BusinessMirror June 8, 2015

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

U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

A broader look at today’s business Saturday 18,June 20148,Vol.2015 10 No.Vol. 40 10 No. 242 Monday,

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TOLLWAYS ARM OF METRO PACIFIC INVESTMENTS CORP. SETS SIGHTS ON ROAD PROJECTS IN C. LUZON

MNTC keen on bidding for CLEX Life A WANTED: FRESH IDEAS INSIDE

B L S. M

PULIT ISLAND, Palawan— The tollways arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.(MPIC) is looking at participating in two more road-construction projects under the government’s flagship infrastructure program, a senior executive said over the weekend.

‘MANG BEN’ THE GREAT ALL ACCESS: THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR LIZA SOBERANO

Constant unfailing care

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EAR God, in any unforeseen situation, we be rest assured that You are always with us. There is no place where You are not there. No place where You cannot keep us safe and secure.

No place where we can hide away from You. No time that You can ever forsake us. Your loving protection is mightier than any circumstance. We know, we are blessed by Your constant unfailing care. Amen.

»D2

SILENT UNITY PRAYER, YETTA CRUZ AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Monday, June 8, 2015 D1

A tribute to ‘Mang Ben’ the great ❶

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❼ ➑ ❶ PINK horse hair-draped gown ❷ BLACK and white checkered kaftan modeled by Marina Benipayo ❸ GOLD checkered kaftan modeled by Patty Betita ❹ POLKA dots kaftan modeled by Aya Abesamis, daughter of Ben Farrales muse Desiree Abesamis

❺ ONESHOULDER fully beaded black gown ❻ YELLOW-GOLD Muslim-inspired dress modeled by Patty Betita ❼ BLUE draped dress modeled by Aya Abesamis ❽ THE Dean of Philippine Fashion Ben Farrales with SM Megamall Mall Manager Egbert Lim, SM SVP for Marketing Millie Dizon and Filipino Heritage President Armita Rufino at the recent Ben Farrales Tribute Fashion Show at SM Megamall’s Mega Fashion Hall.

T’S not often that people get to see the masterful artistry of design legend Ben Farrales outside the usual avenues of posh social gatherings and exclusive fashion shows. That said, mallgoers could only have regarded as a privilege the rare opportunity to see the couture collections of Ben Farrales, the Dean of Philippine Fashion, in a fashion show and exhibit held recently at SM Megamall’s Mega Fashion Hall.

A joint project of the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. and SM, with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the show was held in time for the Heritage Month celebrations. Fashion, after all, is an integral part of our culture, and the presentation gave a whole new generation of stylish women a glimpse of Mang Ben’s creative genius.

These included timeless pieces that celebrate his work: vibrant Muslim-themed dresses (as inspired by Cotabato women), printed kaftans, draped horse-hair gowns, and fully beaded blouses and skirts that artfully display a woman’s shape and beauty. The audience was also spellbound with the allure of elegant Maria Claras and traditional ternos as only Mang Ben could do Filipiniana.

A reprise of an earlier tribute fashion show, the clothes were worn by Mang Ben’s muses: Annette Coronel, Celine Magat-Lopez, Suyen Chi-Sia, Izza Gonzalez-Agana, Marina Benipayo, Patty Betita and Desiree Abesamis, along with upcoming models Aya Abesamis, Justine Gabionza and Emerald Villahermosa.

Among Filipino designers, Ben Farrales is most famous for his Muslim-inspired look where tribal elements and indigenous materials are woven together, his Filipiniana works of art, and color-rich designs. His creations are unmistakably Filipino and without question world-class, and the event honored his artistry and love for his craft.

The event paid tribute not only to Mang Ben’s artistry, but also his advocacies that made him a recipient of the 2005 10 Outstanding Filipinos.

Florsheim regional exec visits Manila

SPECIAL REPORT

FOR EL NIÑO MITIGATION

FLORSHEIM Regional Executive Eric Leung

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OP Florsheim Regional Executive Eric Leung returned to Manila recently to further highlight the significance of the Philippine market for its growing global presence.

“The Philippines is the third biggest market in Asia-Pacific region. We see the relevance of our brand here and commit to continuously address the fashion requirements of every Filipino, male and female,” Leung said.

Florsheim Philippines (tinyurl.com/ p6bkphm) grows with an additional store in Ayala Fairview Terraces in Quezon City, its 10th in the country which Leung visited.

In an intimate gathering with select members of the media and bloggers, Leung talked about the brand’s 22-year partnership with Retail Specialist Inc. (RSI), the exclusive distributor of Florsheim around these parts, current and exciting future fashion trends, and the Florsheim edge.

“We have been partners with RSI for over 22 years now. Through them, Florsheim is made available to the Philippine market— competitively priced and expertly showcased in strategically located stores in prominent malls in Manila, Cebu and Davao.”

Leung also shared his impressions on the discerning taste of Filipinos when it comes to footwear. For classic brands like Florsheim, which was established in 1982, loyal customers are maintained by making sure that the classic styles remain relevant and updated. New customers are gained with the development of new styles that come in a variety of colors. Florsheim enjoys consumer preference particularly because it supplies the need of consumers for the basic and the new— produced with premium-quality raw materials and meticulous product development.

“We have a rich heritage incomparable

to others. Our focus remains on designing sophisticated, elegant and contemporary shoes that cater to all walks of life. We make our shoes using leading-edge technology and superior workmanship that results in exceptional quality, comfort and styling that people around the world have grown to love for the past more than 120 years.”

As for trends, Leung sees men going for a more directional, rounder toe shape with neutral tones like cognac and taupe. Women, on the other hand, will continue to see the man shoe and ankle bootie increasingly become popular, with the gradual introduction of flats coming back in to fashion.

Consumers will also continue to look for comfort, flexibility and durability when buying quality classic and fashionable shoes, he said, adding that the Asian market will direct its sights on fashion, especially for young executives.

LIFE

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CRAZY IDEAS BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, June 8, 2015 E 1

GET BUY-IN FOR YOUR CRAZY IDEA B D B

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OUR boss told you to “think outside the box.” You found a great idea, prepared an amazing pitch—and still got shot down.

We like to think that great ideas are recognized from the start, but that’s rare. We’re not always so

good at recognizing the value of innovative thinking. In fact, in an experiment by Jennifer Mueller,

managers were more likely to reject the very ideas that excited customers. The most creative ideas also are likelier to look impossible to execute, even if they are entirely feasible.

How can we persuade others that our ideas are worth investing in? Everett Rodgers, a sociology professor at Ohio State University, published the now-famous “Diffusion of Innovation” study in 1962 and coined the term “early adopter.” Rodgers gathered data from more than 500 studies on

why ideas catch on. He identified five essential influencers: Relative advantage is the degree to which an idea or product is perceived as better than the existing standard. If your idea can be framed as an advantage over existing products, it stands a far better chance of being tried.

Compatibility refers to whether the idea is a logical extension of the status quo. The less compatible your new idea is with existing systems, the harder the adoption.

Complexity concerns how readily

How marketing is evolving in Latin America B N K

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ATIN America is a modern marketer’s dream. By 2020 nearly one out of every 10 dollars in the world economy will come from Latin America. The region will soon represent 9 percent of global gross domestic product, with 640 million customers. It also has the fourth-largest mobile market in the world, with social-media adoption surpassing that of the US. Positioned at the forefront of digital and mobile adoption, Latin America provides insight into how new marketing trends are taking hold on a global scale.

At HubSpot, we surveyed 2,700 marketers in Latin America about inbound marketing, which involves capturing customers’ attention with content through social media and organic search—a more efficient approach to generating sales in the Internet era than traditional “push”

marketing efforts. Our research reveals that inbound methods are a particularly good fit for small- and medium-sized businesses. A few highlights show how marketing, and especially inbound marketing, are evolving in Latin America:

Inbound marketing is commonplace

THE vast majority (86 percent) of Latin American marketers surveyed were familiar with inbound marketing, and 60percent said they practice it today.

The cost of acquiring leads is lower

COMPANIES using inbound techniques spend 63 percent less to acquire new leads than those that do not. That’s likely because inbound marketing focuses a marketer’s efforts on reaching buyers when they are already interested.Outbound techniques are far more expensive, and often involve flooding the market, including those

who are not necessarily interested, with messages to lure buyers.

Marketing automation software is not prevalent yet

MORE than one in every three companies in North America purchases some type of marketing automation software, which automates processes such as sending e-mail campaigns to segments of a database, guiding them to marketing offers and collecting their data. By comparison, very few companies in Latin America use marketing software today, and only 3 percent of respondents listed automation as their top priority for software features.

Instead, these marketers are more focused on content creation and search engine optimization. Why? Generally, leads from inbound techniques, in which someone is already searching for a solution, tend to close more rapidly than

leads from outbound methods.

Visual and video content are more important in latin america

SEVENTEEN percent of marketers in Latin America reported prioritizing visual and video content, compared to 11 percent of their North American counterparts. With higher adoption of mobile and social in this region, it makes sense that this type of content would be prioritized.

In today’s increasingly online world, small- and medium-sized businesses with less capital are more empowered than ever to gain market share from larger rivals by expanding their reach faster and inexpensively. Global businesses are not only embracing the inbound marketing trend, they’re driving it forward.

Nataly Kelly is the vice president of marketing at HubSpot.

Be a leader who can admit mistakes T

B J W

HIS might sound obvious, but if you want to build a more engaged work force you need to engage. Whether you are a CEO or a frontline manager, you must work hard to connect faceto-face with your people. But most leaders can’t sit down with every person in the company, in every office around the world. So what should you do instead?

In my experience as CEO of Red Hat, I’ve learned that being accessible and approachable is critical to effective leadership.

I try to connect with associates

whenever I can, either in person or via electronic correspondence.

And nothing builds engagement more than being accountable to the people in your organization.

You have to have the confidence to own your mistakes and admit when you’re wrong.

Think about it: Who would you trust—the person who denies anything is amiss or the person who admits his error and follows up with a plan to correct it?

I’ve found that leaders who show their vulnerability foster greater engagement among their associates. Early in my tenure as CEO, we acquired a company whose

underlying technology wasn’t entirely open source. But rewriting the code would mean months of work. After much debate, I made the call to go to market with the product as is. Big mistake. Both our associates and our customers disliked the product. There was only one thing to do at that point: rewrite the code. Now we would be off schedule by more than a year.

The delay caused quite a bit of anger and frustration among Red Hatters. But I admitted I was wrong to the staff and my board of directors, and I told them we were doing our best to address the mistake. That earned my staff’s trust.

When you don’t make time to explain why you’ve made a decision, people may assume the worst: that you’re detached, dumb or don’t care.

When I explained my original rationale, people understood. Explaining why decisions were made builds engagement which also makes you a stronger leader.

Being accessible, admitting mistakes and saying you’re sorry aren’t liabilities. They are tools you can use to build your credibility and authority to lead.

people can grasp the new idea or use the new product. If you have to spend significant time explaining how your idea will work, it’s never going to win people over.

Trialability is the degree of effort involved in implementing the innovation. If an idea requires significant investment before returning any advantage, it’s less likely to be deemed worth trying. If it can’t be tried on a small scale, it’s less likely to be adopted on a large scale.

Observability refers to how discernible the results are to people

B S A, D D  P M.A. S

HAT should leaders do to boost their organization’s ability to innovate? The list of options is seemingly endless. Set up a new-growth group. Change the reward system.

Form a venture investment fund.

Build an open innovation platform. Hire seasoned innovators.

Too frequently, however, companies decide what they’re going to do before determining whythey’re doing it. First you need to answer a fundamental question: What problem does innovation solve?

A clear problem innovation can solve is creating new growth

PERHAPS competitive intensity has increased or a new development has emerged, or a company’s core business has slowed. Meeting growth and profit objectives now requires a company to boost its ability to create new businesses that wouldn’t naturally result from day-to-day operations. In this case, efforts are best isolated from the core business to minimize distraction. Start by building what we have called a minimum viable innovation system, a focused set of interventions designed to kick-start new growth.

