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ADB touts microfinance role in building resilience vs climate change

MICROFINANCE institutions (MFIs) should be tapped in helping build resilience against climate change, especially for poorer and more vulnerable communities, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Economic development supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises contributes to the resilience of the poor and vulnerable, including in urban areas,” the ADB said in a report.

“Building resilience against the impacts of climate change and geophysical shocks is critical for economic development and poverty reduction,” it added.

The world faces increasing flooding events; more frequent and longer heat waves; and stronger tropical cyclones, the ADB said.

The world’s extremely poor population is expected to rise to 132 million by 2030 due to the pandemic and climate change, according to the report.

“Microfinance institutions are well-positioned to be part of the solution. Additionally, MFIs in the region have a good history of serving women,” it said.

The ADB said that recent studies for urban MFIs operating in Bangladesh show contributions to savings, educational expenditure, and transportation expenditure, which increases labor mobility.

“MFIs in Bangladesh and Indonesia by and large focus their lending in urban areas. Some of the MFIs are concentrated in a single urban area. These concentrations compound the problems created by a geophysical shock,” it added.

In the Philippines, MFI initiatives should trickle down to the grassroots level, according to an economist.

“This is partly through applying environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards on lending and investment decisions that help promote measures against climate change and make them more far reaching and more inclusive,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“These sectors in rural areas are also among the most prone to disasters due to climate change, especially the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable or hardest-hit given limited resources and probably limited knowledge-awareness. Thus, technical, financial, preparedness, risk mitigated initiatives need to be targeted to them,” he added.

The report concluded that climate change and geophysical shocks are “creating an unresolved conundrum whereby the very financial institutions relied upon by the poor are also especially vulnerable to geophysical shocks, meaning that they are in a poor position to help their community when they are needed the most.”

“The balance sheet of the MFIs suffers, which means that they cannot respond to the community — either through recovery lending or by offering other forms of response immediately after the shock,” it added.

The ADB recommended implementing disaster risk financing solutions in order to support vulnerable communities.

“Efficient disaster risk financing solutions can be used to facilitate MFI recovery lending as an essential facet of building the resilience of the poor and vulnerable and, in turn, their communities,” the multi lender bank said.

MFIs have used disaster risk financing solutions to either expand lending into vulnerable regions or to pre-plan recovery lending programs, the ADB said.

The report also recommended the use of a single debt instrument to wrap normal credit with contingent credit and contingent capital together into one loan agreement.

“Contingent credit rebuilds liquidity and contingent capital flows with risk transfer instruments that are treated as subordinate debt and can be quickly converted to capital under Basel. The risk transfer goes to the global capital markets,” it added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Tablet demand drops as physical classes resume

PIXABAY

THE return of face-to-face classes dampened demand for tablets in the Philippines in the third quarter, according to the International Data Corp. (IDC).

“The Philippines tablet market declined 11.6% quarter on quarter in the third quarter, and was almost flat compared to last year,” the market intelligence company said in a report issued on Nov. 27.

The education market has been the primary driver of tablet sales in the Philippines since schools resorted to blended learning during the pandemic.

“But (the sale of tablets for school use) declined by 47.8% quarter on quarter and 42.4% year on year as more schools, both public and private, returned to physical classes as part of the Department of Education’s expansion of face-to-face classes,” IDC Philippines Market Analyst Angela Jenny V. Medez noted.

With public schools reverting to physical classes beginning November, and the looming global economic slowdown, the IDC expects the tablet market to decline in 2023.

“Even though more Chinese vendors have turned up in the tablet space and sparked competition, we don’t expect them to offset the slowdown of the overall tablet market,” Ms. Medez added.

The top five tablet brands in the Philippines in the third quarter were Samsung with a 43.5% market share, realme (13.9%), Cherry Mobile (11.2%), Huawei (8.6%), and Lenovo (6.4%).

