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Regional Updates (02/04/21)

Navotas ice plant ammonia leak claims 2 lives, over 90 hospitalized

THE ammonia leak at an ice plant in Navotas City on Wednesday killed two workers while 96 others, including residents of surrounding communities, were hospitalized, according to Mayor Tobias “Toby” M. Tiangco. In a series of statements on his social media platforms, Mr. Tiangco said the TP Marcelo Ice Plant and Cold Storage, owned by his mother and her three siblings, will remain closed until it has complied with all the recommendations of the Bureau of Fire Protection. He also said he has asked the fire bureau and sanitation officers to check other ice plants in the city for compliance to occupational safety and environmental standards. Ice production is an important ancillary industry in Navotas, home to the main fish port complex that supplies Metro Manila. — MSJ

Mati City to set up COVID-19 test laboratory

MATI City, the capital of Davao Oriental, is preparing to set up its own laboratory for testing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to speed up the detection of positive cases, which has remained less than 1,000 province-wide. City Information Officer Ben Jason Tesiorna said with the laboratory, swab samples will no longer have to be sent to the accredited government laboratories in either Tagum City or Davao City. Mr. Tesiorna said the people of Mati have been generally cooperative in following the minimum health protocols, and the few violators are slapped with fines and penalties. “There are really some who do not comply,” he said. Mati City, along with the rest of Davao Oriental, is among the few areas in the country that has reopened to tourists. Among the requirements for entry is registration to the province’s QR code system through https://davorqrcode.com/. As of Feb. 3, the province had 926 total COVID-19 cases, of which 184 are active, 727 have recovered while 15 died. — Maya M. Padillo

A case of self-flagellation? After the disease, the social unrest

 

Good Friday is a good two months away. But are we seeing early signs of self-flagellation? A few days ago, President Duterte admitted the Philippine economy is “in bad shape” even as he clarified that the administration is “trying its best to keep the country afloat.”

He went on to say that the country’s “greatest disadvantage” is being poor. Despite this hurdle, the President explained that his administration succeeded in allocating funds to secure vaccines for most of the Filipino population of 110 million. It’s a game for rich countries, he announced, as vaccines end up with the highest bidder.

It was good vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., informed the President in the same press conference that the Philippine government would actually be finalizing the supply agreements for around 108 million doses but more are coming to reach a total of 146–148 million doses.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III also assured the President and the people by disclosing that we intend to secure 178 million doses for 92 million Filipinos, more than the initial target of 148 million doses for only 70 million. Vaccine supplies may be sourced from any or all of the following: AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer, and Sinovac. Additional 40 million doses may likely come from the COVAX facility which is a global initiative to ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines.

So where is the President coming from in confessing the bad shape of the local economy under his watch?

Comparing the Philippines’ GDP (gross domestic product) contraction to the performance of other major Asian economies should be enough reason to convince the Palace the country’s economic performance in 2020 was not only bad, it was dismal.

As Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board Member Felipe M. Medalla predicted during the Foundation for Economic Freedom’s Paderanga-Varela Memorial Lecture early this week, positive economic growth in 2021 is possible only because of base effects. It would be easy to demonstrate our ability to grow because last year’s hurdle was rather below the ground.

We shall witness “normal growth” only in 2022 because the economic scar on consumer spending remains a binding constraint. Growth for 2021 “will be driven by relaxation of constraints that the government itself has imposed on growth.” Next year will test the confidence of the consumers in the government’s ability to effectively neutralize COVID-19.

Of course, Medalla’s outlook is anchored on successful vaccination of the critical section of the population — the frontliners and the elderly, and strong testing capability in this warm country of mainly young people. He also pinned hope on the country’s good public finance, high foreign exchange reserves level, and strong banks, the great buffers prior to the pandemic.

What Medalla seems to be saying is that we don’t have to flog ourselves. Our own view is that with some exceptions in some areas, the Philippines really did its homework in the last 30 years. Before the virus, capital formation was rising. There was room for pushing productivity to a much higher level.  It was unfortunate the health sector was missed in the general scheme of things. While the economy performed quite well for two decades, it could have even surpassed itself if the imperatives of reforms, especially in public health and market competition, were given due course in earlier years.

The President’s candid remarks would have gained credence if he were only more decisive in demanding the resignation of some insensitive and incompetent health authorities. What could be worse than dropping the ball not once but many times.

Poor health mitigation led to severe quarantine rules that devastated production, jobs, and income. It was so poor our pre-pandemic buffers in monetary, financial, and fiscal areas were rendered useless.

Therefore, we did not have to rank last in real GDP growth in 2020 among selected countries, and rank last again in recovering pre-pandemic growth level from the deepest recession in decades. Our economic managers have been trying hard to deliver on their mandates and macroeconomic targets. Domestic and foreign investors have placed their trust in our over 20-year sustained positive economic growth. Leveraging on these elements should have put us ahead but we stalled so we were left behind. We hate to lose by default.

We might also flog ourselves through the 2021 national budget. The budget appears to be more concerned with the activities of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict than with flattening the pandemic and ushering in economic revival. Its budget was reportedly jacked up over elevenfold from P1.7 billion in 2020 to P19.13 billion in 2021. The difference is easily the cost of vaccines for some 13 million Filipinos. It is mind-blowing that we should detract our attention from national survival to fighting communist insurgency which has been with us for decades.

