BusinessMirror May 30, 2015

SERENE BEAUTY Floating huts moored to the shore welcome the more adventurous tourists at the scenic Lake Danao within the protected Lake Danao National Park in Ormoc, Leyte. One of the areas devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013, the park is slowly regaining its beauty as nature rebuilds itself. NONIE REYES

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THREETIME ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDEE 2006, 2010, 2012

U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

A broader look at today’s business Saturday 18,May 201430, Vol.2015 10 No. 40 Saturday, Vol. 10 No. 233

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

ROBUST CONSUMER DEMAND PROPS UP BUSINESSMEN’S CONFIDENCE DESPITE POOR Q1 GROWTH

Business sentiment improves in Q2

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HE business sentiment that soured in the first three months of the year took a turn for the better in the April-to-June period, as the confidence index (CI) lifted to 49.2 percent from 45.2 percent, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday.

X MARKED THE SPOT Love one another...

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EAR Lord, unlike us Your whole life was characterized by love. A love patterned after that of the Father and one that has reached the highest manifestation on the cross, when You died, “the just for the unjust,” as a sacrificial offering for our sins. To all Your followers—to us—You enjoined only one thing: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Our love of neighbor, then, to be genuine has got to be Christ-like: i.e., rooted in the Father’s love, which is boundless, unconditional, total, ready even for the supreme sacrifice, for “there is no greater love than this: To lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” (John 15:13). May we love one another as we love ourselves. Amen.

EXPLORING GOD’S WORDS, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

X-TREME RUNNING

HOW TO KEEP KIDS’ BIRTHDAY PARTIES AFFORDABLE »D3

X BusinessMirror

Saturday, May 30, 2015

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MARKED THE SPOT

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Runners negotiating different parts of the challenging x-trail run.

Life for the 32-km distance was fired.

Among the many useful things I have learned in all my years of running is that most distances are not as simple or as easy as it may look at first. This is even more applicable to trail runs. You may think that since you can already see that U-turn sign, or that landmark signifying another kilometer, that it won’t be long and you’ll be there. Well, it really depends on how far you are into the race. I learned that the longer you are into it, the farther each additional kilometer of the race will seem to be.

You have to respect the distance, and you just have to keep pushing yourself with the same level of enthusiasm and persistence that you began the race with.

Three hours into the race, and I had already traversed 15 km of boulder-strewn trail, numerous streams and gullies, and thickly forested hillside. I had gone up 218 meters above sea level. I even injured myself when my right leg hit the sturdy tip of a broken tree branch. The jagged edge of the branch almost tore into my compression tights and into my skin. Luckily my leg just sustained a small— but nonetheless painful—bruise, and my compression tights came out intact and still in one piece.

I must say that in my anticipation for the race, I already expected most of the different kinds of terrain that I did encounter in this race, except for the streams and waterways that we had to cross. Those were quite a surprise, which added an additional heart-pounding thrill for me. At one point, I even had to cross a waistdeep creek, during which I had to hand my phone over to a runner ahead of me for fear of dropping it into the water and losing it forever.

It had only been three hours since I began the run. I still had a long way to go.

Strong winds can down even the most durable concrete monument, and extreme fatigue can do the same to one’s resolve. Many times during the race I thought of giving up, but then I would think about the rewards waiting for me at the finish line, and that drove me to go on. Of course the runners I met along the way who encouraged me also helped a lot. There was a kind of camaraderie or brotherhood between us, forged by our common goal, which acted as a soothing balm to my frayed spirit. We even took selfies together before continuing on with the race. And continue I did. I was able to negotiate steep ravines to get down to the beach, on which running was almost impossible because of the soft sand, and because my legs by then had already turned into dead weights due to overexertion. I carried on nevertheless. At that point, there was nowhere else to go but forward.

I was too far in to go back.

Looking back, the experience wasn’t all that bad. While for the majority of it I was panting and sweating and cursing under my breath, there were definitely some silver-lining moments that literally and figuratively gave me a breath of fresh air. A memorable moment

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RAZY. Those who attempt this must surely be out of their minds. This was what I was thinking three hours into the run. At that point I had already ran through terrain that I am sure must be comparable to those that are on far-flung planets outside our galaxy. I felt as though I was an adventurous spaceman with the daunting task of surveying an alien world for the possibility of terraforming it, with mankind’s hope for survival solely resting on my successful completion of this mission. An outrageous exaggeration obviously, but this was the Salomon X-Trail Pilipinas and absolutely nothing about this run was ordinary.

In recent years, the Salomon X-Trail Series has become one of the most anticipated trailrunning events in the country. When I started running in 2011, one of the goals I set for myself was to eventually level up and participate in a prestigious trail-running event such as this one. I knew then that I would have to train hard and participate in a lot of road runs in order to condition myself to take on this kind of challenge. And while there were some snags along the way, I was able to more or less keep the consistency of my running regimen throughout the last three years. And so, this year, I finally deemed myself ready.

April 25 had a big red X on my calendar, and my anticipation for this day had been slowly building up ever since my registration for the race was confirmed. As the date drew near, I began to catalog all the things that I knew I would need for the race. I also made a mental check on my physical soundness, knowing that it would take a lot for me to finish this race, probably even more than I had given in the previous races that I joined.

Then, finally, the day arrived.

Hydration bag: check. Headlamp and whistle: check, check. Anxious excitement, mental preparedness and physical fitness: check, check, check. I did one final accounting and it looked like I already had everything I need to finish the race. I left my house at 10:30 pm to go to the pickup point. The bus left Quezon City at around 11:30 pm. I tried to catch a little more sleep on the way to Morong, Bataan, but I was unsuccessful. Instead, I just looked out the window and enjoyed the evening scenery, while trying not to think too much about the upcoming race.

We arrived at the venue at 3 am, and we proceeded straight to the briefing area, where we were provided with instructions and pointers about the race. After that, there was nothing else to do but wait for our gun start.

I saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, and I exchanged words with some of them. Everyone was excited, and most were doing their prerace rituals, such as flexing and warming up. I did mine, hopefully enough for me to finish my distance. The distance I ran was 24 kilometers, which started at 5 am, 30 minutes after the gun

LIFE

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ALL IN THE FAMILY Relationships BusinessMirror

D4 Saturday, May 30, 2015

www.businessmirror.com.ph

All in the family SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO http://stella-arnaldo.blogspot.com @Pulitika2010

3 WEIRD THINGS THAT CAN MAKE YOU HAPPY THERE’S the “duh” prescription of feeling good: Exercise more, hug someone, pet your Labrador retriever. Boring! Better: Positivity researchers are now turning up unexpected happiness triggers that can turn your frown upside down. Here are three that we love: 1. Tearjerker movies. Put Titanic and Atonement on your feel-good flick list. Sure, a tragic romance makes you cry in the theater, but after the credits roll, you’ll remember what’s good about your own main squeeze— thereby boosting happiness, researchers report. The sadder the plot, the happier you feel later, they say.

2. Doing less for your kids. Back off, Tiger Mama (and you too, Tiger Grandma). Women who practice “intense mothering”—believing that moms should always sacrifice their own needs, continually provide stimulating activities, and derive most of their happiness from their kids—tend to be more depressed than women who think that “good enough” parenting is, well, good enough. If you can’t lighten up for yourself, do it for the kids. Maternal depression can interfere with the emotional bond between mother and child and can lead to increased risk of depression, anxiety, and cognitive, self-esteem, and school problems in children.

3. Reading a newspaper. If you’re among the millions who have canceled their daily paper, it’s time to resubscribe or read the online edition of your local Daily Planet. Perusing a broadsheet instead of gawking at the TV emerged as a key difference between most- and least-happy folks in a University of Maryland study that analyzed how more than 30,000 people spend their free time. PREVENTION MAGAZINE

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OR Raquel Choa, chocolate is in her blood, probably literally.

She remembers her grandmother preparing sikwate (Cebuano for “chocolate”) at dawn every morning before going to school. “My nanay believed that if we drink one cup of sikwate before going to school, it will sustain us and keep us from getting hungry because we had to cross seven rivers just to get to school.”

From humble beginnings in the isolated town of Hingatmonan, in the municipality of Balamban, Raquel was reared on the legend of Maria Cacao—a diwata (a fairy or goddess) who owned all the cacao plants in the forest and harvested them every year.

When it flooded in their area, Raquel was told that Maria Cacao had traveled down the river by the house of her grandmother.

Like many other residents in her village, Raquel’s family lived on making tablea (unsweetened chocolate tablets)—picking the cacao pods, roasting the beans, pounding and grinding them until they ooze their chocolatey goodness. “But you know, I didn’t know then that cacao was actually chocolate!” she confesses, laughing today. “When I realized that they were one and the same, I felt like I had discovered a hidden treasure!”

Raquel stresses that she is not a pastry chef nor a chocolatier, who studies for years to perfect the craft of making chocolate confections. “I’m a mother of eight and I am a tablea maker,” she says firmly. Without any connections at all, she bravely marketed and sold her tablea to hotels but realized this would only be used once a year, during Christmas. So “I got challenged to do more!” She then started offering a chocolate buffet at the Choa residence in Mabolo. It has become a tourist attraction in Cebu, and dubbed The Chocolate House, where all sorts of dishes, confectionary, and other items are made from chocolate.

From there, she and her husband Alfred dove deeper into the business and started making chocolate confections under the brand Ralfe’s Gourmet. They make truffles, alfajores and pralines, while continuing to sell tableas. The family has since moved to another house, but their old home is totally devoted to sweet treats and the making of chocolate.

Racquel cannot explain how she is able to come up with the different tableas for her hotel clients, nor her confectionary for her A-list customers. “When I’m

inspired by the person I talk to and they tell me their requirements, I start to imagine things. I guess it’s an artistic process; so maybe I’ll just use 25-percent sugar for this concoction, add something, etc. I think it’s also based on my mood.” She also makes chocolate confections as giveaways for weddings, special parties, celebrities and TV shows.

She has received support from the Department of Agriculture, which initially bought her products and then provided cacao seedlings to her and neighboring farms. She also credits the Department of Trade and Industry, which helped teach her in further honing her business skills.

First dependent on her family’s own cacao trees, she now buys from neighboring farmers as demand for her high-quality chocolates have increased. She says a number of “rich folk” who have idle lands have also approached her, offering these to be planted to cacao, after hearing her talk about her dreams for the Philippine chocolate industry.

Even as she has received about 10 to 15 inquiries for franchises both from local and foreign individuals who want to sell her products, she is not rushing to expand her network just yet. Raquel says she has finalized just one deal with a buyer in Malacca, the historic city of Malaysia. She says that since Malacca is an old city, her store would also have some historical and cultural pegs

surrrounding the legend of Maria Cacao.

A Chocolate Chamber kiosk will also be set up at Manila Polo Club—one of her loyal tablea clients— where she can sell her confectionary. “I’d like to try out this market first before I decide whether or not to expand outside it.”

“My dream now is, I want to create a chocolate that is authentic Filipino in taste. Hindi tayo hahabol sa Belgian chocolates. I noticed that many Filipino chocolate makers now [try to duplicate the taste of foreign chocolates]. What I want is to create or maintain that distinct chocolate taste, so that when foreigners taste it, they know that it’s made in the Philippines.

Gusto ko ’pag ipikit nila ang mata nila, malalaman nila na this is the Philippine chocolate.”

She is quite happy that her little tablea business has expanded to a more profitable enterprise. But what is she is most thankful for is that her children have also become passionate about their products, to the point of going to Singapore to study confectionary. “I’m so happy my children are already part of it. Like my two sons have already studied chocolate, and my daughter is here [helping sell the products]. They fell in love with it. I can see that the business is now sustainable because I can see their love and passion in chocolates as well.”

