Home Blog Page 2022

Peso to move sideways ahead of central bank’s policy review

BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO is expected to trade sideways against the dollar this week ahead of the Monetary Board’s policy meeting on Thursday.

The local unit closed at P57.42 per dollar on Friday, weakening by four centavos from its P57.38 finish on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Week on week, the peso also depreciated by 8.5 centavos from its P57.345 finish on May 3.

The peso moved sideways on Friday “on the back of weekend-related positioning,” Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a Viber message.

The dollar was also generally stronger on Friday following comments from US Federal Reserve officials, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

On Friday, the dollar pared initial declines and turned modestly higher as investors assessed a reading on US consumer sentiment and sifted through a flurry of comments from Fed officials, Reuters reported.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary reading of consumer sentiment came in at 67.4 for May, a six-month low and below the 76.0 estimate of economists polled by Reuters. In addition, the one-year inflation expectation climbed to 3.5% from 3.2%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six peers, gained 0.07% to 105.29.

Debate over whether US interest rates are high enough deepened among Federal Reserve officials last week, and may be stoked further after a key survey showed a jump in consumers’ inflation expectations.

“There are… important upside risks to inflation that are on my mind, and I think there’s also uncertainties about how restrictive policy is and whether it’s sufficiently restrictive” to return inflation to the US central bank’s 2% target, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said at a Louisiana Bankers Association conference in New Orleans.

“I think it’s just too early to think about cutting rates… I think I need to see some of these uncertainties resolved about the path that we’re on, and we need to remain very flexible,” Ms. Logan said, though she did not directly address whether she feels the Fed may need to again raise its benchmark policy rate from the 5.25%-5.5% range that has been maintained since July.

Many US central bank officials, including Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell, have said they still think further rate hikes will prove unnecessary.

In an interview with Reuters, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he still thought inflation was likely to slow under the current monetary policy and allow the central bank to begin reducing its policy rate in 2024 — though perhaps by only a quarter of a percentage point and not until the final months of the year.

Anchored expectations are considered by Fed officials as an important sign of the central bank’s credibility, and an aid in bringing inflation back to 2%.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, in a taped interview on Thursday, said it is possible the “neutral” interest rate for the US had risen a bit, implying that any given level of the benchmark policy rate would lean less on economic activity than it would otherwise.

But she said the solution for the Fed in that case would be to keep its policy rate at the current level for longer.

Even if the neutral rate is higher “we still have restrictive policy, which is what we want,” Ms. Daly said. “But it might take more time to… bring inflation down.”

For this week, the peso’s movements against the dollar will largely depend on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy meeting on Thursday and the release of key US economic data, Mr. Roces said.

A BusinessWorld poll of 19 analysts conducted last week showed 17 analysts expect the Monetary Board to maintain its policy rate at 6.5% for a fifth straight review on Thursday.

On the other hand, one analyst said the BSP may cut the policy rate by 25 basis points (bps), while the other said that the central bank may raise rates amid persistent inflation.

The BSP raised borrowing costs by 450 bps from May 2022 to October 2023.

Mr. Powell’s scheduled speech on May 14 and the release of US producer and consumer inflation data and the latest jobless claims report this week will affect foreign exchange trading, Mr. Ricafort added.

Mr. Roces expects the peso to move between P57 and P57.40 per dollar this week, while Mr. Ricafort sees it ranging from P57.10 to P57.60. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Analysts say allowing NFA to sell rice at subsidized prices is unsustainable

A customer buys rice at a stall in Paco Market, Manila, April 6, 2024. — PHILIPPINE STAR/RYAN BALDEMOR

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

A PROPOSAL to allow the Philippines’ National Food Authority (NFA) to sell rice at subsidized prices is unsustainable and could worsen the government deficit, economists said at the weekend.

Letting the agency buy rice from producers at high farmgate prices and selling these at lower retail prices is a superficial solution to spiraling rice prices, they added.

“The high price of rice is driven by global shortage, which is a clear case of supply and demand,” Filomeno S. Sta. Ana, III, coordinator of the Action for Economic Reforms, said in a Viber message. “Amending the Rice Tariffication Law will not solve the objective problem of supply.”

The House of Representatives committee last week approved a bill that seeks to amend the 2019 Rice Tariffication Act, which gave rice traders full control over rice imports and relieved the NFA of its power to sell rice at cheap prices.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. earlier said he would likely certify the bill as urgent, citing the need for state involvement in the market to check spiraling rice prices.

