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Standard Chartered cuts PHL growth outlook, citing slow pickup in investment

STANDARD CHARTERED Bank lowered its growth forecast for the Philippines this year to 4.6%, citing the slow pace of the recovery in private investment as well as the delayed pickup in the government’s infrastructure program.

The new forecast is much lower than the 6.1% estimate it gave in January and is also below the government’s 6-7% target. Meanwhile, the bank expects growth of 6.6% in 2022.

“Private investment is likely to be very subdued given that most corporates are still at overcapacity and the demand outlook is very soft. That puts the onus on the government,” Chidu Narayanan, an economist for Asia at Standard Chartered, said.

Mr. Narayanan said the bank does not expect a substantial increase in infrastructure investment this year.

Philippine first quarter gross domestic product declined 4.2% after the record drop of 9.6% in 2020.

In the three months to March, capital formation, or the investment component of the economy, fell for a fifth straight quarter, declining 18.3%.

“We think the earliest that Build, Build, Build infrastructure will pick up substantially will be mid-third quarter. So sometime in August, is when we expect a pickup in infrastructure investment,” Mr. Narayanan said.

Consumption is also likely to remain muted in the second half, he said. Despite continued support from remittances and with middle-income workers able to work from home and continue earning income, Mr. Narayanan said cautious sentiment is preventing consumption from gaining traction.

Household spending, which makes up about 70% of the economy, continued to decline, falling 4.8% in the first quarter, which represented a slowdown in the contraction after a 7.3% fall in the fourth quarter.

Mr. Narayanan said the bank expects the central bank to maintain policy rates at record lows until the end of 2022 and to keep up support for the economy while economic activity remains muted. The bank expects the economy to return to pre-pandemic level output by the second half of 2022.

“I think it’s just way too early to be discussing (the central bank) normalizing policy. We will have to see a growth pick up… a return of activity to pre-COVID levels, labor market strengthening and the overall sentiment picking up substantially,” Mr. Narayanan said.

Central bank officials have promised to keep monetary policy loose until the recovery becomes more sustainable, which they expect to happen around the second half of 2022. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

National Gov’t seeking to fast-track acquisition of BARMM property outside region

PHILSTAR

PROPERTY OWNED by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which is outside the region needs to be sold to the National Government as soon as possible to raise funds for BARMM projects, according to the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB).

In a statement Thursday, the Department of Finance said the IGRB’s technical working group (TWG) has been ordered sell the assets of the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which are outside the territory of the BARMM.

“The TWG is tasked to find ways to speed up the disposition of the properties so that the proceeds of the sale can be used by the Bangsamoro government for the implementation of development projects in their region,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin was quoted as saying during the council’s meeting last month.

He said the group will conduct a study on assessing the property and resolving various outstanding issues.

The IGRB aims to help the Bangsamoro government achieve a smooth transition through regular meetings of BARMM officials with their counterparts in the National Government.

“These back-to-back meetings underscore the strong partnership and cooperation between the National Government and the Bangsamoro government to resolve issues on the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law through regular consultation and continuing dialogue,” according to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who co-chairs the intergovernmental body.

During the meeting, the officials also discussed how the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA) can be repurposed after finding overlapping functions with those of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).

The SPDA was established in 1975 to promote development and attract investment to the region.

MinDa was created in 1992 to “promote and coordinate the active participation of all sectors to effect the socio-economic development of Mindanao.”

BARMM was set up via Republic Act No. 11054 or the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, signed in July 2018. — Beatrice M. Laforga

PHL seen needing more investment in climate change projects to reduce vulnerability

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

VULNERABLE COUNTRIES in Asia and the Pacific such as the Philippines need to invest more in projects that make them more resilient against climate change, according to experts from the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).

The Philippines is among the countries suffering the most from the pandemic, past financial crises, natural disasters and other climate-related shocks in the Asia-Pacific, Sweta Saxena, head of the Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division of ESCAP, said in an online forum arranged by the two organizations Thursday.

