BusinessMirror September 2, 2015

Next on The Broader Look

THINKING OUTSIDE THE (BALIKBAYAN) BOX B EAR with the Bureau of Customs; it needs to think outside the box to safeguard revenues and public safety. So, while the inspection of balikbayan boxes seems to put our modern-day heroes at a disadvantage, it may just be one of those bitter pills that the country needs to swallow to be in a better shape. The BUSINESSMIRROR has The Broader Look on Thursday.

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Life

Great things in store

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B B C

This development relates in the main to bank borrowings for the purchase of residential houses and cars, including even consumer purchases with the use of credit cards.

The various banks reported consumer loans totaling only P735.1 billion a year earlier.

“This sustains the quarter-onquarter growth in consumer loans that began in 2008,” the BSP said.

Consumer loans comprise 16.7 percent of the total lending portfolio of universal, commercial and thrift

banks in the country.

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

Residential real-estate loans still have the largest share of consumer loans across components, which hit P411.4 billion as of end-March this year.

S “C-,” A

SPECIAL REPORT

MTV VMA VMAs 2015: FIVE REASONS IT WAS ALL A MESS »D3

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

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

Home, auto buyers drive 27% consumer-loan rise HE country’s appetite for consumer loans continued to expand in the quarter ended March this year, the service having grown nearly 27 percent to P932.8 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Tuesday.

THE BEST TABLET IN THE MARKET, PERIOD D

Thursday 18, 2014 Vol. 102,No.2015 40 Vol. 10 No. 328 Wednesday, September

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INSIDE

EAR God, as we pray each day, may the people around us inspire us to do things with the help of Your grace. You have great things in store for us. You are wonderful and loving Father and You are offering us an amazing future. We trust in Your plans no matter how things work right now.

Great things in store for us are in the form of good health, clean life and spiritual well-being. Amen.

A broader look at today’s business

D1

SONY XPERIA Z4 TABLET

THE BEST TABLET IN THE MARKET, PERIOD THE Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet docked on the complementary Sony Bluetooth keyboard makes for a serious laptop replacement.

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B G S. R Lifestyle & Entertainment Editor

N the days leading up to Sony’s scheduled September 2 appearance at the 2015 IFA—or the Internationale Funkausstellung, the consumer electronics and home appliances trade show held annually at about this time in Berlin, Germany—the tech media, old and new, have been filled with leaks of products that the global consumer electronics giant will supposedly unveil.

Not surprisingly, the leaks have been focused—not just largely but solely—on Sony’s Xperia brand of smartphones because, well, this tool of wireless communication and productivity has become so deeply embedded in our everyday lives that we would feel quite lost and terribly out of sorts should we absentmindedly leave it at home, or, worse, should it be spirited away from our clutches by some nefarious creature.

Given the already show-stopping smartphones that have made their market debuts since the start of the year, touting everything from screens with curved edges to genuine leather backs to Quad HD displays, the tech media and everyone else have been curious—and judging from the flurry of leaks, make that incredibly curious—about what Sony could bring to the smartphone table to shift the ongoing conversation from the competition.

Well, how about the first-ever 4K display to come in a smartphone form factor? That, according to the leaks, is the conversation-changer that Sony will be unveiling at the IFA: apart from the Xperia Z5 Compact with a 4.6-inch 720p screen and the standard Xperia Z5 with 5.2-inch 1080p display, there is the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, which allegedly will boast of a 5.5.-inch display of such jaw-dropping high resolution, packing 800 pixels per inch to make competitors weep in the edges—this, on top of such step-ups as a reported 23-megapixel camera with a 0.03 second autofocus and 5X digital zoom and an all-metal body (for all the new Xperia Z smartphones) that retains the brand’s iconic boxy OmniBalance aesthetic.

Of course, we’ll know more soon not long after this piece goes to print.

For now, our attention is on the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet, a 10.1-inch device powered by Google’s market-leading Android OS (Lollipop version) that was

launched in March, and comes at the heels of last year’s smaller but nonetheless solid and well-received Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. The company’s latest tablet offering is now available in gadget stores around these parts, although unlike in other markets, it comes not bundled with Sony’s companion Bluetooth keyboard accessory that makes the Xperia Z4 Tablet a serious laptop replacement.

As with all of Sony’s Xperia-branded products, the Xperia Z4 Tablet bears the company’s OmniBalance design, which is “focused on creating balance and symmetry in all directions.” Indeed, give them a cursory glance and one will find it difficult to distinguish the difference between Sony’s latest tablet offering and its elder 10.1 siblings (the original Xperia Tablet Z from 2013 and the Xperia Z2 Tablet from last year). But, yes, there are differences: not only is it only 6.1-millimeter thick but it is also lighter at 393 grams. It is as slim as the iPad Air 2 but even lighter (Apple’s flagship tablet seems downright overweight at 444g). And while the Xperia Z4 Tablet retains the water- and dust-proof chops of its siblings, it has been able to do so without having to seal off its microUSB port and 3.5-mm headphone jack with the flappy covers of earlier iterations.

The clean lines that fans have come to expect from Sony’s Xperia brand continue with the Z4 Tablet, with its metal spine unfettered by anything except for that signature metal power button that is just perfection, the sliver of a volume rocker that protrudes just so, and the flap cover that seals away the slots for the nano SIM and the microSD card. Meanwhile, the backside of the tablet is done in a premium polycarbonate material that looks great and isn’t quite the fingerprint magnet, while giving this ultra-slim device a reassuring grippy feel.

The front is, of course, defined by the Xperia Z4 Tablet’s 10.1-inch display with a pixel resolution of 2560 x 1600 and a sharpness of 299 pixels per inch (bettering the 264ppi offered by Apple’s iPad Air 2). The screen is, in a word, fabulous. Powered by Sony’s Triluminos display and X-Reality Engine technologies for its awardwinning Bravia TVs, media consumption on the tablet is an utterly immersive joy—much brighter, with a wider color gamut, richer colors and blacker blacks. No doubt the thick bezels that frame that brilliant display will

have their critics, and while Sony could’ve shaved off few millimeters from all sides, a the bezels do provide just the space for your fingers to rest on when holding the tablet in both hands. Also, Sony has managed to relocate the speakers from the back to the front in such a way that you would barely know they’re there.

See those slivers that bookend the lower part of the display? That’s where the sound now emanates from, and the speakers provide enough volume to make watching your favorite TV show or blockbuster movie possible even when you forgot to bring along a headphone. (Be forewarned though: Do so in a café or restaurant, or during a plane ride at the risk of supremely annoying the people around you.)

MODERNIZING PHL MILITARY ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET

Inside, the Xperia Z4 Tablet is powered by a 2.0GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 3 gigabytes of RAM, an 8.1-MP rear camera, a 5.1-MP front-facing shooter, and a hefty 6,000mAh battery that, according to Sony, will allow 17 to 18 hours of video consumption. In realworld, day-to-day use—in our case that includes a repeat episode or two of Downton Abbey; some social-media stuff, general browsing, intermittent e-mail and Google Hangouts messaging on either Wi-Fi or Long-Term Evolution; a good chunk of an ebook, plus editing a document or three—the battery was able to last us for the better part of a day.

With a design that is decidedly modern and exquisitely classic at the same time, an excellent hardware selection that gives it both muscle and moxie, and the niceties that Sony adds on top of the Android experience (PS4 Remote Play, anyone?), the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet is the best tablet in the market today. Period.

To know more about the latest tablet hotness from Sony, point your browser to http://goo.gl/pfjxH5. ■

B R A

SKY CUSTOMER SERVICE NOW JUST A TEXT AWAY WITH life becoming more fast-paced, people nowadays require services to be on-the-go and respond quickly.

To meet with people’s evolving lives, the leading digital cable TV and highspeed Internet service provider in the country has launched a new customerservice experience fit for an increasingly connected Philippines.

SKY subscribers now have a new way to send inquiries and request for assistance when they need it. The SKY customer-service team can now be reached via text messaging on all mobile networks. SKYcable, SKYbroadband and Destiny Cable subscribers can simply text any concern about their subscription experience to 23662. No special keyword is required. Those in need of assistance can simply send a text message and a customer-service representative is guaranteed to reply within two hours. Texts to the hotline are free.

The customer-service team can also be reached via e-mail (skyserves@ skycable.com, weserve@destinycable.com.ph weserve@destinycable.com.ph).

Those who would rather make inquiries via social media can do so via facebook.com/myskycable or facebook.com/destinycableph on Facebook, or via @skyserves or @destinycableph on Twitter.

LIFE

D1

A.L.P. EYES JAPANESE MARKET IN CEBU WITH THE ALCOVES BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, September 2, 2015 Editor: Tet Andolong

ALP eyes Japanese market in Cebu with The Alcoves

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B R R R

YALA Land Premier (ALP), the luxury brand of property colossus Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), is now targeting the rich Japanese market with the launching of The Alcoves, the latest premium residence in Ayala Center Cebu.

The Alcoves is a 37-story luxury condo that offers top-of-the-line amenities and residential concepts to fit its sagacious market. It will be ALP’s third tower in the district.

The Alcoves is a follow-up project after the success of its predecessors, namely, the 1016 Residences launched in 2010 and Park Point Residences launched in 2012.

“We’ve been going extensively to the other parts of the region the past two years to promote the brand. A lot of Japanese citizens are interested in our products,” said Mike Hugo, ALP head of sales, in a media briefing over the weekend in Cebu City.

Aside from its much vaunted luxury component, The Alcoves addresses several needs of modern couples, like a walled-in environment.

For people who are in their 30s and 40s who don’t have a nanny, the enclosed setup is suitable because they are assured their children are safe.

As far as the demographics are concerned, the prospective buyers of The Alcoves are not solely focused on generations X, Y and baby boomers.

“You can’t confine them in one age bracket,” Hugo noted.

“When you talk about the luxury segment, it’s hard to talk about a certain age group. There are lots of entrepreneurs who are in their 20s who are actually billionaires,” he added.

Jose Juan Jugo, group head of ALP, said The Alcoves is perfect for both end-users and investors. “The ability to combine multiple units gives clients more flexibility on the use of their units,” he said.

There are eight residential concepts to choose from, six of which are considered special, limited-edition units. These include the one-bedroom Zen unit, which ALP intends to offer to Cebu’s growing Japanese market.

“What is special about The Alcoves is the unique unit offerings geared toward the Japanese market.

These features are not present in existing ALP projects in Cebu,” said Leya moya, project development group head of ALP. As of June 2015, in fact, Japan continues to be the third largest foreign tourist group in the country with 267,264 visitors, who accounted for P8.98 billion spent during their stay—the fourth largest among foreign visitors, Furthermore, Japanese tourists are now the fastest-growing arrivals in Cebu. They are attracted to the climate, cosmopolitan culture, leisure and recreation, like golf, diving, snorkeling and other aqua sports.

