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Debt service bill rises 473% in November

THE government’s debt service bill surged in November with large principal payments representing the retirement of maturing debt, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The national government made debt payments of P221.844 billion that month, up 473% from the record year-earlier level of P38.688 billion. In October, debt payments were P25.202 billion.

Some 92.2% represented amortization of P204.557 billion, also well up on the P14.028 billion a year earlier.

Principal repayments to domestic creditors accounted for P197.37 billion, of which P197.2 billion represented redemptions from the Treasury’s bond sinking fund (BSF).

Foreign amortization, which includes prepaymens made due to bond exchange transactions, stood at P7.187 billion.

Meanwhile, interest payments made in November accounted for 7.7% of the total or P17.287 billion. A year earlier, the corresponding payments amounted to P24.66 billion.

Interest payments to domestic lenders totaled P13.939 billion while those to foreign creditors amounted to P3.348 billion.

In the 11 months to November, the debt service bill was P805.264 billion, or 91% of the P884.29 billion target for the year, according to the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) report.

The 11-month payments included P473.512 billion in principal payments and P331.752 billion to settle interest obligations.

The government borrows from both domestic and foreign lenders to plug the funding gap and pay for its expenses not covered by its ability to generate revenue. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Nuclear still on the table pending Palace ruling

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has not given up on its goal of making nuclear energy one of the country’s power sources despite Malacañang’s recent directive for government agencies to focus on projects that can be completed by 2022.

“Kailangan simulan na ngayon (It has to be started now),” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi told reporters last week after an energy event at the agency’s office in Taguig City.

He said the start of a nuclear plant is “at least” what he wanted to happen before the end of the current administration’s term in about two years.

“Even the plants that we are doing, even the coal (facilities), will not be realized within this administration — but we are preparing that for the 2024, 2027, 2030 (power supply requirement),” he said.

He said holding off the DoE’s nuclear initiative would mean abandoning a possible source of energy should the next administration decide to sit on the program. He said the gestation period in building a nuclear power plant is long, making it necessary to act now.

He said he would devote the remaining years of his term to strengthen the energy sector to “serve the Filipino better.”

“We’re looking at the 2030 requirement,” he said or even earlier by 2024 to build up power facilities to meet the country’s future energy needs.

Mr. Cusi said the DoE continues to await the signing by the Office of the President of the country’s national position on nuclear power, which the department prepared.

“The President has been discerning what is really good. So pinag-aaralan natin (So we are studying it),” he said.

He said should Malacañang approve the DoE’s pro-nuclear policy, then the department will go to Congress to seek a legal framework to support the national position.

“Ito namang nuclear, hindi namannecessary ngayon (Nuclear is not necessary now). But we need this for our energy security for the future,” he said, citing the country’s vulnerability to the prices of imported oil and the impact of climate change. — Victor V. Saulon

Bill proposes safety nets for gov’t contractuals

A LEGISLATOR has filed a bill seeking to provide unemployment financial assistance for government employees in contractual, casual and job-order work.

Kabayan Party List Rep. Ron P. Salo filed House Bill 6186, which if passed will be known as The Government Unemployment Assurance Fund.

“With the regularization of all government employees still being a work in progress, it is necessary that a financial assistance be extended to these employees upon the termination of their contract in order to assist them as they seek other employment opportunities,” Mr. Salo said in his explanatory note.

Under the bill, contractual, casual or job-order government employees, who were pre-terminated by the government without the consent of the employee concerned, are eligible for aid.

Funding will be sourced from mandatory contributions by the employer and employees.

Employers will be required to remit 20% of the employee’s monthly basic compensation within seven days from the end of each month. Meanwhile, employees will remit five percent of his or her monthly basic compensation within the same period.

An eligible government employee will be given unemployment financial assistance if he or she is separated from work for at least 30 days.

In case the employment contract is renewed, the benefits under the bill will not be provided.

“Notwithstanding the above measures, the government should implement more measures aimed at the regularization of as many government employees as possible, in order for the government to have the moral ascendancy to call for an end to the practice of ‘endo.’ Nonetheless, it is noted that regularizing all these ‘endos’ in the government will pose a great challenge, especially on the aspect of fiscal management,” Mr. Salo said.