“The socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was amplified due to lack of resilience and investment in people and the planet. Continuity in policy support is a must and recovery policy packages should focus on building resilience and investing in the 2030 agenda,” she said.

After the region sustained around 450 shocks since the 1960s, the Asia-Pacific has succeeded in lowering the frequency of financial crises, but not much has been done to mitigate the impact of other shocks.

“However, the frequency of other things like natural disasters and pandemics have actually risen over time. All these shocks tend to have a big impact on these economies, and in social and environment aspects as well,” she said.

“These shocks are quite taxing on the economies because they leave long-term scars,” she added, citing reduced investments five years after the past financial crisis, higher inequality and lower environmental performance especially during natural disasters.

The Philippines is among the countries worst hit by natural disasters over the past two decades, based on the climate risk index, which according to John Beirne, research fellow at the ADBI, makes it more difficult for such countries to boost their resilience against climate change.

In the worst-case climate change scenario, Mr. Beirne said the Philippines is the most vulnerable country in Southeast Asia, with projected losses of 0.98% in output per capita by 2030.

The damage is expected to amount to 3.09% of gross domestic product per capita by 2050 and 8.46% by 2100.

Also on the vulnerable end of the table are Indonesia and Vietnam, while Cambodia will likely suffer the least.

The Asia-Pacific region’s progress in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 has also been lagging even before the pandemic reversed gains achieved by these countries.

ESCAP’s Ms. Saxena urged countries to undertake “ambitious spending” to offset the reverses, especially the least developed countries.

“Countries should do whatever it takes to safeguard sustainable development in times of crisis; having supportive macroeconomic policies and external financing alongside adequate social services, they could reduce the setbacks in incomes, human capital and environment,” she said.

The number of poor people will be reduced by 180 million in the long term, reducing inequality, bringing down carbon emissions by 30% and improving air quality, assuming the adoption of “ambitious spending” packages.

“If you invest in this kind of a package, that’s definitely going to be beneficial. By how much? It depends as the more sugar you put, the sweeter it’s going to be. However, the negative side is that it’s going to jack up debt levels in the region,” she added.

She estimated Asia-Pacific debt levels to be currently equivalent to 50% of the region’s total output, possibly rising to 75% in 2030 if governments boost their spending. — Beatrice M. Laforga

More Chinese ships may be dumping waste at sea

ANCHORED ships are creating Chlorophyll-a blooms at Union Banks. — SIMULARITY, INC.

CHINESE ships could also be dumping human wastes in other parts of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines, US-based geospatial imagery firm Simularity, Inc. said on Thursday.

Simularity’s earlier report showing swarms of Chinese ships anchored in Philippine-claimed areas in the South China Sea dumping human waste only covered Union Banks, founder and Chief Executive Officer Liz Derr told a virtual forum hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

“That was just for the 236 ships that we saw in Union Banks in June,” she said. “There are actually more ships in the Spratlys that I did not count, the ones in Gaven or Thitu.”

Ms. Derr noted that based on their calculations, 2,596 pounds or more than a ton of human wastes were being dumped around the Spratly and Paracel Islands daily.

She also asked Philippine authorities to validate their report. “I wholeheartedly encourage the government to validate our findings, question our findings, understand the science and see for themselves.”

She issued the call after Philippine authorities downplayed the firm’s report that human waste and wastewater have accumulated at Union Banks in the resource-rich Spratly Islands, where more than 200 Chinese ships have moored.

Ms. Derr said there are ways to address the issue that would not lead to an “international incident.”

Environment Undersecretary and spokesman Benny D. Antiporda on Wednesday downplayed the report, saying the image showed not waste discharge but most probably oil spill.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana also questioned the report, saying it was only based on multi-spectral satellite images.

“We’ve done this from space because that’s really all anybody can do right now because the area is really militarized,” Ms. Derr said.

