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DOJ finalizes revisions of GCTA law, wants more control over BuCor

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday said it finalized the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Good Conduct and Time Allowance (GCTA) law and expressed its intention to exert more control over the Bureau of Customs (BuCor).

In a message to reporters on Friday, Justice undersecretary Markk L. Perete said its review committee, in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), finished revising the IRR of the GCTA Law. The revisions began after the public outcry against the alleged plan to release former Calauan Mayor Antonio L. Sanchez, a convicted murderer and rapist, last month.

“The Joint Review Committee has completed its work and submitted the draft IRR to the Secretaries of Justice and of the Interior and Local Government. Both will now review the draft IRR and decide on its promulgation,” he said.

More than 22,000 inmates have been released since 2014 under the GCTA law.

On the other hand, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said that there is a need to review Republic Act 10575, which establishes the powers of the BuCor (an attached agency of the DoJ).

“I am beginning to think that the law itself that supposedly strengthened the BuCor (and consequently diminished DOJ control over it) may have to be reviewed,” he said.

The DoJ said that it will continue its efforts to reform the BuCor under the limitations of the current law; this includes creating an oversight committee.

“DoJ can only exercise administrative supervision over the BuCor instead of control,” said Mr. Perete about RA 10575. — Gillian M. Cortez

Duterte won’t fire BuCor officials who acted in ‘good faith’

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte said he will not fire the officials of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) who have acted “in good faith” in implementing the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

He said only corrupt officials will be fired.

“Even if it was regular or allowed, corruption was there. Setting aside all the legal infirmities there, even if it was allowed, corruption was present. Sabihin ko na lang sa inyo and everybody will have to go. Alam nila ’yan,” the President said on Thursday night during the inauguration of a government center and business hub in Bataan.

He added: “If it is done in good faith, ’di kita anuhin. Pero kung sabihin mo na bayaran, that is another story. I will hit you, not because the law was in limbo, but because of corruption.”

BuCor data showed that 1,914 prisoners convicted of heinous crimes had been released for good conduct.

The rules on parole are now under review after irregularities came up during a Senate investigation.

President Duterte fired Nicanor E. Faeldon as BuCor head after he allowed the early release of the ineligible prisoners.

Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires suspended 30 officials in connection with the illegal release of ineligible prisoners. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Defense calls for improvements in infrastructure and services in West Philippine Sea

THE Department of National Defense (DND) called for the improvement of infrastructure and basic services for military troops and civilians posted in the West Philippine Sea, specifically in the disputed Kalayaan Group of Islands.

“We need to further upgrade the monitoring floating and air assets of the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources towards enhanced surveillance, reinforcement and other development capabilities in the country’s vast maritime range,” Defense undersecretary Cardozo M. Luna said in a forum.

Mr. Luna said that the country has the lowest funding for defense among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, “spending only 1% of its Gross Domestic Product on defense.”

“We hope that Congress finds wisdom to invest in more resources for our modernization efforts particularly at least 2% of our Gross Domestic Product towards developing the country’s defense posture,” Mr. Luna said.

The DND has sought the approval of its proposed P258-billion budget for 2020 from Congress.

Of the P183.3 billion proposed budget for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), P29 billion will be allocated to the Philippine Navy and P36.8 billion to the General Headquarters. The AFP modernization program has an allotted P25 billion from the General Headquarters budget.

Meanwhile, Jay L. Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, stressed the strategic importance of the country’s waterways as used by the United States military before.

“China, the rising power, sees this as a potential threat because it regards its national security frontiers vulnerable in the area of the sea, particularly in the South China Sea, its southern coast… and it so happens we are in those areas,” Mr. Batongbacal said.

In a national security perspective, Mr. Batongbacal said that Philippine waterways and trade routes also pose a threat to security due to the free mobility given to the international traffic under the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“How do you defend for example, Manila, when enemy ships can just reach up through the Visayan and Sulu seas,” he added.

Mr. Batongbacal said that under the UNCLOS, we are “supposed to guarantee access through these areas through the rights of innocent passage and the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage.”

