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MANUFACTURERS in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone may be forced to lay off at least 30,000 workers to survive the rationalization of tax incentives under the current version of the Trabaho bill.

House Bill 8083, or the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho bill), could be brutal for the Subic work force. The measure that seeks to slash corporate income tax (CIT) on one hand and overhaul incentives on the other will compel locators in the free-port area to reduce its manpower.

Danny J. Piano, president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), told the BusinessMirror this could be the consequence if the government insists on passing the current version of the Trabaho bill. Estimates by the SBFCC put job losses at 30,000 to as many as 40,000.

The estimated job losses account for 22.5 percent to 30 percent of the nearly 133,000 workers, the majority of which are locals, employed in the economic zone. Wilma T. Eisma, chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said the free port area employs 132,916 workers as of May.

Eisma argued there will really be massive layoffs in Subic if the Trabaho bill, as passed by the House of Representatives, will be enacted into law. Piano couldn’t agree more.

“This [layoffs] won’t be happening all at the same time since companies have different transition periods depending on how long they are already getting their current incentives, and only if the House-approved bill will be the final one,” Piano said.

He explained locators are considering moving out of the country if the 5-percent gross income earned (GIE) granted to them is removed, as proposed under the Trabaho bill. Locators pay this in lieu of local and national taxes.

“Nobody has intimated yet that they will definitely move out. What they are saying is that they will consider moving out depending on the final bill,” Piano said.

“However, the currently approved House Bill 8083, which will raise their [locators 10 years or more here] taxes from 5-percent GIE to 28-percent CIT by 2021, is unacceptable. What seemed to be an acceptable compromise is to extend the incentives by 10 years so that during the transition, they will already fall into the 20-percent CIT bracket,” he added.

Under the Trabaho bill, CIT will be reduced gradually down to 20 percent in 2029 from 30 percent. On the other hand, it will remove a number of incentives, including the 5-percent GIE, which locators deem crucial in their decision to stay here.

The SBMA, as the manager and administrator of the Subic free-port area, is trying to come up with a compromise that will satisfy the interests both of the government and the locators, Eisma said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.

“The sad reality is if Trabaho bill gets passed as worded right now, there will really be looming loss of jobs. We just recently conducted a survey on some of our locators and they said that is what is going to happen,” Eisma explained in a mix of English and Filipino.

From this survey, the SBMA estimated 22,000 workers are at risk of losing their employment. However, she admitted the numbers could be higher, as firms that will be most affected are manufacturers that directly and indirectly employs thousands.

“I believe there can be a middle ground where the target of the Department of Finance can be met, and, at the same time, our targets could also be met. I’m trying to work on that,” Eisma explained.

“My agenda is to be able to maintain the sustainability and the competitiveness of Subic not just vis-à-vis the other zones, but more like the country, because we are competing with Cambodia, with Thailand. That competitiveness to me is very important to retain,” she added.

On the other hand, Piano said the Trabaho bill could attract more investors due to lower CIT, but it could also work against the government’s objective of creating jobs outside of Metro Manila, as investments in regional economic zones are seen to decrease with the removal of incentives.

“Companies locating outside of economic zones and free port [areas] will probably increase because of the lower CIT. Companies already inside will decrease because of the higher tax compared to what they are paying right now,” the SBFCC chief said.

Lawmakers from the House passed the Trabaho bill on third and final reading in September. The measure, which is the second package of the Duterte administration’s tax-reform program, is now being scrutinized by senators.

source: businessmirror.com.ph

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Japanese Ground Home Defense Forces carry mock injured people to their amphibious assault vehicles during an amphibious landing exercise at the beach of the Philippine Navy training center facing the South China Sea in San Antonio town, Zambales province on Oct. 6, 2018, as they join the annual joint US-Philippine Marines exercises. Japanese troops stormed a South China Sea beach in the Philippines on Oct. 6 in a joint military exercises with the US and Filipino troops that officials marked the first time Tokyo’s armored vehicles rolled on foreign soil after World War II. (Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP )

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales — Japanese troops stormed a beach in the Philippines Saturday in joint exercises with US and Filipino troops that officials said marked the first time Tokyo’s armored vehicles rolled on foreign soil since World War II.

The small Japanese contingent played a humanitarian support role in the drill after US and Filipino marines made an amphibious landing to retake Philippine territory from a “terrorist” group.

Fifty unarmed Japanese soldiers in camouflage marched behind their four armored vehicles and picked up Filipino and American troops playing the role of wounded combatants while moving inland over sand and sparse bushland.

The exercise, codenamed Kamandag (Venom), marked the first time Japanese armored military vehicles were used on foreign soil since the country adopted a pacifist constitution after its 1945 defeat, said Japan’s Maj. Koki Inoue.

“Our purpose is to improve our operational capability and this is a very good opportunity for us to improve our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training,” Inoue said, adding Japan was not involved in the drill’s combat component.

The exercise was held at a Philippine Navy base facing the South China Sea some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, a territory claimed by Manila that was seized by China during a 2012 naval stand-off.

The Philippines has since ramped up military cooperation with Washington, its long-time ally, and also held joint naval exercises with Japan near Scarborough Shoal in 2015.

Japan has its own maritime territorial dispute with Beijing in the East China Sea.

The US military stressed that Saturday’s exercise was not aimed at China, which has also built artificial islands on disputed areas of the South China Sea and installed military facilities on them.

“It has nothing to do with a foreign nation or any sort of foreign army. This is exclusively counter-terrorism within the Philippines,” US Marine communications officer 1st Lt. Zack Doherty told AFP.

