BusinessMirror April 30, 2016

“CRUZ can’t win, what’s he doing picking vice presidents?”

—Donald Trump, after Republican rival Ted Cruz tapped Carly Fiorina (in photo) as his running mate.

“I AM deeply ashamed to be standing here. I know why I am here.... I mistreated some of the athletes that I coached. They looked up to me, and I took advantage of them.”—Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was sentenced to more than a year in prison in a hush-money case that revealed accusations he sexually abused teenagers while coaching high-school wrestling. AP

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2015 ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA AWARD LEADERSHIP AWARD 2008

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Saturday, April 30, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 203

HORTICULTURE SOCIETY SEEKS INCENTIVES FOR ‘SMALL BUT GROWING’ SECTOR

Horticulture industry absent in govt priority

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INSIDE

BusinessMirror

Saturday, April 30, 2016

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NPC ended 2015 with ₧2.9-B net income B L L

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@llectura

HE National Power Corp.

(NPC) posted a net income of P2.903 billion in 2015, the highest financial turnaround since 2012, the state-owned power company’s president said.

“Our 2015 profit was P2.903 billion, net of government subsidy, and revenue was at P11.755 billion,” NPC President Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita told the BusinessMirror in an inter-

view. For the past four years NPC’s income has grown steadily. In 2012 it posted P397 million; P505 million in 2013; and P1.5 billion in 2014.

In 2011 NPC posted a net loss of

P18.87 million. Its net loss in 2009 stood at P2.87 billion and P2.78 billion in 2010.

Sta. Rita attributed the state firm’s rosy financial standing last year to improved collection efficiency from electric cooperatives.

The NPC achieved several corporate successes with better collection efficiency, from 85 percent to 98.47 percent in Luzon, the Visayas and Eastern Mindanao last year.

“Our collection efficiency is at 98.4 percent. This was 85 percent in 2012, before I came in. Reduction in fuel cost also helped,” Sta. Rita said.

Collection efficiency in 2014 stood at 96 percent and 85 percent in 2013.

Earlier, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) maintained its credit rating on NPC. The state-run agency enjoys a “BBB” rating on long-term local and foreign-currency ratings and “axA” Asean scale rating with a stable outlook from S&P. The rating reflects the country’s present rating, a notch above the minimum investment grade, over the next two years.

“We have therefore equalized the ratings on the government-owned electricity provider with those on the sovereign rating,” S&P said.

The assessment covered NPC’s “critical” role as the sole provider of electricity to off-grid areas, also known as missionary areas.

“NPC is specifically tasked to undertake missionary electrification, which we view as a key social policy initiative of the government,” S&P said. Prior to the passage of Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001, NPC used to hold the monopoly over power generation and transmission.

Now, the state firm is mandated to privatize its power assets and is now responsible for providing electricity to areas not connected to the grid.

NPC has been recently conferred with an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 certification, which covers all of its operations from head office down to its power plants, dams and watershed

systems throughout the country.

Sta. Rita said the certification serves as a seal of approval for all the hard work, innovation and perseverance of the NPC. “We are committed to improve and modernize our management system and processes in order to respond to the changing needs of the communities we serve,” the NPC official said.

In previous years, NPC had also received individual ISO certifications, such as the Small Power Utilities Group Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Operations Department, Mingen’s Pulangi hydroelectric power plant, and Mingen’s hydroplant complex.

Filinvest set to begin operating MisOr power plant in Q2 this year B R L. A Contributor

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COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF RESTAURANT One of the new coffee shops and restaurants found at the newly opened Circuit Lane at the old Santa Ana Racetrack

is the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Restaurant.

ALYSA SALEN

Firm turning abandoned Subic hotel-casino into BPO, support center for online gaming B H E Correspondent

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UBIC BAY FREEPORT—After a decade of neglect, the former Legenda Hotel and Casino here is now being transformed by an online-gaming company into an offshore support facility.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia said the once-popular Subic attraction for highrollers has been taken over by Tele Empire, a company that will engage in businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) and support services for online gaming.

The new operator will pay rent for the whole property at an appraised value of P3.6 million a month, Garcia said.

“We got a very good deal here because for a long time, the Legenda Hotel has been a huge eyesore right in the middle of Subic’s business district,” Garcia said

in a recent media briefing.

“Now we’re getting rid of this eyesore and getting good money for it, at the same time,” he said.

The former haven for high-rollers sits on one whole block of prime land along the Waterfront Road, right next to Building 229, which houses the main offices of the SBMA. The Malaysian-owned Legend International Resorts Ltd. Co. (LIRL) started operating the casino-hotel in 1993 with a $130-million investment.

However, the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) padlocked the Legenda casino in May 2006 for nonpayment of arrears amounting to P365 million.

The LIRL claimed its casino has been operating at a net loss, but Pagcor said its special audit team discovered Legenda was charging expenses in its non-casino opera-

tions to its casino operation.

The SBMA has worked on a debt-restructuring scheme with the LIRL management, but the firm did not comply with it, thus, ending up with unpaid obligations to the SBMA amounting to P850 million, records indicated.

After the last employees left in 2009, the hotel building was left to the elements.

Last year its derelict façade became the backdrop of a Halloween costume-show organized by SBMA employees.

As of now, the new operator has stripped the facility bare of the furniture and fixtures that remained in the abandoned building.

“It’s already being repaired,” Garcia said.

The SBMA official said while the new operator will provide support services for online gaming, no actual gambling will be done at the Subic premises.

“I will not allow it,” Garcia said.

OTIANUN-LED Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) announced on Friday the commissioning of one of three boilers of FDC Utilities Inc.’s (FDCUI) energy facility in Misamis Oriental is set to commence soon to add to the supply of electricity in the southern part of the Philippines.

During the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting held at a hotel in Alabang, Muntinlupa, FDC President and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said they are excited for this development to happen in the second quarter of 2016.

The remaining two units will follow within the year, she said.

“With the addition of 405 megawatts [MW] of much-needed power to the Mindanao grid, we look forward to partnering with the region in accelerating growth,” she said of the combined capacities of the coal-power plant.

This new development in FDC’s energy business, through its power unit FDCUI, forms part of the various initiatives the company has taken over the last three years to strengthen its portfolio in growth areas of the country’s economy.

Other major investments already done were the expansion of EastWest Bank’s branches from 265 in 2011 to 433 last year, and the increase in gross leasable area at Filinvest Land Inc., which doubled from the 2009 levels.

“These investing activities are all reasons why the net income, albeit growing steadily, has not kept pace with the increase in revenues,” the top executive said. “Full-year revenues from these investments will be felt in the succeeding years.”

@ _enren

ORTICULTURE growers and entrepreneurs in the country are calling on the government to consider listing horticulture as a priority industry for the development of this “potentially growing”field.

NPC ENDED 2015 WITH P2.9-B NET INCOME Companies Editor: Efleda P. Campos • news.businessmirror@gmail.com

B M G P

The publicly listed firm recently disclosed a 13-percent growth in net income to P7 billion in 2015, while revenues increased by 28 percent to P49.3 billion, partly due to the initial recognition of electricity sales from FDCUI, as well as sales hike in property-development projects.

Contributing 13 percent to FDC’s top figures, the power subsidiary saw its first significant revenue stream in 2015, as it recognized the sale of energy from its Independent Power Producer Administrator contracts for 40 MW and 100 MW of power from Unified Leyte and Apo 1 and 2 geothermal power plants, respectively.

Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) and Filinvest Alabang Inc.—the group’s real-estate businesses—still accounted for the bulk of revenues at 43 percent.

Banking unit EastWest Bank had a 37-percent share in FDC revenues, while the balance came from the sugar (5 percent) and hotel (2 percent) businesses.

Apart from strong 2015 earnings results, the group also sustained its robust monetary standing, with assets aggregating P419.5 billion, or 22 percent higher than recorded in 2014.

Stockholders’ equity at year-end also grew by 8 percent to P97.1 billion.

Amid aggressive development plans, the firm still managed to cap 2015 with a debtto-equity ratio of 1.04:1, while its net-debtto-equity ratio was 0.48:1.

All FDC stockholders on record as of May 27, 2016—as approved by the company’s board of directors—will be paid cash dividends of 5.16 centavos per share, or a total of P481 million, equivalent to a payout rate of 11 percent, on June 21 this year.

B L S. M @lorenzmarasigan

HE operator of the country’s tapand-go payment system has entered into agreements with three bus operators for the use of the contactless beep card in their transport services.

The agreements with Froehlich Tours, HM Transport and Citylink Coach Services marks AF Payments Inc.’s first venture with bus companies serving commuters within Metro Manila.

The partnerships cover the following routes: TriNoMa to Makati and SM North Edsa to SM Megamall for Froehlich Tours; Airport Loop for HM Transport;

and Eastwood City, Uptown Bonifacio, San Lorenzo Place, McKinley Hill and Newport City for Citylink Coach Services.

“We are delighted to have forged partnerships with leading bus operators to offer the beep card to their riders. This is an important milestone for AF Payments and a welcome development for commuters who have long wished for a truly convenient travel card for journeys within the Metro area,” AF Payments President and CEO Peter Maher said on Friday.

Currently, the group is testing the new system across all partner-bus operators.

The group hopes to bring the system online in the very near future.

“As soon as we go live, the 1.75 million

COMPANIES

beep cards in circulation will be accepted on those buses displaying the beep acceptance mark,” Maher said.

AF Payments is calling on other bus operators in the city to join the service and enjoy the many benefits of cashless ticketing, including considerable savings on operational expenses associated with ticket issuance and fare collection.

The beep card is a tap-and-go payment system accepted in all three elevated railways.

AF Payments is also aiming to expand the usage of the card to other modes of transportation, expressways, for example. It also plans to expand the system to retail.

Philippine Horticultural Society Inc. (PHSI) President Norma Villanueva told the BusinessMirror horticulture used to be a listed priority under the Department of Agriculture (DA). This was, however, removed, which means S “H,” A

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DOCTORS URGE FILIPINO ELDERS TO STAY HEALTHY, ACTIVE B4 Saturday, April 30, 2016 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

OurTime BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Doctors urge Filipino elders to stay healthy, active

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OST Filipinos are young, but the segment of older people is slowly growing and they need to be taken cared of, health experts say.

“We still have a young population today. But comparing from previous years, we have a growing aging population,” Nestlé Health Science (NHS) Medical and Scientific Affairs Lead Dr. Jimmy Bautista told the BusinessMirror.

Recent studies showed the geriatric sector worldwide is growing, and this trend will continue in the coming years.

For instance, data from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) showed the number of older people in less developed countries, including the Philippines, is projected to increase by 140 percent by 2030, as those in more developed nations will rise by 51 percent.

The highest number of people aged 65 and older is recorded in Asia at 304 million as of July 2013, with China comprising 39 percent, or 120 million.

It is also estimated there will be around 400 million people in the region reaching their twilight years over the next five to six years.