To make matters worse, our funds for infrastructure and social services could hardly qualify as economic stimulus because first, a large part would continue to support those who were displaced by the pandemic, those who lost their jobs and their business. Nothing wrong with these but obviously we need additional allocation for directly stimulating the economy. Second, our public works authorities should increase their low utilization rate and submit a list of truly new projects for more value added. The point is to add increments for 2021 that the national income accounts could capture and generate enough jobs to raise consumer spending. More support for new industries that emerged during the pandemic should also be considered because they could thrive without physical engagement.

Even the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) in its press release dated Jan. 29 following the virtual Annual Consultation with the Philippine Authorities from Jan. 11 to 26 called for “further policy support and a faster rollout of vaccines … for the Philippine economy to secure a more solid recovery.”  AMRO added the slower-than-expected global recovery to the downside risks in the Philippine growth story.

Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the AMRO would do well to remind the Philippines that while revenue prospects in this time of uncertain economic recovery are not too promising, fiscal policy support should be sustained. Treasurer Leah de Leon may have to rely more on the domestic capital markets than on the borrowed funds from the BSP. This is still a good time to help further develop and deepen the government bond market. Yes, national government debt hit a high of P9.8 trillion or some 55% of GDP at the end of 2020. But we agree with Finance Chief Economist Gil Beltran that with the national government’s borrowing cost lower than the expected real GDP for 2021 of 6.5-7.5%, the ratio continues to be manageable. As Paul Krugman, in his latest New York Times column, described the very much similar US debt situation: “borrowing now will not store up big burdens for the future: any debt we incur will tend to melt away as a share of GDP over time.” 

Finally, what should add worry to us this year are the social repercussions of COVID-19 on Filipino society.

Health pandemics at various points in world history clearly drew the line among social classes. IMF’s Philip Barrett, Sophia Chen, and Nan Li showed that in Paris in the early 1800s, “the spread of [cholera] heightened class tensions, as the rich blamed the poor for spreading the disease and the poor thought they were being poisoned” (see “COVID’s Long Shadow: Social Repercussions of Pandemics”). As the tension escalated, the blame went all the way up to the king and triggered a huge anti-government demonstration on the barricaded streets. Who could ever forget watching this scene immortalized in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables at the West End?

The uprising elicited government repression and, in turn, caused further public revolt. The IMF blog indicated that disease outbreaks cast long shadows of social repercussions like “shaping politics, subverting the social order and some ultimately causing social unrest.”

Good Friday is important but the other 364 days are equally important for reflection and doing the right things.

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001–2003, he was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

It isn’t just ‘academic’

To the list of human rights lawyers and defenders; political and social activists; research and media organizations; reformist officials in government; independent journalists; Lumad leaders and school teachers; teachers’ groups; and farmers’, workers’, and student leaders whom they have labeled as either guerrillas of the New People’s Army (NPA), members and supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and/or of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), or as recruiters for the NPA, the Duterte regime and its loyalist military have added universities and colleges.

As part of a wide-ranging, multi-sectoral assault on regime critics and anyone else who disagrees with the regime’s self-serving versions of governance, public issues, events and reality itself, the spokespersons of its National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) have named — not accused, but named — 30 universities as NPA recruitment centers.

The list includes all three of the Philippines’ best universities — the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU), and De La Salle University (DLSU) — and the University of Santo Tomas (UST), incidentally the oldest university in this country. Two of the first three are in every list of the world’s best 500 universities, with UP at 159th place in the latest global rankings.

Twenty-six more colleges and universities, most of them in the National Capital Region (NCR), are in the list. But the actual number is more than 18. Because the University of the Philippines is a system of seven constituent universities (UP Manila, UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, UP Cordillera, UP Visayas, UP Cebu, UP Mindanao and the UP Open University), by labeling it an NPA recruitment and “terrorist haven,” the NTF-ELCAC list in reality consists of 37 universities and colleges.

Because being in that list can lead to their getting death threats and even being killed, the students and faculty of the universities concerned would be perfectly justified in fearing for their safety, and in censoring themselves both in and out of the classroom in the awareness that they’re being watched for what they teach and what they say.

The list is thus not only an attack on free expression but also on academic freedom. Academic freedom is guaranteed for all institutions of higher learning by the 1987 Constitution. But that fact is either unknown to the red-baiters, or is just one more legal constraint on the abuse of power that they prefer to ignore.

This latest outrage against academic freedom and free expression came on the heels of the Department of National Defense’s (DND) unilateral and uncivil termination on Jan. 15 of its 1989 agreement with UP under the provisions of which the police and military can enter the latter’s campuses only with the permission of their administrators.

In reaction to criticism by the UP community of the abrogation of the agreement and the ongoing red-baiting (“red-tagging”) of the country’s premier university as an assault on academic freedom and as a threat to the safety and security of its professors, students and staff, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) volunteered to define academic freedom. (The CHED Chair also chairs its Board of Regents but UP is not under CHED supervision.)

