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Wednesday, April 6, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 179

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

GOV’T IDLE LOTS SHOULD BE USED AS SOCIALIZEDHOUSING SITES

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‘In-city relocation best way THE MARCOS to address housing backlog’ CHRONICLES 5.5M

B J M N.  C

AWMAKERS and multisector stakeholders are one in saying that the way forward to addressing the rising housing backlog and informal-settler families (ISFs) is the adoption of an in-city housing policy complemented by the transfer of government agencies to the provinces.

INSIDE

The estimated housing backlog in the country today

This consensus emerged at the culmination program of the National Housing and Urban Development Summit held on Tuesday at the San Juan Arena. S “H ,” A

THE Marcos “DNA” remains active in the government bureaucracy through various decrees and executive orders that remain in effect to this day, and in health facilities like the Philippine Heart Center. STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

COUNTRY’S BEST DEVELOPERS TO BE FETED IN PHILIPPINES PROPERTY AWARDS 2016

PROPERTY

In our long campaign against privatization, we met many elected officials [who] supported the needs of poor, sick, child patients. So now, I pray that they get reelected.” —L

COOL BEYOND SUMMER: MALL DEVELOPERS OPT FOR SOLAR POWER

B P R-M Special to the BusinessMirror

INFRA RUSH Workers prepare a huge cylindrical post of the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, one of the main components of the infrastructure

Conclusion

016 is Election Year in the Philippines, a time when Filipinos get to choose the country’s next president, vice president, senators and local elected officials, starting from congressman to barangay kagawad and Sangguniang Kabataan. For Dr. Julius A. Lecciones, Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) executive director and current country coordinator of My Child C  A

blueprint meant to ease vehicular traffic in the metropolis. NONIE REYES

PROPERTY

Megaworld core income grew 10% to ₧10.4 billion in 2015

EGAWORLD Corp., the property-development arm of Andrew L. Tan, said on Tuesday its income sunk last year in the absence of its huge onetime gains that it had during the previous year, when it unloaded stakes in its sister firms. However, the firm’s core income, which strips out the nonrecurring gains, grew by 10 percent to P10.4 billion, from the previous year’s P9.4 billion. This is the first time the company’s core income breached the P10-billion mark.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 46.0170

The nonrecurring income in 2014 came from property acquisitions and the sale of Megaworld’s stake in Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. to its parent Alliance Global Group Inc. in 2014. In a statement released on Tuesday, Megaworld said it had an income of P10.6 billion last year, from 2014’s P21.6 billion, representing a 51-percent decline. “We already have a strong roster of townships across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao that are backed by adequate landbanking and care-

fully thought-out master plans. We have already mastered the art of township development. What we want to put focus on now is how to further grow our rental portfolio, which is integral to being a township developer. Malls and offices are key components of an urban township,” the statement added. Megaworld’s consolidated revenues, excluding nonrecurring gains, grew 9 percent year-on-year to P44.81 billion, from the previous year’s P40.97 billion. S “M,” A

Our rental business had been growing exponentially [for] the last five years. We are confident that we will reach the P11-billion target by the end of this year, as we see continuous growth in consumer spending, as well as further expansion of BPO [businessprocess outsourcing] companies, particularly in key growth areas in the Visayas and Mindanao, where Megaworld is already present.” —M

n JAPAN 0.4135 n UK 65.6617 n HK 5.9343 n CHINA 7.0931 n SINGAPORE 34.0513 n AUSTRALIA 34.9821 n EU 52.4272 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.2745

Source: BSP (5 April 2016 )

A2 Wednesday, April 6, 2016

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The Marcos Chronicles Matters Philippines, the year 2016 is also a time for wishing that the winning elected officials would be politicians who are sympathetic to the cause of the PCMC. He said that in the next Congress, within the next two years, they plan to lobby for laws that genuinely protect and promote the needs of indigent, child patients. “Sa haba ng campaign namin laban sa privatization, marami na kaming nakilalang opisyal na sumuporta sa pangangailangan ng mga mahihirap na batang maysakit. Kaya nag-pray ako na sana ma-reelect sila [In our long campaign against privatization, we met many elected officials who supported the needs of poor, sick, child patients. So, now, I pray that they get reelected],” Lecciones said. He revealed that the PCMC’s future plans include the setting up of PCMC units in the Visayas and Mindanao, adding that the present children’s hospital serves mostly child patients in the National Capital Region and other provinces in Luzon. Lecciones said, however, that the PCMC requires sustained or new funding sources, as well as support from the next Congress, to realize their expansion projects.

Nonconventional funding

SOME 31 years ago, on July 4, 1985, the need to raise funds, specifically foreign currency, was of prime importance to the beleaguered government of President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Almost two years after the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and just seven months before the historic Edsa 1 February Revolution, the Philippine Retirement Park System, or the SYSTEM—a government-owned and -controlled corporation—was established by virtue of Executive Order (EO) 1037. As stated in the EO: “The Philippine economy is undergoing structural changes to cope with its tight foreign-exchange situation, emphasizing the urgent need to establish nonconventional programs to attract foreign investment into the country.”

Retirement haven

TO achieve this, EO 1037 declared as national policy “the development and promotion of the Philippines as a retirement haven,” in order to accelerate the social and economic development of the country. In the process, the nation’s foreignexchange position would be strengthened, while providing the “best quality of life to targeted retirees in a most attractive package.” Also stated in EO 1037: “There exists a potent and untapped market of 25.5 million retired Americans [1980 census] in the United States and 1.6 million overseas Filipinos who find the Philippines the most suitable place for retirement; “The leverage of the US dollar against the Philippine peso enables the country to be competitive in offering an attractive package to targeted retirees who seek a change of environment while looking forward to an easy and comfortable lifestyle as they reach retirement age by way of getting the best value for their money and investment opportunities in their retirement years; “The establishment and operation of retirement parks, in addition to the foreign exchange derived, generates employment opportunities, promotes the country’s image abroad, supports the tourism industry and assists in making fully operational the idle assets of the government and the private sector, such as hotels, resorts, etc.” In creating the SYSTEM, a board of trustees was put up,

C  

composed of the minister of Human Settlements as chairman and the chairman of the Philippines-United States Business Development Council as vice chairman. Its ex-officio members included the chairman of the Monetary Board, the minister of tourism, the commissioner on Immigration and Deportation, the representative of the Office of the President, and the chief executive officer/general manager of the Philippine Retirement Park System.

From SYSTEM to PRA

FROM the first Aquino administration to the administration of deposed President Joseph Estrada, the EO that created the Philippine Retirement Park System was neither amended nor repealed. It was only during the time of President Gloria MacapagalArroyo that amendments were made through EO 26, signed on August 31, 2001. EO 26 finally removed the minister of Human Settlements as chairman of the System, some 30 years after the Ministry of Human Settlements was abolished. It, likewise, removed as vice chairman the chairman of the Philippines-United States Business Development Council. Arroyo’s EO 26 renamed the Philippine Retirement Park System to the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA). It placed the PRA under the Board of Investments. With the passing of Republic Act 9593, otherwise known as the Tourism Act of 2009, the PRA became an attached agency of the Department of Tourism. Today the PRA is the only government agency with the mandate to make the Philippines a globally competitive retirement haven and to promote retirement migration. Based on 2015 statistics from the PRA, foreigners who retire come from neighboring nations. Each retiree has to fulfill the required deposit of $20,000 in cash. The Chinese ranks first among the top 10 nationalities enrolled in the PRA retirement program, having a 46-percent share in the total enrollment, followed by South Koreans at 22 percent, Japanese at 8 percent, Indians at 5 percent and Americans at 3 percent.

Marcos II?

EVEN as anti-Marcos activists cry “Never again” to a Marcos comeback, the Marcos “DNA” remains active in the government bureaucracy through various decrees and executive orders that remain in effect to this day. Deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 at the age of 72, about three years after he and his family fled to the US during the 1986 Edsa “People Power” Revolution. First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, her daughters Imee and Irene, and her only son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos returned to the Philippines in 1991. The three Marcoses—Imelda, Imee and Bongbong— thereafter, launched successful comebacks in public office. It is Bongbong, the only son of the late strongman, who is now making a bid for Vice President, a move that has earned the ire of human-rights activists who suffered during martial law. Bongbong has repeatedly said in various interviews that he would not apologize for what his father had done. It is a stand that is expected to be severely challenged by his rival candidates for Vice President. CNN Philippines, together with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), and in partnership with the BUSINESSMIRROR and the Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST), will air PiliPinas 2016 Vice Presidential Debate on April 10, Sunday. The only official vice-presidential debate airs live from the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion from 5 to 7 p.m. over free television Channel 9. It also streams live through cnnphilippines. com and also on facebook.com/cnnphilippines.

Megaworld. . .

C  A

The firm said each of its core business in residential, rental and hotel operations hit double-digit growth in 2015. Megaworld’s leasing business has been the fastestgrowing business segment in 2015, as rental income grew 23 percent. Leasing income from malls, commercial centers and offices reached P8.73 billion in 2015, from P7.07 billion the previous year. “Our rental business had been growing exponentially the last five years. We are confident that we will reach the P11billion target by the end of this year, as we see continuous growth in consumer spending, as well as further expansion of BPO [business-process outsourcing] companies, particularly in key growth areas in Visayas and Mindanao, where Megaworld is already present,” the statement added. The company launched five townships in 2015, bringing its total township developments across the country to 20. Megaworld Corp., known for its mixed-use developments coined as township, said it has allocated P55 billion in capital expenditures this year, or the same amount as last year, after it failed to spend some P10 billion in landbanking. Megaworld said three quarters of the capital spending for the year will be used for development projects, particularly on the construction of new malls, commercial centers, office buildings and residential projects in townships, while the remaining 25 percent will be used for land acquisition and investment properties. “This year we will start developing our new townships in Pasig City, Bacolod and Pampanga, while we ramp up our office and mall developments across our existing townships. We are bullish on the office and retail sectors, because we see a remarkable growth in these businesses,” Jericho Go, Megaworld senior vice president, earlier said. The company, with its three units, is set to launch 14 residential projects in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Iloilo, Tagaytay, Cavite, Davao, Baguio and Batangas this year. The group is also launching 14 office towers, malls and commercial centers at the McKinley West, Uptown Bonifacio, The Mactan Newtown, Iloilo Business Park, Arcovia City, Southwoods City, The Mactan Newtown and Alabang.

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016 A3

Despite threat of El Niño to inflation, BSP not keen on tweaking policy rates

B C U. O  B C

HE government needs to remain vigilant as food and fuel prices could go up in the coming months due to El Niño, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said on Tuesday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said higher food and fuel costs propped up commodity prices nationwide in the first quarter of the year. Data released on Tuesday showed that inflation—the rate of increase in commodity prices—was at 1.1 percent in March and in the first quarter of 2016. “Although El Niño has entered its weakening stage, the risk of higher food prices remains given the onset of the summer season,” Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra said. “Thus, we must also monitor our rice supply and importation to avoid supply disruptions which could result in volatilities in the price of rice,” Esguerra added. In March food items went up slightly to 1.6 percent, from 1.5 per-

1.1%

Average inflation rate in March and in the first quarter of 2016

cent in February. This is due to increases in the price of meat (1.2 percent, from 0.9 percent); fish (2.8 percent, from 2.3 percent); milk, cheese and eggs (1.2 percent, from 1.1 percent). Despite the onslaught of El Niño, Esguerra said rice prices remain low. Prices have been declining since October 2015. Rice prices posted a contraction of 1.7 percent in March and 2 percent in February. The Neda added that vegetable

prices also contributed to the stable prices posted in March and in the first quarter. Vegetable prices trended down after peaking in January. It declined by 2.9 percent in March from previous month, for a total decline of 7.8 percent since the beginning of the year. “We have been closely monitoring price movements and looking at factors that influence commodity prices, especially food consumed by the poor,” Esguerra said. “Aware of El Niño, the government has put in place a program to mitigate the impact of drought. We need to ensure adequate supply of food and provide assistance to affected farmers,” he added. Meanwhile, an increase in domestic oil prices was recorded particularly for gasoline by 5.03 percent; liquefied petroleum gas, 0.58 percent; diesel, 8.6 percent; and kerosene, 7.06 percent. The Neda said these increases were the result of cutbacks in production and exploration of international energy firms due to soft oil prices. “Outlook for oil prices in the medium term remains modest, given a backdrop of strong world crude oil supply growth and weak global demand. Overall, the continuing environment of low international oil prices remains a positive devel-

opment for the country considering that we are a net importer of oil,” Esguerra said. Despite the below-target inflation in the first quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) confirmed market expectations that it will not move its current monetary-policy stance. BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the central monetary authority is not inclined to tweak existing policy rates. “For 2016 we see inflation close to the low-end of the government target range. We will continue to monitor developments. But, right now, we see no urgent need to change stance of policy,” Tetangco said. Inflation in March slightly accelerated to 1.1 percent, up from the 0.9 percent seen in the previous month. Despite the uptick, March inflation is still below the government’s 2-percent to 4-percent target band for the year. It was, meanwhile, within Tetangco’s earlier March inflation forecast of 0.6 percent to 1.4 percent. “This is also consistent with our latest runs showing that over the policy horizon inflation will slowly move up to within target,” he said. Bank of the Philippines (BPI) research officer Nicholas Antonio Mapa said the below-target inflation print is tied to the “protracted

energy slump,” which continues to feed into the rest of the consumer price index (CPI) basket. “The BSP is expected to stand pat at its next Monetary Board meeting, as inflation remains subdued while domestic activity remains upbeat,” Mapa added.

