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Japan picks ‘Wagyu Olympics’ winner…

SENDAI, JAPAN – More than 500 cattle paraded through a ring in northern Japan in the “Wagyu Olympics” to win prizes and renown as the most fertile – and mouth-watering – examples of “wagyu” beef, increasingly popular among foodies around the world.

The six-day contest that ended in Miyagi prefecture on Monday saw breeders of wagyu, prized by gourmet fans for its luscious marbling, compete for fame in categories such as best beef cattle, best bull, and most fertile cow.

“I really can’t believe it, I’m so happy,” said 69-year-old Tadanao Sato, who claimed a trophy and bragging rights for nurturing Fumiayame, who won top prize for her beauty and high fertility.

Fertility is judged by the shape of the cow’s shoulders, its toned legs, and the “topline,” or the flatness of the back.

Beef quality is judged by the cattle’s fat marbling and leanness.

Purchasers take part in an auction for buying carcass of beef cattle at 11th National Japanese Beef Ability Expo, commonly known as Wagyu Olympics, in Sendai, Northern Japan Sept. 10. — REUTERS

Overseas demand for wagyu, which means “Japanese beef,” has soared since widespread import bans were lifted more than a decade after an outbreak of mad cow disease in 2001.

In 2016, beef was Japan’s top export in the agricultural and livestock category, raking in ¥13.6 billion ($125 million).

“These last few years, the boom in Japanese food, as well as widespread praise for the high quality of wagyu, have caused overseas demand to grow rapidly,” said Toru Takano, an official of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations.

“We have been, and will try bit by bit, to open up wagyu markets overseas.”

Though “seed cattle” winners at the five-yearly event, such as Fumiayame, go home to be cosseted and produce future generations of winners, the beef division winners are slaughtered the day after the judging and are promptly frozen and auctioned at the Olympics.

The most expensive beef went for ¥54,001 ($498) per kilo, and the most moderate for ¥3,241. – Reuters

Delusions of democracy

US political scientist Larry Jay Diamond says that modern-day democracy consists of four key elements: (a) A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections; (b) The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life; (c) Protection of the human rights of all citizens, and (d) A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

Using these parameters, how then can we rate “democracy” in the Philippines? Do we have all four elements present, operating in a vibrant and dynamic manner? Are our elections honest and credible? Do people — or most of them — care enough to actively participate in politics? How are we doing on protecting human rights? Is the law the same for both rich and poor?

If we cannot fully measure up to Diamond’s “standards,” how then should we grade “democracy” Philippine-style? Or maybe Diamond, a political sociologist and leading scholar in the field of democracy studies, doesn’t really know what he is talking about? This is despite being a professor of Sociology and Political Science at Stanford University, and teaching courses on democratic development, and publishing papers on foreign policy and democracy.

Perhaps another measure, an alternative to Diamond’s seemingly “technical” definition, is Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people” in his Gettysburg Address. Incidentally, letter-writer James Langley, in a Letter to the Editor to The Washington Post published in March 31, pointed out that this was not a Lincoln “original” but was borrowed.

He noted that a book by author John Bartlett published in 1951 detailed that “in 1384, John Wycliffe wrote in the prologue to his translation of the Bible, ‘The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.’” Langley also noted that Bartlett cited Theodore Parker using this phraseology in a sermon in Boston’s Music Hall on July 4, 1858.

Lincoln’s law partner William H. Herndon, happened to be in Boston at the time and returned to their law firm in Springfield, Illinois with some of Parker’s sermons and addresses. Herndon, in turn, had claimed “that Lincoln marked with pencil the portion of the Music Hall address ‘Democracy is direct self-government, over all the people, by all the people, for all the people.’”

From where I sit today, either “standard,” Diamond’s or Lincoln’s, do not appear to apply to Philippine-style democracy, where authority is still prone to abuse; where power can be wielded whimsically; and where people tend to prioritize self over community, vested over national interest, and personal over common or public good.

People have been dying on our streets, many gunned down either by policemen or unknown assailants, or were victims of crime. Even our policemen have had their share of the dead. Soldiers have likewise perished in places like Marawi, believing they were defending our democratic way of life. There seems to be no end to the bloodshed.

And Congress, in pursuit of what it believes to be right and proper, chooses to deny an appropriate and suitable budget to three government agencies as it approves the national budget for 2018. And while these three state offices are perhaps relative unknowns to most of us, and while such denial appears ministerial and more an attempt to send a “message,” it also conveys a number of wrong signals.

There is no denying Congress’ power of the purse. But, how this power is wielded, whether effectively or otherwise, also indicates our level of political maturity.

As things are, what recent events have unveiled are the vulnerabilities of Philippine-style democracy, and how actions of the elected few may not always reflect nor protect the interests of their voters.

Perhaps it is time that we stop kidding ourselves with delusions of democracy, or of achieving greatness as a nation within our lifetimes or that of our children and grandchildren. At best, what we have is a nominal form of democracy that simply goes through the motions of pretending that ours is a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

We periodically troop to the polls to “elect” leaders, despite the seemingly lack of choices, primarily to legitimize the grant of “authority” to a select few, who will decide for us on matters of state and governance, even if their decisions do not necessarily reflect the desires and the aspirations of the very people who legitimized their hold on power.

The public in general is rarely consulted in matters of state, and in crafting laws, only the select few with vested interests and access to power get to voice their sentiments and ventilate their concerns — at least in manner that they can be attended to. For the rest of us, however, our leaders will just have to decide for us, whether we like it or not.

