Businessmirror september 22, 2015

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A broader look at today’s business

ThursdaySeptember 18, 2014 Vol.22, 10 No. 40 Vol. 10 No. 348 Tuesday, 2015

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

Palace softens stand vs tweaking of tax regime C M

ANG CERTAIN NEXT ADMIN WILL ACCEPT HIS NAIA PLAN

The three virtues

THE LIVING WATER, CAROLE AND LOUIE M. LACSON

Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

C  A

C  A

ALACAÑANG has softened its stand on the proposals to alter the country’s incometax regime, apparently giving in to mounting lobbying for a “holistic reform” that will include viable options for filling the resulting revenue gap.

WHAT DOES YOUR FRONT DOOR SAY ABOUT YOU? EAR Lord, thank You for knowing that Mary, Your blessed Mother, lived the three virtues of humility, obedience and faithfulness.

We are happy that the value of these virtues, she learned them from her parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. During the Annunciation, she immediately said yes to God. Throughout her life, she sought God’s will in everything, and obeyed no matter how difficult and how painful. Thus, God took her body and soul to heaven on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption. Lord, make us humble, obedient and faithful like Mary. Amen.

HOUSANDS of laws remain applicable in the Philippines, many of which could already be considered antiquated. Currently, lawmakers are looking at amending or repealing some outdated laws, especially those that are disadvantageous to a particular sector of Philippine society.

For one, lawmakers are pushing for an increase in the threshold for taxable parcel to as much as $1,000, or P44,000, from P10,000. The public clamored for amendments to the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines following the decision of the Bureau of Customs to randomly open and tax balikbayan boxes.

Party-list Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna also filed a bill that seeks to repeal Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code. The punishment for a husband who would kill his wife after catching her having sex with another man, the two lawmakers said, was too lenient.

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INSIDE

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ONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is confident that the next administration will accept its unsolicited proposal to build a third runway in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

SMC President Ramon S. Ang told reporters that he will still push for the third runway, which will cost about P50 billion, to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

A design of the proposed third runway is already finished and can be presented to officials, he said.

“I will give that plan to those who believe in the project. I will still push for it and I’m sure the next administration will do it,” Ang told reporters at the sidelines of the company’s listing of its new series of preferred shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

SMC has been proposing the said plan to the government since last year; but it encountered opposition in the DOTC. According to his proposed design, the new runway, which will have a length of 3,400 meters and is 45 meters wide, will be parallel to the current main runway. It will have its own passenger terminal building and will cater to domestic and low-cost airlines.

Much of the P50 billion, he said, will be for the acquisition of right-of-way by the government, which may include the warehouse of the SM group. Only P7 billion will be allotted for the construction.

“If the government was able to secure the right-of-way at the back, I will place a budget of P50,000 per square meter,” Ang said.

The third runway will have its own exit at the South Luzon Expressway by constructing a flyover, which, Ang said, will be offered free of charge to the users.

“I will place it in unsolicited project bid to the next administration if this current administration will not accept,” he said.

Ang did not give further details on its unsolicited bid since it may be subjected to a Swiss challenge if given the go signal.

The new facility will have add another 50 takeoffs and landings per hour at the Naia, or higher than the 42

Life

WHEN ‘THIRTEEN’IS A LUCKY NUMBER »D4

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

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Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Monday referred to Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima a request for a reaction to the latest group to weigh in on the issue—the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP). The group backed proposals to cut individual and corporate income-tax rates tagged among the highest in the region.

Purisima replied: “We are open to a holistic reform, which will include an adjustment of the rates and brackets—doing otherwise

is not the fiscally responsible way since it can hurt our people [in the] long run if we go down the slippery slope of populist policies.”

It was the first time in days that the Executive branch explicitly cited the proposals to cut the tax rates and/ or adjust to inflation—as suggested

by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara—the brackets comprising the taxable incomes, with the Palace holding out the hope these will be included in holistic reforms.

S “T ,” A

SPECIAL REPORT What does your front door say about you?

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B K D Saint Louis Post-Dispatch

T’S amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to brighten up the interior of a home.

So why not open up your front door to bold and exciting colors, too? A well-chosen front door color can make a strong first impression.

Paint colors for the front door can alter the way you feel about your home. And it’s one of the most costeffective ways to spiff up.

This year, bold and confident shades are gaining popularity as homeowners are becoming more optimistic about the future and, in turn, want to stand out from the crowd.

A yellow door can be the ultimate statement, say the color experts we consulted. A bold yellow works great for an energetic young family or anyone with a zest for life and fashion.

“It can take a leap of faith to paint your entry door yellow, so in turn your door will tell the story of you and your home’s daring personal style,” says Nathan Fischer, Ace Hardware national design expert based in Laguna Beach, California.

An orange shade or a joyful color like berry can help achieve this effect, too.

“Finding the perfect color for your entry door is probably the easiest and most cost-effective way to add instant character to your home,” Fischer says. “Unfortunately, most people miss out on this opportunity to express themselves.”

Many homeowners can wind up with the most common colors: beige or brown. “Their home may have come with this color already, or because of all the choices, it ends up being the easiest route,” Fischer adds.

Amy Fix of Oakville, Missouri, had her husband paint their front door red. “Actually, it’s more like a candy-cane red,” Fix says. “When we first moved into

the home the front door and the shutters were black.

Nothing popped.”

Now, the red splash of color is like the lipstick on her house. Real-estate surveys show that homebuyers say they prefer doors that are white or red. The next most popular colors are shades of brown and black in Saint Louis. Blue and green follow right behind.

Colleen Lawler of Coldwell Banker Gundaker works with homebuyers, and front doors are often the topic of discussion during a showing.

“If I walk up to a white door, I’m going to see an engineer’s house. Everything is going to look tidy and everything is in its place,” Lawler says.

White works great if you are going for a simple, clean and updated look. A home that is well-decorated and artistic, with a mix of exterior materials, will look great with a white door. This can add a simple but stylized appearance.

When Lawler shows a home with a red door, her clients either love it, or really don’t like it at all. “A red door is a welcoming site,” Lawler says. The majority of homebuyers she works with like red shades.

“Black is formal,” Lawler adds. It’s usually not objectionable to buyers, but at the same time it does not leave an impression.

Fischer agrees. “Black is classic and so sophisticated.

You can never go wrong with a black entry door. It goes with any style of home and gives an established feel that can work with modern or more traditional homes.”

Lawler says when she walks through a blue or green door, she’s walking into a house where the homeowner may have a creative or artistic side, or the homeowners could be outgoing.

Natalie Turner, Lowe’s spokesman, says consumers are breaking away from traditional door colors and transitioning to expressive and independent shades like a teal or a welcoming green. Even a softer approach with a light blue provides a fresh look.

And for all you purple lovers, painting a door a purple shade will let your guests know that you don’t take things too seriously. It’s an attention-grabbing color that brings in glamour, fashion and just plain fun.

COLOR CHOICES FROM THE EXPERTS COLOR experts from Lowe’s and Coldwell Banker Gundaker offered these paint color suggestions.

■ Red brick home: A great way to complement the warm color of a red brick home is to look opposite the color wheel with an elegant dusty blue green.

■ Peach brick home with white siding: Analogous colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel) bring a no-fail approach for a successful color scheme. A terra cotta used on the front door and also incorporated into large planters can bring a cohesive restful effect to the peachy-color brick.

■ Gray siding home with black shutters: Make a statement with a fresh yellow or play it safe and sophisticated with a rich red.

■ White vinyl siding: Choose a really rich red, if you want your home to say, “I’m here.”

■ Tan brick home: Paint the door black. These two colors would be a house that Ralph Lauren would call home.

■ Forest green and gold brick home: Here’s your chance to achieve a gorgeous earth tone by painting the front door yellow. A yellow shade will tie in with the gold and green.

■ Dark brown brick home: Choose a light tan for the front door. The contrast will draw attention to your entryway, making the door the focal point of your home.

■ Cream brick home: Forest green on the front door will give the house a bit of a twist, and it won’t look like others on the street.

PREPARING THE FRONT DOOR FOR PAINT 1. Remove the door and all of the hardware.

2. Sanding and priming may be needed for old wooden doors. Scrape off any peeling pieces and use grit paper to sand down the old paint until the surface of the door feels even all over.

If the door has cracks, repair them by dabbing small amounts of caulk into the cracks and working the caulk in with a putty knife.

Let the caulk dry, then sand the repaired spots until they’re smooth.

3. Vacuum away extra dust, and wipe the door with a tack cloth. Dampen the cloth with mineral spirits to remove stubborn dust.

4. Apply paint and primer in a dust-free area so that no particles ruin the door surface. Brush on a single coat of primer with a wide paintbrush, covering the front and all side edges of the door.

Primer prevents the door from absorbing moisture and helps smooth out its texture. Once the primer has dried on the front of the door, flip the door over to prime the back. If the primer drips or goes on chunky, lightly sand the surface to smooth it out.

5. Once the primer has dried completely, stir your paint. Paint the door from the top down, using a wide brush for corners or crevices and a small roller for flat panels. Make long strokes with the brush, and clean any visible lines on the front door with a dry cloth. Just as with the primer, let each side of the door dry before turning it over to work on the other side. (Fischer says his preference is to paint both the outside and inside the same color. However, if the color on the outside doesn’t work with the inside décor, then it is best to paint the inside of the door either black or white.) Add at least two coats of paint to the door, using three or more if you want to increase color saturation.

6. Let your front door dry before reinstallation.

Once the paint no longer feels tacky to the touch, replace all hardware. ■

Amaia introduces townhouse development AFTER launching multiple projects at different sites across the country, Amaia Land (www. amaialand.com) introduces a townhouse amaialand.com development that is the latest addition to their portfolio of product lines.

Amaia Series makes it possible for families to live in a townhouse community and enjoy the benefits of city living.

The first sector of Amaia Series Novaliches features 286 units of four-series and six-series house models, lots size ranging from 50 to 143 square meters.

Future residents can savor life and relish the suburban ambiance with facilities that includes a village pavilion, swimming pool, basketball court, children’s play area, landscaped gardens and jogging loop.

Situated in Barangay San Agustin, Novaliches, Quezon City, Amaia Series is accessible via key entry points: North Luzon Expressway through Malinta exit, and Mindanao Avenue, from Caloocan through Camarin and Zabarte Road, and from Edsa via Commonwealth Avenue.

Amaia Series Novaliches is, likewise, close to business and commercial establishments.

Just a short ride away from the community are Ayala Fairview Terraces, SM City Fairview, SM City Novaliches, Puregold Susano and Nova Plaza Mall—all accessible through various transportation modes such as buses, jeepneys and tricycles.

