Palace: Peace talks to resume if Reds meet Duterte’s conditions
By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
Malacañang on Wednesday, July 4, said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration is still open to negotiations with communist rebels provided that his “conditions are met.”
“The door for peace talks remains open provided that PRRD’s conditions are met,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a social media post on Wednesday evening.
According to the spokesman, the President wants the peace talks to take place “in the country.”
He added: “[There should be] no collection of revolutionary tax and no hostilities.”
Mr. Duterte also wants the fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA) “to remain encamped,” and that there will be “no [formation of a] coalition government.”
“Meanwhile, localized peace talks may be pursued by local government units (LGUs) provided they do not concede any aspect of governance and pursuant to guidelines to be agreed upon by the Cabinet cluster on security,” Mr. Roque also said.
In a press release, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said that the “local[ized] peace talks” will not prosper, because “(a)ll units of the NPA and committees of the CPP are united under the central leadership of the Party.”
The CPP added that “the Party and NPA fully support the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in its representation of all revolutionary forces in negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.”
“[The] So-called localized peace talks only seek to obscure the ruthlessness and brutality of the all-out military offensives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Under Oplan Kapayapaan, the AFP is mounting all-out offensives and laying siege on hundreds of barrios, carrying out aerial bombardments and perpetrating extrajudicial killings ala Tokhang, and other grave abuses against the peasants, national minorities and other oppressed peoples,” the CPP also said.
Boracay’s White Beach declared clean; water quality ‘almost there’
THE government is on track in its efforts to rehabilitate Boracay island, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said as it declared White Beach clean and the effort to improve water quality on the island “almost there.”
Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said in a statement that daily and weekly monitoring results are showing improvement for Boracay’s main beach area, though the cleanup of the sea frontage in barangay Balabag on the opposite side of the island will take time.
“[White beach] is already clean, you can see the pictures and it’s already clean. It’s only the Balabag where some fine-tuning is happening right now,” he added.
“We are only waiting for the finishing of the roads. In terms of water quality, we are almost there. If we can open the island before the deadline, we will.”
President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered the resort island to be closed on April 26 to allow for a six-month rehabilitation.
The DENR has ordered water concessionaires to collaborate in dealing with untreated wastewater and increase the capacity of their sewage treatment plants in the island.
National Solid Waste Management Commission Executive Director Eligio T. Ildefonso said that the local government will be implementing a policy of solid waste segregation
“As far as solid waste management is concerned, we are on track,” he added.
“If you go to Boracay you can see that there isn’t much trash. If you do, it will be only because of a few violators but we are strictly implementing the right garbage disposal in Boracay.”
As for plans for a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, Mr. Ildefonso clarified that a facility will not be built on Boracay itself.
“It will be built in (on Panay). If we segregate properly, then it will be manageable even before we need to put up a waste to energy plant,” he added.
Mr. Ildefonso said that the WTE plant is a “long-term” project with a timeline of about 10 years.
“Based on the projection, the garbage generated will keep on increasing in volume in Boracay and Malay,” he said, referring to the municipality on Panay which has jurisdiction over Boracay.
Boracay Island Water Co., Inc. proposed to Malay to set up a WTE plant through Manila Water Total Solutions. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
SC rules LGUs’ IRA funding includes BoC collections
THE SUPREME COURT (SC) has ruled that the local government unit (LGU) “just share” of the national government’s tax revenue should factor in Customs collections.
The Court, sitting en banc, issued the ruling in favor of a petition filed six years ago by Batangas governor Hermilando I. Mandanas, at the time a member of the House of Representatives for the province’s second district, which claimed that Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA), through which the national government funds LGUs, was short by about P500 billion from 1992 to 2012.
Voting 10-3 on Tuesday, the high court “interpreted the basis for the ‘just share’ of local government units… as being based on all national taxes and not only national internal revenue taxes,” according to a statement released by the SC Public Information on Wednesday.
Section 284 of Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, states: “Local government units shall have a share in the national internal revenue taxes,” which are the taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), according to the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997.
These include income tax, value-added tax, excise tax, and other taxes collected by the BIR.
National taxes were also ruled to include the remaining taxes collected by the government like those brought in by the Bureau of Customs (BoC), the LGUs’ share of which Mr. Mandanas alleged was not being forwarded.
LGUs, based on the Local Government Code, are entitled to 40% of national internal revenue taxes, but Mr. Mandanas claimed it should include taxes not collected by the BIR.
