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Nationwide round-up

Former BI official denies hand in bribery scheme involving entry of Chinese nationals

FORMER BUREAU of Immigration (BI) deputy commissioner Marc Red A. Mariñas has denied allegations that he led the bribery scheme that allowed VIP treatment for Chinese nationals entering the Philippines. “Noong panahon ko walang (During my term, there was no) ‘pastillas’ scheme, hindi ko po alam ang (I do not know that) ‘pastillas’ scheme,” Mr. Mariñas, former Ports Operation Division chief, said in a Senate hearing, Monday. He did admit there were “other irregularities and illegal activities, but not as noted by what was reported by our witness Mr. Chiong.” Immigration Officer-turned-witness Allison Chiong had implicated Mr. Mariñas, among other Immigration officials, in the bribery scheme, which takes its name after a sweet Filipino delicacy that looks like how the bribe money was supposedly wrapped and rolled in paper. The Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, headed by Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, also criticized the appointment of Mr. Mariñas as chief of the Ports Operation Division in 2016 and his father, Maynardo S. Mariñas, as chief of the Special Operations Communications Unit (SOCU) for conflict of interest. She said having a father and son heading two units at the same time “effectively” rendered the BI commissioner a “lame duck.” Moreover, the senator will recommend subjecting the younger Mariñas and his security officer, Fidel S. Mendoza, among other BI officials, to a lifestyle check. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Salceda calls for withdrawal of tricycle ban along national highways

A LAWMAKER filed a resolution urging the Department of Interior and Local Government to withdraw its directive banning tricycles along national highways. “The ban is extremely unjust and it fails every test of reason, data-driven logic, socioeconomic justice, and local autonomy. And like all regulations that do not take into account actual human experience, it will fail massively,” Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda, who also chairs the House ways and means committee, said in a statement on Sunday. Mr. Salceda filed House Resolution 748 on Monday, which also calls on the House committee on transportation to conduct hearings to come up with “better alternatives.” The resolution cites that “data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) in 2015 shows that the majority of cars (56 percent) are owned by the wealthiest 10 percent of the population, and as a tricycle ban is pro-car, it would be a policy that manages to be both pro-rich and anti-poor, thus failing every test of socioeconomic justice.” The congressman also said his office is working on policies that will result in “equitable mobility.” — Genshen L. Espedido

IBP to raise P25M fund for witnesses in lawyers’ killings


THE INTEGRATED Bar of the Philippines (IBP) will raise a P25-million fund for witnesses in the killings of lawyers, its president said. “We are establishing a P25 Million Lawyers Security and Justice Fund to reward and support crucial witnesses in the successful prosecution of the murderers of lawyers,” IBP President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa said in a statement. “IBP goes beyond condemning attacks against its members. Families of slain lawyers, regardless of their status or stature can avail of IBP free legal aid. We personally and directly comfort the bereaved families.” The announcement came after the murder of 73-year old Bayani O. Dalangin, a retired Public Attorney’s Office lawyer, on February 28. He was killed in front of his clients in his office in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. Mr. Dalangin was the 48th lawyer killed since 2016, following Fredric E. Santos, the legal division chief of the Bureau of Corrections, who was shot dead in Muntinlupa City by unidentified assailants last February 18. The IBP also signed yesterday an agreement with the Philippine National Police for the protection of lawyers. The group also plans to ink similar agreements with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Palace asserts Duterte did not violate campaign rules

THE PALACE on Monday asserted that President Rodrigo R. Duterte did not violate campaign rules in the 2016 elections after a poll watchdog called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to look into his alleged overspending on television ads. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo, in a chance interview with reporters, said Mr. Duterte “has not violated any law” and that he “is always open whenever he is accused.” On Monday, election watchdog Kontra Daya said Mr. Duterte bought P182 million worth of commercial spots for his 2016 presidential bid based on information stated by broadcasting network ABS-CBN during a Senate hearing last week. “Assuming that a 15-second ad spot costs P500,000 and a 30-second ad spot in popular primetime evening programs costs P800,00, it is probable that spending about P175 million for a single network would already go beyond what is allowed by law,” Kontra Daya said in a social media post. Based on Comelec Resolution No. 10049, candidates running for a national position should not have more than 120 minutes of total TV ads and 180 for radio advertising. — Gillian M. Cortez

Nation at a Glance — (03/03/20)

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

Nation at a Glance — (03/03/20)

The Urban-Rural Disparity

The poverty incidence among families declined to 12.1% in 2018 from 17.9% in 2015. This is unprecedented. In 2009, the incidence was 20.5% according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In the case of Mindanao, the gap between the poverty incidence of city hubs with the whole region is expected but is a cause of concern. The city incidences were mostly in single digits but those of the region, three times on the average. Interestingly, the region-city gaps are mainly on the “tens.”

A city has lower poverty due to the presence of trade and distribution centers, access to ports and airports, and government offices. These provide steady employment for workers. The situation is in stark contrast with rural towns where employment is generally low wage and seasonal.

