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DoLE proposed for seat in cryptocurrency task force

A LEGISLATOR on Tuesday called for the inclusion of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in a proposed task force to monitor digital currencies, since overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) use this channel to send remittances.

In a statement, Senator Francis N. Tolentino said including DoLE in the proposed Crypto Assets Task Force should be considered. The interagency body consists of representatives from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Insurance Commission (IC), the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA).

“Two to three million dollars monthly ang pinapadala nang ating mga kababayang OFW gamit ang cryptocurrency noong 2017. Mahirap na kung ma-scam sila at mawala nila ang lahat ng kanilang pinaghihirapan (OFWs sent $2-3 million monthly using cryptocurrency in 2017. They are at risk for scams and stand to lose everything they worked hard for),” he said.

Mr. Tolentino added that the BSP should also review its guidelines governing cryptocurrency. The BSP issued BSP Circular No 944 in 2017 which outlines the risks of using virtual money as it has the propensity to be used in unlawful activities like money laundering and terrorist financing.

Mr. Tolentino also called for the inclusion of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the task force, adding that any activities that include the use of cryptocurrency should be subject to regulation from tax authorities.

In the United States, cryptocurrencies are treated as personal property subject taxation, according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2014-21. — Gillian M. Cortez

China CNOOC to start pumping at large deepsea gas field at end-2021

SANYA, CHINA/SINGAPORE — China’s national offshore producer CNOOC Ltd. expects its major deepwater gas field Lingshui 17-2 in the South China Sea to start its first gas production at the end of 2021, a company executive said on Tuesday.

Chinese state-run energy producers are raising spending on domestic oil and gas drilling to multi-year highs this year, with a focus on cleaner-burning natural gas in a response to Beijing’s call to boost energy supply security.

The Lingshui field, with an average water depth of 1,450 meters (4,757 ft) at a distance of about 150 km (93 miles) southeast from Sanya city of Hainan province, is the first deepsea gas project operated by CNOOC and a key new field to contribute to the firm’s gas output.

Annual production of Lingshui 17-2 is estimated at 3.2 billion cubic meters (bcm), with maximum production likely to reach 3.39 bcm, the executive told reporters and analysts in Sanya, or roughly two percent of China’ total gas output.

The executive did not give a timeline on when peak output is expected to be reached.

The start-up timeline is about a year behind an earlier indication by CNOOC, but analysts said development of such a sizeable deepwater gas project can easily take four years from 2018 when Lingshui was first approved.

“We forecast first production in early 2022, because a four-year timeframe is far more realistic for a new deepwater project in an area with little existing infrastructure,” said Angus Rodger, research director for Asia-Pacific upstream business with Wood Mackenzie.

“As CNOOC’s first fully-operated deepwater project Lingshui is a key test of its capabilities and the progress of its in-house R&D in development technologies,” Rodger said.

CNOOC is building a semi-submersible production platform for the project, said the official, who declined to be named as he is not the company’s spokesman.

CNOOC is already a deepwater player in offshore Nigeria, the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, but mostly in tie-ups with seasoned global players such as Total and Exxon Mobil.

When on stream, Lingshui 17-2, first discovered in the Qiongdongnan basin in September 2014, will be the second deepsea gas producer offshore China after Liwan, also in South China Sea and which is operated by Canada’s Husky Energy.

CNOOC Zhanjiang is the state oil firm’s unit responsible for developing the offshore waters in the western part of the South China Sea including key projects such as Lingshui and Liwan.

The unit makes up about 18 percent of CNOOC’s total oil and gas output in offshore China.

While the Zhanjiang unit aims to maintain its crude oil production at 4.5 to 5 million tons by 2025, its natural gas output is expected to rise to 10 bcm by 2025, said the CNOOC official, without giving current output levels for comparison.

New gas production will also come from expanding development at existing fields such as Dongfang, Yuedong and Yacheng, the official said.

An annual average of 16 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) will be allocated for capital spending during the period. — Reuters

Saudi Arabia seen restoring full oil output next week

LONDON — Saudi Arabia has restored more than 75% of crude output lost after attacks on its facilities and will return to full volumes by early next week, a source briefed on the latest developments told Reuters on Monday.

Saudi oil production from its Khurais plant is now at more than 1.3 million barrels per day, while current production from its Abqaiq plant is at about 3 million bpd, the source said.

The Sept. 14 attacks on the two giant plants caused raging fires and damage that halved the crude output of the world’s top oil exporter, by shutting down 5.7 million barrels per day of production.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and the chief executive of state oil company Aramco, Amin Nasser, have said output will be fully back online by the end of September.