Mr. Mandanas was asked for comment but his office did not respond to calls.
Those who voted in favor of the decision were Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Associate Justices Teresita L. De Castro, Presbitero J. Velasco, Diosdado M. Peralta, Lucas P. Bersamin, Mariano C. Del Castillo, Estella M. Perlas-Bernabe, Noel G. Tijam, Samuel R. Martires, and Alexander G. Gesmundo.
Meanwhile, those who dissented were Associate Justices Mario Victor F. Leonen, Benjamin S. Caguioa, and Andres B. Reyes, Jr. Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza did not take part in the voting. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio
Supreme Court rules government allowances, benefits subject to tax
THE Supreme Court, sitting en banc, has upheld a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) memorandum which held that allowances, bonuses, and other benefits given to government employees are subject to tax.
The court had partially granted a 2014 petition which claimed these were nontaxable fringe and de minimis benefits.
According to a statement released by the SC’s Public Information Office on Wednesday, the petition challenged the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 23-2014 “which classified as taxable compensation income allowances, bonuses, compensation for services granted to government employees.”
The memorandum, which took effect on July 7, 2014, stated all fringe benefits received by government employees are subject to fringe benefits tax.
In a unanimous vote made on Tuesday, the high court “struck down Section VI of RMO 23-2014 but upheld the validity of Sections III, IV, and VII which subject the claimed non-taxable fringe and de minimis benefits to tax and requires the government, as employer, to withhold the amount corresponding to the tax,” the statement said.
“[A]ll income received by an employee from his/her employer is presumptively taxable and subject to withholding,” the court ruled.
The statement said, “[i]n upholding Sections III and IV, the Court ruled that no additional tax is imposed as the two sections merely mirror the relevant provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997 on withholding tax on compensation income.”
Section III of the RMO states that government offices, including government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) are constituted as withholding agents of the creditable tax required to be withheld from compensation paid to employees while Section IV listed benefits such as the 13th month pay are not subject to income tax and withholding tax. Section VII lists the penalties for not complying with the RMO.
The statement added: “The Court declared null and void Section IV of RMO 23-2014 only where it names the Governor, City Mayor, Municipal Mayor, Barangay Captain, and Heads of Office in government agencies, government-owned or controlled corporations, and other government offices, as persons required to withhold and remit withholding taxes.”
The high court found that the BIR “overstepped the boundaries of its authority to interpret existing provisions of the NIRC (National Internal Revenue Code) of 1997 in issuing Section VI as the NIRC of 1997 does not require any of these officers to deduct, withhold, and remit the correct amount of withholding taxes.”
According to the SC, the BIR “acted in grave abuse of discretion in issuing Section VI” of the memorandum as “imposing upon these officials an obligation not found in law or in Implementing Rules, the (BIR) did not merely issue an interpretative rule designed to provide guidelines for enforcement of the law but supplanted details — a power vested by law only on the Secretary of Finance.”
The SC statement noted the decision is to be applied prospectively. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio
Frequency auction could deter ‘third player’ bids
THE proposed auction of frequency for the new entrant to the telecommunications industry, the so-called “third player,” might reduce the number of bidders and raise costs for consumers, analysts said.
The analysts and an Internet advocacy group said that an auction of frequency with a minimum bid price of P36.58 billion, could be a barrier to improving service, rather than an incentive for those wanting to be the third player.
The government is deciding whether to allot frequency to the third player through an awarding without a fee or through an auction. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) supports an awarding of frequency, while the Department of Finance (DoF), a member of the oversight committee for third player selection, is pushing for an auction of frequency.
“The selection process based on HCLOS [highest committed level of service] is clearly more consumer-centric than the one based on the auction for frequency. The second model has several variables that could potentially be counterintuitive to the main purpose of the third telco’s entry (i.e., improve and lower the cost of telco services) and simply just invite controversy,” Sean Agapito, market analyst at IDC Philippines, said in an e-mail interview.
“For instance, the auction of frequency would force applicants to pay out huge capital unrelated to the development of telco services or establishment of new ICT [information and communications technology] infrastructure. This expense could be easily passed on to consumers.”
Jervin S. de Celis, equities trader at Timson Securities, Inc. said that interested parties may be discouraged by the auction requirement and will leave the field to cash-rich companies, or those with a foreign partner.
