BusinessMirror June 5, 2015

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ECCP SAYS PASSAGE OF TAX MEASURES NEEDED TO LURE INVESTORS EXITING CHINA

PHL losing FDI to Vietnam sans reforms INSIDE

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CAITLYN JENNER D

In humble faithfulness

EAR Lord, You do not leave us alone in the fulfillment of our roles and other commitments. We are called to do our part, not only in Your name, but also in the power of Your unfailing presence, perpetuated through the Holy Spirit. With such a presence and power, no dream will be “impossible,” no target unattainable, provided we do our share in humble faithfulness, day by day. In thoughts, in words and in deeds, we can always be in harmony with You, Lord. Amen.

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Life

‘FANTASTIC FOUR’S’ MESSAGE FOR COMIC FANS WHO HATE THE NEW CAST »D4

BusinessMirror

Friday, June 5, 2015

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THE HIGH-LOW OF CAITLYN JENNER’S COMING OUT THE Olympian, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner channels a bygone era in her all-too-safe Vanity Fair cover, photographed

by Annie Leibovitz.

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HE Annie Leibovitz photograph of Caitlyn Jenner slated for the July cover of Vanity Fair—prime magazine real estate—was revealed on Monday. The trumpeted publicity still is the latest and, in some ways, most dramatic step in the difficult gender transition of former Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner.

For wardrobe, Betty Grable’s 1940s bathing suit is crossed with Madonna’s white-satin 1990s bustier.

Toss in the gold-ground setting from a Byzantine icon that Andy Warhol chose for his silk-screen version of Marilyn Monroe’s famous publicity still from the 1953 Hollywood potboiler Niagara.

Add a glamorous, cascading hairstyle lifted from somewhere between Rita Hayworth’s smoking Gilda and Bette Davis’s fearsome Margo Channing. And— voila!—a pinup for the age of Pinterest.

For all the advance buildup, the picture feels flat—a pedestrian celebrity pastiche of rather tired visual clichés. That’s too bad. Jenner’s courage in taking control of the public process of coming out as transgender is bold, and this will be the most widely seen initial image. In recent years, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement has been making huge strides. It has taken decades, but transgender men and women are now an essential part of the necessary equality mix. Jenner, by effectively stage-managing her transition, has largely avoided what could have been a cruel and ugly scenario.

Yet the Vanity Fair photograph seems a missed opportunity—a picture from the past rather than the present. Maybe that’s because all its conventional, glamour-girl signals weigh down the lively fluidity swirling at the center of gender identity.

Leibovitz and Jenner, photographer and subject, are

both 65. They were raised in an era when gender ideas were more stable, fixed and binary than they are today.

In 1991, Los Angeles photographer Catherine Opie blew up those inflexible conventions in a now famous suite of 13 color photographs titled “Being and Having.”

The artist shot tight, close-up portraits of lesbian friends against screaming yellow backgrounds. Each suddenly ambiguous face sports an exaggerated mustache, beard, sideburns or other masculine props—tattoos, piercings, a do-rag or shades.

Fakery and play mingle with authenticity and solemnity. In these iconic images, identity is a question, not an answer. Homosexuality unfolds as something marvelously heterogeneous.

By coincidence, the series followed the 1990 publication of Gender Trouble, the landmark book

by UC Berkeley philosopher Judith Butler pointedly subtitled “Feminism and the Subversion of Identity.” In it, she persuasively argued that gender is not rooted in biological fact but in culturally determined symbols, signs and images.

Butler’s trailblazing notion is that gender isn’t natural—it’s a performance. But Jenner’s performance on the cover of Vanity Fair is predictable.

During her celebrated career, Leibovitz has made many photographs that skillfully represent popular symbols. She has pictured dozens of celebrity subjects as visual puns. The New York artist Christo stands in Central Park wrapped up like one of his sculptures, mummified in his art. Paralyzed Marine Corps veteran and antiwar activist Ron Kovic is seated in his wheelchair at the shallow edge of the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica—a man of peace “walking” on water.

Lauren Hutton is sprawled naked in the Mississippi mud, an all-American Earth mother. Bette Midler, publicizing her Oscar-nominated role as a doomed pop star in 1979’s The Rose, lies sprawled beneath a dense tangle of crimson buds—life is a bed of roses, albeit hiding thorns. Leibovitz’s Caitlyn Jenner is a newfangled

Vargas girl, one of those airbrushed cuties from the old pages of Playboy. Is that all there is?

One woman picturing another (also “of a certain age”) as a standard sex symbol does nicely smudge conventional strictures around bodily shame. And what happens to established theories of the male gaze when a transgender woman is photographed by an artist who may have been shy to identify as a lesbian, while happy to celebrate being the lover of the late Susan Sontag, the cultural critic whose book On Photography is standard

reading? Still, in the context of all those other red-carpet Jenners and Kardashians—Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie, Kendall and Kris—a rather momentous social and cultural event seems somehow diminished by representation as a mere me-too pinup picture.

Jenner has set out on a rocky path that many before her have taken, but the global celebrity that preceded her transition is distinctive.

A similarly singular quirk is missing from her decidedly ordinary portrait photograph. ■

An old-school vision of beauty B B M | Los Angeles Times AN ivory satin corset, milky white skin and bouncing waves—it’s an old-school vision of beauty for Caitlyn Jenner, nee Bruce. Jenner introduced Caitlyn to the world on Monday, posing for the new cover of Vanity Fair shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The image is more Marilyn Monroe (who, incidentally, would have turned 89 on Monday) than Kim Kardashian, Jenner’s famous stepdaughter who has redefined the female ideal and challenged ethnic stereotypes by moving the focus from the bust to bum, and letting anything and everything hang out.

Then again, Jenner is 65 years old and would have grown up with traditional corseted images of mom, Esther, and sisters Lisa and Pam, in the 1950s and early 1960s. And introducing Caitlyn as a hyper-traditionallooking trans woman is smashing its own kind of stereotype by saying to the world, “There’s nothing to be afraid of, you’ve seen this before.”

Jenner’s facial and body hair have been removed, her nose fixed and trachea shaved. But she has not undergone genital surgery, according to the article.

It’s appropriate that Jenner chose Vanity Fair for the debut. In 1991 Demi Moore debuted her nude, pregnant bod on the cover of the magazine, defiantly proud of her body and announcing to the world that it was worthy of celebrating rather than hiding. The image, also shot by Leibovitz, helped launch a trend of flaunting your bump, which reverberated throughout culture, helping to spark interest in pregnant celebrities and their offspring, and to spawn pregnancy chic clothing lines and accessories.

No doubt, Jenner hopes this cover will do the same, sparking a celebration and understanding of transgender individuals.

Jenner will be honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on July 15 at the ESPYs, where she will be joined by all 10 of her children and stepchildren, according to the Vanity Fair article. It will be interesting to see what she chooses to wear.

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| FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

The removal of one man, even if he is the president, is just the first step in a difficult process of fixing an organization as complex as Fifa, which is made up of 209 member-federations, from political powerhouses such as China and the US to tiny Anguilla and the Cook Islands, whose combined populations wouldn’t fill Dodger Stadium.

CONFEDERATION of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Secretary-General Chuck Blazer admits receiving bribes as part of the vote that picked South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup. AP

Fifa executive committee member Blazer admitted taking bribes

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EW YORK—Former International Football Federation (Fifa) executive committee member Chuck Blazer told a US federal judge that he and others on the governing body’s ruling panel agreed to receive bribes in the votes for the hosts of the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.

Prosecutors unsealed a 40-page transcript on Wednesday of the hearing in US District Court on November 25, 2013, when Blazer pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges.

Four sections of the transcript were redacted by prosecutors, presumably to protect avenues of their investigation.

Blazer, in admitting 10 counts of illegal conduct, told the court of his actions surrounding the vote that made South Africa the first nation on that continent to host soccer’s premier event.

“Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup,” Blazer told US District Judge Raymond J. Dearie.

Blazer was the No. 2 official of soccer’s North and Central American and Caribbean region from 1990 to 2011 and served on Fifa’s executive committee from 1997 to 2013.

South Africa defeated Morocco 14-10 in the host vote.

South African Football Association President Molefi Oliphant sent a letter to Fifa Secretary-General Jerome Valcke in 2008 asking Fifa to withhold $10 million from the budget of the 2010 World Cup organizers and to use the money to finance a “Diaspora Legacy Programme” under the control of then Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) President Jack Warner. South Africa Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula denies the money was a bribe and says it was an “aboveboard payment” to help soccer development in Caribbean region.

Blazer also said he was involved in bribes around 1992 in the vote for the 1998 World Cup host, won by France over Morocco 12-7.

Warner was among 14 soccer officials and businessmen

named in an indictment announced last week, and those charges said a Moroccan bid representative offered a $1-million bid payment. Blazer, whose guilty plea was made public last week, said he agreed with others “to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe.”

He also admitted to corruption involving the Concacaf Gold Cup, the region’s top national team tournament which he helped launch in 1991.

“Beginning in or about 1993 and continuing through the early 2000s, I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups,” Blazer said.

While many of the allegations were made public last week, the transcript of the closed-court hearing in Brooklyn more than one-and-a-half years ago put them in the firstperson voice of Blazer, once the most powerful soccer official in the US. Blazer’s allegations have assisted an investigation by US prosecutors, who foresee additional people being charged.

Lawyers on both sides agreed at the time to keep the proceedings from public view to protect the ongoing investigation.

Dearie said prosecutors “identify Fifa and its attendant or related constituent organization as what we call an enterprise, a RICO, enterprise.”

“RICO is an acronym for, and don’t overreact to this as I am sure most people do, Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization,” the judge said.