Most rural regions are heavily dependent on agriculture. In Mindanao, the main agricultural commodity bases are:

• Davao: coconut products, cavendish banana, cacao, coffee

• Northern Mindanao: coconut products, pineapple, sugar, corn, banana

• Soccsksargen: coconut, palay, corn, pineapple, rubber, coffee, oil palm, banana

• Zamboanga: coconut, rubber, sardine fishery

• Caraga: coconut

Industrial plants exist in Davao, Northern Mindanao, and Soccsksargen. These include firms in cement, coconut oil mills, industrial bakeries, breweries, packaging products, and rebar mills.

While regions like Soccsksargen have diversified, its regional poverty appears high compared to less diversified Davao region.

Low productivity and undeveloped value chains are among the causes:

• Davao: Coconut products and banana are the main agri exports. There are nuances. Coconut is small-holder and a low-yield crop. Thus, the full value chain cannot be realized due to lack of scale. There is a large multi-product exporter (i.e., Franklin Baker) but it also faces quality raw material shortages.

• Cavendish banana has value chain integration and generates high-value and full-time jobs.

• By contrast, Northern Mindanao has full-value chain for pineapple. It hosts Axelum Resources, a large exporter of multi-product coconut lines, and Del Monte.

• Soccsksargen hosts several integrated chains: Century Pacific (multiproduct exporter), Dole Philippines, and several tuna canners. All are exporters.

The “classic” paradigm persists — low farm productivity, low investment, underdeveloped agro-industry, and, consequently, low employment creation and competitiveness.

INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE
A study done by Ferre, Ferrera, and Lanjou in 2012 provides evidence of an inverse relationship between poverty and city size. Poverty is both more widespread and deeper in small towns than in large cities.

The authors found out that for all eight countries studied, most of the urban poor live in medium, small or very small towns. Moreover, it is shown that the greater incidence and severity of poverty in smaller towns is generally compounded by similarly greater deprivation in terms of access to basic infrastructure services, such as electricity.

What do these tell us?

The regional poverty, net of the city hub, has uncanny similarities across regions, some 8% on the average. The poverty incidence outside the city hubs averages 24%. Rural poverty incidence appears consistent across regions.

Low productivity and lack of non-farm income opportunities hound the agricultural regions. Breaking the barriers of rural poverty is a long-term process. The rural sector is in dire need of research and extension services. A key strategic action is to encourage private investments by lifting the agrarian reform law’s five-hectare retention limit. Farm consolidation will likely benefit low-yield smallholder areas with economies of scale.

The urban-rural gap reflects a development pattern. The challenge for the government is how soon the gap can be narrowed.

Suggested reading: “Asia’s rural-urban disparity in the context of growing inequality” by Katsushi S. Imai Bilal Malaeb, IFAD Research Series No. 27 (2018).

This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the MAP.

 

Rolando T. Dy is the Co-Vice Chair of the MAP AgriBusiness Committee, and the Executive Director of the Center for Food and AgriBusiness of the University of Asia & the Pacific.

map@map.org.ph

rdyster@gmail.com

http://map.org.ph

The commemoration of the EDSA Event of 1986 will not inspire revolution

To Messrs. Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio Honasan, Feb. 22 is the day that should be commemorated as the start of the EDSA Revolution because that was when they broke away from the tyrant Marcos.

Mr. Enrile’s rebels fired no shots on Feb. 22. Instead, they sought cover from Marcos’s shell fire. They attacked no military camp on that day. Instead, they holed up in them. They let out no cry for freedom that Saturday night. Instead, they let out a cry for help from the same civilians they oppressed. And they want the Filipino people to remember Feb. 22 as the day the EDSA Revolution began.

A revolution takes place over time and all over the land. The Philippine Revolution of the 1890s, waged initially by eight provinces, lasted two years, from 1896 to 1898. The Philippine Revolution of contemporary times was not fought for just four days and only on a stretch of highway.

The revolution might have had its beginning on April 6, 1978 when the oppressed citizens staged a nationwide noise barrage to let the dictator hear their loud protest against his tyrannical rule. Or it could have been sparked on Sept. 21, 1983 when people marched from all points of the national capital region chanting “Lansagin, lansagin (demolish),” converging at Liwasang Bonifacio, where they raised their clenched fists and sang “Bayan Ko” (My Country) with fervor before the monument of Andres Bonifacio. It must have been reminiscent of the gesture of defiance of the hero and his followers at Pugad Lawin.

And the revolution was waged by countless men and women all over the land, victims all of military ruthlessness, the same military men who proudly claim to be the heroes of the Revolution.

Many say that the EDSA Event was the culmination of the long bloody struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. It was only a high point of the Revolution, not its culmination.

