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Congressman slams call for Marcos to resign

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A LEADER in the House of Representatives has scored a former House speaker for urging President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to resign amid escalating tensions with China over the South China Sea, saying the call reeks of “political maneuvering.”

“Former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s remarks are not only defeatist but dangerously naive,” House Deputy Majority Leader Jude A. Acidre said in a statement at the weekend. “To suggest that President Marcos Jr. should resign in the face of aggression is to misunderstand the very essence of leadership and national sovereignty.”

The party-list congressman was reacting to Mr. Alvarez’s statement last Wednesday in which the latter suggested that Mr. Marcos should resign and leave the leadership in the hands of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio to de-escalate tensions with China.

Mr. Alvarez added that the Philippine government cannot afford to escalate tensions with China as the Philippines “cannot compete with China in terms of military strength.”

However, Mr. Acidre said the country should remain steadfast in its claim over contested waters in the South China Sea regardless of military capabilities. “We must stand firm in defending our territorial integrity and uphold our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Commenting on the matter, Ateneo de Manila University Political Science Lecturer Hansley A. Juliano said Mr. Marcos resignation will be disadvantageous to the Philippines regardless of his “flaws and democratic deficits.”

“To displace him is to further displace our current standing in the emerging regional tension, which will ultimately be disadvantageous to Philippine security interests,” he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said in a statement that Mr. Alvarez’s underlying motive for issuing such statements must be questioned as “political strategies, not genuine concern for national welfare.”

“His (Mr. Alvarez’s) call for President Marcos Jr. to resign reflects only his pro-China stance and not any true concern for the plight of fellow Filipinos,” Mr. Adiong said.

Mr. Juliano said Mr. Alvarez’s statement has “zero credibility” as “he is essentially speaking like a mouthpiece of Mr. Duterte’s pro-China pivot.”

Mr. Alvarez, a close ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, served as Speaker of the House from 2016 to 2018. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Marcos appoints nat’l police OIC

THE country’s No. 2 police official was assigned by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Sunday as the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Philippine National Police (PNP), pending the appointment of a permanent replacement to Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr. whose retirement has taken effect.

Designated as OIC of the PNP, through a memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, was Lieutenant General Emmanuel B. Peralta, the PNP’s deputy chief for Administration.

Mr. Marcos in December last year extended the term of Mr. Acorda as PNP chief even as the latter reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. Mr. Acorda was first appointed to the post in April 2023.

A ceremonial turnover of command is scheduled at the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Monday. 

Mr. Acorda, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991, in November last year expressed hope that his successor would have a longer tour of duty to sustain projects of the police force.

“As far as I am concerned, a longer tour of duty would be better, especially because of the current system when it takes time to request for funds,” he said at that time.

Mr. Acorda stepped down amid mounting concern on deaths related to the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, with the Dahas project from the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center reporting that there had been at least 10 drug-related killings from Mar. 16 to 23, eight of which were confirmed to have been committed by state agents.

It had recorded 165 drug-related deaths in the last six months of 2023, and 29 each in January and February 2024. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Swift passage of tollway bill urged

Motorists pass Mindanao Ave. Toll Plaza in Valenzuela on Dec. 17, 2020. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

CONGRESS should prioritize the approval of a bill imposing toll collection at expressways through Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in order to prevent traffic congestion at toll gates, a lawmaker said on Sunday.

“Our country lags behind in tollway speed as we’re the only ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) nation mandating a complete stop on supposed expressways,” Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera said in a statement.

She called for the speedy passage of House Bill (HB) No. 8161, the Non-Payment of Toll Fees Act of 2023, which employs a standardized use of RFID systems to streamline the toll collection process.

HB No. 8161 also seeks the construction of Multi-Lane Fash Flow (MLFF) systems to allow vehicles to pass through tollgates without slowing down.

An MLFF system is “a method of electronic toll collection that enables vehicles to pass through toll plazas at highway speeds without requiring them to stop or slow down,” Section 3 of HB No. 8161 read. –

The bill also proposes to classify the non-payment of expressway fees as a traffic violation.