As a developing country, he said that protecting the waterways also poses a greater challenge due to a lack of resources, despite the military modernization efforts. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

Government center and business hub opens in Bataan

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday inaugurated the Bataan Government Center and Business Hub, also known as “The Bunker.”

Bataan province is the first local government in the Philippines to house provincial and national offices in a single location, Malacañang said in a statement.

The Bunker, which was built through Public Private Partnership (PPP), will be home to government financial institutions and government agencies such as the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Veterans Bank, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Pag-Ibig Fund, Land Transportation Office (LTO), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Land Registration Authority (LRA), 1Bataan ITS, and Bataan Negosyo Center, the Palace said.

In his speech, Mr. Duterte said: “I hope that this Bunker that we are inaugurating today will serve its purpose in helping the people of Bataan face the rapidly evolving modern complexities and challenges of everyday life.”

“It is in this light that I acknowledge the government officials of Bataan for their inspiring vision to build this hub that will facilitate the convergence of government offices, national government agencies, and other service providers as they engage the general public,” he added.

The President also noted that he recently signed a measure expanding the territory of the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) to create more investment opportunities for the province. The new law extends the Bataan freeport’s territory to include the rest of Mariveles outside the former Bataan Economic Zone and its municipal waters, as well as the alienable and disposable public lands and municipal waters of the expansion areas.

“It is my hope that you will continue to partner with other stakeholders even as you maximize the opportunities afforded by this institution, including the delivery of quality and responsive government services to our people in line with the Ease of Doing Business Act of 2018,” he said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

DBP now in charge of fund disbursement and management of peace agency’s socio-economic projects

STATE-OWNED Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) partnered with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in fund disbursement and management.

According to a statement released on Friday, DBP’s Trust Banking Group is now in charge of disbursement management, fund acceptance and fund management for OPAPP’s socio-economic projects.

“We are absolutely on the same page with OPAPP in making sure that critical resources are tapped to work for the greater good, under the framework of a comprehensive peace process,” DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed, marking the official partnership between DBP and OPAPP.

Mr. Herbosa said the bank will continue to support social service programs and infrastructure projects in Mindanao.

Established in 1993, OPAPP oversees, coordinates, and integrates the government’s implementation of comprehensive peace process.

DBP’s assets stood at P667.91 billion in June, making it the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets.

The state-owned bank is largely meant to provide loans to infrastructure — including big-ticket items in the “Build, Build, Build” pipeline — and to assist small and medium enterprises, social services and community development, and the environmental sector.

“Consistent with the DBP and OPAPP mandates, this MoU augurs well for sustainable peace and the equitable development of Mindanao,” DBP Director Maria Lourdes A. Arcenas said in the statement. — Beatrice M. Laforga

PHL nickel miners hopeful of better ore prices

NICKEL miners in the country may expect improved prices for ore in the near term as Indonesia sets an exporting ban for the mineral next year.

Dante R. Bravo, president of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association, told reporters earlier this week the Indonesia export ban poses an opportunity for local miners, but noted the country may not be able to produce enough ore supply to meet the surge in demand.

“That’s exciting for the Philippine nickel industry, but we cannot definitely supply the gap that’s going to be left by the Indonesian ore ban,” he said.

“We’ll see. But as soon as the plans in Indonesia get operational…then we’re looking for basically three years of better prices for our ore,” he added.

Earlier this month, Indonesia released a decree ordering a nickel ore export ban starting Jan. 1, 2020, sooner than its previous target of implementing the ban in 2022.

A Reuters report said the advanced execution of the ban is aligned with the country’s intent of reserving ore for its growing smelting industries of nickel pig iron, stainless steel and electric vehicles battery nickel.

Mr. Bravo said with the doors open for new opportunities following Indonesia’s ore export ban, he hopes the Philippine government will soon lift Executive Order (EO) No. 79, which has been in place since 2012 to limit new mining permits until a new law is enacted.

“We hope by then we have the EO 79 already lifted so that we can also begin processing the mineral agreement and encourage investors to come in,” he said.