Sadly, one gets the sense that our “democratic” institutions and our governments, our laws, are inconsistent and barely stand the test of time. Administrations change, and so do voters, and institutions and laws change along with them. And, not always for the better. Hope remains, of course. For nothing is impossible. But when true and lasting change for the better will occur, one can only guess.

We have been a republic since 1898, with next year marking our 120th anniversary as an “independent” nation. One would think that after 120 years of nationhood, that we would have learned our lessons. And yet, it seems, we have learned little from the past, as we keep repeating mistakes. Governments change, voters change, but our mistakes have been the same.

Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com

Happiness in a cup

By Susan Claire Agbayani

MOZART and Bach can be heard throughout Real Fresh Dairy Farm, where around 200 head of Holstein-Sahiwal cattle are exposed to highbrow culture for their well-being. The classical music supposedly relaxes the herd, improving the quality of milk produced in the sprawling 27-hectare farm nestled in the verdant rolling foothills of majestic Mt. Makiling in Barangay Masaya, Bay, Laguna.

It is this milk, expressed from the teats of concerto-loving cows imported from New Zealand (price tag per cow P140,000), that is used to make Carmen’s Best ice cream. “We take the business of ice cream-making seriously,” said Francisco “Paco” Magsaysay, president of Carmen’s Best.

MILK AND CHEESE
The ice cream brand is an offshoot of the dairy farm established in 2007 by Mr. Magsaysay’s father, former Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., and a number of his father’s friends – all of them seasoned businessmen and retired executives. The mission of Real Fresh Dairy Farms, Inc. (RFDFI) was to bring jobs to rural areas. Today, the farm provides livelihood for over 60 families from Laguna and adjacent provinces in Southern Luzon.

The farm started with milk prepared the traditional way: “with all the natural nutrients intact, like what our old folks used to drink and enjoy: unadulterated – with no preservatives and harmful chemicals added, a milk product we could truly say proudly Philippine-made,” as Mr. Magsaysay said. The cows, aside from being entertained by Baroque masters, are cared for by veterinarians from the nearby University of the Philippines Los Baños. Furthermore, their milking is managed by women, because, explained Mr. Magsaysay, women, with their feminine touch, “best understand how difficult the milk extraction process is; they are gentler to the cows.” The pampered beasts are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Weekly, the dairy farm produces roughly 7,000 liters of milk, which is marketed and sold under the name Holly’s Milk. Within three years of operation, the company cornered a sizable slice of the elusive local dairy market formerly dominated by imported products. The farm supplies Holly’s Milk to hotels, restaurants, exclusive schools, and government institutions.

From fresh milk, the dairy farm started playing with flavored milk, cheese, pastillas, and all kinds of milk-based products. Its inventory lists whole fresh milk, low-fat milk, and chocolate milk packaged in HDPE food grade bottles with a shelf life of seven to nine days; butter and kesong puti packaged in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) food grade packs and tubs with a shelf life of nine to 12 days and 14 days, respectively; yoghurt and sour cream; other cheeses too, such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, and Gouda-style cheese.

HAPPY COWS at RFDFI — ALEX BALUYUT

HOKEY POKEY AND VANILLA
In 2010, Mr. Magsaysay realized the potential of creating the product he truly loved. “Growing up, there’s one thing that I always had to try: ice cream,” he said. “My travels inspired a lot of the flavors that we offer, such as Hokey Pokey which I tried in New Zealand; and the Spanish Turon in Spain, which is an almond ice cream. Every flavor has a story. And as I travel throughout all the parts of the world, I get to eat more ice cream and try different flavors. I think I’m able to successfully put that in the menu of Carmen’s Best.”

The first three flavors Carmen’s Best offered were fairly common: Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla. They later experimented with the more “complicated” ones: Salted Caramel, Brazilian Coffee, Butter Pecan, and Malted Milk, which are the brand’s best-sellers. Each one is made from the bottom up, starting with milk from the Holstein-Sahiwal cattle of Real Fresh Dairy Farm. Some flavors have more eggs than others, some have more sugar, more nuts.

And so, the Madagascar Vanilla flavor has real vanilla bean pods; Malted Milk has Horlicks and Maltesers; Turkish Baklava has caramelized sugar mixed with butter, almonds, honey, a maple ice cream base, and salty crunchy almonds; Brown Butter Almond Brittle has homemade almond brittle; Nuts About You has almonds, walnuts, and pecans; Butter Pecan has yummy butter and whole pecans; Pistachio is 100% pure pistachio with pistachio bits; and Secret Breakfast is spiked with whiskey. The Pinoy flavor Ube has chunks of ube (purple yam). And, well, runaway favorite He’s Not Worth It (a balm for the brokenhearted) has fudge, nuts, and cookies. A cup costs at least P110; a pint, P385.

How often do you experience decision fatigue?

Every time I am invited to grab a quick bite, this question usually follows, “Where would you like to eat?” Unless I had particular cravings at that time, my answer would almost always be, “It’s up to you.”

Some people might consider this as indecisiveness, but there are just some decisions that I abstain from making, especially those that I consider inconsequential. I find no point in using up my energy on something that does not have much impact on my long-term satisfaction. I eat anything and everything anyway.

