How PSEi member stocks performed — October 1, 2019
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, October 1, 2019.
Padlocked POGO agrees to P1.3-B settlement to lift suspension
THE first offshore gaming firm to be shutdown over taxes owed to the government has agreed to pay a P1.3-billion settlement to resume operations, the Bureau of Internal Revenue said.
Great Empire Gaming and Amusement Corp. (GEGAC), a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO), made an initial payment on Monday to lift its suspension.
BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay told reporters that GEGAC paid an initial P250 million and was permitted to resume operations on condition that it will withhold taxes from employees and ensure they are registered with the tax authorities.
“I approved recommendation of POGO Task Force and BIR received payment of 250 million (on Sept. 30).” As such, GEGAC is “allowed to operate and required to update withholding tax payments and register employees,” Mr. Dulay said.
The company also agreed to issue post-dated checks covering the remaining amount, with the final payment due at the end of December, he said.
He said in a separate text message that he expects other non-compliant firms to voluntarily settle their arrears to avert similar shutdowns.
“We expect them to voluntarily comply (after) the Great Empire example. They should not wait to be closed,” he told BusinessWorld in a phone message in response to a question on more impending closures.
The order lifts the suspension of GEGAC offices in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Aseana in Parañaque City and in Quezon City, according to a memorandum signed by BIR Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel SD. Guballa.
On Sept. 25,the BIR POGO Task Force padlocked GEGAC’s offices, affecting an estimated 8,000 workers, due to its failure to register for value-added tax.
Mr. Guballa reported earlier that the government has collected P1.4 billion in withholding taxes from the industry, more than double the P579 million collected last year and compared with P175 million in 2017.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has said that the government foregoes revenue of about P2 billion a month for every 100,000 POGO workers left unregistered, which prevents the tax authorities from receiving withholding taxes remitted on their salaries. — Beatrice M. Laforga
Oil firms asked by DoE to explain Monday price rollback calculations
By Victor V. Saulon
Sub-Editor
THE Department of Energy (DoE) said it estimates that oil companies did not roll back fuel retail prices as much as they could have, and asked them to explain their price actions on Monday.
“Kailangan lang i-explain ng mga oil companies dahil magkaiba ‘yung computations ng DoE with them (The oil companies just need to explain because the DoE’s computations are different from theirs),” according to DoE Director for Energy Resources Development Rino E. Abad in a text message Tuesday.
On Monday, oil companies announced a price rollback of P1.45 per liter for gasoline, P0.60 for diesel, and P1.00 for kerosene. Ahead of their advisories, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines cut the prices of its gasoline and diesel products on Sunday by P1.55 and P0.50 per liter, respectively.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Abad said in a radio interview that based on DoE calculations, the price cut for gasoline should have been bigger by about P0.07 per liter; diesel prices should have been cut by an additional P0.16 per liter.
However, Mr. Abad said a new DoE computation indicates that gasoline price cuts should have been even larger.
“May updated amount na (There is an updated amount of) P0.14 for gasoline and P0.16 for diesel na kulang ang decrease ng (that is lacking in the price decrease of) oil companies compared to DoE estimate. But same computation (holds) for kerosene,” he said.
He said the oil companies should provide clarity on the basis for their deciding on a price reduction, and the difference in their and the DoE’s computations.
“Oct. 7 nakalagay (has been set),” he said, when asked about the deadline for oil companies to clarify their price movements.
On Monday, oil companies that sell liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also announced an increase in cooking gas prices by P4.50 per kilogram, and auto LPG by P2.50 per liter to reflect the international contract price of LPG.
In the radio interview, Mr. Abad described these increases as “justified.”
Oil companies adjust the prices of petroleum products weekly, and LPG products at the end of each month. The industry did not immediately respond when asked about the DoE director’s comment.
This week’s price adjustment comes after oil firms last week implemented a hefty increase in the price of gasoline, diesel and kerosene on supply fears brought about by the drone attack on major Saudi Arabian facilities.
