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Human rights group Karapatan files charges vs gov’t officials

HUMAN rights group Karapatan on Friday filed criminal and administrative charges against several government officials for allegedly maligning and red-tagging the alliance’s officers and members.

The complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman names the following: National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.; General Antonio, Parlade Jr., head of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Insurgency; Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Deputy Executive Director Mocha J. Uson, a former undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office; and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Marie T. Badoy.

The 40-page complaint cites various instances when the respondents allegedly committed “acts that malign, vilify and baselessly red-tag KARAPATAN’s officers and members.”

The complaint said the respondents’ red-tagging of Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay, the group itself, and its members and officers violates the principle of distinction under international and domestic humanitarian law.

The charges are based on provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, and the Ombudsman Act of 1989. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

DoJ wants De Lima, lawyer cited in contempt for talking about trial

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday filed a motion asking the court to cite detained Senator Leila M. De Lima and her lawyer in contempt over public statements on trial proceedings.

The prosecutors said Ms. De Lima and her lawyer Filibon F. Tacardon violated the sub judice rule, which prohibits parties from discussing trial proceedings.

“The media disclosure by respondents Atty. Tacardon and Senator De Lima of misinformation is therefore considered an affront to the lawful proceedings of the Honorable Court, in their obvious desire to attack or insult the dignity and independence of the Court,” the DoJ said in its 39-page petition filed before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court, where Ms. De Lima faces three drug-related cases.

The contempt suit is rooted in Mr. Tacardon’s press releases and statements from September to November, which gave the media access to the testimonies regarding the trial proceedings.

The prosecutors cited the instance where Mr. Tacardon indicated in a public statement that Anti Money Laundering Council financial investigator Artemio L. Baculi Jr. and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency digital forensic examiner Krystal R. Caseñas told the court that “they did not find any transactions between the senator and the drug lords held at the national penitentiary.”

Such is an “affront to the lawful proceedings” of the court in their “obvious desire to attack or insult” the court’s independence,” they said.

The DoJ said reporters who wrote articles regarding Mr. Fabela’s statements will be presented as witnesses “should the instant petition be given due course.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Bill on standard, higher wages for media workers gets House committee approval

A COMMITTEE report on the proposal seeking to give a minimum monthly compensation and additional insurance benefits for media industry workers was approved Friday by the House of Representatives committee on labor and employment.

House Bill No. 2476 or the Media Workers’ Welfare Act guarantees security of tenure for media workers and mandates a P40,000 monthly salary for field reporters who have worked for at least three years. Their monthly minimum wage would gradually increase up to ₱60,000, the bill stated.

Columnists and writers shall be paid at least ₱25,000 to ₱45,000, depending on their experience.

Various media workers, meanwhile, shall be paid at least ₱20,000 to ₱60,000, depending on experience.

Under the bill, all media workers who are assigned to cover dangerous and hazardous events or situations shall be given an additional ₱500 daily pay.

“They will be provided with bullet proof vests and helmets and medical grade personal protective equipment during hazardous coverages,” ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Nina O. Taduran said in a statement Friday.

The bill also requires private sector employers to give a P200,000 death benefit for media workers who died in the line of duty; up to P200,000 disability benefits for a worker who was injured in the line of duty; and reimbursement of up to P100,000 medical expenses incurred in the line of duty.

The proposed law also creates the Commission on Press Freedom and Media Security under the Presidential Communications Operations Office, which would be responsible for setting up a database of all media workers, conduct training and seminars, and crafting and lobbying for media laws.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III has filed a counterpart bill. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Inflation picks up in November, fastest in 21 months

The overall year-on-year increase in prices of widely used goods accelerated to its fastest pace in 21 months in November, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

Preliminary PSA data showed headline inflation at 3.3% last month, picking up from 2.5% in October and 1.3% in November 2019.

The latest inflation result was the fastest pace in 21 months or since the 3.8% reading in February 2019. It also matched the 3.3% print in March 2019.

The latest headline figure is higher than the 2.7% median in a BusinessWorld poll conducted late last week, and exceeds the 2.4%-3.2% estimate given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for November.

Year to date, inflation settled at 2.5%, still within the BSP’s 2-4% target as well as the 2.4%-2.6% projection range by the Development Budget Coordination Committee for this year.