She earlier said the raw sewage had led to the overgrowth of harmful algae in the disputed area, threatening marine life and damaging corals.

Mr. Lorenzana has said concerned agencies were verifying the report.

Meanwhile, a group of congressmen has filed a resolution calling on the House committees on aquaculture and foreign affairs to investigate the report.

“The constant dumping of human waste and sewage of vessels seriously destroys the reefs and marine life in the West Philippine Sea,” members of the Makabayan block said in the resolution, referring to areas of the sea within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

“This could lead to a decrease in food supply and could eventually result in a hunger crisis for the entire world since the West Philippine Sea is a source of food for migratory fish,” they added.

Senator Ralph G. Recto said he asked the government to verify the Simularity report and file charges in court if needed. He said  the government could not fine sidewalk litterers while turning a blind eye to this.

Mr. Recto noted that ships are barred by domestic and international laws from dumping their trash in the oceans.

Under Philippine laws, such are environmental crimes that carry a jail term and a hefty fine, he said. Even without these laws, decent human behavior commands civilized men not to turn rich fishing grounds into a “cesspool of feces,” he added.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. has branded the report as fake.

Simularity on Wednesday said its reports were not intended to be political. “But due to their topics and players involved, it’s easy to let emotions and other biases affect the way reports are interpreted,” it said in a statement.

Ms. Derr told a separate forum this week she could not immediately verify if the ships were from China, but said the Philippine Coast Guard had taken numerous photos of these ships since March “and they are clearly Chinese.”

“I can only say there is a very high probability that the ships in the images are Chinese,” she added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Manila and nearby cities kept under general quarantine

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

MANILA and nearby cities would remain under a general lockdown until July 31, the presidential palace said on Thursday, after some cities in the capital region experienced a spike in coronavirus infections.

The capital region was under a general community quarantine “with some restrictions” before Thursday’s announcement.

Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Quezon, Batangas and Puerto Princesa would also be placed under a general quarantine, presidential spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement.

Also placed under the same lockdown level were Baguio City, Apayao, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.

At least 15 areas in the Mindanao region were also placed under a general quarantine. Cagayan, Laguna, Lucena City and Naga City were placed a general quarantine “with heightened restrictions,” Mr. Roque said.

Zamboanga del Sur, Davao City, Aklan, Bacolod City, Antique and Capiz were also placed under the same lockdown level.

Meanwhile, Bataan and Cagayan de Oro would be placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month, Mr. Roque said. Same goes for Davao Occidental, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Butuan City.

Iloilo will be under the same lockdown level until July 22. “All other areas in the country will be placed under a modified general community quarantine,” Mr. Roque said.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 5,221 coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 1.49 million.

The death toll rose to 26,314 after 82 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 4,147 to 1.42 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 45,495 active cases,91.4% of which were classified as mild, 2.1% were asymptomatic, 2.8% were severe, 1.96% were moderate and 1.7% were critical.

DoH said 13 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 10 of which were tagged as recoveries.

The agency said 52 recoveries had been reclassified as active cases and 46 recoveries were tagged as deaths. Four laboratories failed to submit data on July 13.

Also on Thursday, the Philippines took delivery of about 250,800 doses of the vaccine made by Moderna, Inc., according to the Bureau of Customs.

The government bought 194,400 doses, while private companies paid for the rest, Mr. Roque told a separate news briefing

He said about 1.1 million doses of the vaccine made by AstraZeneca Plc bought by local governments and the private sector would arrive on Friday.

The Philippines on Wednesday banned travelers from Indonesia, Asia’s new coronavirus epicenter, after it overtook India in daily infections.

The travel ban will be from July 16 to 31 and will cover passengers from Indonesia and those with travel history to Indonesia in the past 14 days, the palace said.

Passengers already in transit from Indonesia and who arrive before 12:01AM of July 16 will be allowed entry as long as they get quarantined for two weeks even if they test negative.