Moreover, Cebu is now evolving into an ideal second-home destination with education, health facilities, direct flights and city to sea conveniences. Some of them even choose to reside permanently in the region.

The Philippine Retirement Authority noted that around 7.78 percent of foreign retirees now registered in the country are Japanese.

THE Alcoves

ALCOVES unit

allows residents to enjoy viewing the city skyline. “Residents can work out at the fitness gym and lap pool, or unwind at the pool bar and lounge; all the while enjoying magnificent views of the city. This is truly a one-of-a-kind feature for a premium residence like The Alcoves,” Moya said.

She said the 112-square-meter (sq m) Alcove Suites, one of its signature residential concepts, have two bedrooms, a powder room, en suite bathrooms and maid’s room.

Only six units of these well-designed residences are available.

Another exclusive residence is the Sky Alcove on the 36th level, with grand views of the city and the Sky Pavilion. The 153-sq-m unit has two levels and comes with two bedrooms, a galley-type kitchen, en suite bathrooms, utility area and maid’s room.

The Alcoves also has the onebedroom Classic at 58 to 69 sq m and the two-bedroom classic at 106 sq m.

“Owners may sometimes prefer to have more diverse living spaces, so we’re providing the option of combining adjacent one-bedroom Classic units together,” Moya said.

“This allows them to essentially create a truly flexible living space tailor-fit to their lifestyle. The owner is given this option once the units are turned over,” Moya added.

There are also Grand Corner Suites at 134 to 136 sq m, two-bedroom corner units with large balcony areas. On the 35th level are the only three Sky Suite units in the building.

These are residences 131 to 136 sq m in size, with two bedrooms, a walkin closet for the master’s bedroom, en-suite bathrooms, maid’s room and powder room.

The Sky Villas are on the 36th and 37th floors. The 250 to 259-sqm units have three bedrooms, Asianstyle gourmet kitchen, utility area, two dining areas and balcony area.

The Alcove Gardens, on the 7th, 12th, 18th, 23rd, 28th and 33rd levels are 40-sq m three-story high open spaces with green walls and restful seating to enable residents to unwind in a serene environment.

The 153-sq-m Sky Alcove, on the 36th level, comes with two bedrooms, en suite toilet and bath, a galley-type kitchen, utility area and a maid’s room with toilet and bath.

The one-bedroom Classic and two-bedroom Classic layouts have the most number of units in the mix. All two-bedroom Classics are corner units at 106 sq m in size, with great views of the city. The one-bedroom Classic ranges from 58 to 69 sq m in size, and may be combined if the owner prefers, to become a larger home, tailor-fit to suit their lifestyle.

The Grand Corner Suites are spacious two-bedroom units with a powder room, an en suite toilet and bath, a maid’s room with toilet and bath, a utility area, a master bedroom with walk-in closet and a galley-type kitchen layout. They are 134 to 136 sq m in size with a balcony area of up to 8 sq m, offering breathtaking views of the mountains.

The project is set to be completed in March 2020, while the units will begin turnover by the second quarter of 2020.

PROPERTY The units

SKY Villa

SKY Pavilion

THE one-bedroom Classic starts at P9 million in The Alcoves. The largest residences, which would be the Sky Villas, have a price range of P53 million to P56 million.

The Sky Pavilion, on the 35th level,

E1

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Conclusion

F the Philippine military had its way, it would want to procure more modern assets and equipment to protect and secure the country’s territory in the West Philippine Sea. But, because of financial constraints, the military could only content itself with a “modest” upgrade.

This admission was made by no less than Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin during the official acceptance by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) of two AgustaWestland AW-109 attack helicopters and eight Bell combat utility helicopters two weeks ago.

“The goal of really modernizing our Armed Forces is a long and painstaking process. This is so because the acquisition [of] material and equipment for operational readiness is constrained by our financial capability,” Gazmin said.

“We, therefore, need to persevere and be contented with what we can afford based on the priority for urgent operational needs and the financial affordability. This means that we have to be frugal and acquire reliable platform at very reasonable cost possible that’s allowed by meager financial resources,” he added.

With the arrival of additional assets for the PAF, Gazmin said the branch of the C  A

ARMY soldiers inspect a new M4 carbine about to be issued during a ceremony at Fort Ramon Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. More than 50,000 units of the new 5.56mm M4s will replace the early M-16 and M-16A1 rifles that the Army troops used. The acquisition of M4s is part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program. BULLIT MARQUEZ,AP

HOUSE PANEL SET TO OKAY BILL CUTTING TAX RATES QUIMBO: “We are eyeing to approve the bill next week at the committee level, and approve it in the final reading in October.”

B J M N.  C

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HE House Committee on Ways and Means is eyeing to approve next week a measure lowering individual and corporate income-tax rates, the panel’s chairman said on Tuesday.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina City, in a news conference, said the panel will present to the plenary the committee report on the consolidated measure lowering individual and corporate tax rates next week, or after 11 committee hearings.

“We are eyeing to approve the bill next week at the committee level, and approve it in the final reading in October,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo, one of the authors of the bill, said the revision of income taxes will be done through simplification of tiers and rates, and indexation to inflation.

“Tax brackets have remained unchanged since 1997 and have not been adjusted to inflation. And because workers’ salaries have been adjusted for inflation but tax brackets remain frozen, a vast number of workers have been pushed to higher brackets, thus, paying higher tax rates,” he said.

“The simpler the tax bracket, the simpler the computation, the easier for compliance,” Quimbo added.

The lawmaker said that, under the measure, public and private workers earning P180,000 and below will now be completely tax-exempt.

In the current setup, those earning C  A

‘Apec members should strengthen antiterror ties’

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EBU CITY—The Philippines on Tuesday called on other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) economies to intensify cooperation in the fight against terrorism to foster security and resilience of businesses and communities.

Oscar F. Valenzuela, acting executive director of the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Council-Program Management Center, said the threats of terrorism persist in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in other countries.

“We live in a very complex world, one which is increasingly becoming more dangerous. Terrorism disrupts the normal and peaceful way of living of our people. It disrupts how we conduct our busi-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 46.7040

ness, the way we travel,” he said during the opening of the Sixth Apec Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) Meeting held here.

He recognized that a threat like terrorism is difficult to combat, given its unconventional nature in the way terrorists act.

“Yet, we must not falter. We must be as determined as they are to protect our citizens and our peaceful way of life. We have the knowledge, we have the necessary tools, to engage them head-on,” said Valenzuela, the current chairman of the CTWG. “We must continue to adjust our security procedures, innovate and stay one step ahead. We

must learn to think out of the box against an enemy, which constantly changes as far as tactics are concerned,” he added.

Valenzuela underscored the need for the 21-member Apec to unite and help each other in the fight against terrorism, which is a key component in building sustainable and resilient communities, one of the key priorities of the regional economic forum.

“Our economies cannot do it alone. It is in organizations and fora like the Apec where we can collaborate and cooperate. We have the opportunity to make a difference in this battle to keep the S “A,” A

■ JAPAN 0.3853 ■ UK 71.6860 ■ HK 6.0264 ■ CHINA 7.3246 ■ SINGAPORE 33.0882 ■ AUSTRALIA 33.1964 ■ EU 52.3599 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.4511 Source: BSP (1 September 2015)

A2 Wednesday, September 2, 2015

BMReports BusinessMirror

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Modernizing PHL military on a shoestring budget Continued from A1

military that is tasked to secure the country’s airspace and is considered the first line of defense against territorial aggressors “can now forget the lingering and naughty joke that it is all air and no force.”

The Department of National Defense signed a contract in March last year for the procurement of eight Bell aircraft costing P4.8 billion. The two AW-109, which are part of the eight AW-109, were acquired through a contract that was inked in June 2013. The eight combat helicopter cost P3.44 billion.

The Philippine Navy also received two AW-109 helicopters, which cost P1.33 billion.

Gazmin said the availability of the combatready air platforms is an essential requirement to beef up the country’s air operations.

“The prime importance of having these types of aircraft will rationalize our need for combat utility and attack air platform for speedy movement and practicality in transporting troops and their equipment and supplies from one area to another,” he said.

“Indeed, we need mission-capable and ready-combat utility and attack helicopters for multiple air operations; in troop insertion and extraction; personnel and equipmentsupply transport movement; in emergency evacuation of the sick and wounded; in di-

saster response, relief and rehabilitation operation; and in many other security and emergency mission and undertaking,” Gazmin added.

Other purchases

Aside from the helicopters, the military— particularly the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force, which are the prime beneficiaries of the capability-upgrade program—are looking forward to the acquisition of other assets and equipment.

These are the six close air-support aircraft costing P4.97 billion; two long-range patrol aircraft, P5.98 billion; multipurpose attack craft, P864.32 million; two C-130 aircraft, P1.6 billion; two naval helicopters, P5.4 billion; lead-in fighter jets ammunition, P4.47 billion; two frigates, P18 billion; three airsurveillance radars, P2.68 billion; and nightfighting systems, P1.116 billion.

However, these assets and equipment will not be procured, unless the modernization program is signed by President Aquino.

While the President himself has trumpeted the upcoming acquisitions in his previous speeches and even before Congress, he appeared be to dilly-dallying in signing the modernization program when he asked for its review.

If all the planned acquisitions are undertaken by the government, Gazmin said

President Aquino would leave a “modestly modernized” Armed Forces when he steps down from office in 2016.

Earlier, the military has acquired two US Coast Guard Cutters, which it christened BRP Ramon Alcaraz and BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the latter of which was made as the flagship of the Navy.

The military also expected the delivery this December of two jets from the squadron of FA-50 lead-in fighter jets that the Philippine government ordered from South Korea.

The acquisition of the 12 fighter jets costing P18 billion under a government-to-government deal is considered the centerpiece of the Aquino administration’s capabilityupgrade program.

Also, the military has received one of the three C-295 medium-lift aircraft that it ordered from Airbus Defense and Space, boosting its lift and transport capability. The three aircraft have a contract price of P5.29 billion.

Late last month, it also accepted and commissioned two landing-craft heavy ships that were donated by Australia.

Challenges

While the AFP is modestly building up its capability primarily for territorial defense, its firepower still pales in comparison with its neighbors, like Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, which already have submarines.

House panel set to okay bill cutting tax rates . . .

P10,000 or less a month pay a 5-percent income tax.

The bill also reduces the incometax rate of those earning above P180,000 to P500,000, and above P500,000 to P10 million, from the current 30 percent to 9 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

He said the highest rate, at 30

percent, will be paid by those earning P10 million annually.

Currently, those with yearly earnings of P500,000 and above pay a 32-percent income tax. The measure will also reduce the corporate income tax rate, from 30 percent to 25 percent.

