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The Philippines ranks second in Asia in terms of fulfilling relationships

Christine Joyce S. Castañeda, Senior Researcher

The Philippines was in the top three of nine countries in terms of meeting needs and expectations in their relationships, according to a study by Prudential Corp. Asia.

The Philippines’ average Prudential Relationship Index (PRI) score — a measure of how satisfied people are with their primary relationships with partners, children, family and friends — is 79/100 In 2017 against a PRI average score of 71/100 among the nine Asian economies being surveyed.

This means that, on average, people’s primary relationships fulfill 79% of their desired needs. Compared to its peers, the Philippines is tied with Vietnam at second place, only behind Cambodia (86/100).

Rounding up the nine Asian markets in the survey are the following:

Indonesia (75/100)
Thailand (70/100)
Malaysia (68/100)
Hong Kong (66/100)
Singapore (64/100)
China (54/100)

In terms of average relationship scores that people have with their partners, the Philippines scored 75/100, the third highest in the region and was above the 67/100 average score for the nine countries. Put it another way, those in relationships have approximately 75% of their relationship needs provided for by their partners.

“Expressions of love are important in some markets in Asia but not others. People in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are highly likely to value this, but expressions of love are not as influential in relationships in Cambodia or Hong Kong,” the report read.
Also noted in the study is the Filipinos’ high preference of making their partners laugh: “Filipinos are the most likely to think it important that partners make them laugh (83%) and they are also the most likely in the region to laugh at least once a week with their partners (90%).”

For Shiela May T. Julianda, sociologist at the University of the Philippines: “Filipinos are social beings that culturally and naturally are happy people. Compared to other countries, we have a high tolerance to problems.”

The sociologist professor also noted the Filipinos’ tendency to “being a collectivist” and being family-oriented that contributed to this high score of relationship satisfaction.

“If we’re going to base the article’s result on Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and use the social exchange framework as basis for our explanation, we can say that Filipinos are fulfilled with their relationships because both their physiological needs, safety and security and love and belongingness needs are all met by their loved ones.”

Ms. Julianda hypothesized that the changes in the economic conditions may have played a role: “We can say that our economy may be becoming better and that more Filipinos have occupations and that their salaries are higher that they provide their needs…”

On the other hand, she also noted the changing dynamics in relationships given the improving economic conditions and digital literacy: “[I]f we are going to compare our society today than before, hindi na tayo masyado sa [We are not more into] face-to-face interactions. With all the gadgets and applications found in our mobile phones and the internet, we can already build a relationship with a stranger or a relationship out of convenience.”

“[W]ith the development in our technology and other innovations and influence brought by other countries, nagbago na ito [this has changed]… [S]ome relationships become shallow – one week in love na or one week sila na agad.”

The study also noted that across Asia, technology can be a disruption to relationships with “spending too much time on the phone or computer” being the fourth-highest reason for arguments. The Philippines (37%) have the highest recorded proportion among respondents citing this reason as well as saying that mealtimes would be improved if phones were turned off (90%).

Going forward, most of the respondents believe that their relationships will improve in the future.

In Asia, 56% said that their love life will improve within the next five years. Respondents from Indonesia and Philippines were the most optimistic, with 72% or 7 out of 10 saying that they believe their love life will get better in five years’ time.

Talks on PHL-China joint maritime exploration resume

By Arjay L. Balinbin

The Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, during the Second Meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) held in Manila on Tuesday, Feb.13, have started discussing their plans as they enter into a maritime joint exploration venture in the West Philippine Sea.

“There were intensive discussions on mutually beneficial joint initiatives and consensus on the convening of technical working groups in the areas of fisheries, oil and gas, marine scientific research and marine environmental protection, and political security, in the framework of the BCM,” a joint press statement read.

The Philippine delegation to the Second Meeting of the BCM were led by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo while Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou led China’s delegation.

In their joint statement, both countries “reaffirmed that contentious maritime issues are not the sum total of the Philippines-China bilateral relationship.”

They also stressed “the importance of maintaining and promoting peace and stability, freedom of navigation in and overflight above the West Philippine Sea, freedom of international commerce and other peaceful uses of the sea, addressing territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and the 1982 UNCLOS.”

Both parties stated that they will “continue discussions on confidence-building measures to increase mutual trust and confidence and to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities in the West Philippine Sea that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability.”

