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n Expressing gratitude to their sponsors? HK protesters raising the colors. AP PHOTO
HK destabilizer NED is same outfit funding antiDuterte media
T
HE N a tional Endowment for Democracy (NED), a CIA-linked outfit, has been helping the opposition groups in Hong Kong that have been leading the massive demonstrations there in the past week, according to several accounts critical of the protest movement.
RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO
äTiglaoA5
A double-edged sword
I
T started with Noynoy Aquino creating a Truth Commission ordered to go after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and what were alleged to have been her corrupt deals. The Supreme Court nipped the attempt in the bud and declared the maneuver a violation of the equal protection clause; in plain language — a witch-hunt!
FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO
äAquinoA5
PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 Health Secretary Francisco
Duque 3rd takes a jab at a mosquito mascot in Camp Aguinaldo. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ
Duque declares dengue epidemic T
BY DEMPSEY REYES
HE Department of Health (DoH) has declared a national dengue epidemic amid the soaring number of dengue cases nationwide that have claimed at least 622 lives.
What’s inside PALACE: NO DEPLOYMENT BAN ON OFWS TO HK YET
NewsA2
THE SMALL RICE FARMER IS A DEAD MAN WALKING Marlen RonquilloA4
ANNE CURTIS — STILL SEXY TO THE CORE
EntertainmentD4
TNT TARGETS 2-0 VS BEERMEN
SportsC1
Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd, however, did not recommend the use of Dengvaxia, the only vaccine available for the mosquitoborne disease. Duque said the Health department recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January
to July 20 this year, 98 percent higher than the cases listed in the same period last year. Based on the DoH’s Dengue Surveillance Report, Western Visayas had the most number of cases — 23,330. It was followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna,
äEpidemicA2
PRESIDENT APPROVES P4.1-T 2020 BUDGET PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Palace spokesman Salvador
Panelo said Duterte, together with members of the Cabinet, approved the budget during Monday’s meeting in Malacañang.
äBudgetA8
Medialdea files another libel complaint vs Tulfo EXECUTIVE Secretary Salvador Medialdea filed another libel complaint against Special Envoy for Public Diplomacy to China Ramon Tulfo on Tuesday at the Manila Prosecutor’s Office. The complaint was for two counts of libel and cyberlibel in connection with the publication of two columns in The Manila Times. The paper’s president and several editors were also impleaded as respondents. The libel complaint arose from Tulfo’s July
äLibelA2
It’s time: Duterte to raise arbitral ruling with Xi PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will finally “invoke” the historic arbitral ruling that asserted the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine (South China) Sea when he goes to Beijing this month, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Tuesday. Panelo said Duterte would raise the ruling in a “one-on-one dialogue” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “That is pursuant to what he said the first time we visited China that there will be a time that I will raise this issue and talk about it but not now. The time has come,” Panelo said during a news briefing.
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n Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. PHOTO BY DJ DIOSINA
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PH inflation eases to 2.4% in July T BY ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES
HE Philippines’ headline inflation further decelerated to 2.4 percent in July, its lowest in more than two and a half years, on the back of lower prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks. In a briefing on Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said last month’s rate was slower than the 2.7 percent recorded in June and the 5.7 percent registered in July 2018. The latest figure — the lowest since December 2016’s 2.2 percent — falls within the 2.0- to 2.8-percent range earlier projected by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the 2.2- to 2.6-percent range forecast of analysts surveyed by The Manila Times on Monday. National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa called food items and non-alcohol drinks — which recorded a 1.9-percent rate — as the “main driver in the down-
n A customer inspects apples at the stall in Quinta Market in Quiapo, Manila, on Tuesday, the day the Philippine Statistics Authority announced that headline inflation eased to 2.4 percent last month. PHOTO BY ENRIQUE AGCAOILI
ward trend of inflation in July 2019.” Food groups that contributed to the downtrend were rice (-2.9 percent in July from -1.7 percent in June); corn (-3.0 percent from -4.0 percent); oils and fats (2.5 percent from 2.9 percent); vegetables (3.4 percent from 9.5 percent); and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery (-1.4 percent from 2.2 percent). “For rice, this is the third month this year that a negative rate has been recorded. [Prices at this month last year] were really high, so we are [really expecting] negative inflation,” Mapa said. The slower annual increases in
äInflation B4
