THE MANILA TIMES | AUGUST 20, 2019

DA: Biosecurity measures up amid rising hog deaths ÂťStory on B1 ++

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•• 7 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 308 36

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2019

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Palace rejects Cardema P

BY CATHERINE S. VALENTE

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is not inclined to help former National Youth Commission head Ronald Cardema in his feud with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), MalacaĂąang said on Monday. #ARDEMA WHO HAS BEEN DISQUALIkED as nominee of the Duterte Youth partylist, sought the help of the President IN HIS kGHT AGAINST #OMELEC #OMMISsioner Rowena Guanzon, whom he ACCUSED OF EXTORTION 0ALACE SPOKESMAN 3ALVADOR 0ANELO SAID $UTERTE WOULD NEVER INTERFERE IN #ARDEMA S CASE BECAUSE HE RESPECTS THE POLL BODY S INDEPENDENCE

Gina Lopez, environmental warrior, dies

g4HE CASE BETWEEN -R #ARDEMA AND Commissioner Guanzon is between the two of them,� Panelo said in a news CONFERENCE g7E ALWAYS RESPECT WHATEVER DECISION of the independent departments or BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT 7E LL NEVER GO AGAINST IT 4HE /FkCE OF THE 0RESIDENT MAKES SURE OF THAT u HE SAID

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Discontent, idealism fuel student activism

it should be WE L C O M E D as a sign of a THINKING STUDENT POPULATION Second of three parts -ARIELLE -ARCAIDA ASSISTANT PROFES345$%.4 ACTIVISM HAS ALARMED PARENTS SOR OF THE 5NIVERSITY OF THE 0HILIPPINES AND SOME GOVERNMENT OFkCIALS BECAUSE IT RAISES THE 2ED SPECTER BUT TO SOME EXPERTS

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BY DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ

SPECIALREPORT

UNPARALLELED SERVICE Former Energy secretary Regina Paz ‘Gina’ Lopez smiles during an interview in February 2017.

AFP PHOTO

BIR’s Dulay should be probed for corruption IN MY LINE OF SIGHT

RAMON T. TULFO

%.6)2/.-%.4!, ADVOCATE AND PHILANTHROPIST 2EGINA 0AZ g'INAu ,OPEZ SUCCUMBED TO MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE ON -ONDAY 3HE WAS ,OPEZ A FORMER %NVIRONMENT SECRETARY WAS THE CHAIRMAN OF !"3 #". &OUNDATION )NC !&) 3HE WAS THE SISTER OF !"3 #". #HAIRMAN %MERITUS 'ABBY ,OPEZ AND DAUGHTER OF g+APITANu %UGENIO ,OPEZ *R g'INA WAS THE PILLAR OF STRENGTH THAT PUSHED !&) TO ACHIEVE WHAT SEEMED TO BE IMPOSSIBLE (ER CARING HEART AND SELlESS KIND OF LOVE inspired people within and beyond the ORGANIZATION TO HELP AND SERVE OTHERS u !"3 #". SAID IN A STATEMENT “While we mourn with Gina’s FAMILY AND LOVED ONES WE ALSO PRAY THAT HER LEGACY CONTINUES TO LIVE ON IN THE HEART OF EVERY Kapamilya SHE HAD TOUCHED IN HER LIFETIME 7E WILL NEVER FORGET HER AND WILL CONTINUE TO HONOR HER REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTIONS NOT ONLY TO !"3 #".

BUT THE ENTIRE NATION 4HANK

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Martha Stewart tours Manila with Isko, Berna

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%/0,% ARE WONDERING WHY THE "UREAU OF )NTERNAL 2EVENUE ")2 IS MUM OR UNUSUALLY QUIET ABOUT THE VIDEO RECORDING THAT ) HAVE FEATURED IN THIS COLUMN AND ON MY &ACEBOOK ACCOUNT

BY IZA IGLESIAS AMERICA’S famed lifestyle expert, award-winning television host, entrepreneur and bestselling author Martha Stewart toured Manila with Mayor Francisco “Isko�

Domagoso and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat on Monday.