At present, Japan has the highest average median age at 45, followed by Hong Kong, 43; Germany, 40; Singapore, 40; South Korea, 39; the United Kingdom, 37; China, 36; the United States, 35; Thailand, 34; United Arab Emirates, 30.2; Indonesia, 28; and India, 26.

While the mean age of Filipinos today is 23, the Retirement and Healthcare Coalition said senior citizens now number 7 million, 90 percent of whom are not really taken cared of.

Their current number, the organization projects, will double from 8 percent to 16 percent by 2020.

“The elderly is among the most vulnerable population right now.

It's the fastest growing [age group],” noted Dr. Marianna Sioson, Section of Nutrition head at The Medical City.

“But the problem is we’re losing our working-age population to the people abroad. We have plenty of

OFWs [overseas Filipino workers], yet, it seems no one is left to take care of our old folks. So that means we need to keep them functional for as long as we can,” she said.

In doing so, Sioson stressed the importance to optimize the nutrition of elders to get them into healthy aging.

Sharing the same sentiment, Bautista said this is timely, considering the Filipino aging population is not yet ideal in terms of nutrition and activities; hence, it has not yet hit the standard of perfection or excellence when it comes to longevity that other countries have already achieved.

“We have not yet reached the status of Japan’s [aging] group, for instance, because our nutrition and activity level is not yet that optimized,” he said. He cited the Filipino culture of being celebratory as among the contributing factors to the health and wellness status of the senior populace at present.

“We want to have parties and celebrations all the time. But the question is do we eat food that contains the essential nutrients—both micro [vitamins and minerals] and macro [proteins and carbohydrates and good fats]?” he said.

As a commitment to helping Filipinos live young longer, NHS has launched its Opt to Be Active advocacy that promotes a full and active life by making proactive choices, like maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly and keeping the mind active.

“People who optimize their health may have a biological age that is 10 years younger than their chronological age,” the NHS executive said.

“At the same time, the presence of chronic conditions may accelerate the body’s decline, making us biologically older than our chronological age.”

Sioson said it is never too early to assess if everyone is meeting the

POSTER AREA Baguio City elderly sit on a vegetable cart in front of the common poster area. LAILA AUSTRIA energy and nutrient requirements.

Since the prevalence of developing malnutrition significantly increases as people grow older, there is a pressing need to start taking nutritionally complete oral supplements to continue to live a young and active lifestyle.

“We want Filipinos to ask themselves if there is a need for them to optimize their health and nutrient intake so that they can achieve a full life,” she said.

Conceding that the optimal health of the general Filipino elder is still a far-fetched reality in the near future, Bautista remains bullish this goal is still doable, although it will take more time.

“It’s like baby steps. The mere fact the number of older Filipinos is

growing means we are slowly getting there,” he said.

To reach the kind of population of elderly in good health, he said a national initiative to promote good health among the citizenry by doing physical activities and proper nutrition is much needed.

“It’s a definitely a cooperation between the people and the healthcare professionals, with different organizations and the government,” Bautista said.

Since the Philippines observes many holidays throughout the year, most Filipinos indulge on the good food laid on top of their table on all occasions, thus, giving rise to lifestylerelated, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.

In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that NCDs account for 61 percent of total deaths nationwide.

These cases are defined by the WHO as chronic illnesses not passed from person to person. They are categorized into four main types—cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

It is noted that simple lifestyle changes, such as preparing healthy meals and maximizing the nutrient intake, could best shield the body from NCDs. NHS champions this approach by providing unconventional ways to bridge the gap between nutrition and therapy.

The health science arm of the lead-

Developing smart homes to aid elderly in Israel B G W G Tel Aviv, Israel (TNS)

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HE multidisciplinary Third Age innovation center, being founded by Ziv Ofek within his Center for Digital Innovation (CDI) in Beer Sheva, is one of the most unique and advanced in the world in this field.

In recent years, smart-home centers for assimilating technologies in this area have emerged.

Ofek wants to take this idea even further. Ofek founded dbMotion, a global digital health pioneer that was sold in 2013 for $235 million.

Talking about his new center he said, “ The goal was to build a large physical space in which there was a home of a senior citizen, for example, that would be a ‘smart home,’ among other things. We surround the house with five layers: family (first and second generation), medical, education—both the adults themselves for digital and technological literacy and reciprocal relations in both directions between the senior citizen and youth, personal security and all the elements of quality of life.” “ We identified several relevant factors we want to put in the compound—the adults themselves and their family, of

course, the welfare system—so the National Insurance Institute will probably be one of our leading partners, researchers, and students—which is why we are in a close partnership with Ben Gurion University of the Negev, led by its president, Prof. Rivka Carmi, and a circle of technology—we invite startups who will be able to consult and acquire experience with all the other parties, into this space.

Ofek gives an example: “There is no communication between the health and welfare spheres.

Sometimes, a diabetic goes to the doctor, who immediately sees that something is wrong.

The doctor doesn’t know that the patient is taking the medicine one month, and giving it to his wife the next month, because they don’t have enough money to buy medicine for both of them.”

In a way, that is romantic. “It happens a lot. They don’t know what damage they’re doing to themselves. Had the doctor known this, he would have realized that there was no use playing with the dosage, getting angry at the patient, or explaining again how important the medicine was. A welfare worker is likely to be aware of the economic situation, but he has no connection with the doctor.”

ing global nutrition, health and wellness company strongly believes that the food consumed daily is the biggest single influence on one’s health.

“By shifting the way people manage health and nutrition, we have the force to improve lives around the world because beyond medicine, there is nutritional therapy,” the NHS said. “This is what is considered the point where scientific research meets human insight,” NHS Country Business Manager Angela Sison added.

As the newest business unit of Nestlé founded in 2011, NHS is an innovative and fundamentally different type of health science company focused specifically on advancing nutritional therapy to change the course of health.

872 indigent Ormoc seniors receive P1.3-M social pension

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RMOC CITY, Leyte—The city treasurer’s office has concluded the release of P1.3-million social pension for indigent senior citizens.

The benefit covers the second quarter of 2015, but the implementing office, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), downloaded the amount only in the first quarter of 2016.

The DSWD allocated a total of P1.65 million for 1,100 beneficiaries aged 80 years old and above identified by the National Housing Targeting System.

Each benef iciar y received P1,500 stipend to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of members from the aforementioned vulnerable sector.

However, only 872 beneficiaries claimed the benefit worth P1.3 million, leaving P342,000 unclaimed by 228 senior citizens who are believed to have been deceased. Except for the deceased, those already part of the list will be entitled to future pensions in succeeding years. PNA

OUR TIME GRANDPA’S TRIKE Despite his age, 74-year-old Dominador Laggui of Plaridel, Santiago City, still manages to drive his tricycle to earn a living.

He claims that providing rides to rural commuters serves as a lucrative exercise for him.

LEONARDO PERANTE II

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THE TEXAS ROADHOUSE HAS ARRIVED The Texas Roadhouse is now in the Philippines, with the opening rites for its branch attended by corporate bigwigs, including (from left) The Bistro Group President and COO Jean Paul Manuud, Megaworld First Vice President and Commercial Division Head Kevin Tan, Texas Roadhouse Vice President for International Operations Hugh Carroll, The Bistro Group Chairman William Stelton and Navegar Managing Partners Javi Infante and Nori Poblador.

LIVING THE WORD DEAR Lord, may the Spirit inspire us to know more about the popes, especially the recent ones. May we say that we love the Holy Father with a tender, filial love. Help us do today, to show our love for Him. May we always include Pope Francis’s intentions this Year of Mercy. May we be able to compose prayers especially dedicated to the Pope’s mission. May our intentions be included, too, in the Pope’s prayer for mankind. Amen!

Word & Life, Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB and Luisa M. Lacson, HFL

Peso drops in April on election jitters

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HE peso completed its biggest monthly drop since August, as investors sought shelter in the dollar amid uncertainty over the outcome of the nation’s presidential elections on May 9.

Investor concern deepened after recent opinion polls showed candidates with no track record in business or economics widened their lead over contenders that analysts have said would best steer the Philippine economy.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 46.7730

There’s already a big component of the upcoming elections in the behavior of our foreign-exchange market. The peso will continue to fluctuate.”—S “There’s already a big component of the upcoming elections in the behavior of our foreign-exchange market,” said Elfren Antonio Sarte, president of Rob-

LOWY: NATIONS MUST RESIST MARITIME FLEXING OF CHINA

We are on our own.”

—V

AF Payments’s beep cards to be used in 3 bus operators in Metro Manila

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P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

insons Bank, a unit of JG Summit Holdings in Manila. “The peso will continue to fluctuate.”

AP PHOTO

MEDIA PARTNER OF THE YEAR

“I’VE never seen such a combo of simplistic slogans and contradictions and misstatements in one speech.”—Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, after Donald Trump laid out his foreign-policy vision in a speech before experts in Washington.

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HE professionalism displayed by China’s navy in some of the world’s most contested seas is masking an underlying challenge to the existing order in the East China Sea and South China Sea that must be resisted, according to a report by an Australian security think tank.

“Beijing’s newly acquired taste for maritime ‘rules of the road’ is lowering the risk of accidental conflict,” Ashley Townshend and Rory Medcalf wrote in a report published on Friday by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy. “In turning away from tactical aggression, Beijing has refocused on passive assertive actions to consolidate a new status quo in maritime Asia.”

China’s strategy is based around its island-building program, which has created more than 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) of land on seven features it occupies in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. Though its actions have sparked tensions with other claimants, including the Philippines and Vietnam, and prompted the US to carry out naval transits to defend freedom of navigation in the waters, China has still managed to expand its maritime influence.

“As it is virtually impossible to compel China to roll back its outposts, the current policy imperative—aside from defending freedom of navigation—is to deter further militarization or the creation of a new air-defense identification zone, particularly in relation to the Spratly Islands,” the authors wrote.

China declared an air-defense identification zone in November 2013, over part of the East China Sea covering islands contested with Japan, and said its military would take “defensive emergency measures” if aircraft enter the area without reporting flight plans or identifying themselves. While China has rarely attempted to enforce the restrictions, analysts speculate that China may attempt to establish a similar zone above the South China Sea. US Rear Adm. Marcus Hitchcock this week underlined one of the themes of the Lowy report, praising the People’s Liberation Army Navy for abiding by a code set up for unplanned encounters at sea, “no matter what their nations are going through diplomatically.”

Scarborough Shoal

EVEN as China’s navy adheres to those rules of conduct, US officials are concerned that China may start creating an island on Scarborough Shoal, which it seized from the Philippines in 2012. On April 19 the US sent six US Air Force planes into the vicinity of the shoal, which lies about 230 kilometers (143 miles) from the Philippines coast. An airstrip there would add to China’s existing network of runways and surveillance sites that Adm. Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command, said last year “creates a mechanism S “L,” A

C  A

n JAPAN 0.4327 n UK 68.3447 n HK 6.0295 n CHINA 7.2204 n SINGAPORE 34.7754 n AUSTRALIA 35.6644 n EU 53.1107 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.4765

Source: BSP (29 April 2016 )

A2 Saturday, April 30, 2016

BMReports BusinessMirror

Euro-zone economic growth rate unexpectedly doubles

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HE euro-zone economy has finally recouped all the ground lost in the recessions of the past eight years, after official figures on Friday, showed that the 19-country single currency bloc expanded by a quarterly rate of 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year.