So euphoric were we that we forgot to rehabilitate the democratic institutions Marcos methodically destroyed and neglected. Due in part to President Cory Aquino’s political naiveté, no military torturer, no oppressive political warlord, no thieving Marcos relative or crony was sent to jail. Democracy remained a dream in many pockets of the country during her presidency. Warlords in Isabela, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Cavite, Danao City, Mindoro, Marinduque, Lanao, and Zamboanga not only remained unrestrained and unperturbed, they continued to oppress and terrorize their subjects. Their scions now rule their respective fiefdoms.

Early in Mrs. Aquino’s presidency, Chino Roces, who came up with the “One million signatures” campaign to persuade Cory to run for the presidency against Marcos, had to remind her that the people’s triumph over Marcos was anchored on the call for a new moral order. In his response to the president’s conferment of the Legion of Honor, Roces said:

“Please allow me to remind you first: that our people brought a new government to power because our people felt an urgent need for change. That change was nothing more and nothing less than that of moving quickly into a new moral order — a moral order led by you, Cory.”

Cory could not have led the nation to a new moral order because she packed her Cabinet with men who were accessory to the Marcos dictatorship. At one time, those directly involved with the recovery of ill-gotten wealth — the Justice Secretary, PCGG chair, and Ombudsman — lawyered for Marcos’ cronies. The succeeding years saw her increasing capacity for condoning wrongdoing and accepting into our folds those who betrayed public trust — even those who mocked the laws of the land. Many of those who pillaged the nation’s wealth during the Marcos years were allowed to remain in control of certain industries, undisturbed by the PCGG. There were cronies whose fortunes grew fabulously during the Marcos years, who never fled, and rightly so as they and their business empires remained untouched, uninvestigated, undisturbed by the Aquino Administration.

It was public knowledge then who the jueteng king of the entire nation was, but no action was taken against him. Just as there were two Law firms known during Marcos’ dictatorship of winning all their cases because of their founders’ closeness to him, there too was a Law firm during Cory’s term to which corporations in conflict with the law ran because its managing partner was her relative.

Many regional and provincial military commanders protected and headed the gambling, drug trafficking, and carnapping and kidnapping syndicates, but they remained free to continue their nefarious activities.

And so, just a year after people power chased the tyrannical and insatiably greedy conjugal dictatorship out of the country, the people allowed remnants of the Marcos dictatorship to sneak into positions of power. In 1987, the people elected Juan Ponce Enrile, Joseph Estrada, and Edgardo Angara, accessories all of the Marcos regime, to the Senate. It was Cory herself who included Angara in her 1987 senatorial slate.

In a couple of years, members of the Marcos family came back to the country, not surreptitiously but in pomp and pageantry. Soon after, Imelda Marcos and her children sought public office — and succeeded. The cronies who fled with them on the night of Feb. 25 followed shortly after. They laid claim to their sequestered assets, eventually recovering them.

Francisco Tatad and Blas Ople, lead trumpeters of Martial Law, were elected senators of the realm. Gregorio Honasan, notorious military torturer during Martial Law, became a senator also. So did Panfilo Lacson, who was an officer of the dreaded Metropolitan Intelligence and Service Group under the command of the fearsome Col. Rolando Abadilla.

The greatest consequence of the self-assuredness of the Aquino Reign and the people’s apathy was the emergence in national politics and eventual election to the presidency of the incompetent, indolent, boorish, consummate womanizer, boozer, and gambler and Marcos worshipper Erap Estrada. That culminated in the return to power of the surrogates of the Evil Empire, facilitating the cronies’ recovery of their ill-gotten wealth and the dropping of criminal charges against Marcos’ men, kin, and cronies.

Once again, we became the laughing stock of the world. We were quick to correct our folly though. Outraged by widespread corruption, wanton cronyism, and nightly bacchanalia in Malacañang, we booted Erap from office in another four-day display of people power, no thanks to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who suppressed her legendary bellicose personality in favor of a meek and submissive posture while scams and immorality swirled around Erap’s presidency.

At her inauguration, President Arroyo stated that her views on her program of government converged on four core beliefs. One of them pertains to the character of Philippine politics. She declared:

“We must change the character of our politics in order to create fertile ground for true reforms. Our politics of personality and patronage must give way to a new politics of party programs and process of dialogue with the people.”

Almost right after the speech, she launched the candidacy of her son Mikey for vice-governor of Pampanga, a position the boy had no preparation for (he aspired to be a movie actor) and a province with which he had no affinity. He was not born there, he did not grow up there, and he did not speak the language.

She immediately indulged in the politics of patronage by appointing wholesale the First Gentleman’s cronies as heads of government entities like PAGCOR, the Public Estates Authority, the Manila International Airport Authority, Port Authority, and the LRT without regard for their qualifications for the jobs. She named former classmates in Assumption College to the boards of government entities and sequestered private companies regardless of their lack of experience or exposure to the industry they were to operate in. She used media facilities like the government-owned NBN and the sequestered RPN and IBC for publicizing her every official act. Government agencies and corporations put out big ads in the dailies greeting her “Happy Birthday” like they did for Marcos and his lady. Billboards went up at all Public Works project sites to make known to all passersby that they were priority projects of the President. One of her appointees to her first Cabinet was Lisandro Abadia, the same Abadia accused of misusing on a grand scale the funds of the Retirement, Separation Benefits System of the Armed Forces. She dismissed the recommendation of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission for the filing of criminal charges against former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, with whom the President was known to be personally close.