About 150 US, Filipino and Japanese troops took part in Saturday’s landing, Doherty added.

This year’s 10-day Kamandag exercises finish on Wednesday. /atm

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

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MARKING THE start of this year’s National Indigenous Peoples Month, the Magbukun Ayta Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of Sitio Kanawan in Morong, Bataan declared portions of their recently awarded territory as Indigenous Communities Conserved territories and Areas (ICCAs).

The event was supported and attended by officials from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Philippines, and other partner civil society organizations. UNDP-Philippines, in a statement, said the ICCA Declaration “is part of the IP group’s bid to protect important cultural and biological sites within their ancestral domain from destruction and degradation.” The Magbukun Ayta’s ICCA is estimated at about 6,600 hectares of land, more than half of the area covered by their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT), which was awarded in June this year.

“We’ve seen an increase in encroachment and illegal settlement from outsiders in recent years. This ICCA declaration is one of the ways we’re pursuing to address the issue and to protect the environment from further damage,” Chieftain Rodelio Tamundog is quoted in the statement.

The Ayta Magbukun ICCA Declaration is a culmination of more than a year of documentation-related activities, including boundary delineation, 3D and digital mapping, resource inventory, and indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices documentation. The Magbukun Ayta’s ICCA is planned for inclusion in the global ICCA Registry hosted by the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre and at the National ICCA Registry upon its launch later this year.

source: bworldonline.com

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THE Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC-3) has commended the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for developing the Freeport into a premier cruise ship destination in the country.

In a resolution passed during its 9th regular full-council meeting at the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) regional office on September 20, RDC-3 recognized the SBMA for its cruise ship tourism program and pledged its support to the agency effort.

“The growing number of cruise ship arrivals enabled the economic growth in Subic Bay Freeport and its surrounding provinces, namely Bataan, Zambales and
Pampanga,” the RDC-3 said.

The RDC 3 noted that the Department of Tourism has identified the cruise tourism industry as one of the economic drivers in achieving the annual target of 7.5 million tourists visiting the Philippines.

It also recognized that the development of the regional tourism sector was one of the key components of the SBMA’s 10-point program.

Neda assistant regional director Agustin C. Mendoza, who is also secretary of RDC 3, presented the citation to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma on Tuesday, September 25.

In citing the SBMA, RDC-3 pointed out that Subic Bay Freeport “has accommodated cruise ship arrivals in February to June 2018 with an estimated value of more than P85 million of economic activity.”

This came in the form of income generated from cruise ship passengers’ visits to theme parks, local transportation costs, port fees, purchase of local products, dining, and other services provided by tourism-related establishments.

Eisma, who started the agency’s cruise tourism program, said that generating additional revenue for the Subic community, as well as neighboring areas in Central Luzon has been the goal of the program.

“That is what the SBMA was planning all along, to develop the Subic Bay Freeport into a premier cruise ship destination in the Philippines, and hence the gateway to other tourism destinations in the region,” Eisma said.

She added that Region 3, with Subic as entry point, has all the potentials for a sustainable cruise ship program because of its diverse attractions that included nature parks, historical landmarks, sports and wellness facilities, as well as tailored experiences

“It is an honor to receive recognition from the Central Luzon Regional Development Council. But we believe that the cruise ship tourism industry here has barely scratched the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are a lot more that Subic and the rest of Central Luzon can accomplish and gain,” Eisma also said.

The Subic Bay Freeport Zone is ideally suited as a cruise ship hub because of its 15 piers and wharves that are capable of handling all types of sea vessels.

Likewise, Subic is prized as a maritime hub because of its strategic location in the Southeast Asian region, and its accessibility via a network of highways that also connect to major air terminals like the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

Subic has hosted 17 cruise ship arrivals since February this year. The SBMA Tourism Department said that from five to 10 more will be coming before the yearend, while 20 bookings have already been confirmed for next year.-Ric Sapnu

source: sunstar.com.ph

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Brigadier General Chris McPhillips, Commanding General of the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Major General Nathaniel Casem, Inspector General of the Philippine Navy, and Brigadier General Melquiades Ordiales, Deputy Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, open exercise KAMANDAG 2 during a ceremony at Subic Bay International Airport.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A joint military exercise being conducted by the United States, Japan, and the Philippines kicked off on Monday at the Subic Bay International Airport.

About 1,000 naval and marine troops from the three countries are set to participate in the military drill dubbed “Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat” (KAMANDAG).

Capt. Jerber Anthony Belonio, director of the Marine Corps Public Affairs Office of the Philippine Marines, said KAMANDAG 2018 will be held from October 1 to 10 in various locations in Luzon.

Belonio said the training sites include Crow Valley in Tarlac province; Camp Gregorio Lim at Ternate town in Cavite province; and the Naval Education Training Command at San Antonio town in Zambales province.

Last week, amphibious landing crafts of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force started arriving in this former US naval base for repair.

KAMANDAG is an acronym for the Filipino phrase “Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat,” or “Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea.”

The name emphasizes the close partnership between the Philippine and United States militaries, said an advisory from the US Embassy in Manila.

KAMANDAG aims to increase the overall U.S. and Philippine military readiness, improve bilateral responsiveness, and strengthen the working relationships between the participating countries.

The naval drills will focus on enhancing counter-terrorism capabilities, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief capabilities; as well as conducting humanitarian and civic assistance projects.

This is the second naval training of this scale to be held in the country.

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

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