Growing families will appreciate the development’s proximity to learning

institutions, such as Saint Luke’s School, La Consolacion College and Urduja Elementary School, among others, making it a perfect place to raise their children.

Security and quality are not compromised, as the project will be constructed by the MDC Build Plus and will be managed by Ayala Property Management Corp. Round-the-clock security, and guarded entrance and exits will keep families from worrying.

Acquiring a home in Amaia Series Novaliches is easy on the pocket with prices starting P2.4 million, and with various payment options available. Potential homeowners can choose from cash or deferred payments, and through bank or inhouse financing.

AMAIA Series Novaliches, the newest townhouse development of Amaia Land, is a great addition the brand’s growing portfolio of product lines.

LIFE

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WHEN ‘THIRTEEN’ IS A LUCKY NUMBER D4 Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Art

BusinessMirror

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SAMITO.NET

UNTITLED by Nona Garcia, a winner of the Thirteen Artists Awards back in

B S J

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HAT’S your favorite number?

The number 13 is considered an unlucky number to such extent that a word was coined in 1911 and subsequently added to the lexicon, describing its numerical fear as a specifically recognized phobia: Triskaidekaphobia.

But for many who have won the triennial Thirteen Artists Awards, given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the number is benevolent. The winners are most lucky for the number has opened a world of plums and possibilities.

This comes as no surprise for we can count giants among them. Let me count the ways or personages. At least one National Artist was a recipient back in the earliest days when the awards were started in 1970. He signs his name BenCab, a shortened form of Benedicto Cabrera, who needs no introduction in the local art scene. While BenCab is perhaps the most formidable winner, artistically and also due to having high marks in the secondary or auction market, a few others can also claim rivalry to the throne, but their number is limited.

Who are the other awardees of the honorific? And if your name isn’t in this art power list, will you weep and heave and shout bloody murder?

Along with BenCab, the original 1970 winners were Angelito Antonio, Virgilio Aviado, Eduardo Castrillo, Lamberto Hechanova and Antonio Austria, among others. Two years later, Danilo Dalena, Ofelia GelvezonTequi, Alfredo Liongoren, Sofronio Y. Mendoza, Justin Nuyda, Romulo Olazo, Mario Parial and Ibarra de la Rosa joined the list. In 1974 this was expanded for Ely

Gajo, Fernando Modesto, Tony Perez, Rodolfo Samonte and Nestor Vinluan.

It was destiny for the few as they were joined by Gus Albor, Santiago Bose, Liao Lianben, Impy Pilapil and Hermenigildo Tecson in 1976. In the years since then, the Thirteen Artists Awards has added over a hundred names to its roster, each name lending its luster to the honorific and never subtracting from its power.

They include (in no apparent order) Leeroy New, Ernest Concepcion, Ronald Ventura, Jose John Santos III, Onib Olmedo, Poklong Anading, Mideo Cruz, Kiko Escora, Jonathan Olazo, Emmanuel Garibay, Julie Lluch Dalena, Cesare Syjuco, RM de Leon, Roy Veneracion, Roberto Feleo, Jose Tence Ruiz, Alfredo Esquillo Jr., Wire Tuazon, Ringo Bunoan, Luis “Junyee” Yee, Nona Garcia, Kawayan de Guia, Lyra Garcellano, Mac Valdezco, Geraldine Javier, Alwin Reamillo, Charlie Co and many others too artistic to mention.

At the risk of sounding funny and perhaps in the spirit of inclusion, we should compile a list next time called “The most powerless personages in the Philippines art scene”—to finally include none of the winners but this humble and readerless art critic who happens to own a few pieces by Thirteen Artists awardees, available for viewing at the eponymous Samito.net, a cloud repository of our private art collection.

made a distinction between what we now call “zombie formalism” and revolutionizing art. He also made a connection between the Thirteen Artists and the Thirteen Moderns, a group of artists who rebelled against the then-accepted dogma of academic art and made inroads to modernism.

Both the Thirteen Moderns and the recipients of the Thirteen Artists Awards are viewed to have sought in their time and space the chance and risk to restructure, restrengthen and renew art-making and art-thinking that lend viability to Philippine art. Thus, the Thirteen Artists Awards has honored deserving artists without regularity or pattern, and always subject to constant revision. In other words, its chaos is its virtue, and this seemingly explains the fabric of its roster.

In such a free and open-ended context, the awards are sustained to this day to mark the comings and goings of contemporary Philippine art, and to update its modernizing potential. The awards are important as milestones and measures of assessment.

In 2009 the awards were reestablished as triennial events from the original biennial. According to recent literature from the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division, what has characterized “the work of the awardees, then and now, is a fresh visual language, innovative solutions to artistic problems, and sustained creative output.”

UNENDING QUEST FOR GLORY BUT speaking of the majestic lineup, the Thirteen Artists Awards began as a curatorial project for a group art exhibition at the CCP Museum under the direction of its founding curator Roberto “Bobby” Chabet (1937-2013). In a written document, Chabet

GUIDELINES WHO are qualified for nomination to the Thirteen Artists Awards? Nominated artists must be less than 40 years old and must be Filipino citizens who possess oeuvres or bodies of works characterized by artistic integrity, innovation and forcefulness. Artists must

2003. COLLECTION: SAMITO.NET

be responsive to contemporary realities while giving evidence of sustained artistic activity demonstrated by a track record of individual exhibitions and group shows.

They must also show engagement with contemporary visual art forms including, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, multimedia, installation, performance art, photography, printmaking and digital imaging.

Nominations can originate from art councils, art groups, heads and deans of art schools, museum and gallery curators and directors, art critics, and past Thirteen Artists Awardees. Such may submit a maximum of three nominations each.

The board of judges, called the Selection Committee, will be comprised of four past awardees and the head of the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division.

Prizes include a cash grant to defray cost of materials for producing new works for a group exhibit at the CCP Main Gallery, a trophy designed by a past awardee, and free participation in the CCP’s program of fora, lectures, workshops and other activities.

However, the submission of nomination forms for the next round is still too early. Wait three more years and perhaps your time might come to be lucky. ■

RANDALF DILLA MURAL EXHIBIT AT HIRAYA GALLERY

BEARING in our mind and heart the words of the philosopher George Santayana (“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”), Hiraya Gallery (www.hiraya.com) www.hiraya.com) commissioned a young www.hiraya.com Filipino artist named Randalf Dilla, a Fine Arts graduate of Feati University, to create the conscience-raising mural Salvaged Memories, Salvaged Lives depicting the atrocities perpetrated by the martial law regime (1972-1986). Together with the second mural #WHATNOW #WHATNOW, this mural will be exhibited at the Hiraya Gallery. Dubbed Tyranny of Hindsight Hindsight, the exhibit opens to the public on September 23.

At the amazing young age of 28 (at the time of the artwork’s execution) Dilla had obviously not been born during the martial law regime. Dilla researched assiduously and distilled the wealth of materials into a few selected but significant elements.

The title of the 8'x18.5' mural Salvaged Memories, Salvaged Lives features the word “salvaged”, a curious word about which the Urban Dictionary has remarked: “In the Philippines, ‘to salvage’ means ‘to kill’ that person, which is the opposite meaning of the word, which is ‘to save.’” What can one say? Only in the Philippines.

Dilla’s second mural, #WHATNOW #WHATNOW, measuring 8'x17', was conceived with a raging and overwhelming emotional temper, a vision whirling with conflicts between institutions despite the dictum of the separation of Church and State.

Alas, it is a disturbing portrait of a country in a perpetual state of upheaval and turmoil, pathetically left behind by other Asian countries, while governed by grandstanding leaders heedless of the people’s plight.

In his 1935 inaugural address as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon delivered a statement that, now in retrospect, sounds portentously prophetic: “I would prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos, than a country run like heaven by the Americans.” Has the wish finally come true?

Tyranny of Hindsight runs until October 30 at the Hiraya

ART

B J M N.  C

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THORNY HEART I

by Julie Lluch Dalena, a winner of the Thirteen Artists Awards back in 1990. COLLECTION:

When ‘Thirteen’ is a lucky number

Marrying a rapist, the 301-day rule for widows and other obsolete laws

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Second of three parts

Iloilo hosts Apec disaster-management forum

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HE two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 9th Senior Disaster Management Officials’ Forum (SDMOF) hosted by the government, through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), will start on Tuesday in Iloilo City.

The forum will discuss various disasterrisk reduction and management (DRRM) topics and the sharing of best practices of the various Apec member-economies.

Experts on DRRM coming from interna-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 46.4930

tional agencies, such as the Asean Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, are scheduled to present studies and recommendations at the forum.

The theme of the SDMOF is “Whole-ofEconomy Approach: A Paradigm Shift to Adapt to the New Normal.” This is in cognizance of the fact that climate change does not recognize national boundaries, or political or economic affiliations.

NDRRMC Executive Director and Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Alexander P. Pama reiterated President Aquino’s call for unity and cooperation in facing the mounting challenges of disasters.

“There really is a need for an inter-economy cooperation in dealing with disasters to ensure sustainable economic growth in the AsiaPacific region, and promote a holistic, comprehensive, integrated and proactive approach as a new paradigm in addressing disasters and managing risks,” Pama said. Rene Acosta

■ JAPAN 0.3876 ■ UK 72.222 ■ HK 5.9994 ■ CHINA 7.3053 ■ SINGAPORE 33.1785 ■ AUSTRALIA 33.5957 ■ EU 52.5231 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.4014 Source: BSP (21 September 2015)

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Tuesday, September 22 , 2015

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Marrying a rapist, the 301-day rule for widows and other obsolete laws continued from A1

Article 247, according to Colmenares and Zarate, is “more than medieval” and is a product of “feudal mentality deeply ingrained in [Philippine] society.”

Heckling is a no-no

Tax regime. . .

Continued from A1

TMAP proposal

None of those backing the proposals to reduce the tax rates had disputed the Executive branch’s insistence on a holistic reform, but the bone of contention had always been on what measures to pass alongside the tax-rate reduction in order to ensure there will be no huge revenue hole that can erode the administration’s gains in setting its fiscal house in order.

The TMAP had appealed to President Aquino to reconsider his opposition to the proposed amendments to the income-tax brackets to equitably distribute the tax burden.

TMAP President Terence Conrad Bello said lowering the tax rates and adjusting the tax brackets to arrive at a progressive tax regime would not necessarily mean that the government’s budget deficit would increase.

Bello pointed out that the low budget deficit of the government is not due to higher tax collection, but due to the state’s underspending.