“By making non-payment of toll fees a traffic violation, we are sending a clear message that traffic rules must be followed,” she said, noting fines starting at P1,000 and an additional penalty of suspension of driver’s licenses of up to a year for habitual violators. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Lawyer weighs in on Teves case

POLÍCIA CIENTÍFICA E DE INVESTIGAÇÃO CRIMINAL/ FACEBOOK/PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

A LEGAL expert said on Sunday that former Philippine congressman Arnolfo A. Teves, Jr. may be qualified for political asylum in Timor-Leste if he proves that his fundamental rights had been violated in his home country.

National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) president Ephraim B. Cortez told BusinessWorld via Viber that Mr. Teves, who is wanted for multiple murder charges in the Philippines, may try to convince Timor-Leste authorities that “he is being subjected to certain legal processes, not because he actually committed any crime, but he was singled out” either because of religion, race, ideology or political beliefs – all of which are his fundamental rights.

“They (Mr. Teves’ camp) have to prove that [he is politically persecuted], although he is charged with serious common crimes here, the motive is political,” Mr. Cortez said.

Earlier, Mr. Teves’ legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, said they will exhaust legal avenues such as “safe refuge, political asylum, non-rendition, and other remedies of similar nature” to avoid his repatriation.

Mr. Topacio underscored that his client is not considered a terrorist in Timor Leste, citing alleged surveillance by local authorities who supposedly found that there was “no evidence of any activity related to terrorism, or any illegal activity at all, and nor was he in hiding.”

However, Mr. Cortez said there are other “legal considerations” which may be used to facilitate a speedy deportation proceeding against Mr. Teves, who is now detained in Timor-Leste on the strength of a Red Notice issued by the International Police (Interpol) last February.

Mr. Teves is wanted in the Philippines for allegedly masterminding the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel R. Degamo last year in which five other people were killed as well as three separate murders in the previous year, among other crimes. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Cops kill gunrunner in shootout

COTABATO CITY — An entrapment operation targeting illegal firearms trading in Sultan Kudarat town in the southern Philippines went haywire on Saturday, forcing police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) agents to shoot and kill an alleged gunrunner.

Agents of the CIDG-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, led by Lt. Col. Ariel S. Huesca, were forced to shoot Datun L. Mastura, 56, for pulling a gun on them during a sting to purchase two M16 rifles in Sitio Mamadra, Barangay Limbo, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.

He shot and wounded Patrolman Raffy Jacinto, said Mr. Huesca.

The second suspect, Norodin M. Sulaiman, 33, an alleged member of the Task Force Ittihad of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was arrested after the brief shootout.

Brig. Gen. Prexy D. Tanggawohn, Bangsamoro police director, said Mr. Mastura, a radiology technician at the Sanitarium Hospital in the same municipality, was tipped off by residents of the town to police for his alleged gunrunning activities. 

Mr. Tanggawohn and Mr. Huesca separately told reporters that Mr. Sulaiman is set to be charged with violation of Republic Act 10591 that prohibits possession, or sale of firearms, ammunition and explosives without permission from the Philippine National Police. — John Felix M. Unson

BI warns against sex trafficking

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

IMMIGRATION Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco issued a warning on Sunday against the so-called bitbit or “tag-along” scheme employed by human traffickers to dupe Filipino women into becoming sex workers abroad.

In a statement, he revealed how Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents intercepted a suspected human trafficker who was about to board his flight to Malaysia with a potential Filipina victim at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

The BI said the Malaysian man, who is now detained, claimed that his Filipina companion is his live-in partner and that they are spending a vacation in Kota Kinabalu.

However, BI records showed that this man was allegedly responsible for bringing another Filipina to Malaysia very recently who has since not returned.