T he sc a le of t he i nc rea se reported by Eurostat in a preliminary estimate was unexpected— the consensus in the markets was for a more modest rise to 0.4 percent, from the previous quarter’s 0.3 percent.

Eurostat said the increase means that the euro-zone economy is now 0.4 percent bigger than it was in

the first quarter of 2008, before the deep recession stoked by the global financial crisis.

Since then, the euro zone has had a torrid time, falling in and out of recession, as the global financial crisis morphed into a debt crisis that at various times has threatened the future of the euro currency itself.

The eurozone’s recover y of the ground lost over the past few years has lagged other major economies, including the United States, by years.

Still, it’s a signal that the euro zone’s finally gaining some economic momentum. The first-quarter rise came in spite of concerns stoked by the huge volatility in financial markets in the first couple of months of the year that centered on worries over the Chinese economic outlook and the sharp fall in the price of oil.

In a further positive development, Eurostat reported that the unemployment rate across the region fell to 10.2 percent in March from the previous month’s 10.4 percent, bringing it to its lowest since August 2011.

T hou g h t hese f i g u res a re encouraging, the euro zone remains aff licted by low inf lation.

Eurostat said in a separate report that consumer prices in the year to April fell by 0.2 percent.

That’s down from the previous month ’s annual rate of zero and below market expectations for a more modest decline to minus 0.1 percent. The core rate, which strips out the volatile items of food, alcohol, tobacco and energy, also declined to 0.8 percent, from 1 percent.

Given that the European Central Bank’s (ECB) primary policy purpose is to keep inflation just below 2 percent, the market reaction to the raft of economic data was muted. While the growth and unemployment figures may have encouraged traders to think that the ECB to be less likely to enact a further stimulus, the inflation data countered that instinct. The euro was unchanged at $1.1380 following the data. AP

Peso drops in April on election jitters C  A

The peso closed at 46.885 per dollar in Manila, down 1.7 percent this month, prices from the Bankers Association of the Philippines show. That’s the largest monthly decline since it slid 2.1 percent in August and the worst performance in Asia. It’s down 0.3 percent from Thursday.

The yield on five-year pesodenominated sovereign bonds fell six basis points in April to 3.40 percent, and was little changed on Friday, according to fixing prices from the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. It dropped 66 basis

points in March.

Opinion polls have showed Rodrigo R. Duterte, the controversial Davao City mayor who made inflammatory remarks on rape and extrajudicial killing, widened his lead in the presidential race.

“We sensed local market participants have, indeed, become more worried of the prospect of a Duterte presidency,” Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore, said in a note. “If these locals are getting more concerned, this could translate to more significant worries among foreign investors. We think a rising likelihood of a Duterte win could add to

expectations of an adverse market reaction.”

Nomu r a i s poi se d to e x it bets that the peso will appreciate against the dollar amid increasing concern that the election won’t have a “ benign outcome,” the Japanese brokerage said in a separate report issued on Thursday.

Duterte’s spokesman has sought to calm market jitters by saying uncertainty usually arises in the weeks before an election, and it will be “business as usual” should the mayor be elected president.

The front-runner will provide businesses the “right and proper

atmosphere” to prosper without sacrificing the welfare of the people, Peter Lavina said in a statement on Tuesday.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco on Thursday said he doesn’t expect any major developments that would necessitate a shift in the central bank’s policy stance.

The monetary authority will continue to monitor possible inflation pressures to ensure price stability is conducive to a balanced and sustainable economic growth. He forecast April inflation to be in a range of 0.7 percent to 1.5 percent year-on-year. Bloomberg News

Horticulture. . . the industry does not receive enough support from the government anymore. “When you’re a listed priority industry, you get budgetary support from the government. There would be an initiative from the government to help you in whatever undertaking you have. But now, there’s none, so we are on our own,” Villanueva said in a phone interview.

Aside from budgetary support, Villanueva said being a priority industry also means it would be a primary concern of the government in terms of interventions, incentives and policies. “It would, therefore, help improve our production. There would also be an expected increase in marketing support. It’s, hopefully, a venue for the progress of the horticulture industry,” she said.

Villanueva described the road to being a priority industry as a “long and tedious” process. For one, there is no existing statistics that provide a picture of the status of the country’s horticulture industry.

The PHSI official said data are crucial, as before the government could even decide to prioritize a certain industry, a market research should be done as back up to the stakeholders’ request.

At the moment, she said the PHSI is affiliating with other groups, such as garden organizations from the regions, to collate the needed data, including the number of farmers, volume and value of production, imports and exports, among others.

“We’re trying to get all the statistics. We will compile them all together and it will not be easy as we also need data during the past decade, so we can project what will happen to the industry in the next 10 years,” Villanueva explained.

She said the PHSI is currently in talks with the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry and the departments of Environment and Natural Resources and Tourism to identify which agency the group should link up with to have the horticulture industry prioritized.

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Horticulture in PHL

DESPITE the lack of statistics, the PHSI asserted that horticulture is a “small but growing industry.”

“It’s thriving now because a lot of people are really into it, trying to revive it. There are a lot of growers and individual businesses that import and export plants,” Villanueva said. She added that people often mistake horticulturists as hobbyists, but unknown to them, horticulture has a big scope—from fruits, vegetables, ornaments and even medicinal plants.

“Horticulture really is the nurturing and propagation of plants.

So it’s very general and all-encompassing. Under it, there’s fruits and vegetables, flowers, medicinal plants, trees, marine flora and more,” she explained.

But currently, she said the government is focusing more on the propagation of farm produce, but not on the other branches of horticulture.

Agriculture Deputy Chief of Staff Dennis Arpia, for his part, said in a phone interview that the DA has not abandoned the industry. However, he said it is not a primary concern of the government as of now.

“The government’s thrust is ensuring enough food through its Food Staples Sufficiency Program.

But seeing as horticulture mostly does not deal with food, it is not on the forefront of our programs, though, that is not to say we are abandoning it,” Arpia said. He added that each region in the country provides support to help horticultural growers in the provinces.

Arpia cited, as an example, the proposal to use the old trading post in La Trinidad, Benguet, as a trading area for the growers of flowers in the area. This trading post used to be the market place for all agricultural goods in the province before the construction of the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center. Arpia said the proposal is already being finalized, so horticulture growers can benefit from the old trading center.

The official added that the DA, through its Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service, is assisting horticultural growers in trading their products.

In the meantime, the PHSI said it is providing information and training to farmers on the proper propagation of plants. Villanueva added that the group is urging the growers to begin planting seeds by the thousands, especially Philippine endemic plants, and contribute to the growth of the industry.

But she said farmers could not risk planting a lot as they are uncertain if they would be able to sell their products. This is why there is a need for government support to ensure that these growers and entrepreneurs would succeed.

Lowy. . .

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by which China would have de-facto control over the South China Sea in any scenario short of war.” The authors dub Beijing’s current strategy as “passive assertion,” where China uses the cover of the region’s relative stability to push ahead with island-building, militarization and the expansion of its naval and law-enforcement patrols to create new zones of military authority.

Part of the strategy is to portray the US and its allies as the aggressors, the authors wrote. That tactic was displayed on Thursday at the monthly news conference of China’s Ministry of Defense. “It is the so-called freedom of navigation operations of the US that have plunged the situation in the South China Sea into disorder, undermined regional stability and harmed the security interests of littoral states,” Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian said.

“China’s statement is the latest example of its public relations efforts to portray the US as Asia’s main maritime provocateur,”said Townshend, a research fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

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Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon • Saturday, April 30, 2016 A3

DTI bares move to forge partnership with Sippo, increase exports to Bern

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HE Philippines is seeking partnership with a Swiss government-backed organization to complement the recently inked Philippines-European Free Trade Association (Philippines-Efta) Free Trade Agreement, and boost Manila’s exports to Bern.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in a news statement released on Friday, said the Philippines’s intent to join the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (Sippo) was discussed during this week’s second meeting of the PhilippinesSwitzerland Joint Economic Commission.

Sippo is a program of Switzerland Global Enterprise, a nonprofit organization commissioned by the Swiss government’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, aimed at facilitating export, import, and investment

promotion of small and medium enterprises in Liechtenstein and in Switzerland.

Aside from promotion of Switzerland as a trade and investment destination, the program also helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from select developing countries as import sources.

It helps SMEs in these developing countries through fair support, market development and strengthening of their business support organizations to ease access to the Swiss and EU markets. Currently

Neda sets 6.2% growth target for PHL by 2017

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CONOMIC Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra said the Philippines is expected to remain one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, with Manila’s GDP growth targeted to reach 6.2 percent by 2017.

In his keynote address before participants of the second Mindanao Shipping Conference at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City on Wednesday, Esguerra said this vibrant view on the Philippine economy is also shared by the private sector, which forecasts real GDP growth to reach 5.8 percent to 6.3 percent by 2017.

“The growth-enhanced fiscal space has allowed major investments in infrastructure, with spending on public infrastructure more than tripling. The bulk of investments are slated for transportation, covering 43 percent of total infrastructure investments from 2013 to 2016 and beyond, which is estimated to reach more than P7 trillion,” he said.

“This shall be complemented by private investments in public infrastructure amounting to about P1.5 trillion, based on the status of PPP [publicprivate partnership] projects as of April 2016,” Esguerra added.

He also mentioned some issues on

Mindanao sea transport sector, which included the limited capacity of Mindanao seaports (berthing structure, transit/cargo shed area for no-containerized cargo container yard for containerized cargo, and passenger terminal building) and the need to reduce domestic cargo rates given the more expensive rates in Mindanao compared to foreign cargo rates.

Further, with Mindanao playing a critical role in the Asean Economic Community, the following sea linkages need to be established or improved: Zamboanga-Sandakan (Malaysia), Davao/ General Santos-Bitung, Manado (Indonesia), Zamboanga-Muara (Brunei) and Tawi-Tawi-Tarakan (Indonesia).

The event, which was organized

by PortCalls, the Philippines’s only shipping and transport guide, and the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association Inc. (Pisfa), convened cargo and forwarding transport industry representatives and stakeholders from the Mindanao area. Other resource persons include representatives from the Mindanao Development Authority, the Bureau of Customs, Davao International Container Terminal, Maersk-Filipinas Inc., Pisfa and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.

Industry gross revenues slowed to 5.9 percent in Q4 2015–PSA

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HE growth of the country’s gross revenues of industries nationwide slowed in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The country’s total gross revenue index posted a 5.9-percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2015. This is slower than the 8-percent growth posted in the same period in 2014. However, it improved from the 4.3 percent posted in the third quarter of 2015. The data was based on the April 2016 issue of the Quarterly Economic Indices (QEI) of the Philippines.