“The next move by the BSP will be an ‘operational’ one as it prepares for the rollout of the IRC in June,” he added. The IRC or interest-rate corridor is the central bank’s new system, which will be launched in the second quarter of the year.

AseanWednesday BusinessMirror

A4 Wednesday, April 6, 2016 • Editor: Max V. de Leon

China tension, crippling drought to test Vietnam’s new premier

CRIPPLING drought in the Mekong Delta rice bowl and slumping oil revenue are creating fresh headwinds for Vietnam, as a new prime minister with less economic experience prepares to take over. For Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a behindThey need the-scenes technocrat, the challenges facing the communist leadership to provide have increased since he was nomigrowth and job nated for premier at a twice-a-decade party congress in January. creation. A lessGiven territorial tensions with biggest trading partner China, and than-7-percent with the risk a sprawling Pacific trade growth will be pact becomes a casualty of electionyear politics in the US, Phuc, 61, very, very disapwill need to move quickly to show he’s committed to carrying out repointing.” forms and attracting investment, analysts said. —H’ “They need to show Vietnam conK S tinues to be an attractive destination for foreign investment and a relevant  G economy in the region,” said Nguyen

Xuan Thanh, a Ho Chi Minh Citybased senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “They need to provide growth and job creation. A less-than-7-percent growth will be very, very disappointing.” The National Assembly is expected to rubber-stamp Phuc’s election on Thursday to replace Nguyen Tan Dung, who lost his bid to become party chief after Nguyen Phu Trong was reelected to the post for a second five-year term. Phuc was not known for grand initiatives as vice premier, mostly overseeing a three-year campaign to streamline the bureaucracy, though he studied economics at the Singapore National University. While Dung opened the economy to greater market forces and expanded ties with the US, Vietnam’s former wartime foe, Phuc will be joined by other low-profile officials to head a

government that tends toward collective rule. “A lot of problems are awaiting Mr. Phuc,” said Le Hong Hiep, a visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. “He is untested.” Reaching Vietnam’s 2016 economic growth target of 6.7 percent is the “biggest challenge” for the new government, as drought and salinity hit agriculture production, National Assembly member Tran Hoang Ngan told legislators in a televised broadcast on Friday. Vietnam’s income from crude and agriculture production dropped in the first quarter, leading to slower gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.46 percent versus 7.01 percent in the last quarter of 2015. State income from crude oil fell 54

Indonesia Inc. finds ways to leave foreign bills unpaid

VERYBODY seems to be betting big on Indonesia as the country of the future in Asia. Even as they do, some executives in Jakarta are returning to the past, using interpretations of the law to leave international bills unpaid.

7.6%

Percentage of return made by bond investors in Indonesia in the first quarter

NEW Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang takes the oath of office after being elected as the head of state in Hanoi, Vietnam, on April 2. Vietnam’s National Assembly has elected Public Security Minister Quang, 59, to be the country’s new president, the second-highest post in the country. AP

percent, amid a global drop in prices, according to the finance ministry. While weaker growth could partly be seasonal, Vietnam was already grappling with a $2-billion budget deficit in the first quarter, while debt payments increased 5.3 percent. That means Phuc doesn’t have the resources to implement significant economic stimulus if needed. “The new government will have to deal with a lot of difficulties this year and the biggest challenge is how to boost economic growth,” National Assembly Delegate Do Van Ve said. China, which had two-way trade of about $67 billion with Vietnam in 2015, is facing its own slowdown, and the countries are squabbling over territory in the South China Sea, a major artery for global shipping. Vietnam has repeatedly objected to China’s construction of runways and other facilities on reclaimed reefs and islands in the Spratly and Paracel chains, and the tensions have drawn Vietnam further into the US’s orbit.

Trong met President Barack Obama in Washington last year and the US has loosened some restrictions on the sale of weapons to the country. Obama will visit Vietnam in May, the first trip by a sitting US president since George W. Bush in 2006, and “we can expect the new leaders to look for ways to boost their ties with the United States to balance relations with an increasingly assertive China,” said Murray Hiebert, a Washington-based senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International. Vietnam plans to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership in July and stands to gain the most from the 12-nation pact being enacted with an 11 percent boost to GDP by 2025, according to the Eurasia Group. But the deal is coming under sharp criticism by US presidential candidates and the failure of Congress to ratify it would be an economic blow to Vietnam given its reliance on foreign investment.

Myanmar’s former president leaves office, joins monkhood

YANMAR’S former President Thein Sein has shed his formal attire and his hair to join the Buddhist monkhood. Thein Sein’s ordination as a monk took place on Monday, officials said, four days after he presided over a historic transition of power to the former opposition party, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. Photographs circulating on social media show the former president, with his head shaved and dressed in a saffron robe, beside a fellow monk. The Ministry of Information released a statement on its Facebook page Monday saying Thein Sein will spend five days at the Dhamma Dipati Monastery outside Pyin Oo Lwin, a scenic hill town near Mandalay in central Myanmar. A temporary stint at a monastery is common in the predominantly Buddhist country, where boys are expected to ordain as novice monks at some point in their childhood and then return later in adulthood. Thein Sein himself has not spoken publicly about his choice to temporarily become a monk but the official statement indicated he has been considering it at least since January, when he attended a Buddhist conference in Myanmar. “Recently, the country’s most respected monk, Sitagu, urged ex-President Thein Sein to enter into the Buddhist monkhood when he attended the World Buddhist Conference,” the statement from the Ministry of Information said. “Thein Sein told Sitagu that he was busy with the duties of a president and promised that he would be ordained as soon as he finished his term as president.” Thein Sein, a former general, was installed as president for a five-year term in 2011 to head a nominally civilian government after the military ended a half century of military rule.

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Last November the country held its first free election in decades, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won by a landslide.

Thein Sein presided over the transfer of power to new President Htin Kyaw, who was handpicked by Suu Kyi, in a ceremony last Thursday. AP

Bloomberg News

Vietnam fears dire impact from planned Mekong dams

NEW Myanmar President Htin Kyaw (left) and outgoing President Thein Sein leave the room after a handover ceremony at the presidential palace in Naypyidaw on March 30. AP

Vietnam’s disbursed foreign direct investment could level out this year and decline in 2017 after new FDI commitments came in relatively flat in 2015, the Asian Development Bank said in a report released on March 30. New foreign investment projects licensed last year dropped 0.4 percent from 2014. The government, which knows it must embrace reforms to spur growth, is still concerned about changes that could weaken the party’s influence over the economy, Thanh said. “The challenge of the new leadership is how to maintain inclusive growth so the benefits are spread out and you have a rising middle class,” he said. “But the middle class will demand accountability and gradual democracy. It’s a delicate challenge: You don’t want to repress the middle class but you also don’t want the middle class demanding more democracy and accountability too aggressively.”

IETNAM has predicted “very high adverse effects” on the Mekong River environment and economy if 11 proposed dams are built on its lower mainstream. The warning is the result of a two-and-a-half year study submitted by Vietnam to the Mekong River Commission comprising Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. A commission statement released on Monday said the study, which includes 800 pages of impact-assessment reports, indicates “high to very high adverse effects on some of the key sectors and environmental resources in Cambodia and Vietnam.” The commission said it considers the report an internal document and is not yet releasing it. Vietnam has not released it publicly. Laos is behind most new dams proposed for the lower Mekong. It wants hydropower exports to become a mainstay of its economy, which is among the least developed in Asia. The river commission, which was set up to mediate the conflicting water priorities of Mekong countries, said the Vietnamese report will help its own study, which was commissioned in 2011 and expected to be completed next year. Much of Southeast Asia is suffering a record drought due to El Niño, and officials in Vietnam have said the effects are exacerbated by existing Chinese dams on the upper Mekong. The rice-bowl-sustaining river system flows into Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong is also one of the world’s largest inland fisheries, providing a livelihood to millions of people. Existing research on dams worldwide shows they significantly diminish fishing grounds by creating barriers to breeding-cycle migrations and creating river conditions that destroy habitat and food sources. AP

Indonesia was the best performer among countries represented in an Asia dollar bond index from Merrill Lynch in the first quarter, and its equity market closed the period as the region’s third-best gainer. Bond investors who stayed the course through volatility made a 7.6-percent return. In the same quarter, however, companies dealt major blows to foreign creditors using tactics that might make an aggressive New York lawyer cringe. In January, advisers for the cellphone retailer PT Trikomsel managed to get a court decision that effectively dismissed any claims from foreign creditors, among them holders of S$215 million ($159 million) of notes sold in Singapore. On Friday Reuters reported that a Jakarta judge excluded Standard Chartered from a creditor list and raised questions about the validity of the bank’s claims to recoup a $1-billion loan made to tycoon Samin Tan’s coal miner Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal. According to Debtwire, the strategy being used against Standard Chartered could be extended to other loans to miners, in the same way that Trikomsel’s tactic has been used before against bondholders. In summary: Foreign money is welcome, but if borrowers have trouble paying, lenders have no right to sue. The Trikomsel strategy was first employed by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which in 2001 recorded the biggest debt default in the region’s history. APP’s bonds were sold by an offshore special purpose vehicle, which extended the cash to the parent through an intercompany loan—a common occurrence in Indonesia. When restructuring started, judges in Jakarta said the shell subsidiary lending the money had a vote on how creditors would be repaid, but those who bought the bonds from it didn’t. Standard Chartered is being dogged by a requirement that mining companies, which are regulated by the government, request authorization before they do deals. Such regulatory blessing was ignored in good times. The rule has been recalled to suit borrowers struggling with payments. If other miners use the same tactic, Standard Chartered could be looking at much larger losses. The bank won’t be alone, however. From regional institutions, such as Singapore’s DBS to global powerhouses like Credit Suisse, lending to Indonesian resources companies used to be a great way to drive revenues. What’s happening now is a reminder that while Indonesian law is as good as that in many Western countries, the legal environment and judges’ interpretations don’t always conform to what might be expected in New York, or even nearby in Singapore. As they ride the latest wave of optimism about the country, investors would do well to set aside some of their gains to ensure they have the best legal advice. Bloomberg News

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL Wednesday, April 6, 2016

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The Philippines gears up for K-to-12

B C M

TOTAL of 10,614 schools nationwide are ready to offer Senior High School (SHS) Program come June, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said. Of the number, 5, 942 are Department of Education (DepEd) schools while 4, 672 are private high schools and private and public higher education institutions. Luistro also expressed confidence that there is no stopping DepEd now on the implementation of the K-to12 after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed on March 15 several petitions seeking an injunction to stop implementation of the program, which is considered as well as centerpiece of the Aquino administration’s major to reforms the country’s. “I can now heave a sigh of relief [following the SC decision]” Luistro said in an interview. “We thank the Supreme Court [SC] for denying the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the suspension of the K to 12 Program as announced in today’s SC news conference,” he also said in a statement. “This announcement allows DepEd and its stakeholders to focus on the urgent remaining tasks for the opening of Grade 11 in June. At the same time, Luistro appealed to the SC petitioners and those who may still have concerns on the program to work with the Department of Education (DepEd) even more closely to address “any remaining challenge.” Among the petitioners who asked the high court to scuttle the K to 12 were the Council for Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the Philippine, et al., Senator Antonio Trillanes IV et al., UP professor Eduardo Alicias, et al., Richard Troy Colmenare, et al., Congressman Antonio Tinio et al. and Ma. Dolores Brillantes, et al. They argued that the DepEd usurped the power of Congress to create laws when it issued in 2012 the guidelines contained in DepEd Order 31, laying down the policy for implementation of K-to-12 even before lawmakers had passed the K-to-12 law.

