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Filipino-Chinese chamber calls for liquidity support to spur consumption

THE Filipino-Chinese business chamber said one of the keys to recovery will be liquidity of sufficient volume to encourage a major boost in consumer spending.

Henry Lim Bon Liong, president of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc., called on banks and the National Government to help “unleash liquidity” to fuel consumption, which he called “the engine of economic recovery.”

Speaking at the virtual Kamuning Bakery forum Tuesday, he added: “We will vigorously restore confidence and revitalize our economy. It may take time to achieve our pre-pandemic growth targets, but we have to start now by spending.”

Banks can also extend support to small companies, along with larger firms that want to consolidate, he said.

Mr. Lim said that producers, in turn, should help keep basic goods affordable.

“We urge our fellow entrepreneurs to be socially responsible, resourceful, and to think of long-term stability, even if we have to make some sacrifices. Let’s help maintain affordable prices, sufficient inventories of basic goods, especially food and medical supplies.”

Household spending in the second quarter rose 7.2% year on year after declining 15% a year earlier. The unemployment rate was 6.9% in July, the equivalent of 3.073 million out of work.

Following the reimposition of strict lockdown settings last month, retailers called for more rapid vaccination against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). They warned that their stores are seeing minimal foot traffic and that their cash reserves are depleted.

Meanwhile, Restaurant Owners of the Philippines President Eric Teng at the same event said the new alert level lockdown system has created some business stability.

“Having an alert system — like a typhoon system — allows us to have some predictability, so we can prepare our staff. We can prepare our restaurant; we can prepare our stocks,” he said.

“Sometimes, it’s the abrupt the decisions that hurt just as much as the quarantine.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

House resolution backs more DTI funding to aid small businesses

PHILSTAR

LEGISLATORS filed a resolution in the House seeking to increase the budget of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for aid directed to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

With 2022 department budgets moving to plenary level, Valenzuela Rep. Weslie T. Gatchalian, Navotas Rep. John Reynald M. Tiangco, and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo filed House Resolution seeking to increase DTI’s budget for next year by at least P1.623 billion to bolster MSME assistance programs.

“There is an immediate need to provide further assistance for the upskilling and reskilling of our MSMEs as we transition to digitization in these new times,” according to the resolution.

It noted estimates from the DTI that around 10% of MSMEs as of June have been forced to shut down permanently due to lack of sales or meager returns on investment.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said at a House budget briefing on Sept. 10 that the DTI’s funds for next year for MSMEs are sufficient to support only 500,000 businesses.

He said that the 2022 budget for MSME loans is P1.5 billion while P1 billion has been allotted for livelihood kits. The department can also tap P2 billion to P3 billion in cash remaining from the Bayanihan II economic stimulus package intended for MSMEs.

The DTI’s proposed budget is P23.7 billion next year. This year’s budget is P21.43 billion. — Russell Louis C. Ku

Farmers seek relief as palay prices drop below cost of production

RICE FARMERS said the government needs to provide assistance due to the farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, which has fallen below production costs.

Rosendo O. So, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) chairman, said the average farmgate price of palay as of Tuesday morning was P14 per kilogram (/kg) in Pangasinan, Batangas, and Isabela; P13/kg in Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Laguna; and P10/kg in Mindoro.  

According to SINAG, the cost of production for palay during this cropping season is P15/kg.

“Siguradong babagsak pa ang presyo ng palay dahil magsisimula pa lamang ang bulto ng anihan in 1-2 weeks (prices are sure to fall further when much of the harvest comes in in 1-2 weeks),” Mr. So said in a statement.

Mr. So added that rice millers and traders are only willing to buy palay at P12 to P13/kg due to the “deluge of imported rice.”

“Even the millers are not motivated to buy palay. They are already at a loss because of the surge in rice imports,” Mr. So said.

Mr. So urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to purchase the palay harvest at P16/kg for fresh palay and P19/kg for dry.

“Where are Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar and the economic managers? They claim that the tariff cuts will improve our domestic production and provide needed support to our farmers and producers,” Mr. So said.  