The Philippines has the second-

This is in sharp contrast to the standing of the country’s Armed Forces many years ago, when the Philippines was considered a military powerhouse in Asia, securing its skies with F-5 fighter jets years before Japan could acquire such an aircraft.

In fact, the Scarborough Shoal, which was occupied by China in 2012, used to be a target range for F-5s and other aircraft of the Air Force and the Americans.

The Philippine military’s might was unrivaled in the region, so much so that when former President Ferdinand Marcos declared the country’s ownership of the islands in the West Philippine Sea, not even one among the current claimants, including China, protested.

Experts said the decline of the country’s military capability was the result of years of neglect by succeeding administrations in the area of defense of security. They also blamed the absence of a national security policy, which could have foreseen the emergence of problems now confronting the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. According to one senior military official, the absence of a national security policy covering the West Philippine Sea showed the “complete failure” of the National Security Council. Also, the military was partly to be blamed for the decline in its firepower.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines is also structured as a continental force, rather

than being maritime-oriented,” a military paper said, noting that the AFP leadership glossed over the fact that the country is an archipelagic nation.

“The campaign against the communist insurgents and Muslim separatists allowed the growth of the Army, at the expense of the Navy and the Air Force, whose capabilities almost reached block obsolescence. It was only when the Chinese began to show their assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea that the government took a serious look at the decrepit state of defense capabilities,” it added.

The paper said that in the defense establishments, four decades of protracted internal-security threat forced the military to focus its efforts on tactical issues rather than on strategic agenda.

“The insurgency conflict has produced more ‘warriors’ than strategic thinkers and leaders. The security umbrella that the US provided with the establishment of the bases in Subic Bay and Clark Field relegated the development of Philippine maritime-defense capabilities in favor of equipment necessary to address insurgency,” it said.

“It also promoted a ‘mendicant policy’ in defense-capability buildup and developed mediocrity in the organization. The overall effect, however, was a dearth in strategic thinking in the organization,” the paper added.

Continued from A1

highest individual income-tax rate in the region at 32 percent, next to Thailand and Vietnam’s 35 percent, and the highest value-added tax at 12 percent, as the country’s current individual income-tax bracket has been unchanged since 1997.

“The P500,000, which is currently taxable by 32 percent, needs

to be adjusted, considering that this amounts to P1.2 million today, meaning ’yung original na gustong patawan ng tax rate noon ay hindi na mga tamang tao ngayon,” Quimbo said.

Earlier, Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul warned lawmakers that reducing the individual incometax rates may cause the government

to lose revenues totaling as much as 1.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, or P30 billion.

“We need to have a compensating measure. It has to be revenue-neutral,” Paul said. To recover revenue losses, Quimbo said Congress would also approve revenue-generating measures, including the bill raising

the excise tax on fuel, the fiscal incentives rationalization bill, the proposed Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act, the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime and the bill imposing specific tax on sodas and other sweetened beverages in September.

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Lawyer files plunder, graft complaints against Binays

Malacañang invokes Aquino immunity from suit as Ombudsman probes DAP

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By Butch Fernandez & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

JEJOMAR C. BINAY

MAR-LEN ABIGAIL BINAY

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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LAWYER filed anew plunder and graft complaints before the Ombudsman against Vice President Jejomar C. Binay and suspended Makati Mayor Junjun Binay over the allegedly questionable deal between the University of Makati (UMak) and Systems Technology Institute (STI).

In an 11-page complaint, lawyer Renato Bondal said on Tuesday that he has evidence showing how the Binays “conspiring and confederating with one another” and with the private respondents, through a combination or a series of overt or criminal acts or both, diverted, misappropriated or funneled the tuition, miscellaneous fees and other funds intended for the College of Nursing (now College of Applied Health Studies) of UMak, which is owned by the City of Makati, in the aggregate amount P547 million from 2004 to 2015, to a private corporation named Philippine Healthcare Educators Inc. (PHEI), which is principally owned and managed by the respondents or their co-conspirators, in order to accumulate and/or amass illgotten wealth for themselves or for their co-conspirators.

He also said that from 2005 to 2015, a total of P127.8 million of professional fees was paid by the PHEI to STI, while on the same period, it also received P110 million cash dividends.

“On top of the foregoing, and apparently in order to facilitate or expedite their accumulation or amassing of their ill-gotten wealth, public respondents, in conspiracy or in connivance with, the private respondents, grossly overcharged thousands of students who have enrolled or who studied at the College of Nursing of the UMak through the years, charging tuition and other fees, which currently ranged from P32,850 to P40,000 per semester when the UMak, being [owned by Makati] whose principal mandate is to provide affordable, quality education and scholarship opportunities to deserving students, only charged students of other colleges P1,500 per semester for Makati residents and P3,000 per semester for non-residents of Makati,” he said in his complaint.

Bondal also said that facing plun-

JUN-JUN BINAY

der, malversation of public funds, graft and violation of Republic Act 9784 or the Government Procurement Reform Act are UMak President Tomas Lopez, STI’s Eusebio Tangco, lawyer Monico Jacob and Annabelle Bautista.

Bondal said that UMak and STI each had 40 percent of shares of the PHEI, with Dr. Jack Arroyo Jr., receiving 20 percent.

In a separate five-page complaint, Bondal also filed malversation case before the Office of the Ombudsman against House Deputy Majority Leader and United Nationalist Alliance Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay of Makati City in connection with the alleged misuse of her Priority Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf) or pork barrel.

Bondal said that in 2011 Binay released a total of P15 million from the Pdaf to the Gabay at Pag-Asa ng Masa Foundation and another P10 million to the Kaakbay Buhay Foundation Inc. Bondal said that the comparison of the fund-utilization report from the Makati City government and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) revealed that there is “nowhere in the DBM submissions reflect the fund utilization” of Binay in favor of the mentioned non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The lawyer said that both Gabay at Pag-Asa ng Masa Foundation and Pag-Asa ng Masa Foundation, which reportedly belonged to the group of a certain Godofredo Roque, have been previously found “to be dubious and fraudulent NGOs” by the Commission on Audit (COA).

“The award of said millions of pesos to said bogus NGOs was not done with the mandated public bidding by the implementing agency which is the City Government of Makati,” Bondal said.

Bondal, meanwhile, also included to his complaint Junjun Binay for allegedly being in conspiracy with the bogus NGOs, since “without whose indispensable cooperation” the illegal use of public funds “could not have been accomplished.”

“The city government was the implementing agency for said Pdaf funds, which are then under the control of the lawmaker’s brother,” he said.

Meanwhile, COA Auditor Cecilia Cag-anan was included in the same case for her failure to “safeguard the use of public funds.”

‘Distraught’ passenger tries to kill self at airport

By Recto Mercene

A

PA SSENGER bound for Davao City allegedly tried to commit suicide at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3, after he was off-loaded from his flight on Saturday.

The Naia Media Affairs Division (MAD) identified the passenger as Samuel Ambato, a 25-yearold seaman.

After the off-loading incident, he reportedly ran and jumped off the ledge of the third-floor departure area. He hit the ground feet first and collapsed near the arrival area’s bus station.

Ambato survived the fall, but suffered multiple injuries.

The media bureau said the passenger was bound for Davao on an AirAsia flight on Saturday morning, but was off-loaded for showing signs of “questionable behavior,” such as having fits of laughter before bursting into tears.

This led airline authorities not to allow Ambato to board his flight.

The MAD said that owing to the fall, Ambato sustained wounds in his head, as well as fractured his legs.

Airport medical personnel immediately assisted Ambato, who was taken to the Pasay City General Hospital, where he is recuperating.

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Wednesday, September 2, 2015 A3

ALACAÑANG maintained on Tuesday that the Ombudsman has the power to go after grafters, but not a sitting president.

This, as Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said that President Aquino, Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad and other government officials are now being investigated in connection with the implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. cited the Constitution, which, he noted, protects President Aquino from being sued while in office.

“We wish to point out the constitutional principle that an incumbent president of the Philippines is immune from suit,” Coloma said.

Coloma issued the statement on Tuesday, even as he acknowledged that the Office of the Ombudsman is empowered by law to investigate allegations of misconduct, as stated by Morales in reply to a question during a hearing on the proposed budget of her office in the House of Representatives.

The Office of the President took the same position in 2013,

when Mr. Aquino was f irst sued by the K i lusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) for plunder, along ABAD with Abad and Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, before the Ombudsman, based on findings of an official audit of the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor), a state-run corporation, indicating alleged misuse of P1.35 billion using “shady nongovernmental organizations [NGOs].”

One of the complainants, Partylist Rep. Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis, earlier protested that the case filed by the KMP “seems to have been gathering dust over at the Office of the Ombudsman since October 2013, while there is apparently no let up on the part of Alcala’s

Department of Agriculture in getting itself involved in, yet, other and greater anomalies, as shown by the COA’s [Commission on Audit] April 2015 report involving P14 billion worth of unaccounted funds for 2013, including the P6 billion supposedly earmarked for farm-tomarket road projects.”

During the budget deliberations of the Office of the Ombudsman’s P1.775-billion budget for 2016, Morales said that a motu propio investigation is currently ongoing to find if there is liability on the parts of Mr. Aquino and Abad over the implementation of the DAP. “The investigation report conducted by the Field Investigation Office is under evaluation by the Ombudsman,” Morales said.

The DAP, parts of which having been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, came under fire in 2013, after Sen. Jinggoy E. Estrada revealed that the said funds were used as “incentives” for legislators who supported the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.

News reports said that Abad allegedly transferred the DAP funds duly appropriated to one government agency to another w ithout legislative authority, and released P50 million each to 19 senators who voted for the impeachment of Corona.

Morales said that her office is eyeing to finish the report within September, “but we will not release the investigation report [to the public].

We either approve or disapprove it.

If we approve it and we [will] recommend the conduct of a preliminary investigation, then so be it. Now, if we don’t agree with the recommendation to initiate a preliminary investigation, this means the case is deemed closed and terminated.”

Meanwhile, Hicap, in a statement, asked the Ombudsman to give him an update regarding the plunder complaint filed by the KMP against Alcala, Abad and Mr. Aquino himself, among others, over the pork-barrel scam.

Also included in the complaint were alleged pork-barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles, Agriculture Undersecretary Antonio Fleta and Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos.

In October 2013, during the height of the pork-barrel scam issue, the KMP filed a plunder case before the Office of the Ombudsman against the respondents, citing state audits of the Nabcor, a government corporation under the agriculture department, which point to at least P1.35 billion worth of misused funds allegedly coursed through shady NGOs in the name of farmers’ socioeconomic programs.