Support of industry partners

WITH the K-to-12 Program in full swing, Luistro asked the support of the various industry partners. He made the call during the Annual Membership Meeting of the Education Nation, a coalition of organizations that have a stake on Philippine education, on March 15. “Despite many challenges, I can say that we have started at the right footing. The most important for me is kindergarten because that sets the pace where our school children should be,” Luistro said. Luistro said he is delighted with the support given by the industry partners. Proof on this, he said, is the recent pact inked for the Senior High School (SHS) Program, which include information on industry job qualifications, work immersion of students, use of facilities, training of teachers, donation for infrastructure, equipment and other needs. “In the past our partnership were merely focused on the support from non-governmental organizations and the business sector to augment limited resources from national and local governments such as building classrooms, providing seats, computers, as well as other kinds of funding. This particular partnership actually brings up our engagement with the industry to an entirely different level. This time we are focusing on curriculum develop-

ment and scholarships for teachers,” Luistro said. The industry partners have committed to support DepEd for the nationwide implementation of SHS under the K to 12 Program. The partnership aims to offer relevant SHS subjects and activities that would help every graduate to be ready for higher education and training, or for the world of work through employment or entrepreneurship. This will also help address the job-skills mismatch in the country. “It is my firm hope that, as we institutionalize the reforms with industry sector, we are actually giving our people an anchor to be able to say elections and leaders come and go, but the real reforms that we need to do are firmly institutionalized quietly in programs we are doing and which we will be doing,” the education chief added. The industry partners agreed to encourage and influence their members to implement programs on job profiling and skills mapping; tie up with DepEd field offices or specific schools by providing support and opportunities for work immersion for students, teachers training, and use of facilities; help schools in addressing resource gaps through donations; and accept for employment applicants who have completed SHS from any private or public school in the Philippines subject to other required qualifications. DepEd shall advise regional and division offices, as well as the schools offering SHS, regarding this MOU, and encourage them to cooperate with the organizations; and provide assistance in the form of giving advice, data or information necessary to enable them to effectively implement programs. It will also provide tax incentives for donations under its Adopt-a-School Program. Among the industry partners are the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry represented by its President, Jeorge Barcelon; Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, Inc. President, Consul-General A.H. Jose Luis Yulo, Jr.; American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. Executive Director Ebb Hinchcliffe; European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. President Guenter Taus; Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. President Ho Ik Lee, German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. President Bodo Goerlich; Employers Conferdation of the Philippines President Edgardo Lacson; Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. Chairman Arthur Tan; IT and Business Processing Association of the Philippines President Jomari Mercado; Management Association of the Philippines President Perry Pe; People Management Association of the Philippines President Jesse Rebustillo; Philippine Business for Education President Chito Salazar; and Makati Business Club Chairman Ramon del Rosario, Jr.

Nation gears up for K-to-12

SOME 1,000 DepEd regional and division offices nationwide participated in the two-day event held at Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City in December to report the progress of various strategies employed for the promotion and implementation of the K to 12 Program, specifically the SHS segment, in their respective areas.

“If yesterday I was celebrating with you what we have done, today I stand with great pride telling myself, ‘Ang sarap maging Pilipino. Pero mas masarap maging kawani ng DepEd.’ Never in my life can I say that with conviction,” Luistro said in his message. During the conference, the participants provided updates on the region and the division’s efforts in gearing up for the nationwide implementation of SHS. Among the strategies highlighted in Luistro’s synthesis were the K-to-12 caravans and unique approaches, such as Teaching Strategy Festivals and Heroic Mobile Advocacy. Luistro lauded the efforts of all DepEd field offices in ensuring that no child shall be left behind. He said that, because of the commitment of its education leaders nationwide, over “1.1 million Filipinos have included in their dreams a way of upgrading themselves” and preregistered for the SHS in 2016. “I told myself our DepEd leaders have now taken it unto themselves to take care of every learner. Wala na po ang malaking divide between public and private, nasa bayan o nasa bundok. You took care of all of them. You went out of your way; you went out of your Queendoms and your Kingdoms, and your Hives, so that you can promote and let people understand what K-to12 is all about,” he said. The conference also provided an opportunity for education leaders to share good practices in building and strengthening partnerships with different organizations and institutions for the implementation of the SHS Program. “The solution to many of our nation’s problems is in the DepEd. You are the key players in changing the direction of where our country will go. You have proven that to yourselves; you have proven that to the country. You have shown that leadership is possible and that your leadership is credible,” he said. “I prayed for a change of heart in the DepEd and I realized, when I went through what you shared the past two days, that you have actually changed the image, the heart and the culture within the department. In fact, you have brought together, from limited resources, many initiatives that in the past, I did not imagine the DepEd was ready and willing to do,” Luistro said. The DepEd has already released the guidelines in forging partnerships with education stakeholders from different sectors for the nationwide implementation of the SHS Program for school year 2016. Luistro said the guidelines were designed to help DepEd personnel follow a well-planned procedure in building partnerships with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and other government agencies that will aid the full implementation of the K to 12 Program. “Our partnership-building activities shall include research and needs analysis, identification of potential partners, meeting with potential partners, designing and finalizing formal agreements—either through a memorandum of agreement or memorandum of understanding—and managing, monitoring and evaluating the partnerships,” he added. DepEd, through its assigned focal persons from its field offices and schools, will form linkages with different stakeholders and organizations for work immersion opportunities for SHS students. The work immersion will expose the SHS students to actual workplace setting, which will enrich their learning and competencies. Other areas of partnership include the use of company facilities and equipment, additional training opportunities for teachers and additional resources in the form of donations. Donations may be in the form of parcel of land, infrastructure, such as building, classroom, machinery, tools, equipment, training, consultancy, logistics and other technologics.

Among the target partners in the K to 12 Program are local government units, national government agencies, such as Department of Labor and Emplyment, Department of Trade and

Industry, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority , Department of Public Works and Highways private companies and business establishments, non-governmental

and/or faith-based organizations, cooperative and micro-finance institutions, other schools and training institutions that will not offer a basic education program.

JOURNEY OF A LASALLIAN SCHOLAR ‘B B L R. G

EING a Lasallian is to be a lot of things, but above all, it means living as a ‘Lasallian achiever for God and country’. I guess this will be one of the most important ideologies that I will carry on in my life,” said Thomas Guy Bienvenida, a Vaugirard Scholar (Batch 1) at the Dela Salle University main campus. Beinvenida is set to graduate from AB Psychology course this April. “Many of us strive to succeed for different reasons; may be it for your family, for yourself, or for loved ones. However, DLSU teaches its students to be achievers for both God and country. I entered DLSU holding a dream I had for myself and my family alone, but I will be marching on my graduation with a dream that I now have not only for myself, but for the entire nation,” Bienvenida added. The young man was looking back with fondness how his life has changed since he decided to set foot at DLSU to study. He said, he was one of the graduating students of the Manila Science High School in 2012 trying his luck to get scholarship to be able to pursue college. “I was just an average student and I was not even a part of the pilot sections of our batch then. Luckily, I passed both entrance exams of University of the Philippines and DLSU. My parents have decided to enroll me at UP, since the family was not capable of sending me to DLSU,” he reminisced. But a few days before the deadline of submission of the forms for UP scholarship and other requirements, Bienvenida said he received a message through e-mail stating that he was given a slot for the Vaugirard Scholarship Program of DLSU. His scholarship includes a full waiver (100 percent) on tuition and miscellaneous fees, cash allowance, meal subsidy, and accommodation subsidy. Needless to say, he readily grabbed the opportunity although he was having second thoughts if he made the right decision. “I worried about many things especially because I’ve been hearing stereotypes about the Lasallians being ‘conyo’ and ‘sossy.’ I was afraid of being looked down upon because I was not well-off. These made me worry about pursuing further education at DLSU,” Bienvenida said. To his pleasant surprise, he found out that outfit repeating was not much of an issue at DLSU as long as one comes to school presentable and neat. He was even amused to find out that some of his blockmates bought their clothes in Greenhills or Divisoria like he does. He had also encountered a lot of Lasallians who chose to eat at the more affordable food stalls contrary to the popular notion that they only eat in “sossy” places. He found out that the “conyo” attribute was not true across all Lasallians—yes they exist, but they only comprised a small part of the entire student population in the University. “DLSU is a diverse community, having people from different walks of life come together in one campus. Even though a number of the students come from well-off families, it is remarkable how they can keep their feet on the ground. They have this ability to make you feel that you belong, regardless of what socioeconomic status you are in. They see past how much your family income is, the brands of that you wear, or the daily allowance you have,” Bienvenida said.

But there is more than meets the eye as Lasallian scholar. Bienvenida admitted facing a lot of pressures from his friends, professors, family, and even from his own self. Being a Lasallian scholar, after all, entails working hard to prove that one deserves the benefits he or she is getting. Maintaining the required grade is of prime importance. Moreover, he is also expected to perform well in various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities of the university. “It’s a good thing that I have the scholars’ community with me. Since we all have this shared experiences, we help each other by lending notes or books so that there would be no need to buy new ones. There would also be times when some scholars would study together to help each other on the topics they find hard in class,”Bienvenida said. “Then there is the Lasallian Scholars Society, the sole accredited scholars’ organization in the University that caters to the well-rounded development of DLSU scholars, and binds them to establish a community of scholars who would be their support group in the University as well,” he added. As part of giving back to the Lasallian community, Bienvenida made himself part of Archers Network as an on-screen talent, and also as the current president of the Lasallian Scholars Society. He said, these opportunities help him develop himself while helping others develop themselves as well. “Being a scholar in DLSU was the greatest experience I had so far. I feel blessed when I think of the amount that I spent for my Lasallian education— none. So why is DLSU generous to its scholarship program? Simply because DLSU believes that when it nurtures bright minds, these bright minds, in return, would build a bright future for the country. “We are La Salle’s gift to society,” Bienvenida said of himself and his fellow scholars. The time to pay back is in the near future. For me, there is always a sense of giving back imparted in the Lasallian identity, and there always will be,” he concluded.

DLSU Senior High School grants 250 new scholarships

FOR those dreaming for a free Lasallian education like Bienvenida, this is your chance as the university Senior High School (SHS) program granted 250 new scholarships for academic year 2016-2017. Qualified students will be placed under the Reims, Vaugirard, Parmenie, and Reuen Scholarship Programs. Vaugirard, formerly college scholarship for graduates of public high schools, will now be awarded for those who will enter DLSU's senior high program. This change was implemented in view of the K-to-12 educational reform. Grade 11 applicants from public schools who have excelled in the DLSU SHS Admission and Placement Exam shall be entitled to the Vaugirard, the benefits of which include 100 percent waiver of tuition and fees, covering a top-up and the DepEd voucher amount. Grantees will get monthly stipends. The Reims scholarship, meanwhile, is awarded to the most outstanding public and private school students nationwide. Its benefits include 100 percent waiver of tuition and fees, a monthly stipend, and refund of the DepEd SHS Voucher Program amount. Parmenie recognizes top performing public school students in the university admission exam.

Those who qualify for this scholarship will have 100 percent waiver of tuition and fees, which covers the top-up and the SHS voucher amount. Finally, Rouen is awarded to students from public schools as well as students availing of the Education Service Contracting from private schools, and who excelled in the DLSU placement Exam. Recipients will enjoy 100 percent waiver of tuition and fees (top-up and the voucher amount). Learn more about DLSU SHS’s flagship scholarships. Visit https://dlsu.edu.ph.

DLSU partners with select schools for schools for Connect ED

IN view of the implementation of the K-to-12 program, DLSU also partnered with 11 academic institutions. Under the partnership called Connect ED program, DLSU faculty shall be deployed in the partner schools to teach some classes; mentor senior high school teachers, so they can teach subjects at the requisite DLSU standards; and certify subjects that are equivalent to and meet specified DLSU courses. Connect ED is the university’s initiative which seeks to maximize the benefits provided by the shift to the K12 system by partnering with select senior high school institutions to ensure that curricula are harmonized, the quality of instruction is compatible with university standards, and graduates of partner schools will be prepared for the requirements and challenges of higher education. “DLSU seeks to elevate the entry level standards for its higher education programs by partnering with its feeder schools in setting higher standards for their senior high school programs,” Vice Chancellor for Academics Dr. Robert Roleda said. These high schools include Chiang Kai Shek College, Elizabeth Seton School, Grace Christian High School, Jubilee Christian School, Makati Hope Christian School, Notre Dame of Greater Manila, Philippine Cultural College, St. Jude Catholic School, St. Peter the Apostle School, St. Scholastica’s College, and St. Stephen’s High School. Under the agreement, graduates of partner schools who passed DLSU college entrance exam and enter college at DLSU shall be exempted by the University from taking the requisite placement examination and bridging courses, provided the said graduate meets the minimum grade requirement for the correcorre sponding course.

THOMAS BIENVENIDA

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SENIOR HIG A6 Wednesday, April 6, 2016 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN JUNE

B L R. G

ONSIDERED the biggest education reform in the history of the Philippine’s, the Department of Education (DepEd) is certain that the new curriculum, the K-to12 Program—which covers Kindergarten, six years of primary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school—is the best solution to put quality in the Philippine education system.