Regular milled rice is P51.41 a kilo on average, while well-milled rice is about P56.42 a kilo, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Special rice is about P64.68 a kilo.

The NFA got mired in debt after selling rice at subsidized retail prices for years. It cut its net loss by 38% in 2021 from a year earlier to P9.6 billion under the Rice Tariffication Act, according to the Finance department.

The law also limited the NFA’s mandate to providing emergency buffer rice stock to be taken exclusively from local farmers.

“That can reduce artificially and unsustainably the price of rice but at a very heavy price,” Mr. Sta. Ana said, referring to the agency’s subsidized rice prices. “It will worsen our fiscal deficit which could lead to a fiscal crisis.”

Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga, who heads the House of Representatives agriculture committee, said the agency should consult the National Price Coordinating Council in setting rice prices.

“We want the NFA also to be prudent in their spending,” he told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a hearing last week. “It should be calculated properly. The NFA cannot do it haphazardly.”

Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing said it would be the responsibility of the council, whose members consist of state economic managers, to ensure that NFA rice is not sold too low.

“The National Price Coordinating Council seems to be just a last stand by economic managers to assert their erroneous free market orientation over the rice industry,” Sonny Jose Enrique A. Africa, executive director of think tank IBON Foundation, said in a Viber message.

“They’ll be motivated… to keep the public subsidy as low and as short as possible, but blind to the necessity of substantial… government intervention to lower the cost of food production as the basis for lower prices for consumers,” he added.

Mr. Africa said only 2-3 million of 27 million Filipino families would benefit from the rice sold by the NFA.

TRANSPARENCY
Policymakers should also look at high fertilizer and fuel prices while lawmakers try to lower rice prices, Geny F. Lapina, who teaches agriculture at the University of the Philippines Los Banos, said in an e-mail.

“At farmgate, the price of rice is elevated because fertilizer prices remain quite high,” he said. “At retail, the prices are also affected by the high fuel costs that affect transportation costs.”

The April inflation rate for diesel quickened to 4.2% from -0.1% a month earlier, while gasoline accelerated to 3.3% from 0.8%. Pump price adjustments stood at a net increase of P2.25 a liter for gasoline and P0.50 a liter for diesel.

Philippine rice yields could decline this year and in 2025 due to rising fertilizer prices mainly driven by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the world’s largest exporter of key farm products including nitrogen and fertilizers such as the potash and phosphorus variants, according to an Asian Development Bank report last month.

The House aims to approved changes to the Rice Tariffication Act before their sine die break on May 25. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has said it’s “possible to offer rice below P30 per kilo as early as July.”

“Whether there is some abuse of market power by traders is more difficult to prove,” Mr. Lapina said. He urged the statistics agency to regularly monitor rice farm, wholesale and retail prices.

The Philippine Competition Commission could also help investigate alleged irregularities in the market, he said, adding that regular monitoring of food prices is needed to deter “any abuse of market power.”

“If this administration claims to have provided a working version of the farm-to-market model that is the Kadiwa, then why can’t they scale it up for the rice industry?” Ayn G. Torres, an agro-economy expert serving as knowledge production manager at the Oscar M. Lopez Center, said in an e-mail.

Under the Kadiwa program, the government sets up farm-to-market outlets to remove middlemen from the chain.

Rice prices range from P49 to P60 a kilo. Due to government subsidies including for transport, Kadiwa outlets sell rice at P39 a kilo, and some as low as P20 a kilo.

Mr. Lapina reminded lawmakers why the NFA was stripped of its buying and selling power: “Buying high from farmers and selling low to consumers is a losing proposition. It had already inflated the debt of NFA in the past.”

Ms. Torres said lawmakers should clarify whether the private sector would still be allowed to import rice, or whether it can co-exist with the NFA.

“Unless the arrangements are clear in terms of the NFA’s function as regulator and import licensor, I don’t think the amendment will make any difference in terms of keeping optimal stock from local rice farmers.”

The 2019 law mandates the NFA to keep an optimal level of rice inventory — 480,000-960,000 metric tons (MT) of rice — enough to accommodate 15 to 30 days of national rice consumption.

The Philippines imported 3.58MT of rice last year, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry. Filipino farmers produced 20 million MT of rice.

