BusinessMirror October 27, 2015

BusinessMirror

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

U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

www.businessmirror.com.ph

INSIDE

Life

I thought I am made of these

EAR God, I thought I know You for more than 48 years—the duration I taught Your Word in schools. I thought I am serving You in everything I do with others. But I am so less of everything. I thought I am made of these. Traveling by train for two days and two nights made me realize how little I am as Your child after seeing the vastness of space of Your creation. I have been away from my country of origin, the Philippines, for about two years, and now in a Land of Uncertainties because of my age.

Let me give my hands to You and let Your hands in mine so You can lead and let me function the way Your plan is made for me. Amen.

HANDMAID FOR CHRIST FAMILY AND LOUIE M. LACSON

Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

GRAY-GLAZED GRAY GLAZED teardropshaped Bevin Vase, with an intriguing texture and unique patterning that varies from vase to vase.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

CRATE & Barrel new throws adds instant warmth, texture, color and pattern to the room—cascading over the back of a chair, folded on the arm of a sofa or spanning the foot of the bed.

THE silver and bronze punch-patterned Wisteria Ceramic Lantern mesmerizes when lit from within.

THE Cavett Loveseat’s mid-century lines capture the best of 1950s design in solid American walnut and cushioned seating, upholstered in a warm, textural weave with a hint of retro character with dramatic streamlined arms, cantilevered seat and vertical slat back.

S the year merrily heads into its final stretch, give your home a generous sprinkling here and there of autumnal allure with furniture and accessories that add warmth and texture plus some bold style statements perfect for all the upcoming holiday merrymaking.

Coming into stores this November, leading home furnishings destination Crate & Barrel unveils a fall 2015 collection inspired by the season’s cozy lifestyle and the warm colors of autumnal hearth and home— and, yes, at price points that will make you go, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” The new collection celebrates the return of fall with a mix of colors, patterns, shapes and textures that reflect nature and the changing season. Deep crimson, orange, indigo and rich charcoal pair with soft neutrals, bringing to mind a setting where a glowing fireplace suffuses the home with warmth and a peaceful, relaxed life plays out.

“We’re thrilled to share our fall 2015 range of products with customer. The new collection evokes the warmth, light and coziness of all things hearth and home, while still embracing our clean and classic design philosophy,” says Raymond Arenson, Crate & Barrel executive vice president of merchandising and design.

“The fall assortment is both inspiring and approachable, featuring beautifully designed products meant to be enjoyed every day.”

The carefully curated assortment offers inspired design solutions for every room in the home, including unique seasonal accessories, entertaining essentials, quality kitchenware, and Crate & Barrel’s exclusive furniture collection.

Select trends for the home this fall 2015 Collection include:

■ Fall into texture. Beautiful textures and handcrafted details enhance accessories that are perfect for layering and adding personality in the home.

The Merle Wall Clock, Brass Circle on Stand and Allegra Centerpiece Bowl add subtle, metallic touches; while the Gracie Pillow, Harmon Pillow and Lima Throw offer softly textured warmth, just right for a relaxing evening.

■ A touch of warmth. New fall throws such as the Humphrey Stripe Throw and Luna Throw add a vibrant layer of welcome, especially when combined with the deep colors of the Elder Vases and the sunset hues of the Elyse Chair, upholstered in Pablo Santa Fe fabric. To complete the setting, ■ Artfully crafted. Elevate holiday dining in shades of deepest indigo, layering on designs that celebrate craftsmanship, style and value.

Inspired by the hills of Portugal, the exquisitely patterned Lisbon Rectangular Platter and Lisbon Plate add tabletop drama, especially when paired with the Makena Runner and Makena Dinner Napkins.

■ Go for the bold. New fall offerings such as the Hobbs Bar Cart and Cab Wine Tower, offer great style and value, and make entertaining a breeze. Layer in a range of bright entertaining accessories with the Array Cocktail Napkins and Party Plates.

■ Modern elegance. Offering a fresh take on timeless designs, Crate & Barrel’s fall furniture ranges from the mid-century style of the Gia Sofa, Cloister Lamp and Cavett Chair, upholstered in Twine; to the city chic of the Dryden Chair and Metropole Chair to the lodge-inspired Oakton Chandelier, Teton Trunk and Crowne 57" Media Console. ■

Following the theme “Studio 24,” PSID took upon the challenge of showing the versatility of 24-square-meter spaces. The exhibit, which is on view until October 31, features 24 styles under three main categories (Ladies’ Lairs, Man Caves and Perfect Pairings).