Two months later, she named among her candidates for the Senate: action stars Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid, basketball legend Robert Jaworski, the husband of Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos, and the husband of Megastar Sharon Cuneta.

The Marcoses, their satraps, and their hero-worshipers are now in power and once again our democracy is in peril. Some people gathered on EDSA on Feb. 25, hoping the commemoration of the EDSA Event would galvanize People Power against the forces of evil. No such show of power materialized.

Maybe to the millions who were part of the EDSA Event, it also brought to mind Tita Cory’s Reign of Errors and Ate Glo’s Rule of Immoderate Greed. The loyal warriors of our democracy and freedom will have to find a new site to inspire people to join their cause. Perhaps Padre Faura in front of the Supreme Court where the Rule of Law has become a travesty, or on Sgt. Esguerra Street in front of ABS-CBN where the Freedom of Speech is threatened, or on Roxas Boulevard in front of the Chinese Embassy where our Republic is in danger of extinction.

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a retired corporate executive, business consultant, and management professor. He has been a politicized citizen since his college days in the late 1950s.

Drug price control and the nanny state

Upon the prodding of the Department of Health (DoH) since last year, President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order (EO) 104 last month imposing another round of drug price control, on top of drug price control policy imposed in July 2009.

The new EO reeks of seemingly illegal provisions.

One, RA 9502 or the Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, Chapter 3, Section 7, provides for maximum retail price (MRP). Nothing in the law or its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) provides for maximum wholesale price (MWP), and EO 104 targets MWP.

Two, criteria to recommend or impose MRP under RA 9502 are detailed and strict and EO 104 ignored and disobeyed them all and created its own criteria. Drug price control in 2009 also suffered the same arrogance of disobeying the law (see Table 1).

It is safe to say that both EO 821 (2009; Prescribing maximum retail prices for selected drugs and medicines that address diseases that account for the leading causes of morbidity and mortality) and EO 104 (2020; Improving access to healthcare through the regulation of prices in the retail of drugs and medicines) were driven by the politics of envy, because certain innovator drugs are top-selling or most prescribed, their success should be confiscated via price control.

Three, the DoH formula or methodology are meant to favor certain manufacturers with drugs not affected, and certain drug retailers, but not the patients. In some molecules for instance, zero benefit for patients, no significant reduction in retail price even if wholesale prices have been slam dunked by price control.

The politics of envy by a nanny state should not be the guidance in making public policy. The main function of government, the DoH in this case, is to ensure that patients and healthcare professionals have choices among many medicines available, and those medicines are safe, not counterfeit or substandard.

The most expensive medicines are those that do not work, like counterfeits and substandards. A patient’s disease mutates to something more dangerous because it is not treated. And a patient who buys expensive medicines but avoids hospital confinement or surgery and still gets well actually got cheaper medicines. The goal is to get well at the shortest time possible and lowest cost alternatives possible.

Meanwhile, the business and investment uncertainties created by this EO are big. It mainly attacks the innovator companies and their innovator drugs. These companies have the option to pull out their affected molecules so that patients will get “cheap but not available” revolutionary drugs. Available perhaps in Malaysia, Thailand, etc. but no longer in the Philippines. With this COVID-19 scare, we need more innovator drugs, not less. We need those innovator and risk-taking companies more, not less.

EO 104 has about 2-1/2 months before implementation. There is still time for the DoH, legislators, and the Office of the President to withdraw this seemingly illegal and philosophically bankrupt EO. The DoH should focus on having more innovator drugs and molecules in the country, not less, to deal with more dangerous, infectious, and mutating diseases.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Evolving transitional justice in the Bangsamoro

It has been four years since the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) turned over its Report that sought to study and analyze historical injustice, legitimate grievances, human rights violations, and marginalization through land dispossession in the Bangsamoro, and since then, several national and regional initiatives on transitional justice have materialized.

Foremost, on the national legislative front, Representative Jose Christopher Belmonte of the 6th District of Quezon City and Representative Amihilda Sangcopan of Anak Mindanao, re-filed House Bill 4003 known as “An Act Establishing a Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Program for the Bangsamoro, Creating for the Purpose the National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission for the Bangsamoro, and Appropriating Funds Thereof” (formerly House Bill 5669), in the 18th Congress. Currently, it is lodged at the Committee of Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. Unfortunately, the bill has not moved at the Committee level possibly because Committee membership has yet to be completed to date. This is quite a saddening state since the original bill passed at the Committee level in the previous Congress. More so, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), through Resolution 56, has already called on the national government to create a National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission for the Bangsamoro and the implementation of a Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Program for the Bangsamoro. HB 4003 must be a priority bill.