Mr. Lapina said enforcing targeted subsidies for the poorest households may be a better route, noting that the government could study and replicate the framework of its flagship conditional cash transfer program.

It should also focus on improving post-farm infrastructure such as storage and logistics, he added.

Ms. Torres said policymakers should push for flexibility and transparency in the management of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which gets P10 billion yearly from rice tariffs.

“Did the collected tariffs already go beyond P10 billion, and thus should have been allocated to other farmer support mechanisms?” she asked. “Has the P10-billion RCEF been enough to support the industry on top of regular Department of Agriculture appropriation? Can the disbursements be made public?”

Marcos forms panel to fine-tune probe of human rights violations

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

THE GOVERNMENT of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has created a special panel to address human rights issues in the Philippines, but civic groups said the public should temper its expectations give the poor track record of agencies that govern it.

Under Administrative Order No. 22 signed on May 8, the Special Committee on Human Rights Coordination will fine-tune the investigation and data-gathering on human rights violations by law enforcement agencies.

It will also engage the private sector and “expand civic space.”

The panel is in keeping with the United Nations (UN) for the Joint Program on Human Rights, a three-year program set up in October 2020 amid extrajudicial killings under then President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s deadly drug war.

The new committee headed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla will enforce a human right-centered approach to campaigns against illegal drugs and insurgency.

It should also facilitate access to redress mechanisms by human rights victims and ensure effective implementation of programs aimed at upholding the rights of prisoners.

The state should not subject anyone to torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, according to the Marcos order.

The panel is under the Presidential Human Rights Committee, which has downplayed abuses under the Duterte government. Its members include the secretaries of the Foreign Affairs and Interior and Local Government departments.

Carlos H. Conde, a senior researcher at the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, noted that while the committee talks about accountability, it is “not an accountability mechanism per se” like the Commission on Human Rights.

“It has no UN or civil society organization participation and is going to be led by the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, which has zero record on accountability for rights abuses,” he said in an X post.

“My fear is that it will serve mainly as a propaganda arm to defend the government against allegations of rights abuses,” he said. “Some of the committee members are government agencies with their own poor human rights record.”

“With its premise of addressing human rights issues through mere ‘coordination,’ one cannot expect much from this special committee,” Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay said in a statement.

“It will go the way of the inter-agency committee created under Administrative Order No. 35 tasked to resolve extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of human rights, which has a pitiful record of having handled only 385 cases and securing 13 convictions out of thousands of cases.”

Karapatan also cited the poor performance of a task force created under Executive Order No. 23 issued over a year ago, to probe labor-related violations.

The International Criminal Court has been investigating drug-war related killings under Mr. Duterte when he was mayor of Davao City from November 2011 to June 2016 as well as cases during his presidency up until March 16, 2019, the day before the Philippines withdrew from the court.

The government estimates that at least 6,117 people were killed in the drug war between July 1, 2016 and May 31, 2022, but human rights groups say the death toll could be as high as 30,000.

There were 11 reported drug-related killings in the country from May 1 to 7, one of which had no known drug ties, bringing the total cases since Mr. Marcos assumed office in 2022 to 652, according to the Dahas project from the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center.

Of the 652 drug suspects, 270 were killed by state and 94 by nonstate agents, it said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Philippines’ double standard in ICC, SCS dispute cited

PCOO

MANILA’s decision not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation of the government’s war on drugs is inconsistent with its foreign policy, according to a former Philippine envoy.

The government chooses not to help the ICC, which operates based on international rules, yet trumpets the importance of the rules-based order in its South China Sea (SCS) dispute with China, Marilyn J. Alarilla, former Philippine Ambassador to Turkey and Laos, told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat at the weekend.

“The Philippines is always raising the importance of a rules-based order. This is the narrative we cite with allies and other like-minded countries in seeking their support versus China’s aggressive moves,” she pointed out.

Ms. Alarilla said rejoining the ICC would show consistency because the Philippines advocates a rules-based international order.

She said Mr. Duterte’s decision to withdraw from the international tribunal was a “personal decision” given his involvement in the drug war.

“How can we be credible if we are selective in supporting a rules-based order?” she asked. “Other countries like China, Russia, and the US, which conduct secret and nonlegal operations outside their territories, are concerned about being exposed for activities that violate human rights.”

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s stance not to cooperate with the ICC might be a political decision to prevent worsening ties with the Dutertes including Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, she said.