David Burkus is the author of The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas. He is also founder of LDRLB and assistant professor of management at Oral Roberts University.

A different problem is how to compete more effectively in existing markets

THROUGH innovation, perhaps frontline salespeople can find,

Or you may want to tackle both problems simultaneously

THAT is, reap new growth from existing operations while also pursuing business beyond its current boundaries. Here, efforts should focus on institutionalizinginnovation by working on under lying systems that govern resource allocation and decisionmaking. Such efforts, because of their scale and scope, require senior leadership commitment.

Innovation is not a one-size-fitsall proposition. Taking the time to determine which strategy is appropriate will focus your attention and accelerate the impact of your innovation efforts.

Scott Anthony is the managing partner of Innosight. His new book is The First Mile: A Launch Manual for Getting Great Ideas into the Market. David Duncan is a senior partner with Innosight. Pontus M.A. Siren is a partner in Innosight’s Singapore office .

© 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

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U.S. UPS PRESSURE Perspective BusinessMirror

E4 Monday, June 8, 2015

SOUTH CHINA SEA WATCH

US ups pressure with overflights

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HE dispute over the strategic waterways of the South China Sea has intensified, pitting a rising China against its smaller and militarily weaker neighbors who all lay claim to a string of isles, coral reefs and lagoons known as the Spratly and the Paracel islands. Only about 45 of them are occupied. The area is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, rich in fish and potentially gas and oil reserves, but it has now emerged as a possible flashpoint involving world powers and regional claimants. A look at some of the most recent key developments:

THE alleged ongoing reclamation of Subi Reef by China is seen from Pag-asa Island in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, western Palawan, on May 11. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, the Philippines’s military chief, has flown to the Filipino-occupied island of Pag-asa amid territorial disputes in the area with China, vowing to defend the islet and help the mayor develop tourism and marine resources there. RITCHIE B. TONGO/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

IN this May 24, 2015, file photo, an antisurface gunnery is fired from China’s Navy missile frigate Yulin during the “Exercise Maritime Cooperation 2015” by Singapore and Chinese navies in the South China Sea. BAO XUELIN/XINUA VIA AP

U.S. RATCHETS UP PRESSURE ON CHINA

THE US military has begun actively—and more publicly—challenging China’s sovereignty claims over half a dozen artificial islands Beijing has been rapidly constructing through massive land reclamation.

On May 22 a US Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft—a militarized version of the Boeing 737—flew from Clark Air Base in the Philippines over Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross Reef, previously submerged coral features that China occupied in the mid-1990s and late 1980s, and is now expanding into a landmass several times their original size. Recent satellite images show the construction of an airstrip, port facilities, cement factories and barracks, among other installations.

US defense officials also revealed that China had put two large artillery vehicles on one island.

In a video captured by CNN, which had a crew on the P-8 flight, China’s navy dispatcher warned the plane eight times to leave the area, and each time the US pilots responded by saying: “I am a United States military aircraft conducting lawful military activities acting outside national airspace. I am with due regard in accordance with international law.”

The US refuses to recognize China’s sovereignty over disputed islands. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the US will continue to enforce freedom of navigation in what it considers international waters. US officials are concerned that

China could use the islands to fortify its claims and gain the upper hand by force and intimidation.

Washington is considering more military flights and naval patrols, possibly within 12 nautical miles of the islands—a parameter China considers its territorial waters.

The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth, among the Navy’s most modern vessels, in May completed its patrol of the South China Sea. It encountered a Chinese navy ship, but they contacted each other to avoid any mishap, according to US military officials.

Capt. Fred Kacher, commodore of the destroyer squadron, said routine operations like this in the South China Sea “will be the new normal” as four more littoral warships are expected to be deployed in the region.

CHINA STANDS BY ISLANDBUILDING, TELLS MILITARY TO PROTECT SEAS

CHINA says it is “extremely concerned” with the possibility that the US could start patrolling close to the islands.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying says freedom of navigation does not mean that foreign military ships and aircraft can enter another country’s territorial waters or airspace at will. Hua said that China has always safeguarded the freedom and safety of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. Defense Ministry Spokesman Yang Yujun compared the island-

IN this June 28, 2014, file photo, US Navy personnel raise their national flag during the bilateral maritime exercise between the Philippine Navy and US Navy, dubbed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, aboard the USS John S. McCain in the South China Sea near waters claimed by Beijing. NOEL CELIS/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

building to ordinary construction, such as road-building going on elsewhere in the country. He says such activities are designed to satisfy both military and civilian purposes.

Yang says the issue has been brought to the fore by an increase in surveillance activities and an effort to “deliberately play up the issue in order to smear China’s military and raise tensions in the region.”

“I don’t rule out that certain countries are looking for excuses to take certain actions,” Yang said.

Communist Party newspaper Global Times warned that Washington should not test Beijing’s restraint or China would have “no choice but to engage.”

In the newly updated report on its military strategy, China has added “open seas protection” to its traditional “offshore waters defense.”

COLD WAR REDUX?

THE US and China may not agree on the South China Sea, but the world powers are unlikely to start a conflict over it.

Instead, the South China Sea could become a new theater of Cold War-style confrontations involving close-in military flights and naval run-ins, the US arming old allies (the Philippines) and seeking new ones (Vietnam).

US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed Washington’s deep concern with China’s islandbuilding when he visited Beijing in May. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Ji politely but pointedly dis-

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter shakes hands with his Vietnamese counterpart Gen. Phung Quang Thanh after the two signed a joint vision statement between the two defense ministries in Hanoi, Vietnam, last Monday. Carter is on a three-day visit to Vietnam to deepen military cooperation between the two former foes. AP/TRAN VAN MINH

PERSPECTIVE

missed it. Both stressed the importance of dialogue. Wang said that the differences between China and the US could be managed “as long as we can avoid misunderstanding and, even more importantly, avoid miscalculation.”

“There aren’t any silver bullets to resolving this,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Aff airs David Shear. “It’s going to take time, and it’s going to take some

determined diplomacy by us and with our partners.”

Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, asked for supplying lethal weapons to Vietnam and disinviting China from a major Pacific military exercise next year. However, Adm. Harry Harris, who just took over the US Pacific Command, says China’s invitation stays and the two countries must engage if they are to build a better relationship.

C  A

Thailand scrambles to boost image on human trafficking

attract and retain customers; or internal support functions can deliver more with less.

In this case, innovation mindsets and behaviors need to be infused into the day-to-day activities of a broader population.

High-leverage interventions might include investing in employee training or dedicating a team to help others with common innovation activities, like designing and executing experiments.

MONDAY MORNING Jim Whitehurst is the president and CEO of Red Hat and the author of the book The Open Organization.

dinner on Saturday.

Specifically, the company is interested in vying for the second phase of the CLEX, as the first phase of the toll-road development project will be implemented under a loan from Japan.

Phase One will involve the construction of a thoroughfare that will interconnect Tarlac and Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija. The state has

trying the idea. Those first testers have to experience clear results to share with others. Regardless of how enthusiastic you are about your idea, you must assess it against these five factors. If most are lacking, perhaps it’s time to rethink your idea or refine your pitch.

Innovation isn’t the answer to all your problems W

In a media briefing here, Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) President Rodrigo E. Franco said his company will be vying for the Central Luzon Expressway (CLEX) and the Plaridel Bypass Tollroad once these public-private partnership (PPP) deals have been placed on the auction block.

“Since both are in the north, MNTC will be keen to participate in these projects,” he said over

LAST WORD

“TURNING an underwater rock into an airfield simply does not afford the rights of sovereignty or permit restrictions on international air or maritime transit.”—US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

The Associated Press writers Hrvoje Hranjski in Bangkok and Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report

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PESO EXCHANGE RATES

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ANGKOK—Thailand is eager to show its newfound toughness on human trafficking, taking reporters on patrols and tours of former camps; cooperating with neighboring countries and the US; and arresting dozens of officials—including a high-ranking officer in the military that now controls the country. The junta even had a “National Anti-Human Trafficking Day.” The Southeast Asian country is trying to dissuade Western governments from leveling economic sanctions, but it has a daunting enemy: history.

“Thailand remains a major center for human trafficking.”

Those words were emblazoned on a huge headline in a Thai daily

US 44.8080

JAPAN 0.3603

newspaper printed nearly three years ago. The country’s answer was largely to ignore the problem, until recent events made that impossible.

The discovery of 36 bodies at abandoned traffickers’ camps near Thailand’s southern border with Malaysia has intensified international pressure on Thailand to crack down on smugglers. So has a subsequent crisis involving thousands of migrants who were stranded at sea by their traffickers—and whose boats were pushed back by Thai officials. Those migrants, mainly Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingya migrants from Myanmar, are just part of a human-trafficking problem that also includes Thai fishing boats that have used slave labor.

UK 68.8699

IN this February 25, 2010, file photo, a pond is dried up due to an El Niñoinduced drought in Jones, Isabela province. NANA BUXANI/BLOOMBERG

B A S. D | Correspondent  M G P First of three parts

IN Spanish El Niño means “the little child.” But there is nothing “little” in the weather phenomenon that bears the Spanish name.

In a May 27 article by Bloomberg, forecasters said changes in the weather caused by El Niño may have a global impact from the rice lands of the Philippines to the food markets of Mexico.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. The NOAA said the weather phenomenon can cause increased rainfall in the US and in Peru, and drought in the West Pacific.

A study conducted by government statisticians, led by former National Statistical Coor-

dination Board (NSCB) chief Romulo A. Virola, noted that the Philippines has experienced a total of 19 El Niño events, seven of which are considered strong, four moderate and eight weak, from 1950 to 2010.

“According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration [Pagasa], some of the El Niño years that hit the Philippines were 1965-1966, 1968-1969, 1972-1973, 1976-1977, 1982-1983, 1990-1994, 1997-1998, 2002-2003 and 2009-2010,” the report read.

While the primary impact of El Niño on the Philippines is drought, it has “second- and thirdorder” impacts, according to Pagasa. Citing the state weather bureau, the study noted that El Niño caused unemployment, food shortages and “significant” reduction in productivity.

Using data from 1970 to 2009, the study found C  A

S “T,” A

HK 5.7803

CHINA 7.2259

SINGAPORE 33.2625

AUSTRALIA 34.3725

EU 50.3866

SAUDI ARABIA 11.9488 Source: BSP (5 June 2015)

A2 Monday, June 8, 2015

BMReports BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Wanted: Fresh ideas for El Niño mitigation Continued from A1

that palay production during strong El Niño years is on the average lower by 26.6 percent compared to nonstrong El Niño years. Corn production during strong El Niño years is on the average lower by 18.5 percent compared to nonstrong El Niño years.

Currently, the Philippines is experiencing a “weak” El Niño. Pagasa said this would prolong the dry season. In March the state weather bureau said the weak El Niño would not persist, and its impact may not be “significant.”

While the current El Niño episode may be weak, the weather phenomenon has already caused damages amounting to nearly P2.2 billion, according to the latest data from the Department of Agriculture (DA). Rice crops suffered the brunt of the dry spell. As of May 21, 72,109 metric tons (MT) of palay, valued at P1.21 billion, had already been damaged.

El Niño had also destroyed 73,622 MT of corn, valued at P958.43 million; and 1,023 MT of high-value crops, costing P19.45 million. Rice and corn are two of the country’s major cash crops.

The DA data indicated that the dry spell affected a total of 25,086 rice farmers from nine regions. The biggest damage was recorded in Region 12, where 7,632 rice farmers lost a total of P532 million. Rice

farmers in Regions 1, 2, 4B, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 also lost a significant amount of money.

The dry spell caused by El Niño also affected a total of 21,633 corn farmers mostly from Mindanao.

Among the four corn-growing regions that experienced belownormal rainfall, Region 12 recorded the biggest loss at P470.94 million.

Nearly 11,000 farmers tilling 12,585 hectares of farm lands took a hit.

Losses were also reported by corn farmers in Regions 5, 10 and 11. More than 10,000 farmers in Region 10 indicated that they lost 35,468 MT of corn, valued at P463.42 million.