Fifa President Sepp Blatter, who has run the governing body since 1998, said on Tuesday he will be resigning, an announcement made six days after the indictments were unsealed and four days after he was elected to a fifth term. A new president will be chosen by Fifa’s 209 member-nations and territories, likely between December and March.

Now 70, Blazer was in a wheelchair at the hearing, according to Dearie. Blazer told the court he had received chemotherapy and radiation for rectal cancer, and he also suffered from diabetes and coronary artery disease. AP

FIXING FIFA B K B

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Los Angeles Times

OW that Sepp Blatter has announced he is stepping down as president of International Football Federation (Fifa), the process of fixing world soccer’s governing body can finally begin.

But it won’t be easy.

The removal of one man, even if he is the president, is just the first step in a difficult process of fixing an organization as complex as Fifa, which is made up of 209 member-federations, from political powerhouses such as China and the US to tiny Anguilla and the Cook Islands, whose combined populations wouldn’t fill Dodger Stadium.

When the Department of Justice unsealed its 47-count indictment against nine current and former high-ranking Fifa officials last week, alleging crimes, including wire fraud, racketeering, money laundering and bribery, it offered more than just a rare peek inside the organization. The scope of the allegations of corruption and secrecy also showed how truly reforming the organization may prove to be a Sisyphean task.

If it is serious about polishing its image and building some credibility, however, there are several steps Fifa can take immediately.

First, the organization must become completely transparent. That means no more back-room deals like the ones that awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar, two countries that may

not have won those bids in a more open voting process.

One quick and easy way to prove it is serious about that would be to release the detailed report prepared by Michael Garcia, former US attorney for the Southern District of New York, on the awarding of those two World Cups, a report that Blatter quashed last fall.

A new commitment to openness should also include a requirement that the closely held organization release its annual financial statements to the public. That would make the $10-million bribes alleged by the Justice Department in its indictments much more difficult to hide. And it would drive out officials whose first interest appeared to be not the sport but their personal interests.

It must find a new president who can both reform and unite Fifa once Blatter, who is now the focus of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has retired as president. High on that list is Jordan Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, a Fifa vice president and the only man to challenge Blatter in last week’s elections.

At 39, Prince Ali would be the youngest Fifa leader in more than a century—an appealing trait given the fact that soccer’s fan base skews younger than those of many other sports. And with his country straddling the developing and developed worlds, Prince Ali’s candidacy would likely appeal to voters in both places.

Finally, the new Fifa needs a dramatic gesture beyond Blatter’s departure to show it means business. With the 2018 World Cup just three years away, it’s probably too late to move that event out of Russia. Besides, there is little to be gained by picking a fight with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has already labeled the

Justice Department’s case against Fifa part of a US imperialist attack on his country.

The 2022 World Cup is a different story, though.

Awarding the tournament to Qatar has already proved an embarrassment to Fifa, with international humanrights groups claiming foreign workers brought to the country to build World Cup venues are being held in slave-like conditions. And the oppressive summer heat in the Middle Eastern monarchy has forced organizers to move the event from the summer to late fall for the first time in World Cup history.

So if the release of the Garcia report and ongoing probes by US and Swiss authorities provide damning evidence of irregularities in Qatar’s World Cup bid, Fifa should not hesitate to redo the vote.

But though any attempt at reforming Fifa will require a thorough housecleaning, it should be done carefully and with the understanding that the norms and customs are not the same throughout the organization’s member-nations.

For example, bribes and kickbacks—albeit on a much smaller scale then those alleged in the indictments— are not only acceptable business practices in many developing countries, but have become absolutely essential to funding soccer there.

So although the departure of Blatter alone won’t cure Fifa, it does make change possible.

“This is the first of many steps towards real and meaningful reform within Fifa,” Sunil Gulati, president of US Soccer, said in a statement. “Today is an occasion for optimism and belief for everyone who shares a passion for our game.”

AUSSIE POLICE TO INVESTIGATE FAILED BID A

USTRALIAN police said on Thursday they are investigating corruption claims surrounding Australia’s failed bid for the 2022 World Cup, and they involve former International Football Federation (Fifa) Vice President Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago.

Sen. Nick Xenophon was among those who asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate the claims after Football Federation Australia Chairman Frank Lowy defended his group’s payment of A$500,000 to the Concacaf regional football federation in North America, an amount Lowy said Wednesday was “misappropriated” by then Concacaf president Warner.

Warner was among 14 key football figures charged with corruption by US authorities last week.

Australia spent about $40 million attempting to win hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup, but received just one vote when Qatar secured the rights in December 2010.

“We ran a clean bid,” Lowy said in an open letter on Wednesday following the announced resignation of Fifa President Sepp Blatter. “I know that others did not, and I have shared what I know with the authorities, including Michael Garcia who undertook a two-year investigation into the 2022 World Cup bid.”

He defended the A$500,000 payment made by Australia to Concacaf during the bidding process, ostensibly for funding of a feasibility study into a Centre of Excellence in Trinidad and Tobago.

Lowy said subsequent inquiries “found Jack Warner

had committed fraud and misappropriated the funds” and said Australia only agreed to a smaller payment rather than the $4 million that was requested.

“We asked Concacaf to give our money back because it wasn’t used for the purpose we intended, and were advised by Fifa to wait until the inquiries were complete,” Lowy said. “Those inquiries are still ongoing.”

On Wednesday in Marabella, Trinidad, Warner made a televised address saying he will prove a link between Fifa and his nation’s elections in 2010.

“I will no longer keep secrets for them who actively seek to destroy the country,” Warner said. “The die is cast. There can be no turning back. Let the chips fall where they fall.” AP

SPORTS

ON “KARAMBOLA Z” SA DWIZ” “Kung Kung sa huli ay magkahiwalay ng landas sa pulitika ang tatay ko at si Sen. Grace Poe ay wala po kaming magagawa, iginagalang namin ng buong puso ang kanyang pasya.”

—Makati Rep. Abigail Binay

HE European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) fears that its efforts to attract investors into the country, especially those that are about to leave China for another production hub in the region, would just be put to waste if the needed tax-reform measures are not passed on time.

ECCP President Michael Raeuber said that, if the needed reforms are not instituted on time, the Philippines would just continue losing investors to Vietnam.

“We have to bring the Philippines forward. The government now has limited time to approve economic legislation and institute reforms. If we do not address the issue now, companies will be going to Vietnam and not here,” Raeuber said in a statement.

He particularly mentioned the

FIXING FIFA Sports

SEPP BLATTER’S departure won’t cure the International Football Federation but it does make change possible. AP

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need to adjust the tax brackets for both corporations and individuals, which is the objective of some bills currently pending in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“The ECCP has been encouraging European businesses to invest in the Philippines. We are also working closely with Philippine exporters not just to Europe but to other countries. There is a need to see some action,” Raeuber said.

S “FDI,” A

Low yield forces SRA to cut sugar exports B A S. D Correspondent

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HE Philippines has decided to temporarily stop the shipment of sugar to the US and other countries in its bid to secure domestic supply, as local sugarcane production falls below target.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) made the decision after it adjusted its sugarcane production forecast for crop year 2014-2015 downward due to the dry spell caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 44.6570

BAUTISTA-MARTIN: “We have about 70,000 metric tons of sugar, which have been reallocated for domestic use. We need to make sure that there will be enough sugar in the domestic market.”

“I had informed the US Department of Agriculture of our intention to ship only a little over half of [our allocation] to support domestic demand,” SRA Administrator S “S ,” A

SOLAR POWER

Helen Tong (from left), Prompech /GreenHeat COO; Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad; Palace Deputy Spokesman Abigail Valte; Executive Director Jose Tomas Syquia; and Glen Tong, Propmech director, stand on a solar rooftop during the PS-PhilGEPS launch and ceremonial switch-on of the 51.3-kilowatt-peak grid-tied photovoltaic power plant in Paco, Manila. Story on B2. ROY DOMINGO

US economy grew in April-May

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HE US economy expanded in the past two months, even as manufacturers in some regions took a hit from a stronger dollar and a slowdown in energy-related investment, a Federal Reserve (the Fed) report showed.

Four of 12 Fed districts reported “moderate” growth, and three others described the expansion as “modest,” according to the Beige Book, released

on Wednesday in Washington, which is based on reports gathered from early April to late May by regional Fed banks.

Elsewhere, the pace of growth varied from “mixed” to “slight.” Growth slowed in the Dallas Fed district.

The report offers central bank officials, who next meet on June 16 and 17, anecdotal evidence about the state of the economy as they

consider when to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.

Figures released on May 29 showed the economy shrank in the first quarter amid harsh winter weather, a strong dollar and delays at ports.

Fed Chairman Janet Yellen on May 22 said she expects to raise rates this year if the economy meets her forecasts for a rebound.

S “US ,” A

■ JAPAN 0.3594 ■ UK 68.5038 ■ HK 5.7603 ■ CHINA 7.2055 ■ SINGAPORE 33.2616 ■ AUSTRALIA 34.8692 ■ EU 50.3374 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 11.9085 Source: BSP (4 June 2015)

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Friday, June 5, 2015

Sugar exports. . .

Opec. . .

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Ma. Regina Bautista-Martin said in a text message.

The SRA said the Philippines had been able to export half of the 136,201 metric tons (MT) allocated by the US under the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) scheme. The US is the country’s top buyer of sugar.

To further prop up the domestic supply of sugar, the SRA also issued Sugar Order 1-B, which allowed the reclassification of the remaining “D” sugar or those to be exported to other markets to “B” sugar for domestic consumption.

“We have about 70,000 MT of sugar which have been reallocated for domestic use. We need to make sure that there will be enough sugar in the domestic market,” BautistaMartin said.