All of us are faced with having to make a number of decisions every day. From the moment we wake up, we get bombarded with choices such as what to wear and what to have for breakfast. At work, we receive countless e-mail messages, and decide which ones to open first, what action to take, which ones to forward, and to whom. Studies have shown that adults make an average of about 35,000 conscious decisions each day, and at least 220 of them are on food alone!

One might agree that having to decide on a lot of things can become arduous and counterproductive. At a certain point, our judgment suffers. This is what psychologists refer to as decision fatigue — the worsening of the quality of decisions made by an individual after a long period of making decisions.

Roy Baumeister, co-author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, asserts that willpower is critical in making sound decisions. Rendering decisions, as well as exerting self-control, erodes willpower. Since our willpower for the day is finite, decision fatigue sets in once our mental energy is depleted. Baumeister writes, “Your ability to make the right investment or hiring decision may be reduced simply because you expended some of your willpower earlier when you held your tongue in response to someone’s offensive remark or when you exerted yourself to get to the meeting on time.”

We all experience decision fatigue, whether we realize it or not.

No matter how rational we try to be, making decision after decision takes a toll on our mental energy. The more choices we make throughout the day, the more difficult it becomes for us to process things logically. Our brain compensates by choosing the option that offers short-term gratification, or by doing nothing. Decision fatigue erodes our self-control, so we choose to act impulsively rather than spend time and energy to think through the possible consequences of our decisions. When we are mentally drained, we tend to have that “whatever happens, happens” attitude; hence, we go on shopping sprees, browse Facebook during meetings, get angry at colleagues, or opt not to act at all. These behaviors, though giving us temporary relief from mental distress, often lead to problems.

Decisions, whether big or small, drain our willpower.

Important decisions become compromised by decision fatigue brought about by the mundane and trivial decisions we make. This is why some leaders and decision makers scale down when it comes to making decisions. Albert Einstein did so by wearing gray suits; Steve Jobs, black turtlenecks. President Obama, during his interview with Michael Lewis for Vanity Fair, explained why he wears only gray or blue suits: “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing because I have too many other decisions to make.” He also emphasized the need to “focus your decision making energy.”

What is the implication of this? Decision fatigue illustrates that good judgment is grounded on our state of mind. Sound decision making fluctuates. Productivity-wise, we should best be equipped to handle complex issues and difficult problems at the beginning of the day. As willpower rises and falls throughout the day, it is therefore wise for us to catch ourselves when we are not at our finest to make sound decisions, especially if the decision that we are about to make is important. A burst of glucose has been found to restore willpower, so the next time you feel like you’re mentally depleted, go for that quick bite. Just don’t spend too much time deciding on where to get it.

Donna Aura Lumbo is an Assistant Professorial Lecturerat the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. She is also a Human Resource Consultant and specializes in Organization Development, Talent Management, and Executive Coaching.

donnaauralumbo@gmail.com

Disruptions coming your way

It seems that every conference you attend that has to do with how the future will look like all warn about disruption. The message is simple. The business you are excelling in is about to be obsolete. And if you’re still not uncomfortable with that, there are bullet points to make your heart beat faster. The clichés come fast — adapt or die; what got you here won’t get you there; those still in their cribs will steal your jobs.

The Cassandra warnings are urgent. And who are the beneficiaries of this coming apocalypse? They’re also in the audience and they’re the ones asking questions in the open forum — are you using quantum math for big data dives? (Can you repeat the question please?)

There are consultancies involved in risk management and anticipating worst case scenarios. This field is now called “future-proofing,” insinuating that the future can somehow be treated like rust with the right product to prevent it. (Bring it on!)

Who can forget the Y2K bug less than 20 years ago? It spawned expensive consultancies on the premise that the computers would reset all the data to 1900 when the millennium was crossed to cause plane crashes, stalled elevators, and lost bank files. The biggest surprise was that nothing happened. And countries like Russia that disregarded the whole flop racked up huge savings on Y2K consultancy costs, and had the last laugh.

In the growing climate of anticipating disruptions, there is panic in corporate hallways. And the new recruits are smiling too, which makes the scenario even more chilling — are you with the company, or just delivering pizzas?

A TV network executive in one seminar (just last week) declared proudly that upon taking over, he introduced a culture where the newly hired (let’s call them millennials) now get to approve what shows will be developed for the pipeline. The senior executives (let’s call them old goats) sit in the back so their facial expressions and body language cannot be unobserved. Gasps and head-shaking are the usual reactions.

Can millennials who consider TV irrelevant and do not even watch it be allowed to decide its fate? The TV executive intoned that the new culture is more hospitable to mistakes, as long as the rookies don’t make a career of it. In his book, Messy, Tim Harford cites companies that encourage experiments that eventually fail. But he warns that companies should fail fast and fail cheaply. A burial ceremony for failures is celebrated with drinks, along with extracting the lessons learned.

The prophets of doom declare the irrelevance of current management (this is what disruptions do) as well as the present ways of thinking like making a profit and having customers who pay for your service. This traditional approach is in its terminal stage. The making-sure-one-is-not-rendered-obsolete attitude seeps through corporate thinking now. In millennial parlance, this is called FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

Will the present culture of caution prevail? Command and control are prescribed. We have large internal audit and security departments in our structures. Compliance units especially for listed companies are now required. Is this way of doing business and stifling innovation and loud voices going to continue?