The attacks sent oil prices up 20% although they came off after the kingdom pledged to bring back output swiftly. On Monday, prices stabilized at $64 per barrel, paring earlier gains, following comments by the source.

The kingdom has managed to maintain supplies to customers to the levels they were at prior to the attacks by drawing from its oil inventories and offering other crude grades from other fields, Saudi officials said.

Saudi said it would ensure full oil supply commitments to its customers. The kingdom ships more than 7 million bpd to global destinations every day, and for years has served as the supplier of last resort to markets.

No casualties were reported at the sites even though thousands of workers and contractors work and live in the area.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday repairs at the plants could take months longer than anticipated.

Thousands of employees and contractors have been pulled from other projects to work around the clock in bringing production back. Aramco is shipping equipment from the United States and Europe to rebuild the damaged facilities, Aramco officials told reporters on Friday.

Reporters were shown repair work underway at both locations on Friday, with cranes erected around burnt-out stabilization columns, which form part of oil-gas separation units.

Saudi Arabia’s ability to restore oil production quickly after the attacks, which hit at the heart of the Saudi energy industry, would demonstrate an important degree of resilience to potentially very damaging shocks, Moody’s said last week.

Aramco is getting ready for an initial public offering possibly later this year. Aramco has a meeting with analysts scheduled for Wednesday at the company’s headquarters in Dhahran, two sources said. — Reuters

Defending our democratic space

This anniversary week for our martial law experience under Marcos is a reminder of how as our historical experience has confirmed that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Authoritarian governments seem to have been beneficial for many of our neighboring countries here in Asia: Singapore, South Korea, and even Malaysia have brought their once poor people (poorer even than the Philippines in the early 1960s) way above the poverty line. Our experience with “strong” governments has not been so blessed.

And incredibly, the families that benefitted from our misfortunes under the Marcos dictatorship are back in power, largely as a free choice of our voters.

Today, our electorate has once again opted for “strong” governance in a system that is becoming more a government of “man” rather than of laws. And, unbelievably, if we are to believe the political surveys, majority of the Filipino voters are happy with it.

Should we therefore sit back and let things be, since this is what the people want?

Because of the strategic error of opting for bilateral rather than multilateral negotiations with our mighty expansionist neighbor China, we are clearly losing more and more of our territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea, with even our West Philippine Sea being encroached upon by the economic and military power.

President Duterte, after broadcasting his intention to take up the maritime dispute and our victory at the UN Arbitral Court in the Hague during his recent meeting with Xi Jinping came home with his tail between his legs, and said what he had been saying earlier: that we cannot do anything because China has military might that we cannot match (surprise!)

Senator Leila de Lima remains in detention on dubious charges testified to by long-term convicts who now reside in cozier quarters at the marine military camp, rather than congested Bilibid prisons where they belong.

Some Cabinet members (Solicitor General Jose Calida, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, et. al.) remain in office despite revelations that they are violating civil service laws on conflicts of interest.

FREEPIK

The duly elected Vice-President and her opposition colleagues are facing charges of sedition based on ludicrous testimony by an incredible witness who had earlier accused the President and his family of being “narcopoliticians.”

The President’s spokesman continues, almost on a daily basis, to reinterpret for our benefit “misunderstandings” on what the President meant when he talks publicly about having ordered assassinations, and other violations of Philippine laws and even the Constitution.

What is wrong with this confusing picture?

The business community is silent on these issues. The economic numbers are looking surprisingly good, thanks to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and his team who, as the government’s saving grace, is allowed freedom on managing the economy by the President who had to beg him to take the job which he did not need or want. There is a new highly regarded Agriculture Secretary (William Dar) whom experts hope will make a difference in the poverty situation. Poverty is mostly rural; and he seems to be off to good start.

If the economy is beginning to look hunky dory, perhaps we should just leave things as they are, and sit on our fat haunches? What, we worry?

The damage that is being done to our society and democratic values if not bridled, can cause things to deteriorate so fast that we could really end up as a failed state, or in the future, who knows, a vassal kowtowing to our powerful neighbor, as a province of China.

The minority who care enough must continue to speak out and fight to defend our freedom of speech, the rule of law, and a free press. Courageous public figures like Senator Leila de Lima, former Senator Antonio Trillianes, retired Justice and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, former Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario, journalist Maria Ressa, justice advocate Chel Diokno, Vice-President Leni Robredo, and other activists need our support in continuing to express their objections to violations of Philippine Laws and the Constitution. Party List activists in Congress, contentious though they might seem to be, contribute to the push-back that we need to defend our freedoms from the abuses by the powerful.