Mr. Marcos has said his government would not lift a finger to help the ICC probe, which he sees as a threat to Philippine sovereignty.

The presidential palace last week said Mr. Marcos’ stance “remains clear and consistent,” as the Justice department prepares a brief on scenarios related to the ICC investigation including a potential arrest warrant for Mr. Duterte and a possible Philippine return to the court.

The ICC probe covers Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs from when he was mayor of Davao City and during his presidency until March 16, 2019, when the country left the ICC.

The state estimates that more than 6,000 people died in the drug war, but human rights groups say as many as 30,000 died. 

A Social Weather Stations poll in December showed 53% of Filipinos agreed with the ICC probe of the drug war.

Like the President, the Justice department insists it doesn’t recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction because the country has a working justice system. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Former Duterte adviser to be summoned to House probe of P3.6-B drug smuggling

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

A FORMER adviser to ex-president Rodrigo R. Duterte would be called to a congressional investigation on the delivery of P3.6 billion worth of smuggled illegal drugs in Mexico, Pampanga last year.

The House Dangerous Drugs Committee said on Sunday its investigation would summon an economic advisor of Mr. Duterte who was previously implicated in the illegal drug trade as well as the overpriced supply deals between Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. and the government during the pandemic.

“This matter has now gone from a simple illegal drug smuggling to a national security concern,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in a statement.  “We need to establish the link between these companies and… the financier of Pharmally (Pharmaceuticals Corp.)”

Last September, anti-narcotics operatives backed by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs, and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency busted the smuggling and delivery of 530 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride, valued at P3.6 billion, through Subic Bay Port to a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga.

In an earlier House panel hearing, a director at Pharmally was tagged as among the incorporators of the company that owned the warehouse. This pharmaceutical executive was the one who had named Mr. Duterte’s former economic adviser as the alleged financier for the medical supply company.

“It is not as simple as it seems,” said Mr. Barbers, who is the panel chairman. “These personalities and their interests are so intertwined and intricately woven in an elaborate multi-layered company structure that resembles a maze deliberately designed to avoid detection.”

The House investigation on the drug bust also revealed that Chinese nationals involved in the case used fake Philippine documentation to skirt the law, allowing them to purchase properties in the country with the use of fictitious identities, Mr. Barbers added.

“Using fictitious documents and corporations, they went on buying sprees and allegedly bought hundreds and possibly thousands of hectares of agricultural and residential lands in Northern Luzon and started building warehouses,” he said.

Delayed VAT refunds scored

PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL PALMA

THE GOVERNMENT must push for stricter penalties against internal revenue officers who cause delays in value-added tax (VAT) refund claims, economists and tax experts said at the weekend.

Last week, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian filed a bill proposing to transfer the responsibility of processing VAT refunds to the Department of Finance (DoF) Revenue Operations Group from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as companies give up on their claims due to delays.

“Transferring the tax refund mandate to the DoF is no assurance that this proposed new VAT refund body will not implement the same inefficiencies as the BIR, in the guise of ensuring maximum government revenues from business activities,” Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of think tank InfraWatch PH, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“The Senate should look into stiffer penalties against BIR officials in the event of unreasonable delays in processing VAT refunds and other tax claims.” 

Even foreign companies and investors have been complaining about stalled VAT refund claims.

The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. has said VAT refunds for jet fuel purchases take as long as five years to resolve.

Benedicta Du-Baladad, founding partner and chief executive officer of Du-Baldad Associates, a law firm that specializes in tax commercial and corporate services, said the BIR should ensure that the 90-day period allowing the taxpayer to challenge a tax assessment is strictly followed.

“Any grant of refund beyond the 90-day period should earn interest at the same rate as that imposed in delayed payment of the government,” she said in a Viber message.

“Likewise, any denial of claim that is without legal and factual basis as found out by the court later on should be a ground for an administrative case against the officers handling the case. That’s equity and fairness.”

Earlier, Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said Japanese companies had threatened to leave the Philippines after finding it difficult to secure timely VAT refunds.

Mr. Gatchalian’s bill also ensures businesses are entitle to a VAT zero-rating on local purchases, provided they operate at 70% capacity.