Despite this, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the damage is “minimal” compared to the annual rice and corn output of the Philippines. Alcala also assured that the government has already put in place the necessary measures to ensure that farmers would be able to cope with the ill-effects of El Niño and produce enough food for all Filipinos.

For one, the DA said it has reactivated its National El Niño Task Force, which is composed of regional offices and various attached agencies and bureaus. The department came up with an El Niño Mitigation and Adaptation Plan, which requires P1.8 billion to implement.

The DA said it has “intensified” its monitoring and reporting activities on the status of drought and dry -spell incidence to provide appropri-

IN this March 27, 2010, file photo, an elderly woman pushes a cart with water containers in Manila. With the semidrought being experienced in some parts of the country, water authorities lowered the water pressure in some areas of the city, forcing people to fetch water elsewhere. AP/Pat Roque

ate interventions in affected areas.

For irrigated agricultural lands, the DA said it has been coordinating with the National Irrigation Administration for better management of agricultural waters. Information, education and communication activities have also been conducted among farmers to employ watersaving techniques, such as synchronous planting, which make irrigation more efficient.

For rainfed agricultural lands, the DA has fast-tracked the implemen-

tation of small-scale irrigation projects and construction of rainwater harvesting and drainage facilities.

Before the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon, the department said it has distributed droughtresistant palay seeds, and assisted farmers in the adjustment of their cropping season. The DA has already issued notices to release corn seeds from the buffer stocking program of the Agri-Pinoy Corn Program.

To effectively manage “drought” pests, the DA has trained and encour-

aged farmers to practice crop rotation to break the continuous food supply to the pests, hence breaking their life cycle. Farmers have, likewise, been encouraged to minimize the use of synthetic pesticides, and instead massively introduce biocontrol agents to preserve the life of helpful organisms.

For this, the DA has requested the support of RCPC Trichogramma Laboratory to augment the need of Trichogramma for the control of stem borer in infested areas. Tricho-

gramma is a parasitic species of wasp that kills eggs of stem borers.

Alcala and other government officials are crossing their fingers that the adverse impact of El Niño will be minimal, and would not cause a huge shortfall in the country’s food output. But the latest forecast from Pagasa could dampen hopes that the weather phenomenon would cause little destruction.

Pagasa said the current El Niño episode could persist until the first half of 2016. The state weather bureau said this could upset planting schedules in many parts of the country, including top rice and corn producers.

Earlier this year, some scientists had said there is little chance of El Niño happening this year. Unfortunately, this forecast is inaccurate, and has again highlighted the unpredictability of the weather. Economists and experts said this makes it more imperative for the government and even the private sector to revisit policies, particularly in the water sector.

Dr. Roehlano Briones, senior fellow of government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said there is a need for concerned agencies to “rethink the overall governance framework for the water sector.”

As it is, whenever El Niño strikes the Philippines, economists said farmers usually give way to other consumers who use water for drinking and cleaning their households.

To be continued

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Monday, June 8, 2015 A3

Palace rejects ex-Chief Justice Puno’s BBL pitch

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By Butch Fernandez

RESIDENT Aquino rejected the proposal of former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno to solidify the legal basis of the Palace-endorsed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL).

Puno has recommended a constitutional convention (Con-con) to amend the 1987 Constitution to avert expected legal challenges against perceived infirmities in the BBL. The law, if enacted, would create a new entity for Muslims in Mindanao.

Asked if the Palace is backing the Puno plan, Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said on Sunday that Malacañang prefers to pass the BBL as is.

Coloma, head of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, said the BBL had gone through thorough deliberations, even before it was transmitted by the Executive to Congress for passage into law.

“We would like to see the enactment of the BBL in Congress, as it has already gone through the process and is now entering the concluding phase of plenary deliberations before voting,” Coloma added. He said that, throughout the process, the Office of the President had always seen to it that the BBL is compliant with existing laws.

“From the time the Frame-

work Agreement and the annexes were drawn up leading to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement, and throughout the preparation of the draft BBL that was submitted by the President to Congress, there has always been one primary consideration: that it should conform with the 1987 Constitution,” Coloma told the BusinessMirror.

The official also pointed out that former members of the august body that crafted the 1987 Constitution, ratified and adopted during the incumbency of Mr. Aquino’s mother and former President Corazon Aquino, had, likewise, supported the BBL, but suggested changes in some of its provisions. These include the so-called opt-in provision, where “contiguous barangays” in the new entity may choose to join the BBL five to 10 years after its enactment. “ T hat the proposed BBL abides by the Constitution has also been affirmed by the surviving members of the constitutional commission that au-

thored the Constitution,” Coloma added.

Citing controversial provisions that require Charter changes, including its parliamentary character under an existing presidential setup, Puno called for revision of the Constitution as the alternative to the proposed BBL. The Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in the Philippines reiterated that the Mindanao problem cannot be solved by a mere law that will establish a Bangsamoro government.

The system we are creating so we can have peace in Mindanao is erroneous, Puno said in Filipino.

“Bumuo tayo ng panukalang batas, ’yang BBL at ’yung Framework Agreement. Dito sa BBL, binibigyan natin ang Bangsamoro ng ibang structure of government, ng iba’t-ibang kapangyarihan na higit pa sa ipinagkaloob ng Armm [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao], [We crafted a bill: the BBL and the Framework Agreement. In the BBL, we are giving the Bangsamoro a different structure of government and various powers more than what was given to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao],” Puno said in a forum in Manila over the weekend.

“Wala pong masama dito kung ito ang pangangailangan nila, kung ito ang tunay na magdudulot ng kapayapaan sa Mindanao. Ngunit ang tanong po ay maibibigay ba natin ito, magagawa ba natin ito ng hindi natin nilalabag ang ating 1987 Con-

stitution [There’s nothing wrong if this is what they really need, if this is what would bring peace in Mindanao. The question is if we can provide peace without violating the 1987 Constitution],” Puno surmised aloud.

Puno pointed out that Congress cannot give the powers demanded in the BBL “without destroying the unitary character of our government, without violating our 1987 Constitution,” even as he warned of a crisis regardless of the fate of BBL. “Kaya po sinasabi natin na nasa crisis tayo, dahil ang sitwasyon natin ay isang no-win situation. Kapag hindi pinagtibay ang BBL, may gulo sa Mindanao. Kapag pinagtibay ng walang pagbabago, ito ay labag sa Saligang Batas at ibabasura ng Korte Suprema, at gulo sa Mindanao. Kapag pinagtibay ng maraming amyenda, gulo pa din dahil it will not satisfy anybody [That’s why I’m saying we’re in a crisis and we are in a no-win situation. If we don’t enact the BBL, there would be conflict in Mindanao. If the BBL is enacted sans changes, it would go against the Constitution and rejected by the Supreme Court; and there would be conflict in Mindanao. If the BBL is enacted with many amendments, there would still be conflict because it will not satisfy anybody],” he added. According to the former Chief Justice, the solution is to bring the Mindanao issue before a Con-con so that the proper framework for the distribution of power can be put in a new Constitution.

Police warn public of carjacking as thefts continue to be recorded

By Rene Acosta

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HE Philippine National Police (PNP) asked the public to be more vigilant against carjacking, especially during night time as cases continued to be recorded in Metro Manila.

The warning was issued on Sunday by PNP Spokesman Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias following the release by the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) of the statistics on carjacking under the Oplan (Operational Plan) Lambat-Sibat.

The anticrime campaign Lambat-Sibat was behind the reported decline of criminality in areas where it has so far been initiated, following its implementation in Metro Manila, according to Tobias.

The PNP DIDM recorded 295 carjacking incidents from January 5 up to May 24, 2015.

Of this number, 53 percent, or 159 incidents, occurred in the streets either while the vehicle is parked or was forcibly taken from the driver.

On the other hand, the DIDM also noted that carjacking incidents occur during midnight until morning from 12:01 to 8 a.m. Of the 295 incidents, 62 percent, or 183 cases, were recorded during this period.

Tobias said that from an average of 39 incidents per week in December 2013 to June 2014, carjacking incidents in Metro Manila significantly decreased to 14 incidents per week last month, or May 2015.

Tobias said the PNP will intensify its anticrime campaign in cooperation with village officials.

“The PNP will continue to intensify its crime prevention operations through police presence by conducting more foot and mobile patrols at night in coordination with the barangay peacekeeping teams, barangay tanod [village watchmen] and other force multipliers to prevent or address carnapping incidents during the above period,” he said.

Economy

A4 Monday, June 8, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

‘Halal industry to boost T Bangsamoro economy’

news@businessmirror.com.ph

PNR improvement project to start in Q3

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By Cai U. Ordinario

he local halal industry is expected to be among the cornerstones of the Bangsamoro economy, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

The Neda, in its DevPulse publication, said the Bangsamoro region can become the epicenter of the Mindanao region and the Philippines’s halal industry and certification.

The Neda pointed out that Mindanao has the “strongest motivation” to expand the industry, as it is culturally linked to halal-based economies of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and other Islamic countries.

“Given these potential trade linkages among regions and other countries, trade routes through sea and air would need to be opened, while current ports require improvements and increased capacities,” the Neda said.

The Neda expects that the halal industry is going to support the projected 3-percent to 4-percent growth of the Bangsamoro’s agriculture sector by the end of 2016.

Further, the halal industry can be linked to Islamic banking and finance. This is anticipated to be piloted in the Bangsamoro, where its development is seen to fuel financial growth in the region, as well as in Mindanao.

The Neda explained that Islamic banking prohibits interest charging, as this equates with usury (riba); forbids speculative transactions involving risks (gharar); and avoids transactions on sinful things (haram), such as pork, alcohol and gambling.

Under these tenets, the Neda said Islamic banks observe profit and loss sharing, encourage entrepreneurship and promote social-development activities.

“The development and institutionalization of the Islam-based financial system will be a magnet for financial

investors from the Arab region and other Muslim countries. The Bangsamoro could easily become the Islamic world’s investment center in Philippines,” the Neda said.

Earlier, Economic Planning Secretary and Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Philippines Country Director Richard Bolt said growth and investment in Mindanao are bound to increase because of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL).

Balisacan said Mindanao could maximize its potential as a major economic-growth driver for the Philippines. He even said Mindanao can easily grow faster than Metro Manila if this potential is reached.

ADB Philippine Country Specialist Joven Balbosa also explained that, currently, Mindanao contributes about 17 percent to the country’s gross domestic product. However, this is bound to increase if areas in Southern Mindanao will increase their contribution.

Balbosa explained that Northern Mindanao areas, such as Davao and General Santos, already contribute significantly to economic growth due to the tuna, banana and pineapple industries.

However, with the peace agreement, this will ensure that Southern Mindanao will also open up and unleash increased food and mineral resources. It will also open the gates for the Philippines to take full advantage of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area.

he multimillion-peso rail-track improvement project for the Philippine National Railways (PNR) will be completed by the third quarter of 2016, a statement from the transport department showed.

According to the media release, the P144.38-million project will add a second track to run parallel to the single track currently connecting the Sucat and Alabang stations, by adding 3.97 kilometers of rails, which will allow simultaneous two-way traffic to run in that section.

“The award and start of construction of the project are targeted by the third quarter of 2015, and the winning bidder will have 200 calendar days to complete the construction of the double rail tracks,” the statement read.

Currently, PNR’s rails are double-tracked from Tutuban to Sucat only.

The project is currently being auctioned off by the DOTC. It has set a Tuesday deadline for the submission and opening of bids.

The oldest at grade railway system in the Philippines stopped its operations last month, after one of its coaches derailed near Nichols Station in Pasay in April, resulting in the injury of more than 50 passengers.

Earlier, Diosdado N. Silva, the train line’s assistant general manager, explained that the service was halted so that the government can conduct an exhaustive inspection of its train tracks to ensure the safety of its passengers and trains.

A team from Cologne-based technical and safety provider TÜV Rheinland Group is now conducting the review of the railway line’s state.