Samsung “more than doubled its shipments compared to the previous quarter and grew 37.7% year on year,” the IDC said.

“This was driven by its top-selling Galaxy Tab A7 Lite model that accounted for almost 80% of its shipments,” it added.

The market intelligence company previously reported that smartphone shipments to the Philippines also fell in the third quarter as a result of inflation and recent typhoons.

Smartphone shipments declined by 8% quarter on quarter and 6.8% year on year, with 3.9 million units shipping in the third quarter, the IDC said.

Recent typhoons and inflation hurt both consumers and vendors, according to the market intelligence company.

“Vendors took a more conservative approach by clearing inventories, maintaining prices of existing models, and sustaining momentum by bringing in more affordable smartphones,” Ms. Medez noted.

Inflation accelerated to 7.7% in October, the highest in nearly 14 years. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Rice inventory up 6.5% as of Oct. 1 

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE rice inventory at the beginning of October increased 6.5% year on year to 2.08 million metric tons (MT), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In a report issued Nov. 25, the PSA said that month on month, the October rice inventory rose 43.5%.

Rice held by households as of Oct. 1 rose 10.7% year on year to 1.17 million MT while inventory held by commercial warehouses, wholesalers, and retailers increased 9.5% to 798,120 MT.

Stocks held by National Food Authority (NFA) depositories fell 33.2% to 111,040 MT.

Compared to September levels, the PSA said that household rice rose 65.1% while inventory held by commercial warehouses rose 27.1%. NFA stocks dropped 1.2%.

“As of Oct. 1, 2022, 56.3% of the total rice stocks were from households, 38.3% from commercial warehouses/wholesalers/retailers, and 5.3% from NFA depositories,” the PSA said.

Meanwhile, the PSA said that total corn stocks increased 40.2% year on year to 720,600 MT as of Oct. 1.

Month on month, corn stocks rose 28.3%.

During the period, corn held by households dropped 1.5% year on year to 210,040 MT while stocks held by commercial warehouses rose 69.8% to 510,570 MT.

Compared to September, corn held by households rose 119.4% while commercial warehouse inventories rose 9.6%.

“Of this month’s total corn stocks inventory, 70.9% were from commercial warehouses/wholesalers/retailers, and 29.1% were from the households,” the PSA said.  — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave 

Understanding transfer pricing methodologies

In our previous articles on transfer pricing (TP), we have discussed the functions, assets, and risks (FAR) analysis, entity characterization, and industry analysis. This time, we will talk about the different transfer pricing methodologies.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Transfer Pricing Guidelines provide five methodologies that are widely used and accepted by almost all tax authorities in determining transfer prices. These include three traditional transaction methods —   comparable uncontrolled price (CUP) method, resale price method (RPM), and cost-plus method (CPM); and two transactional profit methods — transactional net margin method (TNMM) and profit split method (PSM).

These have been adopted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). To better understand them, we will discuss broadly each of the five TP methods with some sample illustrations.

1. CUP METHOD
The CUP method compares the price and conditions of products or services in a controlled transaction (i.e., between related parties) with those of an uncontrolled transaction (i.e., between unrelated parties). In applying the CUP method, comparable data between controlled and uncontrolled transactions are required which must be highly similar in order for prices to be considered comparable.

Since this method compares extremely similar products or services, it is considered the most effective and most reliable way of determining the arm’s-length price for controlled transactions. However, due to the high standards of comparability required in applying the CUP method, it is usually a challenge to identify a transaction that is appropriately comparable to the controlled transaction.

The CUP method can be applied in two ways — the internal CUP and external CUP. Internal CUP is applicable in case the company transacts comparable transactions with related and unrelated parties. On the other hand, external CUP uses comparable data of transactions entered into between two unrelated third parties. Between the two, external CUP is more difficult to apply due to the usual lack of publicly available data on comparable third-party transactions.

Below is an example of how the internal CUP method is applied.