Our tribal and insular culture has not blessed us with philosopher-king leaders who entered politics in order to serve our country. Perhaps they started out that way; but the pressure of expensive elections and traditional politics and fierce loyalty to family and tribe has brought plunder of our country’s resources to benefit a few, and depriving the many. The sad thing is, many of the abusers continue to occupy public positions of power instead of paying for their crimes in jail.

If we continue to be silent, then we are being complicit. We will contribute to the harm that these criminals inflict on our country and our people.

Even a minority, if we are loud and assertive enough, can help protect our national soul from the damage that an unbridled government of men rather than of laws can bring about. Not even if the economy survives, for that would only be caring for our bodies. What kind of a nation and people do we want to leave as a legacy for our children and their children? We cannot continue to sit on our fences.

 

Teresa S. Abesamis is a former professor at the Asian Institute of Management and Fellow of the Development Academy of the Philippines.

tsabesamis0114@yahoo.com

Cost of living and cost of dying

The Philippines is where my wife and I would love to retire in, but I decided to check out other so-called retirement havens for comparison. An interesting source of information is the “Cheapest Destinations Blog” by noted travel writer Tim Leffel. One particular blog entry — “The Cheapest Places to Live in the World – 2019” — caught my interest because of the following entry:

“Easy Living in the Philippines — The current president of the Philippines makes Trump look like a stable genius by comparison and Manila is one of the most traffic-choked cities in the world, but get past those factors and this can be a desirable place to live for less. There’s a deep bench of smiling workers who have a native speaker level command of the English language. So this is probably the cheapest country in the world that’s English speaking, ideal for those who don’t want to learn a new language. Beer is often a buck in a bar and you can order a round of cocktails for the table without breaking the bank.

“You’ve got plenty of beautiful islands to choose from. The expat crowd here is even more male-dominated than Thailand, however, with an uncomfortably large percentage of retirement-aged men who have female companions half their age or less. The overall mix gets a bit younger each year though, with more digital nomads finding this a good place to do staffing and lots of adventure travelers sticking around a while after they’ve explored different islands and found one that felt like paradise.”

As a Filipino-American, I couldn’t help a snicker over the blogger’s left-handed compliment for Trump and whatever he meant about Duterte. I did appreciate his overall assessment of our country, although I felt uneasy about the “large percentage of retirement-aged men who have female companions half their age or less.” The statement hit too close to home.

Lefflel also provided interesting insights on cheap destinations in Europe, Latin America, and Asia where retirees can live comfortably — in fact, in relative affluence — for half the cost of living in the major cities in the United States.

I found the information particularly reassuring because my wife and I, as well as our children and their families, currently reside in the San Francisco Bay Area which, along with New York, is considered one of the most expensive US cities to live in.

According to Leffel, “Nepal is probably the hands-down winner in terms of what you get for your money. In most categories, this would be the cheapest country to live in you could find. If two of you were set up with $1,200 a month there — the equivalent of one Social Security check — you’d be part of the wealthy elite. One person could live on half that and still be eating well.”

But, he added, “Oh, and the electricity and internet both go out on a daily basis.” In Manila, we are all familiar with brownouts — but, mercifully, not on “a daily basis.”

I’ve often pointed out that, on the social security pensions that my wife and I receive, we can afford a live-in maid and a driver in Manila, and probably even a regular visit of a nurse.

Leffel’s blog says the same about many other countries: “When I put in cost of living estimates here of $1,000 a month for one or $1,500 for two, as an example, assume that’s leading a reasonably comfortable life without making lots of sacrifices. Obviously if you’re willing to truly live like a local who is earning half that amount, you can get by for far less. You could find plenty of places in the world where your neighbors are literally earning a few dollars a day. It doesn’t take a lot to be upper middle class if you’re earning a few hundred dollars more a month than your average local. If you can live on their terms, you can get by on what they do. Most people who say, ‘I’m living in Mexico on $500 a month’ when they argue with me are doing just that.”

And speaking of Mexico, while Leffel does not consider it “the absolute cheapest country to live in,” it should be particularly attractive to Pinoys in America. Its proximity to the US makes a trip to Mexico about the price of flying domestic.