PSID Dean Pojie Pambid says, “You don’t only buy a condo unit for the price. You also consider its potential for

design.” The exhibit features interior layouts for unique personality archetypes like The Bachelorette, The Refined Gentleman and The Backpacker. Other distinctive designs include a pop art-inspired home for the comic geek, a indigenous theme befitting an artist, and a dreamy studio layout for a romantic novelist. Imaginative and innovative design solutions are center stage in this year’s showcase,

D1

HANDCRAFTED by skilled artisans, this Lisbon Platter takes its inspiration from architectural tiles found in buildings throughout Portugal.

Think warmth, think texture... and go bold this season A

A SINGLE brass disk filters lights and casts lacy shadows through the many punched holes that dot its surface.

THIS one-of-a-kind Bluestone Coffee Table extends a warm welcome with its architectural modern farmhouse appeal.

Reimagining interior design for small living spaces MILLENNIALS are now among the strongest decisionmakers in the market. The financial needs and preferences of these individuals are among what actively shapes the various developments of real-estate brands. This trend has led to the rise of more vertical housing with micro-condo units. But while these spaces are perfect for the pockets of these consumers, their size poses a design challenge.

“Your home is another extension of yourself,” says Dindo Medina, Uratex sales director. “A common concern for homemakers is how they can transform a space into something that reflects their identity. They need to make that connection before they can consider a generic piece of property as their personal space.”

Versatility is not always dictated by size, however, and this is what the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) proves in its ongoing annual graduation class exhibition at the newly opened Ronac Lifestyle Center in Paseo de Magallanes, Makati City. The new lifestyle venue was tapped by PSID as a partner for this year’s installation for its positioning as a premium interior furnishing store.

LIFE

showing that a place can be transformed regardless of its size. Uratex (www.uratex.com.ph), www.uratex.com.ph), which is known www.uratex.com.ph for its science-based and quality mattresses, provides customization for those with special needs. More than tailoring their products for the spatial demands of condodwellers, they also customize to accommodate details like doorway and elevator entry.

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

PHL to see strictest security in years during Manila Apec MRT BUYOUT: DEAL OR NO DEAL? M B R A

SPECIAL REPORT

ETRO Manila will experience one of the strictest security measures in years when the country hosts the final meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group next month, the National Police said on Monday.

HOW MUSEUMS ARE ADAPTING TO ‘SELFIE CULTURE’ »D4

BusinessMirror

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

Thursday 2014 Vol. No. 40 Vol. 11 No. 19 Tuesday,18, October 27,102015

■ ■

THINK WARMTH, THINK TEXTURE...

D

A broader look at today’s business

D1

BACK IN ACTION

Director General Ricardo Marquez, National Police chief, said the government will secure the air, land and sea within and near the areas where the heads of economies will stay and meet during their presence in Manila for the Apec meeting.

With thousands of policemen and soldiers guarding the roads that the heads of state will take and the venues where they will be holding meetings, the capital will experience one of its most elaborately secured C  A

BusinessMirror MEDIA PARTNER

A METRO Rail Transit Line 3 train loaded with commuters passes along Edsa.

Sports BACK IN ACTION

ALYSA SALEN

BusinessMirror

C1

| TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

B L S. M

D

ESPITE their opposition to the buyout deal that the government wants to execute, the majority shareholders of Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) are still open to a takeover, provided state officials will stop playing around and start properly talking with the real stakeholders.

MRT Holdings II Inc. (MRTH-II) Chairman Robert John L. Sobrepeña said his camp is willing to sell their shares at the right price, which the government earlier set at around P53.9 billion.

LEBRON JAMES speaks at the University of Akron recently in Akron, Ohio. James teamed up with first lady Michelle Obama to celebrate the importance of secondary education at a private event at the University of Akron. AP

Lebron James rejoined his teammates on the court on Sunday for the first time since a preseason game on October 12 in Columbus. He received an injection in his back the next day, something he reiterated on Sunday was planned all along.

BRAZIL midfielder Andressa Alves (front) and United States defender Ali Krieger battle for possession of the ball during the first half of their international friendly soccer match in Orlando. AP

B J L

L

Akron Beacon Journal

EBRON JAMES returned to practice on Sunday for the first time in nearly two weeks, clearing another obstacle in his path to starting the Cavaliers’ season opener on Tuesday at the Chicago Bulls.

James, however, made it clear he won’t be taking practices off when he’s healthy to save wear and tear on his body and his back—this year or any year.

“I haven’t got to this point by cheating the game,” James said on Sunday. “If I’m capable of practicing, I’ll practice. If I’m capable of playing, I’ll play. When I’m not, I’ll quit.

“The game has given too much for me to ever cheat the game. It’s not how I was born, not how I was taught. When I’m not able to do it to my level, then, I’ll quit. It’s that simple.”