Company A, which is engaged in the lease of commercial space, needs to determine how much rent it should charge Company B, an affiliate, for the lease of a commercial unit in one of the buildings owned by the former. Let’s say Company A leases some commercial space in the same building to third-party lessees. In applying internal CUP, Company A must ascertain that all lease arrangements made with the third-party lessees are sufficiently comparable with the terms and conditions of the lease to Company B (e.g., leased area, payment terms, liability provisions, etc.) in order for Company A to apply the same rent charged to independent third-party lessees to Company B.”

2. RPM
RPM evaluates whether the amount charged in a controlled transaction is at arm’s length by reference to the gross margin realized in a comparable uncontrolled transaction. It uses the selling price of a product or service, or the resale price, from which an appropriate gross profit is subtracted.

The usefulness of this method largely depends on how much added value or alteration the reseller has performed on the product before it is resold, or the time that has lapsed between purchase and onward sale. The greater the value added by the reseller, to the extent that market conditions might have changed before it is resold, the more difficult to use RPM to arrive at the arm’s length price.

Example:

Company C is a distributor of an energy drink manufactured by its parent company in Thailand. The product is being resold by Company C to consumers at P34 per 350ml bottle. Assuming comparable independent distributors earn margins of 5%, the arm’s length transfer price that the parent company may charge Company C is computed below.

Resale price/

Third-party sale price P 34.00

Less: Resale price margin — 5% 1.70

Transfer price P 32.30

3. CPM
Under CPM, the arm’s length price is arrived at by adding an appropriate gross profit to the overall cost (direct and indirect) of producing the goods or services involved in the controlled transaction. This method calls for a very high level of similarity in the functions being performed by the comparable companies. Therefore, if the comparison is not apples-to-apples, the results will not be reliable. As is the case for all transactional methods, the challenge in using CPM is the availability of comparable data and consistency in the accounting methods.

Here is an example of the application of CPM.

Company D provides engineering design services to its Japan-based parent company which is in the construction industry. In determining the appropriate markup (gross cost plus) for the services provided to the Japan affiliate, Company D may use the markup applied for its similar comparable transactions with third parties, provided the costs incurred are substantially the same for both services provided. If no comparable third-party transactions of Company D are available, then independent companies engaged in similar activity with Company D can be identified and can apply those comparable companies’ markup to the transactions with the Japan-based related party.

4. TNMM
Instead of testing and comparing the transfer price, TNMM compares the net margins, relative to an appropriate base such as costs, sales, or assets, attained by an entity from a controlled transaction as against those attained by comparable independent companies involved in similar transactions such that if the level of net margin of the related party is comparable with those independent companies, then the transfer price is carried at arm’s length.

This method is based on the concept that similar firms operating in the same industry would tend to yield similar returns over time. TNMM is the most broadly applicable transfer pricing methodology and commonly used due to its fairly easy implementation which only requires financial data.

Below is an illustration of TNMM.

Company E is a Philippine subsidiary of a US business process outsourcing (BPO) company. The parent company engages Company E to provide BPO services to its clients.

To determine how much profit Company E should earn for its BPO operations, comparable companies engaged in the same business activity in the Philippines are identified. Using the independent comparable companies’ profit margins before tax, a range of profit margins is computed which can be referred to as the arm’s length range of net profit. As such, Company E may then charge service fees to the parent company allowing Company E to earn a level of net profit within the arm’s length range.

5. PSM
Affiliated entities normally enter into closely interrelated transactions, so that they cannot be observed independently from each other. This typically is the case when unique intangibles are involved or where multiple controlled transactions happen at the same time.

Normally, the affiliated entities would agree to split the profits. Thus, in the profit split method, the operating profits or losses from controlled transactions are allocated in proportion to the relative contributions made by each party in creating the combined profits or losses. The terms and conditions of interconnected related party transactions are evaluated to determine how profits would be divided in case similar transactions are entered into between unrelated parties.