Wrote Leffel, who says he lived for some time in Mexico, “As a family of three we lived on $2,100 a month in Guanajuato when we were renting a four-bedroom apartment, before we bought a house. Now two of us will probably average $1,800 a month in expenses with paying all medical costs out of pocket, having a maid two times a week, having a handyman come to do improvements or repairs, and traveling a lot within the country. We aren’t very frugal at that level either because we don’t need to be. We can eat out constantly, go to cultural events, and enjoy life to the fullest… Because the Mexican currency has dropped so much against the dollar, it is cheaper here now than when I first visited in 2002. The peso generally trades between 18 and 20 to the dollar now. This makes our closest neighbor to the south a screaming bargain anytime you go to a restaurant, buy a beer, take a taxi, get a haircut, or hire a carpenter.”

Another source on the cost living in Mexico states: “In general, a typical retired couple can expect to live comfortably in Mexico on about $2,500 a month, all in. This includes a nice home, plenty of dinners out, entertainment, travel, and help around the house. Cost of living, however, does vary slightly depending on where you live.”

In this regard, Leffel cautioned: “Just understand that I’m talking about Mexico away from the tourist resorts. Los Cabos could cost you as much as your current home and it’s not such a bargain in Playa del Carmen or Puerto Vallarta. You need to go inland or to a beach without a lot of moneyed tourists around.”

At any rate, living in Mexico for a Fil-Am sounds almost like living in Manila. What’s more, Pinoys look physically like most Mexicans. As former colonies of Spain, we also share many of the same religious traditions. And Tagalog and even the Visayan vernaculars have many Spanish words that make it easy to learn the language.

Of course, the presence of relatives and old friends make the Philippines a more attractive retirement place for Pinoys like us.

Note, however, that the Philippines isn’t even in the list of the 20 cheapest countries in the world to live in. But even with the relatively low cost-of-living in the Philippines, the low wages and the constantly increasing prices of essentials, make them difficult for the average wage earner to afford.

In sum, the cost of living in the Philippines, while not the lowest in the world, is low enough for a middle income Filipino in America to afford — in relative affluence — although not necessarily so for the average Mang Karyas and Aling Opring.

But what about the cost of dying?

The numbers make retiring and spending one’s last days in the Philippines even more appealing for the aging Fil-Am. According to figures sourced from the National Funeral Directors Association, the average funeral in California costs from $8,000 to $10,000. That’s over P400,000 to half-a-million pesos based the average peso-dollar exchange rate.

In contrast, the average cost of a middle-class burial in the Philippines is between P50,000 and P100,000, depending on the choice of casket, funeral services, and other trimmings. It can even be more affordable for those who arrange sakla and pusoy sessions, along with the grieving.

Such a bargain prompted a mischievous advertising friend to offer an idea for a tourism ad: “It’s more fun in the Philippines. People are dying to retire here.”

 

Greg B. Macabenta is an advertising and communications man shuttling between San Francisco and Manila and providing unique insights on issues from both perspectives.

gregmacabenta@hotmail.com

Developmental approach to mineral resources

Developing the mining potential of our country necessitates a far more complex and progressive way of capitalizing opportunities and benefits.

Recently, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) launched the Mining Philippines 2019 International Conference with the theme, “Riding the Wave: Capitalizing on Opportunities,” featuring various enlightening speeches and presentations suggestive of serious economic and policy challenges.

The Philippines, being the fifth most mineralized country in the world, has the potential of attracting billions of dollars in capital investments that can jumpstart progress in remote areas of the country, and this cannot be ignored. This is acknowledged by Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary for Climate Change and Mining Concerns Analiza Teh, but these potentials are “yet to be completely realized.”

According to her, five mining projects could boost the contribution of the mining sector to the economy. These are the Tampakan Copper-Gold project in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao del Sur with a total capital investment of $20 billion; the Kingking Copper-Gold mining project in Compostela Valley, $2.29 billion; the Silangan Copper-Gold in Surigao del Norte, $40.43 billion; the Pujada Nickel project in Davao Oriental, P540.36 billion; and the Balabag Gold-Silver project in Zamboanga del Sur, P1.04 billion.

Consequently, she rightly expressed that “Our goal now is how to maximize this potential to boost growth without compromising the protection of the environment and ensuring the sustainability of mining practices.”

This is exactly the policy direction that the COMP is gearing towards. On Dec. 19, 2017, the COMP became the first Southeast Asian mining association to adopt the TSM standard. It is the fourth mining association outside of Canada to do so after Botswana, Argentina, and Finland.

The COMP has announced the creation and the composition of the Community of Interest (COI) advisory panel. This panel is tasked to not only make recommendations or suggestions about the implementation of TSM but also to review TSM implementation results.

The panel is multi-sectoral in nature, comprised of 12 regular members from the following sectors: indigenous peoples, local government, environment expert, policy/technical, CSO/academe, religious, legal, academe, labor, media, forestry/environment, and finance. It also includes three ex-officio members from the mining industry.