“I think [that the companies may be turned off by the auction price]. The price of P36 billion is too hefty… so it might become a little difficult for the new entrants to raise cash just to acquire the frequency that the DoF plans to auction, unless the entrant is already cash-rich or has a foreign partner to shell out the needed funds to acquire the frequencies.”
Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos, independent researcher and lead convener of Internet advocacy group Better Broadband Alliance (BBA) said the higher cost to be shouldered by the new player, which can be passed on to consumers, will be contrary to the aim of getting a new competitor to the incumbents, PLDT, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc.
“The objectives of the third telco selection process should be clear: (1) ease of entry for a new player and (2) better and more affordable telecom services for the consumer. In line with this, the BBA is in favor of the (terms of reference) that awards a license and assigns spectrum based on the HCLOS plus highest committed investment (HCI),” Ms. Santos said in a mobile message.
“…If the auction results in a high bid price, it is highly likely that the selected third telco would work to recover the cost by passing it on to the consumer. That would defeat the purpose of putting a new player in place who will compete with the duopoly,” she added.
DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio, Jr. has expressed opposition to the DoF’s plan, saying that an auction will be anti-competitive because the incumbents did not have to undergo an auction, only a “beauty contest,” thereby placing a big burden on the new player by forcing it to pay out a large amount that has nothing to do with improving infrastructure and services.
DoF Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the new entrant must pay for the frequency to make it “fair” to the public.
Around 300 megahertz (MHz) of frequency is assignable to a third player. The DICT has said this is sufficient to compete with the incumbents.
Two draft terms of reference (ToR) with the differing approaches to the awarding of frequency are set to be discussed in a public hearing on July 6.
Current requirements for the third player include paid-in capital of at least P10 billion; experience in providing, delivering, and operating of telecommunications services for the last five years; a congressional franchise not related to either PLDT or Globe.; and no uncontested liabilities with the NTC as of Jan. 31, 2018.
The government aims to choose the third player within the year.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
DENR’s internal mining review expected this month
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it hopes to complete its own mining review “within the month.”
“We have not yet brought out the results,” Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu told reporters on Wednesday.
“There are several versions so we’ll have to harmonize them first,” he said, adding that the study by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) “will be a very big factor in my decision.”
In June, the MICC cleared 23 out of 27 mines based on legal, technical, economic, social and environmental compliance, around four months after the interagency council began its review.
However, Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin was quoted last month that this is still subject to change.
The MICC audit, which Mr. Cimatu has said will be merged with DENR’s own review, will be submitted to the Office of the President and the DENR. Mr. Cimatu will ultimately decide whether the mines are shut down.
On Wednesday, President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his speech during DENR’s 31st anniversary reiterated that he is still for banning open-pit mining because it “really destroys the land.”
“[Mr.] Duterte said he wants it closed. Open pit mines will be closed if they don’t shape up,” Mr. Cimatu said,
“And we have to reinvent mining: find a way to extract minerals by not using open-pit mining.”
The Philippines is the second-largest nickel supplier in the world, though the mining and quarrying industry accounts for only 3.7% of gross domestic product.
The DENR plans to enforce a department administrative order (DAO) on progressive rehabilitation which will limit mining operations to 100 hectares (ha) a year.
Prior to the DAO, miners were allowed to conduct operations on 4,000 ha. before rehabilitating the site, Mr. Cimatu said.
“Progressive rehabilitation [is] different now, because you can only extract minerals for only 100 hectares for one year,” Mr. Cimatu said.
“Just disturb the 100 hectares; after you have extracted for one year, then close it, rehabilitate that and you go on to the next 100 [hectares].” — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
The ERM Agenda: 2018 and beyond
The release of the updated Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in 2017 formally heralded the evolution of the traditional risk management mindset, wherein risks are managed as a consequence of business operations, towards a more proactive stance for managing risks. Entitled “Enterprise Risk Management — Integrating with Strategy and Performance,” the updated Framework highlights the importance of considering risks even at the onset of strategy setting, as well as throughout the process of driving organizational performance.
RESHAPING THE ERM LANDSCAPE
It is now close to a year since the publication was released and the Framework has been gradually reshaping how business leaders talk about risk. There is greater awareness among these leaders of the relationship between risk and value — that there is more to it beyond mere value protection. In fact, risk management, when properly embedded into the organizational DNA, can potentially result in value creation.