“Gross revenue refers to the value of receipts from the shipment of goods produced, resale of goods and services rendered,” the PSA said.

Real estate’s gross revenue index posted a growth of 12.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, from a growth of 7.5 percent in the same period in 2014.

Transportation and communications, meanwhile, posted a growth of 9.9 percent, from a 7.7-percent growth in 2014.

While finance posted one of the highest growth rates in the fourth quarter of 2015 at 8.5 percent, this was slower than the 10.2 percent it posted in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Industries that posted the lowest

growth in gross revenues in fourth quarter of 2015 are Private Services at 2.4 percent and Manufacturing at 3.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the QEI also showed that the country’s total employment index slowed to 3.2 percent, from 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, but grew from the 2.8 percent posted in the third quarter of 2015.

In terms of the total compensation index, data showed it slowed to 6.1 percent from 8 percent, in the fourth quarter of 2014, but improved from 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2015.

“With the slowdown of both employment and compensation, Total Compensation per Employee Index decelerated to 2.7 percent, from 3.3 percent a year ago,” the PSA said. The PSA added that this slowdown was most notable in Manufacturing at 2.9 percent, from 3.9 percent, and transportation and communications at 1.8 percent, from 5.1 percent.

The QEI provides measures of growth in production, gross revenue, employment and compensation in the various sectors of the economy. The indices can be used as deflators to express a current value in real terms, as bases for wage formulation and for forecasting and projections. Cai U. Ordinario

the program supports SMEs from 17 partner-countries and sectors in gaining access to the EU, Switzerland and other Efta countries. Country selection is based on exposure to the

Swiss and EU markets, among other criteria. Sippo has concentrated its interventions on the “last mile” of the product development-cum-export value chain, namely, matchmaking

between exporters and importers on the Swiss and EU markets.

Switzerland is the Philippines’s 25th trading partner with total bilateral trade valued at $556 million. The

figure is foreseen to increase with the FTA, coupled with trade promotion and cooperation activities under the Joint Economic Commission.

Catherine N. Pillas

News

BusinessMirror

A4 Saturday, April 30, 2016 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

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PHL flag flies half-staff after Corona’s death

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B J R. S J

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Philippine flag was flown at half-mast on Friday at the Supreme Court (SC) and other courts in the country following the death of former Chief Justice Renato C. Corona due to cardiac arrest. He was 67.

It was under Corona’s watch when the High Tribunal ordered the distribution of the controversial 4,915.75-hectare Hacienda Luisita sugar estate in Tarlac, which is owned by the family of President Aquino, to over 6,000 farmer worker-beneficiaries.

The ruling spawned relentless attacks against Corona and the Judiciary by President Aquino and his allies, which led to his ouster from

office in 2012 through impeachment, the first in the history of the Judiciary.

In a vote of 20-3 on May 29, 2012, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment tribunal, found Corona liable for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for his failure to declare all his money deposits in the banks in his Statement of Asset, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN).

NBI nabs second suspect in Comelec web-site hacking

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HE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday announced the arrest of another hacker, who allegedly released online vital information of registered voters stolen from the database of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

In a media briefing, the NBI identified the suspect as Joenel de Asis, 23, an information technology graduate at the Technological University of the Philippines.

De Asis was arrested at his residence in Muntinlupa City by virtue of a search warrant Comelec Chairman Andres D. Bautista told reporters that de Asis admitted responsibility for the uploading of the 340-gigabyte data stolen from the Comelec via wehaveyourdata.com.

NBI Computer Crimes Division Executive Officer Lorenzo Lazaro said de Asis’s involvement was established through inspection of his cellular phones and computers conducted by authorities.

“Gusto nya patunayan na ma-

daling makapasok sa Comelec web site,” Bautista, said when asked for de Asis’s objective in hacking the Comelec web site.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said de Asis admitted that the hacking would not affect the conduct of the national and local elections on May 9.

“There were encrypted files that they fail to decrypt, but we are still determining the scope of the hacking of our web site,” Jimenez said.

The NBI last week arrested Paul Loui Biteng, also an IT graduate, at his home in Sampaloc, Manila.

Biteng admitted responsibility over the defacement of Comelec’s web site in March, but denied leaking Comelec’s database.

Both Biteng and de Asis are facing violation of the provisions of the Cybercrime Prevention Act. The NBI said that apart from Biteng and de Asis, its investigators are still hunting down a third suspect. Joel R. San Juan

CORONA

Corona had consistenly linked his ouster to the SC’s decision to order the distribution of Hacienda Luisita to tenants.

After Corona’s ouster, Mr. Aquino appointed Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes A. Sereno as his successor.

However, Corona’s ordeal did not end with his impeachment, as he accused the Aquino administration of continued persecution with the

The number of votes in the Senate that impeached the former Chief Justice for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for his failure to declare all his money deposits in the banks in his Statement of Asset, Liabilities and Net worth. filing of tax-evasion case against him before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), allegedly for evading taxes on P120.5 million in assets.

Corona is a known ally of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who appointed him as Chief Justice in May 2010.

T he appoi nt ment bec a me

controversial, as it fell on the period covered by election ban on midnight appointments.

The Court eventually ruled that appointments in its posts are not covered by such ban. “ The harassment continues without let-up. Malacañang and its attack dogs were not content with removing me from office. They have been filing all sorts of baseless and contrived cases against me and members of my family,” Corona said in a January 2014 statement.

“I will fight this persecution to the very end, knowing the truth is on my side,” the former Chief Justice said.

Corona died on Friday at 1:48 a.m. at the Medical City in Pasig City, where he was rushed last Wednesday after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to his son Francis, who broke the news to the media.

“Please pray for the eternal repose of his soul, as he joins his Creator,” the family said in a brief state-

ment, adding that Corona’s remains will lie in state at The Heritage Park in Taguig City, where viewing will start today (Saturday).

Maria Lourdes Sereno has ordered that flags at the High Court and all courts nationwide be flown at half-mast to mourn the passing of the former Chief Justice.

“The Chief Justice and the associate justices of the Supreme Court mourn the passing of Renato C. Corona, the Court’s 23rd chief justice. The Philippine flags in all courts and the Supreme Court colors will be flown at halfstaff starting today,” the SC said in a statement.

Corona, an alumnus of the Ateneo de Manila University from grade school to law school who held a Masters of Law from Harvard University in the US, served in the Executive branch during the administrations of former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Over 167,000 jobs are up for grabs in Labor Day job fairs nationwide

THOUSANDS of fresh graduates are looking for work. ALYSA SALEN

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ANILA—Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz on Friday said more than 167,000 vacancies will be available for jobseekers in 54 jobfair venues nationwide on May 1, Labor Day. “The 54 job fairs will be simultaneous nationwide. These will be held in different venues in 17 regions under the overall supervision of the DOLE [Department of Labor and Employment],” Baldoz said.

The 2016 Labor Day theme, “Kinabukasan Sigurado sa Disenteng Trabaho,” underscores the DOLE’s effort in developing the country’s top resource, our workers, and generating decent and productive jobs to secure a brighter future for the country.

Baldoz said the 54 job fairs scheduled on May 1 will gather 1,112 employers, who will be bringing over 167,924 job vacancies.

Of the 167,924 jobs offered, 75,137, or 44.74 percent, are for local; 92,257, or 54.94 percent, are for overseas; and 530, or .32 percent, are for government.

“These numbers are preliminary and may increase,” she added, noting that it is still a few days before May 1.

“A s L abor Day approac hes, the number of both participating employers and job vacancies is expected to increase, so job

seekers of all types nationwide need to prepare to join the 54 job fairs,” Baldoz said.

According to the labor and employment chief, the Labor Day job fairs will be held in convenient venues that will enable job seekers to speed up their search for jobs and employers to fasttrack their search for skilled and qualified personnel.

Of the 1,112 employers who will participate in the Labor Day job fairs, 351 employers, or 38.6 percent, are from Region 3. This is followed by Region 11, with 127 employers, or 17.98 percent, and Region 1, with 160, or 14.27 percent.

The industries with the most number of vacancies are other community, social, personal service activities, with 21,494 vacancies; construction, with 9,800 vacancies; manufacturing, with 7,898 vacancies. Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods both have 5,850 vacancies.

For local employment, the top 20 occupations with most number of vacancies are factory/production workers, with 5,851 vacancies; production operators, with 4,940 vacancies; call-center agents, 2,492 vacancies; welders, 2,008 vacancies; customer service/support representatives, 1,633 vacancies; sales clerks, 1,037 vacancies; col-

lection agents, 582 vacancies; police officers, 500 vacancies; sales associates, 225 vacancies; office clerks, 168 vacancies; cashiers, 160 vacancies; credit counselors/investigators, 160 vacancies; humanresource assistants/clerks, 150 vacancies; sewers, 136 vacancies; waiter/waitresses, 130 vacancies; warehouse staff, 128 vacancies; accountants, 125 vacancies; quality-control staff, 116 vacancies; service crews, 115 vacancies; and drivers, 110 vacancies.

The top 20 occupations with the most number of vacancies for oversea s employ ment a re professional nurses, with 2,640 vacancies; hotel and restaurant service workers (hotel receptionists, room attendants, front desk and service crew, with 2,315 vacancies; laborers, with 1,043 vacancies; waiters/waitresses, 831 vacancies; technicians (electronics, hull, telecom, auto and physiotherapy), with 793 vacancies; c leaners, w it h 692 vacancies; pipefitters, with 600 vacancies; waiters/waitresses, with 592 vacancies; drivers, 557 vacancies; delivery men, 508 vacancies; production machine operators, 475 vacancies; salesmen, with 448 vacancies; cashiers, 250 vacancies; x-ray technicians, 200 vacancies; company drivers, 159 vacancies; cooks, 120 vacancies; anesthesiol-

ogists, 100 vacancies; factory/production workers, 100 vacancies; welders, 76 vacancies; sales representatives, 75 vacancies; and accounting staff, 74 vacancies.

The simultaneous nationwide job fairs will also showcase career fairs, which are aimed at assisting the youth and students in making career decisions.

The career fair will be open to youth and students who want to explore future job or career opportunities in the labor market.

The career fair will feature the ongoing human-resource development initiatives of the DOLE, in partnership with labor groups, employers, key sectors and other government agencies. It will build on the Human Resource Development Roadmap and the Labor and Employment Plan for 20162022 to prepare the youth for the future of work.

She added that the career fair will be participated in by 3,000 youths and students who want to explore future job/career opportunities in the labor market.

It will also feature career ambassadors who w il l assist the youth par ticipants in ma k ing career decisions.

The nationwide event will also feature livelihood counseling, skills training and livelihood skills demonstration. PNA

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, April 30 , 2016 A5

Students insist: Abolish K to 12

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GROUP of students on Friday urged the Department of Education (DepEd) anew to stop the full implementation of K to 12 Program.

League of Filipino Student National Chairman Charisse Bañez, who is a Stop K12 Alliance convener, said the start of K to 12 senior high-school enrollment was marked with a chaos, saying 700,000 to a million students might drop out of high-school education.