“We are not yet closing our doors [on sugar exports]. The [US] understands our situation and they said this will not affect our future quotas,” she added.

In September Washington allowed the Philippines to ship 142,160 MT raw value, or 136,201 MT to the US under the TRQ scheme. The TRQ allows countries to export specified quantities of a product to the US at a relatively low tariff. The US trade representative said the allocation given to the Philippines was based on its historical shipments to the US. The dry spell caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon forced the SRA to adjust production figures downward. As of June 1 this year, the country’s total raw sugar production for crop year 2014-2015 is now estimated at 2.31 million MT (MMT), lower than the initial projection of 2.5 MMT.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

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barrel, any decline in Opec output will be quickly filled by outside players including US shale oil producers, who have cut back as prices have fallen but are ready to ramp up their share should they rise.

Faced with that option, Opec will likely opt to keep its target at 30 million barrels a day.

“A surprise cut in the output target would send the price of oil higher yet and thus, increase the appeal of US shale oil production again,” said a Kommerzbank research note forecasting a rollover of the present output target. Energy Aspects of London says “an Opec policy of no change is

Automakers. . .

EAGLE WEEK Manila Ocean Park Executive Vice President for Attractions Francis Low shows a Brahminy kite at the park on Wednesday in celebration of the Philippine Eagle Week. The kite is primarily a scavenger, feeding mainly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland, but occasionally hunts live prey, such as hares and bats. KEVIN DE LA CRUZ

US economy. . .

Gov. Lael Brainard, in a speech thatsuggested she was open to delaying a rate increase, this week said recent soft data cast doubt on the economy’s strength.

“Manufacturing was mostly flat to up over the reporting period, except for in the Dallas district where it was steady to slightly weaker and in the Kansas City district where it declined sharply,” according to the Beige Book.

A stronger dollar crimped industries, including steel, with Fed banks in Boston, Cleveland, Chicago,

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Minneapolis and Dallas, “noting its negative impact on export sales or capital investment in segments with significant overseas exposure.”

Lower oil prices are taking a toll on the economy, the Beige Book showed: “The downturn in the oil and gas industry tempered manufacturing growth in over half the districts, particularly for industries dependent on the energy sector.”

Employment was “up slightly across districts,” while “slight growth in wages was reported by most districts.”

Saint Louis Fed President James Bullard, who has argued the central bank should be getting ready to raise rates, said the recent string of soft readings from the economy gave him pause.

“The data has been weaker and I think that the markets have appropriately moved back the likely date of policy firming,” he told reporters during a conference at his bank.

Investors currently expect the Fed to move in December, according to bets placed in interest rate futures markets. Bloomberg News

for TMPC’s supplier network.

Mitsubishi Motors Phi l ip pines Corp. (MMPC) President Yoshiako Kato also welcomed the program. In a statement, he said “with CARS, MMPC is looking forward to further contributing to the Philippine automobile industry and economy.”

EO 182 was signed by President Aquino last Friday, ending a three-

Consumer. . .

the right one.”

Opec powerhouse Saudi Arabia and their Gulf allies are set to continue all-out production—even though they, like others, are selling at a loss.

But they can afford to do so.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund stands at over $700 billion, the coffers of the other Gulf nations are also well stocked, and Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi is signaling that his country will continue pumping over 10 million barrels a day, about a third of total Opec output.

The market is moving “in the right direction,” he said upon arrival in Vienna. AP

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year wait that saw the government and private sector working together to improve the contents of the program.

The CARS Program will allocate P27 billion worth of incentives over the course of six years to support the development of three vehicle models to be approved by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Board of Investments. Catherine N. Pillas

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consumer loans decreased to 4.8 percent at end-2014, from 5.3 percent a year earlier. Universal, commercial and thrift banks also provisioned for 60.6 percent of their nonperforming consumer loans as a cushion for potential credit losses.

Also, the total consumer-loan exposure of Philippine banks, at 15.79

percent, was ranked lowest among the original five countries making up the Asean.

At end-2014, the soured loans ratio was highest in Malaysia, averaging 57.8 percent, followed by Indonesia’s at 28.3 percent, then Thailand’s at 27.8 percent and, finally, Singapore’s at 25.7 percent.

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Palace ready to meet Senate allies to save BBL

By Butch Fernandez

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ALACAÑANG remained hopeful that the final version of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) creating a new Muslim entity in Mindanao would be passed by the Senate and the House before lawmakers go on a monthlong recess next week.

Approving the BBL in the two chambers before the June 11 adjournment would obviate the need for President Aquino to call a special session to approve the controversial measure, the Palace having expressed a wish to see the BBL passed before Mr. Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), when Congress resumes sessions on July 27.

Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda could not say if the President had fixed a date to meet with Senate allies when the Chief Executive returns from Japan in a bid to save the BBL, which 12 senators found to contain unconsti-

tutional provisions. Mr. Aquino had earlier met and wooed congressmen to vote for the BBL. “We are hoping to see the BBL passed before the Sona,” Lacierda said, signa- ling the possibility President Aquino may call a special session just for the BBL between the June 11 congressional recess and the Sona at the Joint Session of Congress on July 27.

Disputing Sen. Bongbong Marcos’s comparison of the BBL to “a road to perdition,” Lacierda said, “I think, our BBL is the solution to finding lasting peace in Mindanao.”

He added: “It [BBL] is not a road to perdition; it was done in consultation with stakeholders.”

Lacierda voiced hope that administration allies in the Senate can still convince Senator Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee that reviewed the bill granting greater autonomy to Muslims in Mindanao, to endorse the original version of the BBL listed for urgent approval by Malacañang.

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Bayan urges China to stop incursions in West PHL Sea

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By Rene Acosta

HE leftist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has called on China to stop its incursions into the country’s territory and end its ongoing reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea, which the Asean said earlier has destabilized peace and security in the region.

Members of the group picketed the Chinese Consulate in Makati City on Thursday, when they asked China to halt its ongoing reclamation in at least seven reefs, and honor and

respect the country’s sovereignty.

“We are serving notice to the Chinese government that Filipinos from different walks of life are united in opposing China’s incur-

sions in Philippine waters,” Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement. “We will defend our sovereignty against the absurd claim that the entire South China, or West Philippine Sea, belongs solely to China.”

Bayan’s call was made a day after President Aquino, who is currently in Japan for a state visit, called on Beijing to promote peace and stability, rather than becoming the “destabilizing” factor through its expansive actions.

Mr. Aquino said the regional economy cannot thrive without peace and security.

China is currently reclaiming reefs in the West Philippine Sea for military use, with one of the reefs already showing an almost complete airfield.

The development activities

come with what Philippine military officials said was an enforced but undeclared Air Defense Identification Zone, wherein the Chinese military has been challenging sea and air patrols in the area.

The United States and the Philippines were not honoring the exclusion zone, saying that the reefs were into international waters and airspace.

Aside from the reclamation, China has already occupied or has declared off-limits to the Philippines the Mischief Reef and Panatag Shoal, which the government is contesting through the case that it filed against China before the United Nation.

Reyes said China’s actions were an assault to the country’s sovereignty.

Karapatan hits arrest of NDF peace consultant Peasant groups to ‘bury’ bogus

By Marvyn Benaning Correspondent

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HE human-rights watchdog Karapatan has criticized the Aquino administration for arresting Adelberto “Beer” Silva, a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF), in Bacoor, Cavite, on June 1.

“It is the latest proof that the Philippine government does not respect agreements that it has signed with the NDF, including the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees [Jasig], which protects consultants of the NDF and the Philippine government from arrest by either party,” the NDF said in a statement.

Since 2010 the GPH has been trampling upon Jasig by arresting NDF consultants and filing criminal charges against them to prevent them from consulting various sectors in more than 70 provinces in which sectoral organizations and territorial units of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army and chapters of the 17 organizations under the NDF are operating.

The GPH also unilaterally declared the termination of the peace process as the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, under Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, implements counterinsurgency measures nationwide in tandem with the military and Secretary Dinky Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government under Secretary Manuel Roxas II. The Aquino administration, in fact,

Col. Federico Lumibao Vila, 91

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ol. Federico Lumibao Vila, former commander of the 1351st Dental Clinic at the Armed Forces General Headquarters and former member of the Board of Dentistry, died at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Center in Greenhills, San Juan City, early morning of Thursday, June 4, after a lingering illness. He was 91.

Vila was also the dental surgeon of then-President Fidel V. Ramos. He was a longtime resident of Oceanside, California, USA, and Barangay Marilag in Quezon City.

He is survived by his wife Avelina Nevado-Vila; daughters Dr. Agnes VilaMata, son-in-law Jan Mata; Dr. Cecilia Vila-Magosing, son-in-law Noel Magosing; and son-in-law Jojo Ang, husband of Elizabeth Vila-Ang (+); grandchildren Derek, Iris and husband Charles, Kim, Lira and JV; and great-grandchildren.

Dr. Vila’s remains lie in state at the Premier Chapel of the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.

Interment will be announced later.

considers the The Hague Agreement signed by a previous regime as a “document of perpetual division.”

Karapatan said Silva’s arrest is “another serious violation of the signed agreements between the two parties.”

Silva, 67, is a holder of Jasig documentation of identification (DI) recognized by the Philippine government and NDF. The documentation of identification lists Silva as a consultant under the assumed name “Percival Rojo.” Silva currently serves as a consultant of the Kilusang Mayo Uno. His wife, Rosanna Cabusao, and another companion, Isidro de Lima, were also arrested by some 30 members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (CIDG-PNP).

Cabusao is a researcher and consultant of the Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center and a founding member of Gabriela.

Karapatan secretary-general said the arrest of Silva shows “how the Philippine government continues to undermine the peace process by disregarding the Jasig and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law because of the trumpedup charges filed against peace consultants.”