The meaning of that concept is fairly well established, however, and the drafters of the 1987 Constitution, by guaranteeing in Article XIV, Section 5, the enjoyment of academic freedom as the inherent right of every institution of higher learning, were apparently aware of how important it is not only to the country’s universities but also to Philippine society.

By common agreement among academics, free expression defenders, and enlightened, democratic governments, academic freedom is the right of professors to teach their areas of expertise in the manner they think best, and of both faculty and students to learn and do research and to share knowledge with the rest of society.

Professors teach but are also students, learning being the lifetime commitment of the truly educated. Both they and their academic wards are also members of the larger society. But despots and dictators, and fascists and theocrats have imposed limits on the teaching, research and extension functions of universities by making it dangerous for professors and students to teach and learn inconvenient truths, and by prohibiting the sharing outside academia of knowledge that may be contrary to their personal, familial, tribal, sectoral and class interests.

Such limits make a mockery of the freedom that institutions of higher learning need to advance and pass on knowledge to succeeding generations as well as to share it for the benefit of the citizenry. The incontestable truth is that human knowledge is never quite complete and must be constantly expanded. Its validity therefore has to be examined from time to time and cannot be enshrined as eternal and immutable. Doubt and uncertainty even about their own knowledge, findings and expertise are in fact among the characteristics of the truly informed; only the ignorant and the stupid think they already know everything.

It is for this reason that the capacity to do research regardless of the policies, opinions and preferences of the ruling elite, who in this country are so absolutely they know better than everyone else, is indivisible from the responsibilities of the true university. The knowledge thus gleaned from research and study professors transmit to their students who are also charged with doing their own inquiry into the many unexplored areas of their disciplines.

The findings generated are not solely for the institution and its constituents’ benefit. They must be shared with the rest of society. Knowledge is the most indispensable means through which free men and women can understand, change, and control the economic, social and political conditions that define their lives and those of their communities. Academic freedom is in this incontrovertible sense essential to the realization of human freedom; it is not solely “academic.”

It helps explain why tyrants have always feared universities and labeled them hotbeds of nonconformity, dissent, freedom, intellectual daring, and resistance to the enemies of reason and enlightenment. It is because true universities are all of these — and more.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, when the altered reality that had emerged globally after the deadliest conflict in history had to be understood and explained, and McCarthyism red-baited the professors of the University of Chicago, the anthropologist Robert Redfield described the duty of universities as “dangerous” in that the powerful will always target them because they are a threat to tyranny and the horrific impulses that had cost the lives of over 50 million people across the planet.

A true university’s duty is to provide the knowledge of the world that the enemies of humanity despise, and to prevent the dissemination of which they are prepared to do all they can including murder and mayhem so they can continue to rule under the illusion that they know better than the learned who have spent years in study, and the students they have taught and whose intellects they have nurtured.

More than anything else — more than the violence, the oppression, the mendacity and the incompetence — the certitude of ignorance is the tyrant’s worst vice. Describing false leaders a hundred years ago, the Irish poet William Butler Yeats put it so well in his poem “The Leaders of the Crowd”:

“They must to keep their certainty accuse

All that are different of a base intent…

How can they know (that)

Truth flourishes where the student’s lamp has shone,

And there alone…?”

 

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

The military coup in Myanmar and its impact on ASEAN

By Pou Sothirak, Philips J. Vermonte,
Herizal Hazri, Herman Joseph S. Kraft,
and Thitinan Pongsudhirak

MYANMAR’s military coup on Feb. 1 is a matter of great concern to both the country itself and to Southeast Asia as a region. Following the Nov. 8, 2020, general election, the coup appears to be an attempt to reverse the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party in both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament.

The suspension of Myanmar’s democratic institutions could prove a serious setback for the country’s brave transition to democracy and political liberalization less than a decade ago. Political differences that may have occasioned the current State of Emergency, which is slated to last for one year, can be managed and resolved through constructive dialogue and other lawful means without the use of force. It is regrettable that so soon after the people of Myanmar had fulfilled their Constitutional obligation in an election that the democratic process has been nullified in ways that have disregarded the democratic institutions available to challenge the results of the election.

The official statement from the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces) on Feb. 1 explaining the action it has taken refers to perceived irregularities in the vote count. However, no military coup is constitutional in a democracy and no unconstitutional means can be a legitimate part of a solution to return to constitutional rule. What took place may be seen as the Myanmar armed forces’ violation of the military-inspired 2008 charter and a betrayal of the popular will.

In an earlier statement on Jan. 31, the Tatmadaw said that the NLD government did not release the final election data from the Union Election Commission (UEC) even when requested. On its part and in taking the action that it did, the Tatmadaw is equally obliged to release any evidence of the alleged fraud if its claim is to be credible. The lack of evidence fails to support claims of widespread vote fraud.

The Tatmadaw further said it is not objecting to “the outcome itself of the elections” in which the NLD won. In that spirit, the Tatmadaw should forthwith relinquish the powers and positions it has assumed since its takeover of government and reinstate all officials in the NLD-led administration to proceed with constitutional means in addressing any outstanding grievances. The detention of civilian leaders does not bode well for the Tatmadaw’s credibility and pretext for seizing power in the first place.