China and the Philippines also expressed their “commitment to the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the West Philippine Sea in its entirety, and to begin negotiations on a Code of Conduct on the West Philippine Sea early next month, as agreed at the 20th ASEAN-China Summit on 13 November 2017 in Manila.”

Both parties are scheduled to meet for the third time in China in the second half of 2018.

For his part, Magdalo Party-list Representative Gary C. Alejano,  who disclosed in January that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had allowed the Institute of Oceanology of Chinese Academy of Sciences (IO-CAS) to conduct marine scientific research on Benham Rise, said: “Until now, our stand regarding the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is still not clear to the public. In fact, we do not have a strategy in the WPS which would guide the policies and actions of all stakeholders. The Duterte administration has not been transparent on its relations and dealings with China. The people are left guessing. The only thing clear on the Duterte administration now is its silence, inaction, and subservience to China.”

“Duterte has been threatening the people of war with China – a scare tactic. Again, war is not the only option for us to assert our claims and protect our territory. For starters, this administration could have recognized the favorable ruling of the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration. This would be able to rally cooperation among claimants and seek pressure from the international community for China to adhere to international law. While exhausting diplomatic means, we could also improve our defense capability and presence in the WPS,” Mr. Alejano further said.

Gov’t gets P350-B offer for NAIA rehab

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter

A CONSORTIUM composed of some of the country’s biggest conglomerates has submitted to the government a P350-billion unsolicited proposal for the rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Members of the consortium — consisting of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.s’ (AEV) Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc.; Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC); JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Alliance Global Group, Inc.; Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. — said in a briefing on Tuesday that they submitted the proposal to the Department of Transportation on Feb. 12.

Members of the consortium — with combined capitalization of P2.2 trillion — on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement formalizing their partnership.

Stock prices of AEV, Ayala, FDC and JG Summit ended up 2.71% to P73.95 apiece; 2.0% to P1,020; 0.93% to P7.57 and by 2.60% to P74.90, respectively; while those of Alliance Global and of Metro Pacific retreated by 0.52% to close P15.30 each and by 0.81% to P6.13, respectively.

NAIA accommodated over 39.5 million passengers in 2016, compared to its 30.5 million designed capacity and the consortium said in a statement last December that the country’s premier air gateway “can easily accommodate an additional 11 million passengers annually from the current 39.5M passengers and can increase hourly aircraft movements from 40 movements per hour to 48 movements per hour.”

The first of the project’s two phases will involve improvement and expansion of existing terminals. Around P100 billion will be spent for the initial phase, which would double the airport’s capacity to around 65 million passengers per year, against its current capacity of 30.5 million.

“Many changes can happen within the current terminals. We can improve passenger flow, to improve the passenger experience and… add a significant amount of square meters,” NAIA consortium spokesperson Jose Emmanuel P. Reverente told reporters after a press conference at The Manila Peninsula in Makati City on Tuesday.

Mr. Reverente said the preliminary plan is to add about 250,000 sq.m. A people mover will also be installed to link the upgraded facility to existing mass transport systems.

“We will work with mass transit companies to provide connections to NAIA. It could be to LRT (Light Rail Transit) 1 or MRT (Metro Rail Transit) 3,” said Mr. Reverente, who is also vice-president of Aboitiz InfraCapital.

The consortium will build an additional runway, taxiways, passenger terminals, and associated support infrastructure for the second phase of the project.

“We expect that phase one can be completed in 48 months, while phase 2 will be under consultation with the government as to when capacity upgrades are necessary,” Mr. Reverente said.

Completion of the second phase will further increase capacity to 100 million passengers.

The consortium has tapped airport operator Changi Airports International Pte. Ltd as technical partner for rehabilitation work. “Changi is really the top-notch operator in our region, Changi is rated the number one airport in the world, so it made perfect sense for us to work with them to further enhance and upgrade our country’s premier gateway,” Mr. Reverente said.

The concession period will run for 35 years, after which the consortium will transfer control to the government at no cost. The project is estimated to cost up to P350 billion over the concession period.

With the expansion, Mr. Reverente said there might be an increase in terminal fees in the future. “There will be more terminals, obviously. So there may be a requirement for some increase, but we will work with government to make sure they are affordable,” he said.

Mr. Reverente said the consortium was formed after a meeting of top businessmen with officials headed by Jose Maria A. Concepcion III, acting as presidential adviser for entreperneurship, in the second half of 2017. “Joey Concepcion basically brought the government and private sector together and said, ‘How can we help solve the country’s economic issues’ and the improvement of NAIA came out as one of the top opportunities,” he said.

