A peek into Duterte Cabinet dynamics

FROM land conversion to mining to wages, the sundry issues that President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Cabinet men have debated have given a rare glimpse into divisions among top policy makers.

What would have been clear dissenting voice in Mr. Duterte’s team -- that of Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo -- has been muted with her breaking ranks on the eve of a Dec. 5 Cabinet meeting, but Mr. Duterte is still left with alter egos who see the world’s problems through a prism that -- as with Ms. Robredo -- may not mirror his.

And that’s not entirely bad, said Ma. Nieves R. Confesor, a labor chief of former president Fidel V. Ramos from 1992 to 1995.

“To have a very homogenous Cabinet would scare me. Why? Because you’re looking at just one angle,” Ms. Confesor, who was also chief peace negotiator under former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo -- now representative of Pampanga’s second legislative district, said in a Dec. 16 interview.

“The volatility of the world is not going to get less. So what you need are more eyes and a different thinking,” she added.

“That kind of a world will require a Cabinet that looks like what Duterte has now, together with Leni,... to handle the complexity. You need to keep also the dissenting voice all the time.”

With Mr. Duterte staffing top government posts with militants, socialists, an environment advocate, capitalists and economists, the question at the end of the day is whose voice prevails.

“One expresses his opinion and if the President agrees, then everybody toes the line,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, who said he did not miss a single Cabinet meeting since Mr. Duterte assumed office on June 30, told BusinessWorld.

‘FROM LEFT TO CENTER’
Environment Secretary Regina Paz “Gina” L. Lopez -- whose crackdown on illegal miners was viewed by critics as hurting potential investments -- found herself again addressing media queries as to how she can have her boss’s ear when her latest target involves a presidential appointee, special envoy to the US Jose E. B. Antonio.

The staunch environment advocate last week stopped a housing project at the La Mesa Watershed by a subsidiary of listed property developer Century Properties Group, Inc., whose founder is Mr. Antonio.

“You know what my experience with the President is? It’s that he really has his interest for the common good... Number two, he really doesn’t like corruption,” Ms. Lopez told a media briefing on Dec. 15.

“So it’s in these two aspects that we... have a resonance.”

Before that, local media had reported she and Finance Secretary Carlos “Sonny” G. Dominguez III clashed over mining policy. Mr. Dominguez is a childhood friend of the President and the latter’s major campaign donor who, before assuming the cabinet post, resigned from the board of Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc., an indirect shareholder in the Tampakan copper-gold mine project.

But the frictions have somewhat eased, Mr. Pernia said in a Dec. 15 interview at his office.

“Gina said she’s going to allow responsible mining, companies that follow the law meticulously,” recounts Mr. Pernia.

“In other words, Gina has somewhat moved from extreme left towards the center,” he said while asserting that Mr. Dominguez “has not been an advocate of mining.”

The environmental crackdown does not worry the chief economic manager either. “It’s not a terrible dampener to economic growth,” Mr. Pernia said.

‘NOT DO-OR-DIE ISSUES’
Ms. Lopez told BusinessWorld separately that she liked the fact that “Sonny wanted to sign the Paris agreement,” a United Nations-backed deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions; and that in reconciling differences, the President “is a unifying factor.”

BusinessWorld tried to get the side of Mr. Dominguez but he did not respond to calls and mobile phone messages.

The cabinet has 22 members. Nine of them -- including Ms. Lopez -- still await the nod of the Commission on Appointments.

While the voices were discordant, none was openly critical of Mr. Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign and his decision to give the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos a hero’s burial.

“These issues that have come out are not do-or-die issues. There are bigger things,” Ms. Confesor said, noting how some cabinet members who were former political detainees chose not to quit.

“You really have to be good at conflict management because you need to ensure that the conflict -- and conflict is healthy -- does not become unhealthy.”

But nine Cabinet meetings (by Mr. Pernia’s reckoning) since Mr. Duterte took over have left observers scratching their heads: the President’s men have not agreed on anything much but the war on illegal drugs.

They squabbled over converting agricultural lands into industrial parks, with the economic team shooting down militant group leader and now Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael V. Mariano’s proposal to wait for another two years to do so.

