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Senate body not keen to grant emergency powers for traffic

THE Senate public service committee is not inclined to grant the Transportation department’s renewed plea for emergency powers to solve traffic congestion in the capital, a lawmaker said yesterday.

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the body, told reporters President Rodrigo Duterte can ease traffic in Metro Manila without emergency powers from Congress.

The Transportation department can hasten road projects and roll out more trains for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 or MRT-3, among other solutions, the senator said.

“It’s easy to throw around the idea of emergency powers, but what can really ease the traffic problem is stage 3 of the Metro Manila Skyway project,” Ms. Poe-Llamanzares said in Filipino. “Another is the deployment of new trains at the MRT-3.”

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade last week renewed his call for emergency powers to solve the traffic gridlock on the main EDSA highway in the capital. During a House of Representatives hearing on his agency’s budget, Mr. Tugade said it was possible to solve the traffic problem but it would take longer without giving special powers to the president.

“I will make him explain exactly how it will speed up the remedy, if he has one, for traffic,” Ms. Poe-Llamanzares said.

The government aims to open by early next year the third stage of the Metro Manila Skyway, an 18.7-kilometer toll road connecting Buendia Avenue in Makati City to Balintawak, in Quezon City.

The Transportation department also has yet to use the 48 so-called Dalian trains to boost the MRT-3’s fleet.

Ms. Poe-Llamanzares also said the procurement law allows emergency bidding for certain projects.

Several bills were filed in both houses of Congress in the previous Congress seeking emergency powers for Mr. Duterte to ease traffic congestion. The measures sought to give the Transportation chief “full power” to manage traffic on EDSA and control road use. The House approved the bill but the Senate version did not progress. The bills have been refiled in both Houses.

Mr. Tugade earlier said the Duterte administration only has three years to address the traffic problem by bypassing conflicting laws.

“It’s very simple,” Ms. Poe-Llamanzares said. “There’s no need for emergency powers to complete those projects. Even with emergency powers, the traffic wouldn’t ease if they don’t do what they need to do.” — Denise A. Valdez

Sugar output declines in end-August as demand falls

sugar wet market
RETAIL PRICES for sugar were stable at P45 to P50 a kilo, and lower than prices a year earlier. — BW FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE sugar production fell by 0.47% at the end of the crop year in August as demand fell, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

Sugar output fell to 2.073 million metric tons (MMT), down from 2.083 MMT in the previous year, the agency said in a statement. This was also lower than the estimated production of 2.225 MMT for the crop year.

The output was equivalent to 41.478 million 50-kilo bags, compared with 41.672 million bags a year earlier.

Demand for raw sugar declined by 17.9% to 1.988 MMT, the SRA said. Total sugarcane milled dropped by 8.8% year on year to 21.767 MMT. Refined sugar output fell by 10.7% year on year to 827,187.85 MT.

Retail prices were stable at P45 to P50 a kilo, but were lower than prices of P55 to P64 a year earlier.

For crop year 2019, raw sugar production was expected to fall by 5% to 2.096 MMT, considering factors such as weather conditions and changes in hectarage of planted sugarcane, as well as farmers shifting to other crops. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

IMF to revisit outlook for PHL growth next month

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) will revisit its economic growth forecast for the Philippines at its annual meeting in Washington next month, its resident representative said.

“The 6% growth forecast for 2019 remains the latest,” IMF Resident Representative to the Philippines Yongzheng Yang said in an email. “We will update our forecasts in the context of the annual meetings next month.”

The annual meetings will be held in Washington this year from Oct.14 to 20. The event, which tackles economic outlook and other global economic concerns, is led by the board of governors of the IMF and the World Bank Group.

Among the participants are economic and financial leaders including finance ministers and central bankers of various countries.

Mr. Yang said the IMF would conduct its annual country surveillance in the Philippines later this year.

In July, the IMF further cut its economic growth forecast for the Philippines this year and the next due to weaker-than-expected external demand and state spending in the first half.

The multilateral lender expects the Philippine economy to grow by 6% this year, slower than the 6.5% forecast published in its World Economic Outlook report in April.

It was also slower than the 6.6% and 6.7% forecasts it made in October and September last year respectively.

The IMF also cut its 2020 growth projection to 6.3% from 6.6%. Philippine domestic product grew 6.2% last year.

The slower forecasts mainly reflect weaker-than-expected external demand and public investment, partly due to the delayed approval of the 2019 budget, it said earlier.

State primary expenditures — minus interest payments — dropped 1.94% to P1.41 trillion in the first half from P1.438 trillion a year earlier due to a four-month delay in the enactment of the national budget.

The World Economic Outlook Update released in July also showed the IMF cut economic growth projections for ASEAN-5, which groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, to 5% this year and 5.1% next year, down by 0.1 point each.

