Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 6855

How boards can seize the opportunity in enhanced corporate reporting

Companies are increasingly expected to broaden the quality and scope of their corporate reporting to include enhanced environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures. Adopting an enhanced corporate reporting approach enables an organization to articulate a unique narrative on how the business is creating long-term value for its stakeholders. Boards have both a responsibility and an opportunity to challenge their organizations to transform into sustainable businesses and redefine reporting to address the wide-ranging insights that stakeholders are looking for.

To deliver enhanced reporting, companies need to think about transforming their finance operating model so that they can inject the same rigor and relevance of traditional financial reporting into ESG reporting. Boards should challenge their finance leaders to take a fresh look at how reporting is delivered by considering three key areas: data analytics, talent strategy and C-suite collaboration.

LEVERAGING ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS
The use of advanced analytics is instrumental in extracting relevant ESG insights from data. Advanced analytics can help companies structure, synthesize, interpret and derive insights from voluminous data, and create credible and useful ESG reporting. Bearing this out, the EY 2021 Eighth Global Corporate Reporting Survey, which examines the perspectives of more than 1,000 CFOs, financial controllers and other senior finance leaders globally, found that the top technology investment priority for finance leaders over the next three years is advanced and predictive analytics.

Yet even as finance teams seek to build a more agile financial planning and analysis approach, several data challenges stand in the way. These include the sheer volume of external data, followed closely by data quality and comparability issues, according to the abovementioned survey. Boards should assess if finance leaders have adequate resources and budgets to address these challenges and increase their use of advanced data analytics to deliver more robust reporting.

A key way to leverage data analytics to enhance the quality of reporting is to introduce forward-looking insights, for example, by bringing in external data to corroborate and provide analysis on future trends. Thereafter, this downstream reporting outcome can be used to streamline upstream activities, such as capturing data in the right format to allow for efficient collection and analysis. This requires proper planning from data collection to reporting, with technology as a key enabler. Hence, this process should be considered part of an organization’s digital transformation journey.

FUTUREPROOFING FINANCE TALENT
With accelerated technology adoption, technology and data skills will become crucial for finance teams. Indeed, survey respondents identified understanding of advanced technologies and data analytics as the top two skills respectively that will be important for finance professionals to succeed in their roles over the next three years.

To make enhanced reporting a reality, the board should mandate the management to define a talent strategy that equips the finance team with the right skills for the future. This includes hiring of talent with essential specialist skills like artificial intelligence knowledge and experience as well as upskilling the current finance workforce.

To future-proof the existing finance workforce, boards can challenge finance leaders to rethink their talent strategy and build an investment case for a major upskilling exercise. They should also assess whether the finance leaders have taken key actions, such as performing a gap assessment of current staff skill sets and creating incentives to encourage existing finance staff to pick up new skills.

Closing the technology adoption gap between the younger and mature workforce is important for driving the right culture. The senior leadership can empower the younger workforce to champion new ideas on leveraging technology through work improvement initiatives and reward successful initiatives by following through on implementation, with its support.

COLLABORATING ACROSS THE BUSINESS
A significant amount of ESG data is owned by different parts of the business, making it an imperative to collaborate across the different functions. In this regard, CFOs play a pivotal role in advancing the ESG agenda and sustainability performance among their C-suite peers to drive a cohesive ESG approach. For instance, finance leaders should work with sustainability leaders and supply chain executives on environmental performance to understand more about how the company utilizes natural resources and the effect of its activities on the environment. Boards should direct finance leaders to proactively collaborate across the organization to drive effective ESG reporting and demonstrate the economic impact of different ESG strategies and related targets to stakeholders.

Boards should also expect finance leaders to work closely with them on sustainability performance management and oversight. With their deep understanding of the regulatory and reporting standards environment, finance leaders are well-placed to lead in building trust and transparency into ESG performance.

The integration of sustainability — and broader ESG factors — into the business strategy and enterprise risk management must be a board priority. In a world where stakeholder demand for reporting on nonfinancial information is growing, the board should challenge the management to redefine reporting and be prepared to disrupt the status quo. By accelerating the digitization of finance, defining a talent strategy that focuses on reskilling employees for a very different future and strengthening C-suite collaboration, companies will be well-positioned to deliver the insights expected by their stakeholders.

Boards should consider the following questions:

• How is the company using nonfinancial reporting to communicate how it is generating long-term value for stakeholders and does its ESG reporting meet stakeholders’ expectations?