Core inflation, which discounted volatile prices of food and fuel, stood at 3.2% in November, picking up from three percent the previous month and 2.6% a year earlier. It averaged 3.1% so far this year.

The PSA attributed the pickup primarily to the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages, which accelerated at an annual rate of 4.3% in November from 2.1% in October.

The alcoholic beverages and tobacco index likewise contributed to the increase with a 12.3% year on year growth in November compared with 11.3% in October.

Inflation on food items likewise picked up to 4.5% in November from 2.1% the previous month. The PSA noted a double-digit annual increase of 14.6% in vegetables following an annual drop of 0.5% recorded in the previous month.

Other food groups that posted faster annual increases include meat (8.2% from 4.7%), fish (5.3% from 3.7%), fruits (5.6% from 4.6%), and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, and confectionery (0.4% from 0.2%).

Similarly, the November inflation for the bottom 30% of households picked up to 3.6% from 2.9% in October and 0.7% in November 2019. The inflation rate for this segment was the fastest since the 4.3% reading in February 2019.

Despite decelerating to 7.6% in November from 7.9% a month earlier, the transport index was considered to be among the top contributors to November headline inflation along with agricultural products, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“This is due to the restrictions on public transport as a result of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), persistence of African Swine Fever, and damage and losses in high-value crops following the onslaught of several typhoons and flooding in November 2020,” NEDA said in a statement.

“[I]nflation for transport services has remained elevated in the last six months, as a result of social distancing directives and reduced passenger capacities in all modes of public transport,” the NEDA statement further read.

In a Viber message to reporters, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno regarded the November inflation result as “transitory.”

“[I]nflation is expected to settle within the government’s target range of [2-4%] for 2020-2022 as the impact of supply disruptions due to recent typhoons is expected to be largely transitory,” Mr. Diokno said.

Sharing Mr. Diokno’s view on the matter, University of Asia and the Pacific Senior Economist Cid L. Terosa expects the Monetary Board to consider the inflation rate for November as a “footnote or ancillary piece of information” in its final meeting this year on Dec. 17.

Moreover, Mr. Terosa said holiday spending this year will be “more cautious and controlled” given uncertainties brought by the pandemic.

“Inflation will definitely show faster, but manageable rates next year when economic and business activities begin to more confidently perk up, which will depend on clear and unequivocal signs that the pandemic can be managed and controlled,” said Mr. Terosa.

For his part, JPMorgan research analyst Milo Gunasinghe said that the cumulative 200 basis point policy rate cuts by the central bank have likely run their course.

“While the jump in today’s inflation print will likely keep the BSP on hold for the remainder of this year, we think that the November statement means the policy stance will remain accommodative in 2021, although its impact may likely be limited, in our view,” he said in a note sent to reporters.

Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said inflation is expected to pick up by December.

“[T]he quicker inflation print and likely demand-pull during the holiday season could weigh against further rate cuts, and the central bank will likely pause when it meets for the last time this year… and assess the general direction of price growth, and the policy transmission of its recent actions,” Mr. Roces said in a separate e-mail. — Jobo E. Hernandez with inputs from Luz Wendy T. Noble

Factory slump continues for 8th straight month as output falls in October

By Marissa Mae M. Ramos, Researcher

The country’s manufacturing product contracted for the eighth straight month in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

Preliminary results of the PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed factory output, as measured by the Volume of Production Index (VoPI), declined by 11.3% year on year in October.

The latest result is faster than the revised 8.6% drop in September and the 5% contraction recorded in October last year. It also marked the steepest decline since the 13.4% drop in July.

Factory output has been falling since March, when parts of the country were placed under a strict lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Year to date, factory output shrank by 11.9% on average versus the 8.5% slump recorded in 2019’s comparable 10 months.

The PSA attributed the faster decline in October to reductions in the indices of 15 industry groups. Twelve industry groups saw double-digit drops, led by petroleum products (-99.1%), printing (-53.4%), and tobacco products (-48.7%).

A similar composite indicator in the PSA’s MISSI, the value of production index (VaPI) likewise slid by 14.2%, deeper than the 12.4% recorded in the previous month. It also posted its eighth straight month in contraction and was the largest since the 16.7% fall in July.

Average capacity utilization — the extent to which industry resources are used in the production of goods — averaged 67.2% from 69.2% the previous month. Only seven of the 20 sectors registered capacity utilization rates of at least 80%.