Like before, chocolates continue to sweeten the ties in Raquel’s family. n

RAQUEL CHOA and her gourmet chocolate confections

Improving the lives of ‘nanays’ with Project Inspire THROUGH Project Inspire, MasterCard and Singapore Committee for UN Women are changing the lives of disadvantaged women, as shown by the impact of 2011 grand winner Hapinoy.

Nanay Teresa Grefal easily lights up the sala of her house in San Pablo, Laguna, with her warm smile as she talks about her happy family life. A proud owner of a sari-sari store, she is just one of the thousands of nanays who have benefited from the social enterprise called Hapinoy.

Founded in 2007 by Mark Ruiz and now Sen. Bam Aquino, Hapinoy empowers nanays (Filipino for mothers) through a program that focuses on the distinctively Pinoy microenterprise: the sari-sari store. Through Hapinoy, the nanays obtain microenterpreneurship training, access to capital, and new business.

Says Nanay Teresa, “Before becoming a member of Hapinoy, my husband and I took a loan to fill our store. But after three months, we had no more supplies and cash. With the help of Hapinoy, we were able to figure out what went wrong and learned how to properly manage our business.”

Among her valued Hapinoy lessons are: the importance of limiting the loans they give their neighbors, of always saving money from the day’s earnings, and of determining the “fastmoving” items.

These and more are conveyed in the Hapinoy program, where the nanays are taught recordkeeping, cash-flow management, and customer-relationship management. They even participate in dramatizations, to know how to respond to real-life challenges such as dealing with borrowers.

Nanay Lanie Rebong of Victoria, Laguna, also thanks Hapinoy for the success of her sari-sari store. She manages it with her husband, who used to be an overseas Filipino worker.

Aside from instilling discipline in running a business, Hapinoy also enabled Nanay Lanie to augment the store income with a remittance business, an in-demand service in a community with limited access to banks. Today, she proudly talks about being able to buy a new house, and having peace of mind about sending her teenage children to college.

Finally, Nanay Belen Jimenez of San Antonio, Quezon, happily shares that over the years, their family has been able to invest in a jeepney, a motorcycle, a tricycle, Xerox machines, and other gadgets through the effective management of their sari-sari store.

Her most notable learning from Hapinoy is the value of taking care of her buyers: “We were taught how to attend especially to our suki [Filipino for regular customers], because our stores will not thrive without regular buyers. We should really help them—from

the moment they look for an item, to the moment they load it in a tricycle or jeepney.”

Today, Hapinoy credits the continued success of their program to the generous support of the private sector. As their Executive Director TJ Agulto shares, “Reaching out to more nanays is a resource-intensive effort, but we are able to sustain it through private funding and partnerships, especially from Project Inspire.”

In 2011 Hapinoy won a $25,000 grant at Project Inspire, a social impact competition organized by MasterCard and the Singapore Committee for UN Women. Project Inspire awarded them with an additional $25,000 grant in 2013, after seeing Hapinoy’s positive impact.

This year, another Project Inspire winner can make a difference in the lives of women like the Hapinoy nanays, all of whom have become confident and empowered entrepreneurs.

Interested parties may visit www.projinspire.com for details.

RELATIONSHIPS

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ROY and Belen Jimenez proudly refer to themselves as a “team” in running their store.

NOW, WE ALL WAIT Sports BusinessMirror

STEPHEN CURRY (left) and LeBron James, this season’s brightest stars, are taking basketball’s biggest stage. AP

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| SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

NOW, WE ALL WAIT The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals won’t start until June 4, meaning both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Warriors will have more than a full week to rest, recover, scout and plan for Game One.

TOM THIBODEAU’S .647 winning percentage ranks seventh in National Basketball Association history among coaches with at least 200 games. AP

Bulls fire Coach Tom Thibodeau after 5 seasons

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HICAGO—The Chicago Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau on Thursday, saying a change was needed from the strongwilled coach who took his team to the playoffs in each of his five seasons.

Thibodeau went 255-139 with the Bulls, good for a .647 winning percentage that ranks seventh in National Basketball Association (NBA) history among coaches with at least 200 games. He led the Bulls to the top seed in the playoffs his first two seasons and was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2011—the same year Derrick Rose became the league’s youngest Most Valuable Player.

Chicago advanced to the Eastern Conference finals that season, but it’s the only time the Bulls have made it past the second round under Thibodeau, whose relationship with the front office was under constant scrutiny.

“When Tom was hired in 2010, he was right for our team and system at that time, and over the last five years we have had some success with Tom as our head coach,” General Manager Gar Forman said. “But as we looked ahead and evaluated how we as a team and an organization could continue to grow and improve, we believed a change in approach was needed.”

Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was blunt: “Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization—staff, players, coaches, management and ownership,” he said. “When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together.

Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture.”

The coach chafed at minutes restrictions placed by management on Rose and Joakim Noah, who was coming off knee surgery, along with veteran Kirk Hinrich.

The idea was that the Bulls would be in better shape for the playoffs and not run out of steam the way they seemed to the previous two years. But it also went against Thibodeau’s belief that good habits are developed through repetition.

Adding to the tension, ESPN analyst Jeff van Gundy accused the Bulls of undermining their coach during a game at Dallas in January. It wasn’t the first time he had criticized the organization. But to many, whether it was true or not, it seemed he was serving as a messenger for Thibodeau, his former assistant.

Thibodeau is not the first successful Bulls coach to lose in a clash with management. Phil Jackson lost to Jerry Krause after winning six championships in eight years, and the dynasty was dismantled.

The Bulls were expected to make a run to the NBA Finals this season with the signing of Pau Gasol and the return of Rose after missing most of the previous two years because of injuries to each knee.

Instead, Rose was inconsistent. The Bulls fought through injuries and lacked continuity. Their effort wavered at times, and they wound up with 50 wins— not bad, but not what they anticipated.

“I think this team has more potential,” Gasol said after the season.

The question is who will be coaching them for the next run. AP

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ARIS—For Serena Williams, it was a bad right elbow that led to some shaky serving and a dropped set.

For Novak Djokovic, first it was a balky right hip that needed treatment from a trainer; later came an embarrassing mistake.

For Andy Murray, it was a time warning from the chair umpire and losing a set for the first time in six matches against his opponent.

While nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal won in straight sets on a cloudy, windy Thursday, some red dirt got in the machine for three of the other biggest names at Roland Garros. That trio put those moments aside and reached the third round, where more significant challenges could await.

“I know I’m capable of playing great tennis,” the topseeded Williams said. “Just haven’t seen it yet.”

Calling her performance “not professional,” Williams was sloppy as can be for stretches in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory over 105th-ranked Anna-Lena Friedsam, a German who had never won a Grand Slam match until this week.

Williams committed 21 unforced errors in the first set alone, 52 in all.

“I was a little bit nervous [in the] first set,” Friedsam said, “and I think Serena was a bit nervous, too.”

The American was particularly subpar with her serve, which she said she hasn’t been able to work on properly in practice because of an elbow injury that led her to withdraw from a clay-court tournament in Rome this month.

“I’m not using it so much as a weapon,” Williams said about her serve. “So, hopefully, it will get better.”

She double-faulted eight times and allowed Friedsam to accumulate 15 break points, four of which were converted.

“I know my level is literally 100 times better than I played today,” the 19-time major champion said, rolling her eyes, “so I think I take more solace in the fact I can play better, as opposed to the fact that that’s the best I could play.

Then I would be in trouble.”

Next comes 27th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a former No. 1 player and two-time Australian Open champion.

Even if she is 15-3 against Azarenka, including wins in the 2012 and 2013 US Open finals, Williams acknowledged: “I do know if I play the way I did today, I probably won’t be winning my match. So I’m going to have to step it up a level.”

The top-seeded Djokovic and Murray, seeded No. 3, both

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B T R The Associated Press

OLDEN State Coach Steve Kerr was chatting with assistant Luke Walton a few minutes before what became the Warriors’ clinching victory in the Western Conference Finals, and a realization popped into his head.

“You know what we do now?” Kerr asked, somewhat rhetorically. “We wait.”

Now, we all wait.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals won’t start until June 4, meaning both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Warriors will have more than a full week to rest, recover, scout and plan for Game One. It’s the same sort of break that Golden State had between the first and second rounds, and for Cleveland, these mini-vacations are now the norm—the Cavs also had layoffs of about a week following their wins in each of their opening two series.

So both teams were off on Thursday.

It’s unprecedented in league history for both conference champions to be sitting around for so long before the NBA Finals.

There are instances of one Finals-bound team having longer breaks, but not both in the same year.

There has been so-called move-up dates for The Finals in the past, but no more.

“We decided a few years ago that it was important to lock in a start date given the global nature of the NBA, with TV and digital partners and 215 countries and territories airing the games,” league spokesman Michael Wade said Thursday. “While it’s rare for our teams to have a week off prior to The Finals, the time allows for both teams to rest up and get healthy.”

And just about everyone needs the rest.

Start with LeBron James, who has made playing through aches and pains at this time of year an annual occurrence. The athletic trainer who has worked in tandem with him for years, Mike Mancias, is basically around James more than anyone else as the playoffs go deeper, tending to whatever is ailing the four-time MVP. “I will, as a leader, have our guys ready,” James said.

Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving has been playing through pain in both legs, and this break will determine basically if he reverts to his usual form or if he’ll still be limping his way through the finals.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson developed concussion-like symptoms after the conclusion of the West finals, so the time off will surely be welcomed there as he works his way back through the league’s protocols for such matters. And Andre Iguodala was shaken up late in Game Five against Houston, so he also can use a little extra rest.

Golden State guard and the league’s reigning MVP Stephen Curry took a nasty spill against Houston and was playing with a sleeve to protect his elbow in the clincher.

“We’ve got to take a week off to get ready,” Curry said, “and get our minds right and our game plan right for how we’re going to beat Cleveland.”

will take on talented young Australians for berths in the fourth round. Djokovic faces 19-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, while Murray meets 20-year-old Nick Kyrgios. There hadn’t been a teenager in the men’s third round at Roland Garros since 2008, but now there are two: Kokkinakis and Croatia’s Borna Coric, 18.

Coric eliminated 33-year-old Tommy Robredo, who was seeded 18th, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, and now will meet Jack Sock, a 22-year-old American.

“All of them—Kyrgios, Kokkinakis and Coric—are showing some great skills and potential to be...top players,” Djokovic said. “But it’s a long way ahead.”

Djokovic proclaimed the pain in his upper-right leg “nothing serious, really” after taking a medical time-out late in the second set of his 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Gilles Muller. For a few minutes, things did not look promising for Djokovic— prone on the court, getting massaged by a trainer.

But he eventually moved a step closer to completing a career Grand Slam. There was a gaffe at 4-1 in the third set, though, when Djokovic casually watched a ball by Muller sail long but touch the edge of his racket before hitting the court.

The point went to Muller, who broke there.

“Never, never, ever happened. And it should never happen again,” Djokovic said. “I guess a little bit of lack of concentration.... It was funny to me, because I was 4-1 up, double-break. If it was 2-all, or 2-3 down, I wouldn’t be smiling, for sure.”

Murray stretched his post-wedding winning streak to 12 matches by defeating Joao Sousa, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Murray had won all 12 previous sets the pair had played against each other. So it appeared to be a big deal when Murray was cited for a time violation by the chair umpire shortly before frittering away the second set.

“I was struggling,” Murray said. “There was pressure building.”

