FLIGHT OPERATIONS at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main gateway, were temporarily suspended as of Sunday evening due to volcanic ash being spewed by Taal Volcano, located less than 100 kilometers south of the capital.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) made the announcement as the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DoST-PHIVOLCS), in its bulletin as of 7:30 p.m., raised the alert level to #4, which means a “hazardous eruption” is “imminent” within hours or days.
“Flight operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have been temporarily suspended due to the volcanic ash from the phreatic eruption of Taal Volcano earlier this afternoon, 12 January 2020,” the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said.
Airline operators also made separate announcements on cancelled or diverted flights.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it diverted its Manila-bound flights from London, Haneda, and Xiamen to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, located less than 100 kms north of Metro Manila.
PAL also cancelled all flights scheduled to depart from Manila between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
AirAsia Philippines and Cebu Pacific said they would also suspend and cancel domestic and international flights to and from NAIA.
Local governments within Metro Manila and southern Luzon provinces have declared the cancellation of classes on Monday.
DoST-PHIVOLCS said that as of 5:30 p.m., eruptive activity at Taal Volcano’s main crater had “intensified as continuous eruption generated a tall 10-15 kilometer steam-laden tephra column with frequent volcanic lightning that rained wet ashfall on the general north as far as Quezon City.”
The agency also recorded volcanic tremor and two volcanic eathquakes of magnitudes 2.5 and 3.9 in Tagaytay and Alitagtag, Batangas between 6:15 p.m. and 6:22 p.m.
POWER
Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said it is “implementing contingency measures” as it continues to monitor the impact on transmission facilities.
In an advisory as of 8:20 p.m., NGCP reported outage of three 500-kV lines and two 230-kV linesashfall in the Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite areas due to ashfall.
“To maintain the integrity of the grid and manage voltage levels, capacitor banks were put online and an initial 72 megaWatts (MW) of load from Meralco was dropped,” it said.
“As soon as the situation is deemed safe, line crews will be mobilized to inspect the lines and conduct cleaning of critical line equipment,” it added.
THE best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup finals series is now tied at one game apiece after the Meralco Bolts exacted payback on the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 104-102, in Game Two on Friday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Trailed the series entering the contest, the Bolts avoided being buried deeper by the Kings in the series with a gallant stand in the second game to pull even and reduce the series to a virtual best-of-five.
It was a balanced attack for Meralco, led by the 21 points of import Allen Durham. He also had 18 rebounds and six assists.
Baser Amer and Chris Newsome had 17 points each for the Bolts in the win.
Meralco had control of the opening half, riding on a explosive first quarter where it established a 36-21 advantage.
It continued to hold sway in the second frame, still up big, 63-46, by the halftime break.
In the third quarter, Barangay Ginebra started to make its move back, using a 10-0 blast to come to within seven points, 63-56, with 8:45 to go in the frame.
The Bolts though would survive the onslaught with Nico Salva providing the offensive boost off the bench.
They extended their lead to nine points, 70-61, in the next three minutes.
The Kings were undeterred, however, tying the count at 70-all by the 2:31 mark.
The teams slug it out the rest of the period with the Bolts eventually winding up on top, 82-76, heading into the fourth canto.
Barangay Ginebra kept the pressure on Meralco and stayed within striking distance to start the final period.
The count stood at 90-84 with 6:14 left in the contest.
Stanley Pringle and Japeth Aguilar tried to rally Barangay Ginebra back but Meralco kept its opponent at bay as it held an eight-point lead, 96-91, with three minutes remaining.
Five points care of Raymond Almazan and Baser Amer in the next 50 seconds stretched the Bolts’ advantage to 10 points, 101-91.
The Kings made a last-ditch effort to get back in the game but they could only come to within two points, 104-102 with two seconds to go as the Bolts held on for the win.
Mr. Almazan had 15 points and nine rebounds while Nards Pinto finished with 12 for Meralco.
For the Kings it was Justin Brownlee who led with 35 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Mr. Pringle with 23.
Mr. Aguilar had 18 points and eight rebounds.
Game Three of the finals is on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
ASIA CUP POOL OF PLAYERS BARED
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc. named the pool of players for the first window of the qualifiers for the FIBA Asia Cup happening in February .
The 24-man roster, which the SBP describes as a “hybrid” lineup, is composed of top collegiate stars and Philippine Basketball Association campaigners.
Upcoming stars selected for the pool are Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte, Allyn Bulanadi, Thirdy Ravena, Jaydee Tungcab, Juan and Javi Gomez De Liano, Dave Ildefonso, Justine Baltazar, Kobe Paras and Dwight Ramos.
The first five aforementioned names incidentally were the five selected for the Gilas Pilipinas pool for the 2023 World Cup in a special draft at the annual PBA rookie draft in December.
Joining these players from the PBA are Poy Erram and Kiefer Ravena (NLEX), Ray Parks, Roger Pogoy and Troy Rosario (TNT), Japeth Aguilar (Barangay Ginebra), CJ Perez (Columbian), Mac Belo (Blackwater) and Matthew Wright (Phoenix Pulse).
Veteran Gilas player Marc Pingris (Magnolia) is also included in the pool while Christian Standhardinger (Northport) is the naturalized player.
Coach of the team is expected to be announced next week but the SBP said whoever is chosen for the job would have it on an interim basis as it continues the search for a full-time coach for the national basketball team.
The team is bracketed in Group A of the qualifiers along with Indonesia, Thailand and Korea.
It will first play Thailand on Feb. 20 and then face off with Indonesia on Feb. 23.
In the qualifiers, the top two teams in each of the six groups automatically qualify for the Asia Cup with the third best teams advancing to the next round of qualification.
Imports fell eight percent year-on-year to $8.94 billion in November 2019. — BW FILE PHOTO
By Mark T. Amoguis, Senior Researcher
LATEST government data showed imports declining for the eighth straight month in November while exports were flat, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.
Imports fell eight percent year-on-year to $8.94 billion in November, lower than the 10.8% decline seen in October, but reversing from the 9.6% growth seen in November 2018.
The latest reading marked the eighth consecutive month of decline for imports.
To date, the merchandise import bill declined by 4.6% to $99.15 billion from $103.94 billion in 2018’s comparable 11 months. This remained below the two-percent target set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for 2019.
Meanwhile, the value of merchandise exports edged down 0.7% annually to $5.60 billion in November from $5.64 billion a year ago. This was a turnaround from the revised 0.3% uptick recorded in October and the one-percent growth in November 2018.
Export receipts were down 0.02% to $64.56 billion from $64.58 billion on a cumulative basis against the DBCC’s one-percent target set for the year.
The trade-in-goods deficit figured at $3.34 billion compared to a $4.07-billion trade gap in the same month in 2018. Cumulative, the trade deficit reached $34.59 billion, smaller than the $39.36-billion gap in January-November 2018.
“[I]mports posted yet another month of contraction, mainly due to the drop in energy imports and items related to construction (iron and steel, non-ferrous metals), even as government attempts to jump-start spending to catchup post budget delay,” ING Bank NV Manila Branch Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said in an e-mail.
Mr. Mapa noted that the “substantial pullback” in imports for the majority of 2019 was due to two things: the budget delay that curbed raw materials for construction and the “meltdown” in investment activity, which is reflected in the “subpar importation” of capital goods and consumer durables.
“In October and November, we saw a good revival of these imports, which bodes well for capital formation…,” Mr. Mapa said.
Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods declined by 14.6% to $3.23 billion in November from $3.78 billion in the same month in 2018. These materials accounted for 36.2% of the country’s total imports in November.
Imports of mineral fuels, lubricant and related materials likewise dropped by 34.9% to $836.51 million from $1.29 billion.
In particular, imports of coke fuel and petroleum crude declined by 44.3% and 40.8% in November, respectively, to $92.44 million (from $166.04 million) and $310.92 million (from $524.92 million).
On the other hand, imports of consumer and capital goods increased by 10.2% and 1.6%, respectively, to $1.73 billion and $3.07 billion.
On the export side, declines were recorded in the sales of petroleum products and agro-based products, which declined by 80.4% and 7.5%, respectively, to $7.22 million and $367.05 million.
Manufactured goods, which accounted for 85.5% of total exports in November, inched up by 0.005% to $4.78 billion.
Electronics, which made up more than two-thirds of manufactured goods and more than half of total exports, grew by 1.4% to $3.28 billion, with semiconductors contributing $2.45 billion, an increase of 2.2% from $2.40 billion a year ago.
Exports of mineral and forest products rose 25.5% and three percent, respectively, to $299.71 million and $23.97 million.
ING’s Mr. Mapa noted the “marginal growth” in the exports of electronic products, which were unable to offset the struggles of the rest of the export sector amidst the ongoing global trade war.
In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the growth in global trade could face a slow recovery amid the increasing tensions between the US and Iran, although the US trade dispute with China appears close to being resolved.
“The heightened conflict between the US and Iran and its impact on oil prices could result in increased cost of production for domestic-oriented as well as export-oriented firms,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia was quoted in the NEDA statement as saying.
NEDA said the country still imports majority of its petroleum supply in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.
“However, looking at the structure and pattern of imports of crude petroleum to the Philippines indicate that the country has diversified its source of crude petroleum in recent years, such that the level of vulnerability to supply shocks has been slightly reduced,” he added.
For this year, ING’s Mr. Mapa said the trade trend is expected to reverse in 2020 with the trade gap seen to widen on account of recovering imports.
“With the budget for 2020 and 2019 operating simultaneously, we could see a resumption for raw materials imports while energy imports will also increase, due mainly to the dollar price of crude,” he said.
“With growth picking up, we can foresee a renewed widening of the trade gap, which would, in turn, exert pressure on the peso to experience a weakening bias in 2020.”
Likewise, Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces expected the trade balance to “widen further into deficit” as spending is expected to accelerate “with a double dose of stimulus meant for an accelerated infrastructure program.”
FOREIGN direct investments (FDI) inflows rebounded in October, reversing seven months of decline, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released late Friday.
Data from the BSP showed FDI net inflows rose 33.7% to $672 million in October, from $502 million in the same period in 2018, “mainly on account of the expansion in non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments issued by local affiliates by 60% to $534 million.”
It was the biggest net inflow since April’s $963 million.
The October figure was also 18.73% higher than the $566 million posted in September.
October saw equity other than reinvested earnings shrink by 40.7% year-on-year to $58 million from $98 million. This as gross placements dropped 28% to $80 million, while withdrawals rose 57% to $22 million.
Equity capital infusions mostly poured from the United States, South Korea and Japan, the BSP said. These were mostly invested in industries such as real estate, financial and insurance, as well as manufacturing.
Reinvestment of earnings jumped 12.7% year-on-year to $79 million in October from $71 million a year ago.
“This higher net inflows in October 2019 may be a signal that FDI is turning a corner,” Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in an emailed response.
However, Mr. Asuncion took note that the biggest contributor to the uptick is “inter-company borrowings and not the basic and fresh equity capital placements.”
This major increase in inter-company borrowings was also observed by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.
“This may reflect the fact that borrowing costs remained relatively low during the month, still near the lowest since the start of 2019, thereby making borrowings already attractive and compelling to finance more FDIs into the Philippines,” he said in an email.
“Still, this improvement may describe improved sentiment that may carry on for both November and December 2019 FDI net inflow growth numbers,” Mr. Asuncion added.
The BSP has slashed key policy rates by 75 basis points (bps) in 2019, through three 25 bps reductions. This has reduced the overnight repurchase rate to 4% while overnight lending deposits and lending are at 3.5% and 4.5%, respectively.
For his part, Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said that the gloomy FDI flows in the previous quarters took a toll on the country’s economic growth.
“Recovery in October could be because some of these uncertainties have somewhat dissipated. CITIRA (Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act) will be tackled this year with a clearer direction and probably accommodating the requests of the business sector, and a phase one trade deal,” he said in an email, noting that FDI.
CITIRA, which has been pending in the Senate since October, is a measure that gradually reduce corporate income tax rates from the current 30% to 20% as the country is among economies with the highest rates in the region.
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has also said that the unclear direction of the CITIRA may be the culprit behind the decline in FDI in the recent months.
“During the first years of (President Rodrigo R.) Duterte, FDI was around $10 billion… Last year nag-slowdown ‘yan (it slowed down). I think we can attribute that to the CITIRA uncertainty…,” Mr. Diokno said in a briefing on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing are set to sign their phase one deal on Jan. 15 in order to soothe the eighteen-month trade war against the world’s two biggest economies.
YEAR-TO-DATE FLOWS
Meanwhile, preliminary BSP data showed that FDI net inflows fell 32.8% to $5.79 billion during the January to October period.
“The lower FDI net inflows reflect subdued investor sentiment due to the continued sluggish global economic activity,” the BSP said.
Equity other than reinvested earnings more than halved (65.4%) to $690 million in the first ten months of 2019 from $1.998 billion in the comparable year ago period.
This was dragged by the 44.9% decrease in net placements to $1.319 billion from $2.394 billion. Meanwhile, withdrawals climbed 58.8% to $629 million from $396 million a year ago.
“The top country sources of equity capital placements during the period were Japan, the United States, Singapore, China, and South Korea,” BSP said.
These funds went mainly to sectors such as financial and insurance; real estate; and manufacturing.
Reinvested earnings for the first 10 months of 2019 jumped 12.5% to $825 million from $733 million in the same period of the preceding year.
On the other hand FDI in debt instruments dropped by 27.3% to$4.275 billion from $5.88 billion a year ago. — Luz Wendy T. Noble
THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) fell short of its target revenue collections for 2019 by nearly five percent, amid lower import volume and a stronger peso against the US dollar, its top officials reported on Friday.
BoC Assistant Commissioner and Spokesperson Vincent Philip C. Maronilla said the agency’s net revenues grew 6.3% to P630.571 billion last year from 2018’s P593 billion, but is still short by P30.429 billion from its P661-billion target for the full year.
“You have to understand na every year, tinataasan ang collection natin (our collection target increases), ‘yung P630 billion collected last 2019 is still the highest that has been collected so far,” Mr. Guerrero said during an event in Manila.
Last year’s revenue collection performance was a reversal from 2018 when the BoC exceeded its target.
Mr. Maronilla said the BoC did not meet its revenue target due to the 6% drop in import volume throughout the year, as well as the peso settling at around P52 against the US dollar.
He also noted the revenue target for the year had included an estimated P10 billion in additional revenue from the fuel marking program, which was not implemented that year.
“[On the] fuel marking program, it was supposed to have been implemented last year but because of unforeseen events, the implementation was delayed for February this year pero ‘yung (but our) target namin of P10 billion (from the program) was already included in last year’s (target)… I think we did well in the aspect of collection performance,” Mr. Maronilla told reporters.
For this year, the agency set a P731-billion net collection target, or P751 billion if tax refunds will be included.
At the same time, Mr. Maronilla reported that the country’s two major ports, the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port (MICP), recorded yard utilization rate of 71.2% and 72.66%, respectively, that year.
On border protection, he said Customs has seized more than P20.5 billion worth of smuggled goods from the 906 apprehensions it conducted in 2019.
Mr. Guerrero said this was four times higher than the P5 billion worth of illegal goods they confiscated in 2018.
Broken down, counterfeit goods topped the list at P9.4 billion, followed by illegal methamphetamine or “shabu” worth P3.5 billion, cigarettes and tobacco products worth P2.6 billion as well as other unspecified products that amounted to P4.1 billion.
Other illegal goods that were seized during the year were drugs, agricultural products, general merchandise, vehicles and its accessories, used clothing, steel products, electronics, smuggling of goods and firearms as well as currency.
NO NEW CUSTOMS CHIEF
Meanwhile, BoC Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III denied a newspaper report that claimed President Rodrigo R. Duterte offered the top Customs post to a Davao-based businessman.
The Manila Times’ chairman emeritus, Dante A. Ang, had admitted that the story was “erroneous.”
However, Mr. Dominguez told reporters through Viber message Friday morning that he “met with the President for several times this week and he, [Mr. Duterte], never even hinted at this.”
The BoC operates as an attached agency under the Department of Finance (DoF), along with other offices such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Treasury.
“Ako mismo hindi ko din alam (even I don’t know it), I’m still waiting for the guidance from the President and the Secretary of Finance,” Mr. Guerrero said, adding the President did not mention this when they were both at an event on Tuesday. — Beatrice M. Laforga
THE Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223 has issued a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of a policy that limits the number of motorcycle taxis in Metro Manila to 30,000 and 9,000 in Cebu.
The petition for a TRO was filed by motorcycle-hailing firm Angkas (DBDOYC, Inc.).
This development comes after Angkas bikers themselves had earlier secured a 72-hour hold order from a Mandaluyong court blocking the same policy.
In its petition for a TRO, Angkas also asked the QC court to exclude JoyRide (We Move Things Philippines, Inc.) and Move It (We-Load Transcargo Corp.) from the pilot program for motorcycle taxis that is being implemented by the government’s technical working group (TWG).
The court, however, did not grant the company’s petition to restrain respondents Department of Transportation (DoTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) from allowing the inclusion of JoyRide and Move It in the pilot program.
“When the acts sought to be prevented by injunction or prohibition have already been performed or completed prior to the filing of the injunction suit, nothing more can be enjoined or restrained; a writ of injunction then becomes moot and academic, and the court, by mere issuance of the writ, can no longer stop or undo the act,” the court said in its order dated Jan. 9, as signed by Judge Catherine P. Manodon.
On Angkas’ petition for a TRO against the implementation of the TWG’s new guidelines that limit the number of bikers for Metro Manila to a total of 30,000 and Cebu to 9,000 during the pilot test, which will then be divided among the three motorcycle hailing firms, the court “finds that irreparable injury would be suffered by the plaintiff” if the implementation of the policy “is not restrained before the matter of the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction is heard.”
“Considering the urgency of the situation, [the Court] hereby issues a temporary restraining order enjoining defendants, for a period of 20 days from receipt of this order, from implementing said revised guidelines insofar as it imposes a cap the number of petitioner’s bikers,” the court added.
The court also required Angkas to post a bond of P1 million “to answer for any damage that the defendants may suffer from the issuance of this restraining order, within 24 hours from receipt.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE country’s three major airlines — Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Philippines AirAsia — have committed to help the government in the repatriation of Filipinos working and living in the countries in the Middle East that are affected by the Iran-United States conflict.
The repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) will be given assistance once they return to the Philippines, with the government currently in discussions with other countries about job opportunities in case the repatriated workers want to work abroad again.
“Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have agreed to accommodate, free of charge, stranded Filipinos in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) or in any of its available Middle East flights, once the plans for the repatriation have been outlined,” Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director-General Jim C. Sydiongco was quoted as saying in a news release on Friday.
He added: “AirAsia, on the other hand, has agreed to the possible allocation and free accommodation of repatriated Filipinos that need to go back to their respective provinces in their domestic flights.”
This development comes after the Department of National Defense, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) drafted plans on Thursday for the evacuation of Filipinos living or working in areas affected by the Iran-US conflict.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said the airline sector has guaranteed “the swift and effective implementation of the repatriation plan.”
“When needed, our aviation sector, and the whole of DOTr, will fully support the government’s efforts in this repatriation. We will ensure that there will be no delays in getting our OFWs home and safe,” Mr. Tugade was quoted as saying.
For his part, Mr. Sydiongco said: “CAAP will be doing its part and will be more than willing to support air operations that will ensure the safety of the Filipino people in this crucial time.”
In a separate statement on Friday, Philippine Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer Gilbert F. Santa Maria said: “We will carry, free of charge, affected Iran-based or Iraq-based Filipinos via PAL’s network of flights from the Middle East to Manila.”
“These OFWs who are certified for repatriation by the Philippine government can make use of available seats on our regular Manila-bound flights from Dubai in the UAE, or alternately from Doha in Qatar, and Riyadh or Dammam in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
ASSISTING REPATRIATED OFWS
In an interview with reporters on Friday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said that the government is currently speaking with countries such as Canada, Japan, Germany, China, and Russia about possible jobs for OFWs repatriated from Iran and Iraq.
“I-o-offer namin sila ng redeployment kung gusto nila to work again overseas (We will be offering them redeployment if they want to work again overseas) but not again in the Middle East… We have so many communications with Japan, even Germany, China, Russia… hopefully to accommodate the OFWs,” he said, and added that by law, repatriated OFWs will also be given livelihood assistance.
For now, Mr. Nograles said the main priority is to ensuring the safe exit of Filipinos from Iraq.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Iran “appears to be standing down” after it attacked two American bases in Iraq with more than a dozen missiles a day earlier.
The attacks were in retaliation for a US strike that killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad’s international airport.
Special Envoy to the Middle East and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipinos Abdullah Mamao has been ordered by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to travel to Iran and Iraq to ensure authorities there are giving the highest level of protection to Filipinos. Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, who is also the Special Envoy to the Middle East, is in Qatar according to Mr. Nograles. The Philippine government is looking at Qatar as a “safe place” to assemble OFWs from Iraq before they are sent home to the Philippines.
The Philippine government earlier said it would send two battalions of soldiers to help evacuate more than 1,000 Filipinos from Iraq.
Mr. Duterte has also ordered lawmakers and government officials to hold a special session of Congress to discuss how to address the safety of Filipinos in the Middle East, a region which holds more than half of the total OFW population in the world with 1.2 million workers deployed. Around 1,184 Filipinos reside in Iran while 2,191 are in Iraq. — Arjay L. Balinbin and Gillian M. Cortez
THE House of Representatives will prioritize the passage of bills creating three departments when Congress reconvenes on Jan. 20, said House Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano.
“I think the three departments dapat bigyan ng (should be given) priority. Department of Water, Department of Disaster Resilience and Disaster Management (and the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers),” Mr. Cayetano told reporters on Wednesday.
The House Speaker said that President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s order for the repatriation of Filipinos in the Middle East highlights the need for the creation of the proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
He added that the formation of the proposed new agency is the long-term solution to problems affecting millions of OFWs abroad.
“Even if we have a hard working Secretary of Foreign Affairs and an equally hard working Secretary of Labor, they have other tasks. Secretary Roy Cimatu may be an expert on the Middle East, but he too has other jobs. So what is important is for the nation to have a full-time secretary whose only job is to attend to the welfare and concern of OFWs,” the House Speaker said. Mr. Cimatu is the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and is also the Special Envoy to the Middle East.
If passed into law, the Department of Water Resources will be primarily responsible for harmonizing the management of water resources in the country.
Meanwhile, the Department of Disaster Resilience will be mandated to oversee the implementation of disaster resilience plans and the development of “strategic and systematic approaches to disaster prevention.”
During his 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Duterte asked Congress to pass the measures creating the three departments.
Currently, the three measures are still pending approval on second reading in the House of Representatives.
Mr. Cayetano also said that the lower chamber will prioritize the passage of revenue measures to fund the Universal Health Care and Free Education Act and to expedite the progress of the “Build, Build, Build” program.
“’Yung (The) taxes, we already have good laws, eh, Universal Health Care. We already have yung Free Education Act, pero paano mo popondohan ito (but how will we fund these)? Then lastly, kung paano mapapabilis ang ‘Build, Build, Build’ (how to make ‘Build, Build, Build go faster),” the House Speaker said.
The House Committee on Ways and Means has endorsed four revenue measures for plenary approval, namely the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) tax regime, the Motor Vehicle Road Users’ Tax, the Mining Fiscal Regime, and the Tax on single-use plastics.
The expected revenue to be generated by each tax bill is P20 billion to P45 billion from POGOs, P16 billion from the road tax, P2 billion from the mining tax, and P4 billion from the tax on single-use plastics. — Genshen L. Espedido
THE Palace on Friday warned the US government to keep from meddling with the Philippines’ justice system, adding that American lawmakers passing of a resolution barring certain Filipino officials involved in Senator Leila M. De Lima’s detention from entering the USA and freezing their assets is a form of “bullying.”
The Duterte administration was reacting to the US Senates’ passing of a resolution to bar entry to the US and freezing the US assets of Filipino officials it deems responsible for deaths in the administration’s drug war and for the detention of Senator De Lima. The administration added that it sees this as meddling with the Philippines’ sovereignty.
Palace Spokesperson Salavador S. Panelo said in a statement: “These latest actions of the US Senate are a form of bullying on the part of a particular institution of a foreign country. We will not be bullied by any foreign country or by its officials, specially by misinformed and gullible politicians who grandstand at our expense.”
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said that the US Senate does not have the right to interfere with Philippine judicial matters, saying to reporters Friday, “Parang dinidiktahan tayo dun sa kung paano patakbuhin ang justice system natin, eh independent tayo (It is as if they are dictating how we are to run our judicial system, but we are independent).”
“Don’t meddle in our sovereignty,” he said.
The US Senate on Thursday passed Senate Resolution No. 142, calling on US President Donald Trump to bar the entry of Filipino officials linked to Ms. De Lima’s detention and urging the Philippine government to release her. The same resolution also prohibits officials who are deemed at fault for the thousands killed as part of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs from entering the USA. It also includes a provision blocking access to all US assets and transactions of these officials.
Last month, Mr. Trump signed the 2020 US National Budget, the consolidated version of which contained a provision which will prohibit the entry of Filipino officials linked to Ms. De Lima’s arrest if credible information justifies it.
Both the US Senate resolution and the US National Budget provision used as their foundation the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which states that foreign officials will be sanctioned if found guilty of human rights violations.
The Palace has since banned US Senators Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, and Edward Markey — all staunch critics of the Duterte government who are behind the provision in the US budget — from traveling to the Philippines. Mr. Markey is also the author of Senate Resolution 142.
Local officials have defended the incarceration of Ms. De Lima, who is in jail for drug charges, because she is being tried in court. — Gillian M. Cortez
THE Department of Justice (DoJ) issued an order directing the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the death of three people who were found charred inside a burning car in Quezon Province. One of the bodies is believed to be that of former Batangas 2nd District Representative Edgar Mendoza.
On Friday, the DoJ released Department Order No. 012 dated Jan. 9 which directs the NBI to probe the “apparent murder” of Mr. Mendoza. The other bodies are suspected to be those of his driver and his aide.
The NBI is charged with filing the appropriate charges against persons found responsible for their deaths, “if evidence warrants.” NBI Director Dante A. Gierran is also ordered to submit reports regarding the probe’s progress to the DoJ within 30 days.
That the NBI had been given the authority to investigate the deaths was confirmed by Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Thursday.
The car was found in Tiaong, Quezon on Thursday and local police said that the three had been killed before the car was set on fire. The car was identified as being owned by Mr. Mendoza. The identities of the three corpses will be confirmed via DNA. — Gillian M. Cortez