“This seems like another case of the bitbit scheme,” said Mr. Tansingco, citing how in 2023, a Filipina was also brought by a frequent traveler to Malaysia where she was held captive by a white slavery ring. The Filipina who was with the man last March 22 has been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance, while the suspected human trafficker is being investigated and may face charges of violating the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

PPP rules must consider LGU officials’ short tenures — PCCI

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

THE short tenures of local officials could pose a challenge in implementing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects at the local level, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.

PCCI President Enunina V. Mangio said in a Viber message that local projects must be weighed with an eye towards the short terms in office for local officials.

“The budgetary commitment may be compromised with frequent changes of administration. In the past PPP projects tended to overrun cost projections, and government was saddled with debt servicing,” Ms. Mangio said.

She said the PPP Code is considered favorable because it “recognizes the need of the private sector for profit to sustain operations while also continually improving the delivery of public services.” 

 The PPP Code was intended to address bottlenecks in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, involving the recognition of past contracts and delays in obtaining approval.

The law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) include a provision allowing the private partner to recover investments through commercial development rights, or the grant of a portion of reclaimed land for both solicited projects and unsolicited proposals.

Private partners may also profit by collecting fees from users or through pre-determined payments from the implementing agency.

“Expanding the avenues by which the private sector can earn profit and lessen the market risk associated in providing government infrastructure and facilities helps make projects under the PPP arrangement more attractive to investors,” Ms. Mangio said.

Streamlined approvals are also expected by setting a threshold of P15 billion for a project to go before the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board. Those below the threshold but do not require government assistance will be sent to the implementing agency.

Projects that require government subsidy must be sent to the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee (ICC), while local projects go before the respective councils.

“That, in a sense, can also diminish the number of PPP projects going to the NEDA board, and that’s part of the streamlining that we are pushing,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said during the IRR signing.

Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of think tank InfraWatch PH, said implementing agencies must remain transparent and accountable to ensure that maximum value from PPPs is extracted.

“The new PPP Code also provides a particular emphasis on limiting government undertakings, particularly on unsolicited proposals, to ensure that government maximizes its upside in each and every PPP proposal,” Mr. Ridon said in an e-mail.

The BOT law previously set a P300-million threshold per project to be evaluated by the NEDA-ICC, which “forced a lot of local government units (LGUs) to structure their projects as joint ventures (JVs) to avoid the tedious approval process.”

“The new Code takes out the need for LGUs to force the structure of big projects into JVs if it is not the optimal structure,” Ronilo Balbieran, an economics professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said via Viber.

PPP Center Executive Director Ma. Cynthia C. Hernandez has said that around 20 PPPs in the government’s flagship infrastructure list are set for approval by the NEDA-ICC Board this year.

Around 119 PPP projects worth P2.4 trillion are in the pipeline, according to the NEDA. Of these, 95 are national projects, while 24 are local projects.

Maritime regulator seeking Budget dep’t approval to triple staffing levels 

MARINA’S central office building

THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is seeking the approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to expand its staffing by 2,000 from the current 1,000.

“We have forwarded this to the DBM, we presented to them our structured and proposed plan. I gave them a timeline, if this will not be approved by the DBM maybe we will include this proposal to the comprehensive Marina bill,” Sonia B. Malaluan, Marina administrator, said on the sidelines of a briefing on Tuesday.

Ms. Malaluan said the expansion will be driven by the agency’s plan to establish extension offices.

“If the DBM cannot approve this, maybe we need a law as well. But I am giving it time, if by next year they cannot act on this then we can move to a law to provide these,” Ms. Malaluan said.

Marina is also seeking the passage of the Comprehensive Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Development Bill, which will promote investment and ensure the development of a viable shipbuilding and repair industry.

“The expansion to regions, the strengthening of our regional offices (aims) to provide services closer to our clients and stakeholders. We want to have extension offices,” she said.

Ms. Malaluan said under this proposal, Marina’s central office in Metro Manila will focus on policy, promotion, and developmental projects.