Given the Tatmadaw’s control and involvement in several key government ministries and a quarter of the legislature, it was well positioned to press its case with the NLD government without having to resort to a coup. The matter of the precise count of the vote should therefore not occasion a military takeover or a State of Emergency in a nation that wishes to adhere to democratic norms and constitutional practices. Notwithstanding the reasons cited in the Tatmadaw’s statement, no legitimate interest can be served by a coup. The larger national interest of a country cannot afford to be eclipsed or hijacked, least of all during a global pandemic when international cooperation and support are critical. Above all, the people’s welfare and constitutional rights must be protected.

The Myanmar junta should also bear in mind how this affects ASEAN as a whole. Indeed, ASEAN has long helped Myanmar manage pressures from the international community. A key example in this regard was the global response to Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. In the aftermath of the devastating cyclone, Myanmar insisted that it had sufficient capacity to deal with the humanitarian situation. Some countries sought to invoke the concept of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) so that the United Nations Security Council could allow the delivery of humanitarian aid without the permission of Myanmar’s authorities. Delays in accepting aid from international organizations led to considerable pressure on Myanmar to open the country to international relief efforts.

ASEAN provided Myanmar with a buffer of sorts. The regional grouping became the intermediary between Myanmar and the international community, providing channels of communication and facilitate joint relief efforts. Aid was delivered via ASEAN instead of being conveyed directly to Myanmar. This setup, thanks partly to the leadership of the late former ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, later became known as the “Nargis Model.” It was ASEAN’s showcase of regional cooperation in times of crisis and Myanmar’s demonstration of its willingness to partake in regional teamwork with international assistance in favor of its own people.

As Myanmar’s neighbors have proven many times before, if there is a space for them to be helpful, they will surely lend a hand to help Myanmar resolve its crisis and overcome its challenges. It is not in anyone’s interest to see Myanmar’s progress towards democracy and good governance slip and slide away after so much progress and development have been achieved, despite flaws and shortcomings. The road ahead points in the opposite direction of the coup the world has just witnessed. A return to democracy will strengthen Myanmar’s integration, not least within its Southeast Asia neighborhood where it will always be located.

 

Pou Sothirak is executive director of Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace in Phnom Penh.

Philips J. Vermonte is executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.

Herizal Hazri is chief executive of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur.

Herman Joseph S. Kraft is a fellow of Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc. in Manila.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak is director of Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of political science in Bangkok.

Repeal the Kasambahay law, remove the minimum wage, and others

Unfortunately, 2021 doesn’t seem to be making it any easier. And the President’s confirmation that the Philippines is losing P2 billion a day in lost income just drives the point home.

Or make that P2.8 billion a day, according to Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

The trope normally is to point to the pandemic as the cause of the losses and unemployment. Which is not true. Lockdowns are causing the economic bleeding. People are simply unable to earn money, forcibly or by being terrorized to stay at home. The Philippines’ 8.7% unemployment rate, equivalent to 3.8 million jobless Filipinos, is a grim testament to that. To top it off, despite the diminished earning capacity of those who still can, higher taxes are being considered thrown into the mix.

Incidentally, an SWS (Social Weather Stations) survey found average adult joblessness last year reaching a record high of 37.4% (2019 was at 19.8%). Currently, that’s 12.7 million jobless Filipinos. Adult joblessness refers to those 18 years old and above that voluntarily left their jobs, or are seeking jobs for the first time, or lost jobs due to circumstances beyond their control. SWS also said that about four million families went hungry at least once from October to December 2020.

And speaking of those seeking jobs for the first time, watch out for the graduation season in a few months, likely to churn out 800,000 fresh college graduates. Add to that the possible 15,000 or so law graduates looking for work after they take this November’s bar exams.

Government has promised to confront the foregoing by several means: subsidies (i.e., cash support), insurance and other compensation schemes, fiscal measures, and employment generation. Which are all good.

But all the foregoing must be taken within the context of this basic truth: government never generates income. It doesn’t. It takes its operating expenses by borrowing from other institutions or, as is ordinarily done, by taxing ordinary citizens.

When it gives out cash subsidies or other welfare benefits, takes out loans (which need to be repaid), and so on, all of that can only be done by getting the money from the remaining Filipinos that are still working.

But if SWS is correct, then only around 34 million Filipinos are employed. Of that, subtract the around 1.7 million employed by the government (i.e., civil service). Deduct further the elected officials (around 21,500). Their salaries are all taken from tax funds. This means that roughly only 32 million are employed by the private sector, which generates the income from whom taxes are culled. Effectively, this means our country of 110 million is now being propped up by only 29% of our population. Or to put it another way, only 29% of our population is putting food on the table for the entire country.

There are various economic arguments as to why the use of tax funds could be used as a stimulus to encourage economic growth. But perhaps another manner with which the government can help the country is to simply get out of the way of the said 29%: lessen taxes, cut local government red tape, cut burdensome government regulations.

There is, also, commonsensically the simple cutting of government expenses. This could be done by lessening services or by getting rid of government agencies whose functions are better off being performed by either the private sector or local government agencies. (See “Reform taxation, cut spending, get rid of some government agencies,” BusinessWorld, March 3, 2017.)