Below is an example of the application of profit split method.

Company F is an Australia-based intangible holding company that provides patents to a related manufacturing Company G in Malaysia. Company G sells its entire production to a related marketing company H. Assuming there are no significant marketing intangibles (trademarks, etc.), the determination of arm’s length price for royalties to be charged by Company F to Company G would be as follows:

1. Determine the optimum profits that should be earned by Company G on the basis of the profits of comparable companies (i.e., engaged in manufacturing).

2. Determine the optimum profits that should be earned by Company H on the basis of the profits of comparable companies (i.e., engaged in marketing).

3. Aggregate the entire actual profits of the group (F, G, and H).

4. From such aggregate profits, the optimum profits attributable to activities of Company G and H as determined in the previous steps are deducted.

5. The balance profits would be the value of intangibles held by F and would indicate the optimum level of royalty to be paid by G.

TAKEAWAY
The Philippine transfer pricing rules do not prefer any particular methodology. The tax authority only requires that the method used provides the most reliable measure of an arm’s length result. It is, therefore, crucial in preparing transfer pricing documentation that taxpayers are well informed of the different methodologies and on how and when they are applicable in order to arrive at justifiable transfer prices that comply with the arm’s length principle.

Stay tuned for our next month’s article as we continue to take you through the other components of transfer pricing documentation.

Let’s Talk Tax is a weekly newspaper column of P&A Grant Thornton that aims to keep the public informed of various developments in taxation. This article is not intended to be a substitute for competent professional advice.

 

Arianne Cyril L. Mandac-Villarama is a senior manager from the Tax Advisory & Compliance division of P&A Grant Thornton, the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.

pagrantthornton@ph.gt.com

DoJ chief vows to prosecute top cops in drug war

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

HIGH-RANKING policemen responsible for wrongful deaths in the Duterte government’s war on drugs would be prosecuted, according to the Philippine Justice chief.

“That will happen,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told BusinessWorld in a Viber message on Sunday night in response to calls for the government to hold top-level police officers accountable for drug war killings.

Last week, a Caloocan trial court convicted a cop for torturing two teenagers and planting firearm ammunition, packets of marijuana leaves and crystal meth at the crime scene. He was sentenced to up to 40 years in jail.

Josalee S. Deinla, secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, was skeptical of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) commitment to prosecute higher-ranked cops.

“DoJ will have to improve case buildup by, among others, pursuing serious efforts to detect the perpetrators and enhancing the capacities of law enforcement authorities on evidence-gathering and preservation,” she said in a Viber message.

Union President Ephraim B. Cortez earlier said the conviction of the cop, who held the lowest rank in the police force, should cause a “sigh of relief” for drug war victims.

But the policeman’s superiors have not been brought to justice and that adds to the culture of impunity in the country, he said in a Viber message on Nov. 26.

Mr. Remulla has said he wanted to extend the Witness Protection Program to police officers who are willing to testify on extralegal killings under the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign.

He said a number of cases lacked witnesses since many families decided not to testify.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement on Monday, Interior Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr. said 24,159 drug suspects got arrested from July 1 to Nov. 24. About P9.9 billion worth of illegal drugs were seized during the period, he said.

“This number is a clear indication of the continued strict enforcement of our anti-drug campaign,” he said in Filipino. “We will continue catching drug pushers and drug lords.”

In August, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. told police to temper their use of force while enforcing the law. Mr. Abalos said in July the drug war would be “as intensive as before.”

National police chief Rodolfo S. Azurin, Jr. told a press briefing last week police had killed 46 suspects during illegal drug operations five months into Mr. Marcos’ term.

At least 25 police officers have been charged with murder in connection with ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s deadly drug war, Mr. Remulla told the United Nations  (UN) Human Rights Council this month.

An inter-agency task force had investigated at least 17,000 cops, he added.

There were 221-drug-related killings from January to August this year, Human Rights Watch said in September, citing a joint study by the University of the Philippines and Belgium’s Ghent University.