Silva has been slapped with a slew of trumped-up charges, including murder and frustrated and attempted murder in the courts in Aparri, Cagayan and Laoang, Northern Samar.

NDF consultants Benito Tiamzon, Wilma Austria Tiamzon and Elizabeth Principe were also slapped with the same trumped-up cases.

The Philippine government argues

that Tiamzon, Austria and Principe masterminded the killing of 15 people, whose remains were found in an upland cemetery that has been used for several decades by settlers and upland farmers.

Principe won all her cases, largely through the effort of her lawyer-son and daughter, giving the Aquino government a black-eye, since she proved she was never anywhere near the provinces where the purported killings happened.

Prior to Silva’s arrest, Karapatan documented the arrest and continuing detention of 16 NDF consultants.

There are a total of 527 political prisoners in the country today.

To justify the arrest of Silva and his companions, Karapatan said fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearm and explosives were filed against them during the inquest proceedings in Bacoor, Cavite, on June 2.

“The pieces of evidence against them were planted during the raid by the CIDG, consistent with its illegal practice to shortcut cases. This practice of arresting individuals based on planted evidence must stop,” Palabay said.

Karapatan recalled a similar pattern in the illegal arrest and detention of another NDF consultant and 12 other individuals during raids by the CIDG-PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines in Caloocan and Quezon City.

“Karapatan reiterates our call to the Philippine government to respect the Jasig, Carhrihl and all agreements with the NDF and release of all political prisoners,” Palabay argued.

Drilon ‘unhappy’ govt blamed for Q1 economic slowdown

By Recto Mercene

S

ENATE President Franklin M. Drilon on Thursday expressed disappointment that the economic slowdown in the first quarter of this year was attributed to the government’s underspending.

He said this is a wake-up call to push the bureaucracy to spend whatever the budget has allotted. “Because approximately 20 percent of our economy would depend on public spending, and if you do not need the budget, the budgets allocated and designed to move the economy, then we have problems,” Drilon said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.

He said the bureaucracy must be pushed, and the country must move forward and push for more infrastructure spending in order to boost the economy and meet its targets.

Asked whether the Aquino administration was too cautious to release huge amounts of money for fear of being charged with corruption, Drilon says he does not know the answer.

“I do not know. Whatever it is, what the fact

DRILON: “Because approximately 20 percent of our economy would depend on public spending, and if you do not need the budget, the budgets allocated and designed to move the economy, then we have problems.”

is that there is an underspending.”

“A combination of factors, including the extra care in spending money. Because if you are in the bureaucracy, you are always conscious, with the Ombudsman behind you and watching you, you have the Commission on Audit watching you, the press hounding you—all of these would cross the mind of a bureaucrat when pushing forward his programs but you know, these cannot be an excuse,” he added. “We just have to keep on pushing the bureaucracy to spend properly what is allotted to them.”

CARP, US-Aquino regime

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

A

NGELES CITY—A “funeral march” of what they call the government’s “bogus” Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and the US-Aquino Regime has been announced by peasant groups during a news conference at the Camalig Restaurant here on Thursday.

Led by the militant peasant group Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL), together with other progressive mass organizations, the group announced the holding of Sakbayan 2015, a caravan they dubbed as a funeral march.

Unlike the conduct of the previous years where peasants traveled on foot, this year’s Sakbayan will be a caravan starting on June 6 and will culminate on June 10.

Provincial caravans will also be launched on June 6 and 7, and will converge at Plaza

Miranda here on the morning of June 8 for a regional protest rally.

The peasants’ caravan will then move to Hacienda Dolores in Porac, Pampanga, for another demonstration.

The peasants’ caravan is also expected to stop at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Regional Office and other government offices before moving to the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

“Peasants from all over Central Luzon will leave their farms for a while to call for genuine land reform. The bogus CARP, the longest, most anomalous and bloodiest land reform ever enacted in Asia, has long been dead. Thus, peasants themselves will bury the CARP with the landlord regime of Aquino,” said Joseph Canlas, chairman of AMGL. The highlights of said caravan are the local struggles of the peasants of Hacienda Luisita, Hacienda Dolores and Clark Green City, where indigenous peoples are also threatened, Canlas said.

Economy

A4 Friday, June 5, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Japan, PHL discuss military exports J

apan and the Philippines are set to begin discussing exporting Japanese military hardware to the Philippines, possibly anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft and radar technology, amid increasingly assertive Chinese activity in regional seas.

An announcement on the talks is expected later on Thursday when President Aquino and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet, focusing on Beijing’s reclamation work in the South China Sea. Japanese media reports say that P-3C anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft and radar technology are possible sale items. A sale of the P-3C, originally designed by Lockeed Martin Corp. and produced in Japan

by Kawasaki Heavy Industries from 1978 to 1997, would be Japan’s first full-fledged military export since Tokyo lifted its restrictions on military exports last year.

Foreign Ministry officials have said the countries are seeking to transfer military hardware for maritime security.

Under Abe’s push to expand Japan’s international military role, Japan has signed defense cooperation agreements with a number of countries to complement its cornerstone alliance with the US, while seeking to expand its military exports and joint development.

Japan is already in discussions about exporting US-2 amphibious aircraft to India, and has joined a final selection process to compete against France and Germany to be part of Australia’s next submarine fleet.

Earlier Thursday, Japan and the Philippines signed a deal confirming the supply of 10 patrol vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard, so it can step up patrols around South China

Sea islands Manila claims and which China contests.

Manila has protested over China’s reclamation work on some of the disputed islands and its actions against Filipino air patrols and fishermen. Tokyo, meanwhile, is at odds with China over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. On his sixth visit to Japan in five years, Aquino criticized China’s assertiveness in regional seas, a concern shared by both countries as they deepen their ties.

The talks between Aquino and Abe are to focus on defense and security ties. They are expected to sign a deal confirming Japan’s provision of 10 patrol vessels to the Philippine coast guard to bolster its patrolling capability around Manila-claimed South China Sea islands.

Since both countries are US allies and share concerns over China’s maritime activity, the Philippines is extremely important to Japan, said Kenko Sone, spokesman at Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office.

Asked about a US role, Aquino said America’s presence is crucial to the region’s stability and that the international communit y should act proactively.

In a speech at a conference organized by the Nikkei business newspaper, Aquino criticized what he called China’s “unlawful territorial claim” and hinted at similarities between Beijing’s land-reclamation in the South China Sea and Nazi Ger-

President Aquino addresses the upper house of parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday. AP

many’s expansionist moves before World War II. He has drawn similar parallels in the past.

Foreign Ministry officials said on Monday Abe and Aquino were also expected to expand their defense cooperation in other areas, including the transfer of Japanese military equipment and technology to the Philippines, possibly related to maritime reconnaissance. Tokyo eased a ban on military exports last year.

In a speech to the upper house of Japan’s parliament, Aquino said that the maritime and coastal stabil-

ity in the region is “at risk of being disrupted by attempts to redraw the geographic limits and entitlements outside those clearly bestowed by the law of nations.”

He praised Tokyo’s solidarity with the Philippines in advocating the problem and said “a country that we both have had difficulties with” was responsible for the problem, without mentioning China.

Under Abe’s push to expand Japan’s international defense role, Japan has been expanding its defense cooperation with a number of countries to complement its cornerstone

Neda study shows clerical positions hard to fill

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he government estimated that around 87,850 jobs in large firms in Metro Manila were opened to applicants every quarter in 2014, according to the the 2014 Survey of Hot Jobs in large enterprises in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The survey results, released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), stated that the most job openings were observed in the fourth quarter at 98,563 vacancies.

The lowest number of vacancies, according to PSA data, was recorded in the second quarter at 76,122 job openings.

“A number of job vacancies have remained unfilled during the quarter which were eventually carried over to the succeeding quarters, particularly those which are considered hard to fill,” the PSA said.

Of the hard-to-fill jobs, clerical positions proved to be the most difficult to fill. Of these clerical occupations, that of cashiers and ticket clerks were the most difficult to fill.

Data showed that cashiers and ticket clerks accounted for the largest number of average quarterly vacancies during the year at an average of 11,239 vacancies per quarter, or 12.8 percent of the total.

Further, accounting and bookkeeping clerks took the third spot in terms of having the most job vacancies in 2014. There were an average of 4,313 job openings for this position, or 4.9 percent of the average vacancies in the quarter.

PSA data also showed customer-service representatives/ associates, which are considered clerical positions, ranked as the sixth hottest job openings last year. It had an average of 2,504 jobs, or 2.9 percent of the job openings.

Apart from these three occupations, other clerical positions include receptionists and information clerks and other office clerks.

These occupations are also part of the top 10 hottest jobs for employers in Metro Manila. There were 3,637 openings for receptionists and information clerks, and another 2,317 vacancies

for other office clerks.

In general, job openings for clerks were the most difficult vacancies to fill. There were an average of 28,150 job openings for the position, which accounted for 32 percent of the average vacancies per quarter.

Meanwhile, other occupations that were difficult to fill were salespersons and demonstrators at 4,789, or 5.5 percent, and other business professionals at 4,194, or 4.8 percent of the quarterly average.

Data also showed that the new entry on the list is that of lawyers, posting an average of 4,056, or 4.6 percent of job openings, making it the fifth hottest job in 2014.

Also in the top 10 hottest jobs in 2014 were technical and commercial sales representatives (3,995 or 4.5 percent); and protective services workers not elsewhere classified (2,117 or 2.4 percent).

“Job vacancy statistics in this report represent the ‘stock’ of vacancies at the end of each quarter and hence do not account for the ‘flow’ or total job openings in the quarter under review,” the PSA said.

The data was compiled from the results of the Labor Turnover Survey (LTS) conducted by the PSA. The report attempts to capture the quarterly trend and distribution of labor demand by type of occupations/skills in the enterprises covered in the survey.

The LTS covered 921 respondents that were drawn from the 2013 List of Enterprises prepared by the PSA. Considered as industry trend setters, firms covered in the LTS provide signals on labor demand in the formal sector of the economy.

ter for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

In Tokyo Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said he held talks with his Australian counterpart, Kevin Andrews, and they shared concerns. “We both strongly oppose the attempt to change the status quo by force, as we share grave concern about China’s reclamation work,” Nakatani told reporters.

Manila has protested over China’s stepped-up reclamation work on Philippine-claimed islands and its maneuvers against Filipino air patrols and fishermen. AP

Taipei economic office in Manila clarifies standoff

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By Cai U. Ordinario

alliance with the US. In Washington, the top US diplomat for East Asia said on Wednesday that China’s behavior in the South China Sea was posing a question about what kind of power China seeks to become.

“For China to assert its claims through large-scale land reclamation, through the deployment of paramilitary forces or military forces that its neighbors see as threatening, is inconsistent with the kind of region that you and I want to see,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told the Cen-

he Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila on Thursday issued a statement to clarify issues on the reported brief standoff between the Philippine and Taiwanese Coast Guard vessels on May 25.

The statement is read as follows: The location where the incident happened was in the disputed waters of the overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs) between Taiwan and the Philippines, not inside the Philippine territorial waters, as incorrectly reported by certain Philippine media. The exact location of the incident occurred at 21.6 nautical miles from Batanes, not within the Philippine 12-nautical mile territorial waters.

In accordance to the international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the location is part of the EEZs (contiguous zone), it is lawful for the Taiwanese fishing vessels to engage in fishing activities in the EEZs, except smuggling or drug trafficking, and it is not in conformity with the international law, for the Philippine agencies to arrest or detain the fishing vessels in the EEZs. Therefore, the Taiwanese Coast Guard is entitled to exercise its rights and to do its obligation to protect Taiwanese fishing vessels in the EEZs. In order to find out what had really happened, the Taiwanese authorities has already investigated into this incident. According to the report of the investigation and the video tape taken during the course of encounter, the two Coast Guard officers were friendly and amicable with one another, and that no Taiwanese personnel had ever threatened to shoot the Filipinos. Actually, they greeted each other in a friendly atmosphere. The allegation was simply attributable to mutual language barriers and miscommunication.

As soon as the incident happened, both

Governments and relevant agencies have worked together to promptly consulted and coordinated with each other to resolve this incident. It was after the bilateral consultations and sincere dialogue that the TFV “Ming Jin Cai 6” (Min Jiang Tsai No. 6) was released.

The Taiwanese government is fully supportive of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs’s (DFA) position. As the spokesman of the DFA, Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, said in a text message: “The incident highlights the need for an early conclusion of the Agreement [Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation and Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters between the Manila Economic and Cultural Office and Teco] that would formalize how to resolve fishing disputes, including procedures on the detention and release of any fishing vessels or fisherman, so as to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.”

In line with the above position, the Teco hereby appeals to the Philippine government to take concrete actions to expedite the conclusion of the abovementioned agreement, to restrain from apprehending or arresting the Taiwanese fishing vessels in the disputed waters of the overlapping EEZs or in the Philippine contiguous zones (part of the EEZs) in contravention of the international law, and working together with Taiwan, ROC to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.

The Taiwan authorities earnestly believe that with the conclusion of the said Agreement, there will be a mechanism, namely, the Joint Technical Working Group comprises the officials and officers from both sides to discuss the disputes and the procedure of law enforcement in a peaceful and mutually agreeable manner.

Economy BusinessMirror

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Disputed Spratlys now a tour destination

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ietnam is inviting tourists to the front lines in its tense dispute with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, organizing the country’s first tour of the contested Spratly Islands this month.

The six-day tour, which will include visits to two above-water islands and two submerged islands and a national flag-raising ceremony, is planned weeks after a US surveillance plane was warned by the Chinese navy to stop patrolling near reefs China claims in the Spratlys area. China, which claims about 80 percent of the sea based on a ninedash line drawn on a 1940s map, has clashed with Vietnam and the Philippines over the territory.

The Vietnamese trip to the Spratlys risks inflaming frictions, as the US seeks to challenge China’s increasing regional assertiveness while asking all territorial claimants to stop land-reclamation activities of building artificial islands.

“The use of tourism to bolster the legitimacy of claims is not new,” Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, said by phone. “But in the context of the current increasing tensions between the US and China over the Spratly Islands, it is not helpful to have a new round of tit-for-tat introduced into the dynamics.”

Vietnam has 48 outposts in the Spratlys, while the Philippines and China each have eight, US Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear said during a May 13 US Senate hearing. Malaysia has five and Taiwan one, he said.

Friday, June 5, 2015 A5

MPIC has enough money to fund P62.72-B Calax

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

ONGLOMERATE Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) will finance the construction of the P62.72-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calac) solely by internal funds, a senior company official said.

Metro Pacific CFO David J. Nicol told the BusinessMirror that the company has no plans on tapping the debt market to help bankroll the largest public-private partnership (PPP) project that his group has won without a partner.

“It will be funded from internal resources and project finance so per se no capital raising needed for it,” he said in a text message. “We are not raising any more capital this year.”

The infrastructure giant also plans to start constructing the toll

road in two years’ time. This, however, depends on how fast the government delivers the easement.

“We could probably start around 2017, depending on the governor getting rights of way,” Nicol noted.

Metro Pacific’s MPCALA Holdings Inc. topped the rebidding for the multibillion-peso deal with a P27.3-billion premium bid, edging out the P22.2-billion premium offered by San Miguel Corp.’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc. The premium offer made by Metro Pacific is the highest single premium that the government has received from a public tender thus far.

It was the second time that the government tendered the deal.

The first one, although successful, was called out to be void by

President Aquino himself.

The rebidding—criticized by business groups, both foreign and local —was launched to accommodate the petition of Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc., which allegedly offered P20.1 billion in premium payment to the government.

Team Orion of Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. topped the original auction with an P11.33billion offer on top of the project cost. Metro Pacific trailed behind by a hairline difference.

Mr. Aquino, who is the uncle of San Miguel chairman, decided to cancel the results of the initial auction, so the government could generate higher revenues from the bidding. This was tagged by businessmen as a money-milking initia-

tive that ultimately places ordinary commuters at the losing end.

Calax is a 47-kilometer thoroughfare that will link the ManilaCavite Toll Expressway and the South Luzon Expressway aimed at enhancing trade and socioeconomic activities in the region.

The private partner will take on the financing, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of the entire four-lane toll road.

The project will also include the construction of centralized toll plazas, a toll-collection system, viaducts and bridges. The road should be operational by 2019, based on an indicative timeline.

The government has awarded nine contracts since the infrastructure program’s inception in 2010.

50 foreign brands to seek local franchisees at FAPHL 2015

‘National pride’

Saigon Tourist Corp., a government-owned company, promises the 757-nautical-mile “journey to Spratlys” will “arouse national pride and citizen consciousness of the sacred sovereignty of the country,” according to a posting on the Ho Chi Minh City government’s web site.

“Guests will attend the national flag-raising ceremony, commemorate the heroic martyrs, visit a pagoda, get on the lighthouse for a panoramic view of the island, explore the daily life of citizens and troops on the island,” the posting says.

Saigon Tourist’s executives were not immediately available for comment, a company spokesman said by phone.

Chinese travel agencies have been running cruises to Woody Island in the South China Sea since late-2012, when the Chinese government established a new city called Sansha to administer disputed islands in the Spratlys and Paracels chains.

Fishing ban

China placed an oil rig in May near the Paracel islands that are also claimed by Vietnam, triggering a diplomatic row and violent antiChina protests in its Southeast Asian neighbor. Fishing boats from Vietnam have repeatedly clashed with Chinese marine police, which accuse the Vietnamese of being in China’s territory without permission. Vietnam contests a fishing ban issued by China in parts of the South China Sea between May 16 and August 1.

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on May 30 called for an “immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant,” and said the US would continue its patrols.

The tourist trip to the Spratlys, while a low level of territorial provocation, nonetheless puts “civilians in the line of fire” by increasing the chances of some sort of sea clash between Vietnam and China, Graham said.

“I’m not sure the US would necessarily be supportive given that it is currently urging restraint by all claimants on reclamations and other activities,” he said. Bloomberg News

Philippine Franchise Association officials (from left) Vicente Gregorio, Dr. Alan Escalana, Franklin Go, Samie Lim, Bing Sibal-Limjoco and Jose Magsaysay Jr. announce the staging of the Franchise Asia Philippines 2015 at the SMX Convention Center next week. NONIE REYES

By Catherine N. Pillas

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T least 50 international brands will be seeking local partners at the 2015 edition of the Philippine Franchise Asia (PFA)-organized Franchise Asia Philippines (FAPHL) exposition and conference.

According to the country’s official franchising industry group, brands from the US, Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia will be exhibiting at the FAPHL

next week, in a bid to find master franchisees in the Philippines.

The foreign exhibitors include: Just Cuts, 9 Round Fitness, Bennigan’s, Buca di Beppo, Earl of Sandwich, Fast Signs, Jani-Pro, Joe’s Crab Shack, Jump Bunch, Millenium Dance, Park Lane Jewelry, Renue, Snap Fitness,Zambrero, Glides, Pezzo, Bizlink and Tino’s Pizza.

Aside from the 50 international exhibitors, over 400 local brands will also also seek potential partners for their expansion plans via

the franchising route at the weeklong franchising event at the SMX Convention Center.

PFA Chairman Emeritus Samie Lim said such interest from foreign brands signal the country's potential as a major growth area for franchising in the region.

The industry is slated to grow 20 percent to 30 percent in the next two years in terms of number of franchises, especially with the 2016 election seen to bolster spending.

Several local brands, mean-

while, are also on the cusp of growth as it was announced that BlueWater Day Spa, Oryspa, Karimadon and Broadway Gems will go international this year.

Other brands, on the other hand, are on the expansion path.

Vicente Gregorio, COO of International Food Family Services that owns the Shakey’s brand, said they will be expanding to Oceania and the Middle East.

There are 260 shakey’s stores worldwide, 70 percent of them is

located in the Philippines Potato Corner, owned by Jose P. Magsaysay Jr., also the FAPHL Expo Committee chairman, is also looking to expand this year to Mexico, China, Thailand and Singapore.

The brand already has 550 stores, 90 of them are located abroad. Ten more are scheduled to open in international sites this year, while 60 are planned for the Philippines.

The FAPHL will run from June 10 to 14 at the SMX Convention Center.

Meralco’s generation charge seen to go down this month

By Lenie Lectura

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he generation-charge component of Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) bill is expected to go down this month by as much as P0.20 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) despite a spike in the spot market last month.

Meralco Vice President and Utility Economics Head Larry Fernandez, in a text message, said the reduction in generation charge, which is the biggest component of a power bill, could be brought about by “reductions in IPP [independent power producer] and PSA [power sale agreement] rates.”

“We can confirm that charges from the WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] did go up. However, there is a strong possibility that reductions in IPP and PSA rates can more than offset the WESM increase,” Fernandez said.

Final rates will be announced on Monday, he added. Preliminary information from suppliers, however, “point to a potential reduction in the

generation charge of P0.15 to P0.20 per kWh,” the Meralco official said.

Meralco sources about 3 percent of its power requirement from the WESM, which serves as the trading floor for buyers and sellers of electricity.

Last month the share of IPPs, PSAs and WESM in Meralco’s total power requirements stood at 47 percent, 43 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Aside from the WESM, Meralco sources power via PSAs and IPPs to mitigate its exposure to the WESM. Meralco had obser ved that WESM prices since May 11 have, at times, been approaching P30 per kWh. In contrast, spot market prices seldom exceeded P5 per kWh from the previous week.

The spike in WESM prices was due to the Malampaya natural-gas constriction that went on for a week since May 10.

The Malampaya facility accounts for 40 percent of the Luzon grid’s requirements. It supplies natural gas to

Kepco Philippines’s 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan combined cycle plant and to the 1,000-MW Sta. Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo natural-gas plants of First Gas, a subsidiary of the Lopezes' First Gen Corp.

Power plants that went on unscheduled shutdown also contributed to the spike in WESM prices.

“WESM prices started going up during the Malampaya constriction, but the elevated levels persisted, as several power-generation units experienced troubles that led to outages or de-ratings,” Fernandez said.

For instance, a unit of the Pagbilao coal-fired power plant went off-line on May 15. The 382-MW Pagbilao 1 was put on emergency shutdown due to suspected boiler tube leak.

The Pagbilao power station is a 735MW coal-fired thermal power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon. It is operated

by Team Energy Corp.

One unit of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp.’s coal power plant in Batangas and another unit of Pa-

nasia Energy Holding’s Limay power plant in Bataan also went offline for unknown reasons.

Still, power supply remained normal in Luzon, despite these unfortunate incidents. There has been no declaration by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) of any yellow alert, which means that contingency reserves are below the minimum level set by the regulator but does not necessarily mean power outages or blackouts are expected.

A yellow alert could turn red and power outages would occur when reserves fall.

The ideal buffer is at least 647 MW. When power reserves dwindle and fall below 647 MW, which is the largest running power generating unit, a yellow alert is issued by the NGCP. The other day, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved Meralco’s application to collect form its customers the so-called under recoveries totaling to P2.48 billion.

An amount of P0.0418 per kWh

will be collected form its customers every month until such time that the full amount has been collected.

“On under recoveries, they represent pass-through costs, mostly from around 2011, that Meralco had advanced or paid for, which the regulator is now allowing Meralco to collect via installment from customers. The recovery will be incorporated in the various passthrough rate components such as generation, transmission, system loss, etc…beginning this June bill,” Fernandez added.

Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldariaga said even with the P0.0418 increase, the generation charge will still be lower for this month.

“We have yet to finalize our computation but it seems that June rates will still be lower, even with the under recovery that will be collected starting this month,” he said.

Meralco said the under recoveries were supposed to be collected in the January to December 2011 and November to January 2004 bills.

A6 Friday, June 5, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

06052015

Is Japanese investment for real?

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nce again, we are hearing about all the Japanese foreign direct investment that is going to come to the Philippines. Certainly, a part of this is because of President Aquino’s trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. But a search through the past shows this is a reoccurring story.

From March 7, 2012, and the Associated Press newswire: “Philippine officials claim that foreign biz barons are looking to relocate to the small Southeast Asian nation. Philippine Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo reported ‘very strong interest’ from Japanese electronics, shipbuilding and steel companies, and more investor fact-finding missions from foreign firms than ever before.”

There is substantial Japanese investment in the Philippines, with two Japanese suppliers of aircraft interiors and components recently investing P106 million in the Clark Freeport to expand their operations. Further, Japanese bicycle manufacturer Shimano Inc. has just opened its P1.32-billion facility in Batangas, creating perhaps 1,000 new jobs. This is its 40th factory. The Philippines was not on the top of its list before.

However, we must be sensible. Apple products manufacturer Taiwanese firm Foxconn has been talking about moving some of its operations out of China because of increasing wages. While not a Japanese firm, the excuses of highlabor costs are cited as the same reason as for the Japanese companies. Yet, Foxconn has been talking about this for years with little if any movement. In fact, last year we were told Foxconn was coming to the Philippines.

Except, Foxconn is telling the Indians the same thing. Last week Indian Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government has been discussing with Foxconn the possibility of setting up such a facility in India’s state of Maharashtra.

Nobuo Fuiji, head of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc., was reported to have said in May that, in the next five years, they will transfer all their 200 manufacturing companies in China to the Philippines.

While we do not doubt Mr. Fuiji’s sincerity and truthfulness, he also said in April, “Changing the current incentive scheme may curtail the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Philippines, as well as deter prospective Japanese investments in the Philippines. If the incentive situation is changed, some Japanese companies may think, ‘This is a setback and we don’t want to invest in the Philippines.’”

Japan’s investment position might best be summarized by this: “China’s politics and rising wages are killing us, and we love the Philippines. But, if we can get a better deal somewhere else—including China—sayonara, pare.”

While we must encourage and welcome Japanese investment, we should also temper our excitement, and let things progress in a business-reality manner.

Numbers James Jimenez

H

spox

ere are a few numbers for you to think about.

Eleven: The number of years the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been capturing the biometrics of voters.

The biometrics project of the Comelec began in 2004, when all new registrants were required to undergo biometrics capturing. At that time, however, having biometrics in the Comelec’s database of registered voters was not required by law. Nevertheless, the Comelec pushed through with the project year after year, in anticipation of the passage of the law making biometrics mandatory for voting. As a result, when the mandatory biometrics law—Republic Act 10367— was finally enacted, there were only 9.6 million registered voters who didn’t yet have biometrics in the Comelec database, out of approximately 50 million.

On the 6th of May 2014, the voter registration period for the 2016 national and local elections kicked off, with the mandate to get 9.6 million registered voters validated, to avoid their disfranchisement in 2016. By January 2015, the figure had shrunk to 4.7 million, owing both to the de-activation of voters who failed to vote twice and, in large part, to the massive and continuous media coverage given to the

problem. By April, the number of affected voters had been reduced to approximately 4 million. And that’s another number for you to consider. n Four million: The number of people who are running the risk of being turned away from the polling places on Election Day 2016.

These are the people who don’t have their biometrics in the Comelec’s database of registered voters. It won’t matter if they’ve been voting regularly up to this point, if they don’t submit themselves for biometrics capturing by the end of the registration period, they will not be allowed to vote.

Other numbers. n Five-and-a-half million: The approximate number of voter-identification cards—voter IDs—that are currently lying unclaimed in various Comelec offices nationwide. It’s a cumulative value, representing years of voter ID production and delivery.

While this is a surprising figure for some, it is hardly a comfort for those

who aren’t included in that 5.5 million.

In part, the problem lies with expectations. Many people expect that they ought to receive their IDs immediately after they turn in their applications for registration as a voter. In reality, things work a little differently. n One to Ninety: The number of days before an individual application for registration as a voter gets evaluated for possible approval or denial.

Contrary to the common notion, a person does not become a registered voter when he submits his application for registration as a voter. His application must first be evaluated and ruled on by the Election Registration Board (ERB)—a body that meets only once every quarter.

Until the person’s application has been favorably acted on by the ERB, the various processes that will produce a voter ID for that person won’t even start. Assuming that the application successfully hurdles the ERB, the data from that application—together with the data from the hundreds of thousands of other applications from all over the country—are transmitted to the Central Office of the Comelec, where all IDs are printed. This part of the process also takes time, typically more than a month. n One hundred eighty: The number of days, approximately, it takes to process 1.8 million biometric data records through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

When the data arrive at the Central Comelec, they are then uploaded to the Comelec’s servers and run through the AFIS, which compares every single ap-

plicant’s biometrics data against all the biometric data already in the database, to ensure that there are no duplicates.

Duplicate records—as when there is one set of fingerprints associated with two individuals with different names, for instance—are red flags that indicate the presence of a multiple registrant who, in the future, might become a flying voter.