The investigation is expected to yield a precise inventory of missing or needed parts, such as rail joints, angle bars and rail clips—which will then be procured

and installed in order to allow the PNR to resume its operations as soon as possible. Prior to the incident, the railway system had been servicing the TutubanCalamba route daily.

The operations of the dilapidated railway line are expected to resume this sometime month to abate the worsening traffic in Metro Manila.

At present, the PNR commuter line operates from Tutuban to Santa Rosa, Laguna, covering 23 stations over a stretch of 50 kilometers, and from Naga to Sipocot, with route length of 35 kilometers.

The government has ensured that the railway system will soon see improvements, as it plans to develop the dilapidated line through the P287-billion NorthSouth Railway Project.

The first phase of the facility will involve the construction of a 36.7-kilometer narrow gauge elevated commuter railway from Malolos, Bulacan, to Tutuban in Manila. It is seen to be completed by the third quarter of 2020.

The second phase, which will extend the commuter rail up to Matnog, Sorsogon, will be completed by the forth quarter of 2019.

The two-phase deal will be implemented under the official development assistance and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program.

The PNR is also expecting the arrival of two secondhand donated trains from Japan in the coming weeks.

Aside from replacing missing parts and constructing double-track rails, the line has other rehabilitation projects for near-term implementation, such as roofing extension, to shield passengers from heat and rain, installation of turnstiles in major stations, and rail and comfort-room rehabilitation.

These immediate improvements are targeted for completion by the end of 2015, or early next year.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

House panel to discuss contentious issues in fair competition measure

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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he bicameral conference committee was forced to conduct another meeting for the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act as the two chambers have yet to reconcile their different versions of the measure.

House Committee on Trade and Industry Vice Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Anthony del Rosario of Davao del Norte said the third bicameral committee is set to meet on Monday to further discuss the key measure.

Del Rosario said the two pending issues are on the role of the Department of Justice’s Office of Competition, following the creation of Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and on the penalties.

“We [members of the bicam committee] still need to iron out the differences on penalty provision on Monday,” del Rosario said, admitting the two chambers both want to retain their respective proposals under penalty provision.

“Our next meeting will be on Monday at 2 p.m.

Hopefully, that will be the last bicameral conference meeting,” added del Rosario, a member of the bicameral committee for the lower chamber.

Until last Thursday, both houses of Congress are still trying to reconcile their conflicting provisions of the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act. Under the House version of the bill, any person who fails or neglects to comply with any term or condition of a binding ruling, a cease and desist order or an order for readjustment issued by the commission,

shall pay a fine of not less than P50,000 and not more than P2 million for each violation.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) may also impose upon entities fines of up to P1 million where, intentionally or negligently, they supply incorrect or misleading information in any document, application or other paper filed with or submitted to the commission, the House version said.

The bill also provides that an entity that enters into any anti-competitive agreement or conduct as defined under this Act shall, for each and every violation, be penalized by imprisonment from five to 10 years, or a fine up to 10 percent of the annual turnover, based on the audited financial statements of the violator during the previous fiscal year or up to 10 percent of the value of the assets of the violator, whichever is higher, or both imprisonment and fine.

But the Senate version provides that, without prejudice to the violation will of other laws, any entity found to have violated the proposed measure, for each and every violation, will be punished by a fine of not less than P10 million and not exceeding P50 million if a natural entity; by a fine of not less than P250 million but not exceeding P750 million if a juridical entity at the discretion of the commission.

The Senate bill also said the commission may, likewise, impose upon any entity fines of not less than P10 million where, intentionally or negligently, they supply incorrect or misleading information in any document.

Franchise Asia Phils 2015 conference has special session for CEOs, CFOs, GMs

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usinessmen, including corporate chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs) and general managers (GMs) across the country need to help develop their respective companies side by side with the expanding Philippine economy to keep the desired balance between both internal and external fiscal demands of their business organizations.

Under a rapid economic growth regime, the government must work hand in hand with the private sector to keep the economy on even keel and forestall risks and shocks that can derail its otherwise smooth sailing momentum. This requires internal corporate efficiencies, especially in management of finances for continued growth.

“In a company, no matter how big or small, the CEO, CFO and the GM do most of the major financial decisions and undertakings. With all the complexities of a single company, these key officers must be knowledgeable and skilled, and must be strongly competitive to be able to perform what the company needs relative to monetary concerns,” Franchise Asia Philippines 2015 overall Chairman Robert F. Trota, president and CEO of Max’s Group Inc., emphasized.

Toward this end, Franchise Asia Philippines 2015 has included a special session in its International Franchise Conference, billed as “The CFO Forum: Managing Growth.”

The session aims to help further enhance the competencies of the country’s CEOs, CFOs and GMs on how to nurture and develop enterprises to their full potential.

Up for discussion in the session are key tactics and strategies CEOs, CFOs and GMs should deploy during a growth curve, when franchise executives must manage

bonoan

navarro

competing internal demands based on a company’s limited resources, while not sacrificing innovation.

Two highly esteemed speakers will share their experiences and insights on finance management that can help CEOs, CFOs and GMs. One is Gregorio S. Navarro, managing partner and CEO of Deloitte Philippines/Navarro Amper and Co., and president of Deloitte Philippines Outreach Inc. He has over 39 years of experience in accounting, auditing, management consulting and corporate finance.

The other finance expert is Emmanuel P. Bonoan, vice chairman, head of tax department, and COO of R.G. Manabat & Co., the Philippine member-firm of KPMG International. At present, he advises large multinational companies and trade organizations on tax strategies and represents clients before revenue agencies, especially on high-level issues.

Organized by PFA and supported by the World Franchise Council and the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation, Franchise Asia Philippines 2015 is the biggest franchise show in Asia.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Economy BusinessMirror

DTI exec: PHL exporters can benefit from AEC and EU GSP+

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N official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the Philippines can fully benefit from the economic integration of the Asean this year with proper infrastructure to accommodate regional airlines and the country’s exporters to take advantage of free-trade flows.

Trade Assistant Secretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the Philippines has complied up to 95 percent of commitments to the Asean Economic Integration (AEC), but will not benefit fully if there are not enough infrastructure for trade expansion, such as air transportation.

He said the Philippines has signed 15 measures that can be implemented at the national levels, two of them on air transportation that open up Philippine air zones to airlines from Asean countries.

“The problem of the Philippines is not on implementing AEC policy commitments at

the national level but in [establishing] enough infrastructure to prepare for the Asean integration,” Rodoldo told the fourth Strategic Management Convention at the De La Salle University last Saturday.

He said the country’s international airport can only accommodate a limited number of airplanes and is now facing runway congestion. “These issues should be solved at the national level.”

“We are faced with an issue of domestic competitiveness rather than regional commitments [in the AEC integration],” Rodolfo said.

He said Philippine exporters should also take advantage of the European Union (EU) Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which gives Philippine exporters zero tariffs on more than 6,000 product lines. The Philippines is only one of 13 countries with access to this export privilege to the rich EU market. Estrella Torres

Mansaka tribe gets P2.6-M shelter aid for Pablo damage

By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief

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AVAO CITY—Mansaka tribal families who lost their homes to Typhoon Pablo (international code name Bopha) in 2012 would finally get their shelter assistance from the Tagum City government but would have to agree that the houses would be built at the relocation site.

The datus and woman leaders of the tribe have identified the 28 beneficiaries who live in the four flood-prone Tagum City barangays of Pagsabangan, Mankilam, San Miguel and Canocotan.

Tagum City is 53 kilometers north of here.

The city’s Social Welfare and Development Office said the beneficiaries sustained either

partial or total damage during the onslaught of Pablo in 2012.

The city government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Tagum City government jointly undertook the project at P2.6 million, with Tagum City vowing to shell out P400,000 as its counterpart.

Each tribal family-beneficiary of the program is expected to complete the shelter unit within 10 days after the implementation of the project and it would be paid P22,600 in exchange for their services during the construction work, the city government information office said.

Each unit is worth P70,000, and construction would be expected to be finished in 10 days on an eight-hour work per day.

Monday, June 8, 2015 A5

MGB: Mining companies should ‘walk the talk,’ secure ISO 14001 certification

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PERATING mining companies are required to seek ISO 14001 certification in compliance of a department order issued by Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje last month, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Leo L. Jasareno said.

Interviewed by the BusinessMirror, Jasareno said mining companies should “walk the talk,” and prove that they are truly for responsible mining.

“Iyan ang walking the talk,” he said, adding that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) order gives mining companies ample time to comply.

“Iyong Semirara got the ISO certification in eight months,” he said, referring to the Semirara Mining Corp.

Jasareno said there are four mining companies that already have the ISO 14001 certification. Aside from Semirara, Philex Mining Corp. (Philex), OceanaGold Philippines and SR Metals Inc. have already secured the said ISO certification.

There are currently 48 operating mines in the country. He said he expects the mining companies to secure the ISO certification within the prescribed period, adding that the MGB will be implementing the order as mandated by law.

“We will implement what is pro-

vided by law and the rules and regulation,” Jasareno said.

Mining’s big players under the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) have expressed concern about DENR Administrative Order 2005-07, which orders all mining companies with existing Minerals Agreement and Financial or Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAA) to secure within one year. COMP is seeking an audience with the DENR chief to express the concern aired by its members.

Nelia Halcon, executive vice president of COMP, said the order has serious implications, particularly to new operations that are starting to implement their environmental-management system. The COMP official also said the order was issued without the benefit of public consultations, even as members of the group have expressed willingness to comply with the new regulation.

The MGB chief, the country’s primary

mining-regulatory body, says mining companies have to secure ISO 14001 certification and maintain them as mandated by the order.

Several mining companies have already secured IS0 14001 certification ahead of the DENR order.

DAO 2005-07 institutionalizes an environmental-management system that ensures the adherence of local mining operations to international standards, particularly the ISO 14001 certification, as a measure of responsible mining in the country.

With its compliance, the DENR hopes to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to achieve minimal negative impacts of mining on the environment.

Failure to secure or maintain the ISO 14001 certification may be a ground for suspension of the company’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and nonissuance of Ore Transport and/or Mineral Export Permit.

Under the same order, the DENR will conduct a periodic review of the mining operations of “all MA or FTAA holders in the operating period to ensure compliance with environmental standards, laws and regulations, including conditionalities of their ECCs and Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program.”

An assessment team composed of technical experts from the DENR and other government agencies will be created to undertake said review and give pertinent recommendations to the DENR.

Tourism&E

Busines

A6 Monday, June 8, 2015 • Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

FROM ISLANDS TO HIGHLANDS S   B H D. T

‘F

ROM islands to highlands”— that’s the promise of the Davao region, which is composed of the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao Occidental.

PHILIPPINE Eagle up close

globally threatened species, it is now included in the World Heritage Site list. What is unique about this place is its century-old mossypygmy forest, whose wild trees grow to an average of only 4 to 5 feet.

Sloping agricultural land technology

IF Banaue has its famous rice terraces, Bansalan in Davao del Sur has sloping agricultural land technology.

Instead of using rock walls, the system uses different nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs as alleys. The birthplace is now one of the top ecotourism destinations in the province.

SKIMBOARDING in Mati’s Dahican Beach

THE Risen Christ and the giant rosary in Tagum City

“Our brand promise speaks of the region’s topography,” explains Arturo Boncato Jr., assistant secretary of the Department of Tour-

ism. “It suggests a treasure trove of sites, attractions and activities visitors can experience in the gulf, mountainside and urban centers.”

From extreme adventures of mountain climbing and deep-sea diving to just walking over whitesand beaches or having fun at night, Davao has it. Visitors and guests will have a grand time during their stay in any place in the region. Here are some of those areas they should not miss:

Mount Apo

AT 9,692 feet in elevation, this moun-

tain, which towers over Davao del Sur and North Cotabato, possesses a formidable array of landscapes—from craggy rockscapes to virgin forests, from mossy swamps to volcanic structures. It provides an experience for mountaineers that lives up to their expectations from the country’s highest peak.

“Treks drew only the most resolute climbers to take on the challenge of conquering its perilous

summit,” wrote Fr. Miguel Bernad, a Jesuit priest and ardent mountaineer, in his essay, “The Snows on Mount Apo,” on how difficult the mountain was to scale in the 1800s.