At least 6,117 suspected drug dealers had been killed in police operations, according to data released by the Philippine government in June last year. Human rights groups estimate that as many as 30,000 suspects died.

The UN Rights Committee has said the government should cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s probe of the drug war.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has said the country’s probe of human rights abuses in the drug war lacked transparency.

Philippine Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra has said the country would block an investigation by the International Criminal Court on the drug war and ensure suspects were tried under local courts.

The Philippines accepted 200 recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council — including investigating extralegal killings and protecting journalists — during its periodic review of the country’s human rights situation this month.

It also agreed to combat gender discrimination and violence, protect human rights defenders, avoid reinstating capital punishment and comply with a UN program on accountability measures and data gathering on police abuses, among other things.

The Philippines will respond to the remaining 89 recommendations “in due course,” Mr. Remulla said earlier.

More than 30 member-states of the UN Human Rights Council have urged the Philippine government to do something about extralegal killings and human rights abuses in extralegal killings in connection with Mr. Duterte’s anti-illegal drug campaign.

“We can’t say if the prosecution of high-level perpetrators from the ranks of the police will happen,” Ms. Deinla said “We need to see it to believe it.”

Daily COVID cases won’t top 5,000, says expert

DAILY coronavirus infections in the Philippines would probably stay below 5,000 after the entry of a new Omicron subvariant and as Filipinos celebrate Christmas next month, an infectious diseases expert said on Monday.

“Even if we see an increase in cases, most of them will likely be mild and won’t be needing hospitalizations,” Edsel Maurice T. Salvaña, a member of a Health department’s technical advisory group, told a televised news briefing in mixed English and Filipino.

Mr. Salvaña said existing vaccines are still effective in preventing severe symptoms of COVID-19.

Health authorities have yet to determine if BQ1, a new Omicron subvariant, is a more severe form of the coronavirus, he added.

Last week, the Department of Health (DoH) said it had detected the first 14 cases of the BQ1 subvariant in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier said global weekly coronavirus cases dropped by 5% on Nov. 14 to 20 from a week earlier, with more than 2.4 million new cases reported. Weekly deaths fell by 13% to 7,800 it said.

In a statement on Nov. 26, DoH said new coronavirus variants and subvariants were expected, adding that Filipinos should learn to live with the virus in the “new normal.”

The WHO first declared Omicron as a variant of concern on Nov. 26 last year.

“We know that the virus mutates and what’s important is that we know how to protect ourselves, get our booster shots and for vulnerable members of our population to keep using face masks,” Mr. Salvaña said.

The OCTA Research Group on Sunday said daily coronavirus infections in the Philippines could hit as many as 3,during the Christmas holidays.

The country might record 2,000 to 3,000 daily coronavirus cases in December, OCTA Research Group fellow Fredegusto P. David said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

OCTA also expects a significant increase in severe and critical cases, though hospital use rate was unlikely to exceed 30%, he added.

The Philippines posted 8,004 coronavirus infections for Nov. 14 to Nov. 20, with a daily average of 1,143 cases.

Mr. David had said daily cases in the country might rise if there were threats from new subvariants of the coronavirus.

The country seeks to increase its vaccination rate and booster uptake amid the possible entry of more deadly variants and subvariants.

The government is set to hold a three-day vaccination campaign on Dec. 5 to 7. To broaden the campaign, it has been coordinating with other organizations such as the Chinese community, malls, fast-food restaurants and private doctors.

The Philippines has fully vaccinated 73.71 million people, according to DoH data. About 21 million people have received booster shots.

The United States will donate $5 million (P284 million) to boost the Philippines’ vaccination drive, the White House said last week.

