Government moves to harmonize land-use policies

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Category: Top News

Published on Thursday, 28 February 2013 21:00

Written by Max V. de Leon / Reporter

The government has started tying up loose ends in the proposed National Land Use and Management Act, one of the programs in the Aquino administration’s reform agenda to sustain economic growth.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) assembled different stakeholders to a forum on Thursday to gather their inputs for the improvement of the existing bill.

“The output of this forum would be a set of recommendations to help operationalize the proposed Act to resolve conflicting issues. These recommendations will then be used by the PCSD to assist policy-makers, government agencies, NGOs, CSOs and other stakeholders for more informed decisions on land use and management in our country,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Neda Director General Arsenio Balisacan said.

The proposed Act, Balisacan said, aims to harmonize the existing conflicts in land use, such as agrarian reform, protected areas, ancestral domain, fisheries, forestry, agriculture, mining and settlements to enable the “proper use of our resources now and in the coming years.”

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The proposal has obtained the nod of the House of Representatives but failed to hurdle the Senate.

Balisacan said the passage of the bill would help the government overcome certain challenges that the country faces.

“Among these pressing challenges is the absence of a comprehensive national land-use policy, which could more effectively guide our efforts to promote and attain sustainable development for our country,” he said.

He noted that the present administration’s inclusive growth agenda goes hand in hand with its efforts to open up more opportunities for the poor and most vulnerable sectors of society toward sustainable development.

“As our nation moves forward to a higher growth trajectory, there must be a conscious effort to balance economic development and ecological integrity in order to ensure the sustainability of our resources, especially in light of climate change and the impact of recent typhoons on our communities,” Balisacan said.

By setting in place appropriate use of resources, particularly land and water, he said the damage by natural disasters to lives and property could be significantly reduced.

Those who attended the forum were among the country’s leading experts on land use, including urban, regional and environmental practitioners, Balisacan said.

Inclusion of ‘casino amendment’ in Amla a must when Congress reopens

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Category: Top News

Published on Saturday, 02 March 2013 19:18

Written by Lito U. Gagni

WHEN Congress resumes session after the midterm elections in May, the most important thrust of the administration would be to pass additional amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla) to ensure that the Philippines is not blacklisted.

Blacklisting of the Philippines by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based global body in charge of scrutinizing anti-money laundering measures, means that the country’s 10 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would have a hard time sending their remittances due to additional supporting documents they would need to furnish.

When the country was blacklisted 12 years ago, it was not only the OFWs who suffered. Businesses did, too, as countries either imposed sanctions in the form of stringent requirements or restrictive scrutiny of financial transactions from or to the Philippines.

The global effort to combat money laundering acquired traction with last year’s findings that HSBC bank affiliates all over the world allowed terrorists, drug cartels and criminals a portal into the US financial system. HSBC later paid $1.9 billion as penalty for letting itself be used in the money-laundering scheme.

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According to Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the next Congress would immediately set out to introduce the needed amendment to the Amla that was scrapped during the bicameral conference committee meeting: that of including casinos on the list of those to be subject to anti-money laundering scrutiny.

Guingona did not say why the casino amendment was scrapped but it was learned that it was on the instigation of a group which expressed fears that it would be inimical to the country’s tourism industry, which is just beginning to flourish.

It was also learned that the current “feverish efforts” to reinstate the casino amendment followed a visit here by a team from the FATF, which issued a veiled warning that all efforts of the government to escape the blacklist would be for naught if the casino amendment is not included.

“Our first act in the coming 16th Congress will be to introduce a fourth list of amendments to Amla to include casinos that were taken out from the Senate version at the bicameral conference level,” Guingona said. The inclusion of casinos was taken out when Republic Act 10365, the latest revision of the Amla, was enacted into law after a bicam deliberation.

Casino winnings are included on a watch list of the FATF, as these could come from illegitimate sources such as drugs, terrorist activities, corruption, bribery, etc. Criminals trying to hide the source of their wealth might resort to the casino winnings as a way to launder their money, and thereby escape prosecution.

Hedge funds are similarly watched, together with pension funds and even trust funds, as they could be made part of what the FATF term as a “money-laundering life cycle.”

Layering or moving the money to disguise its true origin, such as doing various transactions aimed at distancing the money from the original depositor, who is a drug syndicate leader or a member of a terrorist group or a business group that owns large sums of corruption-tainted money, is one such money-laundering measure that the FATF is guarding against.

Stock-market investments are also included on the watch list so much so that brokers are required to be extra vigilant in requiring their clients to disclose information. The brokers, like the banks, are also mandated to report suspicious transactions to avoid the sanctions from Amla.

One area of concern that the FATF is battling against is the integration of dirty money with clean money. Here the dirty money is mixed with legitimately sourced money and then placed in hedge funds, pension funds or trust funds.

The object of the integration is to hide the true source of the dirty money and after several steps, such as putting up a business, selling the same, and then resurfacing as an investor in a legitimate enterprise like a listed issue, then the money-laundering scheme is done.

With the integration and the layering, the laundering is completed and when anti-money laundering officials inquire into the wealth, then the paper trail on the buy-and-sell and investment route can be made as a legitimizing step.