Global growth forecasts were also cut by 0.1 point this year and next to 3.2% and 3.5%, respectively. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

House bill to modernize public school system

ALBAY Rep. Jose Ma. S. Salceda has filed a bill that seeks to modernize the country’s public school system in preparation for “disruptive technologies” of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Mr. Salceda’s House Bill 311 seeks to provide public school students with a laptop computer and access to the Internet.

Under the measure, public school students will “receive instruction in a digital classroom complete with a digital board and such other digital tools and devices that will allow them to be at par with their peers in other parts of the world.”

Equipping students at the basic education level with information and communication technology skills will give students in remote areas equal opportunities, Mr. Salceda said in the bill’s explanatory note.

Under the measure, computers will play a key role as a communication medium between students and teachers.

“The imaginary school of the future operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day where a student can access his ‘classroom’ in the comfort of his home at any time of the day with the use of a computer or mobile device,” the lawmaker said.

Under the bill, the Education department must provide workshops to develop teachers’ computer skills. It also requires the agency to collaborate with the Department of Information and Communications Technology in setting up a stable and reliable Internet connection.

The measure mandates the Education department to provide financial assistance to poor students.

Students would still be required to attend school for physical activities. “The learners’ engagement in a face-to-face setting is still an important part in the development of the student’s responsiveness to command and affective skills by promoting the development of their interpersonal relationships,” Mr. Salceda said.

“This is especially true for such subjects as Physical Education/Sports, the Arts, and Technology and Livelihood,” he said. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

More than 4,000 Filipino workers sent abroad from January to August this year — POEA

MORE than 4,000 Filipino workers were deployed through the Philippine Overseas Workers Administration (POEA) from January to July this year, according to the agency.

The agency facilitated the deployment of 4,498 Filipino workers to six client countries during the period, POEA said in a statement.

The agency said it is allowed to recruit and place overseas Filipino workers through government-to-government arrangements with countries where the Philippines has concluded bilateral labor agreements.

More than half of these workers were deployed to South Korea as factory workers under the Employment Permit System (EPS), POEA said.

The second top-client country is Saudi Arabia, where 1,188 OFWs were employed in medical professions by the country’s Ministry of Health.

The other destination countries were Germany through the Triple Win Program and Japan through the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement, according to the statement. — Gillian M. Cortez

Anti-red tape body orders FDA, SEC to recognize backlogged applications

THE ANTI-RED TAPE Authority reported that pending applications classified as automatic renewal at the FDA are “purely ministerial.” It added that all pending applications on the lists submitted by both agencies are “deemed automatically approved by operation of law.” — WWW.FDA.GOV.PH/

THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve pending applications before them.

The body also ordered both agencies to submit a list of pending applications after surprise visits to their offices last month, ARTA said in a statement yesterday.

SEC submitted a list of four pending applications for accreditation of auditing firms and external auditors.

FDA submitted a list of 3,125 pending applications that included renewal and licensing from the Center for Drug Regulation and Research and the Center for Food Regulation and Research.

In its order, ARTA reported that pending applications classified as automatic renewal at the FDA are “purely ministerial.” It added that all pending applications on the lists submitted by both agencies are “deemed automatically approved by operation of law.”

“All government agencies should effectively comply with the law’s prescribed processing time and remove burdensome processes,” ARTA said in the statement.

Under the law, government agencies have three to 20 days to process permits.

ARTA also said FDA should consult with stakeholders in classifying household and urban hazardous substances, reassign their pharmacists from ministerial tasks, recognize foreign accreditation and delay the payment of fees after the evaluation of applications. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Philippines, Singapore sign cooperation deals

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte and Singaporean President Halimah Yacob on Monday witnessed the signing of eight agreements between the two countries on infrastructure development and water resource management.

The deals also covered education, agri-trade, data protection, and arts and culture, according to the presidential palace in Manila.

Ms. Halimah, the first female president and first Malay head of Singapore in 47 years, is in the Philippines for a four-day state visit.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of the deals in a ceremony in Malacañang.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Department of Education and Temasek Foundation International and Nanyang Polytechnic International Programme on Innovations and Teaching and Learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

The Agriculture department and Enterprise Singapore signed a memo of understanding on agricultural cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Trade department and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority signed a deal with Skills Future Singapore Agency on human capital development.

There were also agreement between Development Bank of the Philippines and Infrastructure Asia Singapore on knowledge sharing to support infrastructure development. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System also signed a deal with the Public Utilities Board.

Infrastructure Asia and Public-Private Partnership Center signed a deal to help local agencies enforce PPP projects.

The National Privacy Commission of the Philippines and Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore also signed an deal on personal data protection cooperation.