“We are still in the process of an organizational structure plan. We submitted one to DBM in 2021, and it was returned in 2022,” Ms. Malaluan said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

CREATE MORE’s WFH features seen attracting talent to IT-BPM industry

PIXABAY

AN AMENDMENT permitting alternative work arrangements under a law designed to revive the post-pandemic economy will help attract talent to the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry, an industry official said,

IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Madrid said the amendment to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act allowing IT-BPM employees to work from home will also help in employee retention.

“IT-BPM companies would be able to implement flexible work arrangements, preferred by employees and some employers,” Jack Madrid told BusinessWorld in a Viber message. “This work flexibility also helps with employee attraction and retention.”

The government had denied an industry request to allow flexible work arrangements, citing rules making availment of incentives dependent on the performance of on-site work in economic zones.

CREATE MORE (CREATE to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy) provisions allow IT-BPM companies to enjoy tax incentives at the discretion of investment promotion agencies, which can decide to approve work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. 

“IBPAP has long been advocating for the amendment of Section 309 of CREATE to achieve work flexibility for our employees without affecting fiscal incentives (for companies),” Mr. Madrid said.

“Registered business enterprises in the Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing sector… may be allowed to conduct business under alternative work arrangements which shall not cover more than 50% of the total workforce or total hours,” according to CREATE MORE’s amended Section 309.

Mr. Madrid said “the future of work” is about flexible work arrangements. “It has been well proven that the services being performed by our 1.7M strong workforce can be done in a hybrid work environment.”

He added that the industry’s main challenge “is finding enough skilled talent to meet demand.”

Other measures to ensure talent keeps flowing include “unlocking scholarship funds from TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) and DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology)” to address the need for technical talent.

The IBPAP recently signed skilling agreements with Microsoft Corp.

IBPAP is expecting the industry to create an additional 1.1 million jobs by 2028, expanding its total workforce to 2.5 million come that year, Mr. Madrid said, according to the industry’s aggressive growth scenario.

The development of digital and connectivity infrastructure to areas outside of Metro Manila will allow the tapping of “unique talent pools,” he said. “Digital infrastructure and nationwide connectivity in enterprises and residences is critical given that over 50% of future growth will be outside Metro Manila,” he added.

Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convener of think-tank InfraWatch PH, said that concerns regarding digital and connectivity infrastructure rest mainly on reliability and affordability.

“In last-mile areas, such as islands and isolated communities, it is the government’s burden to ensure that the quality of digital services can compare with the rest of the nation,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

John Paolo R. Rivera, president and chief economist at Oikonomia Advisory & Research, Inc., said such infrastructure makes it easier to enhance “delivery of products and services.”

“It is a facilitating factor… stimulating not only demand but also local and foreign investor confidence in the mechanisms that run the economy,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber message. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

EDSA Busway bidding seen possible next year

PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) is confident it can bid out the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) Busway project next year. 

The timeline was disclosed after the DoTr made good time on the signing of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) public-private partnership (PPP) project last month.

The NAIA PPP project is considered the fastest project to progress from submission to investment coordination committee approval to concession agreement signing. 

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan said the signing of the NAIA PPP project sets a precedent for the agency’s other projects.

“(The NAIA PPP) is our fastest. Of course, we try to work as much as possible to push as much as we can to match that, if not faster. But of course, each project is different,” Mr. Batan told reporters.

Currently, the DoTr is finalizing the feasibility study on the bus system, Mr. Batan said.

“We just had the market sounding which is part of all PPP projects. So, within the next few months we’ll finalize the EDSA Busway feasibility study,” he said.

In February, the PPP Center and the DoTr said they had conducted the initial market sounding activity for the EDSA Busway project. 

The DoTr said it is hoping to privatize the EDSA Busway via a solicited bidding scheme similar to that of the NAIA PPP project.

In October, the DoTr said it expects to start the bidding for the EDSA PPP project in 2025.

The EDSA Busway Project involves the financing, design, construction, procurement of low-carbon buses, route planning, and operations and maintenance of the busway.

Last year, the PPP Center and the DoTr signed a technical assistance agreement for the provision of project preparation and transaction advisory services.