James rejoined his teammates on the court on Sunday for the first time since a preseason game on October 12 in Columbus. He received an injection in his back the next day, something he reiterated on Sunday was planned all along. All signs are pointing to James being ready on Tuesday, but both he and Coach David Blatt will wait to see how he feels on Monday before making a final declaration.

“Real test will be how I feel [Monday] when I get up,” James said.

The Cavs have dealt with injuries to multiple players throughout the preseason, but James’s back issue has been the focus for the last couple of weeks. He has heard all the talk and is anxious for the season to begin to prove to himself he can still play at an MVP level.

James Jones hinted recently this could be the best season of James’s terrific career, something he didn’t dispute.

“It could be,” he said. “It’s for me to go out and prove it to myself I’m capable of going out and doing the things I’m accustomed to doing. I’m looking forward to the challenges. There’s a lot of questions about my health and durability over the last couple weeks. It’s all about my mind frame of how I approach the game and how I approach practices and approach my team when we go out there. We will be great. How great is up to us.”

WOLVES COACH DIES OF CANCER

FLIP SAUNDERS, the longtime National Basketball Association (NBA) coach who won more than 650 games

O

RLANDO, Florida—If professional women’s soccer fever is about to descend on Orlando, the city got a great first taste of it.

Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Stephanie McCaffrey scored to help the US women’s team beat Brazil, 3-1, in an exhibition game on Sunday before an announced crowd of 32,869 at the Orlando Citrus.

The US extended its home undefeated streak to 102 games with the win on its World Cup victory tour. The Americans tied Brazil 1-1 in Seattle on Wednesday night.

Morgan scored in the ninth minute off a pass in the box from midfielder Tobin Heath to put the US ahead.

Brazil’s Cristiane tied it in the 45th minute. But a minute later, the US went back up for good after

102ND STRAIGHT HOME WIN

Lindsey Horan took Meghan Klingenberg’s corner kick and tapped it to Dunn, who then slipped it past Luciana. McCaffrey added another goal just before the final whistle.

US Coach Jill Ellis said she wasn’t surprised that the team was able to bounce back from needing a late goal to force a 1-1 draw in their matchup with Brazil last week in Seattle.

“The culture and the expectation and the competitiveness without our

team, I don’t think it ever allows us to be complacent,” Ellis said.

For the second straight match, the US team bid farewell to retiring players. Sunday was the final international match for 29-year-old US midfielder Lauren Holiday and 31-year-old defender Lori Chalupny. Holiday finished with 133 national team caps, and Chalupny had 106.

Morgan easily got the loudest ovation from the Citrus Bowl crowd when her name was announced during pregame warmups.

She then ignited the crowd early when she split a pair of defenders before maneuvering outside of Brazilian keeper Luciana to get a clear shot.

“I’m happy with my performance,” Morgan said. “I

took a look back at the last game and looked at things I could have done better, the execution and all of that.

So I feel like I connected with Tobin. I feel like I had a lot of good chances. Brazil is a really good team and has been in residency training together. We haven’t necessarily been training together since the World Cup. So today as a good showing and just a little bit of what we’re going to expect next year in the Olympics.”

The goal by Morgan could have been a preview of sorts for the hometown Orlando crowd.

Morgan was the center of reports last week that she could soon be dealt from the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Portland Thorns to the expansion Orlando Pride, which begins play next year.

Neither team has confirmed the deal, but the

in nearly two decades and was trying to rebuild the Minnesota Timberwolves as team president, coach and part owner, died on Sunday, the team said. He was 60.

Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in June and doctors called it “treatable and curable,” when the Timberwolves made the diagnosis public in August. But he took a leave of absence from the team in September after complications arose during his treatment, which included chemotherapy.

This week, owner Glen Taylor announced Saunders would not be back this season and asked team employees to give Saunders time to heal. The Timberwolves open the season on Wednesday.

Sam Mitchell has been named interim head coach of the Timberwolves and GM Milt Newton is heading the team’s personnel department.

Saunders went 654-592 in 17 NBA seasons with the Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.

Philip Daniel Saunders was born on February 23, 1955, in Cleveland and was a prep basketball star at Cuyahoga Heights High School. His mother Kay nicknamed him Flip after hearing the name at a beauty salon. He played in college at Minnesota, teaming with Kevin McHale and Mychal Thompson as a senior to lead the Golden Gophers to a 24-3 record.

Not long after graduating, Saunders decided to get into coaching and set about a long and winding path to the NBA. He started at Golden Valley Lutheran College just outside of Minneapolis and served as an assistant at Minnesota and Tulsa before spending seven seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

Saunders often credited his stint in the CBA with instilling in him the work ethic and breadth of organizational knowledge that would help him as a coach and executive in the NBA. He made stops in Rapid City, South Dakota; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and would often relay stories of his backwater adventures in the minor league and his affinity for the NBA coaches who followed similar paths.