Army welcomes Senate probe

By Rene Acosta

T Up up and…

A man sells assorted tropical vegetables at the public market on Libertad Street, Pasay City. The cost of fresh vegetables increased by P20 per kilo this month, owing to decrease in harvest caused by the storm damage to vegetable farms in many parts of the country. NORIEL DE GUZMAN

No certified lifeguards in Palawan

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

V

OTED as the “Top Island in the World” in the 27th annual Readers’ Choice Awards of Conde Nast Traveler magazine in 2014, Palawan’s image was marred after a 25-year-old tourist died on August 14 after allegedly stepping on an undetermined poisonous sea creature.

The incident, involving the victim Miguel Ruiz, who was with his partner on an island tour at Siete Pecados in Coron, Palawan, opened the eyes of the public on the preparedness of the lifeguards for lifethreatening situations.

Tourism Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo admitted that the continued life-threatening incidents, like drowning and the most recent death in Coron, has again raised the question of safety and readiness in these areas.

“We have the best and the most prestigious leisure beaches in the country, especially in Mimaropa [MindoroMarinduque-Romblon-Palawan], but we are still short of skilled and accredited lifeguards to man these coastlines.”

To ensure the safety of tourists, the Mimaropa regional office of the Department of Health (DOH), together with the Coast Guard and the Department of Tourism (DOT) joined together for the mutual ob-

jective of providing orientation, training and the most important, certification for lifeguards working in various resorts in Palawan.

The training program starts on September 14.

“These accidents in beaches and even in pools, not only in our region, can be avoided if we have the staff, trained and accredited in first aid and basic lifesaving skills. The lifeguard is the basic and most important body and all beach resorts are required to provide the services of one,” Janairo added.

The DOH-Mimaropa stressed that the conduct of the training has nothing to do with the latest incident in Coron, adding that the activity has been planned already for a long time.

Glen Ramos, community affairs and media relations officer, said that this is the first time that the said activity is done in Palawan and that no lifeguards have been accredited before.

Ramos said that after the training this month, the Coast Guard, local governments and the DOT will conduct random inspection if what was learned in the training is being practiced, like deployment of lifeguards in resorts.

Republic Act 9993, known as the Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009, states that operators and owners of resorts who fail to hire lifeguards, will be penalized with fines, ranging from P1,000 to P5,000, or be face jail terms

of 45 days, or both fine and imprisonment. The Coast Guard said a lifeguard must be physically fit and medically healthy, strong swimmer and must be able to use the safety equipment comfortably and confidently; must successfully completed Philippine Red Cross training or any Coast Guard accredited equivalent training courses in first aid; basic life support-cardiopulmonary resuscitation; water safety; and water search and rescue.

Upon completion of the required training courses, the Coast Guard will require lifeguards to undergo various tests and practical examinations prior to certification and issuance of a Lifeguard Certificate to those who pass.

Every two years lifeguards shall undertake a refresher training course to revalidate lifeguarding skills and renewal of Coast Guard Lifeguard Certificate.

Janairo also reminded participants to undergo healthy lifestyle practices by maintaining strong physique and refraining from smoking and drinking alcoholic drinks which can affect the perception and awareness while on duty.

“Do not disregard this training because you will not only save lives, but you will also providing yourself with the opportunity to make your lives better because you a recipient of an essential training where you can be provided high sustainable revenue in the future.”

HE Army welcomes any investigation into the Commission on Audit (COA) findings regarding the undelivered ammunition and combat clothing and individual equipment (CCIE) it earlier purchased, said the Army commander, Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año.

Año said he has already directed the concerned Army offices to open their books and fully cooperate with the inquiry that is set to be conducted by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

On Monday Santiago questioned the Army’s alleged failure to deliver the bulk of training ammunition and equipment that it was supposed to have procured last year as it has earlier programmed.

Año said the Army is following procedures in the procurement of supplies and equipment based on Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Law. He said that Army records indicate that the less than 1 percent remaining undelivered CCIEs are set to be delivered soon to the Ninth Infantry “Spear” Division deployed in the Bicol region.

On the other hand, he said the Army is required by government procedures to procure small arms ammunition from the government arsenal.

Santiago noted the findings of the COA, which found that despite the P569.6 million that, the Army released to the government arsenal for ammunition, only P42.4 million worth of ammunitions was delivered last year.

But Año said that after comply ing w ith the procurement process, the A r my is a lready awaiting for the delivery of the ammunition.

“In the interest of transparency, the Army is willing to cooperate with other government agencies in the conduct of an investigation,” he said.

“The Army is doing its best to provide the best for its troops based on the Army Transformation Roadmap,” he added.

Economy

A4 Wednesday, September 2, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

briefs psalm announces completion of mtpp unit 1 overhaul

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. on Tuesday reported the completion of the overhauling of Unit 1 of the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP).

“We are pleased to report that the Malaya TPP’s Unit 1, which underwent overhauling, has been finally reconnected to the main grid. With the two units already operational, the Malaya TPP now has more available capacity as it assumes its role as a security plant,” PSALM Officer in Charge Lourdes S. Alzona said.

STX Marine Services Co. Ltd., the current operator of the MTPP, undertook the overhauling of Unit 1, which include the overhauling of the unit’s turbine and generator, circulating water pump, distributed control system and generator AVR excitation system.

In a circular, the Department of Energy (DOE) has formally designated the MTPP as a MustRun Unit (MRU) in order to address any instability or supply deficiency that may occur as a result of sudden unavailability of any of the operating power plants in the grid.

The MTPP is forecasted to continue operating as an MRU until its privatization schedule is finalized by the DOE. Situated in Pililia, Rizal province, the Malaya plant was rehabilitated in 1995 by the Korea Electric Power Corp. under a 15-year rehabilitateoperate-manage-maintain agreement. It consists of a 300-MW unit with a once-through type boiler and a 350-MW unit fitted with a conventional boiler.

cdc closes tourism deal with gztpai

THE Clark Development Corp. (CDC) has recently signed a contract for a P135-million tourism project inside the Clark Freeport Zone.

A news statement said that the agreement, signed by CDC President Arthur P. Tugade and Global Zoo and Theme Park Alliance Inc. (GZTPAI) President Romeo Siccion, will pave the way for the establishment of a zoo in Clark.

According to CDC’s Marketing Department, the zoo project with GZTPAI would also include provision of haven for wildlife animals, establishment of a theme park but not limited to rides, adventure facilities, and other recreational and commercial activities.

The total lease land is 20 hectares, which will employ about 140 workers in the next five years.

Tugade added that a soft opening of the project has been scheduled next year or within the next 12 months upon the issuance of occupancy permit by the CDC, along with other permits that must be sought by GZTPAI. Siccion said he decided to invest here because of the sound business climate in the free port, as well as the fast-growing tourism industry here and in the rest of the country.

Catherine N. Pillas

BusinessMirror

Lawmaker questions Abad’s motive in raising budget for Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, COA

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By Marvyn N. Benaning | Correspondent

udget Secretary Florencio B. Abad may be using the increasing allocations for the Office of the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan and the Commission on Audit (COA) to buy his way out of plunder charges.

Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon of Kabataan said he was compelled to surmise this following the noticeable increases in the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman, which has been sitting on the complaint that he and fellow youth leaders filed against Abad on July 8, 2014, for his indispensable role in the disbursement of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which was declared illegal by the Supreme Court (SC) in 2013, as well as the expenditures under the Development Acceleration Program (DAP), which was declared by the High Court to be unconstitutional last year.

Ridon noted that the Office of the Ombudsman’s budget increased by 68 percent from the 2010 allocation, with Abad proposing a P1.78-billion budget for the agency next year.

The Sandiganbayan will receive P505.9 million for 2016, while the COA will get a P9.13-billion budget next year. Ridon said the Sandiganbayan’s 2016 budget is 51 percent higher than its budget in 2010, while the COA’s budget next year represents a 140-percent increase from its 2010 allocation.

“Given these figures, we ask: Is the Aquino administration trying to bribe its way out of prosecution by systematically inflating the budgets of the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan and the COA? The increase in these agencies’ budgets should be scruti-

nized with a fine-toothed comb, so as to ensure that the bigger budget is not just a favor granted by President Aquino to ensure that he will not be prosecuted after his term,” Ridon stressed.

He asked Conchita Carpio-Morales why she was dragging her feet on the charges she had lodged against Abad, a question that was similarly asked by other parties that had filed similar complaints against the staunch ally of President Aquino.

Ridon also cited the petition filed against Abad before the SC in August by the group led by lawyer Greco Belgica, which asked the High Court to order Morales to investigate Abad, along with President Aquino, over their role in the DAP and PDAF mess.

The Kabataan lawmaker said it has been more than a year since he led youth groups in filing plunder raps against Abad before the Office of the Ombudsman, yet Morales has “not even lifted a finger” to act on the complaint.

In a 16-page plea filed by Ridon and other youth leaders on July 8, 2014, the petitioners said that Abad “systematically misappropriated, converted, misused and malversed public funds” through his involvement in both the DAP and the PDAF cases.

In the same complaint, petitioners alleged that Abad “systematically misappropriated, converted,

Sweet spin

A street vendor spins his machine to create bundles of cotton candy, along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, which he sells for P10 each. The confectionary may delight most children but its high sugar content is definitely not recommended for diabetics and the health conscious. Kevin de la Cruz

misused and malversed public funds through his executive issuances and the programs implemented by him as secretary of the Department of Budget and Management [DBM].”

“The Office of the Ombudsman has seemingly slept on the case and buried it in the pits of oblivion. How can we believe that this government is sincere in its anticorruption campaign when it engages in selective application of the law,” Ridon added.

He reiterated his appeal to Morales to expedite the investigation on Abad’s case.

“The public deserves to know the truth. The esteemed Ombudsman should not give in to pressure by the Aquino administration,” he stressed.

P1.775-B budget for 2016

The Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday presented before the House Committee on Appropriations a P1,775,506,000 budget for next year as recommended by the DBM and approved by President Aquino.

During her presentation, Morales said the proposed budget of the Office of the Ombudsman for 2016 is 5.65 percent lower when compared to the current year’s P1.882 billion, 37.37 percent lower as against the P2.8 billion submitted earlier to the DBM, and only .059 percent of the proposed total national National Expenditure Program of P3.002 trillion.

She stressed that the decrease was due to the reduction in the expenditure program considered by the DBM as nonrecurring expenses.

The Ombudsman pointed out that, nonetheless, the recommended level, that is, the current operating expenditures, such as personnel services and maintenance and other operating expenses, conforms with the pronouncement of the 1987 Constitution and its enabling law, Republic Act 6770, or the Ombudsman Act, on fiscal autonomy, that the appropriations of the Office of the Ombudsman may not be reduced below the amount appropriated from the previous years. With PNA

Cheaper commodities seen after fuel-price rollbacks

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mid the plunge in the price of oil in the global market, conditions are ripe for another rollback in the prices of basic consumer necessities, LPG Marketers’ Association (LPG-MA)

said on Tuesday.

