17 MARCH 2019

MOST
INNOVATIVE
BROADSHEET
2018
44TH
PHILIPPINES
BUSINESS
EXPO
RORY,
TOMMY
REAL
CHUMMY
P17
TELCOS
UPGRADE
SERVICE AHEAD
OF THIRD
PLAYER
P11
DTI’S
FOOD EXPO
BOLSTERS
MSME
P10
Jun Vallecera, Editor
Sunday, 17 March 2019
Daily Tribune
SUNDAYBUSINESS
9
Commercializing coconut husks
Around 25 million people live in the uplands, mostly
depending from the forest for their livelihood and
customary lifestyles
By AJ Bajo
The country’s Board of Investments
(BoI) and representatives from a
Swiss-based university are looking into the
commercial possibilities for fiberboards
made of coco coir and tannin products to
up the country’s agricultural output.
“Today, coconut husks have a negative
value,” Dr. Sauro Bianchi, deputy head of
the Bern University of Applied Sciences
Department, said.
“The Philippines accumulates annually
about five million metric tons (MT) of
husks from various coconut production
facilities that are normally in heaps and
just left to rot. A farmer could decide to
sell them as ‘bunot’ or ‘pang-gatong’ and
gets about P6 per sack.”
But citing project results from their
Philippine-Swiss research consortium,
Bianchi said the coconut husk waste
could be transformed into particle
boards, or cocoboards, which are “ideally
suited for applications into building
materials like nonstructural wall, ceiling
panels and insulation boards.”
The study added that processing even
just 15 percent of the five million MT
of coconut husks into cocoboard could
supply the country’s current needs, as
cocoboards meet most international
stands for wood fiberboards.
The results also noted the alternative
boards are highly resistant to wood
decay insects such as termites, have low
formaldehyde emissions and 30 percent
cheaper than plywood.
Bianchi said the proper integration of
the coconut husk into the coconut value
chain could increase its revenues per
bag to P32 and accelerate the farmer’s
average income by P35. A local partner
for the project, Coco Technologies,
We’re still deep in debt and stuck to simply trying to
close the gap towards a balanced budget. Certainly,
we’re not moving towards getting the right infrastructure
investments going to power future growth
Who says the Philippines is poor?
There is a wide range of properties
the Philippine government can easily
dispose to pay off debts and close the gap
towards a balanced budget. This practice
of privatizing government assets is nothing
new. It is best exemplified by the sale
of Fort Bonifacio, which has since been
redeveloped and converted into Bonifacio
Global City, now Metro Manila’s second
most important business district.
In efforts to increase local and foreign
investment, many such public assets have
been privatized through the years. And
do you know what is the hottest property
nowadays? According to a property
consultant, it is the reclamation area in
Pasay and Parañaque cities with an area
of 2,000 square kilometers which has
caught the eye of developers following the
much-ballyhooed rehabilitation of Manila
Bay. A National Reclamation Plan that
proposes to reclaim 26,000 hectares off the
bay has reportedly been approved by the
Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).
It is expected, he says, to become
the next center of development in Metro
Manila to the chagrin of environmentalists
who obviously are wary of the pollution
these reclamations could bring to the bay
known the world over for its famed sunset.
A total of 22 reclamation projects
are planned along Manila Bay that will
affect and likely pollute a 22,000-hectare
area of the historic bay, a PRA official
admitted. Three of these 22 proposals have
already been approved in principle — the
360-hectare Pasay reclamation project, the
Camalig, has applied for a patent for the
production of the cocoboard.
On the other hand, the BoI said the
tannin-based adhesive of cocoboards,
extracted from biomass such as tree
barks, twigs, roots, shells and fruit husks,
present another industry opportunity
instead of relying mostly on imports.
The pilot tanning project in the
Visayas State University in Leyte
covers 1.75 hectares and will
implement low-cost extraction
technology using renewable
energy sources.
The university’s study includes
locally-produced tannin, which can be
maximized as adhesives for woods and
boards, while its components are used
in the process of tanning leather and
producing wine, beer, cosmetics and
pharmaceutical.
The pilot tanning project in the
Visayas State University in Leyte covers
1.75 hectares and will implement low-cost
extraction technology using renewable
energy sources, the BoI said.