But he dealt with the difficulty, just as Djokovic and Williams did, and moves on to a new test. AP

SPORTS Novak Djokovic, first it was a balky right hip »thatFORneeded treatment from a trainer; later came an embarrassing mistake. For Andy Murray, it was a time warning from the chair umpire and losing a set for the first time in six matches against his opponent. AP

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The uptick in business enthusiasm came just a day after government statisticians confirmed that local output, measured as the gross domestic product (GDP), had been sapped of its potential to only 5.2 percent during the period, and well below consensus output growth of 6.6 percent that the markets expected.

The CI is computed as the percentage of optimistic firms less those holding the opposite view. A higher CI means optimists among businesspeople outnumber the pessimists. According to the BSP, the buoyant business sentiment was

fueled by robust consumer demand during the secondary harvest and fishing seasons; graduation and enrollment periods; and summer season, given the influx of both local and foreign tourists.

It was also fed by the expected increase in activities in the construction sector, particularly infrastructure-related government projects; increase in orders and new contracts leading to higher volume of production; and the expansion of business and their continued confidence in the current administration.

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El Niño shows global reach

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STRENGTHENING El Niño will bring a drier winter to Australia’s east, while the west is set for a wetter period, the country’s forecasters said, adding to warnings that the pattern may have a global impact from the rice lands of the Philippines to the food markets of Mexico.

The period from June to August is likely to be drier than normal in southern and inland Queensland, northern and eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria, the Melbourne-based Bureau of Meteorology said in a monthly update on Thursday. Southern Western Australia, the country’s top wheat producer, is set for more rain than normal.

Australia declared an El Niño this month, joining weather agencies

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 44.6500

from the US and Japan. Forecasters worldwide are seeking to map the probable impact of the pattern that can bake Asia, bring wetter weather to South America and crimp the frequency of Atlantic hurricanes.

The more immediate impact from the phenomenon usually appears in Asia during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, while in North America the reaction is more mixed, said Joel Widenor, cofounder of Commodity Weather Group Llc. in Bethesda, Maryland.

“It does tend to lean the US to the cooler and wetter side in general,” Widenor said.

However, many of those impacts also stem from other patterns that bring high pressure to the northern

SENATE President Franklin M. Drilon (right) fields questions from reporters and executives of the BUSINESSMIRROR, Pilipino Mirror, Philippines Graphic, CNN Philippines and DWIZ during the ALC Media Group’s forum held on Friday at its main office in Makati City. Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua (left), chairman emeritus of the ALC Group of Companies, was also present during the forum. ALYSA SALEN

SENATE BENT ON PASSING TIMTA, BILL ON D.I.C.T. CREATIONDRILON B B F  C N. P

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HE Senate leadership said it is keen on passing two economic bills before President Aquino steps down in 2016—the controversial Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (Timta) and a bill creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

In a discussion with reporters and editors of the ALC Media Group on Friday, Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said the Timta—a transparency measure gaining ground in

Congress—and the creation of the DICT remain high on the agenda of the upper chamber.

“We are pushing for [Timta] and, hopefully, it is one of the bills that we can have the President signed into law before June 10. We are working on this, and it’s on the final period of amendments in the Senate,” Drilon said.

The 16th Congress is set to adjourn sine die on June 11.

As for the bill creating the DICT, Drilon said he is confident that the measure will be enacted by the 16th Congress, as the period of amendments is already done.

Various government agencies involved in crafting the Timta, namely, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Finance (DOF) and various investment-promotion agencies (IPAs), have yet to meet halfway on the contentious issues in the proposed measure.

Among the chief concerns of the IPAs is the authority being given to the DOF to project incentives for the incoming year so that the information can be included in the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) of the annual government budget.

S “T,” A

C  A

n JAPAN 0.3601 n UK 68.3636 n HK 5.7588 n CHINA 7.2002 n SINGAPORE 33.1133 n AUSTRALIA 34.0814 n EU 48.8873 n SAUDI ARABIA 11.9067 Source: BSP (29 May 2015)

A2

News

BusinessMirror

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Timta. . .

Continued from A1

The House of Representatives have recently passed the proposed legislation in the committee level and will undergo individual amendments.

The DICT measure calls for the establishment of a separate agency that will focus on improving e-governance, increase national competitiveness, and raise broadband security. Passage of the bill was urged by foreign and local business groups early this year to improve access to and quality of broadband Internet.

Business groups said that while other Southeast Asian countries like Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have Cabinet-level agencies dealing with the ICT sector, the Philippines has yet to designate a central authority.

Meanwhile, the Senate president did not hide his frustration over the “dismal”

5.2-percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the Philippines in the first quarter of 2015.

Drilon said this should prompt the Aquino administration to “wake up” in time to steer the Philippine economy to a faster growth track to meet its full-year GDP growth target of 7 percent to 8 percent this year.

He agreed with economists who attributed the government underspending for the lackadaisical performance of Philippine economy in the January-to-March period. “The first-quarter report on GDP posting 5.2 percent is a little frustrating,” Drilon said.

He said the Executive branch should work to facilitate fund releases and ensure that approved government projects are completed on schedule.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Business sentiment improves in Q2 Continued from A1

The buoyant optimism among businessmen in the Philippines mirrored the buoyant business outlook of counterparts in the United States, Germany, South Korea and Singapore.

This contrasted with business sentiment in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and India where the collective view was once considered less bullish by the BSP. According to the BSP, business confidence across sectors proved buoyant in the second quarter.

“Business sentiment across sectors was more bullish for second quarter 2015. For the next quarter (third quarter 2015), however, the outlook was less upbeat, with the exception of those in the construction sector,” it reported.

“The construction sector was the most optimistic among all sectors for the current quarter, with the CI at an all-time high. Firms belonging to this sector expected that the expansion of construction services would be sustained, particularly as more public infrastructure projects were started during the

quarter. Construction activities related to power generation were also reported to be on the rise during the current quarter. The services sector was, likewise, more upbeat for the current quarter, generally on account of the expected better economic prospects in the country. The sanguine outlook of the wholesale and retail trade sector stemmed from respondents’ expectations of a surge in consumer demand during the summer and enrollment periods, good harvest season, continued business expansion with new product lines and infrastructure development (both public and private), low oil prices and a favorable business climate. Respondents in the industry sector attributed their optimism to the favorable weather conditions, the onset of the fishing season and expected increase in electricity consumption during summer.

“For the next quarter [third quarter 2015], the outlook across sectors was broadly less buoyant due to the expected seasonal slack in demand during the rainy season. This is with the exception of those in the construction sector whose optimism was driven by

expectations of brisker activities due to the continued rollout of government projects and new infrastructure development projects in the pipeline, the BSP added.

The confidence index during this period stood at a 47.3 percent.

The other findings of the BSP survey on business sentiment include the following: ■ Businesses were more upbeat about their operations; ■ The number of firms with expansion plans diminished during this period even thought their capacity utilization remained broadly steady; ■ There was optimism their funding requirements will be met on account of easy access to credit; and ■ Inflation were to remain low within the 2- to 4-percent range.

The BSP regularly conducts surveys like this one because it allows the monetary authorities to have a better sense of where the economy was going and how best to support that end without driving prices higher and making it more stable instead.

Top finance officials debate what’s needed for global growth

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RESDEN, Germany—Economic growth that’s not as strong as everyone would like. Volatile markets. A potential financial blowup in Greece.

Those were three of the most pressing topics hanging over top finance officials from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies at their gathering in Dresden, Germany.

Finance ministers and central banks traded ideas on growthboosting reforms and discussed financial markets and monetary policy. The talks were marked by

concern over growth that is uneven and below long-term averages.

Both the US and Europe are growing. But unemployment remains elevated in the 19-country eurozone, and stock and bond markets have been volatile, although they remain at high levels.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has been pressing his point that European creditor countries and Greek officials need to reach agreement on Greece’s finances. Greece, which is running out of money after two bailouts and six years of economic

misery, is seeking the release of more bailout loans so it can avoid a default and possible chaotic departure from the euro currency union.

Greece shadowed the discussion although it was not on the official discussion agenda. Greece isn’t a G-7 member, but three of its creditor countries— Germany, France, and Italy—are. The European Union’s executive commission, another key player, is also represented.

During Thursday’s working session, officials including Christine Lagarde, the head of the International

Monetary Fund, and host Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble discussed the global economy and markets.

They touched on the recent sudden rise in interest yields on bonds.

Officials said the general sense was that the move was that yields had fallen to extreme low levels—below zero in some cases.

The meeting, which ends Friday, is a discussion forum that sets up final positions to be taken at a summit of presidents and prime ministers on June 7 and 8 outside Munich. AP

The Nation

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, May 30, 2015 A3

Drilon not ‘overly optimistic’ on BBL passage in June

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By Butch Fernandez

enate President Franklin Drilon admitted on Friday he was not “overly optimistic” that senators can meet the agreed timetable to pass the Palace-backed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), creating a new entity for Muslims in Mindanao, before Congress adjourns next month.

“I am not very optimistic that the BBL will be in place by June 11,” Drilon disclosed at the forum hosted by the BusinessMirror and DWIZ. He said the Local Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which is crafting the Senate version of the BBL, is yet to hold two more public hearings on the bill seeking to grant greater autonomy to the new entity

that would replace the soon-to-beabolished Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“The committee of Senator Marcos is still to conduct hearings on June 2 and 3,” Drilon said, adding that he has yet to find out if Marcos would be able to submit a committee report soon after that.

But even if Marcos’s committee renders a report for plenary consideration and approval immediately

after the two remaining hearings, Drilon is still not very optimistic they would meet the June 11 schedule for BBL passage.

“Even if we pass our [Senate] version of the BBL bill, we still go to the bicam, so that is where we are,” the Senate President said, referring to the bicameral conference committee tasked to reconcile differing provisions of the Senate and the Houseapproved versions of similar bills.

Still, Drilon held out hopes that the BBL could be in place by October late this year.

“When it becomes very clear we could not pass the bill [as scheduled], we will just have to go back and see to it that we can have this measure in place before October of this year,” he said, adding: “Why in October? It is because in October, the certificates of candidacy would have to be filed for the 2016 elections [by then] and if we do not have a law passed by that time, then the ARMM would have to be governed by the existing charter, which obviously we want to change, so that is the second deadline that we have to contend with.”

Aquino unfazed by K to 12 lawsuits filed by various groups

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fter various sectoral groups filed legal challenges to the K to 12 initiative, President Aquino said his administration will continue to pursue the key reform extending the basic education program from 10 to 12 years.

Keynoting the K to 12 Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center, Mr. Aquino chided critics for behaving as if “they know best” when, he insisted, the system was prepared for the expectedly difficult two years’ transition and the Department of Education (DepEd) was responding to all concerns.

Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, who joined President Aquino at the summit, also assured that the Aquino administration spared nothing in dealing with all the problems of adjusting both the public and private schools to the new scheme.

In his speech, Mr. Aquino warned

the Philippines cannot pass up on the chance to change the system now, as this will leave future generations still at a disadvantage in the world.

The President said the country was one of only three left that still had a 10year basic-education system, which puts in doubt, fairly or unfairly, their competitiveness in the jobs market.

On Friday Suspend K to 12 Alliance joined other groups in asking the Supreme Court to scrap the education program.

In its petition, the group said Mr. Aquino and three other officials committed grave abuse of discretion when they legislated Republic Act (RA) 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, which implements the K to 12 Program.

The group also said RA 10533 directly violates provisions of Articles II, XII, XII, XIV of the Constitution, which guarantees Filipinos’ right to

Three police chiefs in C. Luzon sacked

AMBUKLAO DAM’S WATER LEVEL Due to the extended dry spell caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, the

reservoir of Ambuklao Dam in the northern Philippine province of Benguet has gone down by a few meters. MAU VICTA

US warship to dock in Subic

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warship from the United States Navy will dock in Subic, one day after the Pentagon said it will not honor the “security enclosure” that China has imposed above and around the reefs that it was reclaiming in the West Philippine Sea. A statement from the US Embassy in Manila said USS Shiloh, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, will arrive and moor in Subic this weekend to replenish its supplies, before continuing its patrol of the Pacific waters.

