BBL bicameral committee agree to keep ARMM powers

July 9, 2018 | 8:35 pm

THE BICAMERAL conference committee tasked to reconcile the two versions of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has agreed to retain provisions already granted to the Autonomous Region of the Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). “We’ve reached the consensus that whatever was in the ARMM Law, Republic Act 9054, we will retain and hopefully enhance,” Senate Majority Leader Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said in a press briefing Monday, the start of the bicameral committee’s deliberations. “In other words, we do not want an ARMM minus, what we want is an ARMM plus,” he added. Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chairman Ghazali B. Jaafar echoed this, saying that maintaining current provisions present in RA 9054, the amended Organic Act of the ARMM, would save Congress from questions of constitutionality. Mr. Jaafar pointed out that whatever authority ARMM currently has could not be unconstitutional since it is already contained in a law. He also said anything less than the ARMM would be deemed as a watered-down BBL, which people on the ground might not accept. “When it is not accepted by the people on the ground, meaning they will not approve (it) in the plebiscite, (and) they will vote it out,” he explained. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

DoST-12 plans civet coffee research center to help B’laan tribe increase production

July 9, 2018 | 8:35 pm

FRED FREDELUCES, chief executive officer of Green Tropics Coffee Enterprise, displays civet coffee beans sourced from B’laan families. — *BW FILE PHOTO*

THE DEPARTMENT of Science and technology-SOCCSKSARGEN (DoST 12) is eyeing to increase civet coffee production in the region by putting up a Halal Civet Research and Development Center at the Mindanao State University (MSU) campus in General Santos City. DoST Regional Director Haja Sittie Shayma Zenaida HR Laidan, in an interview on the sidelines of the recent 2018 National Science and technology Week held in Davao City, said they are assisting small and medium enterprises from the B’Laan indigenous people in Mt. Matutum, where coffee plantations and civet cats thrive. “Civet coffee is a medicinal coffee and it is very expensive so we want to increase production,” said Ms. Laidan. DoST-12, in collaboration with MSU and a non-government organization, is now preparing the proposal and the feasibility study for the research center. — Maya M. Padillo

Nation at a Glance — (07/10/18)

July 9, 2018 | 8:34 pm

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

FULL TEXT: Con-Com submits draft federal constitution

July 9, 2018 | 7:56 pm

The Consultative Committee (Con-Com) submitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte its draft of the proposed federal constitution on Monday, July 9. Congress will begin debating the proposed constitution this month, aiming to put it to the public in a referendum next year.
Below is a copy of the draft handed to the media:

Senate bill seeks to grant journalists hazard pay, more insurance benefits

July 9, 2018 | 5:55 pm

Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a bill requiring media companies to provide insurance coverage and hazard pay to journalists and other media workers.
Ms. De Lima, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1860 which mandates additional insurance benefits for journalists, such as disability, health and hospitalization benefits.
“The press is considered as the Fourth Estate, a significant pillar of our democracy. However, journalism and reporting the news remains to be a dangerous profession,” she said in a statement on Monday. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Stocks finish flat, holding firms lead gainers

July 9, 2018 | 5:42 pm

Shares barely moved on Monday, July 9, as the higher inflation recorded last June and the projected interest rate hike in August put a drag on investor sentiment.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended flat at 7,186.62, slipping by 0.001% or 0.09 points. The broader all shares index was also relatively unchanged with a 0.05% decrease or 2.04 points to 4,385.30.
“The PSEi traded around the 7,200, but the overhang from the inflation data and forecast of a 50 basis point increase during the August 9 BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas meeting still weighed on the market,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.
A sell-off was observed in the stocks of Metropolitan Bank & Trust, Inc.—also the most actively traded name of the day— following rumors of being involved in a loan scam. While the company clarified that the rumor was not true, shares still fell 2.72% or P1.90 to close at P67.85 each on Monday.
The main index bucked the trend of its regional and international counterparts, which mostly showed gains on Monday and over the weekend. In Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.41% or 99.74 points to 24,456.48. The S&P 500 index firmed up 0.85% or 23.21 points to 2,759.82, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 1.34% or 101.96 points to 7,688.39.
Majority of Asian indices also ended in the green, with the Karachi Exchange being the only market that joined the PSEi in the red.
Locally, sectoral indices were equally split between gainers and losers. Holding firms led the increase with an uptick of 0.42% or 29.61 points to 7,050.86, followed by financials which rose 0.13% or 2.22 points to 1,774.01. Property meanwhile added 0.02% or 0.61 points to 3,553.13.
Industrial dropped 0.98% or 101.16 points to 10,231.05; mining and oil shed 0.4% or 37.93 points to 9,560.27; while services went down 0.17% or 2.42 points to 1,411.74.
Turnover further thinned to P3.38 billion after some 606.5 million issues switched hands, further dropping from the P4-billion turnover average seen last week.
Decliners outpaced advancers, 105 to 81, while 49 names were unchanged. — Arra B. Francia