President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 135 on May 15 which lowered the most-favored nation tariff rates on rice imports to “diversify the country’s market sources.”

Under the order, the tariff on rice imports was reduced to 35% from 40% for volumes within the quota. Shipments exceeding the quota are to be charged 50%. 

In a virtual briefing Tuesday, Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel T. Cayanan said the national average farmgate price of fresh palay and dry palay as of the second week of September were at P14.89/kg and P18.10/kg, respectively. He was citing data from the Philippine Rice Information System.

Mr. Cayanan confirmed that there are some areas with a farmgate price of P10/kg, but added that in those cases the palay harvest was either damaged or exceeded the prescribed moisture content. 

The DA is urging local government units (LGUs) in the top rice-producing provinces to purchase palay straight from the farmers to increase farmgate prices during the cropping season.

LGUs will help supplement purchases made by the National Food Authority, which has a palay procurement fund of “P7 billion yearly, enough to buy 300,000 metric tons (MT) at a maximum price of P19/kg,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a separate statement.

DA Region II Director Narciso A. Edillo said the farmgate price of fresh palay ranges from P13 to P15/kg in his jurisdiction, while dry palay sells for P17 to P19/kg.

For 2021, the DA is targeting production of more than 20 million MT of rice, against 19.4 million MT in 2020. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PHL evaluating impact of Evergrande crisis on Chinese contractors

REUTERS

THE GOVERNMENT will evaluate the health of Chinese contractors participating in the infrastructure program in the wake of the debt crisis engulfing property developer China Evergrande Group, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

“We are currently checking if any of the Chinese contractors involved in our ‘Build, Build, Build’ program will be negatively affected by the reported problems of Evergrande,” Mr. Dominguez told reporters Tuesday.

Evergrande is currently dealing with a debt load of $305 billion in debt and needs to make a payment of $83.5 million in interest for its March 2022 bond by Thursday. It also needs to make a $47.5 million payment by Sept. 29 on its March 2024 notes, according to Reuters.

Default fears are threatening to spread to the broader Chinese economy as well as international markets.

In a note Tuesday, research house Oxford Economics said it is not expecting the Chinese government to arrange a bail out for the company, though it will likely pursue a “managed restructuring of the firm’s debt to prevent disorderly debt recovery efforts, reduce systemic risk, and contain economic disruption.”

“If a restructuring plan along these lines works, we expect the implications for the overall economic and policy outlook to remain contained. However, financial conditions for the broader property sector will remain tense for some time, with some spill-over into wider financial sector stress,” it said.

Oxford Economics said a bigger financial and economic fall arising from the restructuring measures may, however, force China to ease on its stringent policies in the property sector and even for the broader macroeconomic policy to prevent the economy from experiencing a severe downturn. — Beatrice M. Laforga

SMC engages urban planner Palafox to make Pasig River Expressway ‘green’

PHILSTAR

SAN MIGUEL CORP. (SMC) said Tuesday that it hired the firm of Felino A. Palafox, Jr., an architect, environment planner, and green urbanism advocate, to participate in building the P95-billion Pasig River Expressway (PAREX).

“Together with Palafox and Associates, we will build what will be the country’s first sustainable infrastructure, one that will not just be ‘green’, but will have multiple uses and direct environmental, social, and economic benefits to Filipinos,” SMC President Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.

Mr. Palafox brings with him “decades of experience” as a master-planner of some 1,700 projects in 45 countries, according to the conglomerate.

The supplemental toll operations agreement for the 19.37-kilometer PAREX project was signed Tuesday.

The project is a six-lane elevated expressway that will run from Radial Road 10 in the City of Manila to Circumferential Road 6, also known as the future South East Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME) in Taguig. It will run along the banks of the Pasig River.

“PAREX will also be for pedestrians and cyclists. It will not just be for motorized transportation and convenience, but also for maintaining our health and well-being. It will not just ‘beautify’ the surroundings — it will rehabilitate the Pasig River and inspire urban renewal in Metro Manila,” Mr. Ang said.

SMC has allotted P2 billion to rehabilitate the Pasig River.

