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DSCPI midyear ranking competition

THE DanceSport Council of the Philippines, Inc. (DSCPI) headed by president Becky Garcia will hold the 2019 DSCPI Midyear Ranking and Competition at the Ballroom Hall of Valle Verde Country Club, Pasig City on July 20 this year.

Garcia said she’s expecting 400 DanceSports athletes who will be joining the ranking competition backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Flawless, Dance Results Philippines, Like-FM 105.9, Studio AK and The Greenery Bulacan.

Eight World DanceSport Federation licensed adjudicators Irena Bous from Ukraine, Kumok Lee from South Korea, Chi Keung Mok “Simon” from Hong Kong, Boon Lan Por “Ivy” from Malaysia, Hsiao-Chung Wang “Andy” from Chinese Taipei, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi from Japan, Liudmila Zakrzhevskaia from Kyrgyz Republic and Drago Sulek from Slovenia will act as adjudicators for the competition.

Myunghoon Baek from Korea, Chih-Chiang Liu from China and Ereson Catipion from the Philippines for Breaking (breakdancing event) will be the adjudicators.

The DSCPI Board of Directors are Noel Laman (chairman), Andy Fornier (secretary general), Edward Hayco (sports director), Gloria Alcala (treasurer) and directors Marvie Cojuangco-Yulo, Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, Chona Mercado, Nanette Mendoza, Rebecca Jose and Girme Gutierrez.

Tickets for the event are available at the DanceSport Training Center, Philsports Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City and at the entrance of the Ballroom of Valle Verde Country Club on July 20.

For other inquiries, please call Anna or Lorien at 637-2314.

OKC reboot

No eyebrows were raised when news of the Thunder going all in on their plan to reboot hit the grapevine following the departure of All-Star Paul George. It was but logical, after all; they couldn’t very well keep funding the most expensive roster in the National Basketball Association only to go one and done in the playoffs. And in their pivot to rebuild, they went about plotting a future without their single biggest driving force since they moved from Seattle close to the turn of the decade. That they were working with former league Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook and his representation to effect the transition served only to underscore its inevitability.

As things turned out, the Thunder didn’t have to wait long and look far for a destination for Westbrook. The Rockets came swooping in, sending point god Chris Paul their way, along with draft picks and swaps to sweeten the deal. For general manager Sam Presti, it was yet another favorable haul that added to their trove of assets and — at the same time and, perhaps, more importantly — put them closer to exiting luxury tax territory. And he isn’t done yet; considering their position, their best use for an aging veteran is to flip him to willing takers in win-now mode.

Pro hoops circles have the Thunder actively engaging with any and all quarters for Paul. And it seems the Heat are interested, even more so than when Westbrook was the marquee name being dangled. Given the salary cap constraints and requisite deliverables on and for both sides, the numbers won’t be easy to match and may well necessitate the involvement of more partners. They’ll keep trying, though; they’re not keen on paying him $38.5 million this year, $41.4 million next, and $44.2 million when he’s 36 — not when his skills are on an evident swoon, and not when they’re merely treading water for the duration of his contract.

It remains to be seen whether Presti will get to unload Paul before the 2019-20 campaign takes off. Nonetheless, he cannot but view the current offseason a success. He lucked out with George’s trade “request,” and, in exchanging one albatross for another, at the very least shortened the Thunder’s financial burden; Westbrook is likewise on the decline, and, what’s more, will be on the books for a year longer and $47 million more. Their loyal fan base deserves to cheer for legitimate hardware hopefuls. The bad news is that it won’t be able to do so this year. The good news is that its position figures to be better sooner rather than later.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Gov’t pushes POGO hubs

THE GOVERNMENT is wielding another tool in its bid to better regulate Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) — which are estimated to be costing the state some P22.5 billion annually in foregone revenues due to untaxed foreign workers — encouraging such establishments to locate in hubs, the industry’s regulator said on Friday.

“It’s easier for us to regulate when they are in hubs,” Andrea D. Domingo, chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., told reporters at the sidelines of the Phil-Asian Gaming Expo 2019 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

In order to entice POGOs to locate in such hubs, “there are some special privileges”, Ms. Domingo added.

PAGCOR’s Offshore Gaming Regulatory Manual, dated July 3 last year, said that offshore gaming licences of hub locators are valid for three years and renewable for seven years, compared to three years with a three-year extension for those operating outside such areas.