The Sept. 14 attack on the Aramco oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais resulted in lost crude production of 5.7 million barrels per day or nearly 60% of the country’s average production, the DoE has said. Saudi Arabia produced 9.8 million barrels per day in August, it added.
Last week, the domestic prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene rose by P2.35, P1.80 and P1.75 per liter, respectively, the biggest hike so far this year.
Year-to-date adjustments amount to a net increase of P6.41 per liter for gasoline, P5.22 per liter for diesel, and P2.76 per liter for kerosene.
Sugar liberalization resisted as industry cites rice farmers’ plight
SENATE Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said he will oppose the liberalization of sugar imports, citing the impact of rice tariffication, the policy cited as a potential model for the commodity.
“We’ve seen the impact of the Rice Tariffication Law. There is no (denying) that it has affected our farmers. And so, they are trying to figure out what to do nowkasi nangangapa pa rin sila (everyone is still adjusting to what has happened in the rice industry). We don’t want this to happen to the sugar industry,” he told reporters.
“I will fight against the liberalization of sugar industry for the precise reasons that it will kill 5 million people directly and indirectly and it will affect provinces nationwide,” he added.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) approves import permits and determines how much can be imported for the current crop year, based on assessments of domestic production. Imports are charged a 5% tariff.
In 2018, the SRA approved imports of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar in August, and another 150,000 metric tons of raw and refined sugar in October. This was implemented to address projections of low raw sugar production in crop year (CY) 2018-2019, which at 2.073 million MT was lower than the revised target of 2.079 million MT and the initial target of 2.25 million MT.
Asked to comment, SRA Administrator Hermenegildo R. Serafica said the agency has yet to discuss the issue.
“I do not want to pre-empt kung ano ang decision ng (the decision of the) Sugar Board. We have yet to meet on this issue… we will discuss this matter soon,” he told BusinessWorld.
The Department of Finance (DoF) on Sept. 27 formally proposed import liberalization for the sugar industry, along the lines of policies adopted for the rice industry. It noted that removing restrictions on imports would allow for transparency, competitive pricing, and allow downstream industries to grow as fast as their ASEAN counterparts.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III signaled in July that the government is taking a close look at sugar imports because domestic prices are double the world market price, hindering the competitiveness of the food processing industry.
The Confederation of Sugar Producers (CONFED) has said that liberalizing imports would damage government efforts to develop the sugar industry.
“To be faced with liberalized importation at this point will lead to the demise of the sugar industry and will undermine all efforts of the Duterte administration to help the industry,” Raymond V. Montinola, spokesperson of CONFED said in a statement.
“Malaysia and Indonesia (strictly regulate) the entry of imported sugar to ensure that it does not compete and kill their own local sugar industries,” Mr. Montinola added. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
DPWH role in road management to grow after Road Board absorption
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to take over the functions of the defunct Road Board in six months, giving it a bigger role in road management.
According to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11239, the law that abolished the Road Board which President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed in March, the turnover of functions and funds of the Road Board to the DPWH must be made within a six-month period from the law’s effectivity.
The IRR was published in a newspaper bulletin on Tuesday and will take effect after 15 days.
“Any and all allocations obligated before the abolition of the Road Board shall be utilized by the said agency to settle all its obligation… The DPWH will ask the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funding to cover the expenses incurred during this period of transition,” according to the IRR.
The Road Board — originally consisting of the secretaries of the Public Works, Budget, Finance and Transportation departments, together with three representatives from the private sector — was first organized in the early 2000s through RA 8794, the law that imposed the collection of a motor vehicle user’s charge (MVUC).
The MVUC was meant to fund road maintenance, drainage, signalling devices, safety systems and vehicle-related pollution control measures. The money is held in four trust funds overseen by the National Treasury: the Special Road Support Fund, Special Local Road Fund, Special Road Safety Fund and Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund.
With the abolition of the Road Board, the appropriations to be collected from RA 8794 are to be transferred to the DPWH, and monitored by a Congressional Oversight Committee composed of five members each from the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“The Secretary of DPWH, through a Department Order, shall provide the necessary guidelines for vetting and evaluation process of projects,” it said.