On Wednesday, the House committee on civil service and professional regulation approved a substitute bill seeking to grant regular status and civil service eligibility to contractual, job-order, and casual government employees.

Mr. Salo is an author of one of the 14 House Bills that were consolidated. — Genshen L. Espedido

CTA en banc upholds cancellation of P46.2-M tax deficiency

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) affirmed the cancellation of P46.2 million in alleged tax deficiencies of a merchandising company, citing the lack of a due date in the assessment notices.

In a 19-page decision on Feb. 12, the court, sitting en banc, rejected an appeal by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) concerning the cancellation of the tax assessment against Megabucks Merchandising Corp.

The BIR claimed the court’s special second division mistakenly ruled in citing the absence of due dates in the final assessment notice/formal letter of demand to the company dated Sept. 10, 2015, as none of the parties has not raised the issue.

The court ruled that failure to indicate respective due dates for the payment of the deficiency taxes and the failure to cite a definite amount to be paid means Megabucks’ “obligation for such deficiency taxes may not be deemed to have legally accrued.”

“Simply put, respondent may not be adjudged to account for deficiency taxes which in the first place are not legally demandable. This renders petitioner’s FAN/FLD dated Sept. 10, 2015 ineffectual against respondent, justifying its cancellation and withdrawal,” the court said.

The court noted that the assessment without due date or a fixed amount of tax liability is “not an assessment contemplated under the Tax Code and pertinent jurisprudence.”

It said that the due date portion in the formal letter of demand was unaccomplished.

“For lack of due dates in the assessment notices, the FAN/FLD dated Sept. 10, 2015 cannot be considered as legally ripe for enforcement against respondent,” the ruling read, adding that the assessment notice states that the amount due and interest will have to be modified depending on the payment date. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

How workable is working from home?

Organizations often claim that their most important assets are their people and studies have indicated this to be true. This is the reason why companies are always looking for ways to motivate their workforce and maintain high job satisfaction. While some consider compensation and benefits as the main drivers when a job seeker decides to accept an offer, we now see other factors that are equally relevant to applicants and recruits. A leading consideration is the flexibility of an employer’s work arrangement policies.

In general, employees prefer working hours that allow them to achieve some level of work-life balance. Employees desire the flexibility that provides them the means to meet the demands of their jobs and their personal responsibilities such as attending to family, pursuing further education, or checking items off their bucket lists.

This work arrangement is not new; other economies have already adopted it as part of their labor laws and practices. In the Philippines, however, although most employers require a fixed on-site eight-hour work shift, some multinational companies have already introduced flexibility in the workplace, such as allowing their employees to “telecommute” as a work alternative.

THE TELECOMMUTING ACT
Telecommuting is defined as working from home or an alternative workplace through an electronic link with a central office. While the practice of working at home and interfacing with the office via modem, telephone, or some another electronic device only became commonplace recently, the word “telecommute” has been used since the mid-1970s. Its earliest documented reference can be found in a January 1974 article in The Economist that predicted, “As there is no logical reason why the cost of telecommunication should vary with distance, quite a lot of people by the late 1980s will telecommute daily to their London offices while living on a Pacific island if they want to.”

We have seen how this prediction has become a global reality.

The Philippines finally passed a law regarding this alternative work arrangement when the President signed into law on Dec. 20, 2018, Republic Act (RA) 11165, known as the Telecommuting Act. The RA codifies the definition of telecommuting and specifies how such a program would work in a company. An employer in the private sector may offer a telecommuting program to its employees on a voluntary basis, including compensable work hours, a minimum number of work hours, overtime, rest days, and entitlement to leave benefits.