With oil prices hovering near sixyear lows, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) may soon have to call for a new round of downward adjustments in the prices of prime

commodities, House Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. Arnel Ty of LPG-MA said.

“Consumers deserve to benefit from the combined massive deflationary impact of tumbling oil prices,

cheaper electricity and lower transport costs,” Ty, who speaks for the minority in the House Trade and Industry Committee, said.

“But this is up to the DTI, as to when exactly, and to what extent, it will call for a reasonable reduction in consumer prices,” he added.

The last time the DTI publicly called for a rollback in the prices of basic goods was in December 2014, when oil prices plunged to $70 per barrel, from $115 per barrel in June 2014.

The August 25 oil-price monitoring report of the Department of Energy quoted the “common price” of diesel at P24.65 per liter, down P4.60, or almost 16 percent, from P29.25 on January 6 this year.

“If we include the 90-centavo-

per-liter rollback last Sunday, diesel is now down P5.50 per liter yearto-date, or roughly 20 percent,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the lowest-priced LPG was quoted at P460 per 11-kilogram cylinder, down P50, or nearly 10 percent, from P510 on January 6.

Last month world oil prices nosedived below $39 per barrel for the first time since 2009.

Even airline passengers may soon benefit from sinking oil prices, Ty noted. “In America and other parts of the world, airline fare wars are already making a comeback.”

LPG-MA in Congress has been advocating for greater consumer protection against potential pricing abuses, and for the promotion of fair-and free-trade practices. PNA

Angeles City mayor grants tax relief to delinquent real property taxpayers

lawmaker to boc’s dellosa: put up or shut up

THE chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday challenged Deputy Customs Commissioner Jessie Dellosa to name the persons who are in cahoots with inept customs personnel.

The challenge of panel Chairman and Rep. Miro Quimbo of Marikina came after Dellosa insists the unabated smuggling at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) results in P200-billion revenue loss every year.

“Dellosa is a former soldier who is battle-tested in his own right. Be man enough to name names and unmasked the people behind the rampant smuggling,” Quimbo told reporters during the weekly news forum, Ugnayan sa Batasan. PNA

news@businessmirror.com.ph

A

Ambulances for upland dwellers

Rev. Fr. Eugene Van Ackere, with Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Vice Chairman and General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II, Directors Betty Nantes and Francisco Joaquin, Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan, Rep. Ronald Cosalan and local government officials, blesses some of the 27 ambulances donated by the PCSO from the Ambulance Donation Program to the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province, held at the Baguio Convention Center in Baguio City on August 28. JOSEPH MUEGO

NGELES CITY, Pampanga— Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan has signed an ordinance “granting relief in the form of condonation of interest, penalties and surcharges on unpaid real property taxes.”

“The passage of the ordinance would enable landowners in the city to recover from the losses they incurred by national calamities, especially the typhoons, that affected Angeles City from 2009 to 2014,” Pamintuan said.

Ordinance 374, Series of 2015, is further substantiated by Resolution 2, Series of 2015 of the Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which certi-

fies the numerous typhoons affecting this city.

The resolution also recommended the enactment of the taxrelief ordinance.

The relief, in the form of condonation, shall cover interests, penalties and surcharges arising from unpaid or delayed payment of real property taxes from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2014, within the jurisdiction of Angeles City.

Unpaid real property taxes as of January 1, 2015, shall be correspondingly charged the appropriate interests, penalties and surcharges in accordance with law.

The tax relief will be in effect until May 31, 2016. PNA

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Enforcement, lack of foresight main culprits of Metro traffic congestion

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oor enforcement of transport regulation may be among the main causes of bad traffic conditions in Metro Manila, particularly along its main thoroughfare—Edsa.

At the 13th Development Policy Research Month launched on Tuesday, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) President Gilbert Llanto said that even if the government has good transport regulations, enforcement has been a problem. ”’Yung regulasyon, marami naman tayong magagandang policies sa transportation sector, pero kung minsan yung nagiging problem is implementation. [’Yung mga] bus na lumilihis sa kanilang tamang linya [at] ’yung [overall] traffic management siguro ang titignan ko sa Edsa,” Llanto said.

Llanto also said the lack of infrastructure and foresight also contributed to Metro Manila’s congestion woes. He said that the lack of foresight of the government caused it to fail in providing the necessary infrastructure that could have supported the country’s growing population and economy.

Several Cabinet officials, including Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, pointed out that the worsening traffic may be caused by increased public spending on road and other infrastructure.

An increase in public spending benefits the economy, mainly because the growth of the Philippine economy is consumption-driven.

This, coupled by a rapidly growing urban population, exacerbated Metro Manila’s traffic problem.

“Ang rapid kasi ng urbanization ng Metro Manila. May forecast [pa] na in the coming years this will be one of the megacities in the world. Hindi na-anticipate na this part of the country will grow so fast with a large population na malaki ang demand sa infrastructure,” Llanto said.

Apart from solving the traffic situation, Llanto said improving government regulations will also lead to efficient government systems that can help attract more investments.

However, before improving regulations, Llanto said the government must examine its existing regulations to see if there are duplications.

Palace ‘action plan’

Malacañang moved to address the chaotic traffic situation in Metro Manila on Tuesday, but deferred a decision to enforce a plan floated last week by President Aquino, mulling over what he himself conceded to be an unpopular odd-even scheme to reduce the heavy volume of vehicles causing daily gridlocks in the metropolis major intersections.

Palace Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. reported that Aquino had ordered the “review and fine-tuning of action proposals on easing traffic congestion,” as well as the “submission of detailed implementation plans.”

Briefing reporters following a closed-door meeting with heads of various agencies tasked to solve the traffic mess, Coloma said Aquino asked for the immediate submission of plans “that take into account the need for holistic solutions, unified action among concerned government agencies and heightened awareness to ensure citizen cooperation.”

“After a meeting presided over by the President, it was agreed that priority action will be taken to clear six major intersections that are traffic congestion “choke points” along Edsa namely: Balintawak; Cubao; Ortigas; Shaw Boulevard; Guadalupe; and Taft Avenue,” Coloma said.

The Palace official added that Mr. Aquino also approved the deployment of the Philippine National PoliceHighway Patrol Group to serve as the lead traffic law enforcement agency on Edsa, with continuing support from the Metro Manila Development Authority, Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchise Regulatory Board. Cai U. Ordinario and Butch Fernandez

Wednesday, September 2, 2015 A5

Online hiring in PHL down 36% in July

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By Cai U. Ordinario

ewer Filipino workers were hired via electronic recruitment in July 2015, according to the Monster Employment Index (MEI) Philippines.

MEI data showed online hiring in the country contracted 36 percent in July 2015 from July 2014. There was also a four percent drop in erecruitment activities in June 2015.

“This slowdown in e-recruitment activity is highlighted by the fact that only one industry group and one occupation group out of all monitored by the MEI registered any positive growth between July

2014 and July 2015,” Monster.com said in a news statement.

Data showed that only the businessprocess outsourcing/informationtechnology enabled service (BPO/ ITES) sector showed an increase in online hiring activities year-on-year (YOY) at 9 percent in July 2015. This represented a one-percentage point growth from June 2015.

T h i s w a s fol lowed by t he

education sector, which contracted 6 percent. Online hiring in the education sector has been contracting since March 2015.

The production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary industry, however, registered the lowest growth YOY at -57 percent, just behind engineering, construction and real estate at -50 percent.

“The BPO/ITES sector in the Philippines continues to attract more talent, as new call centers continue to open up across the country. The education sector is also seeing a slow increase in activity, as the government attempts to improve its health care and education system, with plans to hire more public-school teachers and health workers in the next couple of years,” said Sanjay Modi, managing

director, Monster.com (India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).

Meanwhile, in terms of occupation, the only job to register positive growth is customer service. The index increased 18 percent YOY and increased eight-percentage points from June 2015.

Engineering/production, realestate jobs once again saw the steepest decline at 50 percent YOY , with hospitality and travel jobs coming in just ahead at 49 percent.

“It is not surprising that the production and manufacturing sector and engineering and production jobs are still seeing the steepest decline across the Philippines.

The industry has been in turmoil for the past one to two years as it

has faced numerous constraints, meaning job activity has also been heavily affected,” Modi said.

The MEI Philippines is a monthly gauge of online-job posting activity, based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career web sites and onlinejob listings across the Philippines.

The index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

Launched in May 2015, with data collected since January 2011, the MEI is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of online-job posting activity in the Philippines, conducted by Monster India.

Philtoa sees 15% hike in sales for travel mart 2015; targets millenNials as ‘new market’

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror

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HE Philippine Tour Operators A ssociation (Philtoa) is projecting sales of some P93 million in its 26th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM), to be held from September 4 to 6 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.

At a news briefing on Tuesday, Philtoa President and PTM 2016 Chairman Cesar Cruz said there will be 50 travel exhibitors this year, which the group hopes will be able to generate sales of up to 15 percent more than last year’s sales of P80.5 million. Philtoa is the country’s largest organization of registered tourism operators, with allied members from various tourism sectors, such as airlines, hotels, resorts, tourist transportation and related enterprises. The event's theme for the year is “Philippines: The Fun Capital of Asia.”

He added that “domestic tourism has surpassed all projections, and I believe the PTM is one of the best platforms that has boosted domestic tourism.” Although the PTM started offering last year’s twin tour packages which would enable a tourist to go to another Asean member-nation along with a Philippine tour destination, he stressed that “95 percent of the sales generated were still for Philippine destinations.”

Official data bear this out. Even as foreign-visitor arrivals appear to be sluggish, the Department of Tourism reported that domestic tourists reached 54 million in 2014, surpassing its updated 48-million target for that year.

This year’s PTM is paying

particular attention to the “millennials” market, which are composed of individuals born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. Cruz described this market as those “who include traveling as part of their budget. As long as they're employed, they’ll grab tour packages for as low as P1,000. They’re not looking for luxury destinations.”

As such, he said, PTM is offering them the “bucket list” package, which are low-impact destinations or those places which still have yet to attract a large number of tourists. These destinations include Gigantes Island in Iloilo, Calaguas Island in Camarines Norte, Romblon and Catanduanes. “[The millennials] is one of our strong markets. For them we're offering tour packages from P1,000 to P5,000 per person.”

Because of the millennials’ heavy use of electronic gadgets and quick adoption of tech innovations, the PTM is promoting the use of the QR code system. “This is the first travel exhibition which has adopted the QR code system. So when a visitor arrives at the lobby, he can already go window-shopping and [use his smart phone to] scan all the travel, accommodations and tour promo packages available for sale.