The existence of a COI panel and community consultations would facilitate developing a desired level of social acceptance to mining as a responsible and sustainable means of livelihood and economic growth. The social license for large scale mining to operate will thus be achieved from an experiential level. In the context of the TSM’s general objectives, the panel is an added mechanism to further insure the accountability, credibility, and transparency of mining operations in the designated areas of our archipelago.

Open pit mining has acquired a controversial reputation due to public misinformation. Worse, large-scale mining is outright dismissed.

Without the benefit of firsthand information, government and the public at large fail to see that rehabilitation is indeed doable and effective after open pit mining operations are carried out.

Several mining companies — under the standard practice of progressive rehabilitation that is strictly implemented by COMP — have successfully undertaken rehabilitation. To wit, one should see the progressive rehabilitation practiced in Bataraza, Palawan that has long been implemented by Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp.; the Bulawan and Sibutad Projects in Negros Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte by Philex Mining Corp.; the Taganito Mining Corp.’s mine in Claver, Surigao del Norte; and TVI Resource Development’s Canatuan Mine in Zamboanga del Norte. Legitimate mining operations are highly regulated and must operate in compliance with all mining and environmental laws.

The developmental approach to mining and the principle of balanced environmental governance align with the mission of the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST). Launched in November 2013, PBEST has endeavored to “promote national developmental policies that integrate responsible stewardship of the environment as a positive factor for economic growth.”

PBEST acknowledges the urgent need to establish the necessary legal and regulatory environment to realize the full potentials of the mining industry and its contribution to economic growth. It supports the efforts of the DENR and the COMP in the promotion of “genuine responsible mining.”

On this note, the restrictive and negative approach of government toward mining should shift toward a developmental policy regime of environmental stewardship and responsible mining. Balanced environmental governance is the key to realizing and unlocking the transformative potentials of sound resource management and sustainable mining activities.

Together, the private stakeholders, the national government, the LGUs, the concerned communities, and the public should forge and establish the needed legal and regulatory environment under which the mining industry could thrive. Policy differences between and among national laws and local ordinances about mining practices should be ironed out and made harmonious. Consequently, confusion is avoided, and the conduct of uninterrupted business operations is facilitated.

An invigorating legal and regulatory environment, domestic responsibility, and global competitiveness could all make the Philippine mining industry a precursor to national progress — job promotion, poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, and robust economic growth.

 

Carmelo Bayarcal is a convenor, Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) which is an environment project of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

The countries they call home

By Tony Samson

THE BREADTH of the Filipino diaspora hits us whenever we travel abroad. Isn’t there now a Filipino in every country in the world? We bump into these expats in unexpected places. She may be a receptionist in a Bratislava hotel or a chef in a restaurant in Athens.

Resting sore feet on a museum crawl in Amsterdam, you are likely to sit beside a compatriot. He strikes up a conversation by asking where you’re from — do you live in the States? When replying you’re from Quezon City, there is a slight hesitation. Are you staying with relatives here in Amsterdam? No, we’re staying in a hotel.

This exchange can be predictable as there are assumptions made of traveling Filipinos, that they are hosted by resident relatives and live with them for free, or traveling from another first world country like the States — yes, those with jobs like Trump. Parasites living on welfare hate him. And, it’s fake media that constantly criticizes him. (You stay away from that debate.) Filipinos living abroad, especially if they have not been home in a while and carry different-colored passports, are like the very rich. They are different from you and me. They dress differently and have different sports heroes.

Still, they keep track of news from home. They ask newly met tourist compatriots how the economy is doing. They ask surprising questions — do the trains there really leak when it rains?

News about Third World countries, when aired abroad, is often followed by travel advisories. Few feature good news, like the opening of car plants or the rise of the middle class. Pick-ups on countries outside the media capitals of the world must be on disasters of all sorts: a new virus epidemic, infected pigs, and political scandals involving released prisoners — pay to stray.

Residents in a foreign city know the best shopping bargains for shoes and the nearest outlet mall. If these expats have been out of their home country for decades, they presume that Third World travelers like you only have shopping in mind. (Can you get Birkin bags in Manila?) If you want to snap them out of this mindset, you can ask about museums — what’s the quickest way to get to the Van Gogh Museum, and do they require online reservations for every 15-minute time slot?

Because they are outside their country of birth and don’t have any powerful uncle to bail them out of scrapes, expats tend to be law-abiding. Or is it a form of natural selection where it is the civic-minded citizens that migrate and the lawless are left behind?