The law further enumerates a fair treatment clause for employees under the telecommuting program and for those not practicing this alternative work arrangement. Section 5 of the RA provides that the employer will ensure that the telecommuting employees are given the same treatment as that of comparable employees working in the employer’s premises. Further, it listed the rights of telecommuting employees, such as: receiving a rate of pay (including overtime and night shift differential, as well as other similar monetary benefits not lower than those provided in applicable laws); collective bargaining agreements; having the right to rest periods, regular holidays, and special non-working days; having the same or equivalent workload and performance standards; having the same access to training and career development opportunities; and being subject to the same appraisal policies.

The RA also features a clause on Data Protection in relation to the Data Privacy Act of 2012 as employees under this work arrangement should still be governed by confidentiality and data security policies in the conduct of their work.

PRODUCTIVITY BENEFITS
Like in any program or policy, there should be an evaluation of the telecommuting program’s pros and cons. One of its benefits is the flexibility offered to employees to work during the hours that complement their needs, responsibilities and preferences. Research has shown that when employees have work flexibility, they are able to increase their productivity and more effectively meet their deliverables. The company may also consider the potential cost savings to having employees work remotely, such as a reduced need for valuable office space, lower utilities consumption and similar reduced expenses.

In addition, telecommuting provides the benefit of less potential business disruption as employees can continue working even if they are physically unable to report to the office. Good examples of this would be the recent events that transpired in the Philippines: the Taal Volcano eruption and the Covid-19 virus outbreak, both of which prompted employers to think about the safety and health of their employees. If a company has a telecommuting program in place, business operations can continue since employees are able to deliver the work from alternative locations. Another benefit of the telecommuting program is that the actual travel from home to office and vice versa will significantly be reduced. This would be beneficial to so many considering the notorious traffic conditions in the Philippines.

WHAT TO CONSIDER
While telecommuting seems advantageous, there are challenges in implementation. First, telecommuting assumes that the employee would have the necessary resources such as a reliable Internet connection to log on to the employer’s infrastructure. Second, if a company adopts this program, the employer must have well-written guidelines to monitor the work of telecommuting employees to address possible issues of employees not being “active” and potentially missing out on deliverables. Third, and as mentioned earlier, data protection should be addressed because working externally could expose the employee to possible data breaches and security threats, especially with the data handled by the telecommuting employees themselves. Fourth, companies will also need to consider the investment in technology, platforms and resources that will allow employees to remotely access company servers and shared data, particularly in cases where employees function as part of a larger team.

CHALLENGING AND DISRUPTIVE
It is encouraging to see that the traditional eight-hour desk job in the office has been updated to consider other factors. Employees in the Philippines looking for options to achieve work-life balance now have another consideration when evaluating a job offer. At the end of the day, employers should look carefully at their options to ensure maximum productivity, work efficiency and service delivery quality while taking into account evolving employee needs and job satisfaction measures.

Companies may experience transitioning from an existing on-site workforce to a telecommuting team as both challenging and disruptive, but a careful analysis of the pros and cons of the program may help management decide to take the big step of having their employees literally out of the office.

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

 

Rogelanne O. Villarubia is a Tax Senior Director from the People Advisory Service Line of SGV & Co.

Nation at a Glance — (02/23/20)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

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Tax take from ‘sin’ products seen to reach P332B this year

THE Department of Finance (DoF) projects tax collection from so-called “sin” products to jump over 20% to P332.3 billion this year, following another round of excise tax hikes on alcohol and tobacco products.

At the same time, the DoF warned of a potential revenue loss of P5.2 billion from the recently signed law’s tax exemption provision.

In a statement on Friday, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said government’s tax take from sin products is expected to increase since it now includes electronic cigarettes such as heated tobacco products and vaping products.

“In 2015, the total revenues from ‘sin’ products was P143.5 billion. Last year, in 2019, the total was P269.1 billion or 87.5% more. Starting 2020, ‘sin’ taxes now include the collection of excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, sweetened beverage and e-cigarette products,” Mr. Chua said in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

He added that the tax collection from sin products could rise to P480 billion by 2024, which is already the DoF’s “low-end projection.”

At the same time, Mr. Chua warned of potential revenue losses from the value-added tax (VAT) exemption provision under Republic Act (RA) No. 11467 which exempted from VAT the sale and importation of all prescription medicines for high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension.