• How is the board supporting and monitoring ESG strategy development and related goals and metrics, including the identification and integration of nonfinancial key performance indicators?

• How is the organization injecting rigor into nonfinancial reporting in terms of disclosure processes, controls and obtaining external assurance?

• What governance, controls and ethical frameworks are in place to oversee the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies in the finance function?

• What are the top skill sets needed to enable an enhanced corporate reporting approach and what are the skills gaps in the current finance team?

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice where the facts and circumstances warrant. The views and opinions expressed above are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of SGV & Co. and Ernst & Young LLP Singapore.

 

Aris C. Malantic is a partner and the Financial Accounting Advisory Services leader of SGV & Co. and EY ASEAN. He is also a Market Group leader in SGV & Co. Ronald Wong is a partner and the Financial Accounting Advisory Services leader of Ernst & Young LLP Singapore.

Coronavirus lockdown in Philippine capital eased

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE GOVERNMENT has relaxed the lockdown in Manila, the capital and nearby cities amid decreasing coronavirus infections.

Metro Manila would be placed under Alert Level 2 from Feb. 1 to 15, presidential spokesman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said in a statement on Sunday.

Batanes, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal in Luzon, Biliran and Southern Leyte in the Visayas, and Basilan in Mindanao would also be placed under the same lockdown level, he said.

Businesses in areas under Alert Level 2 are allowed up to 50% indoor capacity for fully vaccinated people and 70% capacity for outdoor venues.

Mr. Nograles said 40 other areas in Luzon, 21 in the Visayas and 29 in Mindanao would be placed under Alert Level 3.

Health authorities last week said Metro Manila was at moderate risk from the coronavirus.

The capital region was under Alert Level 2 before the country faced a fresh surge in infections spurred by the highly mutated Omicron variant.

The OCTA Research Group from the University of the Philippines said Metro Manila might be classified as low risk within two weeks if infections continue to decline.

Metro Manila’s average daily attack rate fell to 23.01 from 31.13 on Jan. 27, OCTA Research fellow Fredegusto P. David tweeted.

He said the region’s coronavirus reproduction number fell to 0.47 on Jan. 29 from 0.5. Still, Metro Manila’s positivity rate remained “very high” at 20% from 21%.

Aside from the capital region, Mr. David said Cavite and Rizal were also at moderate risk, though their positivity rates are still very high at 20%. He added that Batangas, Laguna and Quezon were still at high risk.

The Health department was set to release coronavirus statistics at 9 p.m. on Sunday, citing technical issues.

The Philippines on Saturday posted 17,382 cases — the lowest since Jan. 6 when the country logged 17,220 infections — bringing the total to 3.53 million.

“Cases are decreasing in Calabarzon and Central Luzon, and the rest of the Philippines as a whole,” Mr. David tweeted.

He said Metro Manila and Cebu province had the most coronavirus cases on Jan. 29 with 3,625 and 1,036, respectively.

“The uptick in the National Capital Region yesterday (Jan. 29) was a surprise and not really supported by other indicators,” Mr. David said.

The government last week relaxed international travel restrictions and suspended its COVID-19 country risk classifications, allowing the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from most countries starting next month.

The government would scrap the green-yellow-red list system starting Feb. 1, Mr. Nograles told a televised news briefing on Friday. The system classifies countries and territories based on their virus risk levels.

The presidential palace said fully vaccinated people must present a negative RT-PCR test within 48 hours before departure from the country of origin starting Feb. 1. They would no longer have to undergo quarantine upon arrival.

But they must self-monitor for coronavirus symptoms for seven days and report to the local government of destination if needed.

Mr. Nograles said unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travelers whose vaccination status cannot be validated must present a negative RT-PCR test.

They must also undergo quarantine at a government-approved facility until the release of their negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day. They must be home quarantined until the 14th day.

The palace official said children below 12 years old who cannot be vaccinated should follow the quarantine protocol applied to the guardians traveling with them.

Mr. Nograles also said the Philippines would now allow the entry of fully vaccinated nationals of non-visa countries starting Feb. 10.

The government last month suspended a plan to welcome back foreign tourists amid a fresh surge in infections spurred by the highly mutated Omicron variant.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire has said it does not make sense anymore to restrict international travel when the country has high transmission rates.