Still, expatriates will do for their adopted country what they will dismiss for their original one. Lining up for airport security checks in their host country is patiently suffered without any muttering under the breath. The same line in Manila is seen as a sign of gross inefficiency. (Why don’t they open more windows?)

Red tape required for licenses to buy a car, the purchase of coupons for parking, or the limited number of cable channels is shrugged off as unquestioned government policy — It’s just the way things are here. An equivalent bureaucracy in the home country is seen as a sign of backwardness.

The expatriate has made a choice to live elsewhere. And that option is often claimed to be an economic decision — there are more opportunities there.

It is already the season for homecomings when we see long-lost kin being part of us again, temporarily. At the airport pick-up, it is easy to see, even if they look alike, the ones being fetched and those picking them up. It’s more than the attire. There is also the air of discomfort and soldiering on to get the vacation underway.

Because of slowing GDP growth in her host country, the expatriate may decide to come home, even taking a job. The problem for the expat is adjusting to a new and unaccustomed environment — the one she long ago determinedly left behind. She is not confident she will survive the shock of adjustment.

Every returning expat has the same fear when visiting or retiring: that she will be a stranger in the place she was born in. What country does she really call home?

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Even Putin is now worried about climate change

By Leonid Bershidsky

AFTER YEARS of procrastination, Russia, the world’s fourth-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has officially joined the Paris climate agreement, which it signed in 2016. It shows that President Vladimir Putin’s views of climate change are evolving and he wants his government to do more.

Putin was never a fully-fledged climate change denier. Rather, he once didn’t take it seriously enough. Addressing a climate conference in 2003, Putin started by joking that Russia could perhaps use slightly warmer weather so people spend less on fur coats and grain harvests would increase. He went on to say, though, that certain areas of Russia are hit increasingly often with extreme weather phenomena and that “possibly global climate change” could result in major damage.

Whatever else the Russian president is, however, he’s not someone who ignores hard data, and these haven’t been in short supply. In its most recent annual climate report, the national weather service said the average temperature in Russia has been increasing by 0.47° Celsius every year between 1976 and 2018 — 150% faster than globally. Putin cited that surprising statistic several times this year, most recently in July. “Increasing production and the consumption of energy in traditional ways inevitably means new risks and further climate change,” Putin said.

At the same time, Putin the pragmatist has been worried about Russia’s inability to shake its fuel dependence. With the European Union, Russia’s biggest fuel export market, intent on sharply lowering emissions, this dependence is a brake on economic growth. A paper published last year by the Russian economist Igor Makarov and two collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimated that if all countries perform according to their goals set under the Paris accord, Russia’s growth will slow by 0.2 percentage points to 0.3 percentage points a year.

Meanwhile, Russian officials have been dragging their feet on the ratification of the Paris accord. Putin’s special representative for the environment, Sergei Ivanov, said earlier this year Russia should only do so once it has reliable data on how much carbon dioxide its forests absorb. The government planned to obtain the data by 2020. This was, most likely, just a pretext: Many in Russia, including in the influential fossil-fuel industry, have been arguing that US President Donald Trump had the best interests of US industry in mind when he pulled his country out of the accord.

Putin appears to have rejected these arguments. On Monday, the same day as the United Nations climate summit, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a government resolution that, according to the Russian government’s website, obviates the need for parliamentary ratification. It means that as of today, Russia is bound by the agreement.

Given how little the Paris accord actually requires countries to do (they’re allowed to determine their own contributions based on the goal of keeping global warming to 1.5° by the end of this century), Russia doesn’t really have to worry about implementation costs. When it signed the agreement, it promised to keep greenhouse gas emissions to 75% of the 1990 level. That target is easy to meet, after the collapse of Soviet industry in the 1990s. Indeed, on CO2 emissions, Russia is doing better than Germany, not to mention the three bigger emitters — China, India and the US.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Russia is doing its bit for the climate today. According to the Climate Action Tracker, a research project backed by the German environment ministry, Russia is one of the world’s laggards. Merely joining the Paris accord as a symbolic step won’t change it; after all, only two major nations — the US and Turkey — haven’t done so yet.

Putin’s decision to stop dithering and join the accord, however, is likely more than a symbolic step: It’s a signal of the Kremlin’s growing seriousness about the threat. As such, it doesn’t augur well for industry lobbyists, who have objected to the introduction of emissions pricing. Before the end of this year, the Russian parliament expects to see a government draft of a new emissions law, and it’s likely to hold some unpleasant surprises for the energy industry, especially for coal-burning power plants. Russia certainly has room to improve when it comes to emissions reduction. According to the consulting firm Enerdata, it has the second most energy-intensive economy in the world — after neighboring Ukraine.

