THE MANILA TIMES | AUGUST 19, 2019

Subsidies to GOCCs drop to P7B in June »Story on B1 HH

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MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2019

n Communist guru Sison living it up in The Netherlands.

(PHOTO FROM INDYBAY.ORG)

Lifestyles of the Left and famous, and their ‘princelings’

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Trusted since 1898

Without new law, no case vs Red recruiters

BY DIVINA NOVA BY JAIME JOY DELAPILAPIL CRUZ

MOTHER’S MILK

Breastfeeding moms gather at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Sunday to celebrate National Breastfeeding Awareness Month. Organized by Breastfeeding Pinays in coordination with the private sector and government and non-government organizations, the ‘Hakab Na!’ seeks to spread awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding. PHOTO BY ENRIQUE AGCAOILI

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OCIAL media was abuzz in the past several days, with netizens cheering on as Krizette Laureta Chu, an ordinary but very active and audacious blogger, take on — and shame — the leftist Bayan Muna leader Teodoro Casiño, a three-term party-list congressman, for threatening her with a libel suit.

RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO

First of three parts

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NLESS the antisubversion law is revived, the government cannot file charges against arguably progressive, if not radical, groups PECIAL EPORT that allegedly have been recruiting young men and women — mainly students — into the ranks of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). äRedA2

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Limits

UMAN progress has always b e e n about surpassing limits. In fact, in many ways, it seems to have consisted in eliminating altogether the concept of limit. When evolution reached that phase that the outstanding Jesuit scientist P. Teilhard de Chardin called “noogenesis” — the evolution of consciousness — it did seem like there was no stopping the reach of imagination and the sweep of the human intellect.

FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO

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POEA blacklists 23 Envoy saying OFWs in China foreign recruiters are spies ‘most preposterous’ THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has begun cleansing the overseas employment sector of misfits to protect the interest and welfare of Filipino workers seeking employment abroad.

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What’s inside HOUSE TO HOLD 2020 BUDGET HEARINGS EVEN ON FRIDAYS NewsA2

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday rebuked Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua for accusing Filipinos

working in China as spies, saying the allegation was “most preposterous.”

The ambassador’s remark came after Lorenzana flagged concerns

over the establishment of Chineseoperated Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) centers

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HK protests turn brazen, escalate

THE PH DENGUE EPIDEMIC AND ITS RISING GLOBAL RISKS Dan SteinbockA4

CATRIONA GRAY ASSURES EVERYBODY SHE’S OK

EntertainmentD1

DONAIRE KEEN TO MATCH PACQUIAO’S LONGEVITY SportsC1

HONG KONG: Pro-democracy activists in this city-state again n Protesters gather defied the warning of Beijing as they start converging in for a rally in Victoria Hong Kong’s strategic areas Sunday noon, the same time Park in Hong Kong in that similar mass movements have started in Canada, the latest opposition to Australia and the United States. a planned extradition Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the interlaw. Protesters are national finance hub into crisis and communist-ruled unfazed over Beijing’s mainland China has taken an increasingly hardline tone, reminder that the including labelling the more violent protester actions lessons of Tiananmen “terrorist-like.”

Square must not be Clashes have broken out between police and hardcore forgotten. protesters, but the movement has won few concessions AFP PHOTO

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What’s inside E-PAYMENT DEALINGS VIA NRPS ON THE RISE

»BusinessB2

BSP, JAPAN TO CREATE SME CREDIT DATABASE

»BusinessB2

DELISTING TO WEIGH ON TRAVELLERS INT’L SHARES

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Stock WatchB3

AEV UNIT SEES HIGHER REVENUES IN 2019

»Corporate NewsB4

SHARES OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEK

Sideway trading seen amid tensions THE stock market is expected to trade sideways this week and seek direction from foreign leads amid the US-China trade war and continued tensions in Hong Kong and Argentina.

Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said the bourse would be trading sideways “with a negative bias, depending on what happens

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DELOITTE ON THE DOT

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MONDAY AUGUST 19, 2019

Business Times

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Subsidies to GOCCs drop to P7B in June

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

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TATE subsidies to government-run companies fell to P7.04 billion in June, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

Seventeen government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) secured that amount, a 52.2-percent drop from P14.75 billion in the same

month last year.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for irrigation development and manage-

ment in the country, accounted for the bulk, or P4.61 billion, of that amount.

The National Food Authority (NFA) followed with P2.09 billion; Philippine Children’s Medical Center, P89 billion; and Philippine Heart Center, P74 billion.

Also receiving assistance in June were the Light Rail Transit Authority, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and

Freeport Authority, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health

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E-cigarette groups: No higher tax Xurpas’ market symbol GROUPS representing the electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) industry oppose the approval, on second reading, of a bill seeking higher excise taxes on heated tobacco and vape products.

In a statement over the weekend, the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association (Pecia) decried what it claimed as the “hastily” substituted version of House Bill 1026, which the House of Representatives passed on second reading on August 14.

The original version of the bill seeks to raise the rate of alcohol excise tax to 10 percent. However, the substitute measure expanded its scope to include higher taxes on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

“While an increasing number

of countries are adopting harm reduction in their national tobacco-control policy, our Congress wants to increase taxes on reduced-risk products that can help prevent smoking-related sickness and deaths in the country,” Pecia said.

According to the group, about 10 Filipinos die every hour due to smoking-related diseases.

Pecia also complained that Congress made no public consultation for the proposed legislation, where resources and studies could have been provided to help lawmakers understand the tobacco harm-reduction strategies being embraced by some countries.

“Pecia urges our legislators to consider the numerous independent studies supported

by reputable organizations and published in respected scientific journals that show e-cigarettes are a significantly less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes and are viable smoking cessation aids,” it said.

In a separate statement, Vapers PH said the substitute version of the bill “is inconsiderate and irresponsible that should be reviewed with proper public consultation.”

It also urged legislators to look at the experience of other countries that have adopted harm reduction in their national tobaccocontrol policy, which can serve as policy templates for the House.

“These proposed heavy sanctions on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco

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‘X’ not for the unknown D

AVID Moille emailed me on Aug. 15, 2019 regarding a publicly traded company. In his letter, he complains against Xurpas Inc. (X), which has 1,871,830,210 outstanding common shares, of which 1,797,700,660 are listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The company’s issued common shares total 1,934,925,852.

The PSE website listed 42.52 percent as Xurpas’ free-float level, referring to a public ownership report (POR) that shows the listed stock is both listed and traded. In its PSE posting, the percentage is equivalent to 795,738,871 common shares.

“I have regularly been trying to ask information about their 2018

audited financial statements and general information regarding their current state of business, but I have never received a reply,” Mr. Moille wrote.

Apparently, Mr. Moille could be preparing for the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, which he said will be held on Nov. 8, 2019.

“The person in charge of contacts with media and investors

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