“If the DepEd cannot stop K to 12 after repeatedly being told to do so, then this agency should just shut down. We don’t need an education department that guarantees the profit of private schools and capitalist educators [through K to 12] at the expense of our right to free public education,” Bañez said. “ The school year for high school has ended last month, but junior high-school completers could not afford to enjoy their summer vacation, because they are still uncertain on how they can continue their high-school education. Right now, about a million students still do not know where to go,” she added.

She said the K to 12 Program is not designed for the i mp ro v e me nt of a c c e s s t o quality education.

“There is a scarcity of free public schools offering senior high education, because K to 12 is designed to be dominated by private schools. In the National Capital Region alone, more than 78 percent of senior high schools are privately owned. Matriculation costs of these schools range from P25,000 to more than P100,000 per year,” Bañez said.

Exodus

MEANWHILE, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Rep. Shewin Gatchalian of Valenzuela downplayed fears that the implementation of the K to 12 Program this coming school year will result in more high-school dropouts, especially those from private schools.

“It is incumbent on the DepEd to make sure that private-school students transferring to public senior high school will be accommodated and the opening of classes in June will not be chaotic, as some quarters fear that it will be,” Gatchalian added.

“Many private schools are now problematic because many students and even teachers in pri-

vate schools are transferring to public schools for the senior high school program. This is because public-school teachers are given higher pay than those in private schools and receive numerous benefits from the government,” said Gatchalian, a member of House Committee on Basic Education and Culture.

Some 5,800 public schools and 1,866 private schools are set to offer the senior high school program this year with close to 1.3 million students expected to enroll before June. Of the 1.3 million students, around 878,000 students will be enrolling in public schools, while about 438,000 students will go to private schools.

Under the K to 12 Program, a student is required to undergo kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of junior high and two years in senior high school.

On the other hand, the senior high school program, a student can choose one among four major “tracks”—academic, technicalvocational livelihood, arts and design and sports.

Under the academic track, there are four “strands”—Accountancy, Business and Management; Humanities and Social Sciences; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; and the General Academic strand. Those who have completed the Senior High School program after two years can go to college if they wish to continue their studies. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Navy receives research ship from US

EU, UNDP release ₧63 million to boost Mindanao peace effort

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@rectomercene

OME P63 million (€1.2 million) was released by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Wednesday to help sustain the suspended peace efforts in Mindanao.

The EU-UNDP contribution is the last of a package of five projects, totalling an amount of P288 million (€5.5 million) approved by the EU in August last year.

EU Ambassador Franz Jessen and UNDP Philippines Country Director Titon Mitra presented the “Support Peace-Bangsamoro Project” at a gathering at the Yuchengco Dela Salle University in Makati City.

The project will be implemented from 2016 to mid-2017.

Jessen said the money would be used to support capacity-building for local leaders and other stakeholders on public administration and parliamentary processes.

“It will strengthen the constituency for peacebuilding in the Bangsamoro, including establishing partnerships with local government units and civil society organizations.”

“It will develop platforms that will enable the youth and women to actively engage in peacebuilding, and provide support to the Third Party Monitoring of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” he added.

Mitra said the new administra-

tion that would be in place following the proclamation of a new set of officials, starting with the President in June this year, would be face with a challenge.

“But then we have to see what is the political will. Will the person be able to bring Congress on board? Will the Senate vote for a legislation which really gives meaning to the comprehensive agreement?” Mitra asked.

He answered his own question by saying that those who believe in the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) have a deep constituency, especially those who are from Mindanao, because they understand the cost of having a basic framework.

“If you look at the human development index for the Philippines, one reason that it does not improve further is because you have a part of Philippines that is still riddled with poverty and where the social conditions are not appropriate for a middle income country,” Mitra said.

“So while you have this drag for the rest of the country, it’s a problem people in Mindanao understand,” he added.

Mitra said the challenge now is for the residents of Metro Manila and those living in the enclave of Makati City to really see the association between what happens in Mindanao and national progress.

“And that really is a challenge for the next president.”

Mitra said he is glad that from what he heard coming from presiden-

Bill taps PCSO, Pagcor for ₧8-B BFP modernization

T B R A @reneacostaBM

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HE United State formally turned over on Tuesday (US time) the research ship USS Melville to the Philippines.

The ship was christened BRP Gregorio Vasques (AGR-702) and was assigned to the Navy.

USS Melville was accepted by Navy officials led by Commo.

Narciso Vingson Jr., deputy commander of the Philippine Fleet, and former Navy flag Officer in Command and Defense Undersecretary Jesus Millan in San Diego, California.

Capt. Lued Lincuna, Navy public affairs officer, said on Friday that BRP Gregorio Vasquez was already steaming toward the Philippines with 50 crewmen.

The Navy personnel “underwent preparatory training for familiarization and orientation on the operation and maintenance of various equipment aboard said vessel since March this year,” he said.

USS Melville is the third ship to be turned over by the US to the Philippines under its Excess Defense

Article (EDA) Program.

Two former US Coast Guard cutters were earlier turned over Navy which has commissioned them into service as BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz.

BRP Gregorio del Pilar is currently the flagship of the Navy.

Melville’s turnover to the country was promised in November last year by US President Barack Obama while he was in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Obama also said a third US Coast Guard cutter, Boutwell, would be given to the Philippines under the EDA. “The United States intends to grant the high-endurance US Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell to the Philippine Navy, the third ship of its class that we have provided in the past few years. This will provide the Philippines the ability to maintain greater maritime presence and patrols throughout its EEZ [exclusive economic zone],” the US President said at that time.

“We are also in the process of transferring the research vessel R/V Melville to support naval

research and law-enforcement capabilities [of the Philippines],” he added.

Lincuna said AGR-702 would be shared with other government agencies for ocean-related research projects.

“The research vessel will not only provide us capability for hydrographic survey, it will also become a platform for interagency collaboration for partners in the academe and, thus, improve awareness of our sub-surface environment,” Lincuna said.

“Aside from its primary mission, AGR-702 would also be a valuable platform in reviewing our Anti-submarine Warfare Capability. This acquisition also aims to address the issues in terms of marine scientific researches/ surveys and to gather marine scientific data beneficial to naval operations,” he added.

Lincuna said as a government policy that auxiliary research vessels should be named after national scientists, the AGR-702 was named after her namesake Dr. Gregorio Velasquez, a pioneer in Philippine physiology.

WO lawmakers are pushing for a measure mandating the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to allocate P8 billion for the modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

In House Bill 6383, or the “Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2015,” Party-list Reps. Gary C. Alejano and Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo of Magdalo said their proposal mandates the acquisition of modern equipment, which shall constitute the main thrust of the Fire Protection Modernization Program (FPMP).

“An amount of P8 billion shall be allotted coming from the income of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and from the General Appropriations Act immediately preceding the effectivity of this act,” the bill said.

The FPMP shall be implemented for a period of three years and shall establish a Fire Protection Service (FPS) to all local government units without existing fire protection services.

The measure also aims to establish fire stations and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in all local governments.

Under the bill, the program shall establish specialized fire protection and services for high-rise building fires, forest fires, airport and ship fires, chemical fires, disaster rescue services and EMS. Moreover, it said FPMP shall upgrade fire-protection equipment, and establish training facilities, including personnel development program from internationally accredited training consultants and advisers if experts of equal qualification cannot be obtained locally.

In terms of contracts and agreement, the secretary of the Interior and Local Government (SILG) may enter into multi-year contracts, lease-purchase agreements or other contractual agreements with local or foreign suppliers, the bill added.

The measure also said the contracts shall be favorable to the government and are subject to approval of the President under provisions of existing laws and regulations including from the Commission on Audit. It added that chief Fire Marshall should submit an annual report containing the process of the implementation of the FPMP to the President and Congress through the SILG. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

tial candidates that they are all aware about the issues surrounding the BBL and have shown a positive attitude toward its passage.

“I think we’ve heard from all presidential candidates that this is an important issue, but the nature of the debate does not allow how they will advance the issue,” he said.

He added the difficulty arises because the debate allows each candidate only a brief time to expound on every subject.

He added, however, that the new administration would have the time to really resolve the BBL problem because the history of conflict in Mindanao had cost so much to the economy and to the people’s lives.

“The challenge is to return to path of resolution, which is sustained peace,” Mitra added.

He said the EU and the UNDP’s role is to bring the international experience of autonomous region within the framework of unitary states, and the Philippines is not the only country confronting that situation.

“Our role is to make sure that all the stakeholders have a good understanding of the options and the issues but it is fundamentally a Filipino process.”

“It’s not for international organizations to do with these issues but to really facilitate knowledge-based, to make informed decisions about how to make this move forward,” Mitra added.

Miners condemn killing of Canadian hostage

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B J L. M

@jonlmayuga

HE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) on Friday condemned the killing of John Ridsdel by the Abu Sayyaf and demanded that the government bring the perpetrators to swift and heavy justice.

“We are devastated by his senseless and grisly death at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. John did not deserve such fate,” the statement said.

The statement came as the Armed Forces mounted an all-out-offensive against the bandit group on orders of President Aquino, whose term ends in less than two months.

Ridsdel was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf bandits, who demanded ransom for his and three other kidnap victims’ s release.

The incident is considered a big blow to the government’s campaign against lawless groups.

In a statement, COMP said Ridsdel was well-aware of the dangers he faced in the Philippines having been involved in a mining operation in Zamboanga del Norte for many years as a consultant for a local mining company.

“Despite knowing the danger, Ridsdel’s love for the Philippines prompted him to stay and retire in the country appreciating its innate beauty and believing in its people.

“It is unfortunate, for all that John had given, he only encountered the darkest of what we have,” COMP added.

The group said Ridsdel’s murder must serve as a wakeup call for everyone and reawakens the commitment to help ensure peace and prosperity in Mindanao and the country as a whole.

“We condole with John’s family in this time of indescribable grief. And we are one with all countries in condemning terrorism and will continue to raise our voices against acts that impede on our freedom and our divine right to life,” the statement said.

A6 Saturday, April 30, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

We are watching

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F politics is any indication of a nation’s character, the Philippines is in poor condition. As the campaign season winds down to the actual voting, the discourse has deteriorated to the point where the people must be fed up with the whole process.

Lies are becoming inseparable from truth and no one knows which is which. The candidates’ campaigns are at the lowest possible level with little respect for the people, institutions, or even the rules.

It has become a fight for power, not unlike a pack of vicious dogs fighting over the carcass of a dead animal.

Unfortunately, that animal is the Philippines.

While the candidates were playing their political games, a fiveyear-old girl died after a huge fire razed Barangay Tuktukan in Taguig City this past Thursday morning. Around 300 families were left homeless, and, of course, these people are of the same socioeconomic class that all the candidates are so concerned about.

Talk is cheap, but which of the presidential candidates took even one moment to acknowledge or do anything concrete to reach out to these people? But we do understand. Dying children and homeless poor people are with us always. But a presidential campaign only comes only once every six years.

