The Daily News
WE TELL IT LIKE IT IS
Phil. Copyright 2002
WEATHERFORECAST
Vol. 16 No. 35 February 26, 2015
METRO MANILA 22°C to 33°C
CEBU 23°C to 29°C
DAVAO 22°C to 32°C
The Nation
Pres. Aquino warns on diluting BBL
Business groups back Aquino
government
Smartmatic, Indra disqualified from
supply bid
Corona arraigned for tax cases
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s
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Senate joint power resolution gets
approval
Foreign businessmen worried over bills
banning mining in some areas
DOF pushes measure on property
valuation
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Corporate Briefs
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Japan (yen)
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UK (pound)
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1 Peso in
Currency
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PESO–DOLLAR RATE
30 trading days to February 25, 2015
Manila Electric Co. is looking for
partners for its coal projects
Roxas & Co. Inc. to raise P2.5Bn this
year from share sale
Subsidiary of International Container
Terminal Services, Inc. forms JV with 3
companies
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Currency
in US$1
US (dollar)
The Economy and Business

Currency
in Peso
COUNTRY
Open: P 44.200
43.50
Close: P 44.120
44.00
High: P 44.115
44.50
Low:
45.00
W.A.: P 44.168
45.50
Vol.:
PSE COMPOSITE INDEX
30 trading days to February 25, 2015
Open: 7,853.17
7900
7700
7500
7300
7100
6900
6700
6500
6300
P 44.240
1,061.00 Mn
High:
7,862.91
Low:
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Close: 7,844.06
Index: 7,844.06
Vol.:
3.803 Bn
Val.:
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Disclaimer: The articles in this Daily News have been culled from various media sources. We cannot, therefore, vouch for the accuracy of what is reported.
For more information on the WBF, you can call 810-96-06 to 09, or visit our website at www.wallacebusinessforum.com.
1
The Nation Pres. Aquino warns on diluting BBL
As the Mamasapano incident continues to bedevil the peace process with Muslim rebels, President Aquino has
issued marching orders to his allies in the House of Representatives: pass the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL) without “diluting it too much.” Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the 75-member ad hoc
committee deliberating on the BBL, said Aquino gave the order during his meeting with House leaders and allies
at Malacañang on Monday. The President had called the meeting supposedly to explain his role in the
Mamasapano bloodbath. Both the House and the Senate said they hope to pass the BBL – with some changes –
in June. The lawmaker, however, said it was understood that any unconstitutional provision in the BBL would
have to be excised. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had made clear it wanted no changes in the BBL.
The committee suspended deliberations on the BBL amid public outrage over the killing of 44 Special Action
Force commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.
Business groups back Aquino government
Seven business groups reaffirmed their support for the Aquino administration and the Bangsamoro peace
process in the wake of the Mamasapano incident. In an open letter titled “A time for sobriety, courage and
unity” issued on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the people power revolt, the groups expressed
sympathy with those who died in the clashes in Maguindanao a month ago – elite police forces, Muslim rebels
as well as civilians. The letter was signed by the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Foundation, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Makati
Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Mindanao Business Council and Philippine Business
for Social Progress. The groups, also rejected calls for all-out war in Mindanao by “certain sectors and political
players” who have branded Muslim Filipinos as terrorists and demanded President Aquino’s resignation. The
groups credited the Aquino government with restoring integrity and good governance, thus earning the respect
of not only the business community but international investors as well.
Smartmatic, Indra disqualified from supply bid
The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Commission on Elections yesterday disqualified Smartmatic-Total
Information Management Corp. and Indra Sistemas S.A. from the bidding for the supply of new voting machines
for the 2016 polls. According to BAC chair Helen Flores, the 2 bidders offered “non responsive financial
proposals” for the lease contracts for direct recording electronic and optical mark reader machines during
yesterday’s 2nd stage of bidding. The 2 companies were given 3 days to submit their motions for
reconsideration. Ms. Flores said the financial proposal submitted by Smartmatic-TIM does not contain certain
items in the summary of financial proposal, prompting the majority of the BAC members to disqualify the joint
venture firm. The bid offer of Indra, on the other hand, was found to have exceeded the approved budget for
the OMR machines which is P2.5 billion.
Corona arraigned for tax cases
After almost 2 years and at least 6 suspensions, impeached chief justice Renato Corona was finally arraigned
yesterday on 6 of the 12 counts of tax evasion charges filed against him by the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR). Mr. Corona, accompanied by his wife Cristina and a team of defense lawyers, refused to enter a plea
before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) 2nd Division, prompting the court to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The former chief justice was supposed to be arraigned on all of the 12 counts against him, but his lawyers have
filed an urgent motion pointing at deficiencies in the case filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The defense
team said a previous DOJ resolution prohibits the filing of charges for violating Sections 254 and 255 of the Tax
Code if it contains similar information. Section 254 involves attempting to evade or defeat the payment of
taxes, while Section 255 imposes penalties on failure to file or supply correct information in income tax returns.
Corona was charged for violating both provisions of the Tax Code for the years 2003 to 2005, 2007, 2008 and
2010. Defense lawyers argued that Mr. Corona should not be facing charges for supposedly violating both
provisions of the law.