Projects that the Road Board previously approved but were not funded by the DBM will now be subject to an evaluation by the DPWH. The DPWH is also required to propose to the DBM changes in organization and staffing after it absorbs the Road Board’s responsibilities. — Denise A. Valdez
Budget forwarded to Senate amid House claims it is ‘pork-free’
THE House of Representatives on Tuesday transmitted the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 to the Senate ahead of the a month-long break beginning Oct. 4, with senior legislators claiming that the spending plan is “pork-free” and invited the Senate to “see for themselves.”
“Again and again, we contend that it is a pork-free budget as we strictly confined ourselves to the decision of the Supreme Court which declared the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) unconstitutional and prohibited the post-enactment identification of projects,” Deputy Speaker Neptali M. Gonzales II of Mandaluyong City said in a statement Tuesday.
“Now, the Senate can finally see for themselves.”
Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Finance Committee Chairman, confirmed the transmittal of the budget, adding that the Senate is set to work on the committee report over the break. Congress will resume session on Nov. 4.
“Our finance subcommittees are completing the hearings on the proposed budgets of the last few agencies,” Mr. Angara said in a separate statement, Tuesday.
“During the break, we will be consolidating all of the submissions into the committee report and once we resume sessions, we will be ready to sponsor the bill in plenary.”
Based on the committee’s schedule, as of Sept. 30, the remaining budget hearings will cover the Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, among others.
“The Senate will work overtime to approve this most important piece of legislation so that the measure will be with the President for signing before the end of the year,” Mr. Angara also said.
The chambers hope to pass on the budget to the Office of the President in time for signing by Dec. 15.
The House on Sept. 20 approved the 2020 spending plan on second and third reading. The chamber skipped the three-day prescribed period in passing a measure, after President Rodrigo R. Duterte certified the bill as urgent.
Legislators are hoping to avoid a repeat of the delay in the enactment of the 2019 national budget after months-long impasse between the House and the Department of Budget and Management and later with the Senate over alleged “insertions” made after the spending plan was approved in bicameral session.
Mr. Duterte signed the 2019 budget on April 15 and vetoed some P95 billion worth of appropriations as “unconstitutional.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan
PCC to investigate rice industry for anti-competitive practices
THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it has been invited to investigate the rice industry and advise the Department of Agriculture (DA) in identifying anti-competitive behavior like price-fixing and cartel-like behavior.
The PCC and the DA signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) in Quezon City Tuesday covering “mutual advisory” assistance in any investigation of agricultural issues.
“The focus of our work is looking at the competition angle in the market. In effect, what we want to understand, in the case of rice, is what explains the behavior of the prices as we have seen this and whether one could attribute that to anti-competitive practices like cartel, abuse of dominant position, price fixing, and market allocation,” PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said during the MoA signing.
Mr. Balisacan said the PCC will look into all segments of the rice industry, including traders.
The farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, has been falling since the enactment of the Rice Tariffication Law earlier this year, which liberalized the rice import market but made importers pay a 35% tariff on their inbound shipments, a rate that applies to grain from Southeast Asia.
The larger volumes of imported rice on the market has softened demand for palay, making traders reluctant to buy and causing the prices offered by private traders to radically diverge from the support price offered by the National Food Authority (NFA) which is currently at P19 per kilogram.
Reports of traders offering to pay as little as P6 per kilo have mobilized government agencies to organize direct palay purchasing efforts in order to establish an effective floor for the market, paying “fair” prices to farmers with government money, in the absence of the private traders from the market.
“The Competition Commission is a quasi-judicial body. It has investigative powers. The Supreme Court just issued the rules on inspection that will allow us to secure the data, evidence that we need by way of dawn raids or search warrants, so we’ll obtain the evidence that will prove the case,” he told reports after the ceremony.
Under the MoA, information will be exchanged between the agencies on matters regarding competition in agriculture, as well as other forms of cooperation, including investigative and enforcement support, and the creation of fact-finding bodies.
Mr. Balisacan said the food sector is a priority area for the PCC this year and in 2020.