This QR code system tells the millenials that the tourism industry is ready for the millennials market.”

Each QR code, he said, represents all the packages available for each destination. The visitor can use that system or also go to the exhibit area to check on the packages offered by each exhibitor.

Cruz said the PTM has also partnered with the ABS-CBN Foundation to promote the latter’s eco-

hard commute

Commuters queue to board a train ride at the Light Railway Transit 1 station in Monumento, Caloocan City, on Tuesday morning. The Aquino administration has been consistently getting the flak from the public for failing to implement measures that would improve commuter transport service and alleviate the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares. Kevin de la Cruz

tours in Puerto Princesa, Mindoro, Saranggani province, among others.

At the same news briefing, ABSCBN Foundation Managing Director Regina Paz Lopez said she believes that “one of the keys to alleviating poverty in the country is to nurture the beauty around us.”

The foundation has been investing in several local communities which have tourism potentials and promoting these sites through the foundation’s G-Eco Tours.

She cites, for example, the foundation’s investment of P253,000 in ropes and spelunking equipment, plus P1.6 million to construct two zip lines in Ugong Rock, in northern Puerto Princesa. The community, composed mostly of poorly educated residents, have been reaping the gains from said investments, which turned Ugong Rock into a prime tourist spot in Palawan. From an income of only P133,800 in 2008, the community earned P30 million in 2014, “with P3-million savings in the bank,” Lopez stressed.

She said all the money earned

Court junks plea to extend TRO on P40.57-B Davao airport project

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AVAO CITY—A Regional Trial Court (RTC) here rejected the bid of a taxpayer for an extension of the threeday temporary restraining order (TRO) against the P40.57-billion Davao International Airport (DIA) development project for lack of extreme urgency.

RTC Branch 10 Presiding Judge Retrina Fuentes, who acquired jurisdiction over the case, ruled against an extension on the TRO, which was earlier issued by Executive Judge Emmanuel Carpio of RTC Branch 16.

“The court is not convinced that the matter is of extreme urgency and the petitioner, as a taxpayer, will suffer grave injustice and irreparable injury if the said TRO is not extended,” Fuentes ruled, adding, “The petition failed to establish any direct injury as a taxpayer that would warrant the extension of the TRO.” Fuentes also took note that

the 72-hour TRO issued by Judge Carpio had expired on August 15 having been issued on August 12, but the court received the return of the service only on August 18 and thus, “there’s no more to be extended.”

The court also learned that the submission of the prequalification documents had pushed through on August 17, hence, there’s “no more extreme urgency to speak of.”

However, on September 20, Fuentes will proceed with the hearing on the main petition for issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction.

The case stemmed from the civil suit filed by Andre Bucu of Central Park Subdivision, Bangkal, Davao City, questioning the prequalification stage of the bidding process.

DIA is one of the six airports in the country which the government placed under the Public-Private

Property (PPP) Program. According to the government’s PPP web site, the Davao City airport project, which costs P40.57 billion, aims to decongest the airport which is currently operating beyond its capacity. It is regarded as the third busiest airport in the country.

The project includes the passenger terminal building expansion; cargo terminal building expansion; expansion of other key facilities, such as car parking and administration building; passenger terminal building: additional area from 65,000 to 125,000 square meter (sq m); cargo terminal building: additional area; from 13,000 to 27,000 sq m; apron area; and construction of full parallel taxiway.

The other airports subjected to PPP are the Bacolod City airport, Iloilo airport, Laguindingan airport in Cagayan de Oro City, New Bohol (Panglao) airport and Puerto Princesa airport. PNA

by the ecotourism sites “goes back to the community,” to help in the children’s education and living expenses of the families.

For his part, Cruz said Philtoa “has partnered with the foundation and G-Eco Tours in helping those communities. As we support the goal of the tourism industry, which is to alleviate poverty, we have formed a consortium to adopt the communities that ABS-CBN Foundation has adopted.”

For the PTM itself, Cruz said twin packages will again be offered, partnering the Philippines and Asean+3 destinations, such as Boracay-Bali, Myanmar-Ilocos, etc.

The “Sale ng Bayan” pavilion also offers “fun caravan tours,” which are “highly discounted packages of up to 70-percent discount, covering well-crafted tour packages with accommodations and land and airfare components for appropriate destinations,” he announced. These packages are available for Batanes, the Cordilleras, Southern Tagalog, T’boli communities, among others,

and start at P3,500 per person.

“Jaw dropping airfare to Philippine and Asean destinations,” he added, “As well as special accommodations packages from 136 hotel and resort exhibitors,” will also be offered to the public.

He said one of PTM’s partners, Skyjet Airlines, for instance, will be offering a hot promo fare “as low as P100” to each of its destinations namely, Basco in Batanes, Caticlan in Boracay and Busuanga, Palawan.

There are, likewise, group packages dubbed “pack and go” using public buses as a means of transport, and “fly and go” packages using local carriers.

In light of Philtoa’s advocacy toward the sustainable preservation of culture and heritage, Cruz said there will be a simultaneous taking place during the PTM. The event includes competitions in cultural dance, show choirs, kundiman singing and native dresses/costumes to be participated in by 250 students representing 39 different schools, colleges and universities.

Peza: Asian firms can make Manila as gateway to EU

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sian companies can make the Philippines as their gateway to the European Union (EU) market by taking advantage of the benefits of EU Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+).

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Spokesman Elmer San Pascual said the investment-promotion agency is actively promoting the EU GSP+ benefits given to the country in December last year and to other Asean members and Asian neighbors.

The EU GSP+ grants the Philippines zero tariff on 6,274 goods exported to EU, which makes products manufactured in the country more competitive in the EU market.

“We’re telling them that the cost of doing business for products exported to EU is more competitive if they invested here in the Philippines with the benefits of EU GSP+," San Pascual said.

Aside from the EU GSP+,” the Peza official mentioned that the country’s labor market remains an attractive factor for companies to invest here.

“We’re telling them that we are an economy with young population and peaceful labor market,” San Pascual noted.

He cited that the Philippines recorded the lowest number of strikes in the past years.

In 2014 the country only posted two labor strikes compared to China’s 1,379.

In 2013 there was only one labor strike in the Philippines against Thailand with 11; Indonesia with 239; Vietnam with 327; and China with 656.

Meanwhile, Peza approved 360 projects in the first seven months of 2015 amounting to P103 billion.

Peza is an investment promotion agency for export enterprises. PNA

A6 Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The shoe is on the other foot

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ILIPINOS yearning to see some semblance of “equality” between legislators and the citizens they investigate “in aid of legislation” should find consolation in a recent development in the Senate.

A spokesman of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay accused Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV of spending some P1.63 million a month on consultants that included his houseboy, family drivers, media workers, campaign donors, ex-mutineer friends, and his own brother whom he paid P71,200 a month. The spokesman is demanding that the Senate Committee on Ethics investigate the senator.

Trillanes is, of course, the Vice President’s high-profile tormentor, charging Binay of hidden wealth through plunder of the Treasury with overpriced buildings and services, among other crimes, while he was mayor of Makati City.

We are neutral on issues we perceive to be partisan and personal in character, but in the current instance we must confess to an elation in seeing a reversal of roles, the accuser being accused. All this time, it has been the senator who, using the lectern of the august Senate, has been cataloging to the world the Vice President’s alleged sins of commission. Now it is the senator being placed on the dock, to reply to charges that seem too solid to dismiss as mere political inventions.

In response, the senator is accusing the Vice President of authoring this “demolition job” against him. This is becoming ludicrous. Was it not the senator who earlier promised, in so many words, that by the time he was done “exposing” the Vice President, Binay would have lost all viability as a presidential candidate and would be obliged to withdraw?

Of the specific issues leveled against Trillanes, the one charging him of hiring two campaign donors is the most serious. Is the consultancy job given to these people, each said to have contributed something like P500,000 to the senator’s campaign kitty, a payback for their political donation? What is the consequence of this payback to the interest of the Filipino people? What is its impact, if any, on the senator’s intellectual and moral independence?

All this seems to make of us defenders of the Vice President. We are not.

Long before the senator hurled his accusations, we have heard of the ugly rumors about kickbacks in Makati City. We have demanded, and continue to do so, that the Vice President show these rumors to be false before he goes about campaigning for the presidency. At the same time, however, we believe the senator must also reply to the charges leveled against him and not hide behind generalities. He owes this to the people.

Earlier, in this space, we called attention to the availability of the courts of justice to citizens for the redress of grievances inflicted on them by authorities and by anybody else. Of course, the Vice President is not an ordinary citizen and the Senate Committee on Ethics is not a court of justice. Furthermore, in politics, mudslinging and character assassination are par for the course. All the same, the scenario that is unfolding seems reassuring—David fighting back Goliath. Whether the pebble from his slingshot will hit its target, further developments will tell.

SSS at 58: Marking milestones Susie G. Bugante

All About Social Security First of four parts

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hy do we celebrate anniversaries?

For couples, it is a time to remember the important moments in their relationship—the first time they met, their wedding, the birth of their kids, the purchase of a house, and the like. Anniversary celebrations spark memories of the “good old days,” giving the couple a chance to reframe their relationship for the coming years.

For companies, anniversaries provide the chance to look back over the years to see how far it has come in that time—what it has achieved or not and how the company has grown. It is also a time to acknowledge top employees and say thank you to clients.

The Social Security System (SSS) started a monthlong celebration of its 58th founding anniversary yesterday, September 1. All 264 branch offices held a Members’ Day where light snacks were given to members who visited the SSS and lucky members won token raffle prizes. At the head office, a photo exhibit showing the accomplishments of the SSS in the past five years was opened at the lobby. It was a simple but meaningful celebration.

Other activities that will celebrate the 58th year of the SSS is the recognition of top employees during its Employees’ Program on September 4, while on September 18, the annual Balikat ng Bayan Awards will be

held to honor individuals, employers or organizations that significantly contributed to the SSS’s pursuit of its mandate to provide social security for all Filipino workers.

In the next four weeks, this column will be devoted to a “throwback” on the accomplishments of the SSS for the past five years.

Today let us talk about the enhancements on service delivery through electronic processes.

The shift from manual to electronic processes across various aspects of SSS operations, such as loan and benefit disbursements, submission of applications and reports, and records management, were intensified starting 2010. Among these was the agency’s increasing shift away from the manual mailing of checks toward the electronic release of loans and short-term benefits to employers and members.

The Unified Multipurpose Identification (UMID) Card is a breakthrough in

service delivery of the SSS. Today over 5.8 million SSS members so far have been issued the UMID card. Apart from identification purposes, members can presently use their UMID card for electronic access to their SSS records at Self-Service Information Terminals installed at SSS branches nationwide.