At their own level, the BTA also adopted Resolution 58 calling for the “Creation of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).” This call has been based on the Bangsamoro Organic Law’s (BOL) provision on the creation of a transitional justice mechanism “to address the legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people and indigenous peoples such as historical injustices, human rights violations, and marginalization through unjust dispossession of territorial and proprietary rights and customary land tenure.” A bill must also be passed in the BTA in order to create this regional commission.

Currently, in the absence of such a regional commission, the Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC), newly created through the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 4, was mandated to take on human rights transitional justice initiatives in the interim. According to Art. IX, Sec 52, the BHRC “shall perform the human rights component of the transitional justice mechanism” until such time that a Bangsamoro Transitional Justice Commission has been created. As such, the BHRC “shall document and investigate human rights violations; collect testimonial, object, or documentary evidence; provide information, data, and documents in relation thereto; provide research and technical support; and promote the transitional justice mechanism.” The task now is that of operationalization.

PEACE PROCESS, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND COMMUNITY SPACES
On the part of the national government, the guidance on transitional justice was integrated in 2019 Executive Order (EO) 79 on “Implementing the Annex on Normalization under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro” as one of the aspects on normalization. The Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization has a transitional justice sub-cluster formulating a roadmap to be presented to the Government peace implementing panel. For their part, each of the Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace implementing panels, have their own technical working group that would eventually jointly evolve a road map on transitional justice.

Alongside these institutional measures, critical in advancing the pillars of transitional justice — namely, the right to truth, right to justice, right to reparation, and guarantee of non-recurrence — is an informed, inclusive, and gender-sensitive civil society entity.

On Feb. 15, the Independent Working Group on Transitional Justice and Dealing with the Past convened the first ever Bangsamoro Civil Society Summit on Transitional Justice in Cotabato City. The Summit was attended by civil society organizations that have been capacitated on transitional justice since 2016. Towards the end of the activity, an ad hoc transitional justice civil society forum was established with tri-people and gender-balanced representation. Furthermore, the Summit also generated a consensus declaration that acknowledged “the important roles of civil society, particularly women’s groups and victim communities, in popularizing and advancing transitional justice,” among others.

Given current institutional trajectories, this evolving transitional justice civil society platform may consider to engage in the following:

1. Continue to expand informed constituency on victim-centered transitional justice and dealing with the past;

2. Cooperate with affected communities on having grassroots transitional justice initiatives such as, but not limited to, community listening process, documentation of narratives, commemorations, and establishment of context-based community markers or museums;

3. Engage with the BHRC on their human rights-specific transitional justice initiatives with particular emphasis on the principles of inclusion and gender-sensitive considerations; and

4. Stronger advocacy and lobbying for a law creating both national and regional commissions on transitional justice for the Bangsamoro.

At the end of the day, it should be understood that transitional justice is beyond projectization and programmatic efforts and no single actor — institutional or civil society; international, national or local — can lay claim on moving it forward on its own. To be able to realize healing and reconciliation, a whole-of-society/multi-actor/multi-level approach is imperative. Transitional justice in the country, borne out of the dual anchors of peace and human rights, is a frame for transitioning out of violence, impunity, and neglect. Indeed, as the TJRC has declared four years ago, in light of transitional justice and dealing with the past, we have a “Bangsamoro opportunity” to heal our people.

 

Ma. Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University. She is also the Director of the Gender and Atrocity Prevention program of the Asia Pacific Center for the Responsibility to Protect and Co-Convener of the Independent Working Group on Transitional Justice and Dealing with the Past.

mrallonza@ateneo.edu

Beating colorectal cancer

By Dr. Jun R. Ruiz

MARCH is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. This is an important campaign as colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer among Filipinos. Only breast and lung cancers are more prevalent in the Philippines.

This cancer is preventable, treatable, and beatable. CRC screening can save lives, but not that many people are being screened. As an advocate, I believe that we should continue to educate the general public and mobilize the health community to beat colorectal cancer.

The implementation of two legislative acts, namely the Universal Health Care Law and the National Integrated Cancer Control Act, last year is a defining moment in the Philippine health landscape, and a victory for the Filipino patient. The latter law emphasizes cancer prevention and improvement of cancer survivorship by strengthening essential programs for the entire cancer care continuum. Screening that is currently not covered under PhilHealth and HMOs will be included in the package. It aims to make cancer services and care more accessible to all Filipinos.

The new law also aims to expand PhilHealth packages for Filipinos diagnosed with cancer and mandates the establishment of the Philippine Cancer Center to ensure access to cancer care services and medicines. This new development in cancer care is in line with the objectives of the Augusto P. Sarmiento Cancer Institute (APSCI) of The Medical City to be the world standard in compassionate cancer care. The Cancer Assistance Fund shall also be created to complement the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.

RISK FACTORS FOR COLORECTAL CANCER
Almost all of these cancers start as abnormal growths in the lining of the colon and rectum called polyps. These polyps grow slowly and take around 10 years for some to develop into cancer. Not all polyps progress to cancer. The removal of these polyps reduces the risk of developing cancer.