The structure of the consortium is equally split among the conglomerates, giving each member a one-seventh share in the project. Mr. Reverente noted the funds for the project will be financed through a combination of debt and equity, with equity contribution to be shared equally.

Another group, led by Megawide Construction Corp. and the Social Security System is set to submit a separate unsolicited proposal for NAIA’s rehabilitation. In a statement, the group expressed willingness to push through with the submission of a proposal. “Megawide GMR intends to participate in the development and rehabilitation of Philippine airports and this still includes NAIA. The government and the people now have the choice between a number of airport proposals and which ones offer the best value. This kind of competition is healthy for the infrastructure sector,” Megawide Corporate Information Officer Manuel Louie B. Ferrer said in the statement.

Megawide is also building a new P9.36-billion terminal at Clark International Airport in Pampanga that will double its capacity to 8 million passengers a year.

San Miguel Corp. has submitted an unsolicited proposal to build, operate and maintain a P700-billion four-runway airport in Bulacan with annual capacity for 200 million passengers.

Electronics group keeps conservative 2018 target

THE COUNTRY’s electronics industry association has kept a “conservative” but “robust and healthy” six percent target for export sales this year on the back of 2017’s recovery from 2016’s low base, according to the industry leaders on Tuesday, saying this year will see even more local inputs in their products.

“Industry outlook continues to be positive for 2018, with growth projected at six percent,” the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) said in a statement yesterday.

Latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data released on Friday last week showed electronic products accounting for 52.015% of total merchandise export sales last year with $32.704 billion, 11.2% more than the $29.418 billion shipped out in 2016 and slightly topping a 5-6% growth goal.

Outbound Philippine electronics sales in 2016, however, reeled from subdued global demand then, edging up just 0.114% from 2015’s $28.904-billion sales.

In a briefing in Makati City on Tuesday, SEIPI identified the top 10 markets for Philippine electronics last year as Hong Kong (21.56% of the total), United States (12.66%), China (12.61%), Singapore (9.97%), Japan (8.94%), Germany (6.29%), Taiwan (5.44%), Netherlands (4.09%), Thailand (3.54%) and South Korea (3.48%).

Office equipment, communication/radar equipment, electronic data processing, telecommunication and medial/industrial instrumentation were the top product categories.

While SEIPI now expects “the demand for electronic components will… increase,” the group’s president, Danilo C. Lachica, said in the press briefing: “[T]o go from a lower base to a higher base of $32.7 billion, percentage points is going to be a small number.”

“All in all, I think it’s a robust and healthy progression,” Mr. Lachica said of his group’s six-percent foreign sales growth goal for this year.

“Conservative admittedly, but we want to make sure that we deliver the numbers” he added, saying: “[W]e think it’s a good start.”

The sector is now looking to increase value added in its products.

Sunil Banwari, president and general manager of ON Semiconductor Philippines, Inc. and a member of SEIPI’s board of trustees, said in the same briefing that 62% of Philippine semiconductor and electronics products in 2015 was imported.

Describing that ratio as “a very high number,” he noted that “the number changed dramatically” in 2016, when local components accounted for “over half”. “We want to make sure that we can localize more,” Mr. Banwari said.

SEIPI plans to roll out this year its Product and Technology Holistic Strategy (PATHS) and road map that will identify top products and technologies that the industry will focus on in the next five years “in order to develop a niche in the global market, as well as the right conditions necessary to make this goal happen.”

PATHS’ implementation is expected to boost industry investments to $1.5 billion in 2020, $3 billion in 2025 and $5 billion in 2030, as well as increase export sales to $40 billion in 2025 and $50 billion in 2030.

Mr. Lachica said the industry is ramping up research and development (R&D) efforts, adding: “We’re going to work with the academe to churn out more PhDs.” This thrust will also involve setting up an integrated circuit design center, wafer fabrication facility and an R&D laboratory focused on electronics. — with inputs from Anna G. A. Mogato

Davao business chamber undertakes study on local tax increase

THE DAVAO City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) is aiming to release by end-February its study on the business tax increase implemented by the local government this year, which has drawn complaints from various sectors.

DCCCII President Arturo M. Milan said the study, which is mainly a comparative analysis of rates with other major cities, will be presented to the city council for consideration in view of assessing Davao’s competitiveness and investment promotion campaign.

“We’re really studying and we’re still in the process now of gathering data… because it will really impact on the city’s investment promotion,” Mr. Milan told the media.