Mount Hamiguitan

WITHIN 225 hectares, a total of 1,380 species of flora and fauna thrives in this lush sanctuary in Davao Oriental. Due to its high number of unique, endemic and

Dahican Beach

PLANNING of going to Boracay?

Why spend so much money when you can go to this 7-kilometer-long beach in Mati City. Walking barefoot on its white sand is a pleasure.

However, its serene and tranquil shores make it a great escape from strenuous busy life. Added attractions are the endangered dugongs, dolphins and marine turtles that live in its waters. A bonus: meeting some of the Amihan Boys, a

Entertainment

ssMirror

tourism@businessmirror.com.ph • Monday, June 8, 2015 A7

8 NEW FILMS SELECTED

FOR ‘FILIPINO NEW CINEMA’

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KOPIAT Island

CREAMSAND Longbeach

group of young homegrown skimboarders and surfers.

resort is set among inviting swaying coconut palms and fringed by a glittering white-sand beach. But what’s so striking about the resort are its cottages on stilts perched above the sea.

Creamsand Longbeach

FRONTING the great Pacific Ocean, the 9-kilometer-long beach (whose coastline begins from Barangay San Antonio up to Barangay Baybay) has waves perfect for surfing and skimboarding.

Philippine Eagle

THE Philippine Eagle Research and Nature Center in Malagos, Calinan in Davao City is home of the world’s second-largest eagle, which happens to be the country’s national bird. The center is also home to various species of animals, birds and plants.

Kopiat Island

OFF the Davao coast in the municipality of Mabini, Compostela Valley, Kopiat Island boasts of clear and calm waters and wide sections of shoreline blanketed with fine white sand. Its old-fashioned way of beach lounging made it become more relaxing and comforting. No parties, no crowds—just simple beach life.

Aliwagwag Falls

LOCATED in the middle of the forest in Cateel, Davao Oriental, it is touted to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country. It has a series of 84 cascading falls appearing like a stairway to the sky.

Monfort Bat Cave

MONFORT Bat Cave

IN the Island Garden City of Samal, you can find the Monfort Bat Cave.

The 1,000-foot-long cave in Barangay Tambo, Babak District, is home to about 2.4 million bats. It made the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 as the largest colony of Geoffroy’s Rousettes in the world.

Christ the King Cathedral

WHEN going to Tagum City, visit this biggest basilica in Mindanao.

Located at Magugpo South, it has

an impressive architecture that incorporates modern and traditional designs. At the back of the cathedral, you can find the biggest wooden rosary in the world (about 100 meters), whose bead of the rosary each weighs approximately 35 kilograms.

Pearl Farm Beach Resort

ONE of the world-class resorts in Mindanao, it has been featured in two international beauty pageants: Miss Universe and Miss Earth. The

Davao Crocodile Farm

LOCATED in Maa, it provides home to locally bred crocodiles, including the country’s biggest crocodile, named Pangil (fangs), measuring over 18 feet in length. Visitors can take pleasure from viewing, horseback-riding around the park, or feeding the young fierce reptiles.

So, whether you like islets that vanish or mountains that dominate skylines, admiring rare flora and fauna up close, or even sampling creative dishes, Davao makes good on its promise: adventure, durian and more.

IGHT films have now been selected to vie in the Filipino New Cinema section of the World Premieres Film Festival Philippines (WPFF) 2015. The festival itself will take place from June 24 to July 7, and will screen at SM Cinemas.

Gala premieres for the Filipino New Cinema entries are scheduled from June 25 to 27 at the SM North Edsa cinemas. The films Sino nga ba si Pangkoy Ong? and An Kubo sa Kawayanan will be shown on June 25, while Masakara, Piring and I Love You. Thank you will be shown on June 26. Then June 27 will have Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa, Filemon Mamon and Of Sinners and Saints.

Directors and stars will introduce their films and take part in a short Q&A after the screening. Gala premieres are strictly invitational.

The section will feature new Filipino films from contemporary filmmakers who are looking to premiere their latest works before an international audience in the Philippines. The section further highlights the high caliber of films produced and made by the country.

Festival Awards for this section include film grants of varying amounts, as well as awards for Best Picture (first and second place), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Musical Score, Best Sound Engineering, Best Production Design, and Best Performance by an Actor, Best Performance by an Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting

Actress. The awards shall be given by an international jury comprised of experts in cinema.

The eight films selected into the Filipino New Cinema section of the WPFF are An Kubo sa Kawayanan, directed

by Alvin B. Yapan; Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa, directed by Nestor Abrogena; Filemon Mamon, directed by Will Fredo, I Love you. Thank you, directed

by Charliebebs Gohetia; Maskara, directed by Genesis Nolasco; Of Sinners and Saints, directed by Ruben Maria Soriquez; Piring, directed by Carlos Morales; and Sino nga ba si Pangkoy Ong, directed by Jonah Lim. The WPFF, the international film festival on the rise in Southeast Asia, derives from the simple concept of bringing together a number of countries for a distinct film festival that amplifies diversity in cinema.

Featured films will vie for top awards and have red-carpet gala premiere screenings at the country’s stylish cinemas, with film luminaries and celebrities in attendance.

Besides the “Filipino New Cinema” section, the WPFF also has its Main Competition, Cine Verde section and Parallel sections (Euroview, Asean Skies, Ibero-America and Eurasian Cinescape). Overall, the festival will screen 60 to 70 films taken from around the world.

Running in tandem with the WPFF is the International Film Exposition, one of the premier Film Expositions and Film Markets in Southeast Asia, which will be held from June 26 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center.

TheElderly

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BusinessMirror

Monday, June 8, 2015 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

news@businessmirror.com.ph

P-Noy acknowledges Filipino comfort women’s cry for justice

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OKYO, Japan—President Aquino on Thursday acknowledged the relevance of the grievances that Filipino comfort women constantly air every time the world marks the end of the second global war.

“The experiences of the comfort women [are] part of our national history and shared story of our nation. This is one tragic incident. We, in the Philippines, should take care of our own,” he told members of the Philippine media delegation at the Imperial Hotel here.

Mr. Aquino made the statement when asked about his thoughts amid reports there are elderly women, who are still seeking justice over the atrocities that Japanese soldiers had inflicted on them during World War II. Sought for a statement on whether he considered it a matter worth bringing up with Japanese authorities at this point, given strong diplomatic ties between Manila and Tokyo, the President said he is aware that Japan has already apologized.

“The records that are available to me, and I understand, Japan has apologized for such incidents in the past—specifically, the Kono Statement of 1993; Murayama Statement of 1995; 2002 letter of then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Filipino

comfort women,” he said.

President Aquino said he was told by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon that apologies and statements of remorse to Filipino comfort women had already been covered in previous negotiations for reparations and agreements between Japan and the Philippines, prior to his administration.

“The first time I heard about this [was] when I was still a congressman. Siazon was telling me that this has already been explained to them many times. The agreements that were entered into, way before I entered public service, are supposed to have settled this matter between our countries,” he said.

He said that on his return to the country, he will seek updates on the efforts made by the government to address the concerns of comfort women to try and help them recover from their traumatic experiences.

Mr. Aquino is here for a fourday state visit aimed at enhancing the strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines, which have become steadfast allies 59 years after the end of the war.

Instead of playing golf, the world’s elderly are staging heists and robbing banks

By Carol Matlack Bloomberg

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RITISH tabloids were abuzz after a dramatic recent heist in London’s Hatton Garden diamond district, as thieves made off with more than £10 million ($15.5 million) in cash and gems from a heavily secured vault. According to one theory, the gang used a contortionist who slithered into the vault. Others held that a thirtysomething criminal genius known as the “King of Diamonds” had masterminded the caper.

But when police arrested nine suspects, the most striking thing about the crew wasn’t physical dexterity or villainous brilliance. It was age. The youngest suspect in the case is 42, and most are much older, including two men in their mid-seventies. At a preliminary hearing on May 21, a 74-year-old suspect said he couldn’t understand a clerk’s questions because he was hard of hearing. A second suspect, 59, walked with a pronounced limp.

Young men still commit a disproportionate share of crimes in most countries. But crime rates among the elderly are rising in Britain and other European and Asian nations, adding a worrisome new dimension to the problem of aging populations.

South Korea reported this month that crimes committed by people 65 and over rose 12.2 percent from 2011 to 2013—including an eyepopping 40-percent increase in violent crime—outstripping a 9.6-percent rise in the country’s elderly population during the period. In Japan, crime by people over 65 more than doubled from 2003 to 2013, with elderly people accounting for more shoplifting than teenagers.

In the Netherlands, a 2010 study found a sharp rise in arrests and incarceration of elderly people. And in London, police say that arrests of people 65 and over rose 10 percent from March 2009 to March 2014, even as arrests of under-65s fell 24 percent. The number of elderly British prison inmates has been rising at a rate more than three times that

of the overall prison population for most of the past decade.

The US seems to have escaped the trend: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rate of elderly crime among people aged 55 to 65 has decreased since the 1980s.

While the population of elderly prison inmates has grown, that mainly reflects longer sentences, especially for drug-related crimes.

Elderly people in developed countries tend to be “more assertive, less submissive, and more focused on individual social and economic needs” than earlier generations were, says Bas van Alphen, a psychology professor at the Free University of Brussels who has studied criminal behavior among the elderly. “When they see in their peer group that someone has much more money than they do, they are eager to get that,” he said. Older people may also commit crimes because they feel isolated. “I had one patient who stole candies to handle the hours of loneliness every day,” says van Alphen, who describes such behavior as “novelty-seeking.”

Rising poverty rates among the elderly are being blamed in some countries. That’s the case in South Korea, where 45 percent of people over 65 live below the poverty line, the highest rate among the 30 developed countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "The government should make an all-out effort to expand the social safety net and provide jobs and dwellings for the elderly,” the Korea Times newspaper editorialized this month, warning that by 2026 more than 20 percent of the country’s population will be over 65.

The “Opa Bande” (“Grandpa Gang”), three German men in their 60s and 70s who were convicted in 2005 of robbing more than €1 million ($1.09 million) from 12 banks, testified at their trial that they were trying to top up their pension benefits. One defendant, Wilfried Ackermann, said he used his share to buy a farm where he could live because he was afraid of being put in a retirement home.

COCONUT DOLLS A 74-year-old stall owner in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, who identified himself as Mr. Briones, shows visitors his collection of coconut dolls which he sells for P2,500 each in his antique shop. MAU VICTA

The President also said no less than His Majesty Emperor Akihito issued the latest apology during his remarks at the state banquet he hosted on Wednesday evening at the Imperial Palace.

“During World War II, however, fierce battles between Japan and the United States took place on Philip-

pine soil, resulting in the loss of many Filipino lives. This is something we Japanese must long remember with a profound sense of remorse,” Emperor Akihito’s statement went.

“In particular, in this year of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, I offer my deepest condolences to all those who lost

their lives then,” the Emperor added.

Mr. Aquino noted that every Japanese ambassador assigned to the Philippines had never failed to issue public apologies during the commemoration of the country’s “Day of Valor,” held on April 9 every year in Mount Samat in Bataan.

“It is a constant practice for

them to express remorse and apologies for what transpired during the war and that is a yearly event. And, honestly, especially for those who were not even born—there are ambassadors who were not even born in that period—I try to put myself also in their position of having to continuously apologize for or express remorse for the things that happened at a point in time when they weren’t even there but are taking cognizance and responsibility for it,” he said.

President Aquino noted that nonetheless, it is important for the country to remember the past if it is to chart its course toward the future, as reminded by Spanish writer George Santayana in one of his famous aphorisms, “those who forget the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat it.”

“When we remember and commemorate these tragedies that happened to all of us, wherein all countries who were involved—and, of course, practically every country was involved; it was a world war— it does remind us of the real cost of war. It tells us why it should be avoided with utmost dedication and determination.… Keeping it in our consciousness helps us prevent the reoccurrence of such a tragedy,” the President said.