Leave the spending to the people

In 2014 the government incurred a low budget deficit of P73.1 billion, admittedly due to underspending that year, which led to an economic slowdown. The budget deficit was only 0.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which indicated that there was still room for more spending, since the target budget deficit is up to a maximum of 2 percent of GDP. See “Tax regime,” A8

Under Philippine laws, people can be charged for merely being annoying. Under Article 287 of the Revised Penal Code, “any other coercions or unjust vexations shall be punished by arresto menor or a fine ranging from P5 to P200, or both.”

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said, however, there is no clear definition of this law. In the 14th Congress, Santiago filed Senate Bill (SB) 3327, which seeks to amend Article 287 to define the crime and increase penalties for violators.

Under SB 3327, any person who commits a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such a person and serves no legitimate purpose shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum period or a fine from P500 to P5,000, or both.

‘Favored by luck’

In previous elections in the Philippines, tossing a coin to break a tie and declare a winner is an accepted practice. Section 240 of the Omnibus Election Code provides that in cases of a tie in election results, the candidate “favored by luck” will be proclaimed the winner.

The members of the board of canvassers must first record the tie and notify the candidates. Then, they shall, by resolution, hold a public meeting where a drawing of lots will be done to determine the winning candidate. In practice, coin tossing is an accepted variation of drawing of lots.

The tossed-coin rule was also supported by Commission on Elections Resolution 9648, wherein “the board immediately notify the said candidates to appear before them for the drawing of lots to break the tie. The drawing of lots should be conducted within

one hour after issuance of notice by the board to the candidates concerned.”

In 2013 Rogelio Pacquiao—the younger brother of the world boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao—won reelection as chairman of Barangay Apopong via a coin toss. During the same year, the fate of Marvic Feraren as Oriental Mindoro mayor was also decided using the same method.

301-day rule

Under Article 351 of the Revised Penal Code, widows must first observe the “301-day rule” before remarrying. It states that “any widow who shall marry within 301 days from the date of the death of her husband, or before having delivered if she shall have been pregnant at the time of his death, shall be punished by arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding P500.”

The Philippine Commission on Women said Article 351 is “discriminatory,” adding that it makes any woman who marries within 300 days from termination of her marriage whether by death of the first husband, annulment or nullity of marriage, a criminal.

Even women who are already beyond child-bearing years or medically proven to be incapable of bearing children could be penalized.

Article 351 was effectively repealed in March, after President Aquino signed into law Republic Act (RA) 10655 decriminalizing premature marriage.

“Without prejudice to the provisions of the Family Code on paternity and filiation, Article 351 of [RA] 3815, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code, punishing the crime of premature marriage committed by a woman, is hereby repealed,” RA 10655 read.

Muzzling the press

Colmenares said the law on libel was enacted during the colonial regime by the United States Philippine Commission as Act 277 on October 24, 1901. He said this law continues to be enshrined in Philippine penal statutes under Article 353 to

362 of the Revised Penal Code.

Under Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, libel is punishable by prision correccional or imprisonment of six months and one day to six years.

The code provides that libel or defamation is “a public and malicious imputation of crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead... by means of writing, printing, lithography, engraving, radio, phonograph, painting, theatrical exhibition, cinematographic exhibition or any similar means.”

Three bills that seek to decriminalize libel are currently pending in the House Committee on Revision of Law. Colmenares and Zarate, authors of one of the bills, said that no law should be passed abridging the freedom of speech of expression, or of the press.

The two lawmakers noted that the libel law is increasingly being used to stifle press freedom and inhibit media criticism of government officials and their acts and decisions, saying that journalists critical of government officials or government act and decisions speak or write under the threat of criminal prosecution.

“Decriminalizing libel, then, will remove much of its potency as an instrument to intimidate and harass.

It will allow journalists to do their work without fear of being jailed because of criminal complaints,” they added.

Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Evelina Escudero of Sorsogon, also one of the authors of a bill, said she wanted to accord “greater protection” of freedom of speech and expression, specifically those done by means of writing and other similar means, taking away the threat or fear of incarceration, restraint of liberty and even life. “[With the measure] strong print media could give a great service to the Filipino people in providing an effective mechanism of complete and fearless transparency over the excesses of government in the exercise of its powers and prerogatives,” Escudero said. To be concluded

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, September 22, 2015 A3

Thai cops arrest Reyes brothers in Phuket

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By Joel R. San Juan

of prosecutors and its subsequent finding of probable cause to hold him liable for murder.

USTICE Secretary Leila B. de Lima on Monday confirmed the arrest of former Palawan Gov. Mario Joel Reyes and his brother, former Coron Mayor Mario Reyes in Phuket, Thailand.

The Reyes brothers left the country and went into hinding after they were charged with murder before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly masterminding the ambush-killing of Palawan broadcast journalist Gerry Ortega on January 24, 2011.

“Per Bureau of Immigration [BI], the International Police [Interpol]-Manila has confirmed information, re: arrest of the Reyes brothers last night [Sunday night] by Thai police in Phuket. BI authorities now processing their deportaion papers,” de Lima told reporters in a text message.

Malacañang, meanwhile, thanked the Interpol for the Reyes’s arrest.

The Palace reported that Thai authorities were already processing the immediate deportation of the Reyeses.

Communications Secretar y Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said, “The arrest of the long wanted Reyes brothers provides an opportunity for pursuing the ends of justice.”

“We acknowledge the efforts of Interpol and Thai authorities in making this possible,” Coloma added.

Arrival formalities

BI Spokesman Elaine Tan refused to give further details of the arrest of the Reyes brothers as immigration authorities are still coordinating about “arrival formalities.”

The arrest of the Reyes brothers came after more than 30,000 sympathizers of Ortega signed a petition pressing de Lima to act on the pending petition for review filed by the Ortega family.

Patty Ortega, wife of the victim, lamented that their pending petition for review seeking the reversal of the resolution issued by the first panel of prosecutors in 2011 that junked the murder charges against the Reyes brothers has remained unacted upon by de Lima.

Members of Ortega’s family personally went to the DOJ in Manila on Friday accompanied by running priest Fr. Robert Reyes to submit the petition to the Office of the Secretary of Justice.

Prior to his death, Ortega was a vocal critic of local officials for their alleged misuse of funds derived from the operation of the Malampaya gas field in Palawan.

The Ortega family is asking de Lima to resolve its pending petition for review before she steps down from office to run for the Senate in next year’s election.

“Batid po namin na sa mga araw na darating ay magbibitiw na sa kanyang tungkulin bilang kalihim si Secretar y Leila de Lima upang maghanda para sa kanyang pag tak bo bilang senador. Nais po naming hilingin sa kanya na bago man lamang siya magbitiw

CA: Acquital final

FORMER Gov. Joel Reyes of Palawan (right), and his brother Mario, former mayor of Coron town, sit during a news conference at the Thai police’s Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. The Reyeses, who are wanted for the 2011 murder of a radio anchorman and prominent environmentalist, were arrested in the resort island of Phuket, officials said on Monday. AP

ay resolbahin na niya ang aming nakabimbing Petition for Review sa resulta ng preliminar y investigation ng unang DOJ panel na nagimbistiga sa kaso,” the statement read.

Fairness in resolving case

PATT Y added that her family remains hopeful that de Lima would keep her promise to be fair in resolving the case despite that the ex-governor was her former client during her stint

Intl airport on alert vs yellow fever-carrying mosquitoes

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HE Bureau of Quarantine branch at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have installed mosquito traps containing deadly chemicals to prevent the entry of yellow fever-carrying mosquitoes from Africa and South America.

Physician Alexander Oba, the bureau’s airport office chief, said quarantine personnel are doing their best not only to determine passengers inflicted with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the Middle East Corona Virus but also to prevent the spread of dengue- and yellow fevercarrying mosquitoes.

Aurelio Deriada Jr., the bureau’s laboratory technician at the airport, said his task is to put up several traps that would kill the larva of mosquitoes, using a black plastic cup with 250 ml of water and a contraption made of coconut net to attract the mosquitoes to lay their eggs.

The traps were scattered in several places of the airport terminal, especially at the arrival rest rooms and some dark areas. The traps will be collected after five days to determine if dengueor yellow fever-carrying mosquitoes were caught.

“We place the traps every two days in different dark places for further ex-

amination,” Deriada said.

The quarantine officials appealed to all airport personnel to refrain from touching or putting anything in the traps particularly cigarette butts.

Dengue has reportedly spread in Africa, Australia, Taiwan, some parts of America and the Philippines.

Fogging is only advisable if there is an outbreak and it is not applicable to open air areas, Deriada said.

He also advised all Filipinos traveling to Africa and to South America to have yellow fever vaccine to protect them from th edisease for up to 10 years.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of a mosquitoes infected with one of the four dengue virus serotypes. It is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults with symptoms appearing three to 14 days after the infectious bite. Dengue is not transmitted directly from person-to-person and symptoms range from mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash.

There is no vaccine or any specific medicine to treat dengue. People who have dengue fever should rest, drink plenty of fluids and reduce the fever using paracetamol or see a physician, Oba said. Recto L. Mercene

as an election lawyer.

It can be recalled that the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a ruling in October 2014 directing de Lima to resolve the petition for review filed by the Ortega family.

It junked the petition filed by the former Palawan governor seeking to prohibit the Office of the Secretary of Justice from conducting further proceedings in a preliminary investigation in connection with the case.

Reyes had sought the recusa-

Palawan finally gets trained lifeguards

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

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T least 23 resorts in Palawan now have trained lifeguards.

The Department of Health —Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) office said the presence of trained lifeguards in the resorts will ensure the safety of tourists who visit the province known for its pristine beaches.

Mimaropa Health Director Eduardo C. Janairo said the department, together with the Philippine Coast Guard’s Palawan District, has just finished the training course for 38 lifeguards who passed the Water Search and Rescue (Wasar) Phase recently held in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

“These trained lifeguards will serve as the first line of defense in various resorts in Palawan with regard to safety and security of guests and tourists who will be going for a bathe

in the pool, on the beach or island hopping in distinct places where they will be spending time swimming or snorkeling,” Janairo said.

With this, Janairo assured that incidents like drowning can be prevented and victims can be provided with immediate first aid treatment and basic life-support service.”

Janairo added that the trainees are also qualified for the next level of training for certification to be conducted by the PCG also in Puerto Princesa City.