Mr. Bravo also said it is important for the cost of producing ore in the Philippines to stabilize to attract mining investors.

“You have to make it stable. Let’s say for the next two years… the price would really stay at that level. Whenever we go into value adding processing, there’s confidence in the investor that they can recover back their investment the soonest time possible,” he said.

He also flagged Administrative Order 2018-19 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which limits areas where miners can conduct operations.

“We are limited by the mining area that the DENR set and things like that. We are limited also by the weather. So there are a number of factors,” Mr. Bravo said when asked about the expected boost in production for local miners by 2020. “I’m not saying minimal. But we’ll see.” — Denise A. Valdez with Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Gov’t approves additional P1B for rice farmers’ loan program

THE Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has approved an additional P1 billion for the Survival and Recovery Assistance Program (SURE Aid), expanding its assistance to 70,000 farmers affected by the plunging price of palay, or unmilled rice.

“Today, we approved additional P 1 billion to support the same program… so mayroon na tayong [we already have a] total amount of P2.5 billion… para mapondihan itong [to fund] SURE Aid loan assistance program for rice farmers” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said during a press conference on Friday.

The P1 billion will be on top of the initial P1.5 billion allotted for the on-going program, which was launched Sept. 2. Under the loan assistance program, rice farmers who applied for a loan will be given P15,000, with 0% and payable in eight years.

“That is not enough. It can only accommodate 100,000 farmers out of the 600,000 farmers that we have… In effect, we will now be able to give to almost 170,000 farmers,” Mr. Dar explained.

Furthermore, the Landbank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) also approved a P10-billion loan assistance for local government units (LGU) for their procurement of palay from farmers, needed facilities, and marketing efforts.

“We are launching the new program, which is the Palay Alay sa Magsasaka ng Lalawigan which will provide a program fund of about P10 billion to all LGUs for the purchase, acquisition of palay from the small farmers,” Emellie V. Tamayo, first vice president of the lending program management group of LANDBANK, said.

The new program will be applying the new buying price of palay, which is at P19 per kilo.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has been asking provincial offices to help in the procurement of palay from farmers. It earlier announced that 30 LGUs have already committed to procure, process, and market palay.

Meanwhile, the ACPC also approved a P60-million loan assistance for hog raisers affected by the first outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country.

“Naglaan kami ng [We allotted] P60 million as livelihood assistance to those affected by the African Swine Fever…. They can buy any inputs they want for their livelihood activities, so hindi lang baboy, pwede rin silang bumili ng manok basta pangkabuhayan [it’s not just hogs, they can also buy poultry as long as it’s for livelihood),” Mr. Dar explained.

Each affected hog farmer in Rizal and Bulacan will receive P30,000 loan, with 0% interest and three years to pay.

This is aside from the P82.5 million given to the Bureau of Animal Industry on Sept. 10, which will be used for different plans and programs to ensure that the country is protected from the further spread of the disease and for information campaign.

On Sept. 9, the DA confirmed the first outbreak of ASF in the country, specifically in areas in Rizal and Bulacan. Mr. Dar assured that these areas are now clear of ASF according to the tests conducted by the DA in the area.

On Thursday, there were reports that dead pigs were found in Marikina River in Marikina City and a creek in Bagong Silang, Quezon City. About 40 pigs were found in Marikina City, while three were found in Quezon City.

Mr. Dar said that dead pigs are being collected and buried. Investigation is also on-going as to where these came from, but he said they is a high possibility that these came from affected hog raisers in Rizal, since there were those who acted on their own instead of reporting the deaths.

He urged affected hog raisers to report possible outbreak of the ASF in their farms and to immediately implement safeguard measures, preventing the spread of the disease. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Phoenix inks offtake deal with Hengyi

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines, Inc. is teaming up with Singapore-based Hengyi Industries International Pte. Ltd. (HYII) for a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) offtake venture in Brunei.