The mantra of “adapt or die” has been invoked before. It’s not just the infamous Y2K scare but countless other prophecies from conferences were aimed at sowing fear. Did teleconferencing eliminate meetings, especially the need to travel abroad? Has telecommuting eliminated the need for offices? Is the e-book going to eliminate bookstores? (Okay, that one really kicked in.)

As in all prophecies of doom, the present way of doing business is not altogether abandoned, nor even diminished quickly. The new technology is embraced and incorporated with the old one. TV will continue to coexist with mobile content, just as in the fifties until now, movies survived free TV.

In declaring the ones running organizations now as dinosaurs, it is worth noting that those large lizards lived for a hundred million years. And their descendants like birds still fly the skies. Their fossils in museums still draw the largest crowds.

Anyway, disruptions come even without technological change. It’s the way life is. And if one doesn’t adapt? Well, the other option is not really to die but to sit back… and enjoy the show.

A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

The best gin joint in the world

IF YOU are like me, one of those newcomer gin lovers, then the six-month-old Atlas Bar in not so far away Singapore is a must-see and must-experience visit. Atlas Bar is located at the very high-ceilinged lobby of the towering 24-storey Art Deco style Parkview Square building complex in North Bridge Road that easily stands out in the Bugis district. The Bugis district is in Central Singapore and conveniently accessible via the Bugis and Lavender MRT stations. A few honorary consulates and international embassies are also housed in this luxurious building complex, known popularly among locals as the Gotham city of Singapore.

FAMILIAR PLACE BUT NEW CONCEPT
When I was brought to the Atlas Bar by a friend, I was surprisingly familiar with the extravagant interiors and classic Euro-style setup. Then I realized that Atlas Bar replaced the former Divine Wine Extraordinaire.

I had been to Divine Wine Extraordinaire over a decade ago and it was quite memorable so my recollection of this venue and experience came back in a flash. To me, Divine Wine Extraordinaire (even if I was not fond of the name) was one-of-a-kind then, and still unduplicated till now when it came to its massive wine selection, inimitable grand scale, and its’ gimmickry. The main feature of Divine Wine Extraordinaire was the central display of a 15-meter, almost three storey-high customized vertical wine chiller – or what they coined as the Wine Tower – that contained thousands of wines. The coolest wine gimmick I have ever encountered in any wine place was experienced at the Divine Wine Extraordinaire, when I got to witness female bartenders, dressed as a fairies complete with wings and harness, being hoisted into the air to fetch the premium wines that guests chose from the suspended wine chiller.

But as you could imagine, the wines being fetched by the “wine fairies” from the wine tower cost hundreds to thousands of Singapore dollars per bottle. The Divine Wine Extraordinaire was definitely on the pricey side, even by First World standards. I was already sure that the Atlas Bar was no different even before I opened the menu to check its prices.

THE GIN FOCUS APPROACH
The gin resurgence has caught on all over the world, and Atlas Bar purposely prioritized gin in its drinks offering. The former wine tower which was the centerpiece during the Divine Wine Extraordinaire time has now been converted to the Gin Tower, with over 1,000 different gins – easily the world’s largest gin collection, and I was told by a waitstaff that the list might grow to 1,200 or more by end of the year.

The Atlas Bar liquor menu comes in the form of a thick, almost 90-page book, half of which covers gins, but which also includes extensive selections of champagnes, wines, whiskies, cognacs, rums, and all the spirits you can think of. The gin list of over 1,000 labels come from 42 different countries, including unfamiliar sources like Luxembourg, Estonia, Moldova, Columbia, Mexico, and even Sri Lanka. The Atlas Bar even carries an-over-a-century-old Bell Sec Dry Gin (from the 1910s) among some 37 exclusive old collectible gins. The biggest commercial gins from the most recognized English brands like Tanqueray, Gordon’s, Bombay, Beefeater, Plymouth, Bulldog, to more artisanal ones made up an incredible 267 different gins from England alone. Other popular brands like Hendricks from Scotland, Monkey 47 from Germany, Gin Mare from Spain, and Four Pillars from Australia are all expectedly available too.

Gordon’s and Tangueray gins are the cheapest at similar S$16 or P640 per pour/shot (most likely standard 1.5 ounce/45ml) – ironically, that one shot of Gordon’s costs more than the retail price of a whole 700ml bottle sold in Manila. Most gins are in the S$22 to S$24 per pour range. A shot of the 1910 Bell Sec Dry Gin is an obscene S$165 (P6,600). And the prices are without the tonic water yet, if you are to ask for a gin tonic. And these prices are even without the 10% service charge and 7% GST.

THE ‘GIN RATION’
Atlas Bar introduced a unique house rule called the “Gin Ration.” This decree states that due to the rarity and scarcity of many of the gin collections (the noncommercial brands), these are to be rationed or strictly allotted. Guests are therefore only allowed one pour of these gins per visit.

It took me quite a long time to decide what gin to order, as I was dumbfounded by the humongous selection before me. I ended up ordering a Swiss gin I have never heard of called Arctic Velvet Gin, and paired it with an East Imperial Old World tonic water from New Zealand as suggested by the waitstaff. Incidentally, Arctic Velvet is among the majority of gins under the “gin ration,” so even if I enjoyed the Arctic Velvet gin tonic, I could not order a second serving.

THE CHAMPAGNE COLLECTION
The Atlas Bar also boasts of what is probably Singapore’s most expansive champagne list, with almost 300 amazing labels, with the detailed segregation in the list by Champagne villages, the availability of rare old vintages, verticals of iconic brands, and a dedicated Champagne Room.