In an e-mail, University of Asia and the Pacific Economist Victor A. Abola said the continued decline could still be attributed to the extended lockdowns imposed by the government to contain the pandemic.

“[T]he weakness of the economy may be seen in the slower print (2.9%) for heavy-weighted food manufacturing compared to September (4.7%). The larger drop in printing at -53.4% in October from -34.1% a month earlier reflects the ‘austerity measures’ of firms and consumers for the Christmas season,” Mr. Abola said.

The economist also saw that the closure of refineries had a “big negative impact” on industrial output.

The VoPI and VaPI for petroleum products both declined by around 99% with average capacity utilization rate at 0.14% for October. It has since settled at this level since July following a capacity utilization rate of 55.04% back in June.

In a phone interview, Federation of Philippines Industries (FPI) Chairman Jesus L. Arranza said manufacturing continues to be on a downturn as lockdown restrictions continue to affect demand and the ability of employees to come to work.

Both Messrs. Arranza and Abola expect manufacturing production to continue its decline for the rest of the year.

Mr. Abola attributed his outlook to continued weakness in demand with export firms to likely perform better as the recovery in large markets such as China and the US “are much stronger” compared to the domestic market.

For Mr. Arranza: “There will not be a bounce-back by the end of the year. It will take some more time, probably by the second quarter of next year depending on the availability of a vaccine.”

Outstanding debt hits P10 trillion in October

The outstanding debt of the national government (NG) reached P10 trillion as of end-October, as it borrowed more to fund the country’s pandemic response.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Friday that outstanding debt jumped 7.03% to P10.028 trillion as of end-October from the P9.369 trillion as of end-September. The October debt stock is also 2.84% higher than the P7.906 trillion logged a year ago.

The NG debt portfolio as of October was already 29.7% more than the P7.731-triliion level at the end of 2019.

Around two-thirds (71.6%) of the debt were from domestic sources while 28.4% came externally.

The local debt stock rose 9.9% month-on-month to P7.077 trillion due to the issuance of domestic government securities alongside additional provisional advances from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the BTr said.

In October, issued government securities reached P6.536 billion, up by 2.88% from September’s P6.437 billion.

In the same month, the BSP approved P540 billion in fresh provisional advances to the national government, which should be settled by Dec. 29 at zero interest.

Meanwhile, foreign borrowings rose 0.7% month-on-month to P2.95 trillion.

“The increment in external debt was attributed to the P18.98 billion net availment of external loans and P2.42 billion net appreciation of third-currency against the dollar, offsetting the effect of local-currency appreciation amounting to P1.57 billion,” the BTr said.

In 2019, debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at a low of 39.6%. The government expects this to balloon to 53.9% this year as the debt stock piles up during the crisis.

“We will not abandon the prudent fiscal management set by President [Rodrigo R.] Duterte when he assumed office in 2016 and put us in a good fiscal position ahead of the pandemic,” the Development Budget Coordination Committee said on Thursday.

Amid lower revenues during the pandemic, the government is planning to borrow more to plug the budget deficit that may reach 7.6% of GDP this 2020. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

FIBA launches logo for Basketball World Cup 2023

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 started to take form on Friday after the sport’s world governing body unveiled the logo for the quadrennial hoops event where the Philippines is one of the hosts.

Revealed as part of FIBA’s new #DontMissABeat campaign, the World Cup logo is touted as a “milestone,” marking the landmark hosting which also has Japan and Indonesia involved.

“This is a very exciting milestone. The distinctive FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 logo symbolizes our love for the game, which is shared by the organizing committees and FIBA, and it also represents the vision and passion of the event that brings together, for the first time, three host countries,” said FIBA Secretary-General Andreas Zagklis in a statement.

The concept for the newly unveiled logo, FIBA said, takes root from three key elements, namely, a heart, the Naismith Trophy and the year 2023.

The sideways heart symbolizes the passion for the game, while the Naismith Trophy is the dream for all participating teams in the World Cup. The “23” represents the year during which the spotlight will shine across three host countries.

FIBA went on to highlight the host countries’ strong passion for basketball, bringing together millions of fans, with millions of hearts beating as one.

“We Filipinos are all proud to be a part of this important milestone in basketball, together with Japan and Indonesia,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman Emeritus of Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas and FIBA Central Board Member.