The Economy & Business Senate joint power resolution gets approval
The Senate measure to address reduced electricity supplies in the coming months has been approved on 2nd
reading, closing the period of individual amendments on the proposed law. Incurring no opposition from the 16
senators present in the plenary session, Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 was approved, indicating that the
current version will likely be the 1 presented in the bicameral conference with lawmakers from the House of
Representatives on Monday. Senator Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee on energy,
introduced the text amendments to the proposed law. Amendments were a mixed of grammatical corrections
and modification of the roles tasked to the different stakeholders in the measure. Senate Joint Resolution No.
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12 contains the same measure on the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) previously approved in the counterpart
measure of the House of Representatives. Under the ILP, companies with their own power capacities will be
asked to supply their own electricity to ease demand on the grid during peak hours.
Foreign businessmen worried over bills banning mining in some areas
Foreign businessmen have raised concerns over bills seeking to ban mining in certain areas, citing that such are
not consistent with the Mining Act. In a letter dated Feb. 16 to Senator Loren Legarda, who chairs the
Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) expressed reservations on
pending bills designating certain areas as mining-free. These bills are House Bill (HB) 45 – Cagayan de Oro City,
HB 670 – Catanduanes, HB 3667 – Nueva Vizcaya, HB 3780 – Eastern Samar, HB 4363 – Second District of
Sorsogon, HB 5260 – Nueva Ecija, HB 5261 – Biliran, and HB 5262 – Davao City, which are currently under
deliberation by the committee. “The JFC recommends that the Philippine Mining Act be respected and
implemented evenly throughout the nation. It is our position that the proposed ban on mining in certain
provinces and cities under the various HBs are inconsistent with Republic Act (RA) 7942,” it said. The foreign
business group noted that mining could be promoted as a viable industry under existing constitutional and legal
structures which could create jobs, empower communities and enable sustainable ecological and economic
development. RA 7942 or the Mining Act, the groups noted, was enacted to promote the development of the
industry by providing significant social and environmental safety nets.
DOF pushes measure on property valuation
The Department of Finance is lobbying for the passage of a legislative measure that seeks to establish a fair
and uniform real property valuation system and raise as much as P17.6 billion in additional tax annually.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the passage of the Valuation Reform Bill is expected to provide an
additional P5.88 billion to P17.6 billion in local property tax yearly. The Valuation Reform Bill is seen to improve
the valuation system in the country to ensure that real property contributes fairly to local and national
revenues, Sec. Purisima added. He noted that while the country witnessed a tremendous real estate boom in
the past several years, majority of the provinces and cities continued to use an outdated real estate valuation
system in collecting their real property tax, thereby failing to capitalize on soaring real estate prices. “Even the
collection efficiency is so dismal that the 10-year national average is only 57% and has never gone beyond 70%
of aggregate LGU collectibles,” Sec. Purisima said.
Corporate Briefs
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, is looking for partners for its coal
projects in the pipeline…the company has lined up 3 coal projects with a total generating capacity of 2,255
megawatts. These are the 455-MW coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon; a 600-MW coal-fired power plant
in Subic and the 1,200-MW coal power plant in Atimonan, Quezon…Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said for
the Atimonan project, the company might take in a foreign partner…Roxas & Co. Inc. (RCI), the investment
holding company of the Roxas Group, intends to raise as much as P2.5 billion this year from a share sale to
beef up its real estate business while additional funds are also being eyed to support the expansion of its sugarrelated business…during the firm’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, RCI chairman Pedro Roxas said the
company is investing at least P1.5 billion to strengthen its property portfolio in its 2015 fiscal year ending
September…a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has formed a joint
venture with 3 other logistics companies to build and operate a terminal in Laguna seen as an extension of its
flagship port in Manila…in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Razon-led company said that its
subsidiary IW Cargo Handlers, Inc. has forged a joint venture with Nippon Container Terminals Co. Ltd.,
Transnational Diversified Corp., and NYK- Fil-Japan Shipping Corp. for the establishment and formation of
Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal, Inc…ICTSI said the 1-stop inland container terminal in Calamba,
Laguna will start its operations on March 2.
Word‐for‐Word
Malaya Editorial says:
FILIPINOS taught the world about the real power of democracy 29 years ago, driving out an authoritarian
government that sought to supplant the people’s will with its own.
It was a resplendent juncture in history, one that influenced subsequent libertarian struggles in other countries
and regimes over the years.
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A full generation down the road, the significance of the 1986 People Power Revolution, it appears, has been
somewhat watered-down in the consciousness of the younger crowd which meets each succeeding year of
observance with reactions ranging from tolerant bemusement to ill-controlled annoyance at being
inconvenienced by the resulting traffic.
More than the passage of time, it was the repeated attempts by some to duplicate the same mobilization for
much less noble intentions that dimmed its memories and replaced it by a wariness for a concocted mob rule.
As the millions who marched on the streets and forced battle tanks to retreat grow old and let go of their
recollection of that golden moment, those who will show up at future celebrations marking February 25 will
grow sparse and disenchanted.
No matter.
It does not need millions to rekindle that same fervor when a new challenge comes and the time is ripe for
another generation to step up.
The meaning of that brief spell in our history has already been etched indelibly in the minds of our leaders and
those that will come after them.
Its lessons will always serve as an inspiration for those who value democracy and as a warning to those who
harbor hopes of subverting the popular will.
Still, for the children’s sake, parents and educators would do well to traverse the highlights of those few days
when Filipinos from all walks of life stood their ground against threats of overwhelming force and unity won the
day.
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