Pacquiao seeks probe of missing P10.4-B aid

EMMANUEL D. PACQUIAO — HENZBERG AUSTRIA/SENATE PRIB

Boxing champ and Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao on Thursday sought an investigation of missing cash aid funds worth P10.4 billion allegedly due to corruption. 

The lawmaker filed Resolution 779 directing a Senate committee to probe the missing coronavirus funds allegedly released by the Social Welfare department for distribution through an electric wallet. 

Mr. Pacquiao questioned the agency’s deal with electronic money issuer Starpay Corp., noting that more than a million beneficiaries failed to get their financial assistance. 

Citing government records, Mr. Pacquiao said only half-a-million out of 1.8 million beneficiaries had managed to download the Starpay app.

“This means around 1.3 million projected beneficiaries were unable to download the said e-wallet application and therefore could not have electronically received through Starpay the subsidy amounting to Php10.4 billion earmarked for them,” he said. 

Mr. Pacquiao cited a need to look into the anomaly and “untangle the web of corruption” involving the government and Starpay. 

Starpay last week said it had liquidated the funds given to it and refunded P8.239 billion for unserved beneficiaries. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

July 20 a regular holiday for Muslim Feast of Sacrifice

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has declared July 20 as a regular holiday in observance of Eid’l Adha or the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice.

The declaration was based on the recommendation of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the President said in Proclamation 1189.

The observance of Eid’l Adha will be “subject to existing community quarantine and social distancing measures,” according to a copy of the order.

Muslims make up about 6.01% of the Philippines’ total population, according to a 2017 report by the local statistics agency. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Beeinfotech PH opens largest telco-neutral data center

DATA CENTER services provider Bee Information Technology PH, Inc. (Beeinfotech PH) announced Thursday that it recently opened a telco-neutral data center in Pasig City to power up businesses.

“Beeinfotech PH’s multi-million-peso data center is the Philippines’ largest telco-neutral data center yet, tackling the market’s need for a telco-grade and tailored data center services provider,” the company said in an e-mailed statement.

The company said its objective is to propel the digital transformation of businesses.

The facility, located in Pasig City, a 19,000-square meter space spread across three floors of more than 6,000 square meters each.

“This gives Beeinfotech PH enough room to reach up to a 45U rack height and hold more than 3,000 racks, which is currently the largest number of racks within a single data center in the country,” it said.

“With such space to host servers and other mission-critical resources, businesses can offload their entire IT infrastructure management responsibilities to Beeinfotech PH and focus on achieving their goals.”

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) said on July 1 that Beeinfotech PH has leased out a building in its estate.

“Beeinfotech PH occupies our Campus One development… It will also build a power center on a 1,500 square meter land, which is adjacent to their leased premises,” RLC Senior Vice-President and Office Buildings Division General Manager Jericho P. Go said in a statement. — Arjay L. Balinbin

10 Japanese involved in 2-B yen telco fraud deported 

THE BUREAU of Immigration has deported 10 Japanese fugitives who were wanted by authorities in Tokyo for their involvement in a 2 billion yen or about P1-billion telecommunications fraud.

“All of them are now banned from re-entering the Philippines as a result of their inclusion in our immigration blacklist of undesirable (foreigners),” Immigration chief Jaime H. Morente said in a news release on Thursday.

The 10 were arrested on Nov. 13, 2019 in a hotel in Makati City where they were caught in the act of engaging in “voice phishing and telephone fraud activities.”

Voice phishing is the use of fake phone calls wherein the caller pretends to be a someone from a trusted institution, company, or government agency to trick people into giving the callers money and revealing personal information for further crimes.

According to Japanese authorities, the 10 fugitives are alleged members of a crime syndicate in Japan that victimized Japanese citizens and caused “significant damage to Japanese society.” — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Online applications for bar exams now open 

THE SUPREME Court has opened the online application period for the 2020 and 2021 bar examinations through its online application platform, Bar Personalized Login Unified System (Bar PLUS).