With the implementation of RA 10533—An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System—-Grade 10-completers this year will not be accepted into college unless they finish Grades 11 and 12. And high-school diplomas will only be issued to graduates of Grade 12. And with the dismissal by the Supreme Court on March 15, the bid of petitioners to stop the implementation of the 12-year basic education program, all systems go K to 12

on June 2016. BusinessMirror gets the side of the (DepEd) through Undersecretary Tomasito Umali. Umali writes his weekly column for the paper’s Education section, “Edu-Action.” Business Mirror (BM): What is the Senior High School (SHS) Program from the perspective of DepEd? The SHS Program is the portion of the K-to-12 Enhanced Basic Education Program of DepEd that

our graduates are made ready for college while they could choose to go to the world of work or entrepreneurship. Under the old curriculum, the 10-year basic education is not enough and the students were not really ready for college. Look closely during the first two years in college, the students are taking general subjects, such as English, Mathematics, History and Science. These are the subjects we had taken in high school and are taken again in college. Now these subjects proposed to be taught in their SHS will never be repeated in college, so the students can focus on the specialized subjects related to their course. With the K-to-12 Program, the country’s educational system aligns with the global standards. The normal education years are really from 12 to 13 in almost all countries of the world. So dapat sumabay tayo d’yan. Even our own private schools adhere to the 12year basic education program. With K-to-12, pantay na ang free high school with private education. Is our SHS Program a specialized program for the Philippines? Or was it patterned from the existing global standards of education? Ours is a specialized program, contextualized in Philippine setting but patterned from existing global standards. In California their preschool is equivalent to our primary or elementary setup, which is Grades 1-5. Then Grades 6,7,8, middle school; Grades 9, 10, 11, 12, high school. That’s their K-to-12 system, while Singapore has mandatory preschool, six years el-

ementary, four years high school, two years preuniversity then university education. So iba-iba, but all leading to 12 years of basic education. We have a unique SHS Program here in the Philippines because the program is adapted to the business or industry where the SHS are located. For example in Palawan, it’s tourism-oriented; in Batangas, agriculture; in Laguna, more on ICT courses because there’s a lot of ICTs there. So ours is contextualized. Our SHS has four different tracks: academic, technical-vocational (techvoc), sports, and arts and design. Each track has different strands. The academic track has general academics, including accounting and business management, humanities and social science, science and technology, mathematics and engineering. So meron pa bawat strand, bawat strand iba-ibang kurso pa, while the tech-voc track has agriculture, computer, beauty care, mechanic at pagkukumpuni ng kung anu-anong bagay. So inaakma natin yan sa industriya kung ano ‘yun iooffer natin, that’s why it is contextualized. And it is patterned from the global standards, so that kung ano dapat ang matutunam ng Grade 12 sa Singapore, matututunan din ng Grade 12 dito sa ‘tin. Is it true that after two years of HS, the kids would be qualified to work? With this, is the government encouraging more youth to work than to pursue higher education? With K to 12, we don’t really encourage more young people to work, but we’re giving them options. If

they want to work after SHS, it’s up to them. After they get the certificate of competency, like what the techvoc institute is giving, then they can work. With SHS, techvoc courses, like bartending or air-conditioning, are now given for free. Anyone can take tech-voc courses at SHS, for Levels 1 and 2. Then our tech-voc schools will only give Levels 3 and 4. With that, we’re giving them meaningful options to either work or pursue higher education. In fact, once they are already earning, this gives them more opportunity, to pursue college. On all probability only 50 percent of graduates pursue college lalo na kung wala ng kakayahan. Kung kumikita na ‘tong batang ’to, then he would think of pursuing school. Truth is for every 20 high school graduates in the Philippines, only 10 proceed to college. But only five could finish college because of financial reasons, among other reasons. With K to 12, the students can work and earn and proceed to college. Is it true that the tech-voc education is given more importance in the HS Program than the collegiate courses? Umali: The K-to-12 Program does not give more importance in tech-voc education over the collegiate courses. Based on DepEd’s latest survey, 49 percent of students are going to academic track (so we have enough schools to offer academic track subjects), 49 percent, techvoc; 1 percent, sports; and 1 percent, arts and design. Do we have enough teachers to teach tech-voc for SHS? Right now, we have enough teachers. We are also hiring and we have

enough applicants. We will be complete once we are through with hiring process. For one to teach in high school, our law required him or her to be Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) passer. So any tech-voc instructor, who is a LET passer, may teach in the SHS in the tech-voc strand. How does DepEd addresses parents’ concern on additional expenses, expensive tuition, etc.? Under K-to-12 the government has the voucher program where our students, the Grade 10-completers, will receive P22,000 voucher in NCR and highly urbanized cities, like Cebu and Davao, which they can use to enroll in private high school. Outside these areas, the students can avail themselves of P17,000. Kapag sa state university and colleges mag-e-enrol ang bata, regardless of whether he came from private or public school, he’ll get 50 percent of the amount. So ’yun ang tugon namin dito sa sinasabing additional expenses. The proper way to view it is this is an investment for your child’s education. You will reap the benefits of your investment once the child proceeds to college or works. Many studies have shown that, for every additional education gained, a person has better spending power. Mas maganda ang trabaho siyempre nung nag-aral ng six years kumpara dun sa nagtapos ng three years. The more number of years in school and competencies the student acquires, the more earning capacity he has leading to a better economy for the Philippines. That’s what DepEd aims for with the K-to-12 Program.

RESORTS WORLD MANILA DONATES COMPUTER FACILITIES TO PANGASINAN SCHOOLS

RESORTS WORLD MANILA funded the development of computer laboratories that would benefit students of Anonas National High School, Camantiles National High School, Mariano Umipig National high School, Cabaruan National High School, and Pedro Orata National High School in Urdaneta.

TRAVELLERS International Hotel Group, Inc. (TIHGI) Chief Operating Officer Stephen James Reilly (right) and PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat (left) personally inspect one of the computer laboratories donated recently to five schools in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

RAVELLERS International Hotel Group Inc. (TIHGI), owner and operator of integrated entertainment complex Resorts World Manila (RWM), continues to empower the Filipino youth through education by funding the development of computer laboratories for five schools in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.

Through the Resorts World Philippines Cultural Heritage Foundation Inc. (RWPCHFI), TIHGI, under the supervision of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Department of Education (DepEd), extended support by donating computer laboratories to Anonas National High School, Caman-

tiles National High School, Mariano Umipig National high School, Cabaruan National High School, and Pedro Orata National High School. “These computer laboratories are just part of our efforts to deliver our advocacy of ‘championing the Filipino’”,says Stephen James Reilly, Chief Operating Of-

RESORTS WORLD MANILA, together with PAGCOR and DepEd, recently turned over a four-story, 24-classroom school building to the Paranaque City Science High School. ficer, TIHGI and RWPCHFI. “I challenge the students, who will receive this invaluable educational tool, to take care of this facility and put it to good use as they reach high to achieve their dreams.” The donation supports DepEd’s Computerization Program (DCP) which aims to provide computer laboratories to schools across the country and upgrade the quality of education, particularly in the public school system. So far, TIHGI has set up and installed 26 computer laboratories in various public schools in the

country including Pangasinan, Cavite, Baler, Negros Occidental, and parts of the National Capital Region. The RWPCHFI was incorporated pursuant to TIHGI’s Provisional License and are aimed at contributing to the holistic nation building by engaging in more community activities for charitable, educational, cultural, artistic, and scientific purposes. Through this foundation, RWM has previously funded and completed buildings for schools within the Pasay and Parañaque areas. These include facilities for the Pasay City East High School, JP Rizal

Elementary School in Pasay, and Tambo Elementary School in Parañaque, Delivering on its commitment to empower the Filipino youth through education, RWM recently turned over its fourth school building, a four-story, 24-classroom structure that would benefit the students of the Paranaque City Science High School. “The partnership between TIHGI and the City of Paranaque remains strong as both parties are committed to uplifting the quality of education in the City,” Reilly says.

The foundation has two more school buildings currently under construction in Mandaluyong Addition Hills Elementary School and the Urdaneta City University in Pangasinan. Also, together with the Department of National Defense and Solaire Resort & Casino, RWM has begun work on a four-story barracks to be used by cadets at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City. This project directly answers the need for private entities to support the government’s plans of modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

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GH SCHOOL www.businessmirror.com.ph | Wednesday, April 6, 2016 A7

DLSHSI ready for senior high school

B L R. G

HE De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (DLSHSI) in the City of Dasmarinas, Cavite, is all set for the incoming Grade 11 this June 2016. According to Dr.Juanito O. Cabanias, Vice Chancellor for Academics, the school has already addressed the fears and concerns of both parents and students of incoming senior high school.

Normally, parents have apprehensions and various questions about the new program, according to Cabanias such as ‘What happens to our children if they don’t study college at DLSHSI. What if they stop or transfer to other schools.’ “During the day of the entrance examination, we gather all the parents and then we make presentation about our program. That way we give them ideas about DLSHSI Program. We use the time as an opportunity to explain to the parents our program. I think the most difficult part is to really inform all of them about our specialized program. So we do the orientation to the parents on the day itself, while they wait for their children to finish the exam. According to its website, the SHS program of the DLSHSI is focused on Academic-STEM Track with Health-related Courses. The curriculum is designed to prepare students in the field of health sciences like Nursing, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiologic Technology, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Pathology-all leading to Doctor of Medicine. For DLSHSI, this special health sciences high school is envisioned to prepare and form students as future medical and health allied professionals who value the Lasallian healing ministry the most. Thus, making sure the curriculum features PUSH (Public Understanding of

Science in Health) as an integral component. PUSH highlights the theoretical foundations and fundamentals of Science in relation to health programs of the Institute. These subjects show how sciences are important, related and useful in the field of health care. This also focuses on the laboratory and field exposures of the students after finishing the basic PUSH courses and finally this also requires the students to finish an Investigatory Project which is the culmination of all their theoretical knowledge and exposures from the basic PUSH courses. The remaining senior years shall be devoted primarily for the Internship Program where students shall be exposed to the actual health sciences profession. “DLSHSI offers specialized health sciences track because we would like to prepare our students how is it to be like a nurse or any other health-related professions, for example, in the future. So in our curriculum, we make sure we have introduction to all our health sciences courses such as to nursing, to medical laboratory science, to pharmacy, to biochemistry, to physiotherapy, to occupational therapy, to speech and language pathology, and to radiologic technologywhere the students would be exposed to the different tracks. We also have internship program, that’s part of the revised curriculum of K to 12, and then we have our own hospital to really orient them. Ours

is a specialized program where there are units devoted for introduction to health care, and health sciences program,” Cabanias explained. The said unique curriculum shall be able to assist students also in determining their career paths without being forced to take a degree that they do not want to take. Moreover, students may opt to enroll in certificate programs that will hone their abilities and talents. As a result, they shall be equipped with the skills needed for a specific job even without a college degree. At the age of 18, the age when they graduate from Senior High School, they shall be employable, productive and competitive. Thus, adding up to the nation’s manpower. Still, those who opt to pursue a higher degree shall have the better opportunities in DLSHSI. Under the technical vocational track, normally after finishing Grade 12, the students are issued the National Certificates. Once they have NC I and NC II certificates, meaning they passed the requirements of Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA), they are already employable. Like for example, a student who discovers his or her passion in baking and makes good at it, after graduation, passed the TESDA exam and gets his NC, then he/she can already apply for work

to different establishments needing his/her service as a baker for example. Cabanias reveals however that DLSHSI’s health-related tech-voc offering is different from other schools and won’t be available yet for the coming school year. “DepEd Sec. Br. Armin Luistro told us to think out of the box so we created a specialized health-related tech-voc program. For example, our proposed community health program is still being studied by the DepEd in coordination with TESDA,” Cabanias said. “But once our program pushes through, once the students graduate Grade 12, automatically they can apply in different fields already. Does DLSHSI give ‘special treatment’ to existing students who decide to continue SHS in the same school? “A big yes! We have actually informed our incoming grade 11, that if they finish grade 12 at DLSHSI there’s no need for them to take the entrance exam to proceed to college. So they automatically have sure slot in college,” Cabanias said. “Secondly, we are having continuous dialogues with college deans for taking validation exam only instead of the students repeating subjects in college which have already been taken up in SHS such as Introduction to Anatomy or Physiology. We would like them to feel the benefit for fin-

ishing SHS at the DLSHSI. And we’re thinking more ways for them to appreciate that they are being prioritized here,” he further explained. Cabanias has over 15 years of administrative position in the academe which include seven years as Academic Services Director and one year as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences of DLSHSI; 3 years as Director for Admissions and Scholarships and one year as Program Director for Language Learning Center of DLSU-Dasmariñas and three years as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Letters of Southern Luzon College. What is his personal perception of the SHS? “It’s about time for the K to 12 program! We’re the only country in Asia that does not adhere to the program. The Philippines is also part of the three countries in the world that does not adopt this global educational standard. These two countries are from Africa. Therefore, we lag behind in the education department,” he stressed. “All Asian countries adhere to the program so why can’t we? So the K to 12 program would really be a big boost to the development of our educational system. For me, it’s a total redeemship. When our graduates apply abroad, they need to study again -- to take additional units. So this is

already the answer to this thing. Besides, it’s one of the requirements in the ASEAN integration,” Cabanias added. He cited a case of any Asian student who may want to transfer and study in any ASEAN countries. The host country should credit all subjects taken from the student’s previous school. Therefore, we would be of the same level. As for employment of those in the tech voc track, the DepEd, TESDA and CHED (Commission on Higher Education) have secured partnership with various industries to accommodate Grade 12 graduates with the NC certificates required according to Cabanias. In Cavite, for example, he said, tech-voc schools arrange for internship of their students who eventually hire them. “Right now, everything has been set. Surprisingly, here in Cavite, the employment rate is good for tech voc graduates. A lot of industries welcome tech voc grads,” he noted. How does DLSHSI address parents’ concern on the SHS being additional burden and expenses for the family? “The DepEd has this voucher system to help our students enroll for Grades 11 and 12 and they have the option to choose public or private school. I believe the government is responsive enough and is thinking of more ways to enhance the voucher system and scholarships for deserving students. Here at La Salle, our priorities are the graduates of public schools, so kung talagang magaling ka at gusto mo ng tulong and then we can help you apply for scholarship,” he said. “To the parents, I think we have to accept the realities that we’re moving towards excellence in real sense. I think it’s time we embrace it, we accept it with open arms because this is for us, for our children. The SHS maybe an additional expense on your part but the return of investment will make a difference. And we know that we have to compete globally. With K to 12, we prepare our kids to the right fields that they should be. We can only know this if we give senior high school program a chance. It’s about time,” Cabanias concluded.