He said among the comparative data they will present are those from the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Bacolod, and Iloilo.

The DCCCII head said they received numerous feedback in January, the period of business permit renewal, about the steep increase in rates.

“Some complained about why the fees they had to pay were so high, particularly on the industries of poultry and car dealers,” he said in Filipino and English.

In an earlier interview, Mr. Milan also noted that the business permit increase could hurt micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises.

“We just wanted to compare for whatever it’s worth for the city. It’s really a mandate of a city to generate taxes, but taxes that’s at least comparable to others,” Mr. Milan said, “We need to look at this on a bigger perspective that will also determine our competitiveness as a city.” — Maya M. Padillo

Storm weakens but leaves trail of 4 dead, thousands stranded

TROPICAL STORM Basyang (international name: Sanba) has “slightly weakened” into a depression as it swept through south-central Philippines, leaving at least four people dead and almost 4,000 stranded in various seaports.

Weather bureau PAGASA said the rain brought by Basyang has been coupled by a surge of the northeast monsoon.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, the center of the tropical depression was 25 kilometers southeast of Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

In and around the mining town of Carrascal, Surigao del Sur, four people were reported killed as heavy rain triggered landslides, according to the police.

“These areas are currently inaccessible and we do not know the extent of the damage,” Carrascal municipal police chief James Alendogao told AFP.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that as of 12 noon Tuesday, 3,982 passengers were stranded in various ports in Mindanao, the Visayas, and the Bicol Region in Luzon.

Basyang is expected to sweep over the southern part of Palawan today and be out of the Philippine area by Thursday afternoon.

The Philippines is struck by an average of 20 storms or typhoons each year.

Sanba is the second major system to hit this year, and the first to cause casualties.

Tropical Storm Tembin killed 240 people in Mindanao in December last year.

The country’s deadliest on record is super typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda), which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in November 2013. — with a report from AFP

World trade growth seen above trend

GENEVA — Global trade in goods will continue growing above trend during the second quarter, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) quarterly outlook indicator showed on Monday.

The indicator, a composite published since the third quarter of 2016, showed a reading of 102.3, compared to 102.2 last November.

All the indicator’s seven components were positive except for trade in electronic components, which fell to 94.1 from 103.3 in the previous quarter, possibly indicating a weakening of consumer sentiment, the WTO said in a statement.

NO ‘SLACKENING OF MOMENTUM’
“Growth is still above trend,” WTO economist Coleman Nee told Reuters.

“The recovery of 2017 seems to be extending into the first quarter of 2018 at least, based on things like strong export orders, strong air freight and container shipping and other indicators,” Mr. Nee added.

“So it seems like there hasn’t been any slackening of momentum.”

The strongest component of the index was container port throughput at 104.3, its highest score since the WTO began publishing the indicator.

The WTO has forecast overall growth in world goods trade in a range of 1.4% to 4.4% this year, most likely around 3.2%, compared to an estimated 3.6% in 2017.

Those figures, published last September, were based on International Monetary Fund economic growth projections that have since been upgraded by 0.2 percentage points, to 3.2% in 2017 and 3.3% in 2018.

The WTO will update its 2018 trade forecast in April.

Trade disputes and international trade friction do not much affect the overall global trade picture, Mr. Nee said, since they tend to affect a particular sector in a particular country.

And if one source of goods is restricted, importers often simply switch to alternative sources for the same goods.

A very wide-ranging dispute or a tit-for-tat battle could still create uncertainty and sap economic growth, but that would be visible in a gross domestic product slowdown rather than directly in trade statistics.

“Trade friction between countries can throw sand in the gears of the global economy,” Mr. Nee said. — Reuters

Asia’s central banks face biggest challenge

SINGAPORE — Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda says it’s the most significant challenge facing his economy.

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol says it’ll be tougher to manage than record levels of household debt or future Federal Reserve interest-rate increases.

The issue perplexing Asia’s central bankers: demographics.

And making matters worse is the realization there’s very little they can do about it.

“In an aging world, monetary policy is not that effective,” said Amlan Roy, global chief retirement strategist at State Street Global Advisors in London. “Central bankers are over-stretching their boundaries. We need a lot more fiscal policy with structural policies.”

An older population typically means a smaller workforce with fewer taxpayers and prime-age consumers. Potential economic growth rates slide, and inflationary impulses fade as the population grays.