Another is by repealing certain laws that hinder employment. One such law, ironically, is the so-called “Domestic Workers Act” or “Batas Kasambahay” (Republic Act No. 10361), which took effect around eight years ago. It was a bad idea then and it certainly is pernicious even now.

Household work is said to constitute 11% of female employment in the Philippines, with a 2011 Philippine Commission on Women report saying that there could be as many as 2.5 million women domestic workers. That the Kasambahay Law failed to condition the benefits contained therein to professional development, skills training, and personal accountability merely led many employers across the country to forego employment of kasambahays, leaving many unskilled women without any viable employment alternative.

Repealing the Kasambahay Law could help provide additional employment opportunities for the young and unskilled female working demographic, which — incidentally — are said to be among the hardest hit unemployment-wise by this ongoing lockdown.

The protections needed for Kasambahays remain because it has always been there anyway. RA 10361 was just a burdensome superfluity: Aside from the Constitution and the preliminary provisions of the Civil Code, the latter also contains at least 11 articles specifically addressing household help (see Articles 1689–1699).

Removing the minimum wage is also here suggested, at least for new hires and for a temporary period of say two years. This would definitely encourage employers to at least consider new hires.

A recent study from the US National Bureau of Economic Research (“Myth or Measurement: What Does the New Minimum Wage Research Say about Minimum Wages and Job Loss in the United States?,” David Neumark and Peter Shirley, January 2021) again confirms that “minimum wages reduce low-skilled employment.” In fact, the “body of evidence and its conclusions point strongly toward negative effects of minimum wages on employment of less-skilled workers, especially for the types of studies that would be expected to reveal these negative employment effects most clearly.”

A previous study emphasized the job-killing aspect of the minimum wage, especially for the “less educated and inexperienced workers. In the long run, this group of workers faces substantially longer periods of unemployment or delays in hiring, thus bearing more of the cost from minimum wages. This phenomenon is particularly important given the evidence that minimum wage jobs often result in relatively rapid transitions to higher-paying jobs.” (“Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics,” Jonathan Meet and Jeremy West, Journal of Human Resources, 2016).

Another suggestion is for the government to strengthening marriages and encourage the proper upbringing of children. Study after study (e.g., “For richer, for poorer,” W. B. Wilcox and R. I. Lerman, American Enterprise Institute Report, 2014) has demonstrated the economic growth driving potential of the marriage institution.

Henry Potrykus and Patrick Fagan (“The Divorce Revolution Perpetually Reduces U.S. Economic Growth,” Marriage & Religion Research Institute, 2012) emphasized that: “Marriage is a causal agent of economic growth. It constitutes one-third to one-fourth of the human capital contribution of household heads to macroeconomic growth. The total contribution of human capital to growth of domestic product in turn is large, being of equal proportion to the other two contributing factors: size of the labor pool and physical capital. Divorce removes this agent of economic growth.”

Accordingly, reviving tax benefits for married couples and for married couples with children, on top of the across-the-board exemptions currently provided, will definitely help the country move forward. The administration would also do well to reconsider its support for legislative proposals that will only weaken the family, e.g., those relating to divorce or same-sex unions.

Recalibrating the conditional cash transfer or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to condition the grant of benefits to providing work for the national or local government, whether it be for construction, sanitation, clerical, or any appropriate form of employment should also be considered.

Finally, it is suggested that underground businesses (defined here as those engaged in otherwise legal commerce whose earnings are below P80,000 per month but do not pay taxes and are unregistered with government) be given legal recognition — at least in the short term — for the sole purpose of providing protection for such businesses from bureaucratic regulation or harassment. A 2010 World Bank study estimated that the Philippine underground economy constituted an average of 41.9% of our Gross Domestic Product from 1999 to 2006, so one can imagine the size of that economy in today’s hard pandemic days and how it can be helpful in spurring economic growth.

Anyway. As that popular meme goes: modern problems require modern solutions.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter @jemygatdula

South Korea leads the world in innovation as United States exits top 10

SOUTH KOREA returned to first place in the latest Bloomberg Innovation Index, while the US dropped out of a top 10 that features a cluster of European countries. Korea regained the crown from Germany, which dropped to fourth place. The Asian nation has now topped the index for seven of the nine years that it’s been published. Singapore and Switzerland each moved up one spot to rank second and third.

The Bloomberg index analyzes dozens of criteria using seven equally weighted metrics, including research and development spending, manufacturing capability and concentration of high-tech public companies.

The 2021 rankings reflect a world where the fight against COVID-19 has brought innovation to the fore — from government efforts to contain the pandemic, to the digital infrastructure that’s allowed economies to work through it, and the race to develop vaccines that can end it. “In the year of COVID and facing the urgency of climate change, the importance of innovation fundamentals only increases,” said Catherine Mann, global chief economist at Citigroup, Inc. “Innovation is often measured by new ideas, new products and new services,” she said, but it’s their “diffusion and adoption” that is the real metric of success.