“We will continue to coordinate with the PCG and conduct training programs for the lifeguards in Mimaropa so that they will be equipped with the essential lifesaving skills in order to preserve and safeguard the well-being not only of tourists but also of our own fellow countrymen. Saving lives is not only the responsibility of medical responders but also of lifeguards,” Janairo added.

tion of de Lima from resolving the petition for review following her statement alleging that his camp employed “foul tactics and illicit means” in order to get a favorable decision from the appellate court.

He also cited de Lima’s statement saying that her office “is readying a contingency plan-resolution” of the pending petition for review of the Ortega family following the CA’s ruling which nullified the creation of a second panel

IN October 2013, the CA declared final its March 19, 2013 decision that cleared the former governor of murder charges in connection with the killing of Ortega.

The CA’s March 19, 2013 decision reinstated an earlier resolution issued by the first panel of prosecutors of the DOJ that cleared the Reyes brothers, and four others of the murder charges for insufficiency of evidence.

Mayor Reyes had also been cleared by another division of the CA. He had challenged de Lima’s order that created a second panel of investigators which reversed the findings of the first panel.

In the case of former governor Reyes, the CA had ruled that instead of creating a second panel of investigators, de Lima should have reviewed the case herself.

“Instead of doing so and in brazen disregard of the rules of procedure, she [de Lima] let the second panel of prosecutors run its course and ignored the pending petition for review ad cautelam filed by Patty Ortega [spouse of the victim] that was already on appeal before her. This is a clear showing of wanton disregard of the rules of procedure and applicable jurisprudence,” the CA said.

“She [de Lima] should have acted on the petition for review ad cautelam [as a precaution] filed by private respondent and should not have allowed the second panel of prosecutors to proceed on its task considering further that the promulgation of Department Order 710 is legally infirmed to begin with,” the decision read.

Binay: Marcos, Honasan among my choices for VP

By Recto L. Mercene

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ICE President Jejomar C. Binay on Monday revealed that Senators Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan are two of the three male vice presidential bets that he is eyeing in the 2016 elections.

He did not reveal the name of the third candidate.

Binay said his list has three priority names on it, and when asked if Marcos and Honasan are among the three, he said kasama (included).

When asked to name the third person, Binay said: “Puwede bang masiyahan nalang kayo doon sa dalawa? Kasi pagka sinabi ko yung pangatlo, iyong mga nag-aasamasam ba, naku may magagalit pa sa akin niyan [Please ba satisfied with the two. If I mention who is the third, those drooling to be named, might get mad at me].

Binay refused to be baited into saying whether Sen. Grace Poe is his biggest opponent.

“Ewan, basta kandidato po ako sa 2016,” he said.

Although his rating has

dropped from 60 percent to 35 percent, Binay said the latest number represents the core of his followers.

“Ang 35 na iyon, sa aking palagay, iyon pa rin ang aking core. Iyon bang bumoto sa akin noong 2010, bumoto para kay Senator Nancy [Binay] noong 2013, at iyong mga naging survey noong nakaraan dito sa pagkapresidente, nandoon iyon.

“Iyon nga lang, depende sa nagsasurvey. May nagsa-survey [na] ang core ko 33 to 35. Meron namang nagsa-survey na 25 to 30. Pero itong SWS [Social Weather Stations] yata, 30+ ako. So naroon pa rin iyong core ko,” he added.

At the same time,Binay said the political situation remains fluid and he sees that in the course of a survey, some candidates go up and down.

“Paminsan-minsan. Bakit yata ako bumagsak? Pero meron namang kambiyo roon. Hindi, tataas pa iyan.

Talagang fluid naman iyan, una.

Pangalawa, tinitingnan mo kung iyong core group mo naroon pa. Kasi iyong iba, iyong ibang kandidato, bigla-bigla ang taas, bigla-bigla rin ang pagbagsak.”

Economy

A4 Tuesday, September 22, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

DBM seeks ₧20.5-B budget to ease Metro traffic woes

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By Estrella Torres

he Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is seeking more than P20.5-billion allocation in the 2016 proposed national budget to ease the worsening traffic in Edsa and other parts of Metro Manila.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the Aquino administration aims to prioritize public infrastructure which now stands at 5 percent of the gross domestic product.

The DBM proposed P3.002

t r i l l i o n f o r 2 016 n at i o n a l budget to prioritize public infrastructure projects to sustain economic growth.

The budget chief said the government intends to allocate P15.7 billion under the proposed 2016

budget for the construction of metro’s rail services, as well as the North-South Rail Project.

Abad said the amount will cover the following: the subsidy for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3; the extensions for Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 East and West; the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension; the MRT Line 3 Rehabilitation and Capacity Extension; and the rehabilitation of LRT Line 1 and 2.

He said other rail projects covered include: the North-South Rail Project Phase II (from Tutuban to Matnog); the North-South Rail Project Phase I (from Tutuban to Malolos); the repair, restoration, and expansion of the Philippine National Railway (PNR), and the LRT Line 1 (Dasmariñas) and Line 4 (Ortigas-Taytay).

At the same time, the proposed 2016 national budget also aims to fund road transport projects of the Department of Transportation and Communications which includes the Integrated Transport Systems and its Bus Rapid Transits with a budget amounting to P4.80 billion.

He said these projects—which includes the Public-Private Partnership Strategic Fund—will help in traffic decongestion and provide alternative ways of public commuting and maximizing road usage.

“Investments in public transportation are just critical to the delivery of much-needed goods and services to the public,” Abad said in a news statement released on Monday.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport takes off due to PPP deal with GMR

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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APU-LAPU CITY—Some P35 billion have been infused for the modernization of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) here.

The amount shows a stark contrast to the P15.35 billion that President Aquino approved for the Clark International Airport’s (CIA) new terminal to be finished in 2022.

Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, chief executive advisor of GMR Megawide, said MCIA is presently handling 7.1 million passengers annually, but in the fourth year of its modernization, MCIA will be handling 11 million passengers and will have a terminal capacity for 12.5 million.

The CIA is presently handling close to 1 million passengers in its terminal which has a capacity of 4 million and with the completion of the first phase of the new terminal in 2017 will add another 3 million.

Harrison said GMR has taken over the MCIA operation and upgrade after winning the bid and signing a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the government in November 2014.

The CIA’s new terminal is fully funded by the national government in the General Appropriations Act in contrast to the MCIA’s PPP. Harrison said that at present, MCIA is handling 260 flights per day and 12 to 13 movements per hour, which is an improvement after only less than a year of their operations.

Harrison said Hyderabad International Airport, also known as Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was the first airport developed by GMR in India.

Harrison said PPP is an advocacy.

“I’m not saying that everybody should believe in it, but what we want to demonstrate is PPP is a successful route to economic growth and development and you will see that our story is a testimony to that success,” he said.

“Let’s not forget that the airport

news@businessmirror.com.ph

DOJ-OFC creates new group to promote competition in energy, telco, transportation

By Joel R. San Juan

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HE Department of JusticeOffice for Competition (DOJOFC) on Monday formed a group that will provide procompetitive and regulatory reforms in three major sectors—energy, telecommunications and transportation.

In a news statement, Justice Secretary Leila B. de Lima said the newly constituted Competition and Regulatory Reforms Experts Group (CRREG) will be composed of individuals who are known experts in the field of competition policy and law, regulatory reform, and good governance.

Also part of the CRREG are scholars and sectoral experts and representatives from OFC. “This experts group, which is multisectoral in nature, will provide technical expertise and strategic advice on how to design and implement competition and policy reforms in

key sectors of the Philippine economy,” de Lima said.

“This [group] will add fresh perspectives and innovative insights in promoting the understanding of competition and regulatory policy, particularly those involving public interest,” she added.

DOJ-OFC Head Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy said nominations for the composition of CRREG is ongoing and interested individuals are advised to contact the OFC for details.

“This initiative indicates OFC’s consultative and inclusive approach to competition and regulatory reforms by enabling stakeholders and partners to have a voice in developing procompetitive and efficient regulatory regime in key sectors,” Sy said.

The CRREG will be formally launched during the Third Joint International Forum: Facilitating Pro-Competitive and Regulatory Reforms on Tuesday in Manila.

briefs peza approves accenture’s p1-b expansion projects

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has approved the expansion plan of Accenture Inc. Philippines worth P1.07 billion.

Peza Director-General Lilia B. de Lima told reporters that Accenture has five expansion projects at Venvi IT Hub in Uptown Bonifacio Global City.

The P1.07-billion investments will expand Accenture’s software development, according to de Lima.

She mentioned that the company’s expansion will generate 7,607 jobs and additional exports of $182 million annually.

Accenture is one of the world’s largest business-process outsourcing companies with clients in over 120 countries. PNA

govt urged to ensure funding for public health care Lawmakers have urged the House Committee on Health to determine the need to reinforce direct public health-care spending for life-threatening kidney diseases and their treatment.

In House Resolution 2372, Reps. Emmi A. De Jesus and Luzviminda C. Ilagan of Party-list, Gabriela cited the recent study that an estimated 120 Filipinos-per-million population are afflicted with kidney problems each year.

De Jesus said half of the patients who start dialysis die within one year because they could not afford the sustained dialysis procedures.

A patient requiring dialysis three times a week will need a budget of P57,000 per month or P680,000 per year, according to de Jesus.

De Jesus said PhilHealth covers only about 51 percent of the annual cost of treatment, if the maximum benefit is claimed.

She said the PhilHealth’s 2014 annual report figure of maximum benefit at P270,000 per dialysis, patient reflects only 46.5 percent of the annual cost of treatment, while some hemodialysis patients report that their benefit is pegged at P180,000 per year.

“Even while PhilHealth started to include peritoneal dialysis in its Z package, supporting less than 50 percent of the patient’s cost is in violation of PhilHealth’s own rule of no balance billing policy,” de Jesus said. PNA

EarlyChristmaspackage

Workers from a freight company unload balikbayan boxes sent by overseas Filipino workers who have earlier opposed a proposal to open incoming balikbayan boxes at random to check on smuggling. Nonie Reyes

hub is a business and in this business, 66.67 percent of our income comes from aeronautical, anything to do with aircraft airline passenger charges. Nonaeronautical is retail that’s around 29.99 percent and around 3 1/2 percent comes from innovation, like advertising and other creative ideas,” he added.

“And in order to remember that, we have to focus on the needs of the airlines,” he stressed. Often people mistake an airport customer to be the passengers. It is not, he pointed out.

“Airports’ primary customers are the airlines because without the

airlines there are no passengers,” he said. “People will not show up at the airport and say we’re gonna travel to Mactan because the staff there are really nice but they travel because they have a particular airline they fly with,” he explained.

“Concessionaires and businesses, they are important stakeholders in the airport community and they have to feel that they are part of the airport, and of course, passengers,” he said.