While central bankers can respond with lower benchmark interest rates or even more drastic stimulus such as Mr. Kuroda’s unprecedented monetary experiment, that’s merely easing the symptoms.

The cure — dramatic labor-market reforms and increased immigration — aren’t in the purview of central bankers, meaning governments subject to the whims of voters are forced to do the heavy lifting.

To be sure, Asia as a whole is still younger than Europe and North America, which will retain bigger cohorts of elderly through 2030, United Nations (UN) data show. That’s thanks largely to youthful populations of the Philippines, Bangladesh and India. Still, the 60-and-older contingent will make up about 17% of the population across Asia by 2030, approaching the size of the younger-than-15 crowd, according to UN data.

In what’s been dubbed the “Asian century,” the risk is that the continent goes the way of Latin America in the 1990s, failing to make needed changes in employment, taxes, education and health care — ultimately threatening growth and job creation and aggravating inequality, Mr. Roy said.

Here are details from five Asian economies with some of the biggest demographic challenges:

SOUTH KOREA
Bank of Korea Governor Lee has said the nation’s rate of aging — the fastest in the world — will be tougher to manage than its record level of household debt or future Federal Reserve interest-rate increases. South Korea’s annual economic growth could slow to 1.9% by 2025 and 0.4% over 2026-2035 if steps aren’t taken to increase productivity and labor-force participation, according to Bank of Korea research published in 2017. Central bank research on countering aging emphasizes tools that it doesn’t control; it says the policy priority should be raising the birth rate.

THAILAND
In 2022, Thailand will be the first developing country to become an “aged society,” in which at least 14% of the population will be at least 65 years old, a Bank of Thailand (BoT) report noted last year, citing World Bank estimates. Most of the BoT’s policy proposals fall outside its mandate. They include raising the retirement age, supporting reverse mortgages for the elderly, and providing employers incentives to hire workers older than 60. Almost a third of Thais are still in debt at age 60 and many elderly workers are in low-skilled roles, meaning they will be forced to rely on family members and the government for support, the BoT report said.

TAIWAN
Taiwan’s government projected in 2016 that the population would begin shrinking by 2023, and the birth rate has since fallen faster than expected. Perng Fai-nan, outgoing governor of Taiwan’s central bank, has publicly urged younger people to marry and have more children. Perng expressed concern that a low birth rate will threaten growth by constricting the labor supply and putting greater pressure on government retirement funds.

JAPAN
Demographic change is the most significant challenge facing the Japanese economy, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said last month in Davos, Switzerland. Labor-market reform is a key to meeting that challenge, the BoJ says. Population decline is also a threat to the long-term health of regional banks and the financial system, Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso said in a speech in November. Fewer workers would mean greater competition among banks, aggravating the stress from reduced net interest income, on which Japanese banks rely disproportionately, the BoJ said in a report released in October.

SINGAPORE
Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a speech last month that aging and a low birth rate will force Singapore to make tough economic choices, including on immigration. Mr. Menon warned of a “demographic trilemma” that means Singapore can achieve only two of three things at any one time: zero net immigration, a stable foreign-worker share, and positive labor force growth. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other ministers have repeatedly cited rapid aging as a catalyst for labor-market reform. The government has undertaken efforts to re-skill workers, especially older ones, to help them adapt to different sectors. — Bloomberg

LGUs, regional offices on ‘dress code’ for Valentine’s Day

RED FOR those in love, black for the brokenhearted or taken for granted. Several local government units (LGUs) and regional offices of national agencies around the country are not requiring officers and workers to wear their uniforms today in observance of St. Valentine’s Day, traditionally celebrated as a day for romantic love. Instead, memorandums have been issued encouraging employees to follow a color-coded dress guide to indicate their “status.” In Naga City — where those who would be wearing yellow means they have been “waiting since birth” — Mayor John G. Bongat’s directive says it is all “For information, guidance, and fun.” The Bureau of Fire Protection-Region 9 (BFP-9) office, on the other hand — where yellow means “It’s Complicated” — said a “dress down” day gives an opportunity for “showing off your personality while maintaining (a) professional look.” The dress code is by no means required and there are no penalties. But as the BFP-9 memo says: “All are enjoined to participate and stay in love this Valentine’s Day.”

Duterte swears in members of Charter review body, other officials

By Arjay L. Balinbin

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday, Feb. 13, led the mass oath-taking of 107 newly-appointed government officials, including the members of the Consultative Committee (Con-Com) who are tasked to review amendments to the 1987 Constitution.