The US government said it would also invest $8 million to strengthen its global health security partnership with the Philippines to “help prevent avoidable outbreaks, detect health threats early and respond rapidly and effectively when outbreaks occur.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez

House measure to prevent import fraud — lawmaker

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

A PHILIPPINE party-list representative on Monday said imports continue to be underdeclared, with many smuggled items getting through the Bureau of Customs using spurious documents.

“The very source of the perpetuation and perpetration of irregularities in the Bureau of Customs start with commercial invoice,” Party-list Rep. Rodante D. Marcoleta said at a House of Representatives hearing.

The congressman, who filed a measure that seeks to require that the value of imported goods in shipping and airline documents be declared, said these are the “most crucial information” on which taxes are based.

“This is where irregularities come in,” he added, noting that shippers could misdeclare, undervalue and misclassify imported items.

Under House Bill 178, which will amend the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, port collectors must ensure that hard copies and digitally transmitted copies of cargo manifest are consistent.

Requiring the carrier to declare the value of goods in the import documents allows the state to properly assess the duty, tax and other charges, according to the bill’s explanatory note.

Customs Director Yasser Ismail A. Abbas told the hearing they “fully support” the measure, but said the provisions should be added to Sec. 700 to 707 of the Customs Modernization law.

This will allow the state to question cases of wrong invoicing and other fraud, Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla told congressmen. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Senator pushes for in-city, suburban resettlement sites

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

A SENATOR on Monday pushed for the construction of resettlement sites within or at the outskirts of urban areas, where beneficiaries of housing programs can still have easy access to livelihood, utilities, and public services.   

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito, during a hearing on Monday, said informal settlers should be given “meaningful” relocation as he backed several bills that seek to institutionalize on-site, in-city and near-city housing projects.   

He said the national government’s current housing projects are mostly built “out of compliance,” with sites far from workplaces and basic social services.   

“If houses are built just for compliance and living conditions of potential occupants are not considered, a noble cause to provide shelter is bound to fail,” said Mr. Ejercito, chair of the Senate Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement Committee.  

“Even if our government builds thousands of housing units, if they are far from the ISF’s (informal settler families) places of work and lack basic facilities such as health facilities, educational facilities, they will leave them again,” he added.  

He cited the St. Josephville project in San Juan as an example of a successful in-city resettlement project, which was undertaken when he was city mayor.   

“It is the St. Josephville which seems to have become a blueprint for in-city projects in different parts of the Philippines,” he said. “In-city resettlement has also been implemented in Iloilo City and Valenzuela City.”  

NHA CHARTER
The senator also called for the renewal of the corporate charter of the National Housing Authority (NHA), which is set to expire in 2025.  

“We recognize the vital role of the agency in the housing sector as the sole production arm of the government,” he said. “We must not disarm the NHA with their mandate.” 

“We cannot meet our target of building a million houses per year and six million by the end of President (Ferdinand) Bongbong Marcos’ term if the NHA will cease to exist,” he added. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

SC asked to grant protection to pastors allegedly tagged as communists

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

MEMBERS of a religious group on Monday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to grant protection to two pastors and another member who feel under threat after they were allegedly tagged as communists by military officers.  

In a 62-page petition, members of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) said the red-tagging by the military brought fear and intimidation to its ministers.  

“This petition for the Writ of Amparo seeks the protection of the honorable court over the two ordained pastors and a lay leader who, because of their gospel work, spiritual ministry, and compassion for the poor and the oppressed, are now facing threats to their own life, liberty, and security.”  

The Writ of Amparo is a legal remedy available to anyone whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated by a public official or employee.  

The petitioners asked the tribunal to prohibit generals of the Philippine Army and the 2nd Infantry Division and some members of the 59th Infantry Battalion from being within one kilometer of the residence and work addresses of the religious group members.  

The members said they have been the subject of surveillance and have been coerced to surrender as members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. (CPP)  

During a United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council session on Nov. 17, the United States said Philippine state officials should stop tagging people as communists. 

The US State Department included the CPP-NPA in its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in August 2002.   