She said safeguards are in place to contain the virus, adding that infections among returning migrant Filipinos remained low. — KATA

Comelec told to probe interference charge to keep public trust

PHILSTAR

By John Victor D. Ordoñez

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) should investigate allegations of interference at the agency to keep its independence and avoid public distrust, according to political analysts.

The integrity of the presidential elections this year are at stake, said Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines.

“The Comelec is already burdened by a trust deficit due to the involvement of its personnel in past election irregularities,” she said in a Viber message, citing allegations that then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo rigged the 2004 elections in her favor.

Election Commissioner Maria Rowena V. Guanzon, who is retiring soon, last week told national TV she had voted to disqualify Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. from this year’s presidential election. She added that a powerful politician whom she did not name was trying to influence the commissioners.

“Suggesting that one of the commissioners is susceptible to outside political interference only widens and deepens this trust deficit further,” Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University Policy Center, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the political party of the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos on Friday asked the Comelec to probe Ms. Guanzon for divulging her unfavorable vote in his pending disqualification case.

She should be disbarred and forfeit her retirement benefits and lifetime pension for destroying the reputation of the institution with the leak of her unpromulgated dissenting opinion, party lawyer George Briones said in a statement.

“The Marcos camp appears to be trying to affect public perception because they labeled Guanzon’s decision as “dissenting opinion” when there is officially no majority decision yet,” Ms. Atienza said. “Or it appears that they are confident that their client will get a favorable verdict.”

She added that Marcos camp should focus on his election case.

Ms. Guanzon, who is a member of the election body’s First Division told the ABS-CBN News Channel on Friday a fellow commissioner was trying to delay the release of the decision until after she retires to invalidate her vote.

Mr. Yusingco noted that since Mr. Marcos’s name is already on the ballot for the May 9 elections, delaying his disqualification cases does not make sense for his camp.

He added that they might lose voters because of the pending cases because his rivals could use the issue against Mr. Marcos.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan last week expressed alarm over Ms. Guanzon’s revelation and urged the Comelec to investigate it.

“Who is this politician trying to influence the Comelec?” the group said in a statement. “Shouldn’t there be an investigation by the en banc and shouldn’t this politician be cited in contempt?”

“My vote is to disqualify Marcos, Jr.,” Ms. Guanzon told GMA News on Thursday. “Based on evidence, he is guilty of moral turpitude. I will not keep it a secret, that is really the reason why all of these things are happening.”

The Comelec Second Division earlier favored Mr. Marcos in another lawsuit that sought to bar his presidential run. The case is on appeal before the Comelec en banc.

Ms. Guanzon told CNN Philippines on Thursday a powerful politician might be interfering with the release of the decision.

“He is really an ex-convict,” Ms. Guanzon said of Mr. Marcos in a video livestreamed on Friday by news website Rappler.

Endorsement by progressive coalition seen to boost Robredo’s candidacy

A BROAD-based progressive coalition’s support to the presidential candidacy of Vice President Maria “Leonor” Leni G. Robredo could boost her political machinery, analysts said at the weekend. 

This, as other presidential contenders seek the endorsement of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, whose choice might be opposed by factions within the ruling party.

The Makabayan coalition’s commitment to support Ms. Robredo and her running mate Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is “a big boost” given its wide network and active organizing in communities, said Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.   

“It also solidifies the bid of Robredo and Pangilinan to prioritize those who belong to marginalized sectors since Makabayan has been known to be a progressive bloc geared toward labor and peasant concerns,” she said in Messenger chat. 

Labor leader and presidential candidate Leodegario “Ka Leody” de Guzman, meanwhile, said he will not withdraw his candidacy for the country’s top seat despite Makabayan’s endorsement of Ms. Robredo.

“I do not agree with Vice President Leni Robredo’s analysis on our country’s problems,” he said in Filipino during an interview with One News on Sunday.  

“We have different agendas and analyses on the country’s problems,” he added.

Following Makabayan’s endorsement, several administration critics urged the camp of Mr. De Guzman to withdraw from the race, saying he does not have the numbers to win. 

Maria Ela L. Atienza, who also teaches political science at UP, said Makabayan’s support to Ms. Robredo gives the opposition “a wider umbrella of political forces coming together.”

“It is a strategic alliance that came in time right before the formal campaign period,” she said in a Viber message, noting that the coalition’s level of organizing “reaches various sectors of society.”