The administration assures us that all is well and under control.

It is fully aware and on top of problems, such as the insurgency in Mindanao. When the headless body of Canadian John Ridsdel was turned over to the Canadian embassy, the government gave this assurance. “President Aquino has promised to devote his remaining days in office to crushing the Abu Sayyaf.” What happened during the last six years?

We have no particular anger or disappointment with the current administration. It is just “business as usual,” with little indication that much is going to change regardless of who becomes the next president.

At some point, though—as always eventually happens—the people are going to say “enough is enough.” Regardless of any successes of the current national government—and there are many—the incoming elected officials should realize that this time it is different. When a government fails the people’s expectations—and there have been many failures—citizens become cautious and suspicious.

The economic progress we have experienced in the last 10—not six—years may have made the people a little lazy and complacent.

But the problems that have been ignored or improperly handled are beginning to take center stage. Unlike in the past, the incoming administration is going to have 100 million Filipinos looking closely over its shoulder, and that is a good development. We are watching.

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Where did all the wealth go?

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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ATIONAL politics everywhere is all nonsense to the extent that it is all about power and money. The reality is that the farther you go up the “food chain” in a nation’s political system, amazingly your wealth increases along with your power.

The best leaders are usually those in small communities. The tribal elders on some Pacific Ocean island are more responsive to the needs of the people as are small-town mayors. The closer the leaders are to the people, the better the job they tend to do.

If you live in a community that has a homeowners’ association, you can see this principle at work.

As political systems have become more corrupted over the last 100 years, so have economic systems.

That is not to say that the system was much better when people were relieving themselves behind the nearest tree, but now, virtually, all people on the planet live under a similar system.

If you consider income inequality as measured by the “Gini coefficient,” there is little difference between “wealthy” nations and the “poor.” The Gini is nearly the same between the US, with a per-capita GDP at $53,000, and China, with a per-capita GDP of $6,800.

Wealth inequality is even more interesting. A Gini model coefficient applied to wealth shows almost the same wealth inequality in the US (85 percent) as in the Philippines (82.7 percent), and a lower score indicates lower inequality.

During the period 2010 to 2015, the Philippines had a much higher economic growth with per-capita GDP growing by 17.5 percent versus 13

Between 2005 and 2010, financial wealth (cash, insurance and stocks) for the average Filipino increased significantly, while the nonfinancial wealth increased by only 25 percent. However, between 2010 and 2015, nonfinancial (houses, condos, cars and business investment) wealth increased 375 percent more than financial wealth.

percent in the previous five years.

However, from 2005 to 2010, real annual per-capita wealth-growth rate was 7.5 percent, according to the Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Global Wealth Datebook 2015.

Between 2010 and 2015, the wealthgrowth rate was less than 4 percent.

Where did all the wealth go even with high economic growth?

It was not all because the very rich got richer. Compared with 2010, the number of Filipinos in the top 10 percent of global wealth holdings increased by 75 percent. But the key is examining the kind of wealth we have.

Obama’s economic disappointment

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B N K | Bloomberg View

RESIDENT Barack Obama thinks Americans don’t properly appreciate the benefits of his economic policies—a view he most recently expressed in an interview with the New York Times. Isolating the effects of any president’s policies is close to impossible. That said, it’s not hard to see why many people are disappointed with the performance of the economy during Obama’s time in office.

In January 2009, at the beginning of Obama’s first term, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a 10-year forecast for the US economy, including such indicators as unemployment,

GDP, the budget deficit, government debt and interest rates. Here’s a table comparing the CBO’s expectations for the year 2015 to what has actually happened: The unemployment rate has come OBAMA

closest to expectations. Although it remained very high through much of the Obama presidency, it had fallen to near historical averages by 2015.

Elsewhere, the story is less positive. Total income growth in the US has fallen well short of expectations, in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. And although Obama expressed pride in the recent decline in the federal budget deficit, it’s still much larger than the CBO forecast in 2009—as is the ratio of government debt to GDP. No number expresses the economy’s weakness better than the yield

Between 2005 and 2010, financial wealth (cash, insurance and stocks) for the average Filipino increased significantly, while the nonfinancial wealth increased by only 25 percent.

However, between 2010 and 2015, nonfinancial (houses, condos, cars and business investment) wealth increased 375 percent more than financial wealth.

Economic wealth increases between 2005 and 2010 put more money in the hands of the average Filipino. Then, that increase in “cash” created higher economic growth between 2010 and 2015, because Filipinos increased their buying activities of goods.

The Arroyo administration should have thanked Filipinos for working hard to increase their wealth (up 7.5 percent). The Aquino administration should thank Filipinos for spending to create a 6.2-percent average economic growth from 2010 to 2015.

Why do we need politicians again?

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

on the three-month Treasury bill, which captures market expectations of what the Federal Reserve (the Fed) will do with interest rates over the next three months. Instead of recovering to near 5 percent as the CBO predicted, the yield was close to zero.

Some would say this simply means the Fed is holding rates too low in its efforts to boost the economy. Yet growth remains inadequate, and inflation is still below the central bank’s target. More likely, the low rates reflect the large amount on uncertainty among households and businesses—uncertainty that even the Fed’s extraordinarily loose monetary policy cannot completely dispel.

Who’s responsible for the underwhelming economic performance?

Blaming the president alone would be a big mistake. Many actors were involved, including Congress, the Fed, the president’s administration and foreign governments. Technological developments may well have played a role, too.

What matters is how we respond. Should policy-makers be satisfied, as though this were the best that America can do? At times in his interview, Obama seemed to suggest that he thought so. I strongly disagree.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Building future memories of Clark

Brexiteers are pining for empire Pankaj Mishra

Jemain Diaz de Rivera

FORWARD MOVING

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S a little girl, I remember Clark as a restricted and fenced-up military base surrounded by shops that sell US goods. It was a United States Air Force base in Angeles, Pampanga, which is currently about a two-hour ride from Quezon City via the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

After the Mount Pinatubo eruption and the eventual departure of American forces in 1991, the base eventually became the site of Clark International Airport (CIA), the Clark Freeport Zone, and the Air Force City of the Philippine Air Force. nnn

Plans were drawn to make Clark a world-class destination for aviation, commerce, infrastructure and leisure. Investors from the tourism, manufacturing, and the information-technology and business-process management industries made Clark their home. The Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office in 2010 identified Metro Clark as one of the Centers of Excellence for IT-BPM operations, a position it still holds to this day.

The heart of the facility is the CIA, complete with its parallel runways system, airfield ground lighting system, navigational aids including its primary and secondary radar, communications and emergency equipment.

The airport’s proximity to Metro Manila and Subic Freeport gives it an important role in tourism, transportation, industry and economy. It can tap the rich market north of the Philippines and serve as an alternative to the congested skies and streets of Metro Manila. nnn

Last year transport officials gave incentives to airlines and travelers who use the CIA facilities. It has a capacity of 5 million passengers annually, but only around 877,000 passengers were recorded to have used it in 2014.

The strategic location of CIA makes it a viable center for the AsiaPacific region. Low-cost budget carriers, budget fare and full service airlines, such as Asiana Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Emirates, JinAir, Qatar, Tigerair, Philippine Airlines and Airasia Zest, use the Clark facilities.

It is home to United Parcel Services, making it hospitable to both passenger and freight.

Investors have all their needs within their reach and enjoy the free-port privileges and incentives, as well. nnn

Clark Development Corp. posted a revenue of P1,554 billion, net income of P697 million, and cash position of P2.33 billion. For 2015, employment has reached an astounding 82,382 jobs. nnn

In February I visited Clark again after so many years for the 20th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, a gathering of aviators from the Philippines and the world. For four days and with thousands of tourists and balloon enthusiasts, various flying spectacles were showcased, including hot-air ballooning, aerobatic exhibitions, skydiving, motorized paragliding exhibition, aviation formation, search and rescue flight demonstrations, and microlight and ultralight flying.

Clark is now an aviation complex with a service and logistics hub. It is home to Omni aviation training school for pilots, airline cadets, maintenance and ground services.

Other activities that bring people to the area include the Clark International Marathon, Clark Animo Marathon, and the Clark and Mount Pinatubo Sky Tour. nnn

Recently CDC and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority launched the P1.8-billion Clark solar-power project inside the free port. The solar project could energize households in Pampanga and Clark when fully operational. CDC President Arthur Tugade said the solar project would help ensure adequate and cheap power supply to current and future locators within the free-port zone. The Clark solarpower project will reduce carbon footprint inside Clark and supports the development of Clark Green City, an integrated city involving commercial, industrial and residential developments. nnn

As a child, I saw Clark as an intimidating place. After Mount Pinatubo erupted, Clark needed help. Presently, I see it as a land of opportunity…. nnn

With a new government soon to be elected, I wonder how they will build our future memories of Clark.

E-mail: jemain_diaz_de_rivera@yahoo.com

Egypt on edge: An island giveaway to Saudis undercuts el-Sissi

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GYPT’S precariously perched president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, put his position further at risk earlier this month. He gave visiting Saudi Arabian King Salman two Red Sea islands, Sanafir and Tiran, in return for a multibilliondollar package of aid and investment.

On the one hand, the two islands, located at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, off the tip of the Sinai peninsula, are uninhabited. On the other, they have been considered Egyptian property since a line was drawn between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire in 1906. Saudi Arabia has claimed them from time to time, deeming them to be in its territorial waters, but nonetheless consigned them in 1950 to Egyptian protection from possible Israeli seizure.

The borders of Egypt, Israel and Jordan meet on the Gulf of Aqaba in that area. There is the suggestion that Saudi Arabia will construct a bridge or causeway between it and Egypt if ownership of Sanafir and Tiran is now settled.

The problem for Egypt is that alreadyfervent opposition to Sissi, a former military field marshal, has focused on what it considers to be his giveaway of Egyptian territory for Saudi cash, prompting

protests by thousands in Cairo streets.

President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011. Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected president in democratic elections in 2012. Sissi overthrew him in a military coup d’etat in 2013, and was elected president himself in dubious elections in 2014.

Since then the Egyptian economy has gone straight downhill, led by a tourist industry that used to sustain the country but has now collapsed, prompted by the likely state killing of an Italian graduate student and other alarming incidents. Sissi called protests against him over the two islands to be the work of “forces of evil,” and called out security forces loyal to him to put them down.

In the meantime, the US has maintained $1.3 billion in mostly military annual aid to Egypt. It also just pulled back 100 of its 700 forces in the Sinai peninsula due to “troop safety,” a move engendered by Islamic State attacks on the Multinational Force of Observers there. The island giveaway looks like selling off the furniture to pay the rent and could spell the end of Sissi. TNS

Saturday, April 30, 2016 A7

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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HERE are no good reasons for Britain to leave the European Union (EU). “Brexit” makes zero sense geopolitically or economically, as exasperated foreigners, including US President Barack Obama, have repeatedly pointed out. But then, as with many political phenomena today, any explanation of the inexplicable Brexit campaign has to be sought deep in social, cultural and emotional history.