“We wrote a dissenting paper. We drafted the paper signed by Dominguez, [Budget Secretary Benjamin E.] Diokno, [Trade Secretary Ramon] Mon [M.] Lopez and Vice-President Robredo. Five of us signed it,” Mr. Pernia said.

“It was listened to, because they had to revise the EO [executive order].”

Minimum wage is also a sticky issue that has pitted left-leaning cabinet men against the technocrats and bureaucrats among their peers -- a tug-of-war between those with a penchant for populist measures and those who worry about fiscal health.

In September, Labor Undersecretary Joel B. Maglunsod, a former Anakpawis Partylist representative, backed calls for a P125 across-the-board wage hike; while at the Dec. 5 Cabinet meeting, Social Welfare Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo, an activist, pushed for higher Christmas cash gifts to casual employees. Both proposals were thumbed down.

“[Labor Secretary Silvestro H.] Bello agreed with us,” Mr. Pernia said, referring to the Cabinet discussion over the proposed P125 across-the-board pay increase that was to supplant region-specific daily minimum wage levels.

“We told him: This is bad, pare. This is going to set back our GDP growth rate, unemployment and poverty targets,” he added.

BMI Research, a unit of global ratings agency Fitch, had earlier this month flagged as a political risk the “wider discontent within Duterte’s Cabinet over his style of leadership” following the resignation of Ms. Robredo.

But that concern may be overblown, with the lack of other signs, so far, that Mr. Duterte’s team -- though asymmetrical -- is faltering.

“The three of us are solid: Dominguez, Diokno and myself,” said Mr. Pernia.

source:  Businessworld

SMC, MVP to invest P3 billion in Sulu–Piñol

San Miguel Corp.; PLDT Chairman, President and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan; and other big firms have committed to invest P3 billion in Sulu to bring peace and socioeconomic development to the province.

The commitment of big firms were contained in the Save Sulu project, which was presented by the Departments of Agriculture (DA) and Trade and Industry and non-governmental organization Go Negosyo Group to President Duterte in Malacañang on December 19.

The initiatives under the Save Sulu project include livelihood programs, mentorships, establishment of infrastructure and other rural facilities.

“This is in response to the President’s directive last September to come up with a poverty-alleviation program for Mindanao, particularly for Sulu,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a statement.

Piñol added that Philippine Airlines Chairman Lucio Tan, Bounty Fresh Group of Companies, W Group, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI) and Gawad Kalinga also threw their support behind the project.

“Alongside the campaign against terrorism, we should also have soft hands to help people from Sulu,” he added.

Piñol said companies under Pangilinan have committed to rehabilitate and upgrade Smart Communication facilities in Sulu, establish a coconut oil mill, and provide medical equipment and trainings to the health workers in the four Sulu hospitals.

He said San Miguel is planning to build a 50-megawatt coal fire power plant and to rebuild the Hajibuto School of Arts and Trade.

As for Philippine Airlines, Piñol said Tan committed to introduce commercial flights going directly to Sulu.

“The FFCCCI pledged to provide 15 school buildings or around 30 classrooms in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” he added.

Piñol also said the DA will allot P50 million under the Special Area for Agricultural Development to be used for various rural development program and foster inclusive growth. The DA will also distribute five farm tractors in the province.

The DA chief said these initiatives are in support of the Duterte administration’s goal of reducing poverty incidence in the country by at least 25 percent in three years.

source:  Business Mirror

China offers fund for Duterte’s war on drugs

CHINA has offered to provide about P25 billion worth of soft loans and another P720 million in grant for guns and equipment in support of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s controversial war against illegal drugs and to fight terrorism.

Secretary of National Defense Delfin N. Lorenzana told reporters yesterday that the President and Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai met on Monday night to talk about what else China can give to help address the problems faced by the Philippine government.

Mr. Lorenzana said they, in turn, asked what China can provide, and the Chinese ambassador gave a “100 million Yuan” figure, “which is equivalent to P720 million.”

Mr. Lorenzana quoted Mr. Tiankai as saying: “I know your problems in terrorism, I know your problems in drugs, so we would like to help you.”