“Certain segments of the grassroots can be reached,” she said. 

Former party-list lawmaker and senatorial aspirant Neri J. Colmenares announced the left-leaning bloc’s endorsement on Friday, months after they tried to unite non-administration candidates. 

The coalition of progressive party-lists and various sectoral groups has pledged to deliver three million votes for the opposition tandem. 

Mr. Colmenares is not part of Ms. Robredo’s senatorial slate, which was announced last year.  The former lawmaker had said his exclusion from Ms. Robredo’s Senate list “does not preclude us from continuing engagement and cooperation with her campaign on urgent issues that concern our people.”

COLLECTIVE AGENDA 
Michael D. Pante, who teaches history at the De La Salle University, said the unity is “historic” because this is the first time that leftists, liberals and moderates unite to support a common candidate.  

It “mirrors to a certain extent the coalescing of these different groups to push for a collective agenda,” he said in Messenger chat. 

Although the unity is far from the extraconstitutional nature of two major uprisings in history that topped two sitting presidents, Mr. Pante said “what we have today can also be understood as something greater than just a regular transfer of power from one administration.” 

Mr. Pante said the unity is a sign of political maturity since it was only made after Ms. Robredo’s camp and Makabayan agreed on key political reforms.

This is the first time Makabayan endorsed a candidate from the Liberal Party, the political party of the late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III.

Ms. Robredo, who is still the chairperson of the liberal group, is running as an independent candidate.

Makabayan endorsed the presidential candidacy of Nacionalista Party’s Manuel “Manny” Bamba Villar, Jr. in the 2010 elections, where Mr. Aquino held an overwhelming lead over other candidates. 

During his presidency, Mr. Aquino introduced several privatization programs and liberal economic policies, which had been opposed by the Makabayan coalition. 

In the 2016 election, where Mr. Duterte won, the progressive coalition endorsed the presidential run of independent candidate Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares over liberal candidate Manuel “Mar” Araneta Roxas II.

Mr. Pante said the unity points to “how the Duterte administration has performed so badly that it managed to alienate practically the entire political spectrum of the Philippines save for a tiny section that is composed of the administration and its allies.” 

Ms. Atienza and Ms. Franco said it is still unclear whether the unity would be sustained given the major political differences within the coalition. 

“They have to strategize and compromise on issues and proposed policies that will be part of the platform,” Ms. Atienza said.

“If we look at the past, it may not be sustained but let us wait and see given the daunting problems of the country, they might want to focus first in addressing them instead of political calculations,” Ms. Franco said. 

She also noted that “they must be thinking that they need to unite if only to beat the Marcos camp which presumably has more resources.”

On Saturday, top officials of Makabayan said Ms. Robredo is the best chance to defeat the late dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., who is now leading pre-election polls, and his running mate, presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Ms. Robredo beat Mr. Marcos by a hair in the 2016 vice-presidential contest. She will have to beat him again, which some see as a rerun of the 1986 snap elections, when widow Corazon C. Aquino crushed the Marcoses. That year, a popular street uprising toppled the dictator’s regime and sent him and his family into self-exile in the United States.  

DUTERTE ENDORSEMENT
Mr. Marcos last week said he still wants the Mr. Duterte’s endorsement, even after the latter called him a “weak” leader. 

Mr. Duterte’s party, the PDP-Laban which has been beset by infighting, does not have a standard-bearer.

Presidential candidates Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso and Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson have also sought the presidential endorsement.

“As far as the support of local executives is concerned, no candidate has a significant edge without a clear endorsement from President Duterte,” said Micheal Henry Ll. Yusingco, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo Policy Center.

He said the political field is fair to all high-profile presidential candidates “in the absence of any clear directive from the President.” 

“So, at this stage, it is still difficult to say if the Marcos-Duterte tandem has captured the majority of local politicians.”

Ms. Atienza said local politicians are usually “not bound to be loyal to a particular national tandem,” noting that they prioritize their own electoral chances and “can switch tandems and parties they will campaign for before elections or after.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and John Victor D. Ordoñez

Authorities to look into alleged assassination plot vs Marcos

REUTERS

THE JUSTICE department has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to validate an anonymous tip of a supposed assassination plot against presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos based on a video posted on social media platform TikTok. 

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said in a Viber message on Sunday that the NBI will prioritize any validated information on threats to the security of any presidential candidate. 