Manila City’s Public Information Office posted photos of the 78-year-old American celebrity having lunch with Moreno and Puyat at the National Museum of Natural History. Seasoned restaurateur and 2016 Asia’s Best Female Chef Margarita ForÊs designed the special menu, serving them a variety

ÂłIn my line of sightA5

What’s inside PAGCOR STOPS ACCEPTING POGO APPLICATIONS NewsA2

ÂłStewartA2

MARTHA IN MANILA Martha Stewart (right) visits the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila with Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat (center). Stewart, who has built a massive lifestyle empire, is in the country for a leadership speaking engagement. DoT PHOTO

REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

‘CSI’

PREMIERES TONIGHT! EntertainmentF1 MAYWEATHER DENIES PACQUIAO REMATCH RUMORS

SportsE1

IRRATIONAL SINOPHOBIA OR IRRATIONAL SINOPHILIA?

Antonio ContrerasA4

YOUTH SUMMIT

More than 13,000 students and youth leaders gathered at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Aug. 17, 2019 for the annual Global Youth Summit (GYS) organized by Global Peace Foundation and SM Cares. The youth summit is the country’s largest gathering of future leaders, who discussed with industry experts concrete actions on global issues that mattered to them. GYS supports the United Nations Youth Strategy for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

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ASIAN STOCKS: V S h a n g h a i 2 . 1 0 %

V S i n g a p o re 0 . 4 3 %

PSEi 7,938.35 UP 1.83%

P52.31 TO $1

What’s inside LIBERALLY EDUCATED BUSINESS LEADERS – MANAGING FOR SOCIETY

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DOE TO APPEAL ORDER VS FUEL UNBUNDLING

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LBC PROFIT PLUNGES

BY OVER HALF IN H1

ÂťCorporate NewsB3

TRAVELLERS INTERNATIONAL BEGINS TENDER OFFER Corporate NewsB3

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‘US, CHINA SEEK TO REVIVE TRADE TALKS’

ÂťForeign BusinessB4

www.manilatimes.net V Seoul 0.66%

V To k yo 0 . 7 1 %

V Jakarta 0.16%

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V H o n g Ko n g 2 . 1 7 %

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V B a n g ko k 0 . 3 6 %

DA: Biosecurity measures up amid rising hog deaths

BY EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

Q Agriculture Secretary William Dar speaks during a briefing at his department in Quezon City on Monday. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has set up a crisis management team tasked with enhancing biosecurity measures as it monitors suspected animal-disease outbreaks in the country following reports of more backyard pigs dying in some areas. )N A BRIEkNG IN 1UEZON #ITY ON -ONDAY

He refused, however, to identify the areas Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the affected to prevent creating a “false alarm� department’s Bureau of Animal Industry as the BAI waits for “solid, valid results.�

(BAI) received an August 16 report on the “We will not mention where, because the growing death rate of pigs raised by farmers containment and control of the suspected in their backyards. ÂłMeasures B2

PH posts $248-M BoP surplus last month

THE country’s balance of payments (BoP) reverted to a surplus in July, boosting the year-to-date tally to return to the P5-billion mark.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday July’s $248-million surplus was a reversal of the $404-million and $455-million shortfalls recorded in June and a year earlier. “Inflows in July 2019 were RElECTED IN THE "30 S FOREIGN EXchange operations and income from its investments abroad as well as in the national government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits,� the BSP said in a statement.

These inflows were partially offset by the government’s foreign exchange obligations.

The year-to-date tally rose to a $5.03-billion surplus from $4.78 billion in the first six months of 2019. It, however, erased the $3.71-billion shortfall in the same period last year.

The January-to-July tally remained higher than the BSP’s upwardly revised forecast of a $3.7-billion surplus for this year. “The surplus may be attribUTED PARTLY TO REMITTANCE INlOWS from overseas Filipinos during THE kRST HALF OF THE YEAR AND NET INlOWS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS DURING THE kRST kVE MONTHS of the year,� the BSP said.

Personal remittances reached $16.25 billion in January to June, up 2.9 percent from the $15.78 billion posted a year earlier.

Net foreign direct investments HIT BILLION IN THE kRST kVE months, down 37.1 percent from the amount in the same period in 2018.