The tax exemption will also be applied to medicine for mental illness, cancer, kidney diseases and tuberculosis by 2023.

The DoF said they are now studying the revenue impact of the tax exemption but based on their preliminary assessments, the government might lose P5.2 billion in the first year of implementation or P35.1 billion in five years or by end-2024.

Signed into law on Jan. 22, RA No. 11467 imposes higher excise tax on e-cigarettes, vapor and alcoholic drink products, and is expected to generate an initial P22.2 billion in revenues this year and a total of P137.2 billion from 2020 to 2024.

“With this (VAT-exemption provision), the net incremental revenue of the bill is P17.1 billion in 2020, and a total of P102.1 billion by 2024,” the DoF said.

Under RA No. 11467, 60% of the revenues from the excise taxes on alcohol products and e-cigarettes will go to the Universal Healthcare (UHC) program. The rest will be used for medical assistance and health facilities and for programs aligned with United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). — B.M.Laforga

SEC seeks to tighten rules on sale of corporate assets

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing that companies selling at least 51% of its assets should require the approval of at least two-thirds of its stockholders.

The SEC posted on its website Friday a draft memorandum circular on sale of corporate assets, which proposes an amendment of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines to post stricter rules in disposing of corporate property and assets.

The draft suggests that when a company sells assets amounting to at least 51% of its total, it should be considered equivalent to selling all or substantially all of the company’s assets, regardless if the sale is done through a single transaction or several transactions within a year.

This would mean such sale would require the vote of stockholders that hold at least two-thirds of a company’s outstanding capital stock — which is the requirement in Section 39 of the Revised Corporation Code of the Companies for sale of all or substantially all of a corporation’s properties and assets.

Note that in the proposed amendments, the SEC will also impose this requirement on companies that would sell a cumulative total of at least 51% of its assets within one year. For aggregate sale transactions, the approval of shareholders will be asked for the last transaction that would breach the 51% mark.

With regard the computation, the SEC will base it on a corporation’s total assets as indicated in its latest audited financial statements.

Comments on the proposed amendments are currently being sought from the public until Mar. 7. The SEC said this draft memorandum is part of promoting good corporate governance and protecting minority investors.

For Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan, the proposed policy will have little impact unless the minimum public ownership requirement for listed firms is raised from the current 10%.

“I believe two-thirds vote has no effect considering the minimum public ownership is only 10%… (Even if) you require a two-thirds vote, it’s still the major shareholders or the majority owner who decides the outcome,” he said in a text message.

Sought for comment, Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren T. Pangan said the memorandum “doesn’t seem to be far fetched and is merely an application of the law.”

“SEC seems to have just made more precise what the law writes about,” he said. “It seems good for the investors as major decisions like these would require a lot of investors to be in agreement with one another. It may imply that investors are given importance in certain major decisions like these.”

Mr. Pangan said this new rule would be beneficial for investors, since they are “assured that the assets won’t be sold without their consent.”

PHL may benefit as firms look into reducing ‘overdependence’ on China

THE Philippines may potentially attract manufacturers who are seeking to set up shop outside of China — the epicenter of the on-going coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

In a briefing on Thursday, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Treasurer Horacio E. Cebrero III noted some “potential concentration risks” for global manufacturers, which may push them to expand beyond China and other affected locations.

“We (The Philippines) could potentially get some of those manufacturers… So there could be an opportunity in which the banks and private sector here could be focusing on,” Mr. Cebrero said.

Apart from the COVID-19 outbreak, the on-going US-China trade war is another major consideration for some manufacturing firms to look into reducing their “overdependence on China,” according to Maybank Kim Eng.

“The COVID-19 virus outbreak will likely reinforce the shifts in manufacturing supply chains from China,” the firm said in a note sent to reporters on Friday.

It cited multinational corporations such as Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Company, and Samsung Group to be among those considering to speed up relocation plans as the outbreak drags on.

Maybank KE said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region will see some bright spots from the “structural shift” caused by both the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We think that ASEAN will benefit from this structural shift, as MNCs (multinational corporations) adopt a ‘China+1’ strategy and look for alternative bases to diversify their risks,” the report said.