PH factory output dips BSP seen cutting rates by 25bps Dar eyes 3-4% for 7th straight month growth in agri sector THE country’s manufacturing output, both in volume and value, declined for the seventh consecutive month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. Results of the latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries showed that the volume of production index (VoPI) contracted by 10.5 percent in June from last year’s 9.8-percent expansion. It was also worse than May’s 9.9-percent decline. PSA blamed the contraction on annual decreases in 11 major industry groups, led by petroleum products (-69.3 percent), furniture and fixtures (-40.5), and basic metals (-18.3). Other groups that recorded declines were electrical machinery, machinery except electrical, food manufacturing, non-metallic mineral products, tobacco products, textiles, miscellaneous manufactures, and leather products. The value of production index (VaPI), meanwhile, dropped by 9.6 percent, reversing the 10.9-percent expansion in June last year and worse than the 9.1-percent contraction in May. “The decline of VaPi in June 2019 can be attributed to the decreases in the indices or three major industry groups led by petroleum products (-69.9 percent), basic metals (-23.0 percent), and leather products (-20.0 percent). The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said efforts to improve the business
environment should be increased up to improve the country’s manufacturing sector. “We need to instill a sense of urgency in government to implement economic reforms,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in a statement. “Manufacturing output [is likely to] remain muted in the near term as business and consumer outlook for the third quarter of 2019 turned less upbeat,” he added. Production, the NEDA chief said, could be stifled as the seasonal slack in domestic demand and business activities during the rainy season limits overall manufacturing growth. “Moving forward, domestic demand expansion is needed to support the growth of manufacturing, especially given the slowdown in global demand” he added. “The now-markedly slower inflation rate, which is back to [within the] government’s target range, bodes well for producers of manufactured goods,” he added, referring to the 2.4-percent consumer prime growth rate recorded for July, which falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2.0to 2.8-percent range. According to Pernia, the significant reduction in the intensity of the El Niño weather phenomenon will also soften the risk to the supply of raw materials for the food manufacturing subsector. As of end-July, only nine prov-
äOutput B4
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is likely to resume its monetary policy easing on Thursday following the release of July inflation data and the scheduled release of Philippine economic growth data for the second quarter that day, according to economists. In a comment on Tuesday, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa expressed the belief that “we will see at least a 25bps (basis points) rate cut, (with the door open for 50bps).” HSBC economist Noelan Arbis also expects a 25bp reduction and an additional 25bp cut by yearend. “[R]educing real interest rates and further easing domestic li-
quidity constraints would be beneficial to supporting growth,” he said. Nomura Securities Ltd. economist Euben Paracuelles shared the view, and said he expected the second 25bp reduction by September, “justified by falling inflation, which should also influence inflation expectations.” For his part, Union Bank of the Philippines senior economist Ruben Asuncion said the Aboitiz-led lender “sees a big window” for the rate cut on Thursday. In a message, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the July inflation rate and second-quarter economic growth, as well as “a
host of other developments locally and abroad, will be considered as the MB (Monetary Board) deliberates on the appropriate policy stance on August 8.” Their comments come after the Philippine Statistics Authority announced on Tuesday that the country’s headline inflation further eased to 2.4 percent last month from 2.7 percent in June and 5.7 percent in July 2018. The latest figure falls within the BSP’s projection of between 2.0 percent and 2.8 percent. Above-target inflation prompted the Bangko Sentral’s policymaking MB to hike key interest rates five
äRates B4
DoF: Govt gave away P1.12T to firms THE government has posted an estimated P1.12 trillion of foregone revenues in tax perks awarded to select companies from 2015 to 2017, the Department of Finance (DoF) revealed on Tuesday. In a statement, the DoF said that such foregone revenues include income tax incentives, tax incentives on customs duties and tax incentives on import value added tax given away to 3,150 companies for the three-year period. In a breakdown, it noted that about P301.2 billion in incentives was granted in 2015, P380.7 billion in 2016, and P441.1 billion in 2017. Among the investment promotions agencies that granted incentives to registered enterprises, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority gave away the lion’s
n Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua. DoF PHOTO share of tax incentives worth about P879.1 billion, or about 78 percent of the three-year total, the DoF added. “This is a truly massive amount,” Finance Undersecretary Karl Kend-
rick Chua said, pointing out that every peso given away in tax incentives is a peso that could have gone to constructing roads, classrooms or health centers, or to hiring more teachers, doctors and nurses. “The government could have implemented so many programs and projects with P1.12 trillion that was given away to companies,” he added. While acknowledging that these incentives had also benefitted the country in the form of job creation and investments in the domestic economy, Chua stressed that the government “cannot keep giving away tax incentives indiscriminately and indefinitely, especially if the amount keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.” That said, he cited President
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M
also its high; fell to a low of P2.83 and closed the session at P2.85.