The USS Shiloh (CG-67) is a multirole warship capable of fighting threats in the air, on sea, or ashore.

The warship is also capable of employing two SH-60 Seahawk multipurpose helicopters that are primarily for anti-submarine warfare.

The guided missile cruiser is a part of the forward-deployed

naval forces of the US 7th Fleet, the Navy’s primary command that is responsible for the overall defense stability of the IndoAsia-Pacific region. The arrival of the warship comes as the US and China engaged in a “word war” during the past days over China’s ongoing reclamation in the West Philippine Sea, which the US, the Asean and the Philippines said was whipping up security concerns and stability in the region.

Last week the Chinese navy warned a US Poseidon surveillance plane as the aircraft flew above one of the reefs where Beijing is undertaking reclamation to document the activity, which is being undertaken for Chinese military use.

The Pentagon said it will not honor the military enclosure that China was observing around and above the reefs, a restriction that

Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin said was an imposition of an Air Defense Identification Zone (Adiz).

Gazmin said China was imposing the Adiz without a formal declaration.

The US military said it will fly above China’s reclamation projects since they sit below the international airspace, and on shore, US Navy vessels will even move up to 12 miles near all of the projects.

Pentagon said it will not honor the restriction imposed by China and will even challenge it.

The US and other countries have repeatedly issued the need for the South China Sea to be open to overflights and international navigation and have warned against what was seen as China’s effort to shut it down from international use. Rene Acosta

By Rene Acosta

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he Philippine National Police (PNP) relieved three police chiefs in Central Luzon for their failure to bring down crimes in their areas under the agency’s anticrime drive, dubbed as “Lambat Sibat.”

Supt. Marcos Rivero of Marilao Municipal Police Station (MPS) in Bulacan, Senior Insp. Marlo Dangarang of Abucay police station in Bataan and Supt. Rechie Duldulao of San Fernando City Police Station in Pampanga were relieved of their positions by Chief Supt. Ronald Santos, officer in charge of the Police Regional Office 3.

PNP Spokesman Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias said Santos removed the three police chiefs from their posts after they failed to meet the requirement of Lambat Sibat.

The performance of the three police stations were audited under the PNP’s anticriminality campaign by the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management and PNP Directorate for Operations, led

by Director Ricardo Marquez.

During the weekly Lambat Sibat command conference in Camp Olivas, Marquez also identified police officers in station levels who have

shown remarkable performances for commendation and the names of those who fell short of expectations for the past 11 weeks of Lambat Sibat.

Meanwhile, Santos said crime incidents in Central Luzon have decreased by almost 30 percent with strict implementation of Lambat Sibat. “ T he gains from intensified anticriminality efforts should be passed down to the stations to inspire police officers to work harder, with the assurance that their efforts will also yield good results,” Santos said.

The Lambat Sibat was replicated from the success of “Oplan LambatSibat” in the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), which was formulated by Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II for the PNP to have a “deliberate, programmatic and sustained” approach in fighting criminality.

Since Oplan Lambat-Sibat was implemented by the NCRPO, crimes in Metro Manila was reduced by more than 60 percent as of mid-May 2015, with only 130 average crime incidents a week from 333 incidents per week in June 2014.

The anticrime drive is now being duplicated by other police offices around the country.

LTFRB issues 4 circulars to regulate operations of TNCs

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our Memorandum Circulars (MCs) that explain the guidelines, policies and regulations of transport network companies (TNCs) and transport network vehicle services (TNVS) were issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Friday.

According to LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez, the board came up with the MCs to regulate the operations of TNCs and TNVS that provide Internet or “online-enabled

transportation service,” or OETS. These MCs include: n MC 2015-015—“Rules and Regulations to Govern the Accreditation of Transportation Network Companies” n MC 2015-016—“Terms and Conditions of Certificate of Transportation Network Company Accreditation” n MC 2015-017—“Implementing Guidelines on the Acceptance of Applications for a Certificate of Public Convenience to Operate a Trans-

portation Network Vehicle Service” n MC 2015-018—“Terms and Conditions of a Certificate of Public Convenience to Operate a Transportation Network Vehicle Service.”

The MCs state the process and legal documentary requirements for accreditation of a TNC and what TNVS operators needed in order to secure their franchises before they can start operating OETS. Ginez said that they will take effect immediately following their

publication in at least one newspaper of general circulation and filed with the UP Law Center pursuant to Presidential MC 11.

To recall, the issuance of the circulars was the result of prior discussion and meeting of the board with representatives of various TNCs and TNVS operators earlier this year.

The LTFRB chief, meanwhile, stressed that the board carefully reviewed the current local transport situation and gathered the opinions

of TNCs and TNVS to come up with policies and regulations in effectively governing their operations.

At the same time, he said the board also had to ensure the safety and convenience of the riding public.

“The board supports DOTC’s [Department of Transportation and Communications] initiative in introducing new mode of transport that could provide safe, efficient and reliable transport services,” Ginez said. PNA

education, labor and economy.

The day before the summit, the National Union of People’s Lawyers joined the Suspend K to 12 coalition in filing the third petition in the SC seeking to stop implementation of K to 12 when the new school year opens on June 1.

They said it negated the constitutional guarantee of free basic education by adding a burden of two more years.

For his part, Luistro acknowledged at the summit the concerns raised by critics, but said that the DepEd and other relevant agencies had dealt with them, and there was no stopping change.

There had been concern that even before K to 12, the government was barely meeting the shortages in classrooms, chairs, teachers and books; and the dropout rate remained high. Critics said the situation would be compounded

by K to 12. Butch Fernandez and Joel San Juan

MMDA to launch earthquake preparedness web site

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n line with government efforts to sustain an educational campaign on the risks and dangers of a strong earthquake should it hit Metro Manila and nearby areas, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will launch a web site dedicated to earthquake preparedness next week.

According to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, the web site will contain, among other things, vital information on how to survive a strong temblor, in case it hits the metropolis and will familiarize the public on “dos and don’ts” before, during and after an earthquake occurs.

The web site can be accessed through www.bepreparedmetromanila.com.

He said the web site aims to promote pro-active participation and wide-range information dissemination about earthquake readiness and risk reduction. “ T he main premise of the web site is to inculcate the importance of preparedness in these challenging times. I am urging everyone to visit the web site and try to learn as much information as they can,” Tolentino said.

The web site contains the Valley Fault System Atlas; a video of the Greater Metro Manila Area Risk Analysis, conducted by the Australian Agency for International Development; and contact numbers of national and local emergency response units. It also features a detailed description of the MMDA’s Oplan Metro Yakal, the agency’s disastercontingency measure.

“We have started a program linkage with concerned government agencies and those in the private sector to be able to pool all resources and services that might be necessary to sustain the campaign,” Tolentino said. PNA

Economy

A4 Saturday, May 30, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

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Only third of OFWs set aside savings from remittances–PSA

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By Cai U. Ordinario

nly a third of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) set aside savings from their remittances in 2014, according to the 2014 Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data showed that around 35.2 percent of OFWs were able to save from their cash remittances in 2014. This was lower than the

40.8-percent OFWs that had savings from cash remittances sent to their families in 2013.

“Regardless of the amount of the

cash remittances sent, about six in every 10 (62.5 percent) OFWs were able to set aside less than 25 percent of the total amount received,” the PSA said.

Data showed that around 22.3 percent and 15.2 percent of OFWs who saved set aside 25 percent to 49 percent, and 50 percent or more from their earnings, respectively.

The PSA said the total remittance sent by OFWs during the period April to September 2014 was estimated at P173.2 billion. This is higher than last year’s reported remittances of P162.4 billion.

This reported total remittances of the OFWs in April to September 2014 included cash sent home P126.8 billion or 73.2 percent; cash brought home, P37.7 billion or 21.8 percent;

and remittances in kind, P8.7 billion or 5 percent.

For April to September of 2013 and 2014, remittances in cash sent home comprised more than 70 percent of the total remittances. The amount of remittances sent by male OFWs at P111.5 billion was nearly twice that of female OFWs or P61.7 billion.

OFWs working in Asia sent the biggest cash remittances in 2014, totaling to P92.6 billion, or 73 percent, or an average of P57,000 per OFW. The percentage shares from other countries were: Europe, at 11.6 percent; North and South America, 9.7 percent; Australia, 2.9 percent; and Africa, 2.8 percent.

For the 2014 SOF, the PSA said the number of OFWs who worked abroad at anytime during the pe-

riod April to September 2014 was estimated at 2.3 million.

Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs), or those with existing work contract, comprised 96 percent, or around 2.2 million, of the total OFWs. The rest, comprising 4 percent, or 92,000, worked overseas without contract. Slightly the same number of OFWs and OCWs was reported in 2013.

Saudi Arabia was the most preferred country of destination among OFWs by accounting for 24.8 percent of OFWs between April and September 2014.

The other countries of destination were United Arab Emirates, 15.6 percent; Singapore, 6.4 percent; Kuwait and Qatar, 5.3 percent; and Hong Kong, 5 percent.

PNR to resume commuter-train operations by middle of June

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Presentation of SM scholars

Hundreds of SM graduates attend the presentation of SM Foundation scholars at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay. Joining the presentation are (sitting from left) Jorge Mendiola, president, SM Retail; Debbie Sy, executive director, SM Foundation; Felicidad Sy, member of the Board of Trustees of SM Foundation; Harley Sy, president, SM Investments Corp. (SMIC); Jose Sio, president, SM Foundation and concurrent chief finance officer of SMIC.​ALYSA SALEN

o accommodate the expected increase of passengers, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) management has said it is set to resume full-time operations

by June 15.

PNR operations had earlier been temporarily halted after two coaches of the PNR southbound train ran off the rails between the Edsa station in Magallanes, Makati City, and Nichols station last May 5.

Results of preliminary investigation revealed that missing tracks might have caused the derailment since missing parts were noticed in the tracks between Edsa and Nichols station.

In addition, an assessment on the structural integrity of the PNR Bicol Line is also set to be completed in the same month.

Management had earlier bared plans to implement a fare increase, following fare hikes in the country’s three other rail systems in January.

PNR fare is expected to increase

by P10 to P15 from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba City in Laguna, the PNR management said, but did not mention a timetable for its implementation.

PNR General Manager Joseph Allan Dilay said in an earlier interview that the long-overdue fare hike will help reduce the gap between what is collected and what is spent to service its 24 million passengers per year.

Dilay, meanwhile, stressed that, despite the increase, the PNR remains to be among the cheapest means of transportation in the metropolis, compared to an air-conditioned bus ride.

He also reassured the riding public that the PNR remains safe.

As an added measure, management is also poised to deploy a rail car every day to inspect the rails so as to avoid accidents.

Azer N. Parrocha/PNA

PHL, Albay tourism gets strong LTFRB issues ‘reprieve’ to school bus-units 15 years old and above pitch at APTM 2015 opening

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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hilippine tourism got a strong promotional push early this week from Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, the country’s first Tourism Star Philippines awardee, at the launch of the first Asia Premium Travel Mart (APTM) 2015 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Organized by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and SB Exhibitions to match some 100 local and international buyers, APTM 2015 was the first high-end business-tobusiness travel and tourism event in the country. Salceda made the aggressive marketing pitch in front of buyers from 31 countries and 87 local sellers that included Albay, and assured the guests that they were “in the right place and at the right time and with the right people.”

TPB and SB Exhibitions invited Salceda to open APTM 2015. There were at least 62 international and 38 Philippine buyers during the event.