The most notable champagne is the shipwreck recovered 1907 Heidsieck & Co. Monopole “Gout Américain,” a champagne recovered in 1998 from the 1916 shipwrecked Swedish vessel Jonkoping. This ultra-rare collectible champagne bottle is being sold at Atlas Bar for a whopping S$190,700 (P7.6 million) plus taxes.

IN SEARCH OF PHL PREMIUM GIN
The Philippines is the world’s number one consumer of gin (our Ginebra San Miguel is the world’s largest gin brand based on consumption – 22 million cases per year), and home of the world’s largest gin manufacturer, Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly La Tondeña Distillery, and owned by San Miguel Corp.). I really feel that our country should have at least an entry in Atlas Bar, especially since there are entries from Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. Our Ginebra San Miguel is obviously catering to the masses, and admittedly of low quality, and low price (the 350 ml or half bottle costs less than P40 – just S$1), but it may be time for San Miguel Corp. or any other liquor company to come up with a high quality gin. Ginebra already started with an upgrade by releasing its more premium GSM Blue, but still I expect more and better.

We probably need to start by importing real good juniper berries (the essential difference between vodka and gin) and other staple ingredients like coriander seeds and angelica roots. Since the Philippines is abundantly rich with exotic fruits, herbs, and other flavors that can be part of a gin’s unique botanicals, there is serious opportunity waiting. And perhaps the majority of Filipinos will not look at gin as mere alcohol bliss, but as a more versatile and serious spirit.

The author has been a member of the Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux or FIJEV since 2010. For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, and other wine-related concerns, e-mail the author at protegeinc@yahoo.com. He is also on Twitter at twitter.com/sherwinlao.

Senators: P1,000 for CHR may prompt deadlock on nat’l budget

SENATORS CROSSING party lines have criticized the House of Representatives’ move to limit the Commission on Human Rights’ (CHR) 2018 budget to a measly P1,000 — with a number of senators warning this allocation may impact on the national budget being pushed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

In a letter transmitted to House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez on Tuesday, Sept. 12, Mr. Duterte sought “the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 6215” on the proposed General Appropriations Act of P3.77 trillion for 2018, which the House accordingly approved on second reading Tuesday night.

The House, however, had also earlier voted 119-32 to pitch a measly P1,000 budget each at the CHR and other agencies — a controversial vote that prompted criticism among the netizenry and also among the senators, apart from the minority.

Besides the CHR, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and Energy Regulatory Commission were also each given a P1,000.

The next day, Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (Davao City, 1st district), chairman of the House appropriations committee, said in a statement that the budget “will likely get approved on 3rd and final reading on Sept. 21.”

On the other hand, minority senators have raised the specter of a reenacted budget — the P3.35-trillion budget of 2017 — due to differences between the senators and the majority vote in the House over the CHR’s budget.

“We will return the (P678-million) budget (for the CHR) in the Senate. We will take the position that if the House will not agree to restore the budget of the CHR, then so be it, we will have a re-enacted budget,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said in an interview Wednesday that his office e-mailed to the media.

“The Senate, I would like to think, will not stand for the abolition of the CHR, through giving it a P1,000 budget. If the House will insist on that, then there will be a deadlock (on the) 2018 General Appropriations Act (being pushed by Mr. Duterte),” Mr. Drilon added.

His ally in the Senate minority, Senator Francis N. Pangilinan, said for his part: “Hindi kami papayag sa Senado sa inaprubahan ng House na P1, 000 budget para sa CHR. Tututulan namin nang maigi ang pag-apruba nito sa Senado kahit pa hindi maipasa ang 2018 budget at ma-re-enact and 2017 budget.” (We in the Senate will not abide by the House-approved P1,000-budget for the CHR. We will diligently oppose its approval in the Senate even if it means not passing the 2018 budget and reenacting the 2017 budget.)”Kalokohan ito (This is foolishness),” Mr. Pangilinan added. A commissioner of CHR, Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, had said on Tuesday that she was told by Mr. Alvarez that the P678-million budget will be restored if Mr. Gascon resigns.

Mr. Drilon said when sought for comment, “That is not proper. We should not use the budget for things like this. We look at the budget and if there’s anything wrong in the budget, let’s do something, but I don’t think the resignation is part of the CHR’s budget.”Mr. Drilon also issued a statement that “(t)he Senate Minority Bloc will support Senator Panfilo Lacson who chairs the Senate subcommittee that endorsed a P678-million budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for 2018….”Mr. Lacson for his part said on Twitter on Tuesday night: “I happen to be the sponsor of the CHR budget in the Senate, along with a few other agencies like the DND, ARMM, etc. I accept the challenge.”He also noted, “678M CHR budget reduced to 1K but House version of 2018 nat’l budget stays at 3.767T. It’s interesting to find out how the 677M was chopped.”Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III acknowledged what he called a potential “stalemate” over this matter when it reaches a bicameral conference.

“Pagpalagay na natin nagkaroon ng stalemate sa bicam, may problema na ang buong gobyerno,” he said. (Let’s assume there’ll be a stalemate at the bicam. Then the government has a problem.)

But Mr. Sotto also raised the possibility of the President vetoing anything agreed upon at the bicameral conference.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, when sought for comment, said the Executive cannot augment the P1,000 allocation for the CHR if ever this is approved at the bicameral conference, citing the agency’s character as an independent body.