In a statement issued Friday, Phoenix Petroleum said its wholly owned unit PNX Petroleum Singapore Pte. Ltd has signed an agreement that will allow the company to offtake from the future production of HYII’s refinery. The offtake agreement will start within the year.

This is in line with Phoenix Petroleum’s recent acquisition of PNX Conqueror, its first pressurized LPG carrier with 2.5 kilotonnes (kT) capacity, along with a long-term carter of Chelse, a large pressurized vessel with 4.6kT capacity.

Hengyi Industries is the trading arm of privately-run Chinese firm Hengyi Group that will start operating a refinery-petrochemical project in Brunei this year.

Phoenix Petroleum expects the venture to help improve the country’s overall supply situation since it only takes a day to deliver supply from Brunei. This also gives the firm more options for its petroleum sources, which are usually taken from China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Middle East, among others.

“As we continue to expand the brand internationally and establish strong connections with complementary businesses from neighboring countries, we are relentless in forging ties with companies like HYII to be able to provide quality products and services to more and more communities,” Phoenix Petroleum Chief Operating Officer Henry Albert R. Fadullon said in a statement.

“We are optimistic and excited about the future of this project as it opens new opportunities and possibilities for growth and progress for both companies and countries.”

Phoenix Petroleum has been beefing up its LPG operations since the start of the year. Its unit PNX Energy International Holdings Pte. Ltd has recently set up Phoenix Vietnam Pte. Ltd for its presence in the Vietnam LPG market.

The company has also initiated marketing efforts succh as the launch of the “Sarap Pala Magluto” nationwide campaign for Phoenix Super LPG, alongside the opening of Phoenix Super Hubs in different parts of the country.

Phoenix Petroleum’s net income attributable to the parent went down seven percent to P903.94 million in the first half of 2019, due to higher costs and expenses. This followed a 27% increase in gross revenues to P51.2 billion. — Arra B. Francia

SEC greenlights Now Corp equity restructuring

NOW Corp. said it has erased its deficit of P402 million after it received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to undergo equity restructuring.

In a series of disclosures to the stock exchange Friday, the Velarde-led firm said the corporate regulator has given the go-ahead to decrease its authorized capital stock and par value per share through the reduction of its surplus of P455 million.

The par value of the company’s common shares has been reduced to 70 centavos from P1 previously, decreasing its authorized capital stock to P1.44 billion from P2.12 billion, which will be divided into 2.06 billion common shares.

“The company’s equity restructuring will enable it to eliminate accumulated deficit, strengthen its financial position and to allow it to declare dividends to shareholders from its unrestricted retained earnings that will be generated subsequent to the equity restructuring,” it said.

Aside from the wiping out of its P402-million deficit, Now Corp. also has a pending application with the SEC to convert the outstanding advances of its shareholders amounting P264 million into equity.

“…the conversion of advances to equity, once approved, will improve the Company’s debt-to-equity ratio from 0.70:1 to 0.37:1. Post debt-to-equity, equity will account for 73% of total assets as compared to 59% prior to equity conversion,” it said in a statement.

These efforts are meant to help the company raise funds for its capital expenditures as it expands its fixed wireless broadband business. Now Corp. said it needs a strong balance sheet to support its core business in the near term.

“Foundations for organic and fundamental growth are now being put in place in order for Now to excel in the industry as the fixed wireless internet provider of choice,” Now Corp. Chief Operating Officer Rodolfo P. Pantoja was quoted as saying.

“We are banking on these changes as we strengthen further our financial health as we institute and excel in service excellence to our clients.”

The company is planning to extend the reach of its broadband business beyond Metro Manila as it said there is a growing demand for its services in “underserved or unserved areas.”

“Wireless solution is superior to fiber cable-based infrastructure in terms of ease, time and cost to deploy. And continuing advances in the field of wireless technology allows the company to offer world class broadband service that match the quality of its fiber based competitors,” it said. — Denise A. Valdez

Ayala to re-issue up to P15B in preferred shares

AYALA Corp. (AC) plans to re-issue up to P15 billion worth of preferred class B shares, it told the stock exchange Friday.