“Around 25 million people live in
the uplands, mostly depending from
the forest for their livelihood and
customary lifestyles. Their incomes from
conventional timber and crops trading
are however limited. Developing tannin
extraction from biomass such as bark,
twigs, roots, shells and fruit husks will
improve rural livelihood,” Dr. Bianchi
added.
The study was financially supported
by the Swiss Programme for Research
on Global Issues for Development, jointly
organized by the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation and the
Swiss National Science Foundation.
Consumers warned vs online scam
The Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) issued a warning
against transacting with unregistered
online gadget sellers suspected of
using fake government document to
lure customers.
The business name certificate
is not proof to warrant the
legitimacy of a business.
The DTI-Agusan del Norte Provincial
Office Consumer Protection Division
Money for nothing, kicks for free?
140-ha. Solar City project and the Navotas
Boulevard Business Park.
Another government-owned property
that was awarded with finality by the
Supreme Court to the Bases Conversion
Development Authority (BCDA) after a
lengthy battle with the Navy Officers’
Village Association (NOVAI) is the 47-ha.
property inside the Navy golf course at
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
Three years ago, the village property
was said to be ready for disposition
should the Duterte administration need
to generate revenues. The BCDA is said
to be planning to initially auction off five
hectares of the property which are now
valued at an estimated P47 billion.
The bravery of our people is
truly priceless. And sale of
such assets, to us, is downright
criminal. Do we really have
to sell whatever is left of our
patrimony?
Just recently, Defense Secretary Delfin
Lorenzana ordered the return of that
portion of the Navy Golf Course at Fort
Bonifacio to the qualified owners from
the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) and the Philippine National Police.
That property, consisting of over 2 million
square meters, has been declared as
the AFP Officers Village in 1965 by then
President Diosdado Macapagal through
Proclamation 461 but sadly has not been
turned over by previous administrations
TURNING wastes into money. The Duterte administration wants to use coco husks as alternative
fiber boards.
accused HRA Gadgets Cellshop and Accessories,
operated by a certain Rodante Paradero
Aquino, of selling gadgets through social media,
particularly in Facebook, using “fictitious
government document to lure consumers
into buying discounted/low-priced cellphones,
gadgets and accessories.”
“We would also like to inform everyone
that a DTI business name certification
involves only registering a Business Name.
It is not a permit or licenses to do business
as this can only be given by the local
government unit through a mayor’s permit
since.
Also up for possible grabs
are the Bonifacio South Point
also at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
(33.13 hectares) which is
the subject of a legal battle
between the BCDA and the
SM group, the Water Fun
Amusement Park in West
Service Road, Muntinlupa City (33.13
hectares) and the 6,470-square meter lot
of the former Manila Jai-Alai bldg. along
Taft Ave. in Manila.
More than two decades since the
privatization of government assets started,
the country is far from accomplishing what
it had set out to do. We’re still deep in debt
and stuck to simply trying to close the
gap towards a balanced budget. Certainly,
we’re not moving towards getting the right
infrastructure investments going to power
future growth.
It was during the time of President
Ramos that hefty amounts exchanged
hands. During Ramos’ term, Philippine
Air Lines was sold to tobacco mogul
Lucio Tan for P9.65 billion. The
160-hectare Fort Bonifacio property
was tendered for P34 billion to the Metro
Pacific consortium.
Property developer Fil-Estate bought
Camp John Hay in 1994 under a long-term
lease agreement for an estimated P50
million a year in rentals. The following
year, Malaysians, as investors, acquired
National Steel Corp.
The government also privatized
Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage
System in 1997, with Ayala’s Manila Water
Company Inc. operating the east zone
concession and the Lopez’s Maynilad
Water Services Inc. getting the west zone.
Manila Hotel was likewise auctioned
off in 1997 and is now owned by the late
businessman Emilio Yap who also runs
the Manila Bulletin.
Manny Angeles
where the business is operating,” the DTI’s
advisory further read.
The trade agency added the business
name certificate is not proof to warrant
the legitimacy of a business. Consumers
were advised to take caution in transacting
online more so if the sellers are not
established and have no verified marketing
platforms.