Saudis want to double stock market for post-oil econ

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A8 | Wednesday, April 6, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

AUDI Arabia plans to almost double the size of its stock market, among the most closed in the world, by adding dozens of companies and making it easier for foreigners to invest. The kingdom aims to attract privately owned firms to list, while privatization by the government will also boost the market, said Mohammed Al-Jadaan, chairman of the Capital Market Authority, the country’s regulator. The Tadawul All Share Index will increase to 250 companies from about 170 now and its $380-billion market capitalization will grow to match the size of Saudi gross domestic product (GDP) within seven years, he said. The government wants to “make sure that the market becomes a real representative of the economy in terms of size,” Al-Jadaan said at the royal compound in Riyadh. The current value of listed companies stands at about 57 percent of GDP, he said. The ambitious plan is part of an unprecedented overhaul of the Saudi economy, the largest in the Middle East, to wean the country off oil. It’s being driven by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was outlined in a fivehour interview with Bloomberg News last week.

A SYRIAN soldier surveys damages at Saint Elian Monastery in Qaryatain, near the central city of Homs, Syria, on Monday. Qaryatain used to be home to a Christian population and lies midway between Palmyra and the capital, Damascus. Many of the Christians fled the town after it came under attack by Islamic State. AP

IS leaves razed monastery in Syria’s Qaryatain town

ARYATAIN, Syria—Syrian troops fired their guns in celebration amid smoldering buildings inside the town of Qaryatain on Monday, hours after recapturing it from retreating Islamic State (IS) militants who had abducted and terrorized dozens of its Christian residents.

An Associated Press (AP) crew was among the first journalists to enter the town and witnessed the destruction wrought on the oncethriving Christian community and its fifth-century monastery, which was bulldozed by the extremist group last summer. Once a cherished pilgrimage site, much of the Saint Elian Monastery had been reduced to a pile of stones. Escorted by the Syrian government, the AP crew was allowed to venture only about 3 kilometers inside Qaryatain, located 125 kilometers northeast of Damascus, because army experts were still clearing explosives and mines left by the group. Black smoke billowed from the western side of town where skirmishes continued. Near the central square, some residential and government buildings were completely destroyed, their top floors flattened. Others had gaping holes where they had taken direct artillery hits or were pock-marked by gunfire. Electricity poles and cables were broken and shredded; a snapped tree hung to one side. On Sunday, a week after taking back the historic town of Palmyra from IS, Syrian troops and their allies recaptured Qaryatain. Aided by Russian air strikes, the advance dealt yet another setback to IS, depriving the extremists of a main base in central Syria that could eventually be used by government forces to launch attacks on IS-held areas near the Iraqi border. Soldiers were visibly buoyed on Monday by their successive battlefield victories. “We will soon liberate all of Syria from the mercenaries of the Gulf and Erdogan,” said one soldier, referring to Gulf countries and the Turkish leader who have been

1,500 yrs The age of Saint Elian Monastery, which was destroyed by Islamic State strong supporters of the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Qaryatain lies midway between Palmyra and the capital, Damascus, and was once home to a sizable Christian population. Before IS took it over last August, it had a mixed population of around 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians, as well as thousands of internally displaced people who had fled from the nearby city of Homs. As it came under militant attack, many of the Christians fled. More than 200 residents, mostly Christians, were abducted by the extremists, including a Syrian priest, the Rev. Jack Murad, who was held by the extremists for three months. During the eight months that Qaryatain was under IS control, some Christians were released and others were made to sign pledges to pay a tax imposed on non-Muslims. Some have simply vanished. Days after the militants publicly beheaded an 81-year-old antiquities scholar in nearby Palmyra last August, the militants posted photos on social media that showed them leveling the Saint Elian Monastery with bulldozers. They also trashed an ancient church next to the Assyrian Christian monastery, and desecrated a nearby cemetery, breaking the crosses

and smashing name plates. The church’s doors and windows were blown out and its interior appeared to have been used by the militants as a workshop for manufacturing bombs and booby traps, its floor littered with gas canisters, metal kettles, coffee pots and blue pails. Scrawled in blue paint on the church’s exterior stone wall was a verse from a 19th-century Egyptian poet known as the Poet of Islam: “We faced you in battle like hungry lions who find the flesh of the enemy to be the most delicious.” It was signed: “The Lions of the Caliphate.” Another wall was sprayed with the words “Lasting and Expanding,” the IS group’s logo. It was dated August 15, 2015. A Syrian soldier showed journalists an ID apparently left behind by an IS militant from the nearby town of Mheen. It was stamped with the words “al-Dawla al-Islamiya,” or IS. The officer said the Syrian army would now turn east to capture the next IS-held town of Sukhneh, on the road between Palmyra and Deir el-Zour near the Iraqi border. Meanwhile, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the US carried out an air strike late on Sunday on a senior al-Qaeda “operational meeting” in northwest Syria that resulted in “several enemy killed.” He said the US believes a senior alQaeda figure, Abu Firas al-Souri, was at the meeting and “we are working to confirm his death.” The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi web sites, said al-Souri died in the US strike, which targeted the headquarters of Jund al-Aqsa, an extremist group that fights alongside al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front. Al-Souri was the former spokesman for the Nusra Front, the group reported on social media Monday. The strike killed at least 21 militants in Idlib province, a jihadist stronghold in northern Syria, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Military officials said over the weekend that the US killed an IS fighter who was believed to be directly connected to the attack in Iraq that killed Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin about a week ago. Cardin, of Temecula, California, was killed by rocket fire at a base near Makhmour. Cook said on Monday that Jasim Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer and a member of the IS group, “played a role in the rocket attacks” that killed Cardin. AP

Aramco IPO

WHO WILL WIN WISCONSIN? HERE ARE SOME PREDICTIONS

EW YORK—Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are well on their way to the magic delegate numbers they need to clinch their respective party’s presidential nomination (1,237 for Republicans and 2,383 for Democrats), but a few roadblocks remain. The biggest of these, arguably, is Wisconsin, where primary voters were set to go to the polls on Tuesday. Despite sizable delegate leads for the front-runners, many indications suggest the Badger State will go not to them but to the current runners-up, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Here’s a sampling:

PredictWise: Cruz and Sanders

THE research project led by David Rothschild, an economist at Microsoft Research in New York City which aggregates betting-market data and polling, has successfully predicted the winner in 53 of 64 individual nominating contests so far this year. As of Sunday, PredictWise gave Cruz an 83-percent chance of winning in Wisconsin, with Trump at 15 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 1 percent. On the Democratic side, Sanders had a 77-percent chance of extending his current winning streak to six states. “Trump is not going to get many delegates on Tuesday. He is unlikely to win the state and recent polling puts him down in every single congressional district,” says Rothschild, who notes that Trump’s chances of winning the nomination are down to 54 percent from a recent high of around 80 percent. “Sanders will likely win Wisconsin, but Clinton will pick up enough delegates to keep her ahead of pace to get the nomination.”

RealClearPolitics: Cruz and Sanders

AS of Sunday, the poll averaging and aggregating site RealClearPolitics had Cruz ahead in Wisconsin by nearly 7 points, on average, and up by as much as 10 points in two recent polls. As for the Democrats, Sanders enjoyed a narrower 2.2-point lead, according to the site’s average. Pollsters only examined the state sporadically until late March, but both likely winners on Tuesday appear to have surged in recent weeks.

Bing: Cruz and Sanders

WITH a roughly 78-percent accuracy rating so far this cycle, Bing Predicts also projects a Cruz win on Tuesday, and predicts he’ll carry a bit more than 41 percent of the vote. That’s a shift from last Thursday, when the site expected Kasich to eke out a victory with just barely more than a third of total votes, according to the “machine-learned predictive model” that the Microsoft search engine created. It parses data from polls, prediction markets, search-engine queries and social-media posts. Sanders, meanwhile, is projected to win about 54 percent of the vote.

FiveThirtyEight: Cruz and toss-up

ON Sunday FiveThirtyEight, which is run by former New York Times stats guru Nate Silver, gave Cruz as high as a 95-percent chance of winning Wisconsin. Trump, meanwhile, has just an 11-percent chance when looking at recent state polls; his chances actually dip to 5 percent when national polls and endorsements are factored in. Kasich has a less-than-1-percent chance of winning Wisconsin under either scenario. For the Democrats, the race is closer and the lead has switched a few times. Sanders now has a 65-percent chance of winning as of Sunday, a big turnaround for the Vermont senator, whom the site had earlier projected would lose to Clinton and who had just a 35-percent chance of winning as recently as March 29. When national polls and endorsements were factored in, however, the advantage returned to Clinton, albeit in a 52-48 split. If that isn’t close enough, according to FiveThirtyEight’s simulated results Sanders will either win by about 2 points or lose by two-tenths of a point.

Political insiders: Cruz and Clinton

CRUZ failed to win over his Republican Wisconsin Senate colleague, Ron Johnson, who avoided making a formal endorsement even as he said he’d be willing to campaign with Trump. Still, Cruz has the most impressive roster of Badger State endorsements: Gov. Scott Walker, Rep. Glenn Grothman, state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke. Vos was one of at least 20 state legislators who’d earlier supported Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. When Rubio dropped out in March, several of those lawmakers swung to Cruz. Kasich, meanwhile, was endorsed by the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the state’s largest newspaper. The Democratic endorsement ledgers are equally lopsided in favor of Clinton, who has the support of Wisconsin’s Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Gwen Moore and state Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca. Endorsements from elected officials have historically been among the best available indicators of success in a party primary, although that pattern has been challenged by the 2016 Republican race.

Ballotcraft: Cruz and Sanders

THIS fantasy politics game, founded by two Stanford grads, has thousands of players who use fake money to buy “shares” in candidates. So far, it has correctly predicted 55 of the 68 nominating contests it has covered. As of Sunday, Cruz was expected to win in Wisconsin, where the site’s users give him roughly a 76-percent chance of winning. On the Democratic side, Sanders has held an edge over Clinton since March 22 and had a 69-percent chance of victory. Bloomberg News/TNS

The project includes the initial public (IPO) offering of a small stake in oil giant Aramco, the creation of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and new budget measures that would raise at least an extra $100 billion a year by 2020, more than tripling non-oil income compared with now. Developing the equity and debt markets by adding new listings and products is key to helping bring money into the economy. As well as broadening the stock index, the Capital Market Authority also plans to foster derivatives trading, the debt market and introduce real-estate investment trusts, AlJadaan said. “The market is undergoing massive reforms to facilitate inflows into the kingdom, with the Tadawul playing a great conduit for channeling foreign investment,” said Rami Sidani, who helps manage $1.4 billion in stocks as the head of frontier investments at Schroders Plc. in Dubai. “Aggressive privatization is important to help the economy diversify away from oil.” The Tadawul Index jumped the most since March 17 on Monday. It gained 1.4 percent, paring the loss for this year to 10 percent.

No stampede

WHILE the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ biggest oil exporter is gradually removing barriers to the market, there’s hardly been a stampede. Since opening it to direct foreign investment in June, subject to strict rules, 11 overseas investors have received licenses as qualified financial institutions to trade in the market, Al-Jadaan said. Investors with a license bought stocks valued at 3.2 billion riyals ($853 million) in March, according to data on the stock-exchange web site. That means total ownership of foreign investors stood at 4.4 percent of total market capitalization. The new model for Saudi capitalism is designed to change that. The Capital Markets Authority is planning derivatives to have a “vibrant and sophisticated” market and rules for Real Estate Investment Trusts are scheduled by the end of this year, Al-Jadaan said. There are also plans for a secondary stock exchange for small and medium-sized enterprises that will be limited to “sophisticated investors,” he said. “Currently, we have only the equity market as the really strong market,” he said. “We need to develop the debt side.” Introducing derivatives would improve the efficiency of the market and allow investors to hedge risk, while adding that debt products would given them more choice, said Muhammad Faisal Potrik, the head of research at Riyad Capital. “Our outlook for the market is positive for the long term based on these developments, although markets may remain volatile in the short-term on oil-price movement,” he said. Bloomberg News

The World

BusinessMirror GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING NEARLY $1.7T AMID MIDEAST CONFLICTS news@businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The world is buying more weapons

UBAI, United Arab Emirates— Global military spending rose in 2015 to nearly $1.7 trillion, the first increase in several years, driven by conflicts including the battle against the Islamic State (IS) group, the Saudiled war in Yemen and fears about Iran, a report released on Tuesday shows. The study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) also noted that the Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support of Ukrainian separatists also accounted for nudging spending up 1 percent in real terms, compared to 2014. For weapons manufacturers, the nonstop pace of air strikes targeting IS fighters in Iraq and Syria, as well as Saudi-led bombing of Yemen’s Shiite rebels and their allies, means billions of dollars more in sales.But activists question continued US arms deals to Saudi Arabia as its Yemen campaign has killed civilians, while American fighter jet sales

to both emerging military buyer Qatar and longtime ally Kuwait appear stalled. The United States, with $596 bi l l ion in defense spend ing , and China, w it h an estimated $215 bi l lion, led a l l countr ies in 2015, t he annua l repor t by Sipr i sa id. Saud i A rabia, however, came in third w ith spending of $87.2 bi l l ion— double what it spent in 2006, according to t he repor t. T hat f ueled the f irst worldw ide increase in mi litar y spend ing since 2011. Iraq spent $13.1 billion on its military in 2015, up well over 500 percent from 2006 as it has rebuilt its armed forces following the US withdrawal and rise of the Islamic State group, Sipri said.