World War II took place from 1939 to 1945, and back then, the Philippines was caught in the crossfire of battles between Allied and Axis forces, where the US and Japan participated on opposite sides of the fence. PNA

Bill to give seniors protection against elder abuse

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LAWMAKER has filed a bill that aims to provide protection to the elderly against abuse.

Rep. Sherwin T. Gatchalian (First District, Valenzuela City) said House Bill 5732 seeks to provide special protection for senior citizens through the prevention and deterrence of acts inimical to their safety and security.

“Any person who commits acts of abuse, neglect and exploitation of the elderly shall be punished with the penalty under the Revised Penal Code, in the maximum period and the status of the offended party being a senior citizen shall be considered an aggravating circumstance of the offense,” Gatchalian explained.

These include acts to inflict or threaten to inflict any physical harm or injury upon an elderly; to physically restrain an elderly under inhumane conditions with the intention of permanently restricting the elderly’s movements and interaction with other members of the community, as well as to cause mental or emotional distress upon an elderly through verbal abuse, intimidation, harassment, public humiliation and ridicule.

The bill further penalizes any person who, having the legal responsibility or contractual obligation to care for an elderly, willfully neglects to provide food, medicines, shelter, clothing or services necessary for the physical and mental health of an elderly.

Likewise, control over the money, assets or property of the elderly through undue influence or deceitful machinations with the intention of depriving the elderly of its ownership, use and benefit constitutes elderly abuse under the measure.

Gatchalian said each year, more and more senior citizens are abused, exploited and neglected.

“The usual victims are seniors who are older, frail, vulnerable and unable to help themselves and depend on others to meet their most basic needs,” Gatchalian said.

CHAT TIME Elders in Baguio City spend their free time at the stage of the People’s Park in Baguio City while telling stories for each other. MAU VICTA He said abusers of senior citizens might be men and women, family members, friends or caregivers.

Gatchalian said studies have shown that elderly people who suffer abuse choose to keep it to themselves and prefer to suffer in silence.

“The occurrence of elderly abuse often goes unpublicized in our society, especially when the perpetrators belong to their family,” he said.

Gatchalian cited the study presented by the University of the Philippines-National College of Pubic Administration and Governance, which noted that children of the elders rank highest in number in terms of perpetrating the

abuse, followed by spouses and then grandchildren.

He further said although Filipino society cherishes, respects and cares for their elders compared to western societies, it cannot be denied that a number of senior citizens have become victims of physical, emotional and economic abuse at the hands of people who are entrusted with their care.

“Their advanced age and fragile condition are taken advantage of by persons in charge of them and even by members of their immediate family,” Gatchalian lamented.

The bill states that the aggrieved elderly or any concerned citizen

shall make a report in writing to the barangay of any act of elderly abuse.

The barangay shall conduct an investigation to determine the veracity of the allegations and finding reasonable ground, the barangay of which the elderly is a resident or currently located shall thereupon order the immediate temporary necessary relief to safeguard the victim from further harm as mandated under the measure.

To provide the necessary relief, the bill mandates the barangay to grant, after ex-parte determination, applications for a Barangay Protection Order, which shall be effective for 15 days. PNA

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Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

COA must audit OP, Congress

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EFORE all this escapes from the national memory, it was in September 2013 when Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, accused of the crime of plunder, delivered on the floor of the Senate a privilege speech and revealed that Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, then chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, had written a private and confidential letter of memorandum to senators about the allocation of P50 million for each senator who voted to convict Chief Justice Renato C. Corona.

It was subsequently pointed out that, prior to the vote, Malacañang had tried to ascertain the senators’ stand on the matter. In other words, as asserted, bribery had taken place in the Senate, possibly on the initiative of Malacañang.

Now the Philippine Constitution (Article XI, Section 2) stipulates that the President may be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption.

We are resigned to the turtle’s pace of justice in our country but not to its consignment to the dustbin of history. Anybody suspected of wrongdoing, including the powerful, must be made to account for his or her actions.

That is why we are energized by the recent suggestion of a columnist of another newspaper that the Commission on Audit (COA) revive its audit of the Office of the President (OP) and Congress. We agree that COA officials and auditors may be underpaid but this should not deter them from carrying out their responsibility of reporting government expenses to the people.

We have no ax to grind against the President and the senators but we are deeply concerned about their moral integrity because, after all, as the highest officials of our government, they are capable of bringing honor or dishonor to our country. Right now, we suspect that they have brought shame upon 100 million Filipinos.

In one of his public utterances, the late Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore was quoted as saying that Philippine progress was held back by a weakness in our culture: The readiness to forgive our leaders’ misbehavior. As a result, our leaders have no compunction in committing antipeople activities because they know they will not be held responsible anyway.

Let it not be said that Lee Kuan Yew was right.

We expect lawyers and other civic-minded citizens to initiate the appropriate legal action and the justice system to render fitting judgment when time is ripe. We are ready to wait until after Mr. Aquino has completed his term to ensure that he cannot use state power to frustrate the ends of justice.

In the meantime, we join the call on the COA to audit the OP and Congress, so that we will have a sense of what “really” transpired at the place and time described by Senator Estrada, and is assured that the ends of justice will be served. We are determined not to forgive, so that we can move forward in the improvement of our individual and collective lives.

06082015

PCSO donates ambulances to military, municipalities

HE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) continues rolling out ambulances to local government units (LGUs) and institutions this year, with the Presidential Security Group (PSG) as the latest recipient.

documentary-stamp taxes, mandatory contributions to other agencies, shares of LGUs from Lotto and other PCSO games, and to the medicalassistance program that accounted for P5.17 billion.

The PCSO now has 44 branch offices nationwide, with the ultimate goal being to open a branch in every province. The 45th branch will be opened in Ozamiz City on June 22, with four more to be opened by the end of the year.

On June 1 at the PCSO’s head office in Mandaluyong City, I and PCSO directors Bem Noel and lawyers Mabel V. Mamba and Francisco G. Joaquin III turned over two brand-new units to PSG Cmdr.

Raul Ubando and Chief of Hospital Col. Rolando Cruz.

Under the PCSO’s Ambulance Donation Program, the agency distributes ambulances under a 60-40 cost-sharing scheme for first- to third-class municipalities and under a 100-percent donation to fourth- to sixth-class municipalities.

To receive their units this week and next are the Aviation Security Group (one unit), the Philippine National Police (three units), three municipalities in Ilocos Norte, three municipalities in Cebu and eight hospitals in Bulacan.

On June 22, on our visit to Ozamiz City to open a PCSO branch office there, we will turn over 12 units to the provinces of Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental.

IT truly is more fun in the Philippines! Last weekend we visited the island of Batanes, and discovered that it is a natural paradise with warm and friendly people, a combination that makes for an unforgettable experience.

There are many interesting tourist experiences to be had there, with one such being Mandy Navasero’s Batanes photo safari, which takes participants around the island to visit heritage spots and structures rich in tradition and history.

Among the places that photographers will enjoy visiting are churches. Drop by Basco Basilica, Tukon church, San Vicente Ferrer Cathedral, Saint Thomas chapel and Saint Joseph the Worker church in Ivana, built in 1860.

Architecture and interior-design buffs will want to see the towns of Chavayan and Savidug on Sabtang Island, which have cobblestone roads and old stonehouses that look frozen in time. The area has been recommended to the United

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

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nnn nnn

THANKS to strong public support of the PCSO’s Lotto and other popular number games, the agency’s total sales in 2014 reached P32.32 million, a 2.2-percent increase from the previous year’s figure of P31.62 percent The agency has 10 regular games, including variants of Lotto and digit games, Lotto Express (keno), traditional Sweepstakes and other number games in the provinces, with the tickets sold through 9,072 retailers and outlets.

Under the PCSO charter, 55 percent of sales to the Prize Fund for winnings, prizes’ taxes, sellers’ prizes and Sweepstakes sellers’ commissions or shares, which, in 2014, reached P13.56 billion. Fifteen percent is set aside for agency operations; as a government-owned and -controlled corporation, the PCSO does not receive any fund from the National Treasury.

Thirty percent of sales go to the Charity Fund, which, in 2014, was P9.83 billion. That amount went to

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a preserved and protected area.

Also on Sabtang is the old settlement of Savidug, where a local wine is made from sugarcane. Tinyan and Morong Beach possess fabulous views.

In Basco the House of Dakay stonehouse, built in 1875, is a mustsee. Its roof is renewed every 30 years. Its walls are so well-built that it has survived a strong earthquake and countless typhoons. Also in the area is a stonehouse restored by Navasero’s 2006 batch of photography tourists and the Honesty Store, which is untended and relies on the honesty of people for payment.

On Batan Island take photos from the Chawa View Deck and Dawn Zulueta Hills. Visit Mahatao Church, the ivy-covered Cariaso stonehouse and the Batanes Museum that was formerly the Lawrence Station. An area of rolling topography is called “Marlboro Country,” after the idyllic landscape in the cigarette company’s iconic vintage advertisements; it offers a panoramic view and tame farm animals, and is a popular spot for “jumpology” pictures.

There are other places in the area to see and visit, and restaurants where one can sample flavorful cuisine. Put Batanes on your bucket list—it offers an experience like no other.

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Beseeching the patron saint of Barbie shoe

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By Gina Barreca | The Hartford Courant/TNS

AISED in an old-time Roman Catholic household, as a kid I never left the dead alone. I bothered them constantly, asking for preference, wheedling for favors and begging for extra credit.

I was taught to call upon my longdead grandparents for sweet dreams and for nice weather because they handled everyday matters.

Without question, I accepted that folks who died two generations before I was born were watching over me. It was like taking for granted my own personal guardian angel and the fact that it was imperative for the women to go to Mass on Sunday, even though the men got to stay home, read the paper or wash the car.

Clearly, God was on the maternal side of the family; we’d send greetings to him on behalf of the boys, and everybody seemed to be fine with that.

But I was encouraged to seek the assistance of high-ranking saints when there was more at stake; these most holy of the dead could provide mercy and help to those who prayed most fervently or who

were most deserving.

Even at my most desperate, I knew I’d never be first tier in the “most deserving” category. I wasn’t orphaned, I wasn’t hungry, and we lived indoors.

The closest I came to desperate is when I had my tonsils out. As a 5-year-old, I found it completely overwhelming to be asked to count backward as they covered my mouth with the anesthetic mask.

I’d only just learned to count forward. I wasn’t afraid of death, I was afraid of being bad at math.

Being not desperate meant I had to work at being fervent. Had you seen me in the throes of an earnest request, during which I would prove my sincerity by a loud and public recitation of the rosary, you would have said, “Now there’s a fervent child. What is she doing, for heaven’s sake? Can anybody make her stop?”

I didn’t look like a noble Saint

Bernadette asking for grace and guidance; I looked like a diminutive Roseanne Barr looking for a “People’s Choice” award. And basically, that’s what I was doing.

Seeking the divine intervention of the saints, I became an annoyance. “Please-oh-please” became one word, said with eyes closed and hands clasped together.

If I were trying to send the message special delivery, I’d get down on my knees and cross myself.

“Please-oh-please let me get an A” was a big one (so much for ambition putting one’s soul in peril) but so was the less realistic and yet still passionately requested “Pleaseoh-please let my hair turn blonde overnight” (and if vanity really is a serious sin, I’m not the only one who’s in big trouble).

Yes, I actually believed that if I prayed hard enough—and to the right saint—I’d wake up with beautifully straight, butter-colored hair.

Miracles work in mysterious ways. I discovered “Sun In” when I was 11. I learned, to my consternation, that Saint Peroxide is not a friend to brunettes. (I had to wear a bandanna until my natural color

grew back in; it felt like penance).

The major saint was, of course, Saint Anthony. He was the patron saint for lost objects. On any given day there were, just on our block, probably 200 people calling on this one beleaguered soul for help in finding car keys, wallets, one earring and, in my case, Barbie shoes.

I couldn’t keep two shoes together for my Barbie doll for more than three minutes and it drove my mother up the wall. When she’d had enough, we’d tie two chairs together and pray for Saint Anthony’s help.