It must also be said that there has been a renewed effort by Philippine regulators to further promote the importance of enterprise risk management as a tool for the continued sustainable growth of the Philippine business environment. Financial institutions falling under the supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would most likely think of BSP Circular 971: Guidelines on Risk Governance, which requires banks and nonbank financial institutions alike to establish their own enterprise-wide risk governance framework with the ultimate goal of ensuring that these institutions possess risk management capabilities that are commensurate with their size, complexity, risk profile and systemic importance. Publicly listed companies, on the other hand, may be more familiar with Principle 12 of the 2016 Code of Corporate Governance for Publicly-Listed Companies issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which similarly requires these companies to have an enterprise risk management framework to help sustain safe and sound operations as well as implement management policies to attain corporate goals.
ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE OF ERM
As the understanding of risk continues to grow deeper and the practice of risk management becomes even more widespread, we can naturally expect the future to bring along even more changes to the field of ERM.
• Business leaders, having realized the potential that comes with unlocking the value of risk and supporting this with appropriate risk management practices, will seek to maximize the value that they can reap from their business strategy by crafting carefully calibrated risk and reward objectives. To this end, they will look into employing more sophisticated tools and technology to generate accurate information in a timelier manner.
• Shareholders and investors, on the other hand, will continue to hold these leaders accountable for the protection of their investments, as well as demand a reasonable amount of return on their invested funds. To allow for more informed decision making, an increasingly educated investing public will further drive demand for quality information, thereby requiring management to provide more comprehensive disclosures on how it manages risks.
• Regulators and standard-setters are expected to follow suit with even more detailed and comprehensive guidelines on risk management to ensure and promote market stability.
• People/employees comprise one of the largest key stakeholder groups of the organization who will be greatly affected by changes in existing processes owing to the deeper integration of core risk management principles into the corporate strategy and day-to-day operations. Consequently, they will require more comprehensive and detailed guidance on how to best execute their duties and functions whilst maintaining the proper risk mindset.
Considering the link between risk management, strategy and performance, as well as looking at these anticipated developments, we can clearly see that risk management holds a very important place in the organizational agenda for 2018 and even beyond.
So now, the key question is: how should your organization go about implementing ERM?
FORGING AHEAD WITH ERM
Having helped organizations with their ERM implementation, I can say with conviction that there really is no single way to implement ERM across organizations that are all inherently unique. For ERM implementation to be successful, it needs to be tailor-fit to the specific needs and circumstances of a specific organization.
As Dennis Chesley (PwC Global Risk and Regulatory Consulting Leader) aptly put it: “Risk management is as much an art as a science — in many ways it’s the nuances that are the most critical factors in both success and risk management.” This is also precisely why rather than creating a checklist or template that would restrict how organizations apply the various ERM principles and concepts, COSO and PwC decided to create what is called the Compendium of Examples. The Compendium contains nine illustrative case studies that show how organizations across various industries and of varying types and sizes, might choose to apply the principles and concepts of ERM. Each of these examples were developed from research into real-world industry practices, as well as interviews and conversations with risk professionals, C-suites and boards on enterprise risk management.
While having a good reference on hand is especially helpful, the key to unlocking the full benefits of ERM implementation lies in people. Organizations must appoint competent people to key management positions and must be aware of how they can leverage the vast wealth of knowledge and experience held by these individuals. In addition to competence, the value of creativity and innovation should also not be discounted.
The leaders of the organization need to be able to apply the principles of the ERM Framework in a manner that best complements the strategies, business, risks and opportunities of the entity. Beyond that, I think we can all agree that there is nothing more important to any implementation initiative than the support of management. At the same time, the proper risk management mindset should be instilled into employees. The process of implementing risk management, after all, is a collaborative effort that requires both the capability and willingness of all members of any organization to be successful.
The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Services Philippines Co. Ltd. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.
Rochelle C. Dichaves is a senior associate with the Risk & Regulations Consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Services Philippines Co. Ltd., a Philippine member firm of the PwC network.
+63 (2) 845-2728
rochelle.dichaves@ph.pwc.com
Senate probes ‘failure’ of DoH health stations
By Camille A. Aguinaldo
PARTIES INVOLVED in the P8.1 billion Barangay Health Station (BHS) project on Wednesday pinned the blame on each other over the failure of the Department of Health’s (DoH) school-based program. The Senate committee on health, chaired by Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, opened its inquiry on the alleged irregularities in the procurement and implementation of the BHS project, which started in 2015 during Janette P. Loreto-Garin’s term as health secretary.
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III and his predecessors Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial and Ms. Garin attended Wednesday’s hearing.