Much of the Bloomberg data comes from before the virus crisis. Still, it’s notable that many countries high on the index — like Korea, Germany and Israel — have been world leaders in some areas of fighting the pandemic, whether it’s contact-tracing or speedy vaccination.American names like Zoom Video Communications, Inc. or vaccine-maker Pfizer, Inc. are among the past year’s emblems of innovation, reflecting the US’s top ranking for density of high-tech firms.

The pandemic has also spotlighted a different kind of breakthrough, one that has more to do with policy and organization than technology or research, according to Nobel prizewinning economist Paul Romer. “We should recognize that the available metrics miss important dimensions of innovation,” said Mr. Romer, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “Officials in Wuhan showed for the first time that in a couple of weeks, it is feasible to test 10 million residents of a city for coronavirus. This was a very important public health innovation.”

‘HAVE A FUTURE’
Korea’s return to the top spot is mainly due to an increase in patent activity, where it ranks top, alongside a strong performance in R&D and manufacturing.

There’s near-total agreement in South Korea that “R&D is essential to have a future,” said Lee Kyung-mook, a professor of business management at Seoul National University. “It’s sandwiched between more developed nations, which still outperform them in technology, and China that is catching up fast relying on lower labor costs.”

Second-placed Singapore, which has been allocating budget funds to help workers and companies transition to a digital economy, also scores high for manufacturing — and its globally competitive universities put it top of the tertiary education gauge. Switzerland, a leader in financial and biological technology, ranks near the top in both of the index’s research categories.

Germany’s loss of the crown follows a warning two years ago by Juergen Michels, chief economist of Bayerische Landesbank, who said the country lacked skilled workers and a proper strategy for next-generation technology.

As the two biggest economies, the US and China account for much of the world’s innovation, and they’re also locked in a battle over key areas of policy like intellectual property rights. The gap between them has steadily declined over the liftetime of the index. This year, both saw their rankings decline.

The US, which topped the first Bloomberg Innovation Index in 2013, dropped two places to 11th. In a report last year, the National Science Board found that “where once the US was the uncontested leader in science and engineering, we are now playing a less dominant role.”

The country scores badly in higher education, even though US universities are world-famous. That underperformance was likely made worse by obstacles to foreign students, who are usually prominent in science and technology classes — first due to the Trump administration’s visa policies, and later to the pandemic.

New President Joe Biden ran on a promise to reinvigorate US manufacturing with a $300 billion investment in R&D and breakthrough technologies, a policy he labeled “Innovate in America.”

Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, says the US is still in the vanguard — but nowadays its innovations tend to come from smaller companies, and take longer to reach the consumer. “There are a lot of new ideas from many start-ups,” he said. “It will take time for the ideas to be translated into marketable products.”

China, which fell one place to 16th in the 2021 index, is locked in a battle with the US over key aspects of innovation policy. — Bloomberg

UK, Japan express serious concern over situation in East, South China seas

TOKYO — Four ministers from Japan and Britain voiced serious concern on Wednesday about the situation in the East and South China seas and opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in a apparent reference to China’s maritime expansion.

The joint statement was issued after an online meeting of Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi of Japan, and their respective British counterparts Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace.

“The four ministers reaffirmed the importance of upholding freedom of navigation and overflight above the South China Sea and urged all parties to exercise self-restraint and refrain from activities likely to raise tensions,” the statement said.

China claims almost all the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea, where it has established military outposts on artificial islands. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the sea.

In the East China Sea, China claims a group of uninhabited Japanese-administered islets, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The dispute has plagued bilateral relations for years.

The joint statement was issued after an online meeting of the four ministers. — Reuters

Myanmar junta blocks Facebook, messaging services to shut down dissent

MYANMAR’s junta blocked Facebook and other messaging services in the name of ensuring stability on Thursday as they consolidate power following a coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The move to silence online activists came after Myanmar police filed charges against Nobel Peace laureate Ms. Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment, and as international pressure grew on the junta to accept the results of November elections won by her party in a landslide.

Inside Myanmar, opposition to the junta had emerged very strongly on Facebook, which is the main internet platform for much of the country and underpins communications for business and government.

People in Yangon and other cities banged on pots and pans and honked car horns for a second night on Wednesday in protest against Monday’s coup. Images of the protests had circulated widely on Facebook.

The social network has also been used to share images of a campaign of disobedience by staff at government hospitals across the country, who accuse the army of putting its interests above a coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 3,100 people, one of the highest tolls in Southeast Asia.

The Ministry of Communications and Information said Facebook, used by half of Myanmar’s 53 million people, would be blocked until Feb. 7.

“Currently the people who are troubling the country’s stability … are spreading fake news and misinformation and causing misunderstanding among people by using Facebook,” the ministry said in a letter.

Disruptions were patchy however. Some people found they could still access Facebook even if connections were slow. Some used VPNs (virtual private networks) to evade the blockage.

Ms. Suu Kyi has not been seen since her arrest in the early hours of Monday morning along with other top leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD). An NLD official has said she is under house arrest in the capital, Naypitaw, but there has been no word on her whereabouts from the junta.

The NLD won about 80% of the vote in the Nov. 8 polls, according to the election commission, a result the military has refused to accept, citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud. The United Nations said it would increase international pressure to ensure the will of the people is respected.

