PAY RULES FOR BONIFACIO DAY RELEASED

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has sued guidelines for the computation of the salary of workers who report for work on November 30, Bonifacio Day, a regular holiday. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Friday reminded private employers to observe proper pay rules, saying, “Proper observance of the pay rules on regular holidays and special non-working days will lead to more productive and competent employees.” The department issued Labor Advisory 10, Series of 2017, pursuant to Proclamation 269 of President Rodrigo Duterte that declared the commemoration of the birth of the Andres Bonifacio a regular holiday. As such, employers must implement the following pay rules: If employees do not work, they shall be paid 100 percent of their salary for that day — daily rate + COLA [cost of living allowance] x 100 percent. For work done during the regular holiday, they shall be paid 200 percent of their regular salary for that day for the first eight hours — daily rate + COLA x 200 percent. For work done in excess of eight hours or overtime work, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate on that day —hourly rate of the basic daily wage x 200 percent x 130 percent x number of hours worked. For work done during a regular holiday that also falls on their rest day, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of their daily rate of 200 percent — daily rate + COLA x 200 percent + 30 percent of daily rate x 200 percent. For work done in excess of eight hours or overtime work during a regular holiday that also falls on their rest day, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate on that day — hourly rate of the basic daily wage x 200 percent x 130 percent x 130 percent of number of hours worked.

ICTZ TO AFFECT MINDANAO, EASTERN VISAYAS

An inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is expected to bring cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers over Mindanao and Eastern Visayas, according to the state-run weather bureau. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its Sunday morning forecast that similar weather condition is expected over Aurora, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino caused by the tail end of a cold front. Meanwhile, a northeast monsoon will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains over Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Batanes and Babuyan Group of Islands. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers caused by localized thunderstorms. From Monday to Wednesday, Pagasa said, a generally fair weather is expected over Metro Manila and in most parts of the country.

HIGHER EXCISE TAX FROM MINING FIRMS SOUGHT

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau ( DENR- MGB) is studying a proposal to raise the excise tax in the mining sector, saying an increase should not be uniform and that each commodity such as gold, nickel and copper should have its own tax adjustment. According to MGB Director Wilfredo Moncano, there have been debates on the proposal. “In Congress, there’s a pending bill on increasing the fiscal regime. In the industry, they have been talking about this too. In the MGB, we also have our own discussion,” Moncano told reporters at the sidelines of the recently concluded 64th Annual National Mine Safety and Safety Conference in Baguio City. Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu earlier said his agency is considering to increase the excise tax in mining from 2 percent to 5 percent. A bill that seeks to compel mining companies to give the government 10 percent of their annual gross revenues or 55 percent is pending in Congress. House Bill 5367 argues that the government is “the owner of the minerals” and that the public should have a fair share from the mining revenues. The bill would also pave the way for the lifting of Executive Order 79, which bans the approval of new mining projects in the country.

SUGAR ALLIANCE TO REGULATOR: PROBE HFCS IMPORTATION

THE Sugar Alliance of the Philippines ( SAP) has called on the Sugar Regulatory Administration ( SRA) to investigate the effect of high- fructose corn syrup ( HFCS) importation on the continued decline of sugar prices. In a letter addressed to SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, the SAP linked the continuing importation of HFCS to the prevailing low prices of sugar. The group also requested the SRA to hold approval of the importation of HFCS until such time that the issue is properly investigated. In its regular board meeting on November 23, the SRA Board created a committee to investigate the cause of the decline of prices, Serafica said. In the meeting, the board resolved to hold in abeyance requests of food processors to import sugar until the committee has concluded its investigation. The sugarcane sector is facing a major hurdle as prices continue to drop because of unabated importation of HFCS from China.

According to the SRA, mill-site prices of sugar fell to P1,255 per 50 kilogram bag, down 29.1 percent from P1,770 in the previous crop year. The drop in prices was largely traced to the higher sugar inventory as a result of imported HFCS. Many industrial users, including Coca- Cola Femsa Philippines and Pepsi Co., are shifting to cheaper alternatives like HFCS, which has zero duty compared with similar imports from the United States.

Sugarcane producers estimated that HFCS imports have displaced 13 percent of locally- produced refined sugar. From 2011 to 2016, beverage makers and food processors imported almost 800,000 metric tons of HFCS, displacing the demand for 23 million 50 kg bags of local sugar and depriving the sugar industry of P35.2 billion in potential income. In crop- year 2016 to 2017, imported HFCS drove down sugar prices from more than P1,800 per 50 kg bag to less than P1,400 as of the first quarter of 2017-- translating to potential revenue losses of about P20 billion for the current crop year.