Mr. Duterte and Ms. Halimah discussed ways to help bring lasting peace to the Mindanao region, according to a joint statement.

“Singapore was our second-highest source of investments in 2018, committing a total of P21.18 billion, or 11.8% of our foreign pledges,” Mr. Duterte said. Singapore was also the Philippines’ seventh-largest trading partner, with two-way trade at US$10.49 billion, Mr. Duterte said.

“The economic ties between our two countries are strong and robust,” Ms. Halimah said in the statement. “But President Duterte and I agreed that we can do even more together. There is room to further boost trade and investment flows.”

The countries expect to make progress in updating the Singapore-Philippines avoidance of double taxation agreement and the expansion of the bilateral air transport deal, which will increase connectivity and “create more opportunities for collaboration and growth,” she said.

This year, the Philippines and Singapore will commemorate the 50th year of their diplomatic relations.

The Singaporean president is also scheduled to visit Davao City, where she will be received by Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio. She will visit the Philippine Eagle Center and speak with Mindanao youths, according to the Foreign Affairs department. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Duterte’s building program to shield economy from global slowdown, DoF says

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte’s infrastructure projects, which will generate jobs and boost consumption, will spur economic growth and shield the country from a global economic slowdown, the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Monday.

“Even as the global economic outlook deteriorates further, we are confident that the economic stimulus provided by our infrastructure program will continue to create new jobs and be very beneficial for businesses in the sense that it will lower your logistics costs in the Philippines,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said at a meeting with the delegation from the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) on Monday.

He urged the delegates, who are representing 25,800 Singapore-based companies, to consider investing in the country as the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program continues.

“The Philippine economy continues to demonstrate strength, stability and resilience in adverse conditions,” Mr. Dominguez said. “We hope to sustain our growth, relying on strong domestic demand to offset the general slowdown.”

He also said the tax reform program, enactment of a Rice Tariff law, the passage of a bill that seeks to simplify business applications, and the proposed national ID system and computerization of selected government services. Several measures will would make the country a prime investment destination.

Data showed that as of July, spending in infrastructure and other capital outlays surged by 73.1% to P75.2 billion from a month earlier. This was still 11% smaller than P84.5 billion a year earlier.

This brought the year-to-date infrastructure spending to P386.6 billion, 11.6% lower than a year earlier.

The Budget department traced the lower year-to-date spending to the lingering effect of the delayed approval of the 2019 budget and the 45-day public works ban ahead of the midterm election in May.

Meanwhile, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that as of July, two projects had been completed out of the administration’s 75 flagship infrastructure programs. Six of the nine projects that have started were finished halfway.

It said 21 projects worth P187.63 billion are set to be completed by 2022 while 54 other projects worth P2.23 trillion will be finished after that. — BML

Trust in gov’t, 5 other institutions drop slightly

FILIPINOS’ trust in government and five other institutions have slightly dropped since 2017, but majority would still choose their home country as permanent residence, according to the latest Philippine Trust Index (PTI) released September 9.

The PTI, a proprietary research undertaken by communications consultancy firm The EON Group, indicates that while “moderate trust” for the government dropped by four percentage points to 76% from 80% in 2017, the “extreme trust levels for the institution has remained the same” since 2017.

The study also showed that Filipinos trust the Office of the President “more than any other sub institution within the government,” bucking the downtrend with an increase of four percentage points.

Young Filipinos aged 18 to 24 are the least trusting with only 70% having confidence in government while those aged 35-44 are more trusting at 81%.

National peace and security remain as the most important trust driver in government for Filipinos with 81% of respondents believing that the current administration “ensures national peace and security.”

A similar 80% also believe that the government “improves” the Philippine economy, but only 69% believe that the government “puts corrupt politicians to jail.”

The five other key institutions — the business sector, media, non-government organizations (NGOs), the church, and the academe — all saw a decline in trust levels.

The business sector posted a lower trust rating of 71% from 75% in 2017. Trust in all industries such as agriculture, mining, and water and sanitation also dropped since 2017.

For the church and the academe, both with a three percentage point drop to 90% from 93% keeps the trust level strong and highest among all institutions.

Trust in NGOs dipped the lowest at 22 percentage points, or 37% from 59%.

The media saw a decline to 69% from 78%.

Despite the decline in trust for all institutions, the PTI showed that “majority of Filipinos still opt to remain in the country” with “86% among respondents that are amenable to leaving the Philippines would do so for work or business, 10% for pleasure, and only 3% for migration.”

“This equates to only 1% of total respondents intending to leave the country for good,” it said.

The latest PTI, the sixth in the series, had 1,476 responses from randomly selected households across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It has a sampling error of +/- 2.8 at 95% confidence level.

The data gathering was conducted from March to April this year, which was before the national and local elections in May.