The BHS project was intended to construct 5,700 school-based rural health units to help bridge the gap on Filipinos’ access to health care. But it was revealed by Health Undersecretary Roger P. Tong-an, chairperson of the DoH task force investigating the project, that only 218 of the targeted 3,200 barangay health stations in the project’s first phase were constructed.
Mr. Duque said it was the project’s poor planning which led to the mess that the current administration of DoH is dealing with now.
“It is the way it was planned. The procurement, the implementation had already been marred with a lot of irregularities or deficiencies. So the planning stage was really terrible,” he said, citing the 2017 Performance Audit of the Commission on Audit (CoA) on the controversial project.
The CoA document revealed that the BHS project “was not effectively and efficiently undertaken” due to “unworkable project sites” identified for the project. This resulted in delays in the implementation and later its suspension.
In an interview with reporters, Mr. Duque later clarified that he was not blaming anyone for what had happened with the project. He merely pointed out the irregularities in the planning, procurement and implementation. He maintained that even incumbent and former officials should be held accountable.
“All of these will be elucidated, this will be cleared out if the fraud audit of CoA is released,” he said.
For her part, Ms. Garin said it was the leadership decisions of her successors, Ms. Ubial and Mr. Duque, to not support the program that led to “unsuccessful completion of the project.” She then asked Mr. Duque to pursue cases regarding the irregularities so government officials will be held accountable.
She added that when she assumed office, she encountered an even worse situation in the agency, which was also related to the BHS project.
“It’s a continuing process of fixing the gaps inside. So I was pointing that let’s just not focus on this problem. Let us focus on all problems that I inherited because it is connected,” she said.
J Bros Construction Corporation director Julieanne R. Jorge, the contractor in the project, blamed DoH for the project’s termination due to the agency’s failure to provide the project sites and refusal to pay the company in the first-progress billing as provided in the contract.“The failure of the DoH to implement this project in accordance with contractual provisions doomed the project and prejudiced the Filipino people,” Ms. Jorge said.
In an interview with reporters, Mr. Ejercito said the bulk of the problem lies with DoH for not validating whether the project sites were ready for construction.
Asked for possible legislation to address the issue, the senator said he wanted to prevent the realignment of savings from the national budget to government projects without congressional approval.
“In aid of legislation, that is what we’re looking because it looked like this became a habit already, the bad practice where the savings at the end of the year (are) used for other purposes. And we can see that it didn’t pass congressional scrutiny,” Mr. Ejercito said.
It was earlier revealed from a previous Senate hearing that the BHS project’s source of funding came from DoH funds meant to hire workers in the agency. The realignment of funds was done through a special allotment release order (SARO) issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The same fund was also the source of funding for the purchase of Dengvaxia vaccines.
Peso inches up vs dollar
THE PESO strengthened a tad against the dollar on Wednesday as the market looked ahead to the release of local inflation data as well as the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s June meeting.
The local unit ended Wednesday’s session at P53.36 versus the greenback, 1.5 centavos stronger than the P53.375-per-dollar finish tallied the previous day.
The peso opened the session stronger at P53.31 per US currency, rising as high as P53.28 intraday. Its worst showing, on the other hand, stood at P53.42 against the dollar.
Dollars traded climbed to $587.1 million from the $511.5 million tallied on Tuesday.
A trader said the peso moved sideways as it traded within a tight range.
“It traded within the P53.30-P53.40 range more or less with not much movement intraday,” the trader said in a phone interview, adding that the dollar was “stronger” during the session.
“The overall move was still pretty much on the bid side. It’s just that in the last minute, we saw the local unit go from P53.42 to its close,” the trader added.
The trader also noted that investors were waiting for the release of domestic inflation data, which a second trader said was “likely stronger.”
“That’s one of the things the market is watching out for. After that, in the US, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes and the non-farm payroll data will come out,” the first trader said.
A discussion on how high US interest rates should go in the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle might be tackled in the minutes of the June 12-13 meeting of the US central bank, Bloomberg reported. US central bankers may also debated the risks posed by the escalating tensions between the US and its key trading partners.
For Thursday, the first trader expects the peso to “move within its typical range” of P53.30 and P53.50 versus the dollar, while the other gave a stronger P53.20-P53.40 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
Stocks rally on bargain hunting ahead of data
LOCAL STOCKS jumped to their fourth straight day of gains on Wednesday as investors continued to search for bargains given the main index’s historically low valuation.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 1.11% or 81.08 points to 7,348.42. The broader all-shares index likewise rallied 1% or 44.21 points to 4,454.04.