Charito A. Zamora, director of the Department of Justice (DoJ) Office of Cybercrime confirmed in a separate Viber message that the agency received reports of threats made on TikTok to assassinate the late dictator’s son.

“We made an initial investigation on the matter and referred the same to the NBI-CCD & PNP-ACG (police anti-cybrecrime group) for further investigation,” Ms. Zamora said.

“We also emailed the Tik Tok Law Enforcement Outreach and requested the data related to the subject account be preserved pending investigation by the law enforcement agents concerned,” she said. 

Marlon M. Villarin, a political science professor from the University of Santo Tomas said it is but appropriate for authorities to launch a probe.

“Regardless whether it’s a real threat or just propaganda, whoever is the target of these life-threatening remarks,” Mr. Villarin said via Viber.

“The DoJ should investigate not just to protect the possible victim but it is also a way how government wanting the citizens, in general, to be responsible and accountable in the exercise of their freedom of expression amidst a politically critical period,” he said. 

He added that a candidate leading in surveys such as Mr. Marcos will not likely resort to propaganda like an assassination attempt. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Gordon calls for stronger cybersecurity laws after phishing cases of teachers’ accounts

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

A SENATOR has filed a resolution seeking an inquiry to strengthen legislation on cybersecurity, following a series of online theft incidents that victimized public school teachers.

“The Senate must spearhead an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on strengthening existing pertinent legislation on cybersecurity in close cooperation with law enforcement,” Senator Richard J. Gordon, Sr. said in a statement on Sunday. 

He filed Senate Resolution 987 directing the upper chamber to investigate the rising number of reported cases of government employees losing money in their bank accounts.

The Department of Justice, in an order dated Jan. 25, has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to “conduct an investigation and case build-up on alleged phishing schemes victimizing teachers” with accounts with the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK). 

Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers. 

Nonprofit organization Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, in a statement on Friday, said they have so far received 49 complaints and initially forwarded 26 cases to the NBI, including 19 that were earlier sent by the Department of Education. 

The group said all the complaints received amount to about P1.9 million, with the highest individual loss at  P292,130. 

“The Senate is compelled to act on the vicious commission of cybercrimes against the Filipino people, particularly against teachers and other public servants, private employees, and businesses taking away their hard-earned savings, violating their financial security, assaulting their cybersecurity, and disregarding their rights,” Mr. Gordon said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Bill on national center for elderly seen to hurdle House, but Senate version still at committee level

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A BILL that seeks to establish a national health and research center specializing in care for the elderly can be approved on final reading before the House of Representatives on Monday, one of its authors said on Friday.

Deputy Speaker and Manila Rep. Bienvinido “Benny” M. Abante, who authored House Bill 10697 or the Geriatric Health Act, said he is confident that the measure will be approved by the House on third reading since it has always backed measures that help senior citizens.

“This goes beyond optimism; the track record of the House shows that it has always supported measures that benefit our senior citizens, and I believe we can expect the same support for the passage of this bill,” Mr. Abante told BusinessWorld in an email.

However, a counterpart bill in the upper chamber, filed by Senator Aquilino Martin “Koko” L. Pimentel III in 2019, remains pending at the committee level.

Congress will go on a more than three-month recess from Feb. 5 to May 22 for the May 9 elections. It will resume sessions from May 23 to June 3 and go on sine die adjournment from June 4 to July 24. 

Under the House version, a National Health Center for Geriatric Health and Institute will be established.

Quezon Rep. Angelina “Helen” D.L. Tan, who co-authored the bill and chairs the House Committee on Health, said the proposed law is important as most senior citizens have difficulty accessing health care services as most of them do not have a pension and not enough money to afford it. 

She noted that only 23% of them receive a pension under the Social Security System for the private sector, 6% from the public service system, and 16% get a social pension worth P500 monthly.

“…Another concern is the shortage of facilities and doctors that cater specifically to the elderly,” she said.

“The Philippines is projected to transition to an aging population between 2025 to 2030. These will have implications for the health system,” she added. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

GenSan City takes lead in drafting local energy code in Mindanao

A VIEW of General Santos at night as seen from Sanchez Peak, a popular spot in an upland area within the city. — EPORTAL.GENSANTOS.GOV.PH

GENERAL SANTOS City, one of the main urban centers in Mindanao and known as the Philippine’s tuna capital, is the first local government in the country’s south to start developing its own energy code to ensure sustainable and affordable electricity supply.