“Corruption, not during my watch!” was Mr. Duterte’s message to these officials.

Adding: “I have fired several, and I hope I would not have to do it again because I do not like it. But I have fired so many officials of government officials for one reason or another. But the latest of those were really abusing the use of public funds. And I was referring to-I hope [they don’t] mind it because it’s true-CHED and MARINA, and many others including the [two] SSS [executives].”

The President also pitched anew a federal form of government before he steps down.”If we have a workable federal set up in 2020, I will step down. I don’t want a transition position.”

“It is your duty to see to it, if I go before this time, to see to it that the rules of succession in our Constitution be followed. I could not be clearer on this, and I would rather abbreviate my term rather than extend it,” he said.

Mr. Duterte also reminded the Bureau of Customs (BoC) officials that he will no longer allow “auctions for smuggled items.”

“[Those items] will be destroyed, and I will take note of those people who are there,” the President said.

“Even in the matter of the lowest bid, I dare say, no more lowest bid [scheme], because that is the source of all corruptions down to the barangay level,” he said further.

See the lists of newly appointed officials below:

Appointees1 A by BusinessWorld on Scribd

Appointees2 A by BusinessWorld on Scribd

Appointees3 A by BusinessWorld on Scribd

Boracay business group says ‘closing’ entire island is not fair

BORACAY FOUNDATION, Inc. (BFI), the biggest business organization in the popular tourist island destination, said it welcomes the “six month ultimatum” given by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to establishments violating environmental laws, but asserted that his threat to “close Boracay” is not fair to the majority that are compliant. “BFI is however deeply alarmed about the President’s statement that he will ‘CLOSE BORACAY.’ We believe this statement stems from misinformation and unverified data presented to the President. While indeed there are many violators, most of the island’s business establishments are strictly in compliance with prevailing ordinances and regulations,” BFI said in a statement released yesterday. The group also said that “the solution is quite simple: to strictly implement existing environmental laws and local ordinances and close all erring establishments immediately,” noting that its members have “continuously expressed our frustration and dismay over the lack of attention given by the National Government and other offices concerned to the island of Boracay.” — Louine Hope U. Conserva

‘Solid fiscal program’ for Bangsamoro region sought

By Camille A. Aguinaldo

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III on Tuesday said the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) are willing to provide technical assistance to local officials in coming up with a sound fiscal policy for the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

“We are very willing. I’m sure that the Budget department and us are very willing to assist the Bangsamoro (region) on planning your revenues, planning your budget, planning your expense so that you will come up with a solid fiscal program,” Mr. Dominguez said at the Senate hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Under the proposed law, the Bangsamoro region would enjoy “the maximum form of fiscal autonomy with the end in view of attaining economic self-sufficiency and genuine development.” The region would also have the power to create its sources of revenues, to prepare its budget and to allocate funds.

Mr. Dominguez said he wanted the region’s fiscal autonomy as proposed in the bill to be “very carefully phased,” noting that expertise on handling the matter could not be developed overnight.

“Fiscal management is not easy. People have to practice, have to get experience in doing it and we have the experienced people and we are willing to help them,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the hearing.

Also at the hearing, Mr. Dominguez sought certain fiscal provisions in the bill to clearly differentiate the role of the national government and the Bangsamoro government, especially on the implementation of national programs in the region.

He said the national government could coordinate and monitor with the Bangsamoro region on programs concerning infrastructure, investment incentives, taxation, health and tourism.

Asked if this would run counter to the autonomy principle, Mr. Dominguez said, “The decision can be made by them. But we can do it together. We can co-implement.”

If the Bangsamoro authority has developed its own expertise, then the block grants could increase and the supervision could be less, Mr. Dominguez added.

According to the draft BBL, the Bangsamoro region would receive an annual block grant or a share of the national internal revenue equivalent to 6% of the net collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

Mr. Dominguez said any funding scheme for the proposed region should be “programmatic, transparent, performance-based and phased to ensure effective utilization of the funds.”

Tuesday’s hearing was the 11th and final of the marathon hearings held by the Senate subcommittee on BBL chaired by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri.

In the coming weeks, the technical working groups will go through the provisions of the BBL to ensure its constitutionality, Mr. Zubiri said. He also hoped the Senate would pass the proposed measure on March 22, two days before Congress adjourns.

“What is important (is) we will not water down the measure. As much as possible, we will strengthen it,” he told reporters.

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