For his part, Senate President Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III said, “If you veto the budget, it’s per line approach.” He added that Congress can still override the President’s veto: “May override naman. ‘Yung veto message niya, then two-thirds vote per house.”

Several senators also issued their statements in behalf of the CHR, with Senator Francis G. Escudero, for one, saying, “I will fight to restore its budget.”

Others, like Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, also supported restoring CHR’s P678-million budget, while appealing too for a thorough discussion (“pag-usapang mabuti”) on the matter. — with Mario M. Banzon, Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, Rosemarie A. Zamora and interaksyon.com

LTFRB to decide soon on taxi fare increase, guidelines on ride-sharing apps

By Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

THE LAND Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will release its official decision on the proposed increase in taxi fares, as well as guidelines on ride-sharing apps, before the end of the month, an official said.

“The decision [on taxi fare increase will] come out before the end [of the] month,” Board Member Aileen Lizada said via text.

Ms. Lizada added that the agency would also release the pending Memorandum Circulars (MCs) on the regulation of ride-sharing apps or transport network companies (TNCs) Uber (Uber Systems, Inc.), Grab (MyTaxi.PH, Inc.) and Uhop “before the end of the month.”

The LTFRB announced three weeks ago that it’s looking at increasing fares in a bid to make taxis more competitive and to motivate drivers and operators to give better service.

The proposed fare adjustment will retain the flag-down rate of P40, but the running fare for every 300 meters and waiting time for every 2 minutes will increase to P5.50 from P3.50.

Meanwhile, the MCs to be released aim to regulate the operations of TNCs, which include operating hours and identification of units.

Ms. Lizada previously said the LTFRB plans to regulate the number of hours a transport network vehicle (TNV) driver goes online and operates.

She added the board will discuss the possibility of transport network vehicle service (TNVS) using PUV plates.

The MCs will formalize the planned regulations of LTFRB on TNCs, which the LTFRB said they consider to be public utilities like taxis and buses.

House panel OK’s impeachment complaint vs Sereno

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
Interaksyon

THE FIRST impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno, filed by lawyer Larry Gadon, was declared sufficient in form and in substance by the House of Representatives’ committee on justice despite objections that it was defective and did not present clear evidence of being impeachable offenses.

The separate votes Wednesday morning, Sept. 13, on the Gadon complaint’s form and substance yielded the same results, 30-4.

The committee is still debating the complaint filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.

Mr. Gadon’s complaint accuses Ms. Sereno of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption and other high crimes.

Lawmakers who said the complaint was defective — Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Dinagat Island Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate and Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin — said Mr. Gadon did not have personal knowledge on some of the allegations he put forward. They also said there was no clear evidence on how the acts cited in the complaint could constitute impeachable offenses.

But Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, the chairperson of the House justice committee that conducted the hearing, insisted Mr. Gadon “did his homework” and obtained authentic records and certified true copies of the records from the Supreme Court.

In a statement, lawyer Carlo L. Cruz, Ms. Sereno’s newly appointed spokesman for her impeachment defense, maintained that the complaints against her were “designed to maximize the political spectacle, with the goal of eroding her credibility through innuendo and malicious allegations.”

“This is detrimental to the independence of the Judiciary upon whom all citizens rely to defend their rights and to check any abuse,” said Mr. Cruz, an alumnus of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s alma mater, the San Beda College of Law.

He added that Ms. Sereno “awaits the transmission of the complaints through official channels” and “will avail herself of appropriate legal remedies, with the hope that the mechanisms of our democratic system will afford her a fair, transparent and just opportunity to be heard.”

In the meantime, he said, “the Chief Justice continues to discharge her duties with fairness, integrity and humility.

The Gadon complaint alleges the following:

Acts constituting culpable violation of Constitution:

• She falsified the Resolution of the Supreme Court in A.M. No. 12-11-9-SC.

• She falsified the Temporary Restraining Order of the Supreme Court in G.R. Nos. 206844-45.

• She falsified the Resolution of the Supreme Court in A.M. No. 16-08-04-SC.

• She delayed action o the numerous Petitions for Retirement Benefits of Justices and Judges, and the surviving spouses of deceased Justices and Judges.

• She manipulated and thereafter delayed the resolution of A.M. No. 17-06-02-SC (the request of the Secretary of Justice to transfer the Maute cases outside of Mindanao) after realizing that she lost in the voting.

• She failed to truthfully disclose her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN.

• She manipulated the short list of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to exclude then Solicitor General Francis H. Jardeleza, for personal and political reasons, thereby disgracing then Sol. Gen. Jardeleza, and curtailing the President’s power to appoint him.

• She manipulated the short list of the JBC for the six (6) vacancies in the Sandiganbayan, for personal and political reasons, thereby limiting the President’s power to appoint the Justices of the Sandiganbayan.

• She manipulated the short list of the JBC for the two (2) vacancies in the Supreme Court, and failed to heed the pronouncements of the Court in Aguinaldo v. Aquino, thereby impairing and curtailing the President’s power to appoint the Justices of the Supreme Court.

• She lied and made it appear that “several justices” requested that they do away with voting for recommendees to the Supreme Court, when in fact not one Justice requested for it.

• She manipulated the JBC, especially its four (4) regular members, effectively destroying the JBC as a constitutional body mandated to fairly and impartially screen and nominate applicants to the Judiciary.