“I think it’s primarily driven by broad bargain hunting since the index is already trading at the low end of its historical valuation range. Investors might have also positioned in anticipation of a positive inflation release [today],” China Bank Securities Corp. Research Director Garie G. Ouano said in a text message.
This is the first time the PSEi managed to stay in positive territory for four consecutive sessions since February, when the market was trading around the 8,600 level.
“Potential inflation surprises notwithstanding, I do think the rally is sustainable since the index is cheap already and a lot of the risks previously seen are short-term in nature,” Mr. Ouano said.
Investors are also waiting for inflation figures to be released Thursday, July 5. The central bank projected inflation to have accelerated by 4.3-5.1% last June, lower than the target range of 4.6-5.4% in May. Meanwhile, the Department of Finance said inflation likely reached a fresh five-year high of 4.9%.
“Many analysts are also still a bit cautious as well, awaiting the latest inflation report, which comes out (on Thursday). A lot are pointing that this would hit much higher than the 4.6% recorded for May,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.
The mining and oil sector was the lone sub-index that suffered a loss Wednesday, July 4, giving up 0.43% or 42.18 points to 9,669.62.
Services led advancers as the counter soared 1.92% or 26.83 points to 1,418.27, followed by property with an increase of 1.74% or 62.24 points to 3,625.24. Holding firms went up 0.99% or 71.59 points to 7,252.76; financials rose 0.61% or 10.98 points to 1,798.59, while industrials climbed 0.17% or 18.40 points to 10,465.87.
Some 590.89 million issues switched hands, resulting in a turnover of P4.94 billion, slightly higher than the P4.78-billion turnover on Tuesday.
The market saw an equal number of advancers and decliners at 100 stocks each, while 56 names ended flat.
Investors continued to pick up select large cap stocks. Shares in SM Investments Corp. were the most actively traded resulting in a 1.09% increase to P925 each. Ayala Corp. followed with a rise of 1.42% to P928 apiece, while SM Prime Holdings, Inc.’s shares gained 2.78% to P37 each.
Meanwhile, Wall Street indices closed lower Wednesday, July 4 on the back of thin trading ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.54% or 132.36 points to 24,174.82, while the Nasdaq Composite index slowed 0.86% to 7,502.67. The S&P 500 index also closed 0.49% lower to 2,713.22. — Arra B. Francia
Ambassador Kim assures US following developments in South China Sea
UNITED STATES Ambassador to the Philippine Sung Y. Kim said the visit of three US ships to the Philippines are “an important signal” of the US following developments concerning the disputed South China Sea.
Mr. Kim was responding to recent statements by President Rodrigo R. Duterte that the US has not helped the Philippines enough in dealing with the South China Sea issue.
“I would note that just this year we’ve had three visits by US carriers. I think that sends an important signal that we care about developments in this region. We care about the developments in South China Sea,” he told reporters on Tuesday evening during the US Embassy’s celebration of US Independence Day at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel.
The three US Navy ships Mr. Kim was referring were the USS Carl Vinson which visited the Philippines in February this year, USS Theodore Roosevelt in April, and USS Ronald Reagan last month.
In his speech on May 4, Mr. Duterte said the US could have prevented the reclamation activities of China in the disputed waters because it was more capable than the Philippines. He also gave no assurance the US would protect the country in connection with the dispute.
“At that time, because it’s a violation of the International Law of the Seas, UNCLOS, the only country who could have stopped the Chinese… was America…. They didn’t do anything and they allowed it to happen,” Mr. Duterte said.
“China said, ‘We will protect you. We will not allow the Philippines to be destroyed. We’re just here and if you want, anytime, you can call us.’ There is America, she’s not going to protect us,” he added.
Mr. Kim said the US remained firm in its position to uphold freedom of navigation and international law principles with regards to the South China Sea issue.
“The South China Sea situation is obviously complicated. And our position, I think, has been very clear. We believe all countries should act according to international law and principles. We believe that freedom of navigation is an important way to protect our international rights and principles. So our position has not changed. And I don’t expect it to change,” he said.
The US has maintained that territorial disputes between countries should be resolved peacefully through means consistent with international law. But it has opposed reclamation activities in order to militarize outposts in disputed areas. The US has also repeatedly called out China over its militarization activities in the South China Sea. — Camille A. Aguinaldo