These polyps and occasionally early cancer do not cause complaints like rectal bleeding, constipation, and abdominal pain that are experienced by patients in later stages of cancer.

The common individual-specific factors that increase risk for cancer in the colon and rectum are:

1. age greater than 50

2. personal history of colorectal cancer or advanced polyps

3. family history of cancer in the colon and rectum

Being over 50 is the most common risk factor for this cancer, as 90% of these cancers occur after the age of 50. A family history of a first-degree relative with CRC increases the risk two to three-fold.

There are also lifestyle habits that can be modified that likely contribute to the formation of this cancer: cigarette smoking; alcohol consumption; obesity; and a diet that has high saturated fat, low fiber, and high red meat consumption

Living a healthy lifestyle by avoiding smoking, not consuming excessive alcohol, engaging in regular exercise, and eating the right food can lower your risk for cancer in the colon and rectum.

BE SCREENED
In several countries, CRC screening is recommended for people starting at the age of 50. Screening at an earlier age, usually at 40, is advocated for first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer, and in those with other additional risk factors.

The gold standard for CRC screening is a colonoscopy as it can detect and remove early lesions like polyps. The procedure involves a flexible fiberoptic scope with a camera that is inserted through the rectum and is carefully advanced to visualize the colon under mild anesthesia. However, it is an invasive test and it has the (low) potential to cause complications.

Some patients may not want to have an invasive test or may find the cost of a colonoscopy too expensive. A stool test called the Fecal Immunochemical test (FIT) is a good screening alternative. FIT detects only human blood and is specific for bleeding in the colon. The test is repeated every year if the initial test is negative. If the test is positive, a colonoscopy is needed to rule out the presence of cancer. With the right organization, a population-based screening program among Filipinos involving this method will result in early diagnosis of colorectal cancer and improved clinical outcomes in the country.

As a gastroenterologist in the clinic who advocates CRC screening, I recommend a screening colonoscopy in persons between 50 to 75 years of age who are healthy and in whom the complications are low. If the patient does not want to start with a colonoscopy, I suggest starting with FIT. After a discussion with his physician, the patient can choose his preferred screening test. After all, the best test is the one that gets done.

By undergoing either method of CRC screening, this would be one step towards beating colorectal cancer.

 

Dr. Jun R. Ruiz is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology, and the Head of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program of The Medical City in Pasig, Metro-Manila. He finished his Gastroenterology fellowship at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. He is the first Filipino chapter author of the best-selling medical reference The Merck Manual.

Drug links of offshore gaming being probed

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is keeping tabs on offshore gaming operators in the country for possible involvement in the illegal drug trade, the agency said.

PDEA is closely monitoring mostly Chinese workers at these companies to determine if they are involved in illegal drugs, PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino said.

“So far there are no reported transactions but the PDEA will continuously monitor if POGOs are involved in illegal drug activities,” Mr. Aquino said in a mobile-phone message.

Several Chinese nationals have been arrested mostly for kidnap-for-ransom activities targeting their compatriots working at offshore gaming companies and gambling in local casinos.

Major Ronaldo Lumactod, a spokesman for the police Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG), said they recorded nine cases of abductions involving offshore gambling workers in 2019, where 13 have been victimized. No such cases were recorded in 2018, he said.

Meanwhile, casino-related kidnappings more than doubled 38 last year from a year earlier. The number of victims also increased to 42 from 17, Mr. Lumactod said.

He said they have yet to encounter reports of Chinese criminal syndicates at offshore gaming companies that are into illegal drugs. — Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

House panel sets hearing on Honda/Wells Fargo closures, PAL Layoffs

THE House committee on labor and employment has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on the recent closures of multinational firms’ Philippine operations and layoffs at Philippine Airlines (PAL).

“I (have) a hearing on Tuesday to look (into the) closure of Honda (Cars Philippines, Inc. or HCPI), Nokia (Corp.) (and) Wells Fargo (& Co.). I will try to include PAL in the hearing,” 1-Pacman Party List Rep. Enrico A. Pineda, the committee’s chairman, said in a text message to BusinessWorld Saturday.

Mr. Pineda said the hearing will focus on the cause of closures and to investigate whether employees were paid their separation benefits.

The three multinational firms are “leaving the Philippines not because of country-specific reasons, but because of issues of cost and competitiveness within the companies themselves,” Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda, who also chairs the House ways and means committee, said in an aide memoire dated Feb. 24.

“There are firm-specific issues among all the cited companies. Wells Fargo was slapped with a $3 billion fine in the US. Honda has been overwhelmed by competition in the small-sedan segment. And Nokia has retreated globally as a technology firm,” he said.

Meanwhile, PAL announced layoffs affecting about 300 workers after the carrier posted losses in 2019, with more financial difficulties expected due to the impact of the coronavirus this year.

Separately, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) was urged to look into industries affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus outbreak.