The MoA formalizes preliminary efforts at coordination between PCC and DA staff, which can now take place without the prior approval of Mr. Balisacan and Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar.
“We assure the public that your government is working and the instrumentalities of the government are being fully and properly pursued so that at the end of the day we shall be able to have the consuming public have the right prices in the market and at the same time the see to it that the farmers will also have respectable prices for their palay,” Mr. Dar said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
FDA not equipped to validate claims of sugar use in beverages
THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday that it does not have the technical capacity to determine whether beverages are sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which affects how beverages are taxed.
The FDA was testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, where Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing, the committee’s senior vice chair from Nueva Ecija’s first district, was looking into the FDA’s alleged failure to properly implement the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).
The excise tax took effect on Jan. 1, 2018 as part of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. TRAIN imposed a P12 per liter tax on beverages using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and a P6 per liter tax on beverages using local sugar.
“Pinapabayaan nila yung mga companies mag-register online and they don’t have the capability to check the item itself or the sugar-sweetened beverage itself na ma-check kung HFCS or local sugar. Kung local sugar ang ginagamit hindi sana magsa-suffer yung local sugar farmers natin na bumagsak yung industry (The FDA allows companies to register products online and they don’t have the capability to tell whether a product really uses sugar or HFCS. If drinks makers really used more sugar our farmers would not suffer and the industry would not collapse)” Ms. Suansing said.
The FDA’s Director for Food Regulation and Research Marilyn P. Pagayunan said that companies typically upload the ingredients of their products when they register online.
She said the FDA cannot independently determine the sweetener used in a given product.
“There is a need for FDA to purchase or procure more equipment for HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) tests,” she said. “Ayun po tina-try po namin magkaroon para ma-determine namin kung nagsisinungaling po yung mga manufacturers (We are trying to obtain such equipment to verify the manufacturers’ claims,” Ms. Pagayunan said.
She added, “The laboratory doing all the testing (has only one) HPLC machine, (and) there are lots of tests.”
According to the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Revenue Regulations No. 20-2018, the excise tax covers sweetened juice drinks; sweetened tea; all carbonated beverages; flavored water; energy and sports drinks; other powdered drinks not classified as milk, juice, tea, and coffee; cereal and grain beverages; and other non-alcoholic beverages that contain added sugar. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
Pag-IBIG Fund set to issue P9.6B worth of mortgages in Mindanao vs P85-B national goal
DAVAO CITY — Mindanao borrowers are expected to take up about P9.6 billion worth of mortgages out of the P85 billion target set for the Home Development Mutual Fund, a fund official said here last week.
“We are hoping to hit the target,” according to Fermin A. Sta. Teresa, senior vice-president for lending operations of the fund, better known as Pag-IBIG.
As of September, Pag-IBIG had lent P6 billion in Mindanao.
Mr. Sta. Teresa said he is confident of hitting the target as more organizations have accessed loans from the Fund, among them schools and local government units. Last year, the fund lent about P7 billion in Mindanao, or about 10% of the P73 billion in mortgages nationwide.
He added that Mindanao’s performance tends to depend on three major cities: Davao, General Santos and Cagayan de Oro. However, recently several other local government units (LGUs) and private employers have been active in accessing funds for their constituents, among them the towns in Zamboanga del Norte.
Last week, the Fund signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ateneo de Davao University and Realty Investments, Inc. to set up of a housing project for employees of the university.
Mr. Sta. Teresa added that there are similar initiatives with other schools in Mindanao, like the one with the Southern City Colleges in Zamboanga City.
“More employers (in Mindanao) are coming in (to become partners in providing housing for their employees). To me it is a partnership because there is the desire of employers to provide homes to their employees,” he added.
Meanwhile, the fund also recognized the best performing developers in Mindanao for the first semester of the year.
The top-performing developers were 8990 Housing Development Corp., the VCDU Realty Corp., Malate Construction and Development Corp., Johndorf Ventures Corp., Urbaneast Developments Inc., Prestige Homes and Realty Development Corp., Bria Homes, Inc., Gensan VSM Realty Corp., Primeland Properties, Inc., and Prima Casa Land and Houses, Inc.