“As we endeavor to codify our energy plans and programs, and with General Santos City being the lead in Mindanao is a very important, giant step towards demonstrating that we have the matters in our hand,” Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Executive Director Romeo M. Montenegro said during the Local Energy Code Training-Workshop on Jan. 26. 

All provinces, cities and municipalities are mandated to draft localized guidelines to streamline the processing of energy projects. The code is also intended to integrate power supply plans into the overall development strategy.

This requirement is contained in Republic Act No. 11234 or the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) Act passed in 2019, and a corresponding joint order from the energy and local government departments.

Having an energy code, Mr. Montenegro said, gives local governments direction and control “in developing the kind of energy to effectively address the long-term adverse impact of climate change and promote energy transition.”

The MinDA official said while the southern islands currently enjoy excess energy level and the city’s distributor has a firm 25-year contracted supply, demand is expected to grow faster in the next couple of years, especially in urban hubs such as General Santos. 

“The coming up of local energy code will serve the purpose of guiding all stakeholders, the private sector and the local governments in terms of framing the kind of development that we all desire for our respective LGUs (local government units) — a development that is not only looking at economic metrics or addresses poverty situation, but a kind of development that looks at the impact of the current situation,” he said. 

Mr. Montenegro, who also heads the technical working group of the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee, also said the recent signing of another law, the Microgrid Systems Act under RA 11646, paves the way for faster rollout of off-grid energy systems in remote areas.

“This is exactly the direction we want to pursue vigorously in Mindanao to achieve 100% electrification target even before,” he said.

He stressed that energy supply — one that is inclusive and with a balanced mix of renewables and fossil fuel — “is very much aligned” with the peace and development roadmap for Mindanao. — MSJ

Panguil Bay Bridge construction 42% done

DPWH

CONSTRUCTION of the 3.17-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge was 41.83% done as of end-January with 40 of the 54 bored piles foundation already in place, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported. 

In a statement on Sunday, DPWH said it is aiming to accomplish 80% of the job by end-2022 and completion by December next year.

The P7.38-billion priority infrastructure project is funded through a loan from the Korean Export Import Bank. 

The bridge crosses Panguil Bay in the Northern Mindanao Region in southern Philippines.

Connecting Lanao del Norte’s capital Tubod and Tangub City in Misamis Occidental, the bridge will cut travel time to under 10 minutes from the current two to 2.5 hours through a 100-kilometer route or via a roll-on, roll-off vessel.

Once completed, it will be the country’s longest, beating the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge that connects the islands of Samar and Leyte.

New civic center in Marikina to double as an evacuation center

STELLA QUIMBO FB PAGE

A NEW civic center designed to double as an evacuation center in Marikina, a flood-prone city within the capital Metro Manila, was launched Sunday. 

“Finally, the construction of the Twinville civic center that we have long been wishing for is completed,” Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo said at the inauguration ceremony.

“We have conceptualized this for a long time, but it was only finished now,” she said, noting that the idea was first planned in the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) in 2009, which left Marikina and other parts of the capital heavily flooded.

Ondoy was the second most destructive storm in the Philippines that year, affecting around 9.3 million people.

The civic center, to be managed by officers of the residential community, has sports facilities and play areas for children. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

Demography, Development, and Destiny

ZEYN AFUANG/UNSPLASH

I like watching Korean dramas. It’s not only about the good acting and excellent production values. In general, K-dramas reflect Asian values, celebrating love of family. In contrast, Western shows tend to ignore or denigrate family. In the US TV comedy, Big Bang Theory, for example, the parents are targets of ridicule and butts of jokes.

Class consciousness runs through many Korean shows, perhaps reflective of the sharp class divisions in Korean society. Netflix’ Korean monster hit, Squid Game, dramatizes this point in a horrifyingly violent way.

However, most Korean dramas are feel-good romantic shows, with the poor but intelligent working-class heroine marrying the rich chaebol chairman’s son.

That’s the fairy tale ending part. The reality, however, is that many Korean men and women delay marriage and even if they do tie the knot, decide not to have children.

The latest report shows that South Korea’s natural fertility rate, already the lowest in the world, has dropped to 0.84 in 2020 and is expected to fall further to 0.7 in 2024. For context, Japan, a society of octogenarians and nonagenarians, has a fertility rate of 1.4 and the US has a fertility rate of 1.73. (The replacement fertility rate to stabilize a population is about 2.1). South Korea can therefore claim to be the fastest ageing society in the world.