The governor received the First Tourism Star Philippines Award from the Department of Tourism early this year for the decisive promotion of Albay, declared as the fastest-growing destination in the country in 2013.

While making a strong pitch for the Philippines as a market essentially being reintroduced and at the verge of bursting into the global markets, Salceda assured the guests that they have come to the right place and that they are talking to the right people, since Philippine tourism is a booming industry.

“I took the unique chance to

promote Albay and Almasor [AlbayMasbate-Sorsogon Tourism Alliance]. Included in my pitch, of course, were Mayon Volcano, two church ruins and 11 colonial churches; distinctive culinaria and delicacies; the local culture—dances, songs, language and history; the best ATV experience in the world; a place where one can find the smallest edible fish and the biggest fish in the world; our handicrafts and the warmest people on earth,” Salceda shared.

The governor also talked about the seven new international airports being built in the country, with the Bicol International Airport in Albay as the first to be completed by 2017, and which would open direct international flights particularly to the hubs of Incheon, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore and, thus, reduce air fares by $150 per person.

He also broke out the news about the new railway system scheduled for bidding by the third quarter of the year, which would reduce travel costs and land travel time from Manila to Legazpi from the current 14 hours to only five hours. Another major development, he added, would be the extension of South Luzon Expressway from Lucena to Legazpi, and then to Matnog town in Sorsogon.

“It was one of those rare moments in our lives when we are given a chance to make a difference, which is sure to generate positive consequences in the lives of ordinary people. It is one benefit of being chosen as the first Tourism Star Philippines,” said Salceda of his APTM 2015 guesting. PNA

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he Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) issued on Friday a memorandum that will allow school bus services of more than 15 years to operate only this coming school year to ensure the sufficiency of transportation for students.

The newly issued memorandum is an exemption to the agency’s order issued in 2013, mandating the age limit of 15 years for school transport services.

“Sa aming masusing pag-aaral, maraming school bus services ang nakatakdang ma-phase out sa taong ito na maaaring makaapekto sa pagpasok ng mga estudyante,” LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez said.

He added: “There is a need for a transition period to assure the availability of school service for school year 2015 to 2016.”

As of end-December, out of the 6,264 registered school-transport service units in Metro Manila, 1,997 units are more than 15 years, and this memorandum “resolves this impending transport issue, which allows for this year only the confirmation of the units that are more than 15 years.

These units will be authorized to operate only until March 31, 2016.”

As stipulated in the memorandum, operators of school transport services, upon filing their confirmation, must submit an affidavit of undertaking to substitute their units that reached the age limit of 15 years before the opening of next school year.

“While our main goal is to ensure the safety transport of our students, we also consider the plight of school transport-services operators,” Ginez said.

In preparation for the opening of classes next week, the LTFRB, early this week, started checking the road-worthiness of school transport services in various schools in Metro Manila.

Ginez said his office found only minimal issues, which the “board ordered corrected, such as the lack of seat belts and fire extinguishers, heavily tinted windows and balding tires.”

The memorandum also directs school authorities not to accredit and/or to allow the operation of

school transport-service units that are more than 15 years old, beginning school year 2016 to 2017.

The memorandum further states that “school transport-service units with no year model indicated in their certificates of registration issued by the Land Transportation Office shall only be allowed confirmation provided a certification of year model duly issued by the LTO is submitted, consistent with the provisions of the Joint Administrative Order 2014-002.”

As part of the registration process, the LTFRB’s Information Systems and Management Division and Records Section will also update the database indicating the year model of the authorized units.

Mad hatter A customer fits one of the locally made baseball caps on display and sale

at a sidewalk in Manila for P90. Caps and similar head gear enjoy a robust demand throughout the year. Nonie Reyes

briefs

HOUSE APPROVES FREE PUBLIC WI-FI ACT

The House of Representatives has approved a long list of vital measures, including the free public wireless Internet access in public buildings, terminals, parks and plazas nationwide.

“The proposed Free Public Wi-Fi Act seeks to address the country’s problem of interconnectivity by providing free public access point in all major public places,” the authors stressed, following the third-reading passage of House Bill (HB) 5791.

HB 5791 is “An Act providing free public wireless Internet access in public buildings, terminal, parks and plazas throughout the country.” The original HB 1550 was principally authored by Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon.

The substitute bill was earlier approved and defended in plenary by the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology cochaired by Rep. Joel Roy R. Duavit of the first district of Rizal and Ridon.

Co-authors of the substitute measure include Representatives Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo; Mariano Michael M. Velarde, Jr.; Francis Gerald A. Abaya; Monique Yazmin Q. Lagdameo, Antonio L. Tinio and Jonathan de la Cruz.

The proposed statute mandates that access to the Internet connections shall not be restricted with password, except when there is a clear and present security or technical risk. Within a period of two years, from effectivity of the Act, all public spaces as stated in this Act shall be ensured a range of broadband hotspots. PNA

caap sets acquisition of 2 corporate jets

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) on Monday announced that it will purchase two corporate jets, one as a trainer aircraft and the other to replace the previous ones, which is primarily used to calibrate the various navigational aids spread all over the country.

The Caap said all interested parties may join the bidding for the purchase of the corporate jets.

Rodante Joya, Caap assistant director general for operations, said the purchase of the jets has been unanimously approved by the Caap board.

He said the aircraft would be assigned to the Flight Inspection and Calibration Group, the Caap branch that is regularly tasked to inspect the country’s various navigational instruments.

Joya said it is much cheaper to buy their own airplane, rather than to hire from Singapore every time the Caap conducts the fine-tuning or calibration of all their navigational system.

Joya was interviewed at the sidelines of the blessing of the state-ofthe-art fire truck on Friday morning at the Caap compound across the Nayong Pilipino. Recto Mercene

ICT-BPM CONFERENCE SET IN CEBU ON JUNE 3 and 4 CEBU CITY—The Information and Communications Technology-Business Process Management (ICT-BPM) Conference this year will highlight local solutions to help sustain the growth momentum of the IT-BPM industry in Cebu.

Some 300 participants are expected to attend the two-day ICT-BPM conference to be held on June 3 and 4 at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel.

Jun Sa-a, chairman of Cebu Business Month’s ICT-BPM Conference, said they are bringing in key resource speakers to share insights on how Cebu can step up from its current eight-ranking status in the Tholons 2015 outsourcing list, as well as exploit other outsourcing opportunities.

Tholons also ranked Cebu in eighth place in 2013 and 2014.

“We will be looking at various local solutions to address global challenges.

The industry has been growing so fast and we need innovative ways to sustain the growth and remain relevant as an investment destination in the global outsourcing industry,“ Sa-a said.

One of the topics the conference will focus on is the home-based outsourcing industry. PNA

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

briefs

NATIONWIDE SCIENCE, TECHNO EXPO SET from JUNE 18 TO 20

CEBU CITY—Local inventors and researchers will have a chance to showcase their creativity in a nationwide science and technology exposition from June 18 to 20.

Cebu City will be hosting for the Visayas the “2015 DOST-7 Science Nation on Tour: Technology and Innovation Exposition featuring the Regional Invention Contest and Exhibit and Entrepreneurship Conference.”

The three-day event will be done simultaneously with three other regions in the country—Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon and Mindanao.

It aims to recognize the fundamental role of inventors in the community and their contribution to the country’s economy, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

DOST-7 Director Engr. Edilberto Paradela said the exhibition will be a chance for local inventors to show off their innovative works.

“We have the qualities of being creative and innovate and this is one way that we can prove that Filipinos are No. 1 not only in singing and dancing contests, but also in terms of science and technology innovations,” he said.

Engr. Edgar Garcia, executive director of DOST’s Technology Application and Promotion Institute, said he is optimistic the event could contribute to the development of the country’s economy and standing in global competitiveness.

“If we are going to increase the number of patents, which are supposedly contributed by inventors, then we could possibly increase the global competitiveness of the Philippines,” Garcia said. PNA

Saturday, May 30, 2015 A5

Low income and poverty keep household spending low–Ibon

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By Cai U. Ordinario

ersistently low incomes and poverty have kept the spending of households low in the first quarter, according to Ibon Foundation Inc. Ibon said this caused the disappointingly low economic growth of 5.2 percent in the January-to-March period, the lowest since the last quarter of 2011’s 3.8 percent.

“Slower growth in household spending is due to persistent low

incomes and poverty that has not been addressed by recent years of increasingly exclusionary growth,” Ibon said.

Ibon added that the slower growth reflected the slowdown in compensation inflows and in

remittances since 2014. Slower growth in exports, meanwhile, was due to a persistently sluggish global economy and unresolved economic issues in the advanced capitalist centers of the US, Europe and Japan.

Ibon said slower growth was due to the government reliance on a real estate, call center, low valueadded export, and remittance-driven nature of growth under the Aquino administration.

“The administration has relied on relatively rapid growth rates as its main propaganda device for asserting good economic performance and consistently depended on these unsustainable sources for growth,” Ibon said.

To break this cycle of slow

growth, Ibon said the administration must institute reforms that address the economy’s capacity to create jobs and provide meaningful household incomes.

Such reforms should include substantially increasing workers’ wages, farmers’ incomes by providing access to land, resources and capital, rural development and building dynamic Filipino industries.

“These are the economic fundamentals that the country lacks, making it follow a pattern of chronically weak growth,” Ibon said.

With the low economic growth in the first quarter, the government estimates that the economy must post an average of 7.5-percent growth in the second to fourth quarters.

WMPC power plant to slash output by half this weekend

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MMDA lauNches QUAKE simulator in marikina

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Friday launched its Earthquake Simulator in Barangay Tumana in Marikina City.

MMDA Chairman Francis N. Tolentino said the launch of the earthquake simulator was aimed at giving awareness and letting the public experience what it is like when a 7-magnitude earthquake hits Metro Manila.

Tolentino also stressed that the earthquake simulator is not something that would scare the public, but rather give them awareness in case of an actual earthquake ”Ang pakay natin, una nga ay mas itaas ‘yung kamalayan. Pangalawa, mas maraming maligtas. Pangatlo, magkaroon tayo ng institutional massive memory na kahit walang sabihin, kahit walang drill ay alam na ang gagawin [Our objectives here are first to raise awareness, second is to save more lives and third is for the public to have an institutional memory so that they will know what to do even without an instruction or drill],” Tolentino said.

The MMDA plans to roll out the earthquake simulator to other barangays that lie above the West Valley Fault in the cities of Norzagaray in Bulacan; Montalban in Rizal; Silang and Carmona in Cavite; and in the cities of Santa Rosa, Calamba and Biñan in Laguna. PNA

DILG CHIEF UNVEILS CRIME PREVENTION PROJECT ‘SAFE KAM’

TO further boost the anticrime initiative of the “Oplan Lambat-Sibat” of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II led the launching on Friday of “SAFE KAm” project, a crime-prevention measure which utilizes closedcircuit television (CCTV) cameras to aid in the arrest of criminals and deter the occurrence of crimes. The first 32 CCTV cameras were installed around the Pasay Rotonda, particularly along the busy intersection of Edsa and Taft Avenues.

“About 1 million people from all walks of life pass by the Edsa-Taft area every day, and one way to make this area safe for them is to install CCTV cameras in strategic locations that will capture all the happenings from all the corners of the area,” Roxas said.

The CCTV cameras have been installed in such a way that authorities have eyes in key walkways and footbridges at the Pasay Rotonda. During the launching of the project, Roxas also announced the designation of Safe Taxi Zones, where commuters can safely ride taxicabs because they are monitored by the CCTV cameras. PNA

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that public construction contracted 24.6 percent in the first quarter this year from a growth of 17.5 percent in the same period in 2014.