“Rather than transferring the mandate, we can also consider equipping BIR with the soft and hard skills and infrastructure to make this mandate possible for them,” John Paolo R. Rivera, president and chief economist at Oikonomia Advisory & Research, Inc., said in a Viber message, commenting on the Senate bill. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Better vocational review sought

THE PHILIPPINE Business for Education (PBEd) is calling on the government to ensure private sector involvement in reviewing the technical-vocational education and training (TVET) track in the country’s basic education program, with Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian citing sufficient funds allocated for assessors.

“The industry support in all these efforts is crucial,” said PBEd Executive Director Justine B. Raagas of the TVET track for senior high school (SHS). “We urge greater private sector participation in the ongoing SHS review and call on business leaders to open work-based training opportunities to lead to employment.”

“Under this year’s national budget, P50.012 million was allocated to expand TESDA’s (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) pool of assessors, adding 11,000 to TESDA’s assessors,” Mr. Gatchalian said in Filipino as he underscored the importance of the TVET track. “This is an important step for them (students) to have good jobs after they finish school.”

The SHS program, which is under congressional scrutiny, aims to embed TVET across tracks, facilitating curriculum development, certification, and employment linkages.

This is undertaken through collaborations between the Departments of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and TESDA, which was firmed up by their signing of Joint Memorandum Circular 2 last week.

As agreed, the DepEd shall lead curriculum development and revision to integrate TVET into SHS tracks; TESDA will certify graduates and provide technical expertise; CHED shall develop credit transfer policies for TVET-certified students; and DOLE would facilitate employment partnerships for SHS learners.

Many of these goals are part of the proposed Batang Magaling Bill, filed as Senate Bill 2367 by Mr. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Basic Education Committee.

He said efforts to expand TESDA’s pool of assessors align with the goal of ensuring quality assessments.

“These initiatives are critical for boosting job prospects for TVET graduates and enhancing industry responsiveness in skills development programs,” said Ms. Raagas.

“By design, the K-12 program aims to give students enough time to acquire skills to thrive in whatever path they choose to take,” she added. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana and John Victor D. Ordoñez

DoT chief insures CL tour guides

TOURISM Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina G. Frasco has rolled out over P2.55 million worth of accident insurance coverage for tour guides in five provinces in Central Luzon (CL).

In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said that tour guides from Pampanga, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, and Tarlac received the insurance, which was personally funded by Ms. Frasco.

Aside from the personal accident insurance coverage, the tour guides also received tour guiding kits from the department as part of its efforts to improve Clark as an alternate gateway for tourist markets to and from the Philippines.

“The DoT recognizes the indispensable role of local community guides in the tourism industry, being considered frontliners in championing the country’s local destinations and upholding the rich Filipino culture, heritage, and history,” the DoT said.

The beneficiaries were from the Porac Tour Guides Association, Guides Alliance Bulacan at Your Service, Bataan Peninsula Tour Guides Association, Eco Tour Guides Association of San Luis Aurora, City of San Fernando, Pampanga Tour Guides, Accredited Guides Association of Pampanga, Bulacan Tour Guides, and Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan Tour Guides.

The DoT also signed partnership agreements with eight sectoral partners to prepare Central Luzon’s industrial and business districts for hosting the anticipated MICE Conference on July 10–12 this year.

Under the memoranda, the different agencies committed to training stakeholders, from tourism enterprises to academic institutions and community-based organizations.

The DoT, through its Office of Industry Manpower Development, managed to train over 127,000 workers last year. For this year, it is aiming “to hit the bigger goal of 150,000 workers trained this year.”

As of May 10, there are around 5,500 tourism frontliners, with 2,152 from the accommodation sector, 1,506 from the academe, and 1,204 from the local government units in Central Luzon. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Baguio preparing for La Niña

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

BAGUIO CITY — Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong of this city said he wants early preparations for the La Niña weather pattern, setting in motion initiatives in the face of above-normal rainfall expected to follow the long-drawn drought caused by El Niño.

“With the experience that we are having with El Niño where we are now into our seventh month of drought, weather experts fear a possible rebound through the coming La Niña which would mean strong typhoons and abnormally high rainfall and so we have to prepare this early to avoid casualties and severe damage to properties,” the mayor said over the weekend.

Under its “Making Cities Resilient (MCR) 2030” program, the Baguio city government has an outline of initiatives to combat looming climate change risks, he said. 

In terms of infrastructure preparations, the rehabilitation and clean-up of drainage and water ways and slope protection fixtures are underway.