All of that translate into an airport product which is user experience,” he added.

“Our view is we must focus on this

user experience, and if we focus on that, we will be successful and we will be profitable, but if we focus just on profitability and ignore this user experience we won’t succeed.

“We see ourselves as part of the tourism ecosystem working with local governments, resorts, hotels, tour operators, the Department of Tourism to market Cebu more aggressively,” he said.

“So for example, we are planning a road show in China to visit six cities where we can demonstrate the beauty of the Philippines, how close it is to get to the Philippines and the affordability of the Philippines.”

p.a.’s mechanized infantry division to get new m-113s

CAMP O’ DONNEL, CAPAS, TARLAC—The Philippine Army’s (PA) Mechanized Infantry Division(MID) is scheduled to get another 114 units of M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) starting November this year.

“Hopefully, they will arrive by the middle of November this year,” MID Head Major Gen. Mayoralgo de la Cruz said in an interview on Monday.

All will be coming from the US as these are declared “excess defense ar ticles.”

De la Cruz said the Philippines did not pay any money for the acquisition of these M-113s except for the shipping and refurbishment costs.

The PA operates around 343 AFVs (armored fighting vehicles) and APCs. Around 85 percent of these AFVs are on green status (fully mission capable) while another 10 percent are on yellow status (undergoing repair) and five percent are on red (beyond repair).

One hundred and fifty of these are the United Kingdom-built GKN “Simba” with the remaining AFVs consisting of US-designed V-150 and V-200 APCs, M-113s, Turkish made ACV-300s and British Scorpion CVRTs. PNA

New PHL-NZ labor pact eliminates payment of OFW placement fee

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abor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz and New Zealand Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michel Woodhouse have signed a landmark labor cooperation agreement that strongly implements a no-placement fee for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) going to New Zealand, clamps down hard on illegal and unscrupulous recruiters and agents, and prosecutes perpetrators of document fraud and other recruitment shenanigans.

In a brief ceremony at New Zealand’s Parliament House, known as the “Beehive,” Baldoz and Woodhouse signed the “Arrangement on

the Principles and Controls on the Recruitment and Protection of Filipino Workers in New Zealand”, in the presence of Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand Virginia Benavidez, who was instrumental in hammering out the agreement, and top officials of New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Baldoz, who was on an official mission to New Zealand, was joined by her top officials at the Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Labor Attache to Australia and New Zea-

land lawyer Rodolfo Sabulao.

“This is a very historic and a very significant occasion,” Baldoz said during the signing. This landmark document will govern the smooth deployment of skilled and professional overseas Filipino workers to New Zealand and ensure their welfare and protection while working in this country,” she added.

Baldoz, who expressed appreciation for the warmth hosting by Woodhouse of her official visit, said the agreement carries on the spirit of the “Memorandum of Agreement on Labor Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the

Philippines and the Government of New Zealand” which the two countries signed on November 4, 2008.

She said the new agreement will certainly boost and enhance the economic and sociocultural ties between the Philippines and New Zealand, explaining that the agreement eliminates high placement fees and document fraud that have been the bane for workers intending to work in New Zealand.

“Two countries working together to eliminate costly job placement and other recruitment-related fees, illegal recruitment and human trafficking, document fraud and fake training and qualifications credentials will

make a strong case for a model bilateral arrangement for other sending and receiving countries to emulate,” Baldoz said.

“I am very confident this agreement will redound to the mutual benefit and development of our two countries,” she added, acknowledging that New Zealand treats migrant workers no different than it treats its own workers, affording them strong welfare and protection in accordance with international standards.

“I have no worries about OFWs in New Zealand. With the country’s strong labor laws and welfare and protection standards, OFWs wanting

to work in New Zealand are definitely well-protected,” she added.

During her meeting with Woodhouse, Baldoz reiterated that with the agreement, the Philippines and New Zealand is provided the opportunity to deal strongly with unscrupulous illegal recruiters and human traffickers who may take advantage of the vulnerabilities of OFWs. “We must work together to weed out illegal recruiters who exact illegal recruitment fees and other exactions from OFW applicants to New Zealand and see to it that our no-placement fee policy for the New Zealand labor market is strongly and effectively.”

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 A5

Davao RDC wants P101.1B to fund major infra projects

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By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The Regional Development Council (RDC) here is negotiating a P101.1billion fund inclusion in the national budget next year to finance bigbudgeted infrastructure that includes a bridge to the resort island of Samal, the controversial modernization of the Sasa wharf and the completion of road projects leading to tourism sites in the region.

The National Economic and Development Authority here said RDC officers and Congress representatives from Davao region had earlier met Congress leaders and senior government officials holding key positions in the implementing national government agencies to discuss the region’s certified priority projects, and to seek the status of the projects that they have endorsed.

At least four Congressional representatives—Mariano Piamonte of the

party-list A Teacher and from Davao del Sur, Anthony del Rosario and Antonio Lagdameo of Davao del Norte, and Mylene Garcia-Albano of Davao City—assured RDC “of their prioritization and continuing funding support for Davao region and Mindanao’s programs and projects,” the Neda said.

Davao del Norte Rep. Rodolfo del Rosario, who heads the RDC here, said the budget consultation with senior government officials was intended to clarify the region’s

direction when it identified the priority programs, projects and activities for funding.

“The RDC 11 was able to attain 67-percent and 58-percent budget inclusion rates in the fiscal year [FY] 2014 and FY 2015 General Appropriations Act, respectively, hence, negotiating with our Congressional representatives for higher inclusion rate in the FY 2016 General Appropriations Act has become more imperative,” he said.

RDC 11 Vice Chairman Ma. Lourdes D. Lim said the council endorsed FY 2016 budget proposals amounted to P101.1 billion to cover the projects identified by 30 Davao regional agencies.

“More than 90 percent of this budget proposal shall be for the funding of the region’s infrastructure and social development requirements,” she said.

Among major programs and projects for budgetary appropriations were the “bridge and drainage works, plans and detailed engineering works of the Davao-Samal Bridge Project; roads leading to tourism destination areas, rehabilitation of the Sasa Port, expansion of Babak Port, improvement and rehabilitation of the Davao International Airport facilities, construction of classrooms and titling of

China, Philippines territorial dispute leaves Zambales fishermen struggling to survive

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SIDE from the the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea, excessive taxation, fines and penalties imposed by local governments have made life very difficult for Zambales fishermen who continue to experience declining fish catch.

This was revealed by the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Monday, as it revealed the results of a fact-finding mission conducted in several coastal towns in the province.

The National Fact Finding and Solidarity Mission (NFFSM) was led by Pamalakaya, together with Anakpawis party-list group, Pilipinong Nagkakaisa Para sa Soberanya (Pinas), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Center for Environmental Concerns, to study the impact of the Chinese incursion to the people of Zambales, particularly small fishermen.

Former Sen. Leticia Shahani, Party-list Rep. Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis, Pina convener Liza Maza, church people and local residents and leaders of fishermen in Zambales and Pangasinan joined the investigation. Pamalakaya reported that fishermen from the towns of Iba, Masinloc, Subic and San Antonio have experienced difficulties going to the Bajo de Masinloc, a traditional fishing ground of Zambales fishermen, as early as 2012.

Chinese naval forces, they said, have become more aggressive and hostile in denying Filipinos to fish or even go near Bajo de Masinloc.

As a result, fishermen complain that because of their fear of being attacked by Chinese naval forces, they no longer try to go near Bajo de Masinloc to fish. Before, they said they used to earn P3,500 per trip, which usually lasts three to four days during fishing expedition between February and May.

In the town of Santa Cruz, fishermen complain that their fishing operations became very limited within the municipal waters. This resulted in a decline in their daily fish catch.

They also complain of water pollution, allegedly because of mining operations, intensive use of feeds in fish cages and the coal-fired power plant in the area.

Worse, they said fines and penalties—from violations of municipal ordinances, the imposition of laws and policies that pertain to fishermen and coastal areas by pertinent government agencies without full and thorough public consultations and social acceptability— make their lives more difficult.

While those interviewed said some government projects were implemented, these projects failed to bring about concrete and significant improvement to their economic situation.

To address the problem, members of the NFFSM recommended that the concerned government agencies provide immediate relief and direct support to fishermen, such as upgrade of the technology used by small fishermen; provide basic fishing gears, motorized boats, fishing nets and other materials.

The national government should also ensure that the right of Filipino fishermen to fish in Bajo de Masinloc be restored immediately. The NFFSM also called for a thorough review of policies, programs which affect the fishing sector, such as the Fisheries Code, Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, Mining Act of 1995, Philippine Energy Development Plan.

The NFFSM also called for a repeal of the zoning ordinances and other anti-fishermen policy and programs of the local government units and issue a moratorium on regressive taxation imposed on small fishermen. Jonathan L. Mayuga

briefs cheaper gas, diesel at the pump Eastern Petroleum Corp. on Monday reduced the price of petroleum products ahead of other oil firms.

It slashed by P0.35 and P0.50 per liter the price of gasoline and diesel, respectively, effective 6 p.m.

Fernando Martinez, Eastern Petroleum chairman and chief executive, said oil markets were weak at the close of last week’s trading.

“Oil prices were relatively at low levels at the close of last week’s trading amid Kuwait’s—a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries— pronouncement that it would take time for the market to balance, as oil producers defend market share over output cuts to bolster prices,” Martinez said.

Other oil firms will implement a price cut early Tuesday.

Pilipinas Shell and Petron Corp. said it will implement a price rollback of P0.35 per liter for gasoline, P0.45 per liter for kerosene and P0.50 per liter for diesel at 12:01 of Tuesday.

Phoenix Petroleum will implement the same price adjustment at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

The downward adjustment, they said, reflects the movements in the international oil market.

The price rollback comes after a price increase in gasoline by P0.10 per liter on September 15. There were no movements for diesel and kerosene last week.

Lenie Lectura

submission of o&m bids for lrt 2 set in dec

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has tentatively set the submission of the bids for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 for December, a bid bulletin showed.

In doing so, this allows the agency to award the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to the winning bidder

by January next year, Transportation Spokesman Michael Arthur C. Sagcal said in a text message.

“Since bid submission date is scheduled for December this year, award should be within January 2016,” he said.

The indicative timeline posted in the agency’s web site also showed that bidders will have another chance of meeting government officials to voice out their thoughts on the auction from October 5 to 9.

After the said one-on-one meetings, the DOTC will then release the final concession agreement and the final instructions to prequalified bidders.