Acts constituting corruption:

• She used public funds to finance her extravagant and lavish lifestyle by ordering the purchase of a brand-new luxurious Toyota Land Cruiser 2017 model as her personal vehicle, amounting to more than five million pesos.

• She used public funds to stay in opulent hotels when attending conferences in the Philippines and abroad, and flying on business or first class together with her staff and security.

• She used public funds to flaunt her extravagance by unnecessarily bringing a huge entourage of lawyers in her supposed official foreign trips.

Acts constituting other high crimes:

• She obstructed justice by ordering the Muntinlupa Judges not to issue warrants of arrest against Senator Leila M. de Lima.

• She perverted justice by meeting the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals and instructing them not to comply with the processes of the House of Representatives and to immediately question its processes before the Supreme Court.

• She failed to report her extortionate attorney’s fees and pay the appropriate taxes therefor.

• She embellished her Personal Data Sheet (PDS) in her application for the Judiciary to overstate her credentials.

Acts constituting betrayal of public trust:

• She hired an Information Technology consultant with an excessive compensation without public bidding, in contravention of existing laws, Commission on Audit (CoA) rules, and public policy.

• She sent a strongly-worded but misplaced reply to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on the Judges linked to drugs thereby inviting a head-on collision between the Presidency and the Judiciary.

• She prevented the Justices of the Court of Appeals to do a courtesy call on President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

• She attacked the imposition of Martial Law in a commencement address, while the validity of Martial Law was still pending before the Supreme Court, and later continued to participate in the Court’s deliberations.

• She issued a Joint Statement with the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals regarding CA-GR SP No. 151029, which can very well be elevated to the Supreme Court.

• She practiced favoritism by allowing key positions in the Supreme Court to remain unfilled for a long period of time in order to wait for her staff to qualify, to the detriment of the service and great demoralization of qualified Court employees.

• She appointed a key official without authority or approval of the Court en banc, in violation of Court-established rules and the Constitution.

• She gave her newly-hired staff foreign travels and granted them travel allowances for their foreign travels without authority or approval of the Court en banc, in violation of Court-established rules and the Constitution.

• She usurped the mandate of the Court en banc by arrogating to herself alone the running of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary, thereby destroying the Supreme Court as a collegial body.

Competition watchdog says PSE withdrew notice for PDS merger

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

THE country’s competition watchdog on Wednesday said the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has withdrawn the notification for a review of its planned merger with the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS group).

Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Commissioner Stella Luz A. Quimbo said the PSE has withdrawn its notification last Sept. 4 since they have yet to comply with the requirements being asked by the PCC.

“This was after a consultation with the PCC after we issued a request for more information after we moved into Phase 2. So they made a determination that they need more than 60 days to comply with that. So they decided that instead of just asking for the usual 15 to 30-day extension, that they would just refile,” she told reporters in Ortigas on Wednesday.

The PSE had initially filed the notice for a review of its P2-billion deal with the PDS Group last May 19. Under Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act, the PCC is tasked to review transactions valued at over P1 billion to ensure that they do not engage in anti-competitive practices.

“Based on the information request of PCC and consistent with the rules of the law due to the additional acquisition in PDS, the PSE deemed it appropriate and efficient to file anew with the PCC to incorporate recent developments and address other queries,” PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said in a text message when sought for comment. Mr. Refran said the PSE will likely refile within the week.

The review of the transaction will be conducted in phases, with the first phase to last at a maximum of 30 days and is at priced at P250,000. Should the PCC need more information to review the deal, it would proceed to Phase 2, priced at a fraction of 1% of the transaction value, and will last for a period of 60 days.

Ms. Quimbo declined to give specifics on the additional information requested from the PSE, but noted that it mostly centers on the transaction’s effects on operations.

“It’s really more details on the operations, to ensure that there’s no substantial impact on competition in the market, and the possible efficiency gains from the transactions,” Ms. Quimbo said.

Once the PSE refiles the notification for review, the PCC will start with the first phase again.

Ms. Quimbo said the PSE did not indicate when they plan to refile the notice.

PSE officials were not immediately available for comment.

Clearance from the PCC is part of the regulatory approvals the PSE needs to proceed with its merger with the country’s fixed income bourse, a deal it has been working on since 2013 in order to achieve synergies in operations for the two capital markets.

The PSE is currently targeting to bring down broker ownership to 20% in order to secure approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which imposes a 20% single industry share ownership limit.

Last August, the PSE announced it will sell up to 11.5 million shares as part of efforts to decrease the ownership of trading participants in the company. It is also in the process of declassifying inactive brokers, which will help bring down broker ownership from the current 27.9% to around 23% to 24%.

Shares in PSE were unchanged on Wednesday, closing at P236 apiece.

Typhoon Maring good for farms, but displaces more than 2,000 families

TROPICAL DEPRESSION Maring, the 13th typhoon to hit the country this year, caused “very minimal” damage to the agriculture sector, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, and the heavy downpour would actually be good for the farms as dams have been filled and ready for irrigation purposes.

Mr. Piñol told reporters yesterday that the only damage report he received so far was on a 364-hectare farm in Region IV-A — or Calabarzon covering the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon — with an estimated value of P36 million.

“The tropical depression actually (was) more beneficial than destructive because bumuhos yung ulan at nagkatubig uli ang mga (rain really poured and that put water in the) dams. We’re expecting that this will be a good development with the onset of the dry season planting,” the agriculture chief said.