While part of the US coalition fighting the extremists, Saudi Arabia also launched a war in Yemen in March 2015 to support the countr y’s inter nationa l ly recog nized gover nment after Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, earlier overran the countr y’s capital, Sanaa. The Sunni kingdom v iews t he Hout his as a proxy of Shiite power Iran, long its regional rival. T he United A rab Emirates (UAE) is also taking part in both conflicts and likely has spent billions of dollars to support its military in 2015, as well, though the Stockholm-based institute said it couldn’t offer precise figures this year, senior research Pieter Wezeman said. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia also sent troops into Bahrain to put down its 2011 Arab Spring-inspired protests. “This clearly is a reason for these countries to improve their so-called security forces, both to be able to fight against internal uprisings, whether a more peaceful nature or more violent but also of course to intervene in neighboring countries,” Wezeman, who took part in the report, told The Associated Press. But the air campaign waged by the Saudi-led, US-backed coalition in Yemen has been increasingly criticized

$596B

The amount the United States has spent for defense

by human-rights activists over civilian deaths. A ir str ikes account for 60 percent of the 3,200 civilians killed in the conf lict, according to the United Nations, which has criticized coalition strikes that have hit markets, clinics and hospitals. Yet, arms deals continue, especially from the US. Asked about the civilian casualties, State Department Spokesman David McKeeby said the US remained “deeply concerned by the devastating toll of the crisis in Yemen.” “We have remained in regular contact with the Saudi-led coalition and have reinforced to them the need to avoid civilian casualties and the importance of precise targeting,” McKeeby said in a statement. “We have encouraged them to investigate all credible accounts of civilian casualties as a result of coalition strikes—and to report publicly the results of these investigations.”

But both the Yemen war and the fight against the IS group likely will keep arms manufacturers busy into 2016. Companies that may see increased sales include Boeing Co., General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co., aerospace and defense analyst Roman Schweizer at Guggenheim Securities wrote on March 28. “We have been bullish for the better part of a year that the Pentagon and its European and [Gulf] allies will have to refill their stocks of missiles and munitions due to the current campaign against IS in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and even Libya,” Schweizer wrote, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group. Meanwhile, President Barack O b a m a p r o m i s e d A m e r i c a’s “ ironclad commitment” to back its Gulf allies during a summit last May. In the time since, the US has made $33 billion in arms sales to its Gulf allies, including an $11.25-billion deal with Saudi Arabia that includes four armed warships to modernize its nav y, McKeeby said. But the Obama administration has been criticized by US Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, for “failing to live to up the promises” made at the summit by a l leged ly sta l ling

fighter jet sales to both Kuwait and Qatar. “They are languishing on the shelf gathering dust,” McCain said at a hearing on March 8. Tiny Qatar, in the meantime, has signed a deal for €6.7 billion ($7.6 billion) to buy 24 Dassault Rafal fighter jets from France. Obama will visit Saudi Arabia on April 21 for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. The jet sales likely will be a topic of discussion, as will Iran after its recently implemented nuclear deal with world powers. Wezeman said international sanctions against Iran had seen its weapons technology lag behind its neighbors, as its military spending dropped by 30 percent between 2006 and 2015. However, he acknowledged regional suspicions likely would keep Gulf military spending strong. “Iran is, of course, perceived as an adversary and also wants to be the main player in the region, a country which will potentially use its influence over different proxy groups in the region to destabilize countries,” Wezeman said. “Both the expenditure and the armament procurement by states in the Gulf are clearly aimed at kind of keeping Iran in check.” AP

Putin’s inner circle has penchant for secret deals

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin (center), then-prime minister of the country, visits a former palace of Great Prince Alexei Alexandrovich Pomanov in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with longtime friend Sergei Roldugin (right) and then-President Dmitry Medvedev on November 21, 2009. A leak of records from an international law firm shows that Roldugin is a behind-the-scenes player in a clandestine network operated by Putin associates that has shuffled at least $2 billion through banks and offshore companies. TASS/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

LADIMIR PUTIN and Sergey Roldugin forged a bond as young men. Fast friends, almost like brothers, they cruised the streets of Leningrad, singing and, in Putin’s case, occasionally getting into fistfights. As Putin rose to power as Russia’s supreme leader and Roldugin made a name for himself as a classical cellist and conductor, the two remained close. Roldugin has performed for Putin and has given media interviews that softened Putin’s fearsome image. Now a leak of secret documents reveals a hidden side of their friendship. The records show Roldugin is a behind-the-scenes player in a clandestine network operated by Putin associates that has shuffled at least $2 billion through banks and offshore companies, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, (ICIJ) German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung and other media partners, including McClatchy, has found. In the documents, Roldugin is listed as the owner of offshore companies that have obtained payments of tens of millions of dollars. A company linked to the cellist played a key role in the ownership remake of Russia’s largest truck maker; another snagged much of Russia’s TV advertising industry. It’s possible that Roldugin, who has publicly claimed not to be a businessman, is not the true beneficiary of these riches. The evidence in the files suggests that he is acting as a frontman for a network of Putin

loyalists—and, perhaps, for Putin himself. Roldugin did not respond to detailed questions. Reporters from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an ICIJ partner, met briefly with the musician after a concert in Moscow last week. Roldugin told them he needed more time to review the questions and determine what he could say. About 100 financial deals related to the network are described in the leaked documents. They are complex. On paper, shares in companies are swapped back and forth in a day. Documents are backdated. Questionable financial penalties are assessed. The rights to multimillion-dollar loans are sold between offshore companies for $1. In almost every instance, the result is the same: money and power moves in the direction of the network, to companies and people allied with Putin. The leaked documents come from the files of Mossack Fonseca and Co., a Panamabased law firm that registered some of the Roldugin companies and helped administer the network’s holdings in the British Virgin Islands and other offshore havens. The records reveal what until now has mostly been rumor: How members of Putin’s inner circle secretly conduct their business. Loyalty and long-held relationships help bind the network. It’s a fraternity of Putin confidants. Many of the men, whose interests are reflected in the leaked files, are Putin comrades whose history with him

traces back decades to Saint Petersburg, the city known, before the fall of the Soviet Union, as Leningrad. Roldugin, 64, is godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter. Yury Kovalchuk, 64, is a banker who forged links with the future president when Putin was a municipal official. Arkady Rotenberg, 64, is a childhood friend who became a billionaire through

state-sponsored construction projects, oil pipelines and other ventures. Many of the men linked to the network, including Putin, have more in common besides history. They are connected to the Saint Petersburg-based Bank Rossiya, which the US government has identified as Putin’s personal cash box. Of all those in his inner circle, Rotenberg and his billionaire brother, Boris, have known

Putin the longest. Their friendship dates to the 1960s, when as boys they sparred in a martial-arts club. The ties of friendship grew to encompass business, as well. The European Union and the US government issued sanctions against Arkady Rotenberg in 2014, in retaliation for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The US also sanctioned Boris Rotenberg.

The US Treasury noted the two had “amassed enormous amounts of wealth during the years of Putin’s rule” from Russian government contracts, including roughly $7 billion for the Sochi Olympic Games. The sanctions document describes the reason for the designation as “acting for or on behalf of a senior official” of the Russian Federation. In 2013, the year before the sanctions were issued, one of Arkady Rotenberg’s companies received potentially lucrative government contracts to work on a proposed $40-billion natural gas pipeline between Russia and Europe. Around the same time, three anonymous companies made huge payments into the Putin network, records show. Two of the shadow companies were controlled by Arkady Rotenberg, according to the Mossack Fonseca files. Loans from these Rotenberg companies totaling more than $231 million went to a British Virgin Islands-based company called Sunbarn Ltd., created by a manager at Bank Rossiya. The loans had no repayment schedule. Arkady Rotenberg did not respond to a request for comment. The history of Bank Rossiya is all about its shareholders working together cooperatively. Yury Kovalchuk and Putin turned their attention to Bank Rossiya in 1991, when its largest shareholder was still the Leningrad Communist Party. At the time, Putin was deputy mayor. Kovalchuk became majority shareholder and board chairman of Bank Rossiya. When the US government sanctioned him in 2014, it described Kovalchuk as one of Putin’s “cashiers.” In the mid-1990s Kovalchuk and a few other shareholders of the bankowned dachas, or country houses, a few hours outside of town on the eastern shore of the Komsomolskoye Lake. Putin found the money to buy a property. An enterprise called Sandalwood Continental Ltd. was the linchpin of the entire Putin-linked network. One of Sandalwood’s roles appeared to be to borrow money from the Russian Commercial Bank Ltd. in Cyprus, which, in turn, was backed by Moscow-based, statecontrolled bank, VTB Group. Between 2009 and 2012, Sandalwood had lines of credit with Russian Commercial Bank for about $800 million, according to the files. Sandalwood loaned out about $600 million in 2009, and at least $350 million in 2010. The loans the bank made to Sandalwood were highly unusual. They went to a borrower who had no discernible business model that would allow it to pay back the money. The loans carried no security. ICIJ/TNS

A10 Wednesday, April 6, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Enforce antilittering law in the election campaigns

T’S not a new idea—the idea of punishing politicians posting campaign materials outside of officially designated places—but the netizens of Zambales apparently have had enough of candidates nailing posters on trees they are fighting back with a negative campaign against these candidates. We recall that some 12 years ago, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), after cleaning up political posters and banners outside of officially designated areas at an enormous expense, demanded that the politicians concerned be made to pay for their excesses. The MMDA got nowhere with its demand. In Zambales the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which is mandated to protect trees, among other features of our natural environment, from acts of vandalism, like the nailing of campaign materials on them, is confessing to a lack of manpower to carry out the task. Now, we have Republic Act 9006, the Fair Elections Act, governing the conduct of elections in this country. The Act describes almost exhaustively the acts that politicians can carry out in pursuit of their ambition. It also stipulates that election offenses are punishable under Section 264 of the Omnibus Election Code. But something is wrong somewhere. How come no political candidate has ever been made answerable for antisocial activities carried out by him or his supporters in his pursuit of public office? For all intents and purposes, candidates do as they please in carrying out their campaign for votes. Obviously, there is a need for a clearer enumeration of election offenses and the penalties appropriate to them. The launching by the Zambales netizens of a shame campaign against violators is an act in the right direction, but it is not enough. Punishment of violators must include not just boycotting them, but punishing them with a financial fine and a prison sentence. It seems only fair also that entreaties for financial restitution by local government units digging out from under tons of political garbage be given due course. Shortages of manpower by agencies mandated to protect public turf must be treated with more than just indifference or nonchalance. Just think of the positive impact that punishment of violators can exert on our communities and political culture. There will be no more of the physical dirt that converts our cities and municipalities into garbage dumps during election period. Also, candidates will be obliged to articulate their programs of government, if they have any, instead of relying on inanimate, but expensive, materials to do such articulation. To the extent that possible punishment gives rise to increased interaction between candidates and voters, it will strengthen our democracy. Our call for punishment of violators is not to curb electoral acts, dampen political fervor or narrow the limits of our political freedom. It is only to alert politicians against the antisocial character of some of the practices that have become normal during election time in our communities. Candidates must be made aware that these practices have consequences, on themselves if on nobody else.