There are four groups that are prequalified to bid for the deal. They are: Aboitiz Equity Ventures-SMRT Transportation Solutions Consortium; DMCI-Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd. Consortium; the Light Rail Manila Consortium; and the San Miguel Corp.-Korail Consortium.

The project will give the winning concessionaire a 10to 15-year right to operate and maintain the whole LRT east line. Lorenz S. Marasigan

school sites.”

The RDC 11 has “strongly advocated” to the Department of Tourism and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) “to complete existing road projects and finance new access roads leading to tourism destinations by 2016; the Department of Energy and National Electrification Administration to finance the energization of sitios by 2015; DPWH and local government units of Davao City and Panabo City to identify access routes to Sasa and Panabo ports, as well as provide funds for the road right-of-way acquisition.”

The RDC also wanted the Department of Transportation and Communications and the DPWH “to consider the development and modernization of Panabo Port as alternate port, in light of work being undertaken for the Davao City Bypass Road and the said port’s complementary role to Sasa Port; the DPWH to consider the inclusion of Davao-Samal Bridge connecting Panabo City to the Island Garden City of Samal as one option in the feasibility study for the said bridge project; the Department of Health to complete the construction of barangay health stations in all barangays by 2016, and finance and complete the rehabilitation of all government hospitals by 2016.”

DOE allows Semirara to resume coal mining

T

By Lenie Lectura

he Department of Energy (DOE) has lifted the suspension order against Semirara Mining and Power Corp.

(SMPC) two months after a deadly landslide incident that left nine workers dead.

SMPC said the suspension order on its coal-mining operations was lifted after the company has substantially complied with the conditions set by the DOE. “The company received today the DOE order dated September 17, 2015, finding that the company has substantially complied with the conditions set by the DOE resulting in a marked improvement in the level of safety in its mining operations,” the SMPC said on Monday.

Among the conditions set by the investigating committee of the DOE include the submission of a threeyear plan of operation and hiring of a technical consultant.

“In view of the foregoing and in consideration of the overall national interest, the DOE hereby approves the resumption of

mining operations of Coal Operating Contract (COC) 5, subject to the oversight function and regular monitoring by the DOE-IC to ensure compliance with the above-mentioned recommendations,” the DOE said in its September 17 order.

DOE Officer in Charge Zenaida Monsada earlier said the lifting will immediately take place after the committee finds sufficient compliance on SMPC’s part.

The DOE official also said the weather was a critical factor that triggered the accident at the North Panian.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) earlier lifted a similar order after it suspended the company’s environmental compliance certificate for its East Panian expansion project on July 21.

The lifting of the DENR suspension order was issued “on the basis of its finding that there is no adverse effect or damage to the environment in relation to the landslide that occurred at the North edge of the Panian Mine and same is due to fortuitous event.”

A6 Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Telecom wars?

I

N disclosures last month, Australian telecom giant Telstra Corp. and Filipino San Miguel Corp.

(SMC) announced that they have opened talks to consider a joint venture in wireless services for the Philippines.

The timing was interesting, considering all the sound and fury—not to mention Senate hearings—on the poor Internet services provided by the existing Filipino telecom companies.

Both companies are household names in their respective countries but are less than loved in their respective stock markets. Telstra’s share price is down 10 percent in the last six months, while SMC’s stock price has fallen by 40 percent. Telstra does have a share price advantage as it pays a 5.4-percent cash dividend, which is relatively high in this age of low interest rates.

Company officials would be quick to point out that share price often understates corporate value. We would equally as quickly point out that share price often overstates corporate value. Telstra is facing increased competition in its market, and local investors are trying to figure out what SMC really wants to do for a living with its seemingly unfocused expansions in the last few years.

But this is not about the potential joint venture itself, but the drama surrounding even the beginning of talks that may or may not bring anything to reality. If you think overacting is confined only to show business, you would be wrong.

A serious large-scale joint venture like this between two multibillion-dollar companies involves an immense amount of financial groundwork before any concrete steps are taken. In this case, there should be some clear idea of what this enterprise is going to cost, right? Not necessarily so.

Globe Telecom Chief Executive Ernest Cu speculates that a new national mobile network would cost $2.5 billion to build. Japan’s Nomura Securities Regional Head of Telecoms Research Sachin Gupta counters that the investment would be less than $500 million.

SMC President Ramon S. Ang wants to focus on mobile broadband, saying that voice and SMS (text) services are obsolete. In contrast, Globe’s Cu says only 30 percent to 40 percent of users own smartphones that can access data.

Gupta agrees, saying that Telstra would still need to install the older 3G equipment to target the cell phones of the masses.

Both Globe Telecom and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT)— who share and control the market—“welcome” the potential entry of a new major player. But Telstra-SMC should not expect any fruit baskets from either of the existing companies.

With his normal low-key style, PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said that they would not necessarily review the company’s business strategy in light of the potential Telstra entry. Globe’s Cu said Globe would not offer any help as it never got a helping hand from any of its rivals.

Stay tuned. There will be more upcoming episodes as this drama unfolds.

Shock waves from US-China role reversal Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur Part two of a series

S

tock markets around the world plunged in August, while capital started fleeing emerging markets because of the economic slowdown and stock-market crash in China and the strengthening of the United States economy.

The reversal of roles of the two countries has been unexpected, but the impact is not surprising, considering that the US and China are the largest and second-largest economies in the world, respectively.

The release of reports showing the contraction of China’s manufacturing industry and the bleak outlook of its economy triggered sell-offs in various stock markets, from Hong Kong to New York.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on September 3 that the impact of China’s economic slowdown was wider and larger than originally expected.

In a report for the finance ministers of the Group of 20 developed countries who were meeting in Turkey, the IMF said, “China’s transition to lower growth, while broadly in line with forecasts, appears to have larger-than-previouslyenvisaged cross-border repercussions, reflected in weakening commodity prices and stock prices.”

Emerging economies like the Philippines are feeling the impact, both from

China’s slowdown and from the US rebound. The Associated Press (AP), in a report on September 1, recalled that after the US-led financial crisis of 2008, capital from developed countries flowed into emerging economies.

From 2009 to 2013, an estimated $104 billion went to stock funds in emerging markets. The AP said investors were attracted by the higher interest rates in emerging markets compared to the US rates after the 2008 financial crisis. Now, investors are pulling back.

About $40 billion were withdrawn from emerging markets this year.

In a separate report on June 13, the Wall Street Journal cited analysts who said equity fund managers were feeling the adverse impact of plunging currencies in Asia, which was reducing investors’ profits from stocks and bonds.

The Philippines, touted as one of the best performers among Asian economies, also feels the impact of the changes in the economies of China and the US. The global economy, of which the Philippines is a part, is like a body of water.

When the water level rises, everybody rises; when it goes down, everybody goes down.

With its strong fundamentals and resilience, the Philippines may be the least affected, but it will still be affected by what is happening in other economies, particularly in the US and China.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended 2014 at 7,230.76 points and was hailed as the best performer in Asia.

The local stock market was supposed to celebrate in 2015 its sixth year of bull run. Analysts were also predicting the PSEi would end 2015 at 8,000 points.

Actually, the PSEi, which tracks the behavior of stock prices, breached the 8,000-point-mark on April 6, when it closed at 8,053.74 points.

The fall came not long afterward. The PSEi dropped by 6.7 percent to close at 6,791.01 points on August 23, reflecting the global panic over the impact of China’s slowdown and currency devaluation. The drop erased PSEi’s entire gains in 2015, and in a single day, about P764 billion in market capitalization was wiped out, based on PSE estimate.

For its part, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that registered portfolio investments, 88.7 percent of which were in PSE-listed securities, fell 21.4 percent to $1.1 billion in August from $1.4 billion in July.

The August level of foreign portfolio investments was also 38 percent lower than the $2.1 billion recorded in August 2014. Transactions during the month resulted in net outflows of $543 million, more than thrice the outflows of $160 million in July, and a reversal of the net inflow of $483 million in August 2014.

The statistics indicate the sudden shift in investors’ perception of the Philippines, from an attractive destination

The headlines are not enough John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

W

E live in a time where information is dispensed at the speed of light but with a limit of 140 characters—at least on Twitter. But it is almost the same for all other sources of the information we are exposed to that shape our worldview.

We have been in the “Age of Sound Bites” for a long time, where a two-hour policy speech by a political candidate is condensed into three brief sentences.

Not only does this limit the information that we receive but this type of “reporting” is subject to massive manipulation and bias.

We as individuals rarely dig behind the headlines and even when a conscientious press or media does it for us, we are too lazy to digest the full extent of the information.

Governments take advantage of this fact. For example, in the World Economic Forum’s 2014-2015 Global Competitive Index released last year, the Philippines has shown a great overall improvement in the last four to five years. Several times in that period, the Philippines was the most improved in the rankings. In 20092010, the Philippines’s overall ranking

was 87th out of 133 nations that were studied. In the 2014-2015 report released last year, we moved to 52nd out of 144 and that is a great accomplishment.

Under “The most problematic factors for doing business,” corruption has dropped from 24.3 percent of the survey’s respondents to only 17.6 percent.

Great strides have been made in improving both government and private institutions, as well as macroeconomic stability, and that is what the headlines told us.

But underneath the headlines, if mentioned at all, is also the fact that in a critical area necessary for sustainable economic development—infrastructure—the Philippines has improved from “terrible” to “dismal,” moving from No. 98 to No. 91 in the rankings.

In “Health and primary education,” the nation performed even worse, going from No. 93 all the way up to 92

in five years. It is not that the gains should be in any way diminished by the deficiencies but, that, unless we are firmly aware of those areas that need more focus, how can we hope to improve?

Obviously, the administration’s effort to lower the perception of corruption has worked, but did that come at the sacrifice of “health and primary education?”

Probably not, but when the speech sound bites come, the problems are, not the facts, that are highlighted.

In the case of the United States, the US economy is consumer driven and a large part of consumer spending is based on credit. The total amount of US consumer credit other than home mortgages is the same as in 2008, but much better than in 2010. The headlines talk of this fact as a clear sign of an improving US economy.

But what is that credit buying? Sixty-five percent of all loans held by US consumers is for student loans and automobile purchases.

Borrowing massive amounts of money to pay school tuition is not economically productive. The average auto loan in the US is now for “subprime” borrows with no money down and a loan period of more than five years, a long time frame unheard of only a few years ago.

We are seeing the political effects of the public being “fooled” or outright lied to in countries around the world.

The massive immigration into Europe of supposed “refugees” from the war-torn

for stock investments to an undesirable haven, disregarding the country’s strengths and its track record at defying crises. But this is the reason portfolio investments are also called “hot” money.