Adding, “The Philippines looks forward to extending our brand of hospitality to the participating teams, to the world congress delegates, and to the many visitors expected to come – true to the essence of the logo we are launching today – a heart, the puso of the Filipino.”

“The official logo launch is the first exciting step of many for all three host nations, for FIBA and basketball fans worldwide. The logo certainly represents all three host nations’ spirit of uniting and working together with the same heartbeat to deliver the best basketball experiences that fans could ever have,” Danny Kosasih, President of Indonesian Basketball Association, for his part, said.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is scheduled to take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 with the Group Phase taking place in all three host countries, and the Final Phase of the tournament happening in the Philippines.

Thirty-two national teams are set to compete in the high-profile tournament.  Qualification for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will take place from November 2021 to February 2023, with 80 national teams competing for a spot. The first window of qualification will be played from Nov. 22–30, 2021.

In winning the hosting job, Philippines-Japan-Indonesia won over the joint bid of Argentina and Uruguay in 2017.

Meanwhile, the #DontMissABeat campaign of FIBA aims to encourage all fans to have fun with music beats linked to basketball on social media channels such as a dribbling contest, among other highlights. National team players from the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia will be part of the campaign over the next coming weeks.

The #DontMissABeat will be seen across all of FIBA’s social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Weibo and WeChat.

LANDBANK nears target for loans to agriculture sector

LAND BANK of the Philippines (LANDBANK) disbursed credit worth P230.23 billion to the agriculture sector as of October, already 94% of its P245-billion target for the year.

The state lender has also given assistance to 2.5 million farmers and fishers so far, beyond its 2-million goal this 2020, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement on Friday. These came through soft loans, subsidies and training programs.

About two-thirds or P145.86 billion of the disbursed loans to the sector were given to small, medium, and large agri-businesses, LANDBANK president and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo said in her report to the DoF.

Meanwhile, P35.66 billion in credit went to small farmers, fisherfolk and agri-aqua related projects of local governments.

Government-owned and controlled corporations were also lent a total of P48.71 billion to fund projects related to the sector.

Broken down, lending coursed through cooperatives and farmers’ associations and rural financial institutions reached P34.3 billion while direct borrowings of small farmers and fishers made up P1.36 billion of the loans.

The state lender added it has provided credit worth P8.31 billion for programs of the Department of the Agriculture.

Meanwhile, credit disbursements for the Department of Agrarian Reform reached P65 million as of October.

Broken down, in terms of economic activity, the largest chunk or 43% of agricultural loans equivalent to P99.48 billion went to the construction of irrigation systems and post-harvest facilities.

The rest were used to fund agri-processing and trading activities (P74.81 billion), the livestock sub-sector (P36.44 billion), crops (P17.82 billion), and fisheries (P1.68 billion). — LWTN

Nuclear policy recommendation to be submitted to Duterte by mid-December

THE NUCLEAR Energy Program Inter-agency Committee (NEP-IAC) will be submitting its recommendations to President Rodrigo R. Duterte by Dec. 15.

The development comes about five months after Mr. Duterte created the interagency body to conduct a study on the adoption of a National Position on a Nuclear Energy Program (NEP).

“We will be submitting by December 15 our recommendation — the interagency recommendation to the President — (on) why we should include nuclear in our energy mix,” Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said during the agency’s virtual Energy Investments Forum (EIF).

In a webinar held on Thursday, DoE Assistant Secretary Gerardo D. Erguiza, Jr. said the proposed inclusion of nuclear in the country’s power mix requires a “four cornerstones approach.”

This strategy consists of crafting national policy, ensuring a legislative framework, aligning with international standards and tracking public awareness and acceptability, Mr. Erguiza said.

Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Executive Director Carlo A. Arcilla earlier said that nuclear held the potential to address the country’s baseload power. The PNRI is one of the members of the NEP-IAC. — AYY

Group including Manila Water wins Saudi water project

A consortium, which includes Manila Water Company, has been awarded the contract to operate water and wastewater facilities in two provinces in Saudi Arabia.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, Manila Water said the consortium has signed a seven-year management, operation and maintenance contract for Saudi Arabia’s North West cluster with the state-run National Water Company (NWC).

The consortium also includes France’s Saur Group and Saudi Arabia’s Miahona.