The dry season cropping in the Philippines starts November.

EVACUATION
Meanwhile, Malacañang said government agencies continue to monitor the situation in areas most affected by the typhoon.

“The National Government, through our frontline disaster response agencies, remains on standby to respond and assist victims in Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan Valley), III (Central Luzon), IV-A, V (Bicol), and NCR (National Capital Region),” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto C. Abella said in a statement.

As of Sept. 13, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that 2,103 families were affected, of which 1,857 are staying at 116 evacuation centers.

The Department of Health also prepositioned about P20 million worth of logistical supply in its regional offices, and has about P50 million at the Central Office.

Typhoon Maring maintained its strength as it exited the Philippines. It was forecasted to be out of the country’s area by late Wednesday or Thursday morning, Sept. 14.

Weather bureau PAGASA said the provinces of Bataan, Zambales, and Batangas would still experience light to moderate with occasionally heavy rains during thunderstorms, while sea travel remains risky over the western seaboards of central and southern Luzon.

POWER
The Department of Energy (DoE), for its part, reported yesterday that typhoons Maring and Lannie, which passed through further north of the country, did not cause major damages on power infrastructure.

In a statement, the DoE said all power generation plants within the paths of the two typhoons were running under normal condition.

Power transmission facilities and services were reported to be normal as of 7:00 a.m. Wednesday following restoration work by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

The transmission lines that experienced trippings were: Batangas-Bolboc 69kV line affecting parts of Batangas City and Bauan in Batangas; Gumaca-Lopez-Tagkawayan 69kV line affecting parts of Quezon I Electric Cooperative (QUEZELCO 1); La Trinidad-Mankayan-Sagada 69kV line affecting the Benguet Electric Cooperative customers (BENECO); and the Olongapo-Cawag 69kV line affecting Zambales II Electric Cooperative (ZAMECO II)

In the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the firm reported that knee-deep to chest-deep flooding, strong winds and heavy downpour caused momentary and sustained outages to 5.6% of its total circuits, affecting 639,574 customers.

Meralco explained that most of the trippings were due to soil erosion, fallen trees and foreign objects.

As of 9:00 a.m. yesterday, Meralco said restoration of power was ongoing for 3,025 households, including 1,482 customers in Bulacan. — Janina C. Lim and Rosemarie A. Zamora

Calata still hopeful it can avoid delisting from PSE

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

CALATA Corp. is still hoping to avoid being delisted from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), amid ongoing involuntary delisting procedures against the agribusiness firm.

Calata Chairman Joseph H. Calata said the company’s lawyers are in constant communication with the PSE as the hearings are ongoing.

“Nasa hearing stage pa naman kami, hindi pa naman kami delisted. Sinasabi namin mga points namin kung bakit hindi kami dapat i-delist. Hopefully di siya ma-delist,” he told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Awards last week.

The PSE last July initiated involuntary delisting procedures against Calata due to repeated violations of disclosure rules. The PSE cited 29 violations of Section 13.1 of the PSE Disclosure Rules from Nov. 29, 2016 to June 20, as well as 26 violations of Section 13.2 of the same rules from Oct. 6, 2016 to March 16 and from April 26 to May 2.

Aside from failing to timely disclose the disposition of shares by company’s directors and principal officers, the PSE also found Calata to have violated the blackout rule, which prohibits directors and principal officers who have obtained material non-public information to trade their company’s shares within a prescribed period.

Asked why the company failed to comply with the bourse’s disclosure rules, Mr. Calata blamed this on office errors.

“Violation ay non-disclosure. Let’s see kung ano decision nila dun. Office error yun, na parang lapse lang sa system, parang miscommunication,” Mr. Calata said.

The company is currently undertaking steps should the bourse proceed with its delisting. Earlier this August, Calata announced its sale of a total of 2.5 billion shares or 81% of the firm to listed Millennium Global Holdings, Inc., through the increase in its authorized capital stock by up to 10 billion common shares.

MGHI’s subsidiary Millennium Ocean Star Corp. is an exporter and importer of seafood and aquaculture products that began in Hong Kong before establishing a major plant in Cebu City. Its capacity stands at 2,000 metric tons of imported seafood products each month for local distribution. 

Mr. Calata explained the deal with Millennium Global will ensure that the company’s shareholders would still have tradable stocks, albeit for a different company, in case the delisting process continues. 

“So we think na sa paggawa ng deal namin with Millennium (MGHI), we could pass yung mga shareholders namin sa mas malaking company rather than ma-delist. Then pag ma-delist ka yung mga shares ng mga shareholders natin, di siya magiging tradeable, so the move na bilhin kami ng isang malaking seafood company pero ang potential ay bigger dahil worldwide na ang operation nila,” he said.

Mr. Calata further noted this would be a “sacrifice” on their part for the benefit of the shareholders.

The deal with MGHI would require shareholders’ approval during Calata’s annual meeting. However, Calata had rescheduled its Oct. 2 annual stockholders’ meeting to a later date within 2017.

Meanwhile, Calata’s agriculture business would be privatized through the transfer of all its assets and liabilities to Agriphil Corp. and/or a private firm. 

“What we’re planning is our company is mag-paprivatize na. Yun yung direction upon approval ng shareholders sa annual stockholders,” Mr. Calata said.

Trading of shares in Calata has been suspended since June 30 following the violations of disclosure rules and the subsequent delisting procedures.

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