They are mainly for quick profits, and are quick to fly away even at the slightest indication of possible losses. Among billionaires, falling stock prices are only on paper, unless they affect their companies’ viability.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) are different because they are made for the long term, and are used to build and operate factories or to develop industries.

Because of their lack of capital, emerging economies try to attract foreign investors to help finance the development of domestic industries.

Unfortunately for the Philippines, net FDI inflows in June 2015 fell 44.6 percent to $383 million from $554 million in the same month last year. For the first half of 2015, net FDI inflows plunged 40.1 percent to $2 billion, compared with $3.4 billion for the same period in 2014.

This is lamentable because nothing has changed as far as the growth drivers of the Philippine economy are concerned: continuing inflow of remittances, the growing tourism and business-process outsourcing industry, low interest rates and a strong domestic market.

What changed is the perception of investors, and that has affected us. It’s a reminder that despite our strengths, we remain vulnerable to what is happening around us.

To be continued

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail.com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

Middle East was at first welcomed by the people. Sympathy for the hundreds of thousands displaced by the Syrian civil war was great. Many European governments, like Germany, told their people that it was the nation’s humanitarian duty to respond positively. But now when the truth reveals that only a very small percent of the refugees are actually from Syria, the mood has changed.

In Japan the government has passed a measure allowing Japanese military to engage in combat to defend its allies overseas. The people were very wary of this new policy and law, and more so now that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe quietly “promised” the United States that the legislation would be passed.

Here in the Philippines, we have our own concerns about government truthfulness and transparency. However, there is a direct correlation about how much the people are willing to take from the government and how well the economy is doing. The corruption protests in Malaysia, for instance, might be a little less intense if the currency was not at a 17-year low.

British author Simon Sinek gave this important thought for both the people and governments: “More information is always better than less. When people know the reason things are happening, even if it’s bad news, they can adjust their expectations and react accordingly.

Keeping people in the dark only serves to stir negative emotions.”

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

The beautiful game Bank shutdowns pull down OFW remittances from Greece

Edgardo J. Angara

By Jeremaiah M. Opiniano Exclusive to the BusinessMirror

R

emittances from Filipinos abroad, on a global aggregate, continue to increase even with economic turmoil affecting not just host countries but also superpowers like China that have multilayered economic links to many countries.

But what about Greece? Since the country tinkered with its inability to pay sovereign debts that led to an almost-cashless banking system, Filipinos from that Mediterranean country literally cannot send money home.

This resulted in a drop of remittance flows from Greece during the month of July when Greece was trying to elude bankruptcy and stay in the euro zone.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) covering July showed Filipinos in Greece sent home only $11.975 million compared to $26.447 million in June.

Land-based Filipino migrants in Greece sent only $0.104 million, while seafarers sending money through Greek remittance channels sent home only $11.971 million.

Prior to the July events in Greece when a referendum happened that allowed the Greeks to negotiate for a new bailout plan with the European Union, remittances from Greece were some $24.39 million less if data from the first seven months of this year ($170.06 million) are to be compared from the same period last year ($194.4 million).

Debts

Since 2009 when the Greek government first faced its sovereign debt crisis, total remittances by Filipinos from that country were on a rollercoaster ride: from an annual growth rate of 11.2 percent between 2009 and 2010, the volume of remittance flows went down to -5.76 percent in 2011 to 2012. (From 2008 to 2014, Filipinos in Greece sent home a total of $1.735 billion.)

Most of the remittances from Greece come from seafarers since Filipino merchant marine fleet employees work in ships with Greek flags. An estimated 61,716 Filipinos work and live in Greece (with some 55,625 of them temporary migrant workers—mostly seafarers—and an estimated 6,000 are irregular migrants).

Since early July, the BSP said the situation in Greece would not affect the global volume of Filipino remittances since the country is not a major source of Filipino-remitted foreign exchange by volume. (In July BSP’s latest data release for remittances, the global total for that month, is $2.077 billion, while the seven-month total is $14.162 billion.)

In late June the Greek government was scrambling to get creditors on the table and request for additional debt relief. But on June 28 the Greek parliament approved a referendum to be held the week after to get the people’s pulse should they reject or approve a new set of bailout terms by creditors led by the European Union. Fear then was this will lead to the country’s exit from the euro zone (the “Grexit”) and European markets will tumble down.

Also on the last week of June, Greeks were withdrawing money from their bank accounts for fear

that the Bank of Greece (country’s central bank) will close these banks until the country is liquid.

But majority of voters in the referendum rejected the bailout terms, leading world markets to tumble.

This allowed the government, led

by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, to negotiate for new terms.

By July 13 euro zone leaders have given Greece a third bailout program to save the country from bankruptcy and from exiting the euro. However, people protested the terms of the €85-billion bailout package, with provisions such as tax hikes, spending cuts and reforms in the pension system, which the Greek parliament approved on July 15.

Tsipras, elected on January 15, resigned on August 27.

Controls

Since late June, capital controls have been instituted that led to images of Greeks queuing at automated teller machine counters. The online community news outfit Pinoy News sa Greece reported that at 3 a.m. on August 18, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and some members of the Greek parliament have agreed on some loosening up of the country’s capital control measures.

For example, depositors cannot withdraw more than €420 per week (€60 a day). Importers can also now make transactions of up to €5,000 through bank branches. As for remittances to be sent outside of Greece, a migrant is allowed to send up to €500 a month.

Western Union, the world’s leading money transfer operator (MTO), restarted its operations only on August 30 through Western Union’s partner-agent WorldBridge Payment Institution. After the August 18 announcement from Tsakalotos, offices of the MTO Thireos Exchange, S.A. in Marousi and Omonioa Square in Athens opened on August 20.

Pinoy News sa Greece reported an isolated incident of a Filipina almost committing suicide since she cannot send money for her son’s tuition. (The Police Department of Ampelokipoi area in Athens said the Filipina was out of harm’s way.)

Another isolated incident on August 20 saw a 45-year-old Filipina with the surname “Villanueva” jailed

by Greek airport authorities after allegedly bringing €50,000 in her bag, in violation of antimoney laundering laws. But the Filipina claimed she was waiting at the lounge for her brother who was said to bring the cash to her house in Ampelokipoi, Pinoy News sa Greece reported.

With the recent reopening of remittance services, Philippine Ambassador to Athens Nestor Ochoa told Filipino leaders in a September 10 community meeting that the institution of a €500 monthly limit for outbound money “is still a positive sign.”

The contributor writes for The Filipino Connection, a community news organization based in Lipa City, Batangas.

T

he 2015 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Asian Cup drew massive TV viewership that is unprecedented in the continental tournament’s 59-year history.

According to media research data, South Korea’s semifinal against Iraq reached 18.2 million South Korean TV viewers, or 37 percent of the country’s population. Australia’s semifinal victory against the United Arab Emirates broke the 1 million viewers mark to become one of the former’s most watched football matches in history. And by the end of the semifinals, Asian Cup matches were viewed in full by 182 million Chinese nationals, reaching a TV viewership of up to 950 million in China alone.

The frenzy extended into the digital realm. On Twitter, the Asian Cup’s official hashtag #AC2015 reportedly reached 2.69 billion, while YouTube views of the matches reached 3.3 million, clocking in up

to 5 million minutes.

Asian Football is on the rise.

With a fast-growing middle class, fervor for the game and its local players could one day rival that of Europe and South America. There may finally be an Asian World Cup winner in the not-so-distant future.

And the Philippines, crazy over basketball and boxing, could merely fall on the wayside.

This is unfortunate given football’s long history in the archipelago. A 1926 National Almanac and Guide to the Philippines said that football was introduced to the country by Englishmen as early as 1895.

And the origins of today’s Philippine Football Federation (PFF) date back to 1907, nearly three decades before the first basketball association was

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

even formed in the Philippines.

Many Filipinos may not even know that the first Asian to have ever played for a European Football Club was the Iloilo-born Paulino Alcántara. Entering the club at 15 years old, Alcántara remains the youngest booter to have ever played for FC Barcelona, holding the club’s absolute record of scoring the most goals (369) in both official and friendly matches.

Football is still played in some parts of the country, but on the whole, the Philippines has yet to be captured by love for “the beautiful game,” as legendary Brazilian footballer Pelé called it in his autobiography.

Last week in Madrid, Spain, as chairman of the PinoySports Foundation, I signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Real Madrid Foundation (RMF)—the training and outreach arm of the top football club. Joining me at the signing ceremony were Kevin L. Tan, executive director of Alliance Global Inc. and trustee of the PinoySports Foundation; Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos Salinas; and PFF President Mariano Araneta.

Under the MOA, coaches from RMF will conduct “rolling” football

Hosting Apec and international events Guillermo M. Luz

I

t’s been a while since the Philippines hosted a major international business economic event. One would have to go all the way back to the 1970s when the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings were held in Manila, and to the 1990s when we first hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders Summit (1996) and the annual meetings of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). So it’s a welcome development that major economic forums are being held in the country once again.

Both Asian Development Bank (2012) and the World Economic Forum (2014) held their annual global and regional meetings here. Apec, PECC and PBEC are all returning to the Philippines this year and Asean will hold two major conferences here over the next two years, including the Asean Summit marking its 50th anniversary in 2017.

Why is this important anyway and what should we do to get the full benefit of these meetings? As Apec is composed of 21 economies (Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States; and Vietnam), it represents a significant part of the global economy. It accounts for 40 percent of the world’s population, 54 percent of global gross domestic product, and

44 percent of world trade.

Being a member and interacting with the different economies covers many of our major international economic partners and sources of trade and investments. On top of that, being the host for this year’s Apec also means chairing many of the meetings, from the Senior Officials Meetings to the Ministerials Meetings and the Economic Leaders’ Meetings. That provides us a great opportunity to help set the agenda for a discussion on issues that are important to us.

This year’s Apec takes place at a

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time when the global economy is undergoing some challenges. Over the past decade, we’ve all seen economic growth but have nonetheless seen income gaps widen, between countries and within countries. At the same time, community resiliency has been challenged by natural disasters and climate change. Thus, the government has chosen “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World” as its theme for our Apec chairmanship and hosting year. It’s a theme that all Apec economies, even the developed ones, can relate to.

The theme is built around four key points: investing in people; fostering micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs); building sustainable and resilient communities; and enhancing regional economic integration. It’s a theme that resonates with us in the business community. That’s why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our themes converge with the government’s.

clinics, ultimately covering all 16 regions of the country. The inaugural series this year will consist of three visiting coaches mentoring 18 coaches and 180 students from Metro Manila (National Capital Region) and six coaches and 60 students from Baler, Aurora (Region 3).