Considering that there are more than 50 million biometric records in the database, this is a time-consuming monster of a process. By this time, the person will have already been waiting for his voter ID for close to a year. And yet, the actual—physical—printing of the ID itself hasn’t even begun. n One hundred eighty: The number of days it takes to print 1.8 million voter IDs. After being run through the AFIS, the data from which the voter IDs will be printed are finally generated and only then can actual batch printing commence. Batch printing means that voter IDs are printed and, ultimately, released in batches to various election offices throughout the country. Once the election officers have the voter IDs in their possession, they post a list of available IDs on the bulletin boards, with copies given to barangays in the area.

And, finally, one hundred forty-eight: that’s the number of days before the close of the registration and validation period on the 31st of October 2015.

James Arthur B. Jimenez is director of the Commission on Elections’s education and information department.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, June 5, 2015

A7

Making sense of the first Postscript to the Anthropology of the Elderly quarter 2015 GDP results Tito Genova Valiente

Riz L. Jao

EAGLE WATCH

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ast week the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) shocked the business and economic community by announcing that the Philippine economy grew “just” 5.15 percent in the first quarter. Within hours, news outlets, stock trading web sites and social-media sites were teeming with disappointment with the economy’s lackluster showing. As a result, over the next two days, the benchmark index experienced one of the worst two-day periods so far this year, shedding 220 points (2.85 percent) before recovering some of its lost ground, but still ultimately ending the week down 230 points from where it started.

All this begs the question, “What caused the relatively poor first quarter showing?”

From the expenditure-side, Consumption and Government Purchases remained robust contributing 3.70 percent and 0.52 percent of the aggregate 5.15 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth, respectively.

Both figures were near or surpassed their two-year average contributions. What proved disappointing were the other two components of demand, namely, Investment and Net Exports.

Investment contributed just 2.60 percent to overall growth— almost 20 percent below its average showing in the last two years. This shortfall can be explained primarily by the poor results recorded in Construction (0.47 percent contribution), and Inventory Investment (0.33 percent). Furthermore, the slowdown in the former can be traced to a large drop in Public Construction (down 24.59 percent) during the first three months of the year. On the other hand, while Inventory Investments were below the average levels we’ve seen this past two years, they actually signal a reversal from the Inventory Disinvestment recorded in the third and fourth quarters of last year. This suggests that businesses’ remain optimistic as they begin anew to stockpile inventory to meet higher expected demand in the future.

On the international side, Net Exports were hit hard by a sudden drop in exports, which contributed just 0.48 percent of aggregate growth versus its average showing of 2.59 percent. Along with a milder drop in imports growth, which, however, still managed to record a respectable 4.57-percent increase (31.61 percent below its average) during the period.

Sadly the decline in imports wasn’t enough to stave off the drag in economic growth caused by the large drop in exports.

While both exports of goods and services fell during the period, the former accounted for the lion’s share of the decline. This can be traced back to weak agricultural exports showing—specifically, in bananas (down 64.10 percent from last year) and sugar (down 78.32 percent). These two more than offset the good results posted by coconut oil exports (up 69.28 percent from last year) and pineapples (up 45.42 percent).

Fishery products also accounted for a relatively large chunk of the drop in exports, recording a decline of 49.11 percent in the first quarter with tuna exports accounting for most of that sector’s lackluster foreign performance (down 49.97 percent).

Not everything was bad news, however, exports of electronic com-

“With the renewed commitment to accelerate public spending [especially public construction projects], coupled with an optimistic business environment that leads to and further encourages high levels of consumption, we are hopeful the targeted 6.5-percent to 7.5percent growth rate this 2015 can still be achieved.” ponents remained robust in the first quarter of the year recording an 8.71-percent growth rate, with semiconductors leading the charge (up 13.85 percent). This more than offset the 44.68-percent and 8.31percent contractions in Control Instrumentations and Electronic Data Processing, respectively. When everything else is said and done, we remain upbeat on the prospects of a continued strong performance in electronic exports.

Other bright spots in the external sector include: apparel (which contributed 0.44 percent to aggregate growth) and cathodes (0.47 percent).

So, putting everything together, “What does this mean for economic growth in the coming quarters?”

While it’s near impossible to say for sure whether exports will shift onto a higher gear in the next few months—as this will depend not just on a favorable external environment (the demand side of the equation) but also on beneficial supply-side factors e.g., good weather for our agricultural exports. If global first quarter results are anything to go by, it would probably be best to look beyond a sizeable increase in exports as the factor that will catapult us back onto the 7-percent to 8-percent band of economic growth.

Instead, we must look to our own shores. And, thankfully, things are clearer on the domestic front. With the renewed commitment to accelerate public spending (especially public construction projects), coupled with an optimistic business environment that leads to and further encourages high levels of consumption, we are hopeful the targeted 6.5-percent to 7.5-percent growth rate this 2015 can still be achieved. Come yearend, we can be confident that we’ll look back at last week’s media release as nothing more than a blip in our quest toward high and sustainable economic growth.

Riz L. Jao is a research associate of Eagle Watch, the macreoconomic and forecasting unit of the Ateneo de Manila University Department of Economics and Center for Economic Research and Development

annotations

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his must be the first time I have done, for lack of a better thing, a postscript to an article.

I never thought that a highly personal essay would merit a lot of attention from friends and associates who are also writers.

Ian Rosales Casocot, a heralded writer from Silliman University shared the piece on Facebook and called it “a good read.”

Marne Kilates, great poet and good friend—the modifiers can be interchangeable—wrote: “What an article! Maintaining such distance with such a close subject. And yes, old prayers are poetry. Hail Holy Queen is a favorite from childhood. I still recite it to myself both to remind me of its beauty and to calm me down in not-so-comfortable moments.”

To many, the article, which is about my daily routine with my mother recovering from a bad fall, is about parents and children. Rose Kawashima, who was an intrepid coresearcher in my many researches in the 1990s on the Japayuki phenomenon and the Filipino-Japanese intermarriages in Japan, confided how she missed her own mother and father after reading the article. She closed her message, alluding perhaps, to my mother’s short-term memory loss, by praying that she may never in the future forget those persons she loved and those

who, in turn, loved her.

Two themes—here I am in my avowed detachment—arose out of the messages the essay earned that week: The problem of the elderly in our country and the popularity of the old prayer, “Hail Holy Queen.” Doods Santos, critic, scholar, and advocate of clean rivers told me we have the same favorite prayer and promised that night that she will say the prayer for me and my mother. A friend commented that the prayer, Hail Holy Queen was really used to clam down people who are in distress or in pain.

I remember “Hail Holy Queen” in the form of the song, Salve Regina.

The entire high school population in the old Jesuit school practiced the song as soon as classes began in June.

We would sing it in September, making the rehearsal a full three months of chanting every morning till the song was embedded in our body and soul.

In the dark history of the Catholic

church, the “Salve Regina,” it is written, was used by the crusades. It is not clear whether the military campaigners sang the Marian anthem when they marched to conquer the holy places around Jerusalem. What is clear is that the prayer became very significant for the Church.

I am not a good son—To this line readers reacted. This was not a touchy feely statement but rather an act of faith, because in the face of aging and attending to the need of an aging parent, we are never good sons—or daughters. There were strong advice from friends from who I have not heard from, former classmates of a brother long gone.

Hug your mom, embrace her always— We can learn to be caregivers, a vacuous concept against the care that those receiving it may never remember or recognize.

Culture in the end helps me out.

Not the culture lived but that studied, bracketed. Lately, Mama hears someone scratching the wall. I try to help her deny the sounds. I am always ready, however, to identify those disturbances as the work of the Devil attempting to disturb her from her prayers and sleep. Then she will believe me.

The real evil, however, is not in the disturbed rooms of our aging mothers and fathers but in a society that has not thought out structures to help them. A great part of this society is about us unable to cope with the distresses of memory loss, weakening of the body, of senility

Great women of Asean unite!

Chit U. Juan

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Women Stepping UP

es, we made it happen. During the Asean SME Showcase and Conference 2015 held in Kuala Lumpur, a select group of woman-entrepreneurs from eight countries made possible a collaboration of talent and resources now known as Great Women in Asean. With the help of United States Agency for International Development through its Asean Connectivity Through Trade and Investment (ACTI), Asean Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN) and SME Corp. of Malaysia, a pavilion was given to the Great Women project to showcase products from the initial group of seven countries and with Malaysia playing organizer and enabler. The two other countries, Brunei and Singapore will be following soon.

Over three days of networking with a purpose, the women collaborated to produce hybrids, products of Asean talent and innovation. As all the membercountries really share many common cultural traditions, from weaving textiles to producing coffee and tea, it was not so difficult to come up with a collection of products in the following categories: Jewelry, apparel, ladies accessories, lifestyle space and food health and Wellness.

The Malaysian entrepreneurs will soon follow up this showcase with another show in November where the Malaysian woman-entrepreneurs will add to the collections already started.

The questions poured in: How do we join? How do we become part of the Great Women platform? Where will

the store be located? How do I become a supplier, a buyer?

The women definitely get the idea right away. After all, women make up more than 50 percent of the world’s consumers. And they make 80 percent of travel decisions, did you know that?

I found a brochure of Grand Hyatt that says so. Women are major consumers, especially in travel, and that’s why Hyatt knew best and listened to the suggestions of women. Like details about pillows, the scent used in a room, the hotel shampoo or soap. Women do care about these details.

Some women brought their products to be presented to us, to see if it fits the criteria. Some first listened in the forum where US Ambassador to Asean Nina Hachigian and SME Corp. of Malaysia

CEO Dato Hafsah Hashim talked about how the US and SME Corp. are supporting the movement. And where Great Women Philippines’s Jeannie Javelosa explained the history of the platform, which now is officially a regional platform.