The conglomerate is also planning to expand water transport through ferries that will connect Metro Manila’s main waterways like Laguna de Bay, the Pasig River, Manila Bay, and the Marikina River.

At the toll road agreement signing ceremony, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, who has been in the initial list of senatorial candidates for 2022 of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, said he prefers that no toll hikes are implemented during the pandemic.

“Are we expecting increases at this time? Kung ako ‘ho ang masusunod, maaaring apruban ‘yung increase, pero ‘wag i-implement ngayon. Pagka’t kailangang balansihin ‘yung pangangailangan ng publiko sa pangangailangan ng mga negosyante (If it were up to me, increases might be approved but not immediately implemented. We need to balance the needs of the public with those of businesses),” Mr. Tugade said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Manila: Aussie nuclear deal to balance power

THE PHILIPPINES is backing a defense pact that allows Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines using technology that the United States had only previously shared with Britain, saying it could keep the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The fresh enhancement of Australia’s military capacity through this trilateral security partnership would be beneficial in the long term,” Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said in a statement posted on the agency’s website on Sept. 19.

His view differs from that of neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, which warned that the alliance could provoke a nuclear arms race in the region. Singapore was more neutral, saying it hoped the deal “would contribute constructively to the peace and stability of the region and complement the regional architecture.”

China, the unspoken target of Washington’s latest effort to boost its influence in the region, criticized the agreement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last week said the pact “seriously undermined regional peace and stability, exacerbated the arms race and undermined international nuclear nonproliferation efforts.”

Mr. Zhao added that any regional alliance “should not target or harm the interests of third parties.”

“Australia’s actions reflect its concerns about this geographic imbalance and its desire to help maintain regional peace and security,” Mr. Locsin said. “That is its prerogative.”

He added that without an actual presence of nuclear weapons, the military alliance does not violate a 1995 treaty to keep nuclear arms out of Southeast Asia.

He said the Philippines was open to discussing this with other governments. “We appreciate Australia’s continued and absolute commitment to meeting its obligations under the Nonproliferation Treaty and to the highest standards of nuclear stewardship.”

The pact also allows for greater collaboration among the three countries on cyber-capabilities and artificial intelligence.

It will make Australia the seventh country in the world to have nuclear-powered submarines, after the US, Britain, France, China, India and Russia.

The South China Sea remains a source of tension as the US, one of the Philippines’ oldest allies, and other Western countries hold so-called freedom of navigation operations to keep China, which claims more than 80% of the sea, at bay.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who has sought closer and investment ties with China since he became President in 2016, has said the Philippines could not afford war with China, adding that the sea dispute should be resolved peacefully.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “singly and collectively do not possess the military wherewithal to maintain peace and security in Southeast Asia, discourage the sudden creation of crises therein, and avoid disproportionate and hasty responses by rival great powers,” Mr. Locsin said.

“Preventive diplomacy and the rule of law do not stand alone in the maintenance of peace and security,” he added.

He also cited an imbalance in the forces available to ASEAN member states, “with the main balancer more than half a world away.”

Mr. Locsin said Australia’s ability to project power should restore and keep the balance rather than destabilize it.

He also noted that despite advances in military science, time, distance and water remain major constants in determining security capacity to respond to threats.

“The Philippines aspires for the South China Sea to remain a sea of peace, security, stability, and prosperity,” the country’s top envoy said. “We are acutely aware of great power dynamics; with a sharp eye we will engage in practical and mutually beneficial cooperation aligned with the priority areas of the outlook.”

The trilateral military alliance had also incensed France, which felt its Indo-Pacific interests had been torpedoed by the submarine deal. The pact brought its own 2016 deal to build submarines for Australia to an abrupt end.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that in spite of the hard feelings among rivals and allies, the deal with the US and Britain was an opportunity his country could not turn down.

The advantages of nuclear submarines were clear, he said. “They’re faster, they have greater power, greater stealth, more carrying capacity.” — Norman P. Aquino

Pinoys should reject ‘historical amnesia’ on Marcos regime

VP LENI OFFICIAL ROBREDO FB PAGE

VICE PRESIDENT Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo on Tuesday rejected efforts to bury accounts of abuses during the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos’ martial rule, as the country commemorated its 49th anniversary. 