Barangays are also being prepared through continuing capacity building and information education and communication programs, said Mr. Magalong.

Barangay officials recently participated in a series of seminars on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to prepare their barangay response teams conducted by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office under Engr. Charles Bryan Carame.

The mayor said emergency response will be fortified with the introduction of the “orange bag” project where barangays will be required to keep ready emergency tools in attending to emergency situations especially during calamities. — Artemio A. Dumlao

Body scanners for Bilibid urged

BUCOR

IN LIGHT of the controversy over strip-searching visiting wives of inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, a congressman urged the government to provide non-invasive forms of body search assets like body scanners.

Prison guards at the national penitentiary should also undergo gender and elderly sensitivity training to prevent incidents of body searches that trample on the dignity of prison visitors, Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith T. Flores said in a statement issued in Filipino on Sunday.

“I call on the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to provide the National Bilibid Prison with non-invasive body search assets such as machines being used in major airports and drug-sniffing dogs,” he said.

Wives of political prisoners locked at the NBP filed a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) after their “traumatic experience” of being strip-searched, with an elderly visitor subjected to body cavity searches under a directive from prison officials.

“I was made to squat three times and then bend over while opening my private parts to check for any hidden illegal items,” Gloria Almonte, one of the complainants, said in a statement released by political prisoner support group KAPATID last week. “I felt shame during those moments… it felt like my dignity as a human being was being trampled upon.”

The DoJ and DBM should provide the necessary funding for the national penitentiary to procure security equipment to prevent invasive strip searches for prison visitors, Mr. Flores said.

In the meantime, the DoJ and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) could borrow equipment from the Office of Transportation Security so they could immediately halt the practice of invasive body searches, he added.

The BuCor on Friday suspended the practice of strip and body cavity searches pending an investigation on the complaint lodged by wives of political prisoners. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

House to kick off plenary deliberations on Rice Tariffication Law amendments

PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE HOUSE of Representatives will begin plenary debates on a proposed measure seeking to amend the Rice Tariffication Law this week, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said Sunday.

Amendments to the rice law include extending the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for another six years and increasing its allocation to P15 billion from P10 annually.

The proposed amendments also include reinstating the National Food Authority’s (NFA) ability to sell rice directly to retailers, a move seen as reducing the retail prices of the staple product.

“We recognize the urgency of addressing the challenges faced by consumers due to high rice prices,” Mr. Romualdez said in a statement. “Through these plenary debates, we are taking decisive action to… ease the financial strain on Filipino households.”

The retail prices of rice range between P50 to P60 per kilo, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“By amending the Rice Tariffication Law, we aim to bring about tangible reductions in rice prices, ensuring that Filipino consumers are not unduly burdened by high food costs,” Mr. Romualdez said.

Mr. Romualdez earlier said Filipinos would be able to avail rice at below P30 per kilo in July by authorizing the NFA to sell rice through Kadiwa centers.

The Kadiwa program is a marketing initiative by the DA allowing direct farm-to-consumer access.

However, the House leader said allowing the NFA to sell rice directly to Kadiwa centers is only a short-term solution to mounting rice prices, and that only through amending the rice law would rice become cheaper in the long run. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Market! Market! site being readied for redevelopment

TAGUIG.COM

THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said the Market! Market! site in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is set for disposal and redevelopment once its lease ends in 2027.

“The Market! Market! land will be redeveloped, and it will be mixed-use,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua M. Bingcang said at the One Clark Forum organized by the BCDA and the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines.

“It is our single last big property in BGC, and we want to make sure that once we redevelop it, we’ll get the maximum value for the property,” Mr. Bingcang added of the 10-hectare semi-open air retail site managed by Ayala Land, Inc.

The BCDA plans to redevelop the site under a public-private partnership.

“Right now, it’s (the lease is) with Ayala, and of course Ayala can still participate in the redevelopment,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BCDA is also set to release the invitation to bid for the six-hectare mixed-use development in front of the Senate headquarters in Taguig after receiving approval from its board.

“We will publish the terms. But the proposal we got is that the investment should be at least P30 billion,” he said.

Located in front of the New Senate Building, Mr. Bingcang said that the area is a prime location as there will also be a Metro Manila Subway station in the area, which is the Senate-DepEd (Department of Education) Station.

“This is very prime. But right now, it is being occupied by the Navy. So, we will clear out the navy first,” he said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile