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Entertainment (01/21/20)

Maja Salvador celebrates Dinagyang at Robinsons Jaro

ILOILO’s Dinagyang Festival is one of the country’s most spectacular and colorful festivals, a showcase of the heritage and history of the indigenous people while celebrating the Santo Niño. Actress/singer Maja Salvador will take part in the celebration by performing on Jan. 24 at Robinsons Place Jaro’s Atrium. Ms. Salvador, who is Robinsons Land Corp.’s ambassador, will meet and have photos taken with 150 fans who present a single/accumulated receipt worth P1,000 from any shop at Robinsons Place Jaro. See the complete lineup of Robinsons Place Jaro’s upcoming performances, events, and promos in its Facebook page RobinsonsPlaceJaro.

Chinese New Year at the Ortigas Malls

THE Ortigas Malls say “Gong Xi Fa Cai!,” celebrating the new Year of the Rat on Jan. 25. There will be astrological forecasts, Lion and Dragon dances, a Chinese bazaar, and Wu Shu exhibitions at the various Ortigas malls. There will be a blessing for the year by Master Max Dy at 10 a.m. at the Greenhills Shopping Mall, a feng shui talk by Marites Allen at 2 p.m. at Tiendesitas, and a feng shui talk by Joyce Co at 2 p.m. at Estancia. For more information, visit www.ortigasmalls.com.

Tiffany Young’s first solo show in Manila

AFTER RECENTLY finishing an 18-city US tour, Tiffany Young is set for her first solo concert in Manila. The show is called Open Hearts Eve Part Two in Manila and will be held on Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m., at the New Frontier Theater, Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City. This marks Tiffany’s first concert in the Philippines since becoming a solo artist in 2016. She first made headlines as lead vocalist of Girls’ Generation, an eight-member girl group from South Korea behind the famous songs “Genie” and “I Got a Boy” to name a few. In 2016, Ms. Young released her debut album, I Just Wanna Dance, that peaked at number three on the Billboard World Albums Chart. She is currently promoting her new digital single, “Run For Your life.” After shows in Seoul and Bangkok, Manila is one of the next stops on her Asia tour. Tickets to the concert range in price from P4,500 to P14,000 with perks like photo ops, posters, raffles, and more depending on the ticket price. Tiffany Young Open Hearts Eve Part Two in Manila is presented by Transparent Arts and promoted by CDM Entertainment.

Tiny Moving Parts returns to Manila

AFTER THEIR memorable first show in the Philippines in 2018, Minnesota-based band Tiny Moving Parts is coming back to Manila with fresh tunes. PULP Live World and Skesh Entertainment present Tiny Moving Parts Live in Manila 2020, to be held on Feb. 9 at the Skydome, SM City North EDSA, Quezon City. Newly signed by Hopeless Records, the trio (composed of brothers Matt and Billy Chevalier, and their cousin Dylan Mattheisen) have just released a new album, breathe, bringing its total to five full-length albums into a career that’s lasted for over a decade now. “This record covers things we’ve talked about in the past — the fear of dying, losing someone through moving away or the passing of someone — but it concentrates more on the positives, and being happy things happened instead of sad they’re taken away,” shares vocalist/guitarist Dylan Mattheisen in a press release. “It’s about finding that mindset to keep on powering through.” The new album was written on the road, in between tours in support of the previous record, Swell, which came out January 2018. The new album has the same emotionally-driven blend of math-rock, pop-punk, and emo, but expands their sound. “We’re not trying to do anything, we’re just playing music. And if they label us, they label us. It’s not like it bothers us. They’re gonna call us something,” drummer Billy Chevalier told PULP Magazine in an exclusive interview, reflecting on how their music is described by the public. “We always want to keep it interesting and keep it different, unique,” Dylan Mattheisen added. “We love sing-along parts, but we also live chaotic craziness, so it’s just trying to find a blend of what we all love about music… whatever feels right, we do it.” Last year’s Manila gig, also powered by PULP Live World, was the biggest show of the band’s entire 2018 Asia Tour, and fans can look forward to an even bigger show when they return. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at all SM Tickets outlets nationwide or via www.smtickets.com. Tickets are priced at P1,500 plus ticketing charges.

Japanese pop rock band at the Big Dome

PRESENTED by PULP Live World, One OK Rock Eye of the Storm Asia Tour 2020 Live in Manila will be held on May 2 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. The Japanese rock group — composed of Taka, Toru, Ryota, and Tomoya — released its latest album, Eye of the Storm, in February 2019. The album features a side of the band that remains ambitious and hungry, eager to build on an exploration of sounds and styles. “Rather than it feeling like [other] albums we made, it feels like an extension of what we have been doing. And the fans, they have responded back — existing and new fans alike,” the members said in an exclusive interview with PULP Magazine. “After all these years we are continuously evolving, taking a new shape. That’s Rock n Roll and that’s One OK Rock!” The Japanese quartet has put out many albums throughout a career that has run for about 15 years now, but in recent years, they have exploded in the US, in Europe, and throughout Asia. The Manila concert is presented by AEG Presents and PULP Live World. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at all TicketNet outlets and online via www.ticketnet.com.ph. Prices range in price from P2,800 to P8,500. For more show information, visit www.pulp.ph.

How ‘insider trading’ on the golf course lowers price of Singapore’s highly-coveted land

A STRANGE thing happens in Singapore after the government announces it’s selling highly-coveted land. Executives from developers bidding for the sites hit the golf course together.

In what it labels “insider trading,” a landmark study by the National University of Singapore Business School found those firms paid 14% less for land at auction, costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue and dragging down prices of neighboring properties.

However, it’s good news for buyers, as lower land costs allow developers to sell new units 8% cheaper than they otherwise would.

Using golf records, the study found the proportion of games between senior executives of land-bidding firms rose 14% in the first week after land sales are announced, compared to the week before, and 24% in the second week.

“In a competitive land auction market, firms need to outbid rival firms to win the auctions; the winning motives, however, do not stop the firms from colluding and cooperating with each other,” the study, released Wednesday, said. “One way to collude or cooperate is for top managers of the bidders to play golf with top managers of rival bidders and exchange information related to the bid.”

The study didn’t name any executives or firms involved in the information sharing.

‘PRESUMPTUOUS’
The Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore rejected the findings.

“Even if there’s an exchange of information, it’s not a guarantee that you will win the bid,” the group’s President Chia Ngiang Hong said. “Real estate executives play golf quite often. To just say we play golf just to discuss land sales or business is presumptuous.”

The researchers trawled through a Singapore Golf Association database of 30,108 golfers and more than 400,000 scores from 2010 to 2014. In Singapore, it’s mandatory for a player to submit their score to the sport’s governing body after a round.

They then cross-referenced a separate database of property developers, and found 774 golfers were senior executives at “land-bidding” firms.

The “informed bidders” paid 14.4% less for winning land bids than “less-informed” or “uninformed” bidders, the study found. That cost the government an estimated $147 million ($109 million) a year, or about 1% of total land sale proceeds, the study found.

“Informed bidders are more likely to face a lower ‘winners’ curse’ in their winning bids, despite the stiff competition in the land market,” the study found. “This result shows that informal interactions improve information dissemination that benefits companies in the decision-making process.”

Nearby developments also suffer, with the study finding neighboring properties sell for almost 10% less within the 30 days after the announcement of the land auction results.

“The ripple effect is seen when these lower land transaction prices send a negative signal indicating a downward market trend for property prices,” said Professor Sumit Agarwal, a real estate and economics academic at NUS and one of the study’s four authors. — Bloomberg

UBS faces uphill battle to regain ground after Hong Kong IPO sponsor ban lifted

UBS GROUP AG is seen having a hard time regaining its market. — REUTERS

HONG KONG — UBS Group AG is likely to have a hard time regaining ground lost in the 10 months it was banned from the big-money business of sponsoring initial public offerings (IPO) in Hong Kong, where Chinese rivals have become formidable players, bankers and analysts said.

The Swiss bank’s unprecedented year-long ban ended two months early after regulators last week said standards had improved since it found due diligence failings during an industry-wide probe that has led to HK$900 million ($116 million) in fines.

“After the fines, international banks — especially UBS — have the problem of clients perceiving due diligence processes as more rigorous and protracted with an international bank than a Chinese firm, making the latter more attractive,” said Benjamin Quinlan, chief executive of consultancy Quinlan & Associates.

Equity capital markets (ECM) — including initial public offering sponsorship — on average make up a third of investment banks’ fee pool in the Asia-Pacific region, or a quarter globally.

Hong Kong ranked third globally last year for IPOs behind the Saudi Exchange and Nasdaq, raising $25 billion.

Among banks in Hong Kong, UBS has ranked in the top 10 in each of the past 15 years bar two, which came in the four years since the lender first disclosed the regulatory probe, Dealogic data showed. During its ban, UBS was limited to minor IPO roles.

“ECM business in Hong Kong has become harder for international banks, who face fierce competition from Chinese competitors, many of whom have much larger onshore coverage … allowing them to serve a broader range of potential clients,” said Mr. Quinlan.

Mainland China-based banks accounted for an average 34% of new listings by volume in Hong Kong over the past four years, versus 22% in the decade to 2016, showed Reuters calculations from Delaogic data.

BUSIER
UBS made 30% of its 2018 investment banking pre-tax profit in the Asia-Pacific region, where it stood out from international rivals due to its ties with Chinese state-owned enterprises — many of which it helped list in Hong Kong — as well as its market-leading position in Australian deals and ECM.

“I’ll certainly be busier than last year. It’s good news for the franchise and for us who didn’t leave for rivals after the ban,” said one China-focused UBS investment banker.

“It’s also a good time to win back several important clients which didn’t feel very comfortable working with us (during the ban),” the banker said.

Another Hong Kong-based UBS banker said staff would feel the pressure: “We have to work harder as there won’t be any excuses for the lack of good deals or low league table ranking.”

Both declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the topic. A UBS spokesman declined to comment.

The early end to the IPO sponsorship ban, coming just ahead of UBS’ earnings report on Tuesday, offers the Swiss bank a brighter start to the year after a difficult 2019.

In November, UBS paid the joint largest-ever fine levied on a bank in Hong Kong of HK$400 million for overcharging as many as 5,000 clients.

That followed a comment in June related to pork prices by a UBS economist was interpreted as racist by some in China and necessitated extra work with clients by senior bankers. — Reuters

An aerial photo tool for now, drones could transform disaster relief

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

AROUND a hundred drones rose up into the night sky during the final leg of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Torch Run at the Clark Freeport Zone on Nov. 23.

Getting off the ground slowly like sky lanterns in various colors, they danced and formed specific shapes such as the Philippine flag and the 11 rings from the logo of the SEA Games Federation. What people saw was a new form of sky art.

About a thousand miles away from Clark, another narrative was emerging about drones, which will soon deliver meals and other items for residents of Cagayan de Oro.

“We have a homegrown delivery app here in Cagayan de Oro. It’s called StreetBy. We are actually working together on a proof of concept for a drone delivery service,” Dan A. Pacquiao, president of Project LUPAD, said in a telephone interview on Dec. 3.

Project LUPAD (short for League of Unmanned Philippine Aerial Drones) is what resulted from Mr. Pacquiao and his teammates’ passion for flying drones.

“It started in June 2016 as a hobby. Basically, I just posted some aerial photos and videos online, and then I just kept flying every week. At some point, people started to recognize my work, and then businesses contacted me. Companies tapped me to take aerial shots for them,” Mr. Pacquiao said.

As the demand for his services started to grow, he formed a team of five sometime in 2017. Seven more members were added in 2019.

“They are editors, videographers, drone pilots, and photographers,” Mr. Pacquiao said. “We already have our business permits. It’s more of a company now.”

Today, Mr. Pacquiao’s team offers aerial tours, aerial and ground photography, 3D structural mapping, aerial cinematography, aerial surveys, emergency and calamity response and rescue, live aerial coverage, and drone pilot training, among others.

“Advertising accounts for around 40% of the company’s profit, and 60% comes from people who are hiring us for our other services like aerial shots, videos, and aerial surveys,” he said.

This new industry, he said, is growing in the Philippines but the competition is still at a “moderate” level.

“We have competitors in Manila and Cebu, but we are actually expanding right now in Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, and Manila. We have teammates there,” he said.

“We are planning to expand all over the Philippines, but we are starting in major cities for now where the demand is high.”

Mr. Pacquiao’s team has worked mostly with the tourism sector and fast food restaurant chains like Jollibee, McDonald’s, and Chowking.

Asked how drones are changing the way businesses operate in the Philippines, Mr. Pacquiao said: “I would say, especially in the media industry, most of the videos and movies are using drones to get a new perspective on locations; and also bigger companies use drones to survey their plants. So right now, drones are very useful, unlike before when most people used helicopters to get those shots. The investment is smaller compared to hiring a helicopter.”

He also noted the emerging role for drones in the global supply chain. “Probably in five to 10 years from now that will be the trend. Some companies like Amazon are already using drones to deliver some stuff,” he said.

Project LUPAD has also used drones for monitoring floods and people requiring aid during a calamity.

“Drones can also be very useful in capturing a fire location. Using drones can really be a big help because it can go as low as 10 meters or five meters unlike helicopters,” Mr. Pacquiao said.

Speaking to reporters on Dec. 3, Nokia Philippines Country Head Andrew Cope said his company and Smart Communications partnered with the Philippine Red Cross in 2018 to use LTE-connected drones in disaster-affected areas. “The results were promising,” he said.

Joachim Horn, chief information and technical advisor of PLDT, Inc. and Smart, told BusinessWorld in an interview on Nov. 30 that fifth-generation (5G) networks can improve drones’ performance.

“What 5G can do, compared to existing 4G and LTE, is that it will enable much higher-resolution videos because of the higher speed that 5G offers, which means that drones can fly a little bit higher to capture a large area; and because of the high resolution, you can still see all the details,” he said.

“It can be interesting if you have a natural disaster, just like fire which does not allow you to go so low, 5G can help the drones fly higher. That’s actually the main advantage of 5G compared to existing technologies, the high speed,” he added.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) drone regulations impose a 400-foot ceiling on their operations, and restrict their use within 10 kilometer of any airport reference point.

Drone operations are also restricted over schools and marketplaces. It is prohibited as well to fly drones in a controlled or prohibited airspace unless authorized by CAAP.

Night flying is also prohibited unless authorized by CAAP. Operators with drones heavier than 7kg are required to apply for a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) certificate.

The certificates issued by CAAP are RPAS controller certificate, RPAS registration certificate, RPAS operator certificate, and flight permit.

There are two kinds of drones, according to Mr. Pacquiao. “We have this so-called toy-grade drones that we can just buy at malls for kids and they have no GPS. Those are just toys. We also have drones for commercial purposes which start at P50,000. You can buy toy-grade drones at P2,000 to P5,000.

Mid-range drones, he said, start at P100,000 while industrial-grade drones start at around P200,000.

Currently, Project LUPAD has five drones. Mr. Pacquiao said his team is looking to purchase more equipment. “We need to adapt to the growing demand for our services,” he said.

“We have mid-size drones, we have small, and regular ones. For small drones, there are limitations like short battery life and the distance they can travel from the controller. For bigger drones, the advantage is they can resist winds especially when you are shooting at the beach,” he said.

“Probably five to 10 years from now, drones will become more common. I think we are going there, because nowadays drones are becoming more affordable and more of a consumer item,” he added.

Despite the increased affordability, he said Project LUPAD’s client list keeps growing.

“In 2016, I would only have one client per month. In 2017, I would get two in a month, then three. Today, we get four,” he said.

How PSEi member stocks performed — January 20, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, January 20, 2020.

 

Rice imports rise almost 60% in 2019

RICE IMPORTS in 2019 rose nearly 60% to 2.245 million metric tons (MT), according to initial estimates by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), whose estimate is based on imports authorized under its regime of sanitary permits.

Imports in January and February — prior to the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law — totaled 418,724.44 MT.

Over the rest of the year, under the new rice tariffication rules which liberalized imports, import volumes totaled 1.826 million MT, according to the bureau’s initial data. It is awaiting further reports from regional offices which could bring the total higher.

Imports were from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, China, India, Spain and Italy. Some 1.813 million MT was shipped in from Vietnam.

In 2018 rice imports totaled 1.404 million MT.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances (SPSICs) issued in 2019 numbered 4,513 of which 4,069 were issued after the law took effect, against 1,705 in 2018.

The Rice Tariffication Law came into force in March, removing restrictions on rice imports as long as they paid a 35% tariff on Southeast Asian grain.

Asked for his import projection this year, Rolando T. Dy, executive director of Center for Food and Agribusiness of the University of Asia and the Pacific, said, “this will depend on the interaction between running inventory level and production, while monthly demand is almost the same over the year, February to April is low peak harvest and October to December is high peak,” indicating that imports may come in between June and September. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Southeast Asia remains FDI bright spot, led by Singapore

FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia continued to grow in 2019 even as global investment flows remained flat, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Investment Trends Monitor said.

Southeast Asia was described in the report as the region’s growth engine, registering FDI growth of 19% to $177 billion in 2019.

Globally, FDI fell 1% to $1.39 trillion, which the report attributes to weaker macroeconomic performance and investor uncertainty due to trade tensions.

Removing volatility caused by one-off transactions and intra-firm financial flows, global FDI grew 5%, which the report describes as “a marginal change representing a continuation of the stagnation observed over the decade.”

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito B. Plaza told reporters Monday that the Philippines must focus on expanding the investment attractiveness of the countryside to contribute more significantly to Southeast Asian growth.

“As far as PEZA is concerned, we are now very aggressive in inviting the countryside to identify and create economic zones so that we can encourage investors to go to the countryside, especially in areas (that are not) disaster-prone,” she said.

She said the Philippines continues to face challenges that threaten the country’s attractiveness to investors, such as proposals to rationalize tax incentives and the threat of calamities.

Singapore attracted the most FDI in Southeast Asia, with its FDI intake rising 42% to $110 billion led by the information and communications sector.

FDI to Indonesia grew 12% to $24 billion, led by wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing.

“They have no challenges. These are the countries that continuously enhance,” Ms. Plaza said.

“When the US-China trade war happened, they were already stable and already attractive, yet they continued to enhance their attractiveness to investors.”

The report expects moderate growth in global FDI flows in 2020.

“Current projections show the global economy improving somewhat from its weakest performance since the global financial crisis in 2009. GDP growth, gross fixed capital formation and trade are projected to rise, both at the global level and, especially, in several large emerging markets,” the report said.

“Such an improvement in macroeconomic conditions could prompt MNEs to resume investments in productive assets, given also their easy access to cheap money, the fact that corporate profits are expected to remain solid in 2020, and hopes for waning trade tensions between the United States and China.”

But risks to FDI flows remain. The report points to high debt accumulation in developing economies, geopolitical risk, and protectionist policies as challenges. — Jenina P. Ibañez

NEDA counting on passage of land use measure, tax reforms this year

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it is counting on the passage of priority bills this year, particularly the remaining tax reform packages and measures regulating land use and enhancing disaster resiliency.

In a news conference on Monday, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said these are among the priority bills that they recommend that Congress pass within the year.

Additionally, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said reform bills on foreign investment and public services “are actually advancing quite well so we expect them to be passed by midyear because they have been prioritized.”

NEDA’s draft of the National Land Use Act (NLUA), meanwhile, has been presented to the Cabinet for approval. If approved, the version will feature the executive branch’s input which could break the Congressional deadlock on the measure, Undersecretary Adoracion M. Navarro said.

“We prepared, drafted an executive order and we will discuss it at the Cabinet assistance system meeting on Jan. 22, Wednesday, and then we will still push for legislation,” she said.

“In the President’s mind, this is an urgent bill. He has expressed it four times, 2016-2019 in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and its something that he thinks is very important,” Mr. Pernia said.

Further, Ms. Navarro said NEDA is also proposing that comprehensive land use plans have a longer, 12-year planning horizon and should also be hazard-sensitive.

“It’s actually something that’s very interesting to the president, he wants explicit and clear sanctions on local government officials when they violate NLUA, and one of the possible violations is not implementing the comprehensive land use plan. First not drafting the right comprehensive land use plan, and second, not implementing what’s in the comprehensive land use plan,” she said.

Meanwhile other bills included under NEDA’s suggested priority reform agenda are the unified penology system, the modernization of the national library, amendments to the Consumer Act, measures promoting e-vehicles, open access to data transmission and measures promoting technology adoption and innovation.

Also other proposed priority bills cover Philippine maritime zones, archipelagic sea lanes and amendments to Build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) law, among others. — Beatrice M. Laforga

NEDA’s Pernia says marine resources underutilized

SOCIOECONOMIC Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said marine and coastal resources are underutilized, and called for proper management of the sector known as the “blue economy.”

In a news conference Monday, Mr. Pernia said that the country needs to pay more attention to the “blue economy” since these resources are currently “undertapped, underexploited and underused.”

“We have a paper, when I was dean at UP (University of Philippines)… our estimate was over a trillion pesos could be reaped from tapping the blue economy and that’s a very conservative estimate,” he said.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Adoracion M. Navarro said access to maritime resources is suboptimal and even the boundaries are not clearly defined by the current law.

“That’s why we are also including this in the legislative agenda to give our fisherfolk and commercial investors clearer guidelines on how to optimize the use of our resources,” Ms. Navarro said.

Amid competing claims, Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon added that a law that provides clear guidelines on the country’s water territories will help provide proper documentation that can be used in future territorial encroachments.

“Our problem is that because there’s no general declaration of what our territories are, so you have some encroachment, being done by our neighbors. So we claim that is an encroachment but actually we don’t have it in writing. We don’t have any documents that say this is actually ours. Definitely not part of the contested territories, but it’s actually really ours, but that has to be written, it has to be documented. The bill has been filed at the committee on foreign affairs,” Ms. Edillon said.

Former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV filed in the 17th Congress Senate Bill 93, “An act defining the maritime zones of the Republic of the Philippines” and Senate Bill 92, a measure seeking to establish archipelagic sea lanes in Philippine waters.

The two bills are yet to be refiled with the current Congress. — Beatrice M. Laforga

PEZA building new headquarters on Roxas Boulevard

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) plans to build a new headquarters on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, with construction expected to take three or four years.

PEZA Director-General Charito B. Plaza told reporters at a briefing on Friday that the new headquarters will cost P800 million and rise 13 storeys.

Pending construction, PEZA’s head office operations will transfer to Double Dragon at Macapagal Boulevard from the current location in Taguig City. The agency plans to move by March.

Ms. Plaza said that PEZA is moving because the current offices have insufficient space and infrastructure.

The new office will be funded through a lease-to-own agreement with Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK). PEZA expects to attain ownership in 15 years.

“The scheme is we lease LANDBANK and then we all pay it later. Deducted na ’yung lease namin (our lease if deducted). Lease to own. After 15 years, amin na (it’s ours),” Ms. Plaza said.

PEZA is also looking to build a P2 billion to P3-billion multipurpose building behind the new office building.

“We are looking for a JV (joint venture) to put up what is allowed by CAAP (the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) is a 33-storey building,” Ms. Plaza said.

“There are now proposals because we want an iconic design and a green building.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

Government aligning tariffs with Hong Kong-China free trade deal

THE government is modifying the tariffs on products from Hong Kong, China and ASEAN member states as part of its commitments under a free trade agreement.

Executive Order No. 102 imposes the tariff rates agreed upon in the ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) on products entering the Philippines for consumption.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte ratified the AHKFTA on Jan. 4, 2019, after it was first signed by the Philippines in November 2017 in Manila. Representatives from ASEAN member states signed the agreement in Myanmar in March 2018.

The FTA first began to take effect in June, after Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, and Vietnam started reducing and eliminating tariffs on Hong Kong imports.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said in a statement in June that the Philippines upon ratification will eliminate customs duties on 85% of the products it trades with Hong Kong, and deduct 10% of tariff lines within 14 years.

Exporters must submit a certificate of origin, as part of the rules of origin in AHKFTA.

The order dated Jan.10 said that the Tariff Commission “may be requested to issue advance rulings on tariff classification of goods to confirm the applicable rates of duty of particular goods subject of this order.”

The government however retains its right to issue trade remedy measures to prevent import surges, which harm domestic industries, and unfair trade practices.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Hong Kong was the Philippines’ ninth-largest source of imports in November, bringing in $337.83 million worth of goods to the Philippines that month.

Hong Kong accounted for $3.3 billion worth of imports in the first 11 months of 2019, or 3.3% of total imports to the Philippines.

The order takes effect immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Resource persons skip hearings for Disaster Resilience dep’t law

THE Senate hearings on the proposed law to create the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) failed to attract key resource persons from various government agencies, a committee chairman said.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, who chairs the Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, said key resource persons did not turn up.

“The Senate Committee on Defense and Security, which I chair, has conducted a hearing which unfortunately did not elicit interest from the different stakeholders,” Mr. Lacson told reporters in a mobile phone message Monday.

“NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) especially SND (Secretary of National Defense) and SILG (Secretary of Interior and Local Government), chair and co-chair did not attend.”

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said Mr. Lacson proposed instead to create a National Disaster Office, which he is inclined to support.

“Office, if given a choice. Department will involve regional office and personnel,” Mr. Sotto said in a separate phone message.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri backs the creation of the DDR in light of recent calamities.

“Given how many natural disasters hit the nation every year, it is absolutely necessary for us to bring disaster resilience up to the level of the Cabinet,” Mr. Zubiri said in a privilege speech, Monday.

“The creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience will also emphasize the need to pre-empt disasters, and not just respond to them.”

The creation of the DDR was among the bills mentioned by President Rodrigo R. Duterte during his fourth State of the Nation Address. Its counterpart measure in the House of Representatives has so far been approved in committee. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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