“With digital and Internet technologies
nowadays, scammers and fraudsters have
become wiser to defraud unsuspecting
individuals,” the DTI stated. AJBajo
Under Joseph Estrada’s
short term, several assets
were slated for the auction
board. But nothing much
moved. Thus, state-owned
entities like IBC-13, RPN-
9, the Journal Group and
Philippine Phosphate
Fertilizer Corp. remained
with government.
The stellar performance thus far, when
talking about privatization, came during
the Arroyo administration. In 2006 alone,
revenue from privatization totaled some
P120 billion. This helped keep the budget
deficit during the year to only P62.2
billion, almost half of the target maximum
of P125 billion.
Roppongi property is not like
any other, having been given to
the Filipino people in reparation
for the lives of our soldiers
during the Japanese occupation.
q q q
Just how did these frenzy for selling
government property start?
In 1990 during the time of then
President Cory Aquino, government
already tried to sell off the Roppongi
property in the upscale Fujimi
district in Tokyo where the Philippine
Ambassador to Japan resides. It is
considered a patrimonial property
paid for with “blood money” under
the 1956 Reparations Agreement with
Japan as payment for the suffering
and loss of lives of Filipinos during
World War II.
The intended sale was vehemently
opposed by the late Vice President
Doy Laurel since there was very strong
public opposition against the attempt.
Laurel, it is said, argued that the
Pagcor
mulls TRO
against QC
The Philippine Amusement and
Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) is
planning on taking the Quezon City
government to court to question the
legality of a city ordinance regulating
gaming operations in its jurisdiction,
effectively limiting access to the
P40-billion Solaire resort hotel and
casino on the 1.57-hectare Ayala Vertis
North complex.
In a press statement, the gaming
regulator said the agency is seriously
contemplating a temporary restraining
order (TRO) to bar the implementation
of Quezon City government’s proposed
gaming regulatory ordinance.
“PAGCOR maintains that not
taking this next important step is
tantamount to the dereliction of
its duties as gaming regulator,”
the statement said. “We also would
like to reiterate that with regard
to regulation of gaming in local
government units (LGU), PD Number
771 ‘revokes the authority of LGU to
issue license permit or any form of
franchise to operate, maintain and
establish forms of gambling.’”
The statement cited Presidential
Decree (PD) 1869 and Republic Act
9487 mandating Pagcor as the national
government agency to regulate all
games of chance in the country.
PAGCOR maintains that not
taking this next important
step is tantamount to the
dereliction of its duties as
gaming regulator.
In a memorandum from the Office
of the President dated 17 April 1996,
then Executive Secretary Ruben
Torres directed all local government
units and other concerned agencies
that “only the national government has
the power to issue licenses or permits
for the operation of gambling since
the power of the local government
units to regulate gambling through
the grant of franchise, license or
permit was withdrawn by PD 771 as
early as 1975.”
The agency added, “Given the
provisions of the law, it is clear
that Quezon City’s proposed gaming
regulatory ordinance is a violation of
national law. With the filing of TRO,
we are not only upholding the rule of
law but also ensuring that people’s
welfare are protected and LGU will
not be given a chance to abuse their
authority.”
Roppongi property is not like any
other, having been given to the Filipino
people in reparation for the lives
of our soldiers during the Japanese
occupation. It is, he said, a monument to
the bravery and sacrifice of the Filipino
people in the face of an invader. It is
therefore unpatriotic, he added, to
expect economic or financial benefits
from them.
Laurel’s argument obviously carried
weight for Supreme Court Associate
Justice Hugo Gutierrez Jr. who penned
a decision upholding the Laurel petition
to stop the sale of the 3,197-square meter
Roppongi property.
Indeed, a monument to the bravery of
our people is truly priceless. And sale of
such assets, to us, is downright criminal.
Do we really have to sell what ever is left
of our patrimony? Just asking.
q q q
TITTLE-TATTLES: Motorcycle
groups are reportedly up in arms
against the Motorcycle Crime
Prevention Law, denouncing it as
downright stupid. The recentlysigned
measure, intended to curb
riding-in-tandem crimes committed
using such vehicles, requires owners
to place big plates in front and at
the back of motorcycles for easier
identification of suspects. The groups
argue that placing big plates in front
of the bikes is virtually impossible
since it would cover the headlights
and affect the vehicles’ aerodynamics.
It could also injure the rider should
it get blown off. They reportedly are
ready to bring their case all the way
to the Supreme Court…
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