Last month, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told the UN Human Rights Committee that the government should be able to respond to its detractors. 

“If a person is able to dish out criticism, they should be able to take criticism as well especially if they are supporting those that are promoting the death of our people,” he said, according to a livestream of the committee’s 136th session.  

A Manila trial court earlier ruled the CPP-NPA is a legitimate political movement, despite the Anti-Terrorism Council labeling the groups as terrorist organizations.  

The Department of Justice earlier said it would take its plea seeking to declare the CPP as a terrorist group before the Court of Appeals.  

“Taking into consideration the totality of these circumstances, it cannot be denied that there is clear danger to the lives of the petitioners,” the religious group members said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Batanes lighthouses get navigational equipment, solar lights

THE LIGHTHOUSE in Sabtang, Batanes. — PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

FOUR lighthouses in Batanes are getting equipped with navigational and solar lights, improving maritime safety in the country’s northernmost waters, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said in Monday.   

The coast guard team arrived in the province Sunday using the BRP Gabriela Silang vessel and started installation work on Monday at the Sabtang lighthouse.  

“This is part of a 15-day mission to ensure the safety of fishermen and mariners navigating the expansive waters of the province,” the PCG said in a statement in Filipino.   

Batanes is composed of several islands, with the northernmost Mavulis just about 100 kilometers from Taiwan.   

Mavulis is an uninhabited island with a permanent Philippine military outpost equipped with a solar power system and desalination plant. It also has a shelter area for fishermen during rough weather.   

The three other lighthouses that will be installed with navigational lights are in Mahatao, Ivana, and Valanga. — MSJ

Over 1,000 vacancies on offer at BoI job fair on Dec. 12

BOI

THE BOARD of Investments (BoI) will conduct a job fair at the Makati Coliseum on Dec. 12 as part of its ongoing effort to help provide employment opportunities.  

In a statement on Monday, the agency said the BoI@55 Job Fair would feature over a thousand job vacancies at BoI-registered companies involved in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, construction, energy, transportation and storage, and real estate development.    

“(T)he activity is part of the agency’s 55th founding anniversary celebration.   Over the years, the BoI promotes and generates investments with the end goal of providing quality jobs for the Filipino people,” the BoI said.     

The job fair would also have employment opportunities from other national government agencies.    

“Interested participants in the Job Fair can pre-register at www.tinyurl.com/BOIJobFair. Walk-ins are also welcome provided they register at the registration area. Job seekers should be ready with copies of their resume and credentials,” the BoI said.    

The BoI is an industry development and investment promotion agency under the Department of Trade and Industry. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Bill seeks creation of drug overdose info campaign, case tracking system

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

A BILL that will set up an information campaign and reporting system on drug overdose cases has been filed at the Senate.   

“Whether the drug overdose is accidental or intentional, I believe we can handle the side effects and the dangers to life that drug overdose can cause,” Senator Manuel “Lito” M. Lapid, author of Senate Bill 1498, said in a mix of English and Filipino in a statement on Monday.  

Under the measure, the Department of Health (DoH) will be the lead agency of the program, which will include educational and intervention initiatives to reduce the rate of drug overdose.  

The department will also be mandated to publish regular reports on drug overdose trends, including information on emergency room utilization for treatment and costs.  

“It is important that responsible government branches such as the DoH can provide important information like emergency services that can be carried out to those who experience drug overdose,” Mr. Lapid said.  

The DoH will also be required to provide an annual advisory to municipal, city and provincial officials on the prevalence of drug overdose incidents in their respective areas, as well as best practices and strategies for addressing the issue.  

The proposed law also makes it illegal for anyone to knowingly withhold, fail to disclose, or falsify any information relating to an incident of drug overdose.   

“It is important for the public to see the data related to this, and what they can do if they or their loved ones experience drug overdose,” the senator said.   

“Providing correct information to our countrymen is a powerful weapon to protect us from the adverse effects of drug overdose.” — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

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