The Russian government is about to try a climate-related set of goals to reduce the country’s fossil fuel dependence and improve the economy’s energy efficiency. Whether these intentions will lead to a drop in Russian emissions, or simply end up creating another tax on industry, is impossible to predict. But at least the evolution of Putin’s views on climate appears to be going in the right direction.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Peso up on fresh US-China talks

THE PESO climbed on Wednesday on news of fresh trade talks between the US and China.

The local unit ended at P52.15 versus the greenback on Tuesday, up 3.5 centavos from its P52.185-per-dollar close on Monday.

The peso opened the session stronger P52.12 versus the dollar. It dropped to as low as P52.25, while its best level for the day was logged at P52.12 against the greenback.

Dollars traded on Tuesday inched down to $1.225 billion from the $1.258 billion seen on Monday.

“The peso appreciated from market optimism after US Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed the resumption of scheduled trade discussions between the US and China in two weeks’ time,” a trader said in a phone call.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that he and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for trade talks in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael L. Ricafort said traders continued to price in the anticipated cut in benchmark rates when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reviews policy this week.

“Latest signals from BSP Governor [Benjamin E.] Diokno about unlikely RRR (reserve ratio requirement) cut on Sept. 26 amid expected 0.25-bp cut in local policy rates may have also supported the peso,” Mr. Ricafort said in an email.

Asked if the BSP will cut the RRR alongside the expected reduction to policy rates, Mr. Diokno told reporters at the sidelines of Euromoney’s Philippine Investment Forum in Makati on Tuesday, while noting the planned RRR cut is “is always in the agenda” despite having no definite schedule.

For today, the trader expects the peso to move within the P52.10-P52.30 range versus the dollar, while RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort sees it trading around P52.00 to P52.30. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

Bourse caps five days of losses ahead of rate meet

LOCAL SHARES recovered slightly on Tuesday, as investors anticipated the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) monetary policy decision this week.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.33% or 26.43 points to close at 7,893.94 yesterday, snapping a five-day losing streak, while the broader all-shares index rose 0.2% or 9.73 points to 4,770.97.

Four of the six sectoral indices still ended in the red, although foreign investors shifted to buying mode after five consecutive trading sessions of net selling.

“The market is still trading sideways as the investors are on wait-and-see mode as they await the BSP decision on Thursday,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Technical Analyst Cristopher Adrian T. San Pedro said via text.

Seven out of eight economists in a BusinessWorld poll late last week expect the Monetary Board (MB) to implement a 25-basis-point rate cut during its Sept. 26 meeting. BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has repeatedly said since early last month that a reduction of such magnitude would be on the table in that meeting. If realized, this would be the third rate cut this year following 25-bp reductions in the MB’s May 9 and Aug. 8 meetings.

“Another thing to consider is the upcoming IPOs (initial public offerings) of Axelum Resources Corp. and AllHome Corp. which might zap the liquidity in the market as they begin their respective offer period,” Mr. San Pedro added.

Integrated coconut product manufacturer Axelum is currently undertaking the offer period of its P4-billion IPO, while Villar-led home supplies retailer AllHome will announce the final price for its P20.7-billion IPO on Sept. 26, Thursday, with its offer period to run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said that the market is on the lookout for more developments in the US-China trade war.

“Investors will be awaiting more developments as US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that talks with China’s vice-premier (Liu He) will resume on Oct. 7,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Four sectoral indices ended in negative territory, led by mining and oil which lost 0.61% or 57.33 points to 9,217.90, followed by services which dropped 0.48% or 7.60 points to 1,559.21, industrials which shed 0.4% or 44.37 points to 10,810.96, while holding firms slumped 0.13% or 10.78 points to 7,825.44.

On the other hand, property climbed 1.61% or 64.96 points to 4,097.93 and financials edged 0.6% or 10.74 points up to 1,794.88.

Tuesday saw 899.97 million shares worth P8.50 billion changed hands, compared to Monday’s 3.35 billion shares worth P5.86 billion.

Stocks that declined still outnumbered those that advanced 122 to 80, while 54 others ended flat.

Foreign investors turned net buyers on Tuesday with P111.09 million, turning around from the previous session’s net outflows of P811.60 million. — Arra B. Francia

San Miguel, TNT debut in PBA Governors’ Cup

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

LAST conference’s finals protagonists San Miguel Beermen and TNT KaTropa begin their Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup journey as they make their tournament debut today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Both coming off stints at the East Asian Super League Terrific 12 tournament in Macau, the Beermen, the Commissioner’s Cup champions, and the KaTropa now channel their focus on doing well in the season-ending PBA conference.