In a statement, the opposition leader said Filipinos should not forget the human rights violations and economic plunder that occurred during the strongman’s two-decade rule. Filipinos are still paying for the foreign debts incurred by the Marcoses, she added.

“If we shut up and prevent the flow of narratives in our own spaces, money and power will dictate history,” Ms. Robredo said in Filipino. “We need to keep reciting the truth. The Filipino suffered under the Marcos regime.”

Tens of thousands of Filipinos were jailed and 34,000 more were tortured during the dictatorship, according to Amnesty International. About 3,000 people died during the darkest period in Philippine history.

The Commission on Human Rights urged Filipinos to keep rejecting the monopoly of power.

“Although it is painful to remember the complex experience of those who fought for democracy in the past, we must not stop remembering and making sure that we will never forget,” spokesperson Jacqueline Ann C. de Guia said in a statement in Filipino posted on the agency’s website.

Ms. De Guia also reminded Filipinos to be critical in voting for the country’s new leaders next year.

“Instead of giving up, it is important that we focus the energy, anger and patience we feel in the current situation toward prosecuting the perpetrators and advancing governance reform,” she added.

Several human rights activists held protests in the capital region, seeking an end to the reign of President Rodrigo R. Duterte whom they likened to Mr. Marcos.

Police were put on alert to ensure peace and that health protocols were followed during the rallies.

The police “respect the conduct of protest actions so we hope that the protesters will also respect the rules to ensure your safety especially during a pandemic,” national police chief Guillermo T. Eleazar said in a statement in Filipino.

Meanwhile, the Ateneo de Manila University criticized “historical amnesia,” with many martial law victims now dead.

“The main actors are now back in the spotlight, working hard to blatantly revise history,” it said in a statement. It noted that Filipinos born after 1986, when a popular street uprising toppled the Marcos regime and forced the family to go into exile in the US, are too young to understand the impact of that period.

The university said that martial law under the dictator is “too critical and too important to be forgotten,” adding that the country was bound to make the same mistakes if Filipinos forget their past.

Critics earlier slammed actress and vlogger Celestine “Toni” C. Gonzaga for allowing Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. to spread “lies” about his father’s two-decade rule through an interview that she uploaded on her YouTube channel.

The Ateneo Martial Law Museum called the video an “attempt to whitewash human rights violations and proven historical record.”

“It is a tall order, but Ateneo de Manila University, along with the historians, educators and institutional partners who have been working on the digital museum will always strive to keep our collective memory, however painful, alive,” it said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Bianca Angelica D. Añago and Russell Louis C. Ku

Manila mayor may run for President 

ISKO MORENO DOMAGOSO FB PAGE

MANILA Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso will run for President next year, competing with boxing champion Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao. 

The former matinee idol will run in tandem with Willie Ong, a doctor who lost in the senatorial race in 2019, Manila City spokesman Julius Leonen said in a Viber message on Tuesday. 

President Rodrigo R. Duterte has said Mr. Domagaso — also known as Isko Moreno — does not deserve to be President given his past as a sexy actor. 

The actor used to be a scavenger and pedicab driver in one of the most populated districts of the Philippine capital before he was discovered by a talent scout. 

Aside from the boxing legend, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson has also announced his presidential ambition. Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. has said he would seek a national position. 

There is also said to be a clamor for presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run for President in the 2022 elections. 

Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo has said she might support a tandem between Mr. Domagoso and Mr. Pacquiao if only to end the ruling party’s dominance. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

Gov’t to build science high school in Tarlac province 

THE GOVERNMENT will build a 4.6-hectare Philippine Science High School campus in New Clark City in Tarlac province, according to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). 

The campus will serve senior high school students, while a resource center will be built for teachers and professionals, the state company said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The BCDA approved the master plan for the state campus, which will help train both teachers and science professionals, last month. 

The site will also house the growing number of students and employees at the existing Clark Freeport Zone Philippine Science High School campus. 

“The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has highlighted the valuable contribution of science and technology in our society,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Vivencio B. Dizon said in the statement. “We will also be able to build our pool of researchers and professionals who will help us prevent other pandemics in the future.” 