(I thought everybody did the chair-tying thing but even other Italian friends find the ritual puzzling. Maybe my family made it up to keep me quiet. It wouldn’t have been the only time they employed such a ruse.)

I don’t speak as often to the dead anymore. I try not to haunt them as much as I once did, knowing more of them personally now. I wouldn’t want to leave anybody out.

But at times, I still call on Saint Anthony, hoping he’ll come through to help me find what I’ve lost—even if that includes what some might call my faith.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Want to be content? Stay Unless otherwise my foot away from social media

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By Dick Meyer | Scripps Washington Bureau/TNS

have been moonlighting, running a clinical experiment on the effects of peer-group information networks on psychological well-being.

The control group I am working with is admittedly small.

It’s actually only one person, so far—me. And the time frame is sub-optimal—about a month.

My team and I cut me off from what is technically called “online news industry gossip.” Then we closely monitored my state of mind and contentment metrics.

I am happy to report that the preliminary findings, published here for the first time, support all of my preconceived notions: Too much “social” in one’s media consumption, and too much media in general, lowers contentment and heightens irritation.

In the past year, I have encountered more and more people who have sworn off of social media, especially Facebook. They say it makes them feel bad about themselves, more competitive, less accomplished, less perfect than others in their virtual communities.

I don’t use social media for socializing, so I couldn’t abstain for the sake of science.

What I did do was swear off looking at the sites that “cover” the “media” business. I couldn’t eliminate Twitter because I use it for my day job, but I tried not to peak at news business gossip and banter.

Before Web 2.0, the supply of published industry news—and gossip—was limited, as it was in all professions. A handful of columnists and writers at big publications covered the news business, mostly television news.

These reporters, whose stuff appeared in general interest newspapers and magazines, mostly wrote about the biggest names and the top executives. Their editors didn’t want stories about lowly producers and beat reporters. Besides, paper and ink cost money.

That changed, of course, with the explosion of Web sites and social media. Routine promotions and job shuffling were covered like real news and gossip was treated like investigative reporting. The machinations of junior producers, social-media editors, mid-level managers and industrious self-promoters were all reported with the same breathless, boosterish silliness. Twitter provided a 24/7 echo chamber.

We journalists were captured by the tricks we use on others— the flattery of seeing your name in print.

We began to believe that we were kind of famous—and important, like the people we covered.

We became more insiders than outsiders. We are supposed to expose the self-promoters, not

master the art.

But it was all fun. Until it wasn’t.

W he n I h a d m a n a ge me nt jobs, I thought it was important to follow all the industry news and gossip. But when I shed my shackles and returned to a writing job last year, I still kept up.

A nd I noticed this incessant stream of bold-faced news was irritating me. I got cranky when I read about an undeserving excolleague’s promotion.

I got mad when the Twitterista’s declared some tiny shred of news to be a Scoop or mocked some rube that wasn’t as savvy as the rest of the in-crowd. I didn’t need to know so much about my so-called peer-group.

So I went cold turkey. And I feel much better, thank you.

All this news was just noise.

Information clutter. The chronicles of my profession were social, yes, but impersonal, communal but not intimate. I found it alienating. I haven’t missed it. I am in recovery and I’m sharing.

Now, journalists are notoriously well-balanced people. We have chips on both our shoulders.

We are famously thin-skinned, voyeur istic, susceptible to schadenfreude, petty and inclined to env y the success of others. I am certainly all of the above. Social media and the modern Web are not healthy places for my ilk.

But I suspect my growing discomfort with this social part of media is common.

Among adults, some people who were once enthusiastic, even addicted users of Facebook, Twitter and online communities for work or play aren’t so enthusiastic anymore. They’ve overdosed.

Distortions caused by virtual community—the lack of eye contact, intonation and the way you can groom your online self—became less tolerable.

But I have watched this longer and more carefully for children, starting when mine were little.

For years I have monitored and col lected research about the effects of social media, video games, screen time, mobile phones and hyper-connectivity on child and adolescent development: attention span, information retention, social skills, anxiety and mental health. I could make a strong, empirical case that we should be worried. But I also know that I have cherrypicked the evidence.

But at least I can report that my little experiment had very positive results. And they’re easy to replicate.

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

I

legally speaking

have been a staunch defender of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and believe in the justness and reasonableness of its provisions. I believe in its primacy, I believe in its power, I believe in its ideals, I believe in its grace. I believe all those things because, unlike the constitution that preceded it, the 1987 Philippine Constitution is an unquestionable embodiment of the will of the Filipino People.

Borne from the sweeping emotions of independence and strife, of struggle and new beginnings, of faith and hope and patriotism, spawned by no less than the “People Power” of the 1986 Edsa Revolution, the 1987 Constitution was drafted by a multicultural and multisectoral aggrupation of nationalistic and patriotic Filipinos, who breathed the sweet rarefied air that only the truly free know and understand.

And the people, for whom and by whose initiative the 1987 Constitution was created, not only ratified the fundamental law by an overwhelming majority, but, I think,

they viewed the Constitution just as I did and still do—with reverence. While I understand that it is a living and breathing document, I am more in awe of its Molave-like strength, firmness and resilience, to use Rafael Zulueta da Costa’s famous words.

The Constitution is designed to be rigid to safeguard its integrity, so that it may stay true to its character inside, despite the changes outside.

Thus, the Constitution should only be changed under the most absolutely compelling circumstances.

Right now, there is a pending bill, which already passed the second reading in the House of Rep-

Monday, June 8, 2015 A11

resentatives that seeks to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution, particularly the provisions on Article XII on National Economy and Patrimony. Amending the Article on National Economy and Patrimony is tantamount to opening the floodgates of opportunities to foreigners to own our lands, as well as operate and manage nationalized or restricted trade and industries reserved only to Filipinos. The question to ponder is whether it is about time to overhaul the article.

At first glance the proposed amendment appears simple in as much as the Congress proposed to amend the constitutional provisions in Article XII by adding the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.” But is it really as harmless as it seems?

To someone not familiar with legalese, the addition seems innocuous enough to merit much thought from the public. In reality, though, this “minor” addition will be a major blow to the foundation of the Constitution. Should the same be adopted as an amendment, it will give unfettered license to the Congress to decide, when to fulfill, and when to deny, the promises made by the Constitution to limit ownership of land and the operation and management of some trade or

China’s move toward a more open society–it’s not happening

By Timothy Cheek and Jeffrey Wasserstrom Los Angeles Times/TNS

W

HATEVER happened to the Chinese revolution?

Not the dynasty-toppling 1911 revolution. Not the Communist-led 1949 uprising. Not the 1989 struggle, sometimes called an abortive revolution, which was crushed by a massacre on June 4.

No, the revolution we have in mind is a very recent one, which the journalist Ian Johnson, in his 2005 book Wild Grass, memorably called a “slow-motion revolution.” At the turn of the millennium, it looked as though China was moving gradually, sometimes glacially, toward becoming a more open—as opposed to just more prosperous and powerful—country. China’s rise continues.

But that slow-motion revolution has been stopped in its tracks.

Johnson’s claim was not that of a starry-eyed fantasist convinced that China was predestined to become Americanized. He simply envisioned a China where, from year to year, there would be fewer limits on what one could talk about, and more ways to expose official malfeasance and gain redress for basic grievances. He documented the small-scale but substantive gains being made by brave rights lawyers, moderate civil society activists and envelope-pushing journalists who strove not to overturn the Communist Party but to get it to do a better job of living up to its professed goals.

As recently as 2009 this slow-motion revolution still seemed alive. The party did tighten control in 2008 as

it strove to ensure that the Olympic Games went well. And the party always dealt ruthlessly with organized challengers. But the watchword was, as a bartender summed it up to one of us: Meiyou yundong, shenme dou keyi— if it isn’t a movement, anything goes.

Writing in 2009 to mark the June 4 anniversary, Lijia Zhang, who marched in 1989, described the situation well. Twenty years before, she said, people like her had felt trapped “in a cage” and longed to be free. Since 1989 the bars of the cage had moved farther away. They knew that the cage still existed, but it was easier to imagine that it didn’t.

Today, however, the bars are closing in again. Many rights lawyers and moderate civil-society activists have been jailed. In March five feminists were summarily detained in Beijing with no legal process, solely for planning events publicizing the need for greater equality. Censorship of the Internet has increased. Chinese academics have been warned to watch what they say in class. They should not promote “Western values” or “threaten social stability” by talking about social inequities and historical mistakes made by the party.

These warnings, new to the current

generation, have appalled and surprised some young intellectuals.

Their elders, though, feel a depressing sense of déjà vu. Some say to us, in effect, “We’re back to the 1980s, but without the hope we had then.”

What explains this shift?

Party leader Xi Jinping seems to believe he must stamp out all hints of dissent in order to save China from the instability that has beset various post-communist societies in Eurasia and post-authoritarian ones in the Middle East.

Above all, Xi is determined not to end up being China’s counterpart to Mikhail Gorbachev, a figure Chinese leaders disdain for allowing the Soviet Union to implode under his watch.

Xi allegedly derided Gorbachev, in a speech given behind closed doors, for failing to be “manly” enough to take tough action when necessary a quarter-century ago—a contrast, presumably, to what the tougher Deng Xiaoping had done when ordering tanks to roll into Beijing in 1989.

A s the jour na list Wil liam Dobson argued in The Dictator’s Learning Curve, modern authoritarian rulers are intensely aware of the challenges their counterparts are facing, and they’re stealing from one another’s playbooks.

In the 1970s Singapore’s leaders began appealing to traditional Confucian values, while defending oneparty rule and pushing for rapid development. Later, Deng’s successors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao echoed that strategy in China.

More recently, Xi and Russian

It’s time for laboratories to get out of the monkey business

By Alka Chandna

I

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals | TNS

N 2013 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) made the historic decision to retire the majority of federally owned chimpanzees from use in experiments. While this was a monumental victory for chimpanzees, there are still 110,000 monkeys and other primates imprisoned in US laboratories. A new Peta eyewitness investigation at a company in Florida that sells monkeys to laboratories is shining a spotlight on the need for urgent action for these animals, as well.

For eight months, a witness worked at Florida-based Primate Products Inc. (PPI), a notorious primate dealer that imports hundreds of monkeys each year and warehouses and then sells them to laboratories. The company has been awarded federal contracts worth more than $13 million—including

by NIH, the Army and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PPI also sends monkeys to universities and contract-testing

conglomerates across the country.

The witness documented that some monkeys with painful injuries, including exposed bones, were left to suffer without adequate veterinary care for days.

One monkey was denied adequate medical treatment for an exposed vertebra in her tail for at least a week, despite the fact that the witness had notified a supervisor, a PPI manager and another worker repeatedly about the injury. Many

industries to Filipinos only.

Truth be told, “unless otherwise provided by law” is one of the most common phrases that you would find in the legal lexicon and in most statutes. Most often than not it is a benign provision, which creates an elbowroom with which to adjust to a more pertinent law. But, when you use the same to amend the Constitution, it becomes more of a virus that must be killed on sight. It has the effect of shaking the foundation of the Constitution to uncertainty and reduces it to a mere plaything that the Congress can toy around and abuse.

Lest I be misconstrued, I am not opposed to amending the Constitution. Amendment is a tool specifically provided by the framers of the Constitution itself to adjust it to changing times. However, I do not believe in short cuts. “Unless otherwise provided by law” is just too convenient for comfort. It is a short cut. It has a huge potential for abuse.

Amendment must be carefully crafted and worded, such that it would clarify and not obfuscate, to make matters certain and not complicate, to shed light and not to darken the basic principles and assurances enshrined in the Constitution for the benefit of the Filipinos.

monkeys were confined to virtually barren concrete pens littered with feces and old food with other stressed and apparently incompatible monkeys, sometimes for months at a time.