He landed in the NBA in 1995, when he wrote a letter to new owner Glen Taylor asking for a job.

His college buddy, McHale, took over the basketball operations with the Timberwolves and Saunders became the team’s general manager. When Bill Blair was fired 20 games into the season, Saunders was suddenly the head coach of a struggling franchise that had never made the playoffs. But he teamed with a young Kevin Garnett to turn the Timberwolves into a perennial playoff team. With AP

Pride has a news conference scheduled for Monday.

Morgan’s husband, Servando Carrasco, plays for Major League Soccer’s Orlando City.

When asked about the potential deal on Saturday Morgan said only that there were on-going negotiations, though she acknowledged having met Orlando ownership through Carrasco, and praised the budding soccer culture in Orlando.

She said playing on Sunday in front of the Orlando fans only crystallized that belief.

“To have 33,000 fans was a huge showing and just a huge representation for what this city can bring for the women’s team—the Orlando Pride—so that’s really exciting for us to see a new team coming into the NWSL,” Morgan said. AP

SPORTS

C1

W

ASHINGTON—Vice President Joe Biden says he decided against running for president because he “couldn’t win,” not because he would have had too little time to get a campaign up and running.

“I’ll be very blunt. If I thought we could’ve put together the campaign...that our supporters deserve and our contributors deserved... I would have done it,” he said in an interview televised on Sunday on CBS’s 60 Minutes.

In the wide-ranging interview, in which Biden took questions for a time joined by his wife, Jill, the vice president also said he would not have gotten into the race just to stop Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“I’ve said from the beginning, ‘Look, I like Hillary. Hillary and I get along together,’” he said. “The only reason to run is because...I still think I could do a better job than anybody else could do.” He used the interview to play down suggestions his announcement

not to run, made at the White House on Wednesday with President Barack Obama standing at his side, included a jab at Clinton.

At the W hite House event, Biden lamented partisan bickering in Washington politics and said, “I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies.”

Clinton had made a statement to that effect during the Democratic presidential debate earlier this month.

“That wasn’t directed at Hillary,” Biden told 60 Minutes.

“That was a reference to Washington, all of Washington,” he said.

The 72-year-old Biden also sought in the interview to dispel recurrent rumors that his late son Beau, who died earlier this year at age 46 of brain cancer, had made

IN this October 1 photo, Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the fifth Annual Concordia Summit in New York.

Y Labor groups have a warning for Biden as he lobbies for a major trade pact with Asia: We won’t forget this if you run for president. A longtime darling of unions, Biden has been skeptical of previous sweeping free-trade deals, warning of risks to US jobs. YYet, he’s firmly supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, putting him at odds with most Democratic presidential candidates and jeopardizing his support from unions if he enters the race. AP/CRAIG RUTTLE

a last-minute plea to his father to run for president.

Biden said there was no such “Hollywood moment.... Nothing like that ever, ever happened,” he said. “Beau, all along, thought that I should run and I could win.”

“But there was not what was sort of made out as kind of this Hollywood-esque thing that, at the last minute, Beau grabbed my hand and said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to run,’” Biden said.

The vice president did say he wants to continue to have a voice in party affairs and will speak up whenever he wishes. He has not endorsed a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“I will make no bones about that,” he said. “I don’t want the party walking away from what Barack and I did.”

Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley remain in the race. AP

G

The World BusinessMirror

B2-2 Tuesday, October 27, 2015

What’s at stake in elections being held around the world

E

LECTIONS were being held in nine countries around the world on Sunday. Here’s a look at what’s at stake: Argentina: Argentines chose between continuity versus a financial overhaul when they voted for the successor to President Cristina Fernandez, a polarizing leader who dominated national politics for 12 years. Her chosen successor, Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province and a former vice president, and opposition rival Mauricio Macri are headed to a presidential runoff after neither received enough votes to win outright.

C olombia: A bicycle-riding economist regained Colombia’s second-most-important post, mayor of the capital, Bogota. Several governorships were also decided in Sunday’s voting.

Guatemala: Comedian Jimmy Morales, a political neophyte, easily wins the presidential runoff in a country where mass anticorruption protests and newly aggressive prosecutors drove the last elected president and vice president from office.

Haiti: With more than 50 presidential candidates and no clear front-runner, a December runoff seems inevitable in the impoverished Caribbean nation. Final official results not expected until late November.

Ivory coast: Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to prevail over a divided opposition and perhaps secure enough votes to avoid a