It also recognized employers like the Bukidnon provincial government, the Cagayan de Oro City government, Mindanao State University, the Tagum Agricultural Development Co., T-Nalak Labor Service Cooperative and General Services Multi-Purpose Cooperative. — Carmelito Q. Francisco
TUCP party-list files security of tenure legislation as HB 4892
THE TRADE UNION Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Party-list said it has filed its version of the Security of Tenure bill, one of various versions of the legislation in play seeking to end the practice of contractualization after a previous bill passed by Congress was vetoed.
TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond C. Mendoza filed House Bill No. 4892 which if passed will be known as the Security of Tenure Act of 2019. It seeks to criminalize all forms of contractualization and ban all forms of fixed-term employment.
Contractualization, also known as “endo,” denies workers a pathway to permanent employment and benefits, typically by terminating employment before the 6-month deadline for achieving permanent status and forcing workers to sign up again also on a contract basis.
“The bill seeks to provide security of tenure to 9 million Filipino ‘endo’ workers who are being exploited today in a modern form of slave labor […] Endo workers experience not being paid the minimum wage, even as they go without social security, Philhealth and PAG-IBIG coverage. Further they are denied their Constitutional rights to organize and to bargain,” Mr. Mendoza said in a statement.
The measure aims to totally prohibit contracting, subcontracting, manpower agency hiring, and outsourcing, including those undertaken by so-called service cooperatives engaged in manpower supply.
“This Bill seeks to criminalize labor-only contracting which is already prohibited under our existing laws but is perpetually being circumvented to deprive workers of their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights to Security of Tenure,” according to the bill’s explanatory note.
Under the bill, all employees regardless of employment status or position cannot be dismissed without cause or due process.
The measure also provides that all employees, except those under probation, be considered regular including project-based and seasonal employees.
HB 4892 also prescribes fines of P50,000 to P5 million, and imprisonment of six months to one year for violators.
In his July 26 veto message to the Senate, President Rodrigo R. Duterte said that while he stands firm in his commitment to protect the workers’ right to security of tenure, the enrolled bill “unduly broadens” the scope of labor-only contracting, which is already banned by law. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
Japan nominee to head ADB helped design ODA fast track for major projects
FINANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said he supports Japan’s nominee to head the Asian Development Bank (ADB), adding that the proposed candidate is well-equipped to lead the bank in helping the region achieve inclusive growth.
Japan has nominated Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Masatsugu Asakawa as the next ADB president following his predecessor Takehiko Nakao’s resignation effective next year. Mr. Asakawa, according to Mr. Dominguez, helped design Japan’s policy for fast-tracking major projects backed by Japanese aid.
Mr. Dominguez said Mr. Asakawa, who is also the special advisor to the Minister of Finance, has extensive experience in international finance, development and taxation which will be a “valuable asset” for the bank.
His background will help the bank continue (to reinvent) itself and (pursue) new strategies to help the region achieve inclusive growth amid a global economic slowdown,” Mr. Dominguez said in a stat
Mr. Nakao, who took up his post in April 2013, announced in mid-September his decision to step down effective January.
Minister of State for Financial Services Taro Aso said in his letter to Mr. Dominguez that Mr. Asakawa was the “most qualified candidate” for the post.
“Special Advisor Asakawa helped set the stage for the ‘fast and sure’ approach we are adopting with Japan now in implementing the big-ticket infrastructure projects being funded with Japanese ODA,” Mr. Dominguez said, referring to official development assistance.