Ms. Domingo said PAGCOR has so far approved two such hubs: one in Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone measuring about 10 hectares that is now operational and the other planned in Kawit, Cavite that will measure some 30 ha.

State agencies that have a role in POGO regulation will have offices in such hubs, which also have office and residential spaces; food establishments; groceries and convenience stores; service shops as well as health, wellness and entertainment facilities.

“We want the facilities to be world-class, and then of course — the dorms, they should be decent, the quarters fit for human residents. Kapag nasa hub na rin kasi ‘yung mga residences, pwede na rin kami mag-inspect ‘yung living conditions ng workers (If the residences are in the hubs, we can also inspect the living conditions of the workers).”

This push comes amid moves by the Finance department to account for foreign POGO workers. Among others, POGOs are now required to be registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue as part of requirements for license renewal. This will enable the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to monitor remittance of taxes withheld on POGOs foreign workers.

The government has also been drawing up a database of POGOs’ foreign workers using information from the Department of Foreign Affairs, which issues visas; the Department of Justice which oversees the Bureau of Immigration that grants short-term special work permits to foreigners; the Department of Labor and Employment that issues alien employment permits; the Department of Trade and Industry that oversees special economic zones where a few POGOs operate; the Securities and Exchange Commission with which POGOs register and PAGCOR itself.

As of March, BIR had 54 POGO licensees on its list, of which 10 were locals and 44 were offshore operators. At that time, seven of the local operators and only eight of the offshore licensees had been registered with the tax bureau.

Immigration data as of the same month showed that less than 95,000 foreign nationals had various forms of temporary work permits as POGO employees.

Efforts to account for POGOs’ foreign workers have enabled the BIR to initially send out notices ordering these businesses to remit taxes due them as withholding agents, with estimated levies now totaling some P7.44 billion.

At the sidelines of the Phil-Asian Gaming Expo 2019 on Friday, Kevin Wong, general manager of PAGCOR-accredited online gaming operator Oriental Group, told reporters: “If you locate in a POGO hub, no one would say illegal ‘yan because all the government agencies are already there.”

“When all other people saying so and so about our industry, we want to remove that [image].” — RJNI

UN rights council votes to probe Philippine drug killings

THE United Nations has approved a resolution to investigate President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on drugs that has killed thousands.

The UN Human Rights Council on July 11 ordered the human rights office to present a comprehensive report as it expressed concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines. The body adopted a resolution that Iceland proposed and 17 other nations supported.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. rejected the resolution that he said “does not represent the will of the council, much less that of the developing countries who are always the target of such resolutions.’’

“We will not accept a politically partisan and one-sided resolution, so detached from the truth on the ground,’’ Mr. Locsin said in a statement. “It comes straight from the mouth of the Queen in Alice in Wonderland, ‘First the judgment, then the proof.’”

The council urged the government to cooperate with UN offices by allowing visits by its officials and by “refraining from all acts of intimidation or retaliation.”

The resolution also called on the Philippines “take all necessary measures to prevent extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, to carry out impartial investigations and to hold perpetrators accountable.”

Philippine police have said they have killed more than 6,000 people in illegal drug raids, many of them resisting arrest. Some local nongovernmental organizations and the national Commission on Human Rights have placed the death toll at more than 27,000.

“Should it proceed impartially, we are certain that its result will only lead to the humiliation of the investigators,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement. He added that “there never have been == nor will there ever be — state-sponsored killings in this part of the world.”

The council’s resolution “signals the start of accountability for thousands of drug war-related killings and other abuses, and will provide hope to countless survivors and families of victims,” Laila Matar, deputy Geneva director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “The challenge now is to ensure that the process moves quickly to compel the Philippine government to stop the killings and prosecute those responsible.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Nation should assert South China Sea rights — SWS poll

MAJORITY of Filipinos think that the Philippines should assert its right to disputed islets in the South China Sea and arrest Chinese fishermen who destroy marine resources in the area, according to a poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The polling company said 87 percent of Filipinos shared these sentiments based on a poll conducted last month, it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s plan to discuss in his yearly address to Congress a verbal deal with China allowing its nationals to fish in the waters would make it a binding legal agreement, Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio said on Friday.

“The moment that he makes that statement in the state of the nation address is a final confirmation that that verbal agreement is now a legal agreement,” the magistrate said at a briefing in Taguig City.