The impulse driving the Brexiteers is the same one former US Secretary of State Dean Acheson highlighted in 1962, when he declared, “Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role.” The writer Edmund Wilson expressed it, too, when he said that the British elite was “completely unreconciled to the post-war diminishment of Britain.”

The members of Britain’s Conservative Party who would withdraw from the EU share the same stubborn belief that their small island remains great enough to stand apart from continental Europe. To be sure, the original British sense of self-sufficiency, and of power and glory, was derived from historical facts. In the 18th century, Britain’s geographical isolation, as well as entwined traditions of commerce and individual

liberty, clearly distinguished it from rivals on the turbulent continent.

Those virtues made ardent Anglophiles even out of hard-headed men, like Montesquieu and Voltaire.

Then in the 19th century, Britain’s industrial and commercial expansion reorganized the world into an economic unity, for better and for worse. British colonists, financiers, engineers, explorers, seamen, insurers and administrators broke down many of the geographical, social and economic barriers between continents. These triumphant forays into the world outside Europe both created Britain’s distinctive modern character and gave its prospering classes a sense of splendid uniqueness within a Europe racked by war and revolution.

This long experience of successful

imperialism seeded many attitudes recognizable in today’s Brexit campaign. It bred a distrust of continental Europeans. Even the acute chronicler of London’s laboring poor Henry Mayhew wrote fearfully in 1862 of the “aliens” in London’s East End, “whom we had long welcomed and pampered in our midst” and who “swarmed westward in lawless, hungry multitudes.”

Winston Churchill’s father opposed a proposed Channel Tunnel with France in the late 19th century by saying that “the reputation of England has hitherto depended upon her being, as it were, virgo intacta.”

The serene possession of a great empire created among elites some lasting mental and emotional dispositions, ranging from the “stiff upper lip” to an imperious self-absorption and poor understanding of the importance of diversity. E.M. Forster blamed the political problems of the British Empire in the early 20th century on superbly educated “public-school men” who “go forth” with “undeveloped hearts” into “a world that is not entirely composed of public-school men or even of AngloSaxons but of men who are as various as the sands of the sea.”

It could never have been easy for this frequently blundering but cosseted British ruling class to find a mere role after losing an empire.

They’ve sought to keep the old flame alive through occasional neo-imperial adventures, from Suez to the Falk-

lands to Iraq. As Education Minister, Michael Gove, a leading campaigner for Brexit, was obsessed with bringing school history syllabuses in line with the revisionist thinking of selfdeclared “neo-imperialists” Niall Ferguson and Andrew Roberts. Both Roberts and Ferguson lent their voices to the Iraq War, arguing that the British Empire was an “exemplary force for good,” and that imperialism was “an idea whose time has come again.”

In recent years, this passive-aggressiveness about the British Empire—a venture with often benign motives and agents but blighted by violence, racism and exploitation— has gone mainstream among a section of British right-wingers. Last week Boris Johnson even accused Obama of inheriting his Kenyan ancestors’ anti-imperialist animus against Britain. This was an extraordinarily intemperate attack by the outgoing mayor of London— the world’s most cosmopolitan city and a shining example of how Britain has done much better than any continental European country in accommodating its foreignborn population.

Brexit is little more than another instance of dead-end thinking by some empire fetishists, powered by the same delusion of a small island regaining its global power and influence. According to this Trumplite view, isolation might just make Britain great again.

Hong Kong’s biggest retail rival is on its doorstep

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B D W  J M | Bloomberg View

UXURYWATCH retailer Halewinner will almost double its store count in the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, where casinos want time to be irrelevant, dealing another blow to Hong Kong’s staggering retail market.

Halewinner Watches Group will open at least nine more shops in Macau while closing two in Hong Kong, Chairman Karson Choi said in an interview. Most of the new stores will be in the Cotai Strip, where Sands China Ltd. will open its Parisian resort this year and Wynn Macau Ltd. will debut the Wynn Palace.

“This year we’re still going ahead with our major expansion plan,” said Choi, son of billionaire Francis Choi.

“That plan is in Macau.”

The peninsula, home to the world’s biggest gambling center, is trying to diversify its image by welcoming luxury-brand shoppers. That effort is helping siphon big spenders from Hong Kong, where the number of visitors from China dropped for nine straight months and retail sales in February plunged the most in 17 years.

The outlook isn’t any better for next week’s Labor Day holiday, with the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council estimating the number of package-tour travelers will drop by 50 percent. The tour-group visitor count, which mostly consists of Chinese tourists from the mainland, plunged 60 percent in the first quarter from a year before.

“We don’t see any recovery signs in the upcoming Labor Day holiday,” said Joseph Tung, the council’s executive director.

The gloom engulfed even Apple Inc., with sales for Greater China plunging 26 percent in the quarter ending March 30.

“The vast majority of the weakness in the Greater China region sits in Hong Kong,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said during an April

26 call with analysts. One reason he cited is the local currency’s peg to the stronger US dollar. “That has driven tourism, international shopping and trading down significantly compared to what it was in the year ago,” Cook said.

Luxury handbag and fashion retailers also are taking hits in the city.

Burberry Group Plc. sales in Hong Kong fell more than 20 percent for a third straight quarter, and the company is seeking to reduce its local rent payments.

Prada SpA, which held Hong Kong’s biggest initial public offering in 2011, reported sales in Asia fell 16 percent last year.

“The near-term outlook for retail sales will still be constrained by the weak inbound tourism performance and uncertain economic prospects,” the Hong Kong government said after retail statistics were released in late March.

Luxury watches

CHOI’S father is billionaire Francis Choi, whose Early Light Industrial Co. Ltd. makes toys for more than 30 brands, including Mattel, Hasbro, Disney and Wow Wee. Early Light also owns properties in Hong Kong and is moving into consumer electronics and medical products to help increase profit margins, the younger Choi, 30, said.

Halewinner outlets sell watches from more than 40 brands, including a $200,000 Jaeger-LeCoultre and a $180,000 Blancpain. During an April 20 interview at a Halewinner outlet in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong’s premier retail district, Choi wore a steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

timepiece priced at $21,000.

The family acquired the watch retailer in 2010, when it had just seven stores. Now it has more than 30 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

Sales at its Hong Kong stores dropped 30 percent last year, amid China’s economic slowdown, a government anticorruption campaign and protests by Hong Kong residents claiming the city caters to wealthy mainland visitors at their expense.

Zhou Guoliang, 54, a general manager in the electronics industry from Shanghai, and his wife rarely visit Hong Kong nowadays partly because of social tensions.

“I heard Hong Kong people insult Chinese,” Zhou said. “We come to bring consumption, and you should be nice and guide visitors.”

So he’s taking his money to Macau, where he vacations three to four times a year. Zhou once bought a $7,000 Omega watch and a $6,000 necklace from Chow Sang Sang Holdings International with his winnings in Macau, although he observed the watches are slightly pricier in the Portuguese city.

“People who gamble in Macau go there particularly for amusement and fun ,” Zhou said. “I wouldn’t save the money to bring it back home.”

Swiss watch exports to Hong

Kong in March fell 38 percent from a year ago, the most among major markets, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd., the world’s largest listed jewelry chain, and Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd. reported slumping sales during the Lunar New Year holiday in February, when the number of mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong dropped by 26 percent from a year earlier.

Shares of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery have dropped 44 percent from a year ago, while competitor Chow Sang Sang Holdings International has declined 30 percent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index is down 26 percent from a year earlier.

China’s economic slowdown and anticorruption efforts also affect Macau and its $30-billion casino industry, yet there are signs the market has hit bottom. Visitor totals for the former Portuguese colony rose 4.2 percent last month, and a flood of new projects like the Batman Ride targets tourists and families.

“Retailers are still willing to expand in Macau because Chinese visitors will continue to come and play in the gaming hub,” said Michael Cheng, Asia Pacific and Hong Kong/ China retail & consumer partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Llp.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| SATURDAY A , APRIL 30, 2016 AY mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

EPIC GAME THREE B L A

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OW, it has come down to this—a Game Three that will be immortalized in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) history as an epic no-tomorrow showdown between archrivals Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle for the Season 78 crown.

And mind you, the Smart Araneta Coliseum will be bursting to the rafters once the first serve is

made at exactly 3:30 p.m.

Nothing less than a crowd of 25,000 is expected at the Big Dome, where Alyssa Valdez and the Lady Eagles will try to make it three championships in a row—and as many over Ara Galang and the Lady Spikers.

When everyone thought De La Salle had it in the bag—the Lady Spikers jumped to a 2-0 set lead in Game Two on Wednesday at the MOA Arena—the Lady Eagles got their second wind—and what a howler it was—and caught De La Salle flat-footed for a five-set 18-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 15-11 victory that forced the series practically back to square one.

It’s all for the marbles and neither team would enter the game ill-prepared.

“It’s the last game of the finals. Mind over matter, and we really need to fight,” said three-time Most Valuable Player Valdez, who is playing the last of her five straight seasons in the UAAP—remarkably, she figured in five straight championships in her collegiate career.

“I know my teammates will be there and I could not ask for more,” said Valdez, also a four-time Best Scorer and three-time Best Setter. “God gave us another chance to defend the crown.

We’ll just give our best and we’ll just give it all not only our 100 percent but definitely 101 percent.”

De La Salle, on the other hand, remained in high spirits despite the Game Two meltdown.

“You have to pick up yourself up from the loss and just go to Game Three with a perspective that there’s no other way but do it,” De La Salle Athletic Director Nongnong Calanog said. “Definitely, they’ll go back to the drawing board see where the adjustments have to be made and hopefully, we finish the job that we

didn’t finish in Game Two.” After an injury scare late in the third set in Game Two on the same knee where she had an ACL tear last year, Galang will suit up for the last time seeking to complete an unfinished business after missing last season’s Finals.

“It’s just a minor contusion. Nabugbog lang ng kaunti ‘yung left knee niya pero ilalaro ni Ara ‘yan,” Calanog said.

Galang will be joined by cograduating spikers Mika Reyes and Cyd Demecillo, as well as newly crowned Best Setter Kim Fajardo, Best Blocker Majoy Baron, Best Digger and Best Receiver Dawn Macandili and rising spiker Kim Kianna Dy to complete their sweet revenge against Ateneo after two years of title drought.

La Salle is gunning for its ninth women’s volleyball title and the team has been in the Finals for eight straight years. No wonder Valdez is wary of the experience of the Lady Spikers Head Coach Ramil de Jesus.

“La Salle will be La Salle. La Salle has a good system and they are the veterans kahit sabihin mong may mga bata, veterans pa rin sila kasi ‘yung experience nila as a team sobrang dami na,” Valdez said.

It will also be the last UAAP match for Amy Ahomiro, and Mae Tajima for Ateneo.

For La Salle, Galang, Reyes, Demecillo, Mika Esperanza and Carol Cerveza will also bid farewell after Game Three.