While monkeys, like humans, are highly social animals, the severe psychological stress of being impr isoned in a sma l l space with strangers and given virtually nothing to do probably contributed to fights among the animals. With no escape, subordinate monkeys lived in constant fear of attack by aggressive monkeys, as well as by their human captors. One monkey, named Loretta by the witness, was left penned with the very monkeys who had injured and apparently terrified her for more than 22 weeks, despite at least 23 written and verbal reports to PPI staff that she was being attacked and

appeared to be afraid of the other monkeys. Loretta’s face was frequently lacerated, and she had extensive hair loss.

Another monkey, whom the witness named Sweet P, was forced to live for more than two weeks with monkeys who had attacked her. She was finally moved but was then kept isolated in a barren metal cage for 20 days—during which time PPI’s behaviorist admitted to having forgotten about her.

Monkeys were also terrorized

by PPI workers who chased them and grabbed them by their sensitive tails.

Workers aggressively swung nets at them, yanked them off the fences that they desperately clung to and even hurled them into nets. Other monkeys were confined all alone to tiny, bleak metal cages. Locked in isolation and denied suitable companion-

ship, which is crucial to their mental and physical health—just as it is to ours—some of these psychologically distressed monkeys rocked back and forth and paced in circles, likely signs of intense boredom and distress.

Though temperatures dipped to as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit, most monkeys kept outside were denied heat throughout the winter, leading to frostbite and apparently even the death of at least one monkey in an outdoor enclosure.

In 2014 alone, PPI imported 1,000 monkeys from Asia and Africa—63 percent of whom, according to US Fish and Wildlife Service documents, were taken from their families and homes in the wild. These animals are eventually trucked to government agencies, universities and contract—testing laboratories,

President Vladimir Putin, who share a disparaging view of Gorbachev, have been drawing closer. It’s entirely possible that the former has tried to curtail Chinese feminist activities because he wants to nip in the bud the kind of problem the latter faced with Pussy Riot.

Xi’s efforts are popular in some Chinese circles. That’s in part because he’s not only moving against threats to the party (real and imagined) but also the party itself. Xi has pledged to remove notoriously corrupt officials, clean up messy bureaucracies and reinvigorate the party rank and file, all in the name of realizing the so-called Chinese dream of national resurgence.

But there’s another reason some in China accept Xi’s methods. A quarter-century ago, there was a widespread belief that Western ways had proved superior to Soviet ones in generating wealth and delivering social justice. The years since then have not been kind to this notion.

Beijing does not have to make up tall tales to cast the West in a negative light. It can just point to the disastrous invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 financial crisis, euro-zone economic anxieties, American legislative paralysis, the Edward Snowden NSA revelations and the latest police shootings. It is not just party pronouncements against Western values that inhibit Chinese activists from holding up the West as a model; our own faults and foibles are clear to see.

including facilities that blast monkeys with radiation, drill into their skulls, test sexual lubricants on their rectums and intentionally infect them with an HIV-like virus that causes crippling AIDS-like symptoms, even though every single HIV vaccine developed using monkeys has failed in humans.

Recog ni zing t his c ha in of abuse, nearly every major airline in the world now refuses to transport monkeys to PPI or any other laboratory or dealer.

Peta is working toward a day when every cage in every laboratory is empty.

Readers can make a difference by urging their members of Congress to push the NIH to fund more modern and superior nonanimal research instead of cruel and ineffective experiments on monkeys and other animals.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, June 8, 2015

Subsidies extended to GOCCs reached P3.69 billion in Q1

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ubsidies extended to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) amounted only to P3.69 billion in the first three months this year.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) indicated that the government subsidies in the first three months, while expected to ramp up later in the year, amounted to only P3.69 billion.

Treasury officials said such subsidies in prior years tended to rise as the budget year progresses.

For 2014 the government subsidies amounted to P80.44 billion, representing a 21-percent increase from subsidies extended to GOCCs in 2013, which amounted to only P66.33 billion.

In 2012 the government subsidies amounted to only P42.64 billion.

For the first quarter this year, subsidies extended to government financial institutions (GFIs) amounted only to P250 million; those to major nonfinancial government corporations amounted to P1.56 billion; while those to other government corporations amounted to P1.88 billion.

The biggest recipients of the subsidies were the National Electrification Administration, P731 million; Philippine Children’s Medical Center, P607 million; National Irrigation Administration, P406 million; Philippine Postal Corp.,P301 million; and National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., P250 million.

To help stabilize utlities prices, subsidy funds were, likewise, extended to National Power Corp., P164 million; Philippine Heart Center, P159 million; Local Water Utilities Administration, P151 million; Tourism Promotions Board, P125 million; Philippine Rice Research Institute, P121 million; Philippine National Railway, P106 million; and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, P103 million.

David Cagahastian

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House approves bill simplifying govt acquisition of right-of-way

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he House of Representatives has approved on final reading a measure simplifying the mode of acquiring right-of-way (Row) for various government infrastructure projects.

House Bill 5588, or The Right-of-Way Act, principally authored by House Committee on Public Works and Highways Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan of Benguet, amends Republic Act (RA) 8974, otherwise known as “An Act to Facilitate the Acquisition of Right-of-Way, Site or Location for National Government Infrastructure Projects and for Other Purposes.”

Under the measure, the term “national government projects” shall refer to all national government infrastructure projects and its public service facilities, engineering works and service contracts, including project undertaken by government-owned and -controlled corporations, all projects covered by

RA 6957, as amended by RA 7718, otherwise known as the build-operate-transfer law, and other related and necessary activities, such as site acquisition, supply or installation of equipment and materials, implementation, construction, completion, operation, maintenance, improvement, repair and rehabilitation, regardless of the source of funding.

Under the same measure, the government may acquire real property needed as Row site or location for any national government infrastructure project through donation, negotiated sale, expropriation, or any other mode of acquisition as provided by law.

The bill ensures that the imple-

menting agency may offer to acquire, through negotiated sale, the Row site or location for a national government infrastructure project; the sum of the current market value of the land; the replacement cost of the structures and improvements therein; and the current market value of crops and trees therein.

The measure mandates the implementing agency to take into account the ecological and environmental impact of the project it will undertake. Before any national government project could be undertaken, the implementing agency shall consider environmental laws, land-use ordinances and all pertinent provisions of RA 7160, or the Local Government Code.

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the National Housing Authority, in coordination with local government units, shall establish resettlement sites for informal settlers, including the provision of adequate basic services and community facilities, the bill said.

Other key provisions of the measure include the prohibition of the issuance of temporary restraining orders on infrastructure projects, flexible/open rate on

return of investment, automatic grant of administrative delegated franchises and tax exemption on local taxes.

According to Cosalan, the various national government infrastructurebuildup programs are crucial for public welfare and the country’s overall development because, these are investments benefiting the economy and the nation’s future.

“The delivery of basic services, the mobility of our communities and the day-to-day operations of business on all levels depend on the existence of reliable infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, classrooms and public markets, among others,” Cosalan added.

Partylist-Rep. Jesulito A. Manalo of Angkla, coauthor of the measure, said the acquisition of property needed for the projects, however, often entails a long and tedious process that taxes both the private land owners and the government itself. “To balance the interests of the State and of private land owners and ensure that the nation’s infrastructure projects are completed efficiently, equitably, and with due consideration for public rights, there is an urgent need to amend RA 8974,” Manalo said.

PHL manufacturing growth likely eased to 5.8% in April–Moody’s

By Bianca Cuaresma

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he country’s industrial sector likely expanded in April to only around 5.8 percent as consequence of the manufacturing sector having been affected by the volatility in oil prices.

In its latest review of economic data in Asia Pacific, Moody’s Analytics, the research arm of the international credit watcher Moody’s Investors Service, said Philippine industrial production likely slowed in April from an expansion averaging 13.6 percent reported in March.

“Low oil prices continue to drag on chemi-

cal and petroleum production,” analysts at Moody’s Analytics said.

In the months ahead, the analysts said the likelihood for continued growth in the manufacturing sector remains upbeat due to robust consumer demand. “Buoyant domestic demand is boosting manufacturing and food production,” the research arm of the international credit watcher said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last month that the volume of production index surged in March this year.

In particular, Volume of Production Index (VoPI) gained further as it posted a two-digit increase of 13.6 percent in March

2015. The VoPI tracks changes attributable to shifts in prices or whether such other factors as quantity or quality of the services and goods were involved.

Significant increases in VoPI were noted in eight of the 14 major sectors that registered growth, namely, petroleum products at 95.9 percent; basic metals, 73.9 percent; tobacco products, 72.4 percent; chemical products, 63.5 percent; textiles, 30.1 percent; printing, 17.5 percent; beverages, 12.4 percent; and leather products, 11.3 percent. The PSA is expected to release the March production index data on June 10.

MNTC keen on bidding for CLEX. . . earmarked P14.94 billion for this venture.

It will be funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Authority. The contract for the additional 30 kilometers of road, which will be auctioned off by the end of the year, is expected to be completed by 2018. The second phase of the thoroughfare, meanwhile, involves the construction of another thoroughfare that will interconnect Cabanatuan to San Jose City. It carries a P14.20-billion price tag.

Phase Two also involves the operations and maintenance contract for the expressway. It will be auctioned off under the PPP Program of the Aquino administration. The 35.70-km road is still being studied for feasibility.

The Plaridel Bypass Tollroad, on the

Thailand. . .

Continued from A1

other hand, is an arterial road of 24.61 km that will link the Nlex in Balagtas, Bulacan, with the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, also called Maharlika Highway, in San Rafael, Bulacan.

It will bypass the town proper of Plaridel and urban areas of Pulilan and Baliuag along the existing Maharlika Highway, thus alleviate the perennial traffic congestion at the core urban areas along Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway road section from Plaridel to San Rafael, Bulacan.

The bypass road will traverse the vast agricultural lands of five municipalities in Bulacan, namely, Balagtas, Guiguinto, Plaridel, Bustos and San Rafael.

These projects, according to Franco, are the native expansion initiatives for

his company’s current tollways portfolio. It currently holds the concession for the Nlex and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressways (SCTEx).

“Both are naturally expansion of Nlex and Sctex, that is why we are interested,” he said. The public works department has under its helm a number of key infrastructure deals that aim to improve the road network around the Philippines.

The public works department has so far awarded two PPP projects, namely, P2.2billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway project, bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011; and the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013.

Prayuth Chan-ocha said as he opened the event with an hour-long speech.

“The government is focusing on preventing and suppressing human trafficking and is determined to get rid of men who sell men, so that they no longer have a place to stand on our soil—no matter how influential they are or if they are government officials,”said Prayuth, who took power from a civilian government in a May 2014 coup.

Yet even Friday’s event raised questions about Thailand’s seriousness. The journalist who was honored reported on trafficking from the country’s inland north, not the south and the sea, where the crisis has been most immediate.

Weeks earlier, when a Bangkok television reporter drew broad attention to the issue by getting on a migrant boat to shoot video, Prayuth obliquely referred to her as a troublemaker.

Human-rights activists and others have long accused Thai authorities of collusion in the trafficking industry—claims that police, military and government officials have long denied. But as the migrant camps, graves and boats drew global attention, pressure grew on the government to respond.

In a widening human-trafficking investigation, more than 50 people have been arrested in a month, including local politicians, government officials, police, and, in the past week, a senior-ranking army officer.

About 50 police officers in the southern provinces were also removed from their posts and investigated for possible involvement in trafficking syndicates.

The junta-appointed legislature passed a new antihuman-trafficking law that mandates harsher penalties, and human trafficking-related court cases will get a shortcut in the judicial system to prosecute suspects more quickly. AP

Continued from A1

Last June Thailand and Malaysia were put on a blacklist in a US State Department assessment on human trafficking, a downgrade that can jeopardize its lucrative seafood and shrimp industries. The European Union also threatened Thailand with a ban on seafood import by the end of the year unless it drastically changes its policies on illegal and unregulated fishing.

A new State Department assessment is due this month, and Thailand is pushing for an upgrade with efforts that included its first-ever Anti-Human Trafficking Day on Friday.

The opening ceremony at the prime minister’s Government House was followed by discussion about the problem and an awards ceremony for a journalist, police and officials who have helped expose human- trafficking problems.

“Today, we have to admit that this has been a problem in Thailand for a long time,” Prime Minister