Pump prices going up again

July 9, 2018 | 5:34 pm

Consumers will have to bear another increase in pump prices this week, although milder the price adjustments in the previous week.
Gasoline prices will rise by P0.40 per liter, diesel by P0.35 per liter and kerosene by P0.70 a liter. Those that sent their advisories as of Monday afternoon said that the price hike would take place at 6:00 a.m on Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
Last week, the prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene rose by P0.65, P0.55 and P0.70 per liter, respectively. The price adjustment took place two days before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board approved a P1.00 increase in transport fares for the first 4 kilometers. The hike brings the minimum fare at P9.00 in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces. — Victor V. Saulon

Final version of BBL to retain ARMM law provisions: Zubiri

July 9, 2018 | 5:32 pm

The bicameral conference committee tasked to reconcile the two versions of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has agreed to retain provisions already granted to the Autonomous Region of the Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“We’ve reached the consensus that whatever was in the ARMM Law, Republic Act 9054, we will retain and hopefully enhance,” Senate Majority Leader Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said in a press briefing, Monday, July 9.
“In other words, we do not want an ARMM minus, what we want is an ARMM plus,” he added.
Bangsamoro Transition Commission chairman Ghazali B. Jaafar echoed this, arguing as well that maintaining current provisions present in RA 9054, amended Organic Act of the ARMM, would save the Congress from questions of constitutionality.
He also said anything less than the ARMM would be deemed as a watered-down BBL, which the people on the ground might not accept. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Sotto: Charter change may not be Senate’s top priority in next regular session

July 9, 2018 | 5:23 pm

Charter change will take a backseat in the Senate priorities in the third regular session, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said on Monday, July 9.
“We cannot even say that we can prioritize (the charter change),” Mr. Sotto told reporters in a chance interview.
He said the Congress has yet to agree on the calendar for the next session, which opens on July 23. On top of this, Senators looking to run in next term’s elections have to file their certificates of candidacy (COC) and campaign sometime in February next year.
“May schedule pa on filing of COC tapos ‘yung Christmas break, tapos the election period or campaign period which starts sometime (in) February,” Mr. Sotto said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Peso gains slightly vs dollar after US jobs report

July 9, 2018 | 5:00 pm

The peso strengthened a tad against the dollar on Monday, July 9, following the release of unemployment data in the United States last Friday.
The local unit ended Monday’s session at P53.40 versus the greenback, two centavos stronger than the P53.42-per-dollar finish on Friday.
Dollars traded rose to $620.2 million from the $506.5 million that switched hands the previous session.
A foreign exchange trader said on Monday that the peso “traded within the same range over the past few days.”
“There’s not much difference from the previous days. The range was still the same,” the trader told BusinessWorld in a phone interview.
“Although the dollar was generally weak across the board over the weekend, the dollar-peso didn’t move much.” — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Electric cooperatives in Samar, Laguna face penalty for failure to remit FiT allowance

July 9, 2018 | 4:38 pm

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has fined electric cooperatives in Samar and Laguna for failing to remit the feed-in tariff allowance (FiT-All) to state company National Transmission Corp. (TransCo), the administrator of the collected funds.
In its decision, the ERC fined Samar I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Samelco I) and First Laguna Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Fleco) P100,000 each for violating Sec. 2.2.7.1. of Resolution No. 24, Series of 2013, which adopted the guidelines on the collection of the FiT-All and the disbursement of the FiT-All Fund.
The ERC action comes after it issued the two a “show cause” order on June 3, 2015 after a complaint from TransCo on April 20, 2015 following the first implementation of remittance of the FiT-All to the FiT-All fund.
“The Commission finds the explanation of [Samelco I and Fleco] unmeritorious,” the ERC said in its decision dated May 8, 2018 and docketed earlier this month. — Victor V. Saulon

Energy department issues safety guidelines on transporting LPG in cylinders

July 9, 2018 | 4:32 pm

The Department of Energy (DoE) has issued an administrative order jointly with other government agencies directing all liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry participants to observe the minimum safety standards in the transportation and distribution of the petroleum product in cylinders.
The administrative order — jointly signed by the DoE, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority — calls for the suspension or revocation of the standard compliance certificate of an LPG participant that is found to be violating the provision of relevant DoE circulators.
It also sets the duties of the government agencies and the offices under them such as the Bureau of Fire Protection, which is to issue a fire safety clearance for each approved delivery vehicle used for the transport or conveyance of LPG in bulk and in cylinder. — Victor V. Saulon