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All About Social Security

ILLIONS of Filipinos commemorated the end of the Lenten season two weekends ago, which is arguably one of the most awaited of yearly holidays in this country, apart, of course, from the Christmas season. Families and individuals spent the recent four-day Holy Week break by going back to their hometowns, visiting churches, participating in religious activities, and reconnecting with friends and relatives. A time of reflection and repentance, the Lenten season served as an opportunity to look back at our past mistakes and meditate on their root causes, so that we can start anew and live out a better version of ourselves. Many of us are guilty of tolerating personal habits that are detrimental to our own well-being and even to the welfare of others, including our loved ones. Among the possible areas for deep reflection and improvement is our personal list of priorities which greatly influences our habits, as well as our daily and long-term decision-making. A clear reflection of where our priorities lie is how and where we spend our hard-earned money. For many workers at the early stages of their employment years, such as the current “millennial” generation, starting a retirement nest egg ranks low on their list of

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priorities, perhaps knowing that retiring is still several decades away, and that they can just worry about it later in life. Building up one’s retirement and emergency fund can also be shelved in favor of more tempting options to spend one’s earnings, such as splurging on trendy clothes, high-tech gadgets and leisurely travel. There are also workers at the middle or latter stages of their working life who forgo saving up for retirement and future emergencies due to family obligations, such as paying for household expenses, children’s tuition and monthly rent or mortgage. Whatever the circumstances or

The Security Fund

Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Frederick M. Alegre Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Dante S. Castro

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

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Starting your savings habit with SSS

Atty. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

HAPTER 5 of the Amended Insurance Code deals with the Security Fund. Under Section 378, a Security Fund was created “which shall be used in the payment of allowed claims against an insurance company authorized to transact business in the Philippines remaining unpaid by reason of the insolvency” of the insurance company.

In other jurisdictions, the Security Fund is more widely known as the Guaranty Fund. For purposes of our discussion, we shall refer to it as the Security Fund. While recourse may be made to the Security Fund (“Fund”) by allowed claims, it may also “be used to reinsure the policy of the insolvent insurer in any solvent insurer” (Section 378). The law also provides limitations to its disbursement, no payment can be made to any person owning or controlling 10 percent or more of the voting shares of stock of the insolvent insurer. Moreover, there is a cap of P20,000 per claim (Section 378). There are two accounts in this

Fund. The Life Account exclusively for life-insurance companies; and the Non-Life Account exclusively for the nonlife insurers. They are both “administered” by the insurance commissioner. However, the “custodian” is the Treasurer of the Philippines and any disbursement is to be made by him to the insurance commissioner upon vouchers signed by the latter (Section 382). They are kept in the form of government bonds (Section 382). Each account aggregates P5 million collected from all insurance companies. Both accounts shall not exceed P10 million. The contribution of each company is in direct

age one is in, saving for the future should be a major priority, and this is where the Social Security System (SSS) comes in. Workers covered by the SSS benefit from a safe and secure means to financially prepare for their retirement, as well as other contingencies, such as sickness, maternity, disability and death. With the SSS, members can gradually add to their retirement or emergency funds, and earn generous returns for their contributions. At present, monthly SSS contributions range from P110 up to P1,760, which is based on 11 percent of reported earnings per month, with the coverable income capped at P16,000. Payment of regular contributions may not be a worry among covered employees, since they have their respective employers to do it for them, as mandated by law. However, selfemployed workers and voluntary members are advised to motivate themselves to jump-start—or resurrect—their habit of saving for their future through an active SSS membership by paying their monthly contributions regularly. To make it easy for members, the SSS offers a diverse menu of payment options. Members can remit their contributions over-the-counter at SSS branches and through various SSS-accredited partners, including banks, Bayad Centers, SM Business Centers, authorized cooperatives and

proportion to the ratio of a company’s net worth to the aggregate net worth of all companies. Contributions are considered as admitted assets (Section 380). The earnings of the Fund shall be delivered to each company in proportion to their contribution. Every disbursement from the Fund, as well as any deficiency, shall be subject to replenishment. In case any insurer is unable to contribute, the Insurance Commissioner is authorized to seek judicial recourse to recover any deficiency (Section 381). In addition, he may impose a penalty of 5 percent plus 1 percent of such amount for each month of delay, as well as suspend or revoke the license of any insurance company (Section 381). The Security Fund is maintained “to protect policyholders in the event that an insurer becomes insolvent or is unable to meet its financial obligations.” It is a “consumer protection system” that protects policyholders. In the United States the guaranty fund system has paid $17 billion in claims on 200 insolvencies since 1969, according to the National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds. Most state guaranty funds were created

microfinance institutions, to name a few. Members can even make online payments, or use their “virtual wallets” for those enrolled in Globe GCash—the latest in the SSS’s expanding list of payment options. For SSS members with higher incomes who have the capacity to save more, the SSS Personal Equity Savings Option (Peso) Fund allows them to remit additional funds for retirement and emergencies, on top of their regular SSS monthly contributions. The Peso Fund offers guaranteed and tax-free earnings, and can be tapped for contingencies and purposes, such as retirement, total disability, medical needs, education, housing, livelihood and unemployment. In a span of a few months since its nationwide launch in September 2015, the SSS Peso Fund already has attracted over 700 enrolled members who have saved up more than P10 million to date. It’s never too early or too late to start saving for one’s retirement with the SSS! For more details on SSS programs, members can drop by the nearest SSS branch, visit the SSS web site (www.sss.gov.ph), or contact the SSS Call Center at 920-6446 to 55, which accepts calls from 7 a.m. on Mondays all the way to 7 a.m. on Saturdays. Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.

by law in 1969, and are nonprofit systems. There are limits to the coverage. In New York the limit is $1 million. The cap on claims varies in every state. Mostly, it is $300,000. In liquidation, claims are paid from what funds and assets are available. The guaranty fund supplements whatever funds are available, subject to the guaranty fund’s cap. The Fund can raise the amounts “by collecting contributions to build up a reserve in anticipation of future liabilities [ex ante funding], or by levying contributions when required to cover the costs of failures that have occurred [ex post funding].” In a study done by A.M. Best in November 2005 on insolvencies from 1969 to 2005, the leading cause of insolvency was inadequate reserves for claims accounting for 38 percent of impairments. Most insolvencies involved some form of mismanagement. In the Philippine experience, the Security Fund has never been tapped and no payment has ever been made from it. Dennis B. Funa is currently the deputy insurance commissioner for Legal Services of the Insurance Commission. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Dying to eat Europe and the ‘war-weary’ trap: Denial in the age of terror

UROPEANS stroll every day through a landscape transformed by two World Wars. Cherished cities bombed to rubble and then rebuilt. Massive monuments erected to the sacrifice of millions of lives. Today the shadow of a new war spreads across Europe, from Madrid to London, to Paris and now Brussels. But many Europeans (and some of their American cousins) continue to describe themselves with a common phrase: “war weary.” They shy away from fully girding against an enemy without a country, an enemy whose soldiers wear no uniforms, whose tactics target innocent civilians. But war weariness doesn’t translate into fewer enemy attacks. Just the opposite: A lowered guard, a disengagement, a denial, invites opportunists’ attacks. Day by day we learn more astonishing details of how Belgian authorities snoozed, even after the Paris massacre. How terrorists and their enablers moved freely from Europe to Syria and back. One phrase—“under their noses”—crops up time and again in the evolving tale of how terrorists exploited Europe’s disjointed, dysfunctional security system. Egregious case in point: Belgian authorities arrested Salah Abdeslam, the logistics mastermind of the Paris attacks in November, four days before the Brussels bombings. But then authorities reportedly questioned him for a paltry two hours after his capture, and not again until after the Brussels attack. Even though they knew his terror cell mates were on the loose. “We cannot exclude that, if everybody had been perfect, this could have gone differently,” Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens told his Parliament. No, everybody didn’t have to be perfect. But everybody did have to have a sense of urgency, a sense that Belgium, that Europe, was at war with a relentless enemy that doesn’t knock off for the weekend. The war-unweary Vladimir Putin knows this. Recall how the Russian president sent warplanes to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Putin’s payoff is an ally still in power and growing stronger. Last weekend Assad’s forces recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra, driving out Islamic State forces with the help of Russian air power. Assad is on the march again; squabbling bands of US-backed rebels kill each other with US-supplied arms; and Europe suffers the brunt of the repercussions: a rising tide of refugees ...hiding an untold number of terrorists...coming to plot and kill. European reluctance to spend on security is notorious and long-standing. As of 2015, only five of 28 Nato countries— the US, Great Britain, Greece, Estonia and Poland—met the alliance’s military spending target, 2 percent of GDP. The US spends 3.6 percent. There is, though, improvement.

Several Nato nations, France and Germany notably, are spending more on defense and intelligence, The New York Times reports. When Europe truly grasps that it’s at war, the number of countries that spend 2 percent of GDP on defense will be closer to 28. That’s also when Europe will break down turf jealousies and intelligence “stovepipes” that isolate intel agencies so perilously that they can’t even agree on how to spell terrorists’ names, let alone how to detect and apprehend them as they move easily across borders. In the aftermath of 9/11, American intelligence agencies pointed fingers and tried to deflect blame over their egregious failure to cooperate and communicate. A new intelligence czar, the Director of National Intelligence, began to connect the dots. Many dots need connecting in Europe, too. Yet, “Many Europeans seem to think that good intelligence is created by immaculate conception, rather than through the hard and sometimes intrusive work of surveillance,” writes David Ignatius in The Washington Post. “The authorities often don’t mind if the United States does the counterterrorist snooping, so long as they don’t have to admit it to their publics. Europeans don’t like to talk about intelligence, and they often pretend their countries don’t spy.” European leaders should learn from America’s experience. They have to level with their citizens about what it will take to root out and disrupt terrorists. It can’t be done without a serious shift in European attitude about this war. Nor can Europe prevail via intelligence, military tactics and spending alone. Leaders have to address how to better assimilate Muslim immigrants and refugees into their societies, into the broader European fabric. Otherwise, bad actors will thrive with help from friends and families alienated from European society. The drill after every attack is for government leaders to pledge renewed vigor, for citizenry to demand action in these realms. And then, for most people, life resumes its normal rhythms. That is a luxury that Europeans can no longer afford. There is no “holiday from history,” no lull that lingers forever. If Europeans decide they’re content to absorb and accept occasional terror slaughters rather than combat Islamist extremism, so be it. If, though, citizens want to push back, they’ll have to overcome their oft-cited weariness with war. Europeans and the increasingly stifling security restrictions they endure cannot return to so-called normal until this determined enemy is effectively neutralized or defeated. The same is true on this side of the Atlantic. Americans, too, profess to be weary of war. But many also hold close their war memories of ruined skyscrapers and planes tumbling from the sky. TNS

In India, a ‘workfare’ program that works

VER the last 10 years in India, perhaps no other law has sparked such sustained debate as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, universally known as “Narega.” Passed by the previous Congress government in February 2006 and upheld by the Narendra Modi administration, it’s given rise to the world’s largest livelihood-security or “workfare” program. The law guarantees up to 100 days of employment at the state minimum wage on local public-works projects—road-building, welldigging, reforestation and the like. Today it counts about 100 million active (if unevenly distributed and irregularly employed) participants. Free-marketeers, including the two most prominent economists advising Modi, have long complained that the program is a boondoggle, eating up 1 percent of GDP without contributing meaningfully to economic growth. But large data sets collected over the past decade now allow for a more textured debate on its merits, for good and ill. It’s true that participation rates vary widely between states, and corruption is unsurprisingly rife. On the other hand, studies have shown that the program has boosted agricultural wages and the rural-labor market. It’s promoted the accumulation of durable assets and has been used to insure against bad monsoons. And there’s one area in which the program has had results that are unambiguously welcome: women’s empowerment. Narega has drawn rural women into the labor market in numbers never seen before. At the time of its inauguration, program rules required that at least one out of three workers employed would have to be female. The motiva-

tion was simple: Men in India’s work force vastly outnumber women. Data shows a steady rise in women’s participation over the years. Women now comprise over half the program’s work force, and accounted for over 55 percent of person-days worked in 2015 and 2016. Key requirements, beyond the one-third quota, have made this dramatic shift possible. Work has to be made available within 5 kilometers of the applicant’s home. Men and women must be paid an equal wage, which in the private labor market they usually aren’t. The employer is “the government” and not a member of the village elite. And work is offered not to an individual but a household. Altogether, these strictures have helped overcome traditional and extremely tenacious constraints on women leaving the house to work. In a sample of over 300 female workers interviewed by Reetika Khera and Nandini Nayak in 2008 in north India, half the respondents said that had it not been for the program, they would’ve worked at home or remained unemployed. One of the most comprehensive studies of the scheme, prepared by the India Human Development Survey and drawing on data from 26,000 households, found that NREGA pay was likely to be the firstever cash income for nearly 45 percent of female workers. The program has boosted women’s access to work, financial independence and bargaining power within the family. Millions have now been brought into the formal financial system of wages, banking and credit for the first time. There’s a larger, civic implication to these developments, as well—particularly significant in a democracy as young, vast and rife with economic debilitation and social introversion as India’s. Bloomberg View

Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE

ERE are the facts of the Kidapawan massacre. No. 1, the farmers were starving. That some of the farmers are leftists did not stop them from starving or from being farmers; anymore than being a union organizer stops you from being a worker. No. 2, blocking a highway is obstruction of traffic, not obstruction of justice—unless you went to lousy local law school. But resorting to excessive force to clear the highway is destruction of the Constitution, because… No. 3, the right of assembly and the right of free speech always and

ever trump (hindi po kandidato ’yan)— meaning beats hands down—the right of free-flowing traffic. This, especially so when there was an alternate route around the occupied part of the highway. And No. 4, the exercise of the right of assembly contemplates, indeed, the right of assembly was

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 A11

invented by the American Founding Fathers—there are no other kinds of founding fathers, certainly none that wear G-strings; indeed, the right of assembly was invented precisely to defy ordinary laws so as to be listened to. If you assemble at the behest of government, like at a silly Edsa anniversary, or worse, if you assemble deep in the jungle so that only you know that you have assembled, then you are not exercising the right of assembly. You are behaving like a trained monkey who is at least fed by the organ grinder. A state of calamity sets aside all laws, regulations and procedure; e.g., for the release of rice stocks and other foodstuffs to the hungry. Any idiot knows that. All that the people wanted was rice; so give it to them. It will give

this government another excuse to import more rice for the kickbacks. (Instead of preparing two years ahead for another bad drought; which everybody knows comes cyclically, as Ed Angara pointed out at a gathering of admirers in Kamuning Bakery on Monday.) Now people are sending sacks of rice to those farmers who survived the carnage, not the least of them, Robin Padilla our greatest movie star. So Lala, Lala, oh Lala, please do not look a gift horse in the mouth. Take the sacks and blame the government, because it will not hesitate to blame you when this issue gets bigger. In summary, Kidapawan was a case of those who were dying to eat, dying just the same because they did not want to starve to death.