Apart from the contraction in construction spending, the economy also suffered from a contraction in net exports of 1.8 percent. This was largely due to the slowdown in both exports and imports growth to 1 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

On the production side, the agriculture sector only contributed 0.2 percentage points to gross domestic product growth despite posting a growth of 1.6 percent, higher than 0.1-percent growth in the first quarter of 2014.

OFF-ROAD CHALLENGE

Oblivious of the risk, a truck loaded with tons of dried cassava chips fords the rampaging waters of the Pinacannauan River in San Mariano, Isabela, to the heart of the town. The struggle and inconvenience in the delivery of farm products in the area remain while the construction of the proposed Minanga Bridge (inset) spanning the river is yet to be completed. LEONARDO PERANTE II

Aquino sets 4-day visit to Japan next week

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resident Aquino will embark on a four-day state visit to Japan from June 2 to 5 next week to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asia and Pacific Affairs Minda Calaguian Cruz said on Friday.

Cruz said the two leaders are expected to talk about the enhancement of the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan, as well as exchange views on recent developments in the region.

“The visit is taking place in an auspicious time when we are to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries, and we will look at this visit as a very important visit,” she said.

Their Majesties Emperor Akihito

and Empress Michiko will receive Mr. Aquino at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo for the welcome ceremony and a state call, Cruz said, adding that the emperor and his wife will also host a state banquet in honor of the Philippine leader.

During this particular trip, President Aquino will, for the first time deliver a speech at the National Diet, Tokyo’s bicameral legislature.

Cruz said this is a significant event because the Diet is considered as Japan’s highest state organ.

“Speaking at the National Diet is a very good platform by which the President can also put forward what have been the developments in the Philippines over a period of time, and at the same time also, the linkages between

both countries,” she said.

Mr. Aquino will meet with members of the Japanese business community to highlight the recent economic gains of the Philippines and invite them to take advantage of more investment opportunities in the country.

He is also scheduled to speak at the special session of Nikkei’s Future of Asia Conference 2015. A meeting with the Filipino community, considered a staple event in his foreign trips, will be part of his official itinerary.

The upcoming trip to Japan will be President Aquino’s fifth, as he had previously been to Tokyo on official and working visits, but it will be his first in terms of a state visit at the invitation of the Japanese government. PNA

By Lenie Lectura

he 100-megawatt (MW) diesel power plant of Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) is poised to reduce its output by half this weekend due to a delay in fuel delivery.

WMPC of the Alsons Power Group said on Friday that it was advised by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) of the delay due to “some hitches in [its] procurement process that were beyond [its] control.”

PSALM owns the power plant while WMPC operates it.

The delay will result in a critical fuel inventory level for the WMPC plant, said the power-plant operator.

From 100 MW, the WMPC plant will be forced to reduce its output to 50 MW per hour beginning midnight of May 29 until the plant is able to utilize the fuel scheduled for arrival on May 30.

“We expect to begin operating at full capacity by May 31, 2015, at the latest. WMPC deeply regrets the resulting inconvenience to the power consumers of the Mindanao grid due to PSALM’s delay in fuelsupply delivery,” WMPC said.

According to PSALM, their new fuel supplier “encountered some problems with customs in the release of their product” and that “as a stop-gap measure, the supplier resorted to tank truck deliveries which are not enough to sustain the plant requirements.”

PSALM has further conveyed that the fuel supplier’s barge is “scheduled to arrive at WMPC Port this coming Saturday, 0800H [8 a.m.] May 30, 2015, with a load of 3,900 kilos.”

Under the existing Energy Conversion Agreement between WMPC and PSALM, the latter is responsible for the supply and delivery of the fuel required for the operations of the WMPC diesel plant.

The agreement also requires PSALM to ensure at all times that the necessary stocks of fuel required by the plant will be made available.

“We would like to assure Mindanao power consumers that we at WMPC will work hand in hand with PSALM to ensure that we are able to operate at full capacity at the soonest time possible,” WMPC said.

Beating the deadline

Construction workers rush the construction of a multilevel building in Baguio City just as the summer construction period is just about to close and the onset of the rainy season nears. Mau Victa

Petilla favors restructuring of Aleco’s P5-billion unpaid bills

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EGAZPI CITY—Energy Secretary Jericho L. Petilla said on Thursday he will push for a law that would grant communities with rich energy resources with cheap power, enabling investment to come.

“Petilla said the law that he will be endorsing will require energy power producers and generators to grant lower rate to host communities like Bicol.

“Power generators should give a much lower rate to host communities than those given outside of the communities,” he said The energy chief said that dur-

ing a consultation, several power producers said they are open to the proposal.

As for the P5-billion unpaid power bills of the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco), Petilla said he is negotiating with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) that the debt be restructured and the payment of interest be suspended until the cooperative’s financial stability is restored.

Aleco is s now being run by the Albay Power and Energy Corp., a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp.

Aleco’s unpaid power bills bal-

looned to the present amount of P5 billion from P1.5 billion in 2009.

As this developed, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda asked Petilla to also work out for the condonation of the P5-billion Aleco debts Answering a question from the media if he will be running for an elective post, Petilla hinted that he would seek for a Senate seat in the 2016 national election.

When asked what legacy would he leave behind at the energy department when he steps down as Cabinet secretary, Petilla said the country’s renewable-energy program has been

given a big boost, providing the country with 400 megawatts (MW) of wind power from 100 wind towers.

By March 2016, the country will have produce 500 MW of renewable energy from wind towers.

He also announced that 66 new power plants will be built and be operational by the end of 2016. This, Petilla said, would boost the country’s power supply requirements.

Energy reforms were also instituted by disciplining the industry in bringing the prices of electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) from P5.00 to

P2.75 per kilowatt-hour level, making the reform “pro-investor and pro-consumer.”

He said he had also assisted 114 financially sick electric cooperatives.

As this developed, Salceda declared his endorsement for Petilla’s candidacy for senator, saying that Petilla’s energy reforms as “pro-investor and pro-consumer” were a milestone in the energy department.

Petilla led the launch of the Department of Energy-National Power Corp. Power Caravan in Albay at the Albay Astrodome. PNA

A6 Saturday, May 30, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Give us back our money

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f we needed any more support for the argument that the government needs to reduce taxes, the first-quarter economic numbers supply the reasons.

The consensus estimates were that the gross domestic product would grow by 6.6 percent over the same period in 2014. Moody’s was even more optimistic with a 7.3-percent forecast. Instead, the government reported on Thursday that the economy grew by 5.2 percent. In other words, the growth was more than 20 percent below expectations.

It is even worse when you consider that this quarter was being compared to a low base from 2014, and the government said the problem last year was Supertyphoon Yolanda. This year the problem is the government.

The leaders of a corporation that missed revenue or profit numbers by 20 percent would be considered a management failure.

Looking at the internals of the economic activity for the first three months of the year shows that the private sector is doing a good job. Industry posted a growth of 5.5 percent, better than the 5.4 percent recorded last year. Manufacturing was up by 5.9 percent. Consumers spent 5.4 percent more. Private-sector construction was a large 14.2 percent higher, and investments in capital goods grew by over 14 percent, both increasing capital formation by 11.8 percent. The service sector remained strong, up 5.6 percent.

However, government construction spending dropped by 24 percent.

Aside from basic public services, the government has only one job when it comes to its fiscal policies. It is supposed to provide infrastructure: roads, airports, publicly owned transportation, dams and schools.

The government’s excuse that it encountered “spending bottlenecks” is ridiculous and insulting. In a good government, spending for infrastructure is supposed to be preplanned and ongoing. Apparently, after nearly five years on the job, the people running the spending programs have not figured out on to keep a steady supply of projects in the pipeline without using the “pork barrel.”

Here is the good news. Without the government, the private sector was able to increase the size of the economy by 5.2 percent. That is a successful accomplishment. Imagine how much more it could do if it could keep more of its own money. The government collected 18 percent more in taxes and revenues equal to P408 billion in the first quarter.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said that the economy must grow by an average 7.5 percent for the rest of the year to achieve the government target of a 7-percent to 8-percent growth. He said that this is “not impossible.”

Here is a suggestion to make that growth target less impossible. Reduce taxes, and let the private sector grow the economy and create jobs and prosperity, while the government figures out how to properly spend our money.

High rates of white-collar crimes Cecilio T. Arillo

database

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ESPITE the recent involvement of some members of Congress and other high-ranking government officials in graft, plunder and other white-collar crimes, a lawmaker has bravely filed a bill to stop or minimize the scourge.

“There is an urgent need for the State to arrest the wave of high crimes that continued to escalate in magnitude and intensity,” Rep. Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado of the Second District of Bohol said, as he urged the enactment of House Bill (HB) 5304, or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Reorganization and Modernization Act. The measure is an urgent response to arrest the wave of criminality involving public funds and the policy of the State to promote and maintain a modern, competent and highly trained investigative body, functionally integrated and national in scope.

White-collar crimes, such as those that rose from the multibillion-peso allocations of pork-barrel funds, public-works budgets and rampant smuggling of dutiable items, are far more destructive to the economy than street crimes combined in terms of money lost to thieves and fraudsters.

“Law enforcement does not seem able nor capable to deliver and respond fast enough or good enough,” Aumentado lamented.

He recalled that a version of his bill was adopted by both the Senate and the House of Representatives during the previous Congress, but was, unfortunately, overtaken by the adjournment without the bicameral conference action being ratified.

“It is difficult to imagine how law enforcement can truly be efficient and effective if its growth and expansion are stifled by age-old organizational system and procedures, and chained by too much financial restriction,” the Bohol lawmaker pointed out.

The Committee on Justice, to which the Aumentado bill has been referred to, is also in receipt earlier of a similar bill, HB 4556, authored

by Rep. Ann K. Hofer of the Second District of Zamboanga Sibugay.

“Reorganization, modernization and expansion of the NBI is long overdue,” Aumentado said.

The equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, “the NBI is passionately eager to face the challenges of the present and the approaching millennium, but it needs to be adequately equipped in terms of developed

human resources, modern equipment and facilities, and necessary logistics for mobilization,” he said.

He added that the proposed statute would pave the way for the NBI to reorganize and modernize, and provide the agency the muchneeded capability to successfully address the “high-tech” level at which criminals pursue their “trade.”

“The NBI vision is to be capable of getting results at the flick of a finger; to be capable of responding quickly to the call to action of the people—all the time,” Aumentado argued.

The lawmaker said that the latest killings of members of the media, judges, elective officials and other government officials have caught the attention of international organizations and the concerned sectors of the country on the government’s inability to solve high or white-collar crimes.

The NBI, in the proposed law, will implement a modernization program geared toward the acquisition of state-of-the-art investigative and intelligence equipment, and the establishment of forensic and scientific laboratories, including the provision for training of personnel.

The investigative and noninvestigative staff of the NBI will also be increased and their positions upgraded to adequately meet the increasing demands of a modern investigative and detective work.

Accordingly, the NBI will establish a regional office in every region and a suboffice in every province, to be headed by a regional director and head agent, respectively. Field offices in congressional districts

Corruption in Fifa is no surprise, but legal action now taken against it is

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hat there is corruption at the top ranks of Fifa, world soccer’s governing body, is about as shocking as Capt. Louis Renault’s discovery of gambling at Rick’s café in Casablanca.

That the legal authorities of the world are finally doing something about it is more surprising, and welcome.

In New York on Wednesday, nine international soccer executives and five sports marketing and broadcasting figures were indicted after a federal corruption investigation by the US Department of Justice.

The department described an alleged 25-year, $150-million racketeering and bribery scheme involving the staging and broadcasting of professional soccer games and tournaments, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Four other men and two sportsmarketing businesses already have pleaded guilty and presumably are

cooperating with investigators.