Last year the state-run institution introduced the SSS Citi Visa Cash Card program as an electronic alternative to loan checks, enabling members to instead withdraw their salary-loan funds using a special prepaid card. It was piloted at the SSS Diliman and SSS Makati Gil-Puyat branches in 2014 and will soon be rolled out nationwide this year.

Similar changes were also carried out for employer transactions. In 2014 the SSS started the mandatory implementation of the SSS Sickness and Maternity Benefit Payment thru the Bank Program, effectively replacing the check-payment method with the electronic transfer of reimbursements directly to the employers’ designated bank account.

As for reporting of payments, the SSS instituted the electronic submission of contribution and loan collection lists among employers to cut down the volume of paper-based transactions, minimize errors in encoding members’ data, and speed up the posting of payments into the SSS database.

Starting 2014, all employers, except those paying as household employers, are required to give their contribution collections list using the e-R3 form via electronic storage media such as USB flash drives. All employers with 10 or more employees must also submit electronically their loan collection lists using the e-ML2 form.

Further back in 2011, the agency expanded the features of the SSS web

site (www.sss.gov.ph) so that members and employers can file their salary-loan applications, maternity notifications, employment reports and collection lists for contributions and loans through the online facility.

In the years following the Web upgrades, SSS web site registration rose from 1.36 million members in 2011 to 3.35 million as June 2015. Employer Web registration also showed an impressive surge from only 20,400 Web accounts in 2011 to nearly 210,000 as of June this year.

To facilitate the faster processing and coordination among SSS branches and departments, the SSS embarked on digitizing its microfilm and paperbased records starting in 2011 under the Automated Records Management System (ARMS), which then paved the way for the implementation of the Electronic Death, Disability and Retirement (DDR) System. With the ARMS, as well as the Electronic DDR, our personnel can quickly retrieve and view SSS documents electronically, instead of waiting for hard copies to be sent from one unit to another, thereby cutting down the time needed to process these transactions. It also improved our monitoring of DDR transactions and even created additional storage space in SSS branches.

Next week, we will talk about the financial status of the SSS. For more information about the SSS and its programs, call its 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@ sss.gov.ph.

Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.

China has lots of Treasuries, not much leverage William Pesek

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BLOOMBERG VIEW

n recent years, China’s relationship with the US has resembled nothing so much as a hostage situation. Beijing’s enormous holdings of Treasuries gave it immense leverage over Washington, which lived in perpetual fear of China choosing to not finance any new debt, or sell off its current holdings.

That worst-case scenario is closer than ever to becoming a reality—or so say the Republicans who are vying for their party’s presidential nomination.

But one important point has escaped Donald Trump and company: If the dynamic between China and the US is still a hostage scenario, the roles have been reversed. Beijing has been trimming its holdings of Treasuries in recent months in order to prop up the yuan. Over the past year, its overall foreign-exchange reserves have fallen by about $315 billion to $3.7 trillion. But the scale of these sales have been relatively modest. And there are at least three reasons that a more massive Chinese selloff of Treasuries is exceedingly unlikely.

The first reason is China’s rickety economy. It has always been true that

if Beijing dumped hundreds of billions of dollars of Treasuries, US yields would skyrocket and devastate the key market to which China ships its goods. In 2004 former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers warned about relying on this dynamic to ensure stability for the long term: “It surely cannot be prudent for us as a country to rely on a kind of balance of financial terror to hold back reserve sales that would threaten our stability.”

But as Summers also pointed out, the arrangement “is a reason a prudent person would avoid immediate concern.”

That’s especially true in the current economic environment, as Chinese growth sputters and traders begin to short Shanghai stocks. China needs every growth engine it can muster. And that means enticing US consumers to

spend by ensuring their government enjoys low interest rates.

The second reason China will hesitate to sell off Treasuries is Japan. Beijing knows that if it ends its unique relationship with the US, Tokyo would gladly step in to take its place. With about $1.2 trillion of Treasuries, Japan is already only marginally behind China in the dollar-leverage department. And two of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s signature policies are especially relevant in this context: keeping the yen weak and Barack Obama happy.

If Abe’s economic revival program has experienced any measure of success, it’s because of the yen’s 30-percent drop since late 2012. That’s why Abe will want to make sure the yen doesn’t rise on a trade-weighted basis against the recently devalued yuan. If that means offsetting Chinese dollar sales, then so be it.

And for all Abe’s strongman bluster in Asia, he’s been as compliant a Japanese partner as Washington has encountered in decades. Abe has consistently done President Obama’s bidding, whether that has involved facilitating the relocation of US military bases, passing a draconian state secrets bill or making an end-run around the country’s pacifist constitution. In the wake of a major Chinese selloff, Abe is sure to oblige any request from Washington that Tokyo do something to save the US bond market.

The third reason that China won’t

sell Treasuries is there’s nothing else it can buy. It turns out the Pentagon was right in 2012 when it concluded “China has few attractive options for investing the bulk of its large foreign-exchange holdings out of US Treasury securities.”

Where else could China strategically stash a few trillion dollars? Euro zone debt, in a desperate hope that Greece won’t crash anew? Japanese government bonds? Swiss francs? Australian property? Mineral-rich African nations? None of these are very attractive options. (It’s conceivable that President Xi Jinping might have momentarily been tempted to use China’s currency hoard to prop up Shanghai shares, but the country’s unsuccessful stock-market interventions of the last several weeks have given him little reason to think that would turn out well.)

During the last US presidential election, an editorial in a Chinese state-run newspaper declared that if Washington insisted on flouting Chinese interests (by selling arms to Taiwan, for example), Beijing should “use its financial weapon to teach the US a lesson.” Three years later, America owes even more to China than the $1.16 trillion it owed then. But the increase in debt holdings hasn’t translated to an increase in leverage; quite the opposite. The US has become for Beijing what Trump was for the New York bankers he borrowed money from during the 1980s—too big to fail.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Citizen engagement in good governance

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By Justine P. Castellon

ood governance is one of today’s public policy buzzwords.

All over the country, citizens are demanding good governance from our public servants and leaders. They want their voices heard and acted upon. Some citizen groups are even working with the government (or sometimes against it) to build a more citizen-centric approach to governance in the Philippines.

“Citizens are at the heart of good governance, and governments are genuinely more effective when they listen to and work with citizens to solve the developmental challenges, especially in local governance,” said Dr. Eddie Dorotan, executive director of Galing Pook, a foundation that conducts the national search of localgovernance programs.

For ordinary citizens, the term “good governance” is something one usually expects to refer exclusively to government’s commitments and its responsibilities to its residents.

“It’s about time it becomes more than that. When citizens expect something from the government, they should be willing to do their share to make it more successful,” Dorotan added.

To enable citizens to participate and engage in policy-making and program implementation of the government or state, the public should understand what is “good governance”?

There are differing definitions and understanding of what this term actually means. From the United Nations Development Programme, it is “…among other things participatory, transparent and accountable. It is also effective and equitable. And it promotes the rule of law.”

The World Bank defines good governance as, “…epitomized by predictable, open and enlightened policy-making; a bureaucracy imbued with a professional ethos; an executive arm of government accountable for its actions; and a strong civil society participating in public affairs; and all behaving under the rule of law.”

Simply put, good governance makes public administration more open, transparent and accountable, and it makes engagement of citizens in the government’s public affairs possible.

Citizens as partners

Strengthening the relationship between the government and its citizens is one of the essentials in governing a nation. By engaging citizens in the formulation and implementation of governance programs and even in policy-making, we allow our government to tap new sources of ideas, information and other resources in making decisions.

Dorotan explained that integrating citizen engagement in the project designs can help improve transparency and accountability of public policies; promote citizens’ trust; and forge consensus around important reforms necessary to sustain the country’s development.

“Moreover, it should be more than the participation of the people.

Local government should empower them and encourage ownership of the programs they developed collaboratively. Experience has shown that the absence of these throughout the development and implementation processes, even the best programs will have little practical effect,” he added.

Government’s strong capacity to design and implement programs

To engage people effectively in local governance programs, government must invest adequate time and resources in building robust process frameworks or the systems and methods for the programs to be developed and implemented. Local knowledge, such as technical howhow cascaded to the people, proved to be valuable during project design and implementation.

“When people have access to the program blueprint, objectives and goals are agreed upon, their roles are clearly defined, transparency in terms of budget and timeline, and evaluation processes are in place—the success factors are higher.”

“When people have access to the program blueprint, objectives and goals are agreed upon; their roles are clearly defined; transparency in terms of budget and timeline, and evaluation processes are in place—the success factors are higher,” Dorotan said.

Citizen engagement will also be more successful when the local- government counterparts have sufficient implementation capacity and operate in a transparent manner, and possess the capability to act on the feedback. Local government leadership and its strong capacity to design and implement programs matter for sustainable engagement processes. This will also include greater legitimacy and the potential to achieve improved results.

Dorotan said the effective projects that institutionalize citizen engagement should be acknowledged, as well, and shared to the general public as best practices that other local government units can learn from.

“For years, Galing Pook, together with the civil-society organizations, the private sector and the local and national governments helped promote innovation, sustainability, citizen empowerment and excellence in local governance,” Dorotan added.

He explained that through Galing Pook, it recognizes the unique initiatives of local government units. The Galing Pook winners have become models of good practices in local governance. Their programs provide benchmarks for good governance that even the national government can learn from.

The foundation is conducting an annual search for 10 outstanding local governance programs. “The winners are considered based on the following criteria: positive results and impact; efficiency of programservice delivery and creative use of powers provided under the local government code; transferability and sustainability; promotion of people participation and empowerment; and innovation,” Dorotan said.

The Galing Pook generates public awareness of outstanding local leaders and their communities. It continuously educates citizens on what good governance means, and what are the impact of their participation and involvement to make it more successful. This inspires them to compete with other local leaders, and eventually they find themselves trying to outdo their past performances.

“It even challenges them to attain higher standards and cross the barrier between convention and innovation,” Dorotan said.

The recognition signifies affirmation of the local government leaders’ dedication to public service and the influence of citizen engagement to attain good governance in public service.

“We should ask ourselves: “What do we demand from the government? What can we do for the country?” Dorotan ended.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Call cease-fire in the war on cash

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By Mark Gilbert | Bloomberg View

ast summer, London buses stopped accepting money. To pay your fare, you now have to wave either a prepaid Transport for London Oyster card or a contactless-payment bank card at a receiver. For some, not having to dig out a handful of coins is a welcome relief.

For others, though, the disappearance of cash represents a dangerous threat to our liberty.

A Google search for “war on cash” produces 109 million results, ranging in negativity from skeptical to outraged. But in Britain, at least, physical currency is losing the socalled war.