Through Bar PLUS, applicants may digitally submit their verified petition and other required documents and information, including proof of payment of the bar application fee.

“Bar PLUS was created to facilitate a safe, equitable, and inclusive Bar Examinations,” Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, the Bar Examinations chairperson, said in a news release on Thursday.

“A potential examinee will be required to personally appear only when there are difficult issues in their applications which cannot be addressed in any other manner,” Mr. Leonen said.

Application for the bar examinations is open for two months, from July 15 to Sept. 15.

Mr. Leonen earlier said the court targets to have 25 localized testing sites across the country. Negotiations are ongoing with schools with large campuses to accommodate more bar examinees, he said. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Supreme Court overturns CA decision on 10 PHL navy officers’ dismissal

PHILSTAR

THE COUNTRY’S Highest Court has reversed a Court of Appeals (CA) decision dismissing 10 Philippine Navy officers who were allegedly behind the death of a fellow officer in 1995.

The CA’s decision in 2013 affirmed the order of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2011 to dismiss the navy officers from service as they were found guilty of grave misconduct for the alleged murder of navy officer Ensign Philip A. Pestaño.

In the Supreme Court’s resolution dated May 14 and published on July 12, it said the Ombudsman “failed to support its conclusion of administrative liability with sufficient factual and legal basis.”

The high court said “a finding of guilt in an administrative case may be sustained for as long as it is supported by substantial evidence that the respondent has committed the acts charged.”   

In 1995, Mr. Pestaño was found dead in his cabin with a gunshot wound on his right temple and a suicide letter to his family.

However, investigations in the Senate and by the Armed Forces of the Philippines ruled out suicide.

The probes also discovered that Mr. Pestaño had knowledge of alleged corruption in BRP Bacolod City (LS-550), the lead ship of two Bacolod City class logistics support vessels, which could have been the motive behind his murder.

Mr. Pestaño’s parents then filed criminal and administrative cases against the 10 navy officers before the Ombudsman.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Ombudsman only found probable cause, which “is insufficient to hold petitioners administratively liable.” — Bianca Angelica D. Añago 

Pangasinan to appeal for lifting of mandatory use of NLET to bring provincial bus services back 

THE PANGASINAN government will again appeal to the national task force handling the coronavirus response to allow bus companies to use their private terminals in Metro Manila to encourage the resumption of public transport services to the province.

Under Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution 101-2021 issued Feb. 26, “all buses bound for provinces shall be required to use the Integrated Terminal Exchange as the central hub for transportation. No bus company or public transport shall be allowed use of their private terminals.”

An official of bus firm Victory Liner, Inc., in a session of the provincial board earlier this week, said using the North Luzon Express Terminal (NLET) instead of their own will cost an additional P100,000 to P150,000 for the terminal slot.

Aleksander Briones, operations manager of Victory Liner in Dagupan City, said with the lower passenger capacity due to health safety protocols and added NLET cost, it would mean operating at a loss for their Pangasinan destinations.

The Pangasinan provincial government, in a statement, said the use of NLET located in Bocaue, Bulacan also means added cost and inconvenience to commuters.

“Further, the use of the NLET will necessarily cause immense inconvenience and would likewise cost a fortune for commuters, as they will be forced to use 2-3 lines of transportation, instead of the direct trip to and from Metro Manila,” it said.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has already issued an order allowing 716 buses to cover the routes from Metro Manila to the following points in Pangasinan: Asingan, Manaoag, Pozorrubio, San Nicolas, San Quintin, Umingan, Alaminos City, Agno, Anda, Bolinao, Dagupan City, Lingayen, and San Carlos City.

Provincial Legal Officer Geraldine U. Baniqued said it will again push for the lifting of the national task force’s resolution.

“The provincial government has been consistent in endorsing requests of all bus operators to LTFRB after securing consent from concerned local chief executives, where the terminals are located,” she said.

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