It took a mere eight weeks for Jeannie and team to gather the products from known artisan star designers, like Burmese/Filipina WynnWynn Ong; Xenia Talar of Runa Indonesia; Mo Hom of Myanmar; Zarah Juan , Joanna Preysler for Tint, Camille Escudero from the Philippines and Ketsuphee Pitupan of Thailand. I handled the food and wellness products. We needed to coordinate with Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. All in a day’s work. The women were actively pushing toward our deadline which was to bring all the products to Kuala Lumpur for the show.

If all Asean countries worked this way in all industries, what a beautiful region we would live in and businesses would thrive in cooperation instead of in competition.

It is possible to work together, to establish a supply chain across countries, and we experienced it firsthand. In our Manila office, you could hear: “What did Myanmar say?” or “Has Indonesia submitted its details?” Then when we got to Kuala Lumpur, we checked attendance by country, hardly being able to spell each other’s real full names. Many went by nicknames, like “Pop,” “Nanzii,” and “Som.” Instead of long names found on e-mails, we worked just by being us.

One Business. One community. It is exciting and it is possible. I remember making a pitch in April last year in Hanoi: “We are 600 million consumers in

even. There are gains. The last time, for example, that my mother was in the hospital, the young woman at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. desk explained that parents who are senior citizens have their own health-care benefits. The same young woman took care of the processing of my mother’s papers, giving a deduction that was substantial. This is what I mean by a viable structure.

When all but memory is gone, there is the essay of a son facing up to the irreversible commands of age and time. The law of gravity is the optimal explanation to aging: you are falling down and, try as you may to arrest the fall, the law says you will eventually hit the ground. The duty of those still strong enough is to make sure the fall is cushioned a bit, that the thud is lessened. The rest is about remembering, that we will not forget those who took care of us when we, by other laws, could not even walk an inch without falling down.

There were fair suggestions that I read the essay, Anthropology of the Elderly to my mother. I did not and will not. The essay is not for mothers who can stay awake all night and tell you the next morning, they had a good sleep. The essay is for sons who are trying to bear the interrupted sleep because they know they will soon get back their sleep. And those nights of sleep will be nights of sadness rather than relief.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Asean. Why should we compete? Why don’t we work together?” I asked the AWEN focal point persons. So, in that AWEN meeting, we planted the seed to work together.

In November 2014 we met more people in Bangkok and I moderated the session on how we could be suppliers and consumers all in one value chain, or supply chain. Four months later in March we met the women who were willing to be part of it. Almost 50 women listened as we explained the vision: One brand for all. One brand to compete for Asean.

Great Women in Asean.

Last week in Kuala Lumpur we made it happen. Now, there is one brand for all Asean women entrepreneurs willing to be part of it. We thank AWEN, ACTI and USAID for allowing this to become reality. We planted the seed and now the next job is to roll it all over Asean.

Who knows, your next purchase may just be a product from Great Women?

Chit Juan is the president of the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines and the founder of ECHOstore sustainable lifestyle (www.echostore.ph). She is also the Philippines’s focal point in the Asean Women Entrepreneurs’ Network. You can find her on Linked In: Pacita Juan, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as @chitjuan.

This article reflects the author’s opinion and is not the official stand of the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Makati.

Women Stepping Up is a rotating column of members of BPW Makati and comes out twice a month. For more information on BPW Makati, visit www.womensteppingup.org.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Friday, June 5, 2015

Automakers vow to take advantage of CARS Program T he country’s association of vehicle assemblers is backing the implementation of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.

In a statement, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines Inc. (Campi) said the government’s recently inked automotive program will pave the way for the auto industry’s expansion.

“Campi supports the passage of Executive Order [EO] 182, which provides for the CARS Program.

This is timely in view of the need of the Philippine motor-vehicle in-

dustry to achieve competitiveness in the region, giving opportunity to the country’s automotive industry to take part in the regional supply chain,” said lawyer Rommel Gutierrez, president of Campi and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC), in a text message to reporters.

TMPC expects the program to spur the expansion of local manufacturing capabilities and improve the cost competitiveness of local players. The program is also seen to open more investment opportunities See “Automakers,” A2

Opec likely to keep output target

T

he price of crude remains too low for most Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member-nations. But, with the 12-nation cartel’s control of supply and demand slipping, its oil ministers may have little choice this week but to sit back and do nothing.

Ministers of Opec will meet in Vienna on Friday against a backdrop of oil prices that are off the lows of January—but still nearly 50 percent

less than peaks of $115 a barrel a year ago for some grades. Past Opec solutions were simple—cut production and drive prices upward.

But the days of near total Opec dominance are over. The organization still accounts for about 40 percent of world supply, but others now stand ready to chip away at its share. With prices for benchmark US crude now at around $60 a See “Opec,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Lafarge to beef up cement production L

By Roderick L. Abad

afarge Republic Inc. (LRI) announced that it is increasing its production capacity starting this year in anticipation of strong demand for cement due to the continued massive infrastructure developments in the country.

According to LRI President Renato C. Sunico, the planned expansion will boost the company’s market position. “We rose to the challenge posed by the economy’s sustained growth by providing the market with our advanced building materials and solutions.”

“We are further strengthening our edge in the market this 2015 by increasing our capacity,” he added.

In the first quarter of 2015, the company commissioned its latest

850,000-metric-ton cement mill at its Teresa manufacturing plant in Rizal.

A similar mill is, likewise, scheduled for commissioning later this year at its manufacturing plant in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

This is to boost LRI’s capability to supply its products to its wide customer base in 2017.

Moreover, the listed firm upped the ante of its innovation and sustainability objectives by offering

new products in the market.

LRI has developed Kapit-Balay, a special cement variant that lowers the carbon footprint of the production process by using fly ash from coal-fired power plants, wh i le en ha nc ing t he qu a l it y of concrete.

W hile the product is ecofriendly, it specifically addresses the need of non-governmental organizations, state agencies and local government units for low-cost, high-quality cement in their postYolanda reconstruction initiatives.

Also launched in the domestic market is the Bio Roof—an improved green-building solution that helps lessen the negative effects of urban-land use. The Laguna Lake Development Authority utilized this LRI product at its new office building in Quezon City.

“These initiatives are a testament to LRI’s commitment to contributing to the country’s economic growth through innovative solutions in the construction industry, and, most important, to the building of sus-

tainable and resilient cities for our people,” Sunico said.

LRI is mainly involved in the manufacture, development, exploitation and sale of cement, marble and all other classes and kinds of building materials; and the processing or manufacture of materials for any industrial or commercial purpose.

The cement firm’s subsidiaries are Fortune Cement Corp., Lafarge Iligan Inc., Lafarge Mindanao Inc., FR Cement Corp. and Lloyds Richfield Industrial Corp.

In its recent annual general meeting, the company announced that it ended 2014 with consolidated sales revenue of P25.1 billion, up by 8 percent from P23.4 billion the previous year.

Combined net profit, however, slightly declined from P3.7 billion to P3.3 billion year-on-year.

For the first quarter of 2015, the company realized a decrease in consolidated net income to P0.9 billion, compared to P1.1 billion during the same period in 2014.

CONSUMER LENDING GREW 25% TO P721.5B IN 2014–BSP

By Bianca Cuaresma

C

onsumer-lending of various banks showed a 25.1-percent expansion to P902 billion in 2014, sharply higher than year-ago loans aggregating only P721.5 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The numbers are a validation of the regulatory view that the economy is not only flush with liquidity, but that the demand for credit is being adequately served by the country’s universal, commercial and thrift-bank units.

These activities helped the $272-billion Philippine economy achieve local expansion, measured as the gross domestic product (GDP), averaging 6.1 percent for the period and considered one of the fastest in the region.

Such lending redound to growth 6.2 percent higher than bank loans of only P849.6 billion at end-September 2014. “This sustains the quarter-on-quarter growth in consumer loans that began in 2008,” the BSP said.

Consumer loans pertain essentially to car purchases, the acquisition of homes and credit-card purchases.

They account for 15.9 percent of the total lending portfolio of the various universal, commercial and thrift banks in the country.

“The BSP monitors consumer and other types of bank-lending to ensure the banks’ adherence to high credit standards. This is essential to fostering financial stability, which is a key policy objective of the BSP,” the central bank said.

Residential real-estate loans still have the largest share of consumer loans across components, which hit P398 billion as of end-December. This was followed by auto loans at P230 billion, and credit-card receivables at P164 billion. Salary loans, meanwhile, hit P62 billion during the period. Other consumer loans, which are not classified, hit P47.88 billion.

The BSP also said the banks were well-insulated against losses, as the ratio of nonperforming See “Consumer,” A2

FDI. . .

Continued from A1

He noted that there are now companies that want to leave China and are eyeing Vietnam as their next destination.

Raeuber said that, to get a good share of FDI exiting China, the Philippines needs to be competitive enough by offering the right set of incentives and tax structure.

Rep. Romero S. Quimbo of Marikina agreed with the sentiment of the European business chamber, saying that, with the forthcoming Asean integration, an overhaul of the corporate and individual income taxes is needed.

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said the government has less than four months on the legislative calendar to correct the issue, but concedes that amending the brackets for individual and corporate income taxes will be an uphill climb.

Quimbo said tax brackets have not been adjusted since 1997, with 86 percent of income taxes being shouldered by only 16 percent of the population.

“We will be losing out to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia,” Quimbo said.

Corporate taxes are imposed across the Asean range from 0 percent to a high of 15 percent, as compared to the Philippines at 25 percent.

Last year FDI in the country reached $6.2 billion, representing a 65.9-percent increase from 2013.