“There is no end in sight yet and more countries are implementing drastic measures to keep their citizens safe, including our own,” Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara said in a statement Sunday.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Friday announced layoffs of 300 ground-based employees following the impact of travel restrictions and flight suspensions due to the epidemic originating in China.

Mr. Angara asked the Labor department to conduct a survey of all companies laying off employees due to the outbreak to better assess the need for worker assistance.

He said not all companies can offer separation packages to employees. PAL grante laid-off workers separation benefits, travel privileges, and career counseling.

He cited possible disruptions in smaller firms in the tourism industry, such as bed and breakfast operators and vehicle rental companies.

“May mga tulong pinansyal na nakaloob sa ating Department of Labor and Employment na pwedeng gamiting pantawid habang wala pang nahahanap na kapalit na trabaho (DoLE can offer financial assistance which can tide over workers while they are looking for new jobs),” he said.

Mr. Angara, who chairs the chamber’s Finance Committee, said the 2020 General Appropriations Act allocates some P112.62 million for DoLE’s Adjustment Measures Program and another P6.8 billion for its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or TUPAD.

“This way they will be less prone to external shocks and continue to provide jobs to our people, uplift their communities and bring the Philippines closer to being an industrialized nation,” he said. — Genshen L. Espedido, Charmaine A. Tadalan

Money laundering eyed as travelers bring in forex

AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) logo

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it has seen more air travelers importing foreign currency beginning in the third quarter of 2019, with most of the cases involving Chinese nationals.

Assistant Commissioner and Spokesperson Vincent Philip C. Maronilla told BusinessWorld that the bureau has stepped up its monitoring of passengers bringing in foreign currency beyond the $10,000 limit.

“The period that we are investigating starts from late last year (around third quarter) up to this time, (for) declared amounts of more than $10,000,” Mr. Maronilla said via telephone Sunday. “Hindi naman s’ya bawal (it’s not prohibited), we just need to inform the AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) and ask the person involved, the passenger, saan nila gagamitin (how the funds will be used),

Separately, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) said it is planning to propose to the Office of the President an executive order (EO) that will create a national task force to address possible money laundering through couriers posing as travelers.

Mr. Maronilla would not discuss the estimated amounts involved and further details of the investigation due to confidentiality concerns but described the amounts as “significant enough to place it under our attention and (require) a specific action plan.”

He said passengers carrying foreign currencies above the declaration limit included those from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, but Chinese made up the majority.

“Aside from our intensified monitoring efforts, we also have inter-agency (initiatives). One is with NICA, to come up with a proposal to the President (for) an EO to create a national task force against this because you have to understand, this is not just a Customs issue,” he said.

He said the proposal will initially involve the Bureau of Immigration, the AMLC, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Customs.

In a statement Sunday, the bureau flagged “several groups of passenger-couriers declaring huge amounts of foreign currency.”

It said the bureau has been working with AMLC, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Maronilla confirmed that the sudden influx of foreign currency conforms with Senator Richard J. Gordon’s observations last week.

Mr. Gordon was reported to have claimed that Chinese nationals have brought in over $160 million in cash into the country since December, and raised the possibility of money laundering activity.

Mr. Maronilla said the bureau will be looking to enforce money-laundering rules in connection with the cash imports.

“The primary offense… will likely be money-laundering,” he said.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has said that he instructed the bureau to inform the anti-money laundering body about the courier activity.

“The BoC informed me of the volume of foreign currency brought in by travelers who declared the amounts upon arrival. I instructed them to inform AMLC about this,” Mr. Dominguez said.

Another Senator said Sunday that the increased inflows of foreign currency represent a further argument against the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) industry.

He said the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is planning to investigate foreign currency flows, allegedly by Chinese nationals.

“Siguro hindi na malayo ang panahon baka ipilit nila na ipasara yung mga POGOs by canceling the passports of POGO workers (It might not be long before POGOs are forced to close because its workers’ passports will be cancelled),” Senator Franklin M. Drilon said over DzBB Sunday, referring to a Chinese government proposal to cancel POGO workers’ passports.

China considers all forms of gambling to be illegal and has indicated that the POGO set-up represents a workaround that circumvents its prohibitions.

“Sa akin, dapat isara itong POGO na ito (In my opinion, POGOs should be shut down), he added.”

The Anti-Money Laundering Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 10927, requires casinos to report single transactions in excess of P5 million or its equivalent in other currency to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

“At this stage, ang kailangang tingnan ‘yung compliance. Nandiyan ‘yung batas. Pwedeng tawagin yung AMLC, yung BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), yung PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) (We need to monitor compliance with the law by the AMLC, BSP, and PAGCOR),” he said.

He said POGOs do not directly benefit the Philippine economy, in terms of employment.