In a separate development, Swiss officials announced they are investigating suspected bribery in Fifa’s decision five years ago to award the 2018 World Cup tournament to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. That investigation, which included seizing papers and electronic files from Fifa’s Zurich headquarters on Wednesday, follows news exposes of corruption in the World Cup bidding process.

The individual officials should, of course, be considered innocent until proven guilty, but it has been clear

for years to followers of the world’s most popular sport that its governing body is riddled with corruption.

Under public pressure in 2012, Fifa ordered an internal inquiry, but then last year released only a thin summary of its 430-page report and claimed innocence.

In protest, Michael J. Garcia, a former US attorney from New York who led the internal investigation, resigned over what he claimed was Fifa’s whitewashing of “serious and wide-ranging issues” involving the 2018 and 2022 World Cup site-selection process. Garcia’s report remains under wraps per Fifa bylaws.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the federal investigation is continuing, and more charges against more officials seem likely

will, likewise, be established, in coordination with the regional offices.

If enacted into law, the present setup of the NBI will be reorganized into the Office of the Director, Office of the Deputy Director for Administration and Office of the Deputy Director for Operations, Office of the Assistant Directors for Investigation Service, Intelligence Service, Comptroller Service, Internal Audit Service, Forensic and Scientific Research Services, Legal Service, and Information and Communications Technology Service. Each of the services will be composed of the necessary divisions and sections.

The funds required for the implementation of the proposed Act, including employee benefits, shall be taken from: 1) all collections from NBI clearance and certified fees; 2) all Service incomes from training, DNA, drug tests, confirmatory and neuro tests and the like; 3) seizures; 4) other miscellaneous incomes; and 5) appropriations by Congress, as maybe necessary.

Under the bill, all incumbent personnel will continue in office and perform their duties, as such as the designated deputy director will continue in office as deputy director and the incumbent assistant directors will assume as assistant directors of their respective or equivalent services.

Incumbent special investigators will be deemed regular agents, provided they meet the qualifications set forth under the proposed Act within two years from its effectivity.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio. arillo@gmail.com

—the indictment describes 25 unindicted and unnamed coconspirators. The Justice Department should pursue the investigation as far as the evidence leads in order to root out the corruption and catalyze a cultural change within Fifa.

And that change should start at the top. Fifa President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, under whose watch this corruption has flourished, is seeking a fifth four-year term as Fifa’s president in a vote on Friday in Zurich.

Fifa’s 209 member-nations could begin restoring credibility by ousting him in favor of reform-minded challenger Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, and by changing the organization’s rules so that the world can learn the details of Garcia’s investigation. Los Angeles Times

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Stop calling China a currency manipulator

Evangelii Gaudium Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

William Pesek

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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hristine Lagarde’s people say China’s currency is no longer undervalued. Jacob Lew’s argue it still is. There’s a lot at stake in the debate: The yuan can’t gain status as a global currency reserve if China is thought to be manipulating its value.

So who should we believe, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the US treasury secretary?

It’s worth asking Ben Bernanke.

Now that the former Federal Reserve chairman is in the private sector, he can say what he really thinks—and, as he pointed out in a recent speech in Seoul, it’s not wise to ignore political factors when managing the rise of the Chinese economy. Bernanke argued that if Washington had heeded IMF requests to allow China to play a larger role in global institutions, Beijing wouldn’t now be creating the $100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which threatens to undermine the existing global financial system.

It’s worth extending Bernanke’s point to the yuan debate. Japan’s yen is down 30 percent since late-2012 (hitting a 12-year low this week), while the yuan has risen during the same period. So the IMF has good reason to contradict America’s assessment and bolster China’s case for reserve-currency status. But there are two further reasons the IMF must stand firm, no matter what US officials and lawmakers say.

First, China might go it alone. As Bernanke points out, the West is playing hardball with Beijing at its own risk. The AIIB is already diminishing the relevance of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. What’s to keep Beijing, flush with $3.7 trillion of reserves, from now opening its own bailout fund for governments facing balance-of-payments shortfalls? China proposed a similar idea during the region’s 1997 economic crisis. Although the idea died a quick death at that time amid fears the IMF and the US Treasury would lose influence, it might attract more interest now—especially if China promises to demand less austerity from needy countries like Greece.

“If the IMF were to sidestep the explicitly stated desire of China’s government,” says Eswar Prasad of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, “it would create more bad blood in an already contentious relationship regarding currency matters.” He worries it would “crystallize emergingmarket policy-makers’ concerns that the IMF remains an institution run by and for the benefit of advanced economies.” That would encourage nations to rally around Beijing’s alternative lending institutions,

and could deal a fatal blow to the post-World War II global financial architecture.

Second, Chinese economic reform is accelerating. Bernanke is right that the yuan has a long way to go before it can become a major reserve player.

But a new Swift study shows the yuan is Asia’s most-active currency for payments to China and Hong Kong and No. 5 globally. Convertible or not, the yuan is too big to ignore. In that sense, its inclusion in the IMF’s special drawing rights system— along with the dollar, euro, yen and pound—is a matter of when, not if.

Moreover, the makers of China’s monetary policy are committed to economic reform—and their efforts are forcing change on the entirety of the Chinese government. Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan is a disciple of Zhu Rongji, the former premier (1998-2003) who did more than any leader since Deng Xiaoping to internationalize China’s economy.

Zhou’s lobbying of the IMF on behalf of the yuan has forced the Communist Party to commit to financial reform. The effectiveness of Zhu’s strategy was evident during China’s 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization, which eventually pried the nation open to foreign investment and competition. Zhou’s plans for a freer yuan would curb the party’s influence over the economy, and force transparency on the financial system and state-owned enterprises.

“Its importance is as a tool to build political support for China’s financial- and capital-account liberalization,” says David Loevinger, former US Treasury Department senior coordinator for China affairs.

Serious people can disagree about what the real value of the yuan should be (and Lagarde and Lew certainly do). And with a US presidential election approaching, it’s a safe bet China’s commitment to economic fair play will be a big subject of discussion in the year ahead. But let’s not treat China as a minor player in this drama. The world’s second-biggest economy is run by a government with loads of cash, vast ambitions and lots of options. As Washington learned the hard way with AIIB, it’s better to make room for China than give it reason to walk alone.

60th part

Jesus’ gift to His people

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n the cross, when Jesus endured in His own flesh the dramatic encounter of the sin of the world and God’s mercy, He could feel at His feet the consoling presence of His mother and His friend.

At that crucial moment, before fully accomplishing the work which His Father had entrusted to Him, Jesus said to Mary: “Woman, here is your son.” Then He said to His beloved friend: “Here is your mother” (John 19:26-27). These words of the dying Jesus are not chiefly the expression of His devotion and concern for His mother; rather, they are a revelatory formula that manifests the mystery of a special saving mission. Jesus left us His mother to be our mother. Only after doing so did Jesus know that “all was now finished” (John 19:28). At the

foot of the cross, at the supreme hour of the new creation, Christ led us to Mary. He brought us to her because He did not want us to journey without a mother, and our people read in this maternal image all the mysteries of the Gospel. The Lord did not want to leave the Church without this icon of womanhood. Mary, who brought Him into the world with great faith, also accompanies “the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (Revelation 12:17). The close connection between Mary, the Church and

Inter Press Service

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IENNA—The 2015 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference wrapped up last week in New York without agreeing on an outcome document. While this is unfortunate, it is important to remember that the future of the nuclear nonproliferation regime will be determined by more than whether the Review Conference participants produced a document addressing all that currently ails the NPT-based regime.

At the same time, all NPT memberstates not only affirmed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as an effective nonproliferation and disarmament measure that complements and reinforces the NPT, they also identified a legally binding test ban as an urgent priority.

The total cessation of nuclear-test explosions has been an objective of the international community since just after the dawn of the nuclear age. Negotiated after the end of the Cold War and amid fresh optimism over prospects

for nuclear disarmament, the CTBT prohibits explosive nuclear testing by anyone, anywhere, without exception.

At the height of the Cold War, nearly 500 nuclear tests were carried out every decade. But since the CTBT opened for signature in 1996, only three countries have carried out nuclear tests. In fact, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the only country in the world to have tested a nuclear device in more than 15 years. This is clear proof that the treaty has been a resounding success in effectuating an end to nuclear testing.

The CTBT is not simply a handshake agreement between countries that they will promise to abide by the test ban. The treaty is buttressed by a global network of over 300 monitoring stations constantly scanning the planet for signs of a nuclear explosion.

For those with any doubt that the CTBT is internationally and effectively verifiable, at 90-percent complete, the treaty’s verification regime already provides a detection capability far better than what was thought to be attainable 20 years ago. We have succeeded in establishing the most sophisticated and extensive global verification regime ever conceived.

each member of the faithful, based on the fact that each in his or her own way brings forth Christ, has been beautifully expressed by Blessed Isaac of Stella: “In the inspired Scriptures, what is said in a universal sense of the virgin mother, the Church, is understood in an individual sense of the Virgin Mary.... In a way, every Christian is also believed to be a bride of God’s word, a mother of Christ, His daughter and sister, at once virginal and fruitful...Christ dwelt for nine months in the tabernacle of Mary’s womb. He dwells until the end of the ages in the tabernacle of the Church’s faith. He will dwell forever in the knowledge and love of each faithful soul.”

Mary was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love. She is the handmaid of the Father who sings His praises. She is the friend who is ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives.

She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain. As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by

John Nash’s game theory and Greece Mohamed A. El-Erian

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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conomics and finance suffered two tragedies in the past week: the death of the Nobel laureate John Nash and his wife in a horrible car accident, and more delays from Greece and its creditors in reaching an agreement on a path out of the costly and protracted crisis.

A mutually beneficial outcome would alleviate the long suffering of Greek citizens who have been devastated by unemployment, shrinking incomes and spreading poverty. It would also bolster the credibility, integrity and robustness of the euro zone as a viable economic, financial and political entity. And it would remove one of the uncertainties preventing the global economy from achieving a pace of growth consistent with its potential.

At first sight there seem to be little to link the two tragedies. Yet, the game-theory insights that John Nash pioneered—including the concept of a “cooperative game”—shed important light on what is happening in Greece, and help explain why the drama is unlikely to have a happy ending anytime soon.

In a cooperative game, players coordinate to achieve better outcomes than the ones that would likely prevail in the absence of such coordination. If the game is played uncooperatively, however, the result is unfortunate for all players.

This simple idea accurately describes the protracted Greek drama, including

the current rush at the Group of Seven meeting in Germany, to find yet another way to kick the can down the road.

At the simplest level of analysis, Greece is seeking to regain economic growth, create jobs and restore its financial viability, while remaining part of the single currency. Its European partners, working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), share these goals, so long as achieving them doesn’t impose a disproportionately heavy burden on other euro-zone states in terms of finances and political acceptability, and by setting a poor example for future crises.

The problem, in game-theory terms, is that a game that needs to be played cooperatively to achieve the desired outcome continues to be played uncooperatively—repeatedly. The reasons for this unfortunate state of affairs are understandable: n There is little trust between Greece and its creditors (in this case, the European Central Bank, the European Union and the IMF). n The sides haven’t defined a common understanding of the problem,

A critical moment to fortify nuclear-test ban

By Lassina Zerbo

Saturday, May 30, 2015

The determination to end nuclear testing has also played a decisive role in the NPT review process. The agreement to complete CTBT negotiations was one of the essential decisions that paved the way for the indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995. In 2000 NPT statesparties identified the entry into force of the CTBT as the first of 13 practical disarmament steps.

While NPT members are fractured on how to resolve many of the problems eroding the nonproliferation regime, securing a legally binding test ban is an unequivocal priority for all countries considering the statements from over 100 individual countries, as well as from various groups.

