IMF trims PH growth outlook
»Story on B1
HH
Php20.00
•• 5 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 283 28
FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2019
Trusted since 1898
R w w w.manilatimes.net
Legal woes hound Skyway 3 project BY BEN KRITZ
S
STREET DANCING
Second of two parts
Students perform during the Indakan sa Daan (street dancing) to mark the feast of St. Anne in Taguig City. The thanksgiving festival centers on St. Anne who, according to folk legend, saved farmers who lost all their crops in 1587 by leading them to a river that was teeming with fish. PHOTO BY RENE DILAN
HORTLY after the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project was launched, it encountered a number of obstacles that threw its ambitious construction timeline in disarray and caused costs to soar.
Entry of foreign terrorists being verified – DND
äTerroristsA2
äTermsA2
What’s inside ‘BIKOY’WANTS TO BE STATE WITNESS – PNP NewsA2 CA FREEZES KAPA ASSETS NewsA8
W
E see both good news and bad news in the confirmation by the Philippine National Police (PNP) of the report by the Indonesian police that an Indonesian couple carried out the bombing of a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, in January this year.
(FULL EDITORIAL ON PAGE A4)
TNT TAKES ON GIN KINGS IN SEMIS OPENER
SportsC1
äWPSA8
THE House of Representatives’ Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 1, seeking a longer term for congressmen and other local officials and shortening the six-year term of senators, would require an amendment to the Constitution, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said. The senator said a mere resolution could not amend the 1987 Charter. Cagayan de Oro City Second District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez filed HCR 1, which, among others, proposes
DEPARTMENT of National Defense [DND] chief Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday said he received “substantial” information about the presence of 100 foreign terrorists in Mindanao, but their exact whereabouts or their nationalities have yet to be determined. A report from a source indicated that there were “new arrivals” of foreign jihadists in the country, particularly in Mindanao. Of the 100 foreign extremists, 45 are
FOREIGN TERRORIST THREAT SHOULD BE NEUTRALIZED, CRUSHED
THE Philippine government does not recognize China’s claim that it has legal possession of areas in the disputed South China (West Philippine) Sea, a Palace official said on Thursday. The disclaimer came after Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Malacañang’s statement that China had “legal and constructive possession” of the West Philippine Sea would impair the Philippines’ position in its maritime dispute with China. Malacañang spokesman Salvador Panelo acknowledged that China had “positional advantage” because of its military facilities in several disputed territories. “As far as they are concerned, it’s theirs. It’s theirs. Bakit ba hindi natin
Drilon bucks proposal to extend terms
äSkywayA2
E D I TO R I A L
Palace: China does not own WPS
GABBI GARCIA GETS NEW SOAP IN PLACE OF ‘ROSANG AGIMAT’
EntertainmentD1
2 in 5 Pinoys say lives improved – SWS survey ABOUT 2 in 5 Filipinos claimed that their lives were better compared to a year ago, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. The poll, conducted from June 22 to 26, found that 36 percent of the 1,200 respondents in the survey said their lives improved (gainers) over the past 12 months, while 22 percent said their lives worsened (losers), for a net gainers score of +13, classified as “very high.” This, however, was 4 points lower than the +17 score recorded in March. Net gainers fell in Luzon and Mindanao and among all classes of society, according to the SWS. The decline in the national net gainers score was caused bty the decreases in Metro Manila (from +21 in March to
äImprovedA8
BENTLEY PHILIPPINES CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF BRITISH CRAFTSMANSHIP
Bentley Philippines recently celebrated the British marque’s centenary, marking a heritage of crafting the finest luxury vehicles in its class. For its 100th anniversary, Bentley Philippines had a special luncheon at the British ambassador’s residence. Shown in photo with the Bentley Bentayga are Her Majesty’s Ambassador Daniel Pruce (left) and Bentley Philippines head Benedicto Coyiuto. CONTRIBUTED 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
Please visit our website for more news www.manilatimes.net
ASIAN STOCKS: s
s
PSEi
P53.49 TO $1
7,451.37 UP 0.94%
www.manilatimes.net
Shanghai 0.48%
S i n g a p o re 0 . 3 8 %
t
Seoul 0.38%
s
To k yo 0 . 2 2 %
s
Jakarta 0.26%
s
FINEX FILES
H o n g Ko n g 0 . 2 5 %
s
t
FRIDAY JULY 26, 2019
Business Times
CURRENCY RATE
B1
B2
B a n g ko k 0 . 3 2 %
IMF trims PH growth outlook BY ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES
T
HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded the Philippines’ economic growth forecast for this year and next because of weak external demand and the delayed approval of this year’s national budget.