The EON Group said in this latest research, they “turned social media into a pillar of the study by exploring Filipinos’ expressions of trust in the institutions across social media platforms, by listening in on conversations online to discover whether these discussions truly reflect the on ground realities.” — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

GCTA-for-sale witnesses show audio evidence

WITNESS Yolanda Camilon on Monday presented to the Senate committee on justice what she claims to be a recording of her conversation with Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer Veronica Buño that proves the freedom-for-sale scheme under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Ms. Camilon’s partner who is serving time, Godfrey Gamboa, also appeared before the committee to corroborate her statement on the alleged P50,000 payment for his supposed release.

The payment was completed in “January or February,” according to Mr. Gamboa, and they were promised that he would be released by March.

The release did not happen and so Mr. Gamboa asked Ms. Camilon to just retrieve the money.

The recorded phone conversation, played at the hearing, contains a discussion between Ms. Camilon and supposedly Ms. Buño on the release arrangement.

Ms. Buño denied being the person in the recording and said she does not know Ms. Camilon.

The senators, however, were not convinced.

Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chairman, said Ms. Buño’s manner of speaking and the person on the phone resembled; while Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said the two sounded alike.

Former BuCor director-general Nicanor E. Faeldon, meanwhile, denied awareness of Department Order No. 953, which mandates that the Justice secretary be informed prior to the release of qualified beneficiaries of GCTA.

BuCor legal division chief Frederico Anthony E. Santos, on the other hand, said he did inform Mr. Faeldon about the order. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Duterte to take steps to stop corruption at national penitentiary

PRESIDENTIAL spokesperson and Chief Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo on Monday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte is determined to stop corruption at the national penitentiary and will be taking steps to achieve that.

“The President will undertake measures to stop corruption in that place,” he said.

One of the measures, which Mr. Panelo said he will recommend, is to cut mobile telecommunication signals in the New Bilibid Prison.

“The law should require them to stop the signal, the operation of a particular use of communication system within an area… I will suggest to the President,” he said.

Mr. Panelo also reiterated that the President continues to trust and is open to reappointing sacked Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor E. Faeldon.

Mr. Faeldon was directed by the President to step down from BuCor following reports and probes on the illegal release of heinous crimes convicts.

“The President knows Mr. Faeldon personally, and there have been experiences in the past that gave him the trust remaining until now,” Mr. Panelo said. “In other words, he was thrown into a situation where he could have corrupted himself but he did not bite.”

He added, however, said that the possibility of putting Mr. Faeldon in another position remains in the “realm of speculation.”

Mr. Faeldon previously headed the Bureau of Customs but was forced to resign at the height of a controversy involving the shipment of billions of pesos worth of crystal meth from China. He was reappointed to the Office of Civil Defense before heading the BuCor in 2018. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Damosa Land targets to open ‘nature-tainment’ park of Agriya in November

DAMOSALAND.COM

DAVAO CITY — Damosa Land Inc. (DLI) plans to open by November the agri-tourism component of Agriya, an 88-hectare mixed-use complex in Panabo City.

“It is really a whole working park. Agri-tourism, we also call ‘nature-tainment,’ is one of the centerpieces of Agriya,” DLI Vice-President Ricardo “Cary” F. Lagdameo told BusinessWorld in an interview.

DLI’s Agriya development highlights agriculture, especially banana, as the backbone of the city’s economic growth.

The agri-tourism area is designed as a “living farm” with theme park, a small banana plantation, aquaculture and livestock areas, and a high-value crops portion.

“Part of the demo farm is already completed, the aquaculture already ongoing, we have a lagoon that is also one of the centerpieces is already working and people can go there for fishing. It would be a really rich experience not just for children but for adults as well,” he said.

Aside from being a leisure destination, Mr. Lagdameo said the project aims to encourage the youth to get interested and involved in agriculture.

Agriya will also have residential and commercial components, and a University of the Philippines Professional School for Agriculture and Environment (UP PSAE).

The residential component, with 177 detached houses on lots ranging from 250 to 450 square meters, will start construction next year.

“It is a house and lot (package). The architecture being considered is a California Mission-style house. These are houses that you can see in Southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona. It’s not something that is commonly done yet,” he said. There will also be a “generous area” for parks and playgrounds, clubhouses, and swimming pools. “It would be very spacious,” he said.

For the UP PSAE land preparation is ongoing and construction is targeted to start next year.

The UP PSAE, which is seen to strengthen the agriculture sector, will also assist UP Mindanao in Davao City and other state universities and colleges in the Davao Region on the development of research and academic programs.

UP PSAE is a public-private partnership between UP Los Baños and Anflo Investment and Management Corp. (Anflocor), the mother firm of DLI. — Maya M. Padillo

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