Its population is expected to shrink from 51 million to about 27 million by the end of the century.

Therefore, despite what you see in Korean dramas, South Korea faces a grim future. The iron law of demographics will dictate its destiny. Schools will close for want of school children. The pool of young men for the Korean military will shrink dramatically, endangering its military preparedness and national security. There will be no young people to support an aging society. Presently, South Korea has the distinction of having the highest suicide rate among the elderly.

However, South Korea is no outlier. China’s working age population is shrinking and despite the mandates of the Communist party leadership, birth rates continue to decline. The latest census shows births just equal deaths. With a fertility rate of about 1.2 and falling, China is expected to have negative population growth in a few years, putting its superpower ambitions in jeopardy.

Our neighbor, Thailand, can boast of a successful — perhaps too successful — population control program, so that its working age population will shrink from 71% of the population to 61% in 2060. The average age in Thailand is 40 and growing older. How it can break out of the middle-income trap with a fast-ageing population is the biggest economic challenge of Thailand.

I’ve never been a fan of population control to promote development. (No, I’m not Opus Dei.) While I believe that the woman should be given reproductive choices for her own health and that of her family, I don’t believe that the government should control family sizes.

For one thing, the demand for children will naturally decline with higher incomes and urbanization. There’s no need for government population control.

For another thing, I believe that rapid population growth as the cause of poverty was a Western idea propagated mainly by the Rockefeller Foundation in the early 1950s as a counter-narrative to the Third World theory of underdevelopment. Telling poor people that they procreate too much was a way to blame them for their condition. (You can hear the snickers from upper class people saying that the poor do nothing but procreate at night.)

The Philippines, therefore, is luckier in that it has a large, young population. The average age is 24. This is a source of vitality and competitive strength.

It’s true though that government’s fiscal resources will have to be spread to more people. But then, there’s no reason why the government can’t be more efficient in delivering services. Do you know, for example, that the government spends twice as much as the private sector in producing a college graduate? If we only have affordable and accessible internet, it may even be possible to give our young people quality education from schools like Harvard at a fraction of the cost. (But the Senate just sat on the Open Access bill which could have ushered in better and more affordable broadband.)

For me, the population control argument is a way to avoid making structural reforms.

Take, for example, the fact that 30% of the children are malnourished. Do we blame their mothers for giving birth to them only to see them malnourished? Or should we point our fingers at our failed agricultural policies with its emphasis on protectionism and land fragmentation and distribution rather than on modernization and productivity improvement?

Population is a source of development, rather than a drag to it, as countries like China, Thailand, and even the US, with fears of secular stagnation arising from ageing populations, are discovering to their chagrin. If you marry capital with labor, you will have increased output. Not only that, but the marginal productivity of capital is also very high in the early stages of development, when moving from agriculture to labor-intensive industrialization.

A quarter of our labor force are idle or partially idle (unemployment and underemployment is about 20 to 25%). If you just give them access to capital via employment, you will see huge and dramatic increases in output.

But that’s not happening. Why? For several reasons. We tell foreign capital to stay away. We allow monopolies to form, and they have no interest in reinvesting their capital. We scare capital away when the government doesn’t adhere to contracts or keeps changing the rules. We make farming inhospitable to mechanization and capital by celebrating the status quo of fragmented farmlands. We make labor expensive with all sorts of regulations when it’s capital that’s scarce.

Population mobility is another source of growth and development. Move people or incentivize them to move away from low productivity sectors to higher productivity sectors and you will see dramatic gains in national output. In China, the Great Migration of 300 million people from the rural areas to urban centers resulted in years of double-digit economic growth.

Here, in the Philippines, we have been encouraging people to move overseas because they can be productive there while they are forced to be idle here. While this has resulted in increased remittances, this has come at great social cost. The irony is that we import goods, some of which have been produced by our kababayans (countrymen), because we make capital inhospitable here. Moreover, a good number of those who move out are some of our most skilled, e.g., nurses and IT programmers, so Filipino enterprises lose out in the global talent race.

Incidentally, we restrict population mobility, and therefore development, when we don’t allow Agrarian Reform beneficiaries to sell or lease their lands within 10 years or when they have debts with the Land Bank. Essentially, the government ties them down to the land doing low-productivity farming.