Once finalized, the study will be forwarded to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for approval to officially commence with bidding.

“We’ll submit this to NEDA, similar to what we did with the NAIA PPP. We will get approvals and then we will eventually bid it out,” Mr. Batan said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Think tank warns of public utilities being run to serve interests of foreign investors

PHILIPPINE STAR/ WALTER BOLLOZOS

THE GOVERNMENT needs to ensure that public utilities opened up to foreign investment be run to serve national development goals while regulating the for-profit aspect of such projects, a think tank said.

“Strong regulation or even state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are crucial for public utilities to serve national development goals and not be run mainly for the profit of foreign investors,” Jose Enrique A. Africa, executive director of IBON Foundation, said in a Viber message.

Mr. Africa said that the government’s “obsolete free market framework” prevents it from “actively” developing greater Filipino or state-owned capacity in the public utilities sector.

In March, the House of Representatives approved on final reading the proposed amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. 

Resolution of Both Houses  (RBH) No. 7 seeks to ease economic restrictions on the foreign ownership of public utilities, education and advertising companies. The RBH called for the restrictions to be bypassed by specific laws enacted by legislators. The amendments to the Constitution are to be implemented by inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in Articles 12, 14, and 16 of the charter. 

The Constitution limits investment in those industries to be at least 60% Filipino-owned.

Leonardo A. Lanzona, Jr., economics professor at the Ateneo de Manila, said that the proposal will require “substantial regulation” due to the possibility that “low-quality institutions” or “unscrupulous investors” may enter the country.

“In this case, the government needs to have a plan as to what direction the public utility, education and advertising company has to take, and use these regulations to bring the country to what our systems should have,” he said via e-mail. 

Opening up the economy’s public utilities, particularly energy, would increase competition in the market, thereby “improving the efficiency of delivering electricity services,” according to Noel M. Baga, convenor of think tank Center for Energy Research and Policy.

“It is a basic principle in economics that allowing more players into the energy market increases competition, leading to positive outcomes for the Filipino people,” he said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

Allowing 100% foreign ownership in projects to explore, develop, and utilize natural resources would contribute to energy production, Mr. Baga said.

In 2022, the DoE amended the implementing rules and regulations of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 to allow 100% foreign investment in renewable energy projects.

“Local energy companies often lack the capital needed to develop our indigenous natural resources for energy use, making foreign investment crucial for utilizing our resources effectively,” Mr. Baga said. 

According to Mr. Africa, competition is “overrated especially in natural monopolies like public utilities.”

“Instead of the impossibility of making natural monopolies competitive, it’s better for development to build state capacity in public utilities to at least regulate or better yet to run these effectively,” he said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Puerto Galera reports tourism revival after oil spill

DEPT. OF TOURISM

PUERTO GALERA, a Mindoro harbor serving as a jumping-off point for diving excursions, saw a marked increase in visitor arrivals during Easter, showing signs of tourism recovery after the area’s resorts lost business following an oil spill in February 2023, according to an official working for the Puerto Galera visitor’s office.

Tourist arrivals — both domestic and foreign — were tallied at 17,000 from March 24 and could rise to 20,000 once all figures are consolidated, Noe Lineses said in a Facebook Messenger chat on the morning of Easter Sunday.

A year earlier, the tally was 8,000, he said.

“We had several positive news articles related (to the campaign) to recognize Puerto Galera as the diving capital of the Philippines.”

“We also now have one of the cleanest water quality readings in Oriental Mindoro,” he added.

Mr. Lineses said the local government has been promoting new attractions, such as a heritage park and a boardwalk along the village of Sabang, the home base for many diving operations.

Puerto Galera is situated within the Verde Island Passage, a hotspot for marine shore fish biodiversity. It hosts over 60 dive shops bringing visitors to 32 dive sites.

Oriental Mindoro was hit hard by an oil spill from a tanker that sank off the town of Naujan on Feb. 28, 2023, triggering months-long fishing bans in various municipalities. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

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