Propaganda of the enemies of state alarms Agfo head Cecilio T. Arillo

DATABASE

XPRESSING concern, retired Army Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, chairman and president of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers Inc. (Agfo), aired a valid question: Who should counter the propaganda of the enemies of the state who extolled in public the so-called virtues of a known terrorist and, in effect, are justifying violence and terrorism? Adan was referring to the fullpage advertisement in a national daily on March 29 of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), glorifying as hero its fighter-spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal. “The New People’s Army, CPP’s military arm, is a known terrorist group that extorts revolutionary taxes, and destroys millions of pesos worth of equipment of companies who refuse to support them. During election time, they demand campaign fees from candidates who campaign in their areas. Why glorify its leader?” Adan asked.

He said communist propagandists publicized their acts of terror and engaged in widespread propaganda to deceive the people. The government response is lacking. “For instance, was there ever any response against the ad about Ka Roger? Did media watchdogs call the attention of the newspaper that published the ad?” Adan inquired. “Bear in mind that Ka Roger was responsible for the death of many soldiers and policemen,” Adan said, adding that “glorifying his terroristic exploits in public is demoralizing to our soldiers and policemen.”

According to the military, Ka Roger, whose real name is Gregorio Rosal, died of natural causes on June 12, 2011. His remains were supposed to be buried last week in his birthplace in Ibaan, Batangas. On the nonpassage of the Bangsamoro basic law in Congress, Adan argued that “although the BBL is dead in the House, buried in the archive, sustained vigilance is needed so that the virus will not spread. There is a petition in the Supreme Court to declare the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro [CAB] unconstitutional. The CAB, the more advanced version of the MOA-AD, which the High Court declared unconstitutional, is the tree that bore the BBL,” Adan said. As if in answer to the general’s lament, two oppositionists, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and House Independent Minority Leader Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, have the same idea to contain the virus from spreading: Charge those who created it with treason and inciting to sedition, referring to peace adviser Teresita QuintosDeles, chief negotiator Miriam

Coronel-Ferrer and the top leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), among others. “Yes, charge them and put them away in jail for good,” Enrile said. Why treason and inciting to sedition? “For subverting the Constitution and other laws of the land, specifically by giving them aid, money, comfort and other tangible and intangible things,” Enrile and Atienza said. Atienza and the two other petitioners earlier held Deles, Ferrer and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal specifically liable for agreeing to craft a peace deal that would pave the way for the Bangsamoro to secede from the Philippines. Also held liable with Deles, Ferrer and Iqbal is Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the former head of the government peace panel, and 20 others. “By enabling the MILF to continue to exist and develop as a belligerent armed force, all the respondents in effect commit or propose to commit treason,” they said. To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

‘Project click’ and the presidential aspirants Michael Makabenta Alunan

ON THE CONTRARY

ITH the election campaign in full throttle, we are witnessing a brand clutter of campaign ads on TV, radio and social media, and the litter of leaflets, posters, tarpaulins, etc., on the streets, which makes us wonder how effective and efficient are these traditional campaign strategies. n Disrupts but ushers in opportunities. But with the influx of ever-improving modern technologies, new threats and opportunities are ushered in, making traditional campaigning on the one hand ineffective, although still necessary, which is a metaphor by itself. On the other hand, these technologies usher in new opportunities that will empower individuals and the underprivileged, but will, ultimately, force the dominant status quo to give way. Likewise, the advent of modern empowering technologies are increasingly disrupting norms, thus transforming what used to be brilliant traditional strategies into ineffective obsolete approaches. n Avoid the Einstein trap. Lamentably, many fall into the Einstein trap, which states that if one insist on doing the same things over and over again and expect different results, that’s stupidity. Conversely, if one uses the same old strategies under changing conditions and still expect the same results, one falls again into the Einstein trap. As an example, some candidates, when they first run, were nobodies and, thus, needed massive TV ad-

vertising to increase awareness levels, which led to conversions in their favor. But now that people are aware of them, these politicians fall into the Einstein trap of still using the same strategy of massive awareness campaigns, when what people are looking for are solid programs that will translate to conversions and commitments. Unfortunately, a disruptive technology negating the effectiveness of TV ads is the remote-control gadget, which empowers TV viewers to instantly switch channels, thus negating the impact of ads. n Empowered but individualist? Moreover, with the citizenconsumer increasingly becoming impatient, having been exposed to Internet speed browsing with the information explosion, seeing the same ads 10 to 20 times a day does not convince one to support a certain candidate. On the contrary, viewers may get irritated by the repetitive bombardment of political ads. Another interesting result of empowering technologies is the rising social phenomenon of individualism, some even bordering on too much vanity and narcissism, which highlights the importance of the

self over others. With these social trends, it is therefore no wonder why people are increasingly getting fed up with propaganda ads of politicians, which are either a cacophony of promises or nauseating self-praises, a manifestation of the “I, Me, Mine and Myself culture” of politicians. Although some scorn at the bobo-tante (stupid voters), which may be an accurate observation for many voters who cannot make the right choices, it is metaphorically true that voters are also getting smarter and, in some ways, more empowered. n What clicks in the market? With traditional campaigning becoming less effective along with the possibilities ushered in by modern technologies, I came up with the idea of what I call “Project Click.” This makes use of digital cameras, the product that has literally or figuratively “clicked” in the market, to take pictures of families, particularly those in rural areas. So instead of pictures of candidates on posters with self-centered praises ad nauseum, what can be distributed are posters with space for pictures of families of voters themselves. For a change, this revolutionizes the focus of attention, which is a paradigm shift, from the politicians to the voters. For rural folks, who never had pictures of their own printed on posters, this is a welcome development that they can treasure forever. n Winning hearts and minds. Cheap modern printers can print pictures along with appropriate messages even on ordinary paper. These posters and/or calendars, which feature the photos of ordinary folks, will surely be treasured.

Modern technologies, which are now affordable, make it possible for candidates to penetrate the homes of ordinary people and win their hearts and minds. Unlike ordinary leaflets that are thrown to the waste basket as fast as they are distributed, or street posters torn down (baklas) by opponents every night, our revolutionary posters or calendars with photos of household members themselves will be treasured. n The medium is the message. It may be too late for each party to prepare for this paradigm shift of campaigning. I therefore challenge the next administration to use Project Click as a program to bring government closer to people. This will be a concrete manifestation of what Marshal Mcluhan said about mass media in the late 1960s—the “medium is the message.” Project Click can be optimized and will serve as a vehicle to convey messages and programs of the next administration. But, more than this, it can serve as an effective organizing tool to mobilize beneficiaries of programs as active participants and stakeholders of development. As for the traditional media, like TV, they will continue with their traditional roles. The universe of choices has simply expanded, all because of modern technologies and, hopefully, for the common good. As the French writer and author of Les Misérables said, “nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.” Let’s welcome new technologies and use them to empower the people. E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

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PHL bull market may hit bump on valuations

HILIPPINE stocks may retreat within weeks, after the benchmark gauge’s biggest monthly gain in five years made equities among the most expensive in Asia, according to the nation’s largest money manager. The Philippine Stock Exchange index, which surged more than 20 percent from a January low to this year’s high of 7,376.41 in March, could slide to as low as 6,900, or a drop of almost 7 percent, said Fritz Ocampo, chief investment officer at Manila-based BDO Unibank Inc. Stocks will rebound after that, as valuations become more “reasonable” and campaign spending for next month’s presidential and national elections spur economic growth, he said. Two of the bank ’s four equity funds tracked by Bloomberg are the best performers in March with returns of at least 12 percent. “We are overbought, we are trading at very rich valuations,”

Oc a mp o, who he lps m a n a ge about $20 billion, said in an interview. “We are actually taking some profit.” The Philippines became the first Asian equity market to enter a bull market this year as global funds piled in sending valuations to the second highest in the region after New Zealand. Asian shares rebounded in March, as rising oil prices bets that the US Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise interest rates and signs that China’s economy is stabilizing bolstered appetite for riskier assets. Philippine shares are trading at 17.8 times the 12-month projected earnings, near the highest level since August and versus its 10-year

$203.86M Funds poured in by global investors to the country in March

average of 14.7, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has a multiple of 12.4, while New Zealand’s stock measure is valued at 18.5. The Philippines will choose a successor to outgoing President Aquino on May 9. Mr. Aquino’s record in curbing corruption, boosting growth and trimming the budget helped the nation secure an investment-grade debt rating for the first time in 2013. The election and what the new government will do with state spending will lure back overseas funds that withdrew in 2015 and drive the equities index to rise to between 7,600 and 7,800 in the second half, Ocampo said. The election will help spur economic growth to exceed 6 percent this year, while corporate earnings

are projected to expand as much as 15 percent, after a disappointing 8-percent gain in 2015, Ocampo said. GDP growth weakened to 5.8 percent last year, the slowest pace since 2011. “There are still plenty of investors who aren’t coming in, because they want to know who will lead Philippines Inc. and what will be the priority of the new chief executive,” Ocampo said. “Concerns over currencies, commodities and China will also continue to hog the limelight, so the rally won’t be a diagonal line.” The Philippine stock gauge jumped almost 9 percent in March, as global funds poured in $203.86 million, halting a record 11 months of outflows. The equity index has climbed 4.1 percent this year versus a 5.2-percent drop for the MSCI Asia-Pacific measure. Ocampo said he favors consumer companies, conglomerates and property developers. He has a “market-weight” on banks and is underweight telephone, gaming and mining companies. Bloomberg News

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Housing backlog. . . The summit was spearheaded by the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, chaired by Rep. Alfredo B. Benitez of Negros Occidental and the Senate Committee on Urban Planning and Shelter and Resettlement, chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito. Stakeholders from different sectors participated in the 10-month long summit. Benitez said the adoption of the in-city housing policy and relocation of government agencies in provinces will solve the 5.5 million housing backlog and 584,425 ISFs in the National Capital Region. “There are good housing laws already in place, yet we still face the ageold problem of increasing number of informal settlements in the urban centers, housing backlog and lack of access to affordable housing units,” he said. “The problem is that the government and the beneficiaries do not see eye to eye when it comes to housing solutions, which makes our housing programs fail. The in-city housing concept is something that the government can actually do, as it is cost effective, and it is what the ISFs prefer,” Benitez added. Under the in-city housing approach, ISFs will not be relocated outside the cities where they presently reside in. Instead, the government will use its idle lands in Metro Manila where the medium-rise buildings will be constructed. “Access to decent and affordable housing is a constitutional mandate of the government. It is time that the right to the city and the right to the decent shelter is upheld by the government through the adoption of the in-city

C  A

housing policy,” the lawmaker added. Benitez said the summit also proposed the relocation of government agencies, like the Department of Agriculture, to provincial sites to provide more lands for socialized-housing programs. “[With these lands] we are proposing the construction of medium rise, or four- to five-story buildings [with estimated 100,000 to 150,000 units],” he added. Benitez said the proposal is not just for ISFs, but also for low- and middleincome earners, as they can have decent shelter under the government’s socialized-housing program, which will promote long-term housing rental for homeless Filipinos. According to Benitez, affordable housing provides a more cost-effective solution to address homelessness in the Philippines. “When we were young, we were taught to be kind and respectful. Don’t we give up our seats to the needy and less fortunate? Let us imagine that now, the government has the seat and you, the informal settlers, are the needy ones. What should be done? Shouldn’t the government leave and give up its position to the needy ones?” he said. “That is also what should happen in housing issues. Why don’t some government offices transfer to other areas, instead of relocating informal settlers who need the land more? Why doesn’t the government vacate the space and give up the land to the ISFs? This is not only the right thing to do, but it is the government’s responsibility to do so,” Benitez said.