Ownership profile
holder. It directly owns 462,417,595 common shares, or 67.79 percent. RGC Investment Corp., an affiliate, directly holds 324,000 common shares, or 0.04 percent. The company’s POR listed RGHC’s nine-person board as direct holders of 3,442,585 common shares, or 0.47 percent. Geronimo F. Velasco Jr. is the company’s top stockholder with direct ownership of 2,904,010 RGHC common shares, or 0.02 percent. Of the nine RGHC directors, two directly held a nominal common share each, namely Corazon S. De La PazBernardo and Celso P. Vivas. On Aug. 5, 2019, Republic Glass opened trading at P2.86, which was
A general information sheet (GIS) as of June 14, 2019 showed Filipinos subscribed to 1,432,967,078 common shares of 4 billion authorized capital stock (ACS) with par value of P1 per share of Vulcan Industrial & Mining Corp. (VICMC). Foreigners subscribed to and paid for 17,032,922 common shares. Of the Filipinos’ subscription to 1,432,967,078 VICMC common shares, 948,225,019 common shares were paid. National Book Store Inc. is Vulcan’s top stockholder with total ownership of 850 million common shares, or 58.621 percent. As the principal stockholder, National Book Store’s Vulcan total ownership of 859 million common shares also includes 363,944,338 common shares that it indirectly owned.
äSector B4
What’s inside
Gervel is short for Geronimo Velasco ETROPOLITAN Management Corp. (MMC) bought common shares in Republic Glass Holdings Corp. (RGHC) on July 2, 2019, July 12, 2019, July 24, 2019, July 25, 2019 and July 26, 2019 in five trades at different prices. The acquisition of 126,000 RGHC common shares increased its direct holdings in the company to 51,869,800 common shares from 51,743,800 common shares. A public ownership report (POR) as of June 30, 2019 named MMC under “others” as holder of 51,743,800 RGHC common shares, or 7.58 percent of 682,065,632 outstanding common shares. Aside from direct ownership of 50,069,800 RGHC common shares, MMC also indirectly owned 1.674 million RGHC common shares. Republic Glass attributed the ownership of 164,137,652 common shares, or 24.06 percent, to its public stockholders, according to the POR. The same POR listed Gervel Inc. as RGHC’s principal or substantial stock-
THE Philippines should post at least 3- to 4-percent growth in the agriculture sector in the next three years as part of efforts to attain food security in the country, according to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) new chief. In a briefing in Quezon City on Tuesday, Acting Agriculture Secretary William Dar told reporters that “[o]ur target should be [more than 2 percent].” “Let’s say [that,] in the next three years, we should be aiming [for] 3 [to] 4 percent,” he said. The official, a renowned agriculture export who is also a columnist of The Manila Times, also said he would push for programs focusing on increasing the productivity, competitveness and profitability of farmers and fishermen. Doing so, he added, would enable the DA to ensure food security as the country’s population continues to grow. “If our population growth rate is up to 1.8 percent, [then] we must [raise the agriculture growth rate higher] than that, so that there will be a slight allowance or that we will be assured of enough food,” Dar said. In the last decade, the agriculture growth rate averaged 1.1 percent. Last year, the sector grew by only 0.56 percent, missing the 4-percent target the department set under the term of Dar’s predecessor, Emmanuel Piñol. Dar said his department would advocate for programs anchored on the “new thinking” for agriculture, as it envisions a
PCD Nominee Corp. held 547,032,101 common shares, or 37.647 percent of 1.45 billion issued and outstanding Vulcan common shares, for Filipino beneficial stockholders, according to the GIS. According to a public ownership report (POR), Vulcan attributed to the public stockholders the ownership of 584,741,704 common shares, which, as of June 30, 2019, represent 40.33 percent of issued and outstanding common shares. On Aug. 5, 2019, Vulcan opened trading at P1.24, which was the stock’s session high, dropped to a low of P1.20 and closed at P1.21. It peaked at a month’s high of P1.68 and a month’s low of P1.20.
Stockholders Anscor Consolidated Corp. (ACC) increased its holdings by 1,982,300 common shares in A. Soriano Corp.
äPerez B4
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