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Alyssa Valdez (right) »andATENEO’S De La Salle’s Ara Galang will play herculean roles for their respective teams in the notomorrow showdown.

Korea first, Philippines third in Queen Sirikit Cup golfest

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Ateneo makes men’s football finals vs UP

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TENEO de Manila won a penalty shootout over archrival De La Salle, 5-4, on Thursday to advance to the Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s football final at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Carlo Liay and goalkeeper JP Oracion were the biggest Blue Eagles in the shootout after the crucial Final Four duel ended in a 1-1 standoff.

The Blue Eagles will face the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the final at 3 p.m. on Thursday, also at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Liay, a former Rookie of the Year, gave Ateneo the lead, 5-4, and Oracion, a substitute late in extra time, had a brilliant save against Jose Montelibano, which sent the Green Archers packing.

It will be the first Finals meeting between the two Katipunan rivals since the 2012-2013 season, when the Blue Eagles swept the Fighting Maroons in two games—both decided on penalties.

“UP is organized in defending and attacking. We need to play our best on Thursday,” said Coach JP Merida, who was a part of the Ateneo squad that booked a “three-peat” from 2004-2006.

The Blue Eagles are gunning for their seventh title, while the Maroons are seeking their 17th championship, their first since the 2011-12 season. Lance Agcaoili

Hawks advance to second rd

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OSTON—Atlanta advanced to the second round of the Natioal Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs with a 10492 Game Six victory over Boston on Thursday, beating the Celtics in a playoff series for the first time since 1958.

Paul Millsap had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Al Horford and Kent Bazemore each added 15 points for the Hawks, who were based in Saint Louis, when they beat the Celtics in the 1958 Finals.

“Good to finally beat them,” said Hawks point guard Jeff Teague, who was on Atlanta’s 2012 team that lost to Boston in the first round. “It feels good.”

The Hawks open the second round on Monday at Cleveland.

The Celtics last three playoff appearances have ended in first-round exits.

Coming off a 27-point win in Game Five, the Hawks took advantage of poor shooting

by Boston on Thursday, building as much as a 28-point lead.

Atlanta blew the game open with a 39-point third quarter in which it shot 74 percent from the field.

“We learned from before with this team that

ILAS BAGS CHALLENGE GOLF TITLE

EENER Bernice Olivarez-Ilas enhanced a promising golf career by bagging the Beverly Place Challenge crown yesterday, bucking a shaky start then holding off Sam Martirez with a 74 to win the duel of amateurs on Friday at the Beverly Place Golf Place in Mexico, Pampanga.

Ilas, 14, stumbled with a double bogey on the opening par-5 hole but regained her overnight three-shot lead over Martirez on a two-shot swing on No. 3, which she birdied from 6 feet then kept a safe distance from Martinez by matching the latter’s lone birdie, pars and bogeys in the next 14 holes.

The La Salle-Zobel student, who won the Jungolf-The Junior Golf League tournament here last week, then capped another romp in a day of soaring scores at the flat but tricky par-71 layout with a birdie on the par-5 18th, her closing two-over card proving more than enough to secure her biggest win in a young career.

She pooled a 54-hole 215 total and won by three over Martirez, who hardly cashed in on Ilas’s early fumble with a bogey on the third and fell by three again.

Still, The Masters Academy student pressed her bid at the back but just couldn’t set up birdie chances or sink a couple of makable putts, also finishing with a 74 for a 218, marking the second time in the country’s ladies pro tour that the amateurs took the top 2 spots after Korean Hwang Min-jeong edged Princess Superal at Mount Malarayat last year.

“I’m glad I played steady and was able to focus on my game,” said Ilas, who became the third amateur to win on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour. “We’re so lucky to be given this chance to play with the pros because it’s a different feeling and challenge playing against them.”

Chihiro Ikeda, tied with Martirez at second after 36 holes, never got back into the mix against her amateur rivals, making four bogeys in a five-hole stretch from No. 2 and limping home with a 78 to finish a far third at 222.

BATANG GILAS CHAMP ANEW

S expected, Batang Gilas romped its way to the crown in the 10th Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) Under-18 Championship.

The young Filipino dribblers swept the opposition in the biennial tournament, capping a successful campaign with an 8649 demolition of Thailand in the gold-medal match on Thursday in Medan, Indonesia.

National University (NU) juniors standout Joshua Sinclair again provided the spark off the bench for the Mark Oliver-coached team with 15 points on six-of-10 shooting.

The Philippines led the march of two other countries, Thailand and Indonesia, which beat Malaysia, 67-57, for the bronze medal, to the International Basketball Federation Asia Under-18 Championship in Iran in July.

San Beda Red Cub John Bryle Bahio posted a double-double game for Batang Gilas with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Batang Gilas trailed, 17-19, as the Thais played physical defense against the defending champions. But the Filipinos seized control with a 31-13 second-quarter spurt for a 48-32 advantage going into the break.

Chiang Kai Shek College standout Jonas Tibayan and San Beda’s Evan Nelle each had 11 markers for the Philippines, which has now won eight of the 10 editions of the Seaba. Malaysia won in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, where the Filipinos finished fourth andin 2006 in Segamat.

The victory over the Thais in was a far cry from Batang Gilas’ 10145 thumping of the same team in the preliminary round. Pongsatorn Tabtim was the only Thai to hit double figures with 14 points.

Catching the last bus for Iran were the Indons, who trailed the Malaysians, 40-45, entering the fourth period. Indonesia outscored Malaysia, 27-12, in the final 10 minutes.

Aside from the host Iran, defending champion China is already qualified for the Asian U-18 Championship. The other subzones are still conducting their qualifying tournaments. Joel Orellana

FOURTEEN-YEAROLD Bernice Olivarez-Ilas shows a lot of promise.

no lead is safe,” Horford said. “To start the third it was important for us to get off to a good start and just keep attacking and have that mentality of keep attacking play after play.”

The Celtics shot just 36 percent for the game. They made a final charge to get as close as 10 points, but Atlanta was able to close it out.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 25 points and 10 assists. Jae Crowder added 15 points.

For most of the game, the Hawks simply benefited from Boston’s struggles.

The Celtics played most of the second half with Crowder battling foul trouble.

He went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 11:21 left in third quarter.

Coach Brad Stevens rolled dice and re-inserted him, only for Crowder to be called for his fifth foul with 8:13 to play.

Crowder fouled out with three minutes to play but most of the damage was done much earlier. AP

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ATLANTA’S Paul Millsap blocks Boston’s Jae Crowder (99) in the first half of Game Six on Thursday. AP

EAM Philippines ran out of holes in its fiery comeback bid, closing out with a 145 and losing the runner-up honors to Australia in the countback in the Queen Sirikit Cup, which South Korea ruled for the third straight time, on Friday in Jeju, South Korea.

While the weather improved after two days of rain, wind and fog at the Ora Country Club, Princess Superal, Yuka Saso and Pauline del Rosario still struggled in the early going with Superal fumbling with a 38 and the two hobbling with identical 40s, one of which counted for the team’s atrocious 78 at the turn.

That dropped the Philippines from second to seventh in the ranking until Superal caught fire late and close out with a birdie-par-eagle feat for a 33 and Saso birdieing three of the last five for a 34. But the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines-backed squad’s combined five-under-par backside output of 67 could only lift the team back to No. 3 as Australia rallied with a 142 to nip the Phl at 433.

The hosts slowed down a bit with a 136 after a stirring 134 in harsh condition on the up-and-down layout on Thursday but still ripped the field with a 410 aggregate, a whopping 23-stroke romp over the Aussies and the Filipinas.

Korea thus completed a three-peat after dominating their Asia-Pacific regional rivals in Malaysia in 2014 and in Hong Kong last year with the hosts winning this annual event for the ninth time in the last 10 years.

Langamin pulls off shocker

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OEL LANGAMIN shocked Rupert Zaragosa with a dominant start then warded off his fancied rival’s charge with clutch iron shots in afternoon play as he captured the 2016 Philippine Amateur Open Match Play Championship crown with a 3&2 victory at the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Dasmariñas, Cavite, yesterday.

Langamin sustained top form coming off a 3&2 romp over Japanese Yuto Katsuragawa in the semis on Thursday, while pouncing on Zaragosa’s sputtering start to go 6-up in the first half of their marathon 36-hole finale.

The Del Monte ace, 26, wavered a bit at resumption but held sway at the backside with superb iron game and gutsy pars to foil his multititled rival, who came into the title duel looking for a follow-up to his victory in the first MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play in Cebu three weeks ago.

“This is my biggest win since helping Del Monte win the PAL Interclub crown [in 2011],” said Langamin, who turned in a mediocre 10th-place finish in the 36-hole stroke-play elims then hacked out back-to-back 3&2 wins over Bobby Celestino and Jelbert Gamolo in the knockout phase before edging second seed Tom Kim of Korea, 1-up, in the quarters.

Korean Hwang Min-jeong, likewise, kept the momentum of a solid start, going 2-up after 18 holes in her title clash with Diana Araneta then unleashing a stronger finishing kick to fashion out a 4&2 win in the women’s side of the country’s premier match-play event.

FILOIL FLYING V PREMIER CUP UNWRAPS J B R O

UST as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball duel reaches its spellbinding climax, the preseason basketball tournament gets under way on Saturday with Ateneo and De La Salle making their Filoil Flying V Premier Cup debut against separate foes.

The Green Archers, still smarting from missing the UAAP Final Four last season, unveil a young lineup abetted by veterans Jeron Teng and Thomas Torres with talented Cameroonian Ben Mbala patrolling the lane.

Under new Head Coach Aldin Ayo and with some exciting new talent, De La Salle has what it takes to compete for the

UAAP men’s basketball title. However, for now, the challenge is for DLSU to learn the pressure defense their coach perfected in Letran, where he led the Knights to the National Collegiate Athletic Association crown last year.

Standing in their way in their Filoil debut are the Franz Pumaren-coached Adamson University Falcons that are loaded with exciting Filipino-Americans, including Jerrick Ahanmisi, younger brother of pro Maverick, who is with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Adamson University and De La Salle tangle at 10 a.m., while Ateneo, back after a two-year absence from the tournament, takes on another team with some roots from their archrivals from Taft. The Blue Eagles battle the Derrick Pumaren-coached Red Warriors, one of the league’s exciting squads from last season, at 2 p.m.

Like the Green Archers, the Blue Eagles, under coaching consultant and national team Head Coach Tab Baldwin, will parade a young lineup bereft of many of last years stars.

Ateneo’s Premier Cup roster only has John Apacible, Aaron Black, Chibueze Ikeh, Matt Nieto and Vince Tolentino as holdovers.

“Right now, we’ve split our players into as many leagues, as we can play,” Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga said.

“We want to give as much exposure to everyone on our roster, including Team B.” The Blue Eaglets take on reigning NCAA juniors champions San Beda Red Cubs at noon. The Blue Eaglets will have 6-foot-9 center Kai Sotto, son of pro player Ervin, in the lineup.

Tickets to the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup are available at the gate of the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan or at all Ticketnet branches.