In an emailed statement, Yongzheng Yang, the Washington-based financial institution’s resident representative to the Philippines, said economic growth was likely to hit 6.0 percent in 2019 and 6.3 percent in 2020, trimmed from the IMF’s previous estimates of 6.5 percent
and 6.6 percent, respectively. The revised figures are similar to the Asian Development Bank’s current projection of 6.2 percent for this year and 6.4 percent for next year; the World Bank’s 6.4 percent for 2019 and 6.5 percent for 2020; and the Asean+3 Macroeconomic
äWorkers B3
BY RALPH EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA
BEARER OF BAD NEWS
Nissan Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa speaks during a news conference at the automaker’s global headquarters in Yokohama, west of Tokyo, on Thursday. Nissan says it will cut 12,500 jobs or about 9 percent of its global workforce in an effort to reduce costs and achieve a turnaround, as its profits tumble. AP PHOTO See story on B4
»
Bourse rises anew ahead of US-China trade talks A day after it slid out of the bull territory, the stock market clawed back into it on Thursday as investors again took heart from the resumption of trade talks between the two largest economies in the world. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.36 percent or 110.69 points to close at 8,272.18, while the wider All Shares grew by 0.76 percent or 37.60 points to finish at 4,993.84. According to Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan, investors resorted to bargain-hunting ahead of next week’s trade talks between the United States and China, where Washington trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer will lead a delegation that will fly to China for a face-to-face meeting with their Chinese counterparts.
M
As a goodwill gesture, Beijing allowed companies to buy 3 million tons of soybeans from the US, free of the retaliatory tariffs that are the primary source of tensions between the two countries, which started last year when US President Donald Trump accused China of engaging in unfair trade practices. The imposition of these tariffs worth billions of dollars on each other’s goods have unnerved international markets and prompted prominent financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to cut global growth projections. Next week’s talks come after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to hold a trade truce and resume negotiations during the Group of 20 meeting
äTrade B2
Insiders’ advantage over public investors
A N I L A Wa t e r C o . (MWC) amended its general information sheet (GIS) to reflect “the appointment of 1) Maidy B. Quinto as group director for subsidiary operations; 2) Robert Michael N. Baffrey as acting group director for corporate project management; and 3) Evangeline M. Clemente as acting group director for strategic asset management.” In the same filing posted on the website of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), MWC said that as of the date of posting on July 23, 2019, it had an authorized capital stock (ACS)
consisting of two classes of shares - 31 billion common shares with par value of P1 per share, and 4 billion preferred shares with par value of P10 per share. Of Manila Water’s ACS, 940 Filipinos owned 1,268,506,794 common shares, or 20.92 percent, while three held 4 billion preferred shares. Only 16 foreigners owned 796,332,823 MWC common shares, or 13.13 percent, for total stockholders who owned 10,064,839,617 shares. In summarizing its GIS, Manila Water had
äPerez B3
What’s inside CALL TO PASS LAND USE ACT DECLINED
METROBANK INCOME HITS P13B IN JAN-JUNE
PERMANENT FUNDING PUSHED FOR P3 PROGRAM BusinessB2
LEGAL WOES DENT FACEBOOK PROFIT
»BusinessB2 »
and 7.5 percent. “The downward revisions mainly reflect weaker-than-expected external demand and…public investment, partly due to the delayed approval of the 2019 budget,” said Yang. A dispute between the Senate and
äGrowth B2
Palace: Duterte might veto bill ending ‘endo’
DoF: 10K TINs given to alien workers THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) already issued about 10,000 tax identification numbers (TINs) to foreign workers of offshore gaming operators, according to the Department of Finance (DoF). Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tiokno revealed the number in an interview on Tuesday night, telling reporters that the tax bureau had begun receiving TIN applications from alien employees of Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) firms after it issued notices to employers. The BIR had sent these notices that require employers involved in online gaming operations to pay withholding tax discrepancies amounting to about P4.4 billion to date. “Once they have TINs, then the employer can already withhold their income taxes,” Tionko said. She admitted, however, that because of some limitations, the tax
Research Office’s 6.3 percent and 6.5 percent for this year and next, respectively. All fall within the 6.0- to 7.0-percent downwardly revised 2019 growth target of the country’s economic managers. For 2020, the target is between 6.5
»Corporate NewsB3
»Foreign BusinessB4
MALACAÑANG on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte might consider vetoing Senate Bill 1826, or the Security of Tenure (SoT) measure, after one of his economic managers suggested “tweaking” it, which also prompted responses from state agencies. One of them, the Department of Finance said the measure aimed at ending contractualization in the country — informally known as endo, or “end of contract” — must not affect the country’s competitiveness, while another — the Department of Trade and Industry — described the proposed law’s current form as all right. In a press briefing, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte was “always open to suggestion[s],” and “if he feels that signing the law will create [negative] effects [on] major players, he might consider vetoing it.” “But if he does not feel that way, he will sign that into law. That is how the President is,” he added. Panelo’s statements were in
response to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia saying on Wednesday that there was a “need for tweaking [the bill] to address some of [its] provisions.” The bill “should be something that will benefit not only employers, but also workers,” he stressed, because “if investments are deterred because of the SoT, then it’s not good for the workers.” According to Panelo, Duterte would veto the bill if he feels Pernia’s observations are good enough. He said the President might still turn it into a win-win situation for everyone involved. “The opposition of the business sector could be [appeased] with a compromise. So, if he will veto the bill, then a member of Congress can introduce another one with a win-win compromise solution.” he said. In a July 16 statement, various business chambers and industry groups urged Duterte to veto the measure, which will lapse into law if not signed by July 27. They called the bill “redundant, as there are previously approved
ä’Endo’ B3
Please visit our website for more news www.manilatimes.net