San Miguel begins its campaign against the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters (0-1) in the 7 p.m. main game with TNT taking on the also-debuting Blackwater Elite at the 4:30 p.m. opener.

The Beermen are out to claim another rare grand slam in their franchise history after winning the first two conferences this season.

To help San Miguel in its push, it has brought in import Dez Wells for the Governors’ Cup.

Mr. Wells, who played collegiate basketball at the University of Maryland, impressed with his play for the Beermen in the Terrific 12, and eyes are now on him if he would be able to lead San Miguel to the grand slam.

The Beermen had a chance to win the rare league feat back in 2017 but fell short in the same conference. They won the grand slam in 1989.

“I think Dez Wells can help us. He is a two-way player who gives us hustle and energy,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria in the lead-up to the Governors’ Cup.

Mr. Wells will be joining an already-seasoned team which includes five-time league most valuable player June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos, Terrence Romeo and Christian Standhardinger.

First to test the Beermen are the Fuel Masters, who got tripped in their Governors’ Cup debut, 123-116, by the NLEX Road Warriors on Sept. 21.

Phoenix competed in said game but just could not keep in step with NLEX when it needed to down the stretch.

Import Eugene Phelps led the Fuel Masters with 38 points and 10 rebounds and Matthew Wright had 24 points.

As a team though, Phoenix allowed NLEX to shoot at an efficient rate of 52% and saw six Road Warriors score at least 10 points or more.

It was something not lost to Phoenix coach Louie Alas.

“We gave up 52% field goal, 47% from the three-points. How can you win (with) that? I told them that’s not the identity we want to have here. If we want to win we have to play defense and not just shoot it out with our opponents. There are a lot of explosive teams out there,” said a disappointed Alas after their game.

TNT KATROPA
Meanwhile, TNT begins its bounce back bid after losing to San Miguel in the finals of the Commissioner’s Cup.

The KaTropa will be bannered by import KJ McDaniels, a former National Basketball Association campaigner with stops in Philadelphia, Houston and Brooklyn.

He is set to join forces with TNT mainstays led by Jayson Castro, Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy.

They are to take on first Blackwater, led by former TNT reinforcement and champion PBA import (with San Mig Coffee) Marqus Blakely.

The Elite finished third in the elimination round of the Commissioner’s Cup before bowing out in the quarterfinals.

San Beda surges to 13th win in a row

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

MAKE it baker’s dozen in the win column for the defending champions San Beda Red Lions in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 after they continued with their unbeaten run with a 91-76 victory over the San Sebastian Stags in league action on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Got their fluid rhythm that was missing in their previous games back, the Lions (13-0) channeled the unstoppable as they exacted their will over the Stags (7-5) all game long and moved a step further closer to a sweep of the elimination round of the ongoing season of the country’s oldest collegiate league.

San Beda was in its solid element right from the start.

Guard James Canlas was on fire in the opening half, going 5-of-5 from the field for 15 points, to help the Lions to a 30-17 lead in the opening quarter and a 51-43 advantage at the break.

In the third quarter, the Stags came out with more fight on the lead of veterans RK Ilagan and Allyn Bulanadi.

They kept themselves close but the Lions stayed in command, up, 71-62, heading into the final canto.

San Beda steadied its attack in the final quarter with guys like Evan Nelle and Calvin Oftana making their presence felt further.

The Lions outscored the Stags, 20-14, for the full 10 minutes en route to bagging the victory.

Canlas led six players in double digits for the Lions with 20 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting clip.

Donald Tankoua had 18 points and seven rebounds while Oftana had 15 and eight.

AC Soberano finished with 14 with Nelle adding 11 points and seven assists.

Clint Doliguez was the other Lion in double figures with 10 points.

As a team the Lions shot 48.5% from the field and had more assists than the Stags, 20-14, and rebounds, 45-34.

For San Sebastian, which dropped its second straight game, it was Ilagan who top-scored with 16 points followed by Bulanadi with 14 and Rommel Calahat with 12 markers.

“I just have to give credit to my players. We had been struggling to get our game going in the previous games and sometimes I was hard on them. But today they really stepped up as a group. It was a total team effort,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez after their win.

“We have Perpetual Help on our next game and it’s going to be a tough game. But if we continue to play the way we did today I think we are going to be in good position to win more games and fortify our position in the top two, which is really our goal,” he added.

San Beda plays the Perpetual Help Altas on Thursday while San Sebastian returns on Friday against the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals.

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