For instance, the statement from the 117 members of the Non-Aligned Movement which are party to the NPT—the largest group of countries—delivered

by Iran, stressed the “significance of achieving the universal adherence to the CTBT and realizing its entry into force” and “strongly support[ed] a comprehensive ban on all forms of nuclear-weapon tests without exception, as well as any nuclear explosion, and reaffirm[ed] the importance of such a ban in the realiza-

tion of objectives of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

The European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief (and member of the CTBT’s Group of Eminent Persons) Federica Mogherini, on behalf of the 28 countries of the EU and nine other countries, confirmed that the “CTBT remains a top priority.”

The 14 members of the Caribbean Community affirmed, “the elimination of the testing of nuclear weapons remains a critical element in the overall process of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation,” and urged the eight remaining states required to bring the treaty into force to sign and/or ratify “immediately and unconditionally.”

In addition to the views of nonnuclear-weapon states, the five NPTacknowledged nuclear-weapon states also demonstrated their commitment to the CTBT in a joint statement which included “efforts to bring the CTBT into force at an early date.” They also reaffirmed their own moratoria on testing, called on other states to the same and confirmed the CTBT as an effective disarmament and nonproliferation measure.

It seems, then, that countries which

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her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks by our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love. Through her many titles, often linked to her shrines, Mary shares the history of each people who have received the Gospel and she becomes a part of their historic identity. Many Christian parents ask that their children be baptized in a Marian shrine, as a sign of their faith in her motherhood, which brings forth new children for God. There, in these many shrines, we can see how Mary brings together her children, who, with great effort, come as pilgrims to see her and to be seen by her. Here they find strength from God to bear the weariness and the suffering in their lives. As she did with Juan Diego, Mary offers them maternal comfort and love, and whispers in their ear: “Let your heart not be troubled… Am I not here, who am your Mother?”

To be continued For comments, e-mail caritas_manila@yahoo.com. For donations to Caritas Manila, call 563-9311. For inquiries, call 563-9308 or 563-9298.

Fax: 563-9306.

even less a solution. n The process for ensuring that policy and financing commitments are met is patchy and often controversial, in part, because of political undertones: The Greek government doesn’t want to be perceived as subservient to other European nations and those countries don’t want be viewed as financial hostages to the inadequacy of Greek policies. n And the functioning of the coalition of creditors (once known as the Troika) is far from smooth.

Thoughtful economists, such as the Nobel laureate Michael Spence, have extended this concept of a cooperative game being played uncooperatively to the broader dysfunctions influencing the global economy. This type of game points to costs that far exceed simply suboptimal outcomes; it also entails the possibility of collateral damage and unintended consequences.

There are at least four ways to transform uncooperative games into cooperative ones. Unfortunately, these approaches would be ineffective in the case of Greece.

One involves using two-sided and mutually supportive conditionality as the transformation agent: for example, by rewarding the implementation of economic reforms with the ready availability of external financing. This has been tried in Greece, but the results have fallen short, which has diminished the effectiveness of this tool.

Specifically, Greece’s record on making good on its policy-reform promises has been far from perfect; and its creditors have been too hesitant in providing the extent of debt relief and cash the country needs.

A second way involves a decisive ex-

ternal impetus. In the case of Greece and its creditors, this role has been played by fear, particularly the fear that the Greek economy would implode, which would force it out of the euro zone. This has stoked the additional fear that such an outcome would destabilize other eurozone economies, threaten the integrity of the single currency group and disrupt the global economy.

And fear is an inconsistent transformation agent because its impact is hard to sustain. As soon as it dissipates, all sides revert to uncooperative behavior.

And this is what has happened in this case since at least 2010.

A third alternative involves the entry of new players that are willing and able to put aside uncooperative legacies. In today’s Europe, however, the political reality is that new players tend to be even more skeptical than their predecessors.

The electoral victory of Syriza in Greece is a case in point.

Finally, mutually beneficial developments could convince both sides to work together more closely. Regrettably, this hasn’t been the case of Greece and its European partners, given the limited progress on the ground.

Assessing the Greek drama through the lens of game theory explains why the crisis—and the question of Greece’s continued euro-zone membership—are no closer to being resolved. Applying Nash’s theory shows that the best we can realistically expect is yet another attempt to postpone painful decisions. But even this inadequate outcome is proving increasingly difficult to deliver, and if it materializes, the resulting delay will lead to an even more difficult situation, unless the players decide to stop their uncooperative game very soon.

failed to agree at the Review Conference do come together over the test-ban treaty. However, in light of last week’s outcome, mere words of support without real action are both insufficient and dangerous.

Bringing the CTBT into force is the responsibility of all countries. CTBT state signatories benefit daily from the CTBTO’s monitoring assets, which are at the disposal of the international community to support national security needs.

One advantage of the CTBT is its special mechanism for promoting its entry into force. For the seventh time, states signatories (even those which have yet to ratify), intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations will convene this September to determine how to achieve this at the so-called Article XIV Conference in New York.

To ensure a robust and effective plan of action, I encourage all parties to consider the following: First, how to engage the remaining eight states required for the test ban to become legally binding so that they sign and/or ratify the CTBT; and, second, what specific steps can current states signatories take to advance

the treaty’s entry into force.

Of equal importance are concrete proposals to complete the unique, robust and unparalleled international verification system, as well as ensuring sustainable resources to remain ahead of the curve in maintaining this essential international verification system that delivers security, scientific, environmental and many other benefits to its memberstates every day.

In a complex and constantly changing world, a legally binding and verifiable prohibition on nuclear testing provides for a degree of stability, and encourages multilateral cooperation and confidence building toward an enhanced regional and international security environment. The CTBT is too important to let the rolling tides of history determine its fate.

The coming weeks and months are crucial for countries to coalesce around the foundational assets within the broader NPT regime, which is worth protecting and advancing. We are doing our part. We now look to the international community to step up to the plate and do their part. Together, we cannot afford to miss another opportunity.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, May 30, 2015

Domestic liquidity grew 9% in April

T

By Bianca Cuaresma

he continued expansion of money supply in the financial system, also known as liquidity growth or M3, remained in single digit averaging only 9 percent in April, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

But this was slightly faster than M3 growth averaging 8.7 percent in March, itself a downward adjustment from the original number the monetary authorities reported.

In absolute terms, money supply aggregated P7.6 trillion in April.

At this level, the BSP said this much money available to millions of households and

businesses across the country should be sufficient to underwrite its growth goal of as much as 8 percent this year in terms of local output, or the gross domestic product.

The central bank said money supply continued to increase due to sustained demand for credit and the decline in the level of deposits at the BSP’s special deposit account (SDA) window relative to the previous March.

In a separate report on Friday, the BSP said the outstanding loans of commercial banks grew at a slightly slower pace of 15.4 percent in April from the revised 16.1 percent in the previous month.

Loans for production activities accounted for 80 percent of banks’ total loans for the period.

Lending for production ac-

tivities grew by 15.1 percent in April from the 15.9 percent in March.

The BSP said the expansion in production loans was driven by increased lending to manufacturing, real estate, renting and business services, wholesale and retail trade, electricity, gas and water, and financial intermediation.

Bank lending to other sectors, likewise, expanded during the month.

Meanwhile, loans for household consumption grew by 20.1 percent in April from the 19.9 percent in March due to continued growth in credit-card loans, auto loans and other types of loans.

Meanwhile, funds parked in the SDA facility of the BSP hit P952 billion in April, lower than the P1.01 trillion at end-March.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Philippines Considering Bond Swaps Before Fed Rate Increase

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he Philippines is considering bond swaps for the government’s local and foreign debt before an impending US Federal Reserve (the Fed) interest-rate increase, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said.

“If there’s market opportunity before the Fed acts, we will move,” Purisima, 55, said in an interview in his office in Manila on Friday.

“We’re always on the lookout for both foreign and local opportunities to lengthen debt maturity and reduce overall interest cost,” he said, without specifying an amount.

The government is addressing a “systemic problem” in delays to state spending, including ways to accelerate outlays for infrastructure projects, Purisima added. Economic growth slid to a three-year low last quarter, putting pressure on President Aquino to fix bottlenecks before an increase in US interest rates that may prompt financial-market volatility.

“We are trying to correct the sys-

tem, and when you are reforming, the results can sometimes be unpredictable,” Purisima said. “The good thing is we have the fiscal space. In the next quarters, we can catch up.”

The government may sell new securities of two tenors with a size of at least P50 billion ($1.1 billion) each in exchange for infrequently traded bonds, Treasurer Roberto B. Tan said in March.

The Philippines has sold more than P1 trillion of bonds in debt swaps since 2006, with the most recent in August last year. The government had P5.79 trillion of debt as of end-April, with foreign debt accounting for about 34 percent of the total.

Delays in state outlays have been persistent and have been a drag on economic growth. Public spending fell in the third quarter of 2014 and in the fourth quarter of 2013, with both periods registering the weakest expansion for the year. Bloomberg News

hands of business Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua (right), founder and chairman emeritus of the ALC Group of Companies, welcomes Senate President Franklin Drilon at the ALC Building in Makati City for a discussion on Friday with reporters and executives of the BusinessMirror, Pilipino Mirror, Philippines Graphic, CNN Philippines and DWIZ. ALYSA SALEN

El Niño shows global reach Continued from A1

Pacific that set up conditions where cool air can filter south from Canada.

Drought risk

While the strength of the event doesn’t always correspond with its impact on Australian rainfall, it increases the risk of drought, according to the bureau. This year’s El Niño, which is intensifying, is the first since 2010.

“The El Niño pattern in the tropical Pacific is having a drying influence in the eastern half of the country,” the bureau said. “Elevated sea-surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, coupled with warm temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, are tending to enhance rainfall in Western Australia.”

El Niños are caused by periodic warmings of the equatorial Pacific and can roil agricultural markets as farmers contend with drought or too much rain. Commodity prices, including foodstuffs, typically rise in the wake of an event, according to a working paper published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April, which examined the impact on 33 countries. If the El Niño strengthens from where it is now, the impacts across Asia may become more pronounced, Widenor said.

Philippine agriculture

In the Philippines timely imports will be important to ease El Niño’s effect on rice and agriculture, National Economic and Development Authority Deputy Director General Manny Esguerra said at a briefing in Manila on Thursday. The effect on growth depends on how prolonged the event is, Esguerra said.

The Southeast Asian country, which has already reported damage to rice and corn

crops from this year’s El Niño, imports rice as local output falls short of demand. The event may spur a rapid rise in Philippine food prices, the IMF said on Tuesday.

In Australia grain farmers rely on rain through the winter to boost crop growth. Wheat output may increase 3.3 percent this season to 24.4 million metric tons, the government forecast in March. The country is the fifthbiggest exporter.

Of the 26 El Niños since 1900, 17 have resulted in widespread drought in Australia, according to the bureau. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences is set to update its wheat forecast in June.

Hurricane season

The Atlantic hurricane season will be less active than usual this year, as the El Niño helps limit storm development, US government forecasters said Wednesday. The season may produce six to 11 named storms through November 30 and three to six of those storms may become hurricanes, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The El Niño will probably reverse a slide in agricultural prices in Mexico and boost the local inflation rate in as little as six months, according to BNP Paribas SA. Vietnam’s coffee is at most risk from the pattern due to the inconsistent nature of rainfall, according to Commodity Weather Group Llc. The Bloomberg Agriculture Subindex, which tracks farm commodities from sugar and coffee to corn and wheat, slumped 29 percent in the past year. The gauge is about 62 percent below the record reached in May 1997.

The 1997-1998 El Niño was the strongest on record, according to the NOAA. Bloomberg News