The payments balance position

BEYOND BUZZWORDS

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TUESdAY AUGUST 20, 2019

Business Times

CURRENCY RATE

B1

‘PEZA contribution to economy bloated’Â

NEW VAN

Executives of Toyota Motor Philippines, led by President Satoru Suzuki (second from right) pose with the new Hiace Super Grandia during its launch in Makati City on Monday. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA See story on B3

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THE Department of Finance (DoF) has debunked the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) claim that it has contributed P10 trillion to the local economy from 2015 to 2017.

In a statement on Monday, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the investment promotions agency’s calculations “are wrong, and the result is that they’ve bloated their contributions.�

Beltran, who is also the DoF’s chief economist, said PEZA double counted by adding up the total of exports, investment, and capital equipment and raw materials, which are from the expenditure side; and wages and taxes, which are from the income side. “This is a no-no in basic accounting,� he said, noting that, “like GDP (gross domestic product), benefits can be measured

from either the expenditure or income side, but not both.�

Beltran said PEZA should “give the whole truth in making its claims.� “PEZA says that 70 percent of their supposed contribution, or about P7 trillion, to the economy is because of exports,� she said. “What they are hiding is that PEZA exports contain about 80-percent imported inputs, which don’t add value to the local economy,� he said.

Beltran said a proper accounting OF BENEkTS SHOULD SUBTRACT IMPORTS from total exports to arrive at net exports.

In some sectors, like electronics assembly, almost all the parts are imported and assembled in ecozones, creating very little domestic value-added, he added.

ÂłEconomy B2

PSEi recovers on last-minute buying Streamlining government LAST-MINUTE buying lifted the stock market to recover on Monday after ending in the loss for two consecutive trading days. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 1.83 percent or 142.37 points to close at 7,938.35, while the wider All Shares rose 1.18 percent or 56.07 points to finish at 4,797.21. “[T]he main index ends the day up 1.83 percent on last-minute buying. It had been flat prior to the close,� AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said.

PSEi was only up by 0.22 percent to 7,813.03 during noon market recess. It also traded as low as 7,765.15 during intraday trading. While the local bourse

showed recovery, Mangun said “market sentiment for equities remains very cautious,� noting that the surge might just be temporary. Papa Securities sales associate Gabriel Jose Perez, meanwhile, said the increase in net foreign buying buoyed the bourse. However, it still registered a net foreign selling of P183 million on Monday, he noted. Perez said net foreign inflows and US market movements “would likely tell the tale of the PSEi’s move as well,� urging investors to monitor these factors. He pegged the resistance level at 8,000. The Dow Jones, S&P 500

and Nasdaq were up by 1.20 percent, 1.44 percent and 1.67 percent respectively.

Asians markets all surged on Monday, with Hong Kong posting the highest gain at 2.11 percent.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Thailand and Singapore rose by 2.1 percent, 0.71 percent, 0.66 percent, 0.43 percent and 0.37 percent, respectively.

In Manila, all sectors ended in the green, with mining and oil leading at 2.72 percent. Volume turnover stood at 1.02 billion valued at P7.02 billion.

Advancers led decliners, 113-72, while 62 issues were unchanged.

TYRONE C. PIAD

I

F Congress can keep itself from being distracted by unproductive nonsense it could accomplish a great deal of progressive work during the current legislative session, including the creation of two new and very much needed government departments. If handled properly — which of course, is a perpetually uncertain prospect — they could go a long way toward establishing a framework for reducing government BLOAT AND IMPROVING EFkCIENCY The two proposed departments are the Department of Disaster Resilience and the Department of OFW Affairs, both of which would create larger umbrellas over their respective areas of concern, and both of which appear to be favored by Congress. The Department of Disaster Resilience, which we’ll refer to as the DDR, would gather the government’s

ROUGH TRADE BEN KRITZ disaster mitigation and relief programs under a single agency, while the Department of OFW Affairs, or DOA, would do the same for the management of overseas workers’ concerns.

The current policy and administration of both of these matters ARE A FRAGMENTED INEFkCIENT MESS Disaster management is handled

by National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), an ad hoc body comprising 39 members representing 28 different national departments and agencies, and representatives of local governments, civil society

ÂłKritz B4

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