“We will do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during an interview broadcast by The Washington Post on Wednesday.

“It is absolutely unacceptable after elections — elections that I believe took place normally — and after a large period of transition.”

Addressing the coup in Myanmar was a priority for the United States and Washington was reviewing possible sanctions in response, the White House said on Wednesday.

CHARGES ‘ABSURD’
Police said six walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of Ms. Suu Kyi’s home in Naypitaw that were imported illegally and used without permission.

The chair of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Charles Santiago, said the charges against Ms. Suu Kyi were ludicrous.

“This is an absurd move by the junta to try to legitimize their illegal power grab,” he said in a statement.

In court documents, police requested Ms. Suu Kyi’s detention “in order to question witnesses, request evidence and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant.”

A separate document showed police filed charges against ousted President Win Myint, who was also detained on Monday, for violating protocols to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Ms. Suu Kyi spent about 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010 as she led the country’s democracy movement, and she remains hugely popular at home despite damage to her international reputation over the plight of Muslim Rohingya refugees.

The military had ruled Myanmar from 1962 until Ms. Suu Kyi’s party came to power in 2015 under a constitution that guarantees the generals a major role in government.

The junta headed by Army chief General Min Aung Hlaing has declared a one-year state of emergency and has promised to hold fair elections, but has not said when.

Norway’s Telenor Asa, Myanmar’s leading mobile network operator, said it had no choice but to comply with the directive to block Facebook. 

“While the directive has basis in Myanmar law, Telenor does not believe that the request is based on necessity and proportionality, in accordance with international human rights law,” it said in a statement.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone urged authorities to restore connectivity “so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information”.

On Twitter, which is less popular in Myanmar and remained available, #CivilDisobedienceMovement was the top trending hashtag in the country. Close behind was #JusticeForMyanmar. — Reuters

Meralco Bolts girding for strong run when PBA Season 46 unfurls

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

WHEN the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rolls out its Season 46 in April, expect the Meralco Bolts to go all out and try to make a strong run.

Coming off a successful showing in the lone PBA tournament last year where it broke through and made it all the way to the semifinals of the Philippine Cup for the first time, the Bolts look to take cue from it and reach for greater heights.

“I think we had a breakthrough last year. As you know, the All-Filipino [tournament] has always been our Achilles heel. We struggled every time it’s the All-Filipino, but last year, we came a basket or two away from beating would-be champion Ginebra in a very tight series,” said Al Panlilio, Meralco governor in the PBA Board, in the online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum early this week.

“We hope to develop and become better just like any team should. We’ll continue to compete and go for our goals and I believe under Coach Norman (Black), we will always compete,” he added.

In last year’s Philippine Cup, done in a “bubble setup” at Clark City in Angeles, Pampanga, because of the coronavirus pandemic, Meralco had it strong.

It finished the eliminations with a 7-4 record, good for fifth spot, before bucking a twice-to-win disadvantage in the quarterfinals against powerhouse San Miguel.

The Bolts took on Barangay Ginebra in the best-of-five semifinals and made the latter sweat, forcing the Kings to a sudden death Game Five.

Bannering the spirited charge for the team were Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan, Cliff Hodge, Bong Quinto, Reynel Hugnatan, Allein Maliksi, Baser Amer, and Aaron Black, who was eventually named outstanding rookie of the tournament.

To prepare for the upcoming season of the PBA, Meralco has moved to retain its core of players while fortifying it roster by signing Noy Baclao, Jammer Jamito, and Mike Cañete to contracts.

The Bolts also traded for Mac Belo from the Blackwater Elite to give their frontcourt more firepower in exchange for point guard Amer.

Mr. Belo averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and an assist per game in the bubble.

Meralco, too, seeks to shore up its team through the rookie draft slated for March 14. It holds the ninth pick in the first round.

The team has begun group workouts this week at the Meralco Gym after fulfilling health and safety requirements, including swab testing, and getting the go signal from the league and government authorities.

Cignal TV is the new home of the Premier Volleyball League

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) has found a new home as its organizers have come to terms with Cignal TV to be the league’s official broadcast partner.

In an announcement made on Thursday, Cignal TV said the deal is for three years and will see PVL games beamed across its multiple on-air and digital platforms.

“In our continuing effort to provide all our viewers and subscribers with an unrivaled sports viewing experience, the addition of the PVL to our lineup ensures millions of Filipino volleyball fans access to their favorite teams and players across our platforms, along with other top-tier local and international sports content,” said Robert P. Galang, President and CEO of Cignal TV and TV5, in a statement, on having the newly recognized professional league on board.

“We are proud to share the PVL’s vision of uplifting Philippine Volleyball and being competitive not only locally, but internationally as well,” he added.

One Sports will broadcast live PVL games on free-to-air, while One Sports+ on Cignal TV features matches in high-definition while streaming simultaneously on its OTT (over-the-top) platform — Cignal Play.

Cignal TV said it is crafting a solid plan for the PVL and is excited to implement them throughout the partnership’s run.

“Our support for the PVL goes far beyond broadcast. With the help of the MVP Group, we hope to help grow the league’s fan base through our group’s various platforms and resources,” Mr. Galang said.