This grant, which would likely be turned over by the second quarter next year, would be intended for the purchase of anti-terrorism paraphernalia such as small firearms, night vision goggles and faster boats, Mr. Lorenzana added.

The P25-billion long-term soft loan, meanwhile, would be made available should the government need more firearms and other equipment.

“Initially, sabi nila gusto nila kaming, tayong bigyan ng (they said they want to give us) $500 million worth of loan, long-term soft loan... kung kelangan natin pa ng equipment (if we need more equipment)” Mr. Lorenzana said.

Following Mr. Duterte’s state-visit to China last October, $13.5 billion worth of Chinese business investments were committed while Huang Rulun, a rags-to-riches Chinese billionaire, promised to build two huge drug rehabilitation centers in the Philippines.

Mr. Lorenzana said Mr. Tiankai also expressed plans to put up an additional drug rehabilitation center.

Mr. Duterte has been aiming to establish stronger ties with China despite the standing territorial dispute over parts of the West Philippine Sea that the emerging Asian superpower continues to claim despite an international court’s ruling in favor of the Philippines.

OIL EXPLORATION
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto C. Abella clarified yesterday that the possibility of a joint oil exploration with China at the disputed Scarborough Shoal is just an idea that the President is considering.

“These are not government to government agreements. So they’re not official. It may be private sector,” Mr. Abella said in a press briefing.

Mr. Duterte, in a speech in Malacanang on Monday, said he will have to deal with issues on the territorial dispute with China “during his time,” adding that he might consider a joint exploration of the oil reserves in the Scarborough Shoal area.

Mr. Abella said there are no government policies prohibiting the Philippines from joining other countries in the exploration of resources in its own territories.

“I’m just saying that since there is no government policy regarding... covering that matter at this stage. But I suppose what (the President was) saying -- what he was referring to is the possibility of business to business partnerships,” Mr. Abella said. -- Jumaine Christene V. Doctolero

source:  Businessworld

Russian nuclear, rail, mining firms to visit PHL

RUSSIAN COMPANIES in the nuclear, mining, and rail industries are set to visit the Philippine next year, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, citing a Russian official.

The visits form part of the Philippines-Russia Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (JCTEC) meeting in the Philippines scheduled for January.

The intergovernmental body will be co-chaired by Deputy Minister for the Russian Department of Inter-regional and Cross-border Cooperation of the Ministry of Economic Development Alexander Tsybulskiy and Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, and is intended to expand trade cooperation between the two countries. 

In a statement released by the DFA on Monday, Mr. Tsybulskiy said that he will be joined on the visit by executives from Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp., JSC Russian Railways, and MMC Norilsk Nickel. 

Rosatom has nuclear construction projects in Finland, Hungary, Iran, India, Vietnam and China. 

In its 2015 Key Facts report, the company has operations in 52 countries with annual overseas revenue of $6.3 billion. 

Russian Railways reported 2015 revenue of about $24.48 billion.

Norilsk Nickel has overseas operations in Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and Switzerland with about $3.843 billion in revenue for the first half of 2016. It reported revenue of about $8.54 billion in 2015. 

Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos D. Sorreta met with Mr. Tsubulskiy last week to discuss this upcoming meeting. 

Sought for comment, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Charles C. Jose said that the Philippine Embassy in Moscow will send to the DFA a full list of Russian companies set to visit the Philippines. 

“Per our Russia Desk, we don’t have yet the complete list of companies but we expect to receive it from our Embassy in Moscow,” Mr. Jose said in a text message, adding that so far the DFA has confirmed the three companies listed above. 

Maxim Anyanin, head of the Visa Section of the Russian Consulate, in a phone interview said that the meeting between Mr. Tsybulskiy and Mr. Rodolfo, which was originally set for this month was postponed to Jan. 20.

In a news conference last month, Russian Ambassador to Manila Igor Khovaev said that some Russian companies have expressed interest in investing in railway, telecommunications, energy and mining in the Philippines. 

He also cited the high demand for tropical fruit, particularly bananas, which could be supplied by the Philippines to Russia via the eastern city of Vladivostok. -- Lucia Edna P. de Guzman

source:  Businessworld