BCDA and Philippine Science High School signed an agreement to build the campus and learning resource center in 2016. The contract for the architectural and engineering design of the campus is yet to be decided. 

Based on the master plan, 80% of the campus area will be open spaces. Occupied spaces will have laboratories, training venues and living quarters. 

“The new campus will have facilities for traditional and alternative learning, as well as indoor and outdoor setups showcasing the latest technological innovations,” BCDA said. 

The campus will feature training, research and innovation centers, a technology hub, multipurpose academic and administration buildings, a summer camp area and dormitories, which will be built in phases. 

The Philippine Science High School system, an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology, prepares students for science and technology careers. — Jenina P. Ibañez 

More than 16,000 more infected 

A HEALTH WORKER at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute pushes a patient in a wheelchair in this Aug. 15, 2021 photo. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) reported 16,361 coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 2.4 million. 

The death toll rose to 37,074 after 140 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 21,974 to 2.19 million, it said in a bulletin. 

There were 171,142 active cases, 92.4% of which were mild, 2.8% did not show symptoms, 1.4% were severe, 2.69% were moderate and 0.6% were critical. 

DoH said 61 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 46 of which were tagged as recoveries, while 60 recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Four laboratories failed to submit data on Sept. 19. 

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night said there had been “false positive” results in coronavirus tests done by the Philippine Red Cross, which is headed by Senator Richard J. Gordon who has since turned into his political foe. 

He said 44 of 49 health workers who had tested positive turned out to be negative in a test at another laboratory. 

The tough-talking leader also said at a taped Cabinet meeting more than 200 members of the Presidential Security Guard who had tested positive for the coronavirus turned out to be negative. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said “it is possible for test results from the same case collectorate at two different time points to vary.” 

“The outcome of a laboratory test result is influenced by multiple factors, affecting all the phases of testing from pre-analytic, analytic to post-analytic (from specimen collection, specimen transport, specimen evaluation, nucleic acid extraction, testing, results analysis, verification and releasing),” she added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

Gov’t urged to improve response 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE MAKATI Business Club (MBC) on Tuesday urged the government to improve its coronavirus pandemic response as the economy reopens. 

In a discussion paper, the business group cited the need to improve the country’s healthcare system and boost isolation and quarantine efforts. 

“We cannot just vaccinate our way to reopening and recovery,” group Chairman Edgar O. Chua said. “We need physical facilities, tech enabled systems, financially viable hospitals and healthcare workers who are properly paid and provided for.” 

“We can’t fight COVID without the hospitals, we can’t run the hospitals without healthcare workers,” he added. 

The group also asked the government to boost vaccine supply and vaccinate all Filipinos. The government must also set aside funds for booster shots, it added. It also said companies should be allowed to buy their own vaccines. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

Gordon calls Duterte a bully 

SENATOR Richard J. Gordon on Tuesday said he was not afraid of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, whom he called a bully for lambasting him and the Senate probe of alleged government misuse of anti-pandemic funds. 

“Quite frankly Mr. President, you are boring,” the lawmaker, who heads the Senate blue ribbon committee, said at a hearing. “I am not afraid of you. Do your worst as you did with ABS-CBN, as you did to an elected senator.” 

“You are a bully. The Filipino people can fight back against bullies. The Filipinos can have a revolution against bullies,” he added. 

Mr. Gordon said Mr. Duterte had taken the Senate investigation as a personal attack. 

“We have deprived the Filipino people proper access to hospitalization, so many people are getting sick,” he said in mixed English and Filipino. “People are having a hard time finding hospitals, that’s what deserves our attention.” 

“Why are you fighting me? I am only doing my duty,” he added. 

During the hearing, Mr. Gordon scolded former Budget Procurement Service chief Lloyd C. Lao for his alleged arrogance, which he traced to presidential backing. 

“Shame on you,” Mr. Gordon said. “This guy thinks he’s the king of the highway.” 

Mr. Lao defended Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp., which received P8 billion worth of contracts for medical supplies. He said the company had the capacity to deliver and had no negative record. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

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