The “China+1” strategy is the practice of doing international business in mainland China while also maintaining a second facility in another economy, most likely also an Asian country.

Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said that the Philippines, being one of the “least affected” compared to peers in terms of economic fallout from the outbreak, has a good chance of attracting manufacturers looking to transfer their operations.

“We have to be able to put our domestic supply chain and logistical infrastructure in order, as foreign investors are sensitive to logistical challenges,” he said in an emailed response.

Mr. Roces cited regulatory risks, ease of doing business, and tax incentives as factors the Philippines should work on to attract investments.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that foreign investments in the form of approved commitments surged 112.8% to P390.11 billion in 2019, which is the highest since at least 1996.

However, foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows in the Philippines has been slashed by nearly a third (29.9%) in the 11 months through November to $6.413 billion, according to data from the central bank.

“If the impact dictates that the Chinese economy is rendered damaged and may take a longer time to recover, the likelihood of manufacturing firms’ transfer to the Philippines is higher,” UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in a text message.

However, the Philippines will have to compete with Vietnam.

“Between Vietnam and the Philippines, locators may go to Vietnam easily. We can be competitive versus Thailand and Malaysia,” Mr. Asuncion said. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

DoH ready to repatriate Pinoys on virus-stricken cruise ship

THE Department of Health (DoH) said on Friday that repatriation measures are ready as they expect at least 460 Filipinos who had been quarantined for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on board cruise ship MV Diamond Princess to come home on Sunday.

Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said in a briefing that the DoH is collaborating with other government agencies under the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IAFT-EID) and other concerned parties for the Feb. 23 voluntary repatriation of Filipinos who had been on the MV Diamond Princess currently in the Yokohama Port in Japan.

“DoH is currently in close coordination with the IATF member agencies, the World Health Organization, the Philippine Embassy in Japan, and the Magsaysay Maritime Corporation for the repatriation of around 460 to 480 Filipinos aboard the cruise ship who requested assistance to return to the Philippines,” she said.

Before being repatriated, the Filipinos will screened for symptoms of the disease. Only the asymptomatic will be allowed to leave.

Because of the large number of people who are expected to fly back to the Philippines from Japan, Ms. Vergeire said that they will use two airplanes to bring them home. Once they land in the Philippines, they will undergo assessment and then be quarantined. The DoH will also deploy five medical teams to take care of those quarantined.

The quarantine area is the Athletes Village in New Clark City, which was previously used for the 30 Filipinos who were repatriated earlier this month from Wuhan, China. Nineteen crew members who assisted in the Wuhan repatriation were also quarantined. All of them have completed the quarantine period with no sign of having the virus.

Meanwhile, DoH is also verifying the number of Filipinos from the stricken cruise ship who have COVID-19 as they have received some reports that 52 have tested positive.

In terms of their possible repatriation to the Philippines, Ms. Vergeire said that this is still being discussed as they are also considering complicating factors such as the varying stages of the disease among those infected as they weren’t all confined at the same time, and the type of facilities and transportation measures needed to bring them home safely. — Gillian M. Cortez

Probable cause found vs Garin, Sanofi in Dengvaxia case

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) has found probable cause to indict former Health Secretary Janette L. Garin and other officials along with pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, Inc. (Sanofi) for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide over the purchase and use of the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

Ms. Garin, in an interview on Friday, maintained her innocence and said that she will defend herself in court.

In a press statement released on Friday, the DoJ said that based on preliminary investigations on the second batch

of complaints for the deaths of children allegedly linked to the administration of the Dengvaxia vaccine, its Panel of Prosecutors “found probable cause to indict former Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Janette L. Garin and nine other DOH officials, along with officials of the Food and Drug Administration, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, and Sanofi Pasteur, Inc., for reckless imprudence resulting to homicide.”