Andrew Tan of Alliance Global Inc. is the principal sponsor and will host the clinics at McKinley Hill Stadium at Fort Bonifacio.

This is a groundbreaking, one-ofa-kind initiative—born out of the talks I initiated with the top football club and its foundation. RMF may have already conducted football clinics with Chinese and Japanese football clubs in the past. In contrast, the training partnership we signed for aims to be a national program, with many of the participants coming from public schools.

In gaining world-class football training, more Filipino youth will experience why football is the world’s most popular sport. It is a way of introducing the rest of the world to the Philippines. More important, it’s about seeing what the Philippines can offer, given its history, to this most beautiful of games.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.

Whether it’s on the Apec Business Advisory Council’s (ABAC) agenda or on the program of the Apec 2015 CEO Summit that we will host in November in Manila, our topics of discussion revolve around providing education and health for society, promoting the growth and development of MSMEs and their integration in global value chains, technology and innovation, building better cities, sustainability and resilience, and expanding international trade.

In the run-up to the Apec CEO Summit and the Leaders’ Meeting in November, we’ve worked closely with the government to organize a series of dialogues between Apec ministers, senior officials, and business executives. By linking the government and the private sector together in conversation, we feel that both sides will benefit from the exchange of ideas. So far, such dialogues have been held with trade ministers, health ministers, finance ministers, and city mayors and local government officials. This week in Iloilo, the dialogue continues with disaster management officials and SME ministers.

This is just one more way the Philippines has innovated on the Apec process and generated benefits from public-private dialogues.

The author is private sector cochairman of the National Competitiveness Council and chief operating officer of the Apec 2015 CEO Summit. He can be contacted at gm.luz@competitive. org.ph.

What Cubans can gain from the papal visit

P

ope Francis’s critics are right: This weekend’s papal visit will not bring an end, or even much of a pause, to the paranoid repression that marks the Castro regime. That doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile, however—far from it.

Over the last few decades, the Catholic Church has become one of the most respected institutions in Cuba. Emerging from the shadows of state repression, it now provides meals and care for the poor, education, training for entrepreneurs, and libraries with access to foreign books and magazines. Catholic lay organizations have opened a space for a cautious political dialogue, and church leaders have played a key role in getting some dissidents released.

President Barack Obama’s diplomatic opening would not have succeeded without the involvement of Francis and his advisers.

Yet for all that, Cuba remains a country where the state brooks little dissent and routinely does bad

things to good people. Last year, for instance, Cuba subjected nearly 8,900 people to short-term, and often violent, detentions to prevent independent political activity or free assembly—up from about 6,400 such instances in 2013. A ridiculous “potential dangerousness” law allows up to a four-year detention of individuals before they commit a crime. The government controls the press. It restricts freedom of movement, not to mention routine economic transactions. Such continuing abuses and restrictions have cast the pope’s outreach to Cuba in a darker light in the eyes of some dissidents, who warn that the church is in danger of colluding with the regime.

It’s worth noting then that the church’s mission is to spread the gospel, not topple despots. Sometimes, of course, the one leads to the other. Indeed, it will ultimately be the rising aspirations and expectations of ordinary Cubans that set their country free.

The Catholic Church has become one of the most respected institutions in Cuba. Emerging from the shadows of state repression, it now provides meals and care for the poor, education, training for entrepreneurs, and libraries with access to foreign books and magazines.

Catholic lay organizations have opened a space for a cautious political dialogue, and church leaders have played a key role in getting some dissidents released.

The task before those who want to promote freedom in Cuba is to encourage that bottom-up process, which is already forcing change visible in the growing freedoms Cubans have to run businesses or travel abroad. In that regard, Friday’s announcement by the Obama administration that the US will ease restrictions on travel, telecommunications and remittances is a huge

A7

step in the right direction.

Cuba is not China or Vietnam—to name two communist countries that have used their size and location to blunt calls for political and social reform. It is a tiny island 90 miles off the coast of the world’s superpower, with a creaky economy and a population of 11 million. By normalizing ties and loosening restrictions, the US has already weakened the Castros’ claim to revolutionary legitimacy while strengthening its own hand.

And the US is not the only power with leverage: Cuba is engaged in its first human-rights dialogues with the European Union, as well as the US. Unburdened by the weight of historical and economic grievances, a few European nations are providing quiet, critical support for some of Cuba’s most effective reformers.

That’s a division of labor that both partners should seek to strengthen.

It’s also one very much in keeping with the pope’s mission to Cuba this weekend. Bloomberg View

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, September 22, 2015

PHL capital market still lacks muscle T

he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) once again highlighted the need for a more developed capital market, entirely homegrown and sufficient to address the country’s requirements, even more so now that a regionwide integration of markets is finally beginning to take shape.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. reiterated this point at a recent public forum, where he said that the Philippines, as with other nations in the region, remains heavily dependent on banks when mobilizing funds to finance various undertakings.

In more developed economies, entrepreneurs have much to choose as where to borrow funds for long-gestation projects, such as those required to build public infrastructure.

Long-horizon projects necessarily require long-term financing that cannot be financed by bank

borrowings whose investment horizon is often short term.

“If we are going to talk about Asean integration, we certainly need to have a thriving market that can connect and compete with the rest of the region. While many jurisdictions in Asean— and Asia for that matter—remain bank-centric, the pressure on the banking books needs to be mitigated when 15-, 20- and 25- year loans are generated from a funding base largely made up of savings deposits,” Tetangco said.

“The gapping risk is significant and the global focus on liquidity risk makes this issue even more stark,” he added.

The gapping risk pertains to

the likelihood that a creditor’s exposure in a particular borrower diminishes over time and increases by several factors as the time horizon lengthens.

Given this, Tetangco acknowleged this will not be easy for the still-underdeveloped capital markets in the country and called on the capital market players to work more closely with the country’s lenders down the line.

“While we have 262 publicly listed companies with a market cap of $279.5 billion, the average for the rest of Asean-5 is 612 listed companies with a market cap of $406.9 billion,” Tetangco said. Bianca Cuaresma

Ang certain next admin will accept his Naia plan. . .

takeoffs and landings of the main runway.

With the DOTC tapping British air-traffic management firm NATS Services Ltd. for a P66-million deal to advise the government on maximizing runway use at the Naia, Ang said the number of takeoff and landing could improve to 60 in a few months.

The first stage of the construction will take two years to finish, including the termi-

nal that will have a capacity of about 30 million passengers per year. It can initially build the project now, constructing a 2,500-meter length of runway, and the rest of the length can be carried out if the right-of-way has been acquired. San Miguel also proposed a new and bigger Manila airport to be located near the so-called Entertainment City.

Ang said the government will still need that

Continued from A1

since the current facilities are only good until 2025, the time when the current Naia is expected to be filled as the country’s economy improves.

“Ultimately, you will need to build a new airport with four runways,” he said.

At the moment, the Naia only has two runways: the main runway called 06/24 that has a length of 3,400 meters and the shorter runway called 13/31.

Tax regime. . .

Continued from A2

“The real issue, according to economists, is the government’s perennial underspending. The lower deficit is not due to increased collection efficiency, but is due to underspending, which is ill-timed for a country desperately trying to generate jobs, build world-class infrastructure and improve the day-to-day lives of its people, the majority of which is mired in poverty,” Bello said in a statement.

“Lower income taxes increase disposable income by transferring money from the government’s hands back to the consumption budget of Filipino families, who will likely spend more on goods and services. This additional spending, in turn, fuels the economy and attracts more taxes,” he added.

Bello noted that the Department of Finance (DOF) had admitted in congressional hearings that for every P1 in additional revenue, the government will have to spend it for consumption of goods and services.

“So if the government will underspend anyway, why not take the opportunity to leave the spending to Filipino families?”

The TMAP had earlier supported bills in Congress that will revise the income-tax brackets to arrive at a progressive tax regime that will equitably distribute the tax burden and do away with the current tax regime, which puts the brunt of the burden on the working class.

Income brackets

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Under the current tax regime, working-class citizens, who have income of at least P500,000 per year in taxable income, are already taxed at the highest rate of 32 percent, which puts them in the same situation as high-income individuals, who have taxable income running to the millions.

The TMAP proposal is to impose the highest tax bracket on individual taxpayers that have more than P2.5 million in taxable income per year at a tax rate of 30 percent.

Those earning over P1 million but not over P2.5 million a year will be imposed a tax rate of 25 percent, while those earning over P500,000 but not over P1 million a year will be imposed a tax rate of 20 percent.

Those earning over P300,000 but not over P500,000 per year are proposed to be taxed at 10 percent, while those earning not over P300,000 a year in net taxable income will be exempt from income tax.

Lobbying for tax cut

Before TMAP’s statement endorsing the tax-rate cuts, the measure being championed by the Ways and Means panels in both chambers of Congress had gotten the support of the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC), worker groups and professional sectors. Supporters also included the resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the Philippines, who acknowledged the tax rates were indeed very high, but joined Purisima’s warning that any reduction must be part of a “holistic reform.”

Being pushed by the IMF as a compensatory measure is a strategy to “make more people pay taxes,” noting the country’s still mediocre collection from other sectors, putting bulk of the burden on the salaried class.

President Aquino sent out mixed signals on the matter, having been quoted by Rep. Romero S. Quimbo of the Second District of Marikina as being open to the tax-rate reduction, but telling a media roundtable he was not supportive of it because he was not persuaded about the wisdom of the compensatory measures, including a hike in value-added taxes and the excise tax on petroleum products. The TMAP argument for the adjustment in tax brackets set in 1997 was also pointed out by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who said the estimated revenue gap arising from the tax rate-cut measure, or P30 billion, pales in comparison to the hundreds of billions in government underspending the past three years.

Angara, the current Ways and Means Committee chairman, had earlier said he is prodding the economic managers to accept, at the very least, his counterproposal to adjust to inflation the taxable income brackets.

Angara noted that unless adjusted, it perpetuates a very inequitous setup, whereby a lower middle-class worker, whose annual income reaches P500,000, already gets levied the highest tax rate of 32 percent, putting him/her on the same footing as billionaires. The TMAP urged the DOF to avoid viewing the tax reforms in the narrow prism of tax cuts “that will only undermine the tax take of the government.”

Echoing Recto, it said the DOF projection of P30 billion in forgone revenue from the tax-rate cuts is “very minimal from a budgetary standpoint,” or a mere 1 percent of the proposed 2016 national budget of P3.002 trillion. And yet, added TMAP, such rate cuts will significantly“affect and uplift the lives of millions of salaried workers and their families.”