“Walang malaking contribution sa ating ekonomiya; hindi nakakadagdag ng trabaho dahil puro naman Chinese nationals; yung real estate, tinatawag nating bubble o artificial ang pagtaas ng real estate (The industry does not make a major contribution to the economy; it does not boost employment because the workers are all Chinese; it has created a real estate bubble),” he said. — Beatrice M. Laforga, Charmaine A. Tadalan

Internet-enabled shoppers account for 75% of FMCG sales — Kantar

SHOPPERS with Internet access are the leading buyers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) by a wide margin, data analytics firm Kantar said.

It cited the findings of its Digital Shoppers for Brand Growth study, which covers the January 2016 to June 2019 period.

The FMCG segment includes packaged food and beverages, toiletries and other consumables.

The study sample was 3,000 households. It defined digital shoppers as those that have access to the internet.

Kantar said digital shoppers also spend more than non-digital shoppers. The study found that they spend an average of P38,000 every year on FMCG products, while non-digital shoppers averaged P31,000 each year.

Kantar said digital shoppers spent P461 billion in supermarkets and hypermarkets and other bricks-and-mortar establishments in 2018.

By the end of 2020, Kantar is projecting digital shoppers to increase their purchases by 25%.

“Digital technology is playing a huge role in the growth of the FMCG market today,” Kantar Philippines Expert Solutions Director Ledz Lim said in the statement, adding: “AI (artificial intelligence) tools are essential in helping companies make the right decisions as they analyze the best approach and strategies to take when reaching out to either online or offline customers.”

Kantar said FMCG brands must consider the use of artificial intelligence to study and predict consumer behavior via their Internet activity, and achieve balance between human and digital decision-making. — Denise A. Valdez

Poll: Inflation likely picked up in Feb.

By Luz Wendy T. Noble
Reporter

INFLATION may have quickened slightly in February due to higher food prices, which was likely offset by lower utility and oil prices amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and subsiding risks from the Taal Volcano eruption.

A BusinessWorld poll of 17 economists last week yielded a 3% median estimate for February headline inflation, which is near the upper end of the 2.4-3.2% estimate given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday.

If realized, February will be the fourth straight month of quicker inflation, picking up from the 2.9% print in January. However, this will still be slower than the 3.8% logged in February 2019.

The BSP has an inflation target of 2-4% for the year and sees the rise in prices averaging at 3%.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will report February inflation data on Thursday, March 5.

Economists said the uptick in food prices continues to be an upside risk to inflation.

“The negative impact on agricultural production and supply-side disruptions arising from adverse weather remains an upside risk to inflation in the coming months,” Thatchinamoorthy Krshnan, an economist at Oxford Economics, said.

“Near-term upside risks to inflation include cost-push pressure from rice as Vietnam’s rice export prices climb on strong demand, while Thailand is poised to reduce exports due to a drought,” Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said.

For his part, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak will continue to contribute to the rise in the prices of some pork substitutes.

“The ASF, which recently spread for the first time in Mindanao, could lead to higher prices of pork, fish, and alternative meat products, partly due to lower swine production amid some culling made to prevent the ASF from spreading further,” Mr. Ricafort said.

The Department of Agriculture has prescribed a “1-7-10” protocol that has been implemented in parts of Mindanao. The quarantine procedure prescribes that hogs within a one-kilometer radius of the outbreak be immediately culled and buried, and the area disinfected. Those that are within the seven-kilometer radius will be under surveillance and subject to sampling and testing, while a strict monitoring of entry and exit points is implemented for those within 10 kilometers.

On the other hand, UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said subsiding effects of the Taal Volcano eruption may have been a downside to inflation last month.

“Taal Volcano’s alert level was downgraded to ‘3’ last Jan. 26, and with it is the dissipation of the upward pressure on food and produce prices as supplies expected to have tightened momentarily,” Mr. Asuncion said in an e-mail.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT
Lower oil prices due to tepid demand amid the coronavirus outbreak could be a downside risk to inflation, according to analysts.

“The main impact of the coronavirus on inflation will have been the steep falls in the oil price we’ve seen,” Capital Economics’ Asia Economist Alex Holmes said.

Reuters reported that oil prices continued to slump for the sixth straight day last Friday to hit their lowest in more than a year, with markets reacting to the rising COVID-19 cases outside China.

The world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, will be cutting its crude supplies to China this month by at least 500,000 barrels per day on the back of slower refinery demand due to the outbreak, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Likewise, the further spread of COVID-19 could also dent consumption demand which could put downward pressure on inflation, said De La Salle University Economist Mitzie Irene P. Conchada.

“Inflation could slow down as the demand for goods, travel, tourism and related services deteriorate brought about by apprehensions toward the (COVID-19) spread,” Ms. Conchada said in an e-mail.

Analysts also said lower electricity prices likely offset higher food prices in February.

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) earlier said typical households would see a P118 cut in their February bills after new power supply deals helped bring down the cost of electricity.

“A fall in global crude prices and a reduction in Meralco rates offered some partial offset,” ANZ Research Economist Mustafa Arif said in an e-mail.

The utility fee decrease for the second straight month this year brings the cost of power to its lowest in two years, Meralco said. — with Reuters

Analysts’ February Inflation Rate Estimates

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