For Sports Vision Management Group, the organization behind the PVL, its partnership with Cignal TV is very exciting and that it is looking forward to working with its new broadcast partner in growing the league and the sport of volleyball.

“We are looking forward to working with Cignal TV given their years of experience in covering sports events. The pledge of support and encouragement not only from Cignal TV but also from the MVP Group of Companies is both reassuring and inspiring. As such, we are confident that the coverage of the PVL will be excellent to the benefit of its viewers,” said Sports Vision president Ricky Palou.

The PVL traces its roots to the Shakey’s V League in the early 2000s. Airing of its matches was handled by various broadcast groups throughout the years, the last one being ABS-CBN S+A.

The league is eyeing to start its first season as a professional league in April under a “bubble” setup at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Laguna.

In Cignal TV, the PVL joins the Philippine Basketball Association, Philippine Superliga and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines as among the local leagues which call the broadcaster home.

FIBA 3×3 excited to work with Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas anew

THE 3×3 arm of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) reaffirmed its partnership with Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas and is excited to work with the local league this year.

Ignacio Soriano, FIBA 3X3 chief, said they are satisfied with their tie-up with Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas, seeing how the latter has been putting in the time and effort to push for the growth of the sport in the country.

“Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 has been a key partner of FIBA for the development of 3×3 in the Philippines over the past years. It’s a pro league that has generated so much activity and ranking points for the Philippines,” said Mr. Soriano in a release.

Founded in 2019 by the group led by Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. president Ronald Mascariñas, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 has provided a venue for players to showcase their skills in 3-on-3 basketball.

Among the players who paraded their wares in the league are Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Santi Santillan, Franky Johnson, James Laput, and Troy Rike. Said players are now trying their luck in the Philippine Basketball Association rookie draft.

Through the tournaments Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas has staged, the Philippines managed to accumulate points to earn a spot in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament set for May 26-30, 2021 in Graz, Austria.

In 2020, while the coronavirus pandemic put sporting activities to a stop, the league proved resilient, staging a “bubble” tournament in October at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, which paved the way for other leagues to follow suit.

It is the same commitment to the sport that FIBA wants to continue to tap.

“We have been very impressed with the way Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 has presented its games so far. The fan experience at the 2020 bubble was particularly eye-catching and a source of inspiration for our own events, both in terms of the look and feel of the venue and media and TV coverage,” Mr. Soriano said about the “Calambubble.”

For Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3, it said the year 2021 presents new challenges, but the league remains committed to the mission it set forth when it was established, particularly in holding tournaments for local talents as well as hosting FIBA-sanctioned events, including the Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3X3 Manila Masters scheduled in the second or third quarter of the year.

“For 2021 and beyond, we will continue with what we are doing. Of course, there will be a lot of new faces in our league. But the mission remains the same, which is to prove that our athletes can compete with the world’s best,” said Mr. Mascariñas. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Two Filipinos featured on reality TV show The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition

THE ONE Championship edition of the global hit reality TV show The Apprentice is set for airing in Asia in March with two Filipinos vying to emerge as the winner.

One of the new offerings of Asia’s largest sports media property for this year, The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition will see 16 people compete for a $250,000 job offer to work directly under ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for a year as his protégé in Singapore.

Two of those who will compete are Lara Pearl Alvarez and Louie Sangalang from the Philippines.

Ms. Alvarez hails from Baguio and is no stranger to adversity, having worked for long hours even as a child on her father’s farm, where she harvested crops and sold them at the local market.

She works as an accountant and trains martial arts with Team Lakay and she is looking to take things to a higher level as being an apprentice to Mr. Sityodtong at ONE.

Mr. Sangalang, meanwhile, is  from Manila and is a champion mixed martial arts fighter. He has extensive experience working for several industries, something he is banking on as he tries to hold his own on The Apprentice.

Both Ms. Alvarez and Mr. Sangalang passed the tough eliminations to make it to the final list of contestants.

In the show, the participants will be asked to solve business problems in real time, but a twist — in the form of physical challenges with MMA stars — is also involved.

To make the challenges well-rounded for the participants, the show has invited executives from top companies to join the show.

CEOs confirmed include Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, Grab CEO Anthony Tan, Zilingo CEO Ankiti Bose, Catcha Group CEO Patrick Grove, and Everise CEO Sudhir Agarwal.

Apart from Ms. Alvarez and Mr. Sangalang, the other The Apprentice contestants are Alvin Ang (Singapore), Irina Chadsey (Russia), Eugene Chung (United States), Teirra Kamolvattanavith (Thailand), Joy Koh (Singapore), Monica Millington (United States), Paulina Purnomowati (Indonesia), Jessica Ramella (Venezuela), Niraj Puran Rao (India), Nazee Sajedi (United States), Sho Takei (Japan), Clinton Tudor (New Zealand), Roman Wilson (United States), and Kexin Ye (Germany).

The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition was filmed entirely in Singapore in accordance with prevailing health and safety protocols. The series features iconic locations and brings forth passion made possible by stories that mirror the country’s never-settling spirit of enterprise.

It will have 13 episodes and will premiere across Asia on March 18 on AXN. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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