(Photo by Alexandr Shebanov | Dreamstime.com)

PH economy primed for transition to stronger growth in 2014: bank

By Jessica S. Losorata

Friday, March 1, 2013

STANDARD Chartered Bank (SCB), the oldest international bank in the country, foresees 2013 as a year of transition for the global economy and an opportunity for the Philippines to take off.

In a recent economic briefing organized by Autowelt Inc. at the BMW Showroom in Lahug, Cebu City, SCB assistant vice president Harold Brian Loseo Tan presented the bank’s projection that 2013 is likely to be a year of transition to strong growth in 2014.

“US and Europe used to bring the world economy out and provided a footing for global growth but nowadays, China is a major player. At no other time in Asian history has emerging Asia, including the Philippines, become such a significant contributor to global economic growth. There’s a lot of growth potential for us, moving forward,” he said.

Tan credits the local growth to good governance, particularly transparency in accommodating foreign investments, and a strong peso.

A strong external position as a nation and continued foreign inflows also support the Philippine economy.

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Modest increase in spending

In his presentation, he discussed that although inflation pressures are likely to be muted, with an expected average of 3.9 percent this year from 3.2 percent in 2012, investments will boost imports this year.

The country can look forward to a modest increase in consumer spending and a gradual growth of government expenses. Tan also pointed out that the strength of a local economy is shown by its stock market and currency.

He pointed out that the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) last month breached the 6,000 level for the first time.

He also agreed with expectations that the peso will hit P39 to the US dollar within the year. Forecasting GDP growth of 5.8 percent for 2013 and 6.2 percent for 2014, the bank is confident the Philippine economy will boom this year buoyed by the increasing remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and Filipino investors, and with the country moving into manufacturing.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported last week buoyant business confidence for the country in the first quarter of 2013. The vibrant outlook is buoyed by expectations of election-related spending, the harvest season, graduation and enrollment periods, the expected rise in tourism during the summer, and business expansions.

Osmeña hopes to establish an F1 circuit in Cordova

By Elias O. Baquero and Jujemay G. Awit

Sunday, March 3, 2013

REP. Tomas Osmeña wants to put up a Formula 1 (F1) circuit, hotels and condominiums in Cordova, Cebu.

He admits he has not talked to municipal officials about this but he said he had shared the idea with some investors.

Osmeña is unfazed that his critics have dubbed the idea “crazy,” but he said his previous ideas have been validated.

He said his brainchild, the South Road Properties (SRP), has big locators—SM Prime Holdings Inc., Filinvest Land Inc., and Bigfoot Entertainment.

Bigfoot is only leasing a property while the two others have major, albeit, the only developments in the area.

Scrapped

His pronouncement to transfer the Mactan-Cebu International Airport to Cordova also met with criticisms, but he said the idea proved viable when established companies expressed interest in the project.

The first one to do so was SM Prime Holdings Inc., but the transfer is no longer possible because Malacañang decided to expand the existing terminal.

“I’m not happy about that. I don’t like the airport terminal to go through because of the expense,” said Osmeña, referring to the road rights-of-way that need to be purchased.

He believes lot owners will demand steep prices because of the necessity.

Now, the congressman wants to make Cebu a Mecca for fans of F1 racing.

“This could rival the Sinulog,” he said, explaining that Cordova can provide one of the longer racing courses in the world, if not the longest. A hotel and condominiums can be integrated into the F1 circuit.

Bigger picture

This F1 proposal will then make the Cordova Reclamation Project viable, he said.

Osmeña said he does not mind being labeled “crazy” for his big ideas. His father Don Sergio Osmeña Jr. was responsible for transferring the airport from Lahug to Mactan. Others had also called the move “crazy.”

Osmeña wants to develop Cordova because of its proximity to Cebu City.

He even floated the idea of making Cordova a third district of Cebu City.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy yesterday said that he is amenable to the town being home to an F1 circuit.

Sitoy said that if investors do come to Cordova in response to Osmeña’s proposal, he will welcome them with open arms and the only issue to be discussed is where they’ll put up their business.

According to the mayor, he would be happy if funding for the area development for the whole project will come from the National Government, Cebu Provincial Government or even the Cebu City Government.

Sitoy’s wish

On the other hand, Sitoy wished the airport will still be transferred to his town, and the F1 circuit will be built near it.

He said Cordova has a reclaimable area of 1,200 hectares that will connect to Shell Island. Although Shell Island is part of Cordova, it is only 520 meters from Cebu City.

“If there is a tunnel or a bridge from Cebu City to Cordvoa, it can be connected by a skyway to a proposed new airport along Pilipog River,” he said.

If the tunnel is built, this will solve the lingering traffic problem between the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue. It will also complement the future bridge between Cordova and Jetafe, Bohol, Sitoy said.

With the Jerafe-Cordova Bridge and the Cordova-Cebu City Tunnel, Cebu can buy fresh water from Bohol by installing a water pipeline beside the Inabanga River.

“Everyday, about 200,000 cubic meters of fresh water from that Inabanga River is flowing to the sea. We can buy it at a cheap rate once the bridge and the tunnel are there,” Sitoy said.

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