Last year noncash payments in the UK economy overtook cash for the first time. And the trend shows little sign of slowing. Figures this week from credit-card company Mastercard show spending by contactless payments in the UK soared more than fivefold in the past 12 months, while the number of transactions quadrupled, albeit from a low initial base. Britons have been swift to adopt cards that contain transmitters, and retailers from Tesco to Starbucks to pubs have installed equipment that lets you flash your plastic to pay a bill instantly.

Earlier this year, Citigroup chief economist and former Bank of England policy-maker Willem

Buiter published a paper in which he advocated abolishing physical currency altogether. His concern was a technical argument about giving central banks more freedom to drive borrowing costs below zero.

The existence of cash sets a lower boundary to central-bank policy, because you can avoid the penalty of negative interest rates by holding physical currency rather than having money in a bank account. Buiter argued that the benefits of a cashless society outweigh privacy concerns: Abolishing currency would inevitably be associated with a loss of privacy and create risks of excessive intrusion by the government (and other would-be inspectors). The well-known monetary economist Charles Goodhart, indeed, refers to the proposal to abolish currency as “shockingly illiberal.” In our view, the net benefit to society from giving up the anonymity of currency holdings is likely to be positive (including for tax compliance).

The opponents of the move to

It’s good that we’re embracing new technology that lets us pay a bar bill or buy a bag of groceries with a wave of a card. But it’s time to call a cease-fire in the cash war. Buiter’s fantasy to the contrary, there’s no good reason physical currency shouldn’t continue alongside the digital variety. digital money see things differently. Here, for example, is a post on the Mises Institute web site: The ostensible reason given by our rulers for suppressing cash is to keep society safe from terrorists, tax evaders, money launderers, drug cartels and sundry other villains, real or imagined. But the actual aim of the recent flood of laws rendering cash transactions less convenient or limiting or even prohibiting them is to force the public at large to make payments through the financial system in order to prop up the unstable fractional-reserve banks and, more important, to expand the ability of governments to spy on and keep

The vile jailers of journalists

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hen he gained power in 2012 after the downfall of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, it looked as though Mohammed Morsi might end the government’s history of silencing independent voices in the press. It was a mistaken hope. Under the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated administration, prosecutors soon were going after journalists who dared to question the new regime.

After his removal by the military in 2013, hopes rose again that the news media would have greater freedom to scrutinize the nation’s rulers. But they were also dashed.

Recently, in a decision that surprised even critics of the government, a court sentenced a trio of reporters from Al-Jazeera English to three years in prison.

The case against them was obviously phony. Mohammed Fahmy, Baher Mohammed and Peter Greste, the court found, had “broadcast false news” about Egypt. They were alleged to have conspired with the Muslim

Brotherhood to spread lies, but, as The New York Times Cairo correspondent reported, the prosecution team “offered no evidence of either collaboration with the Brotherhood or of any erroneous broadcasts.”

Even the iron-fisted President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi looked moderate by comparison with the court.

He had said he’d prefer to deport the journalists, who were arrested in January 2014. But the president can’t evade responsibility for the suffocating press climate in Egypt.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the country has never had so many journalists behind bars—18 as of June 1. “The threat of imprisonment in Egypt is part of an atmosphere in which authorities pressure media outlets to censor critical voices and issue gag orders on sensitive topics,” it says.

Al-Jazeera has been banned entirely — partly because it refuses to toe the government line and partly, it seems, because it is funded by the government of Qatar, which is

aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and thus at odds with Cairo.

In any case, its treatment is just one facet of the regime’s war on journalists, which often involves “beatings, abuse and raids of their homes and confiscation of their property,” according to CPJ. The travesty in Egypt shouldn’t distract outsiders from attacks on news organizations and other independent voices elsewhere. The biggest jailer of journalists is the government of China.

Lately, it has been gripped by the idea that the way to bolster your economy is to muzzle anyone offering unwelcome information. Nearly 200 people have been detained for allegedly “spreading rumors” online about matters like the Chinese stock market crash and the industrial disaster in Tianjin.

One reporter had to make a televised confession that his article on the stock market was “sensational” and “irresponsible.” The state-run news agency blamed the journalist

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track of their citizens’ most private financial dealings.

I’ve just finished watching a BBC drama called The Last Enemy, which paints a dystopian picture of Britain as a police state. As well as tracking people’s movements by knowing when they tap a card to use the transport system, one of the key tools used to keep citizens in line is the government’s ability to close the bank accounts of alleged undesirables.

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist, though, to appreciate the benefits of having a stash of cash.

Greece’s temporary introduction of capital controls earlier this year, for example, restricted ATM withdrawals to €60 ($68) per day. And on Friday, a glitch in HSBC’s UK banking computers meant 275,000 payments didn’t happen, including end-of-month salary payments worth millions of pounds.

It’s good that we’re embracing new technology that lets us pay a bar bill or buy a bag of groceries with a wave of a card. But it’s time to call a ceasefire in the cash war. Buiter’s fantasy to the contrary, there’s no good reason physical currency shouldn’t continue alongside the digital variety. Even if it’s never needed in our more efficient economic future, it can serve as a reminder of a more quaint economic past.

for setting off “abnormal fluctuations” in share prices—as though concrete economic dangers might not explain the recent turmoil.

And let’s not forget the ongoing punishment of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who is waiting to learn the verdict in his closed-door trial in Iran. Rezaian, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Iran, has been in custody for more than a year, deprived of legal assistance and medical care.

He was charged with spying and propaganda, charges that could result in a 20-year sentence. But any evidence against Rezaian has yet to emerge. “If Iran had a case against Jason Rezaian, it would try him in public,” said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch. “It doesn’t and won’t.”

Governments that rule through violence and lies have reason to fear the open airing of the truth. In persecuting journalists, though, they expose their malignant character beyond all doubt. TNS

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Jica completes feasibility EL NIÑO IN PACIFIC on airport replacing Naia SEEN STRONGEST IN TWO DECADES

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

he transportation department has received the feasibility study done by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for the new gateway that is seen to replace the aging Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

“We’ve gotten the feasibility study for the Sangley Airport, and we are now processing it. It will cost roughly $13 billion,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said. Earlier estimate on the project cost was pegged at $11 billion.

Earlier, Abaya admitted that the multibillion-dollar contract to construct Sangley Airport will not see itself take the centerstage during this administration’s

reign, as this critical deal will have to undergo several approvals before being placed on the auction block. The least that he could do is to get the $13-billion project approved by the several bodies under the National Economic and Development Authority.

Two groups—San Miguel Corp. and All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp.—have offered to pursue the construction of a $10-billion

airport to replace the aging airport.

The government is pursuing the deal to modernize the aviation sector in the Philippines, particularly in its capital, Manila, where the four terminals of Naia are already bursting at the seams.

Jica has predicted that this year would mark the start of the main gateway’s dark days. The airport is expected to handle some 37.78 million passengers, way beyond its 30-million annual passenger capacity and a few notches up from its maximum capacity of 35 million passengers per year.

The Japanese consultants had proposed that the new international gateway be constructed in Sangely Point in Cavite City to meet the parameters set by the transportation agency. The future airport will boast of four runways, which can handle 700,000 aircraft movements per year. It will have a rated capacity of 130 million passengers annually.

T

he El Niño that’s changing weather across the globe is now the strongest since the record event almost two decades ago.

Sea-temperature anomalies in the central Pacific Ocean are now at their highest since 19971998, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said in a fortnightly update on its web site. The values are still below the peak observed in the period, it said.

Forecasters in the US predict the El Niño may be the strongest in records going back to 1950. It has already brought torrential rains to parts of South America and dryness to Southeast Asia.

The Philippines plans to boost rice imports to prepare for potential shortages, while Rabo-

bank International warned that the weather event is a key risk to Australian wheat crops.

“Most of the eight international climate models surveyed by the bureau indicate there is likely to be some further warming of central Pacific Ocean during the coming months,” the Australian forecaster said. “About half the models indicate the event may begin to plateau during spring to early summer.”

In Australia spring starts in September and summer begins in December.

The 1997-1998 El Niño was the strongest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Bloomberg News

Asean top 100 tempt fate with sixfold debt jump since ’98 crisis

S

outheast Asia’s biggest companies have increased debt sixfold since the regional financial crisis, stoking concern over default risks as investors draw parallels with the 1998 meltdown.

The region’s 100 largest listed companies by assets, including Thailand’s CP ALL Pcl., Petron Corp. of the Philippines and Singapore’s Wil-

mar International Ltd., had accumulated $392 billion by June 30, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s up six times from December 1998. Debt loads as a proportion of assets are climbing back near levels from the crisis at 31.7 percent, up from 29.5 percent in 2010.

Slowing regional growth, China’s yuan devaluation and the outlook for higher US interest

rates sparked a sell-off in Southeast Asia that sent the ringgit and the rupiah to their lowest levels since 1998. Default risk in Asia outside Japan posted the sharpest jump in 2015 last month, bonds lost the most in two years and shares suffered their worst slide since 2011.

“Companies still clearly have their foot on the expansion throttle, they show no sign of

slowing down just yet at a time where the road is becoming more bendy,” said Bertrand Jabouley, director of Asia-Pacific corporate ratings in Singapore at Standard & Poor’s. “Currency depreciations are the bitter icing on the cake and they come at a time when debt-funded expansion has weakened corporate balance sheets.” Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Consumer-loan. . .

Continued from A1

This was followed by auto loans at P244.6 billion and credit-card receivables at P159.8 billion. Salary loans, meanwhile, hit P76.1 billion during the period. So-called other consumer loans hit P40.8 billion.

The BSP also noted that banks proved prudent and well-insulated against losses as their ratio of soured or nonperforming consumer loans hit 4.9 percent, practically unchanged from 4.8 percent a quarter earlier.

Universal, commercial and thrift banks also provisioned for 62.2 percent of their nonperforming consumer loans as cushion for potential credit losses down the line.

Moreover, the BSP said the banks’ consumer credit exposure of 16.7 percent of total loan portfolio remained lower than their Asean peers.

“At end-March 2015, the consumer loans exposure in Malaysia was at 53.8 percent; followed by Indonesia at 28.6 percent; Thailand, 27.7 percent; and Singapore, 25.8 percent,” the BSP bared.

Apec. . .

Continued from A1

peace,” he noted. The CTWG is holding its sixth meeting here on September 1 and 2 as part of the Apec Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) III. The working group has activities in the four cross-cutting activity areas of the Apec Counter-Terrorism and Secure Trade Strategy: secure supply chains, secure travel, secure finance and secure infrastructure.

These are specifically aimed at addressing security concerns that can potentially hamper trade and business.

Security of trade covers many aspects, from nonproliferation and export control measures, border control and security in the transport of goods and people among others. PNA