“As finance deputy for the G20 meetings held in Osaka, Special Advisor Asakawa was instrumental in crafting the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment and the G20 Shared Understanding on the Importance of UHC (Universal Health Care) Financing in Developing Countries,” according to the DoF statement. — Beatrice M. Laforga
The 2019 HCCH Judgments Convention and the enforcement of foreign judgments in the Philippines
In a global world where cross-border transactions are commonplace, disputes inevitably arise. Considering the difference in the substantive laws and procedures in different jurisdictions, the resolution of these disputes requires multilateral agreement and cooperation between and among states. Thus, one of the keys issues in this field of human enterprise is the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions. On this score, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) adopted on July 2, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters or the Judgments Convention. The Judgments Convention seeks “to promote effective access to justice for all and to facilitate rule-based multilateral trade and investment, and mobility, through judicial co-operation.” This is intended to fill in the gap in cross-border litigation, particularly the uncertainty of recognition and enforcement of a court decisions in another jurisdiction and seeks to serve as a mechanism similar to the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards which has been widely ratified by a number of states.
Uruguay was the first country to accede to the Judgments Convention. The Philippines, which participated in the discussions, have yet to accede to the Convention.
The Judgments Convention applies to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters in one contracting state of a judgment given by a court of another contracting state. It shall, however, not extend to revenue, customs, or administrative matters. It further excludes within its scope foreign judgments on status and legal capacity of natural persons, family law matters, wills and succession, insolvency, carriage of passengers and goods, defamation, privacy, intellectual property, and anti-trust matters, among others.
The Judgments Convention mainly provides that there shall be no review on the merits of the foreign judgments in the requested state. This is consistent with Philippine jurisprudence which already recognizes that “a Philippine court will not substitute its own interpretation of any provision of the law or rules of procedure of another country, nor review and pronounce its own judgment on the sufficiency of evidence presented before a competent court of another jurisdiction.” (Bank of the Philippine Islands Securities Corp. v. Guevara, G.R. No. 167052, March 11, 2015) This is also in accordance with the “policy of preclusion” or the policy in all legal systems to limit repetitive litigation on claims and issues. (Mijares v. Ranada, G.R. No. 139325, April 12, 2005)
The Judgments Convention also provides limited grounds for the refusal of recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment:
a. lack of notification to the parties sufficient to enable them to prepare their defense, or was made in a manner incompatible with the fundamental rules of the requested state concerning service of documents;
b. the judgment was obtained by fraud;
c. the recognition or enforcement of the judgment would be manifestly incompatible with the public policy of the requested state;
d. the proceedings in the court of origin were contrary to an agreement; or a designation in a trust instrument, under which the dispute was to be determined in court of a state other that the state of origin;
e. the judgment is inconsistent with a judgment given by a court of the requested state in a dispute between the same parties; or
f. the judgment is inconsistent with an earlier judgment given by a court of another state between the same parties on the same subject matter, provided that the earlier judgment fulfils the conditions necessary for its recognition in the requested state.
The foregoing grounds are similar to those provided under Section 48, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court with the exception of the ground that there is a clear mistake of fact and law in the foreign judgment sought to be enforced in the Philippines. This may be due to the fact that this ground has been used (or misused) to re-litigate the case in the Philippine courts which is inconsistent with the “no merit review” provision under the Judgments Convention.
However, in Soorajmull Nagarmull v. Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company, Inc., (G.R. No. L-22470, May 28, 1970), our Supreme Court refused recognition and enforcement of the foreign decisions as they were found to have been rendered upon a clear mistake of law. The Supreme Court did so on the basis that the foreign decisions make an innocent party suffer the consequences of the default or breach of contract committed by another party. This then begs the question as to whether this case would have been decided differently under the Judgments Convention, or is it possible to frame this under the public policy exception?
At any rate, as the Judgments Convention operates under the framework of mutual trust between and among states, it also provides an “objection mechanism” for a contracting state to notify the depositary of the Judgments Convention, which is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, that its accession shall not have the effect of establishing relationship with another contracting state. In other words, this allows a contracting state to choose which state’s judgments it does not want to be bound to recognize and enforce.
In the end, any matter raised for or against the accession to the Judgments Convention should be gauged in the light of its promise for greater recognition and enforcement of Philippine court decisions involving cross-border transactions in other jurisdictions. For now, we shall see what will happen next.
This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.
Reynold L. Orsua is a Senior Associate of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution (LDRD) of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW)
Tel. No. (02) 830-8000