it secured for the domestic market another 100 examples of the high-performance version of the Civic, adding to the 100 cars allotted to the company in 2017. The first batch of Type Rs — the first time the variant was officially released in the Philippines — were all booked for purchase within 48 hours following the announcement of its availability, HCPI said.
The company added the new cars will be displayed in all 38 Honda Cars dealerships beginning Sept. 1. The Civic Type R costs P2.980 million.
New to this year’s batch of cars is a Polished Metal paint, which has been added to the Type R’s signature Championship White and Rallye Red colors.
Along with the Civic Type R, HCPI announced it had also introduced limited-edition variants of the Honda City, BR-V and Odyssey models. The company said the special renditions of its subcompact, subcompact SUV and MPV products are meant to “satisfy the needs and to cater to the dynamic lifestyles of the Filipino customer.”

Honda lineup
Honda Cars has released limited-edition variants of the (from left) Honda BR-V, City and Odyssey models.

The new City 1.5 Sport CVT is distinguished by a unique set of spoilers, a Sport Edition badge and a pair of tweeters in the cabin. It sells for P898,000 and is offered in Modern Steel Metallic, Taffeta White and Ruby Red Pearl colors.
The limited-edition BR-V, appended with 1.5 Touring CVT, is differentiated by a new tailgate spoiler, daytime running lights, a shark fin antenna, parking sensors and a Touring Edition emblem. The variant is priced at P1.058 million and comes with Modern Steel Metallic, Taffeta White and Lunar Silver Metallic color choices.
The new Odyssey EX-V CVT, limited to only 45 units, is fitted with a full leather interior, a pair of captain’s seats, and an “array of advanced driver assistive technology features,” HCPI said. It added the MPV sells for P2.428 million and is offered in Platinum White Pearl (plus P20,000), Crystal Black Pearl and Super Platinum Metallic colors.
HCPI noted prices of all three limited-edition variants of the City, BR-V and Odyssey are discounted by P50,000.

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