“We are terribly at the losing end of that agreement because we are opening the entire West Philippine Sea to China’s fishing fleet, in exchange for our fishermen to fish in the periphery of Scarborough Shoal,” he said

Mr. Duterte on Monday said he would educate Filipinos during his annual speech on the deal with China, which some critics said was illegal.

Mr. Duterte has sought closer investment and trade ties with Beijing, including over resources in the South China Sea, since taking power in 2016.

His predecessor, Benigno S. Aquino III, sued China before an international arbitration tribunal over its territorial claims, and won. He also strengthened Philippine alliance with the US to try to check China’s expansion in the South China Sea. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Ex-solon refuses to enter plea in graft case

FORMER Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. on Friday declined to enter his plea in a P900 million corruption case at the Sandiganbayan.

The anti-graft court instead entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The ex-congressman faces 97 counts of graft involving an alleged scam at the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project. A pre-trial was scheduled for August 9.

Mr. Andaya, a former Budget secretary, was accused of allowing the Malamapaya fund to be illegally used for agrarian reform purposes. His lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to stop the proceedings at the anti-graft court. — Vince Angelo c. Ferreras

JBC shortlists 6 high court nominees

THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has shortlisted six nominees for the Supreme Court after considering 23 applicants for the job, according to the high court’s social media page.

The shortlist is made up of five justices from the Court of Appeals and a court administrator. These are Justices Apolinario D. Bruselas, Jr., Japar B. Dimaampao, Ramon R. Garcia, Jhosep Y. Lopez, and Rodil V. Zalameda and Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez

A seat will be opened when Associate Justice Mariano C. del Castillo, an appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, retires later this month. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Parañaque terminal eyes more routes, services

A MODERN intermodal terminal in Parañaque City that will serve commuters between Metro Manila and nearby provinces plans to add more routes and services by year-end, according to Jason Torres, assistant vice president at Megawide Construction Corp., part of a consortium that won the project.

The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) will start a point-to-point bus service between the terminal and Baguio City on July 15. Long-haul routes to Visayas and Mindanao are also planned as well as connecting the terminal to the Light Rail Transit line 1, Torres told reporters on Friday.

Provincial buses at the terminal as of June have increased to 462 from 64 in December, while 23 more city buses were added from 715. Traditional jeepneys at the terminal have increased to 347 from 172, while there are now 205 modern jeepneys from 111. The number of vans at the terminal have more than doubled to 56.

Mr. Torres said most of the commercial stores will start operating by year-end.

“We want PITX to be more than just a transport hub,” he said. “We want PITX to be maximized for the people that’s why we have thought of other partnerships,” he added.

The company is planning to set up government offices at the terminal including offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Social Security System. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

GOCC dividends hit record P61.3 billion year to date

GOVERNMENT-OWNED and controlled corporations (GOCC) remitted a record P61.3 billion to the Treasury in the year to date, the Department of Finance (DoF) said Friday.

“The dividends collected by the national government help offset the subsidies given out to state enterprises performing crucial social functions. They will go a long way in helping us hold down deficits and continue funding the infrastructure and social programs of President Duterte,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a statement.

The DoF said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) had the top contribution of P16.17 billion, followed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) with P4.583 billion.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas remitted dividends of P4 billion, followed by Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), P3.515 billion; and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), P3.509 billion.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) remitted P3.424 billion; Land Bank of the Philippines, P1.96 billion; and the National Power Corp., P1.437 billion.

“Because each GOCC has a unique mission, they have different management requirements and financial performances. Regardless of their unique features, we expect our GOCCs to be all competently managed and efficiently run,” Mr. Dominguez said.

GOCCs are required by law to return half their profits to the government in the form of dividends.

The DoF noted that just past the midyear mark, the latest total beats the P51.2 billion worth of dividends in 2018. The 2018 total, collected from 56 GOCCs, itself was a 41% improvement from a year earlier.

The DoF has said that between July 2016 — the first month of the current administration — to December 2018, GOCC dividends have amounted to P70.9 billion. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Customs on track to raise P10 billion from rice tariffa

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said that it is on track to achieve the P10 billion revenue target for rice import tariffs to fund the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), after more liberalized rice imports started in March.

RCEF is a P10 billion-a-year component of the Rice Tariffication Law, to be funded by tariffs on imports shipped in by private parties, in order to fund mechanization, credit, seed and training programs for rice farmers.