“The (contract) will comprise the management, operations and maintenance of the water and wastewater facilities of the North West Cluster (Madinah and Tabuk) over a 7-year contract period, which will entail
the implementation of enabling projects and deployment of key Personnel to manage the cluster and achieve the Key Performance Indicators target set by the NWC,” the company said.

Around 3.5 million residents live in the Tabuk and Madinah provinces in the north western part of Saudi Arabia.

Manila Water currently provides water services to the eastern side of Metro Manila, and key cities in the Philippines.

It has international ventures through operations in Vietnam, as well as associates in Thailand and Indonesia.

Manila Water’s group net income fell by 24% in the first nine months of 2020 to P3.19 billion, due to “lower contribution from domestic subsidiaries due to impact of COVID-19 pandemic, as well as one-off recognition of additional estimates for probable losses across the Group.”

Shares in Manila Water closed 0.13% up at P15.52 apiece on Friday. — Angelica Y. Yang

More Filipino execs prioritizing digital transformation – survey

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

More than half of Filipino executives are prioritizing the digital transformation of their business in the next two years, a study from the IBM Institute for Business Value said.

The institute conducted a global study on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the future of business from April to August 2020, which found that digital transformation is about more than just technological competency but also human resources.

“Our research highlights a gaping chasm between what executives think they are offering their employees and how those employees feel: employers significantly overestimate the effectiveness of their support and training efforts,” the report said.

Presenting the results, IBM Philippines President and Country General Manager Aileen J. Jiao in an online press conference on Friday said that 51% of Filipino executives indicated increasing priority for digital transformation.

They plan to apply automation across various business functions, especially in procurement, risk, supply chain, and research and development.

IBM Philippines found that business executives will accelerate the digital transformation of their organizations, which also means that they will engage with their workforce “in new ways.”

Ms. Jiao said 24% of Filipino executives are prioritizing workplace safety and security, from two percent two years ago. In another two years, the firm expects this to increase to 58%.

“As we go through this shift, we have to keep in mind also the users of that technology. And who are these? These are our people,” she said.

“The renewed focus on people is going to be deeper. The pandemic has highlighted this.”

IBM found that 69% of Filipino executives believe they have been helping their employees learn skills needed for new types of work, while 72% believe that they are supporting the physical and emotional health of their workforce.

Ms. Jiao noted that expectations must be tempered in terms of the readiness of human resources departments in the Philippines for digital transformation.

“Some of the HR executives or some of the HR organizations could be ready, but this is also a journey for them, but let’s not have our expectations too high,” she said.

“The silver lining there is that they want to get even more ready and even more skilled, but the shift is not just about the HR department alone… the senior leaders need to be part of that.”

In terms of revenue, tech-savvy companies have been significantly outperforming peers, IBM Philippines Country Leader for Cloud and Cognitive Solutions Christine Llanto-Ravelo said.

“It means that if you are an organization in your industry that has a particular technology adoption on specific technology drivers… you’re most likely outperforming your peers in your industry,” she said, noting that this is particularly significant in the retail and insurance sectors.

Japanese firm produces COVID-19 test kits in PHL

Arkray Industry Inc., a subsidiary of the Japanese firm Arkray Inc., has expanded operations to manufacturing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test kits after gaining approval from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in September.

The company plans to increase its 500 employee workforce as it expands, the Board of Investments (BoI) said in a press release on Friday.

Priced at P1,600 each, the test kits have a 90-minute turnaround time for results. They have an accuracy rate of 90-98%.

“The kits however are currently produced only on a per order basis with the total production output depending on the demand of its clientele to maintain its accuracy considering its short shelf life,” BoI said.

The Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Reaction (RT-PCR) test kits (i-densy Pack Universal Reagent and SARS-CoV-2 Detection Primer Probe Set Reagent) are being produced in the firm’s Batangas facility.

The company is also considering assembling Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Reaction (RT-PCR) testing machines.

“Arkray’s recent business activity also reaffirms our competence to host activities in the production of critical medical products and devices in the country,” BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said.

“Even during the height of the pandemic, the Philippines did not impose any export restriction of these products but rather helped capacitate the manufacturing firms to enable them to support both domestic and foreign demand.”

The government last week announced a price cap for RT-PCR tests. Private testing facilities can charge P4,500 to P5,000, while public testing centers can charge P3,800 per test. — Jenina P. Ibañez

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