The listed conglomerate said in a disclosure that its board of directors has ratified the resolution of its Finance Committee for the re-issuance of the preferred class B shares. This consists of a base of P10 billion, with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion.

“The terms of the re-issuance of the preferred class B shares will be disclosed in due course,” the company said.

The plan followed AC’s redemption of Class B Series 2 Preferred shares that will take effect on Nov. 5, or the fifth anniversary from the issuance of the securities.

The shares will be redeemed at P500 each, plus accrued and unpaid dividends at a rate of 5.575% per annum until the redemption date.

AC said the redemption will decrease the number of foreign shareholders of its preferred shares.

AC’s net income attributable to the parent surged 105% to P37.84 billion in the first half of 2019, mainly from the sale of its equity investments in the energy and education businesses. Gross revenues meanwhile went up two percent to P137.51 billion.

Shares in AC dropped 0.11% or P1 to close at P908 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

BSP to move currency production facility to New Clark City

TARLAC — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will be transferring its currency production facility to New Clark City (NCC) as part of efforts to boost production of notes and in line with its continuity plan for operations in case of natural disasters.

Under the central bank’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the new BSP Security Plant Complex (SPC) will be erected on a 29.22-hectare land area within the NCC—National Government Administrative Center (NGAC).

The said facility will be located near the access road that links NCC to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). Currently, the BSP SPC is in East Avenue, Quezon City. The BSP said operations of the SPC will be transferred to the new facility once fully completed, with the Quezon City property to be closed or sold afterwards.

“The BSP follows a stringent set of criteria in selecting locations for its facilities. These standards — which encompass everything from lot configuration, site conditions, to infrastructural support — are intended to ensure that the BSP’s operation are optimally located,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said during the MoU signing on Friday.

As per the MoU, offices of the BSP and its attached agencies to be built in NCC-NGAC will be consistent with the Phase 1 development of the NCC within the four-year timeframe from 2019 to 2022.

“I think all the paperworks should be done before the end of the year. So pwede na kami mag-umpisa ng construction first week of 2020. (So we can start the construction by the first week of 2020),” Mr. Diokno told reporters during the event. However, the BSP chief refused to disclose the budget for the facility as it is still in the works.

The BSP governor said that the new facility will boost the central bank’s ability to produce bank notes and to refrain from outsourcing.

“Right now ang capacity ‘nung plant sa Quezon City (the capacity of the plant in Quezon City) is P3 billion [bank notes] but the requirement is something like P5 billion. So ‘pag natapos itong bagong facility (so when this new facility is built), we won’t need to outsource requirements,” he explained.

ACCESSIBILITY
In total, the NGAC will house 60 hectares of government infrastructure. Meanwhile, 100 hectares will be for Filinvest. Some portions will also be developed into leisure facilities, according to BCDA President and CEO Vivencio B. Dizon.

He added that the master plan of the NCC includes the “necessary facilities needed not just to work here [there], but also to live,” with Mr. Dizon saying the most important of which are transportation and connectivity.

“These new roads are built to make this area more accessible. It’s important to know that distance-wise, we are only 15 kilometers away from Clark International Airport and the Clark Freeport Zone and we are only 10 kilometers away from the Subic Clark Expressway,” he said.

He addedthat the upcoming Manila-to-Clark railway will be beneficial to BSP employees who will be assigned in the new facility.

“Yung pinapagawa po ni [Transportation] Secretary [Arthur P.] Tugade…na Manila-to-Clark railway, magkakaroon po ng istasyon (The Manila to Clark railway will have a nearby station)…. It’s only about 300 meters from where the BSP facility will be,” Mr. Dizon continued.

Phase 1A also includes the sports complex which will be used for the Southeast Asian Games, a residence for government employees and a river park.

NCC’s first phase is the development of a 200-hectare NGAC which will house backup offices of government agencies including the BSP, among others, as a continuity plan in cases of disasters or natural calamities.

The development is one of the flagship initiatives of the Duterte administration’s “Build Build Build” program. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

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