In a statement Friday, the BoC said privately-imported rice totaled 966,690 metric tons (MT) in the March to June period, up 422.25% from a year earlier.

“The Bureau is on track to meet the P10 billion target tariff collection set under law,” the BoC said.

According to BoC, monthly rice imports averaged 256,445 MT a month, up 454.18% from the average prior to the implementation of Republic Act (RA) No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law.

The Department of Finance (DoF) has said that the BoC was able to collect P5.9 billion in tariffs from 1.43 million metric tons (MT) of rice imported by private traders following the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law.

The BoC did not explain why it totals diverge from the DoF’s. The DoF was citing preliminary Customs data.

According to the DoF, the Port of Manila recorded the highest tariff collections from rice imports, generating P978.51 million, followed by the Manila International Container Port with P942.76 million, then by the Port of Cagayan de Oro with P754.13 million.

The Port of Davao, meanwhile, collected P703.93 million.

“The steady volume of rice importation is a strong indication that the BoC will be able to meet the target of P10 billion pesos in tariff collections for the year for remittance to the RCEF as well as other concerned agencies in connection to RA 11203,” the BoC said.

Collections in excess of P10 billion will be used to help rice farmers diversify into other crops. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Rice inventory rises 10.1% in early June

THE national rice inventory was estimated at 2.598 million metric tons (MMT) on June 1, up 10.1% from a year earlier, but fell 11.8% month-on-month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The estimate was contained in the PSA’s Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory report, and is sufficient for about 81 days’ consumption.

Some 40.4% of the rice inventory were held by households, 38.4% by commercial warehouses, and 21.2% by the National Food Authority (NFA), with 66.5% of the total accounted for by imported rice.

The Rice Tariffication law, which opened up rice imports to private firms who will need to pay tariffs of 35% on most Southeast Asian grain, took effect on March 5.

According to initial estimates from the Bureau of Customs (BoC), it has collected P5.9 billion from imports of 1.43 million metric tons (MMT) of rice since the law was implemented.

The NFA’s mission has been redefined to procuring palay, or unmilled rice, from domestic farmers. In the first half, it reported procurement of 5.4 million bags of palay.

Inventory held by households and commercial warehouses fell 4.2% and 21% year-on-year, respectively. Meanwhile, NFA stocks surged 26,444.2% from a year earlier, when supplies held by the NFA drew down to close to zero, helping trigger the inflation crisis of 2018 and providing momentum for efforts to restructure the rice import market.

On a month-on-month basis, all three posted declines in inventory. Household stocks declined 17.1%; commercial warehouse inventory fell 11.2%; and NFA stocks declined 1.3%.

The corn inventory was 859,770 MT, up 45.2% year-on-year, and up 3.7% from a month earlier. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Senate bill to allow microgrids to be developed without franchise holders’ consent

A SENATE bill aims to speed up rural electrification by boosting the development of microgrid systems by accredited developers, imposing sanctions on bureaucratic delays and lifting the requirement of securing waivers from franchise-holding utilities.

In a statement Friday, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said Senate Bill No. 175 or the “Microgrid Systems Act” creates a streamlined process for microgrid service providers (MSPs). The bill aims to provide reliable electric services to households and accelerate total electrification in areas with no electricity access, no distribution system lines, no home power systems, or no connection to any microgrid.

“The government has stated that total electrification in unserved areas cannot be done by traditional grid extension alone and that non-traditional means — such as microgrid systems — are needed. The problem of energy access is also a concern even in ‘electrified’ areas with limited electricity service, or what we call underserved areas,” he said.

Mr. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said the bill will also level the playing field for system providers.

“The government has tapped the private sector as partner in delivering electricity and improving the quality service in unserved and underserved areas. However, there are significant barriers to entry because of tedious bureaucratic processes, lack of information on prospective areas for electrification, and difficulties obtaining waivers from incumbent utility franchise holders,” he said.

He said generation companies, distribution utilities, retail electricity suppliers, or their respective subsidiaries or affiliates may engage in the business of MSPs, provided that a separate account is maintained for the business undertaking.

He cited figures from the Energy department that as of 2018, up to 2,779,530 households, or 11.7% of the total number of households nationwide, have no access to electricity.

He vowed to prioritize the passage of the bill in the 18th Congress to help the government achieve its goal of 100% household electrification by 2022. The bill is one of 10 priority bills filed by the senator early this month. — Victor V. Saulon

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