The DoJ said that it found irregularities in the purchase of the vaccine, as Ms. Garin and the other health officials fast-tracked the procurement process. It also found that the purchase of the vaccines was done even if there were more beneficial vaccines for the government’s National Immunization Program (NIP). There was already opposition to Dengvaxia’s use due to its low effectivity on the dengue virus stereotype 2, which is the more common type of dengue in the Philippines.

The release stated that “the Panel found that there was ‘inexcusable lack of precaution’ on on the part of Garin and the other respondent government officials in ‘fast-tracking of the procurement process’ for the Dengvaxia Vaccine despite being aware of its low efficacy results and potential risks associated with its use.”

The DoJ said that the health officials who were charged also neglected to fully inform Dengvaxia recipients and their parents/families about the nature and risks of the vaccine. A physical examination or health assessment was also not done prior and after being vaccinated.

Probable cause was also found to indict the president of Sanofi for violating the Consumer Act of the Philippines for manufacturing the vaccine that poses risks to those who have not previously contracted dengue, and that “circumstances surrounding the dispensation” of the vaccine made it a “mislabeled drug.” For the latter, the president of Sanofi and four of its officers/directors will be held liable for violating the same Act.

In an interview with ANC on Friday, Ms. Garin said that she is “Ready to face the charges” and added that the vaccine is not the cause of death of some of the recipients whose relatives claim that Dengvaxia was to blame.

“Bottom line is that these patients died of other causes,” she said.

She added, “This is definitely an issue of politics ruling over public health.” — Gillian M. Cortez

SC orders judges to submit copies of TROs, other injunctions

CHIEF Justice Diosdado M. Peralta has required all justices of the Court of Appeals (CA), Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), as well as trial court judges, to submit to the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) copies of temporary restraining orders (TROs), status quo ante orders (SQAs), and writs of preliminary injunction (WPIs), and orders of voluntary inhibition which they have issued.

TROs are “short-term pre-trial temporary injunctions” that are “intended to be stop-gap measures, and only last until the court holds a hearing on whether or not to grant a preliminary injunction.” An SQA order “has the nature of a temporary restraining order” and is defined as the “last actual, peaceful and uncontested status that precedes the actual controversy.” Meanwhile, WPI are granted “only upon prior notice to the party sought to be enjoined and upon their due hearing.”

In Administrative Order No. 63-2020, the Chief Justice required the justices and judges to submit to the OCJ beginning this March 1 copies of the TROs, SQAs, and WPIs they issued within five days from such issuance, the Supreme Court (SC) said in a statement on Thursday.

All copies of orders of voluntary inhibition should be submitted to the OCJ, copy furnished the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), within five days from issuance of such orders. These may either be e-mailed or sent through postal mail addressed to the OCJ.

The Supreme Court (SC) added that the issuance of the said administrative order follows one of the core areas in Chief Justice Peralta’s Ten-Point Program which is integrity. The other core areas are efficiency, service, and security

According to the SC, the submission of reports on TROs and WPIs was discontinued because of its incorporation in the monthly report of cases pursuant to OCA Circular No. 246-2018. These monthly reports, however, do not reflect the qualitative details of the TROs and WPIs.

In a separate issuance, the Chief Justice came out with Administrative Order No. 62-2020 requiring the justices of the third level courts and second- and first-level courts judges to specifically address “persistent reports that some Justices and Judges have been voluntarily inhibiting from cases assigned or raffled to them on grounds that are neither just nor valid.”

The Chief Justice reminded those concerned of their duties “to perform their judicial duties without favor, bias or prejudice” and to “carry out judicial duties with appropriate consideration for all persons, such as the parties, witnesses, lawyers, court staff and judicial colleagues, without differentiation on any irrelevant ground, immaterial to the proper performance of such duties.”

“[E]very court should remember that an injunction should not be granted lightly or precipitately because it is a limitation upon the freedom of the defendant’s action. It should be granted only when the court is fully satisfied that the law permits it and the emergency demands it, for no power exists whose exercise is more delicate, which requires greater caution and deliberation, or is more dangerous in a doubtful case, than the issuance of an injunction,” the Chief Justice said in the Court’s ruling in BPI v. Hontanosas, Jr. — Genshen L. Espedido

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