Also, joining the regional free trade organization, RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) wherein 10 ASEAN nations, together with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are signatories, will be a boon to our economy because we have a large young English-speaking labor force. The other members of RCEP have graying populations or shrinking labor forces. Therefore, it will be natural for investors to put up labor-intensive factories here to produce for those markets. The Senate should ratify the treaty as soon as possible, lest we lose out again to Vietnam and other countries which have already ratified it.

The story of Philippine population then is a cause for optimism rather than a cause for pessimism. However, it’s also a story of constrained potential with self-imposed defeatist policies characterized by protectionism and anti-capitalism.

 

Calixto V. Chikiamco is a member of the board of IDEA (Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis).

totivchiki@yahoo.com

Veto the vape bill

ARTHURHIDDEN-FREEPIK

The Senate and the House of Representatives recently ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the Vape Bill. This was met by the strong opposition of 59 medical societies, civil society, and even the Department of Health (DoH).

The ratification by Congress of the “Vaporized Nicotine Products Regulation” is a prime example of how public health has been constantly undermined by corporate interests during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows where our legislators’ priorities truly lie.

In December 2021, the bill was passed in the Senate, with 19 senators voting in its favor and only Senators Pia Cayetano and Kiko Pangilinan voting against it. I was shocked that some lawmakers who claim to be public health advocates and championed tobacco control measures in the past seem to have been swayed by the tobacco industry into supporting the deregulatory bill.

There are several reasons why the vape bill is a threat to public health and should be vetoed.

First, it lowers the age limit of access to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products from 21 to 18 years old.

Senate President pro tempore Ralph Recto, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate and a staunch e-cigarette user, justified this by saying that the bill simply made the age limit equal to the age limit for traditional cigarettes, in the name of fairness. This might be leveling the playing field for industry, but it definitely is not fair towards our youth whose health is at stake.

By lowering the age limit, the industry is broadening its market and taking advantage of the fact that in the Philippines, one out of seven students aged 13 to 15 are already using e-cigarettes, according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey.

Why would we want to encourage young people to get hooked on an addictive substance like nicotine? In the United States, an outbreak of e-cigarette-related lung injuries has already caused serious lung damage, hospitalization, and death. Our youth do not deserve to be put at risk for this.

Vapers’ groups and the tobacco industry have been arguing that the vape bill will save lives by providing cigarette smokers who want to quit with a healthy alternative. But these products are already available to their supposed target market. If vape products are designed to help adult smokers shift to a less harmful alternative, why is there a need to aggressively market them to the non-smoking youth by lowering the age limit and adding more flavors?

The bill also transfers regulatory authority of vape products from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Given the fact that e-cigarette vapor is inhaled and enters our bloodstream and lungs, it is only right that FDA retain this responsibility.

It is especially dangerous to loosen regulation on vaping during the pandemic; SARS-CoV-2 is, after all, a virus that affects the lungs. Studies have also shown that people who smoke and/or vape are more likely to develop more COVID-19 symptoms once infected with the virus.

The tobacco epidemic has already inflicted enough damage to society, killing more than eight million people each year. As companies shift from producing traditional cigarettes to “less harmful” e-cigarettes, we cannot be complacent. While evidence on the long-term effects of e-cigarettes is not yet available, the current data on the harms of vaping is enough cause for grave concern. E-cigarette regulation needs to be strengthened, not diluted.

Lastly, it is shameful that legislators continue to undermine science and evidence during a health crisis. In the middle of last year, some politicians pushed for the distribution of ivermectin to prevent and treat COVID-19, flouting the FDA’s regulatory process. They promoted the anti-parasitic drug despite the lack of strong evidence to support its effectiveness against COVID. Just like legislators’ support of the vape bill, these lawmakers claimed to be “saving lives” while disregarding the strong opposition of the great majority of our medical frontliners.

Within the next month, the vape bill will lapse into law, unless signed or vetoed by President Duterte. The President, a former smoker himself, has previously passed laws tightening regulation on e-cigarettes and vapes. The President signing the bill into law would reverse these measures and mar his legacy on his last year in office; the bill should be junked.

 

Pia Rodrigo is the strategic communications officer of Action for Economic Reforms (AER). AER is supporting the medical associations and civil society organizations in opposing the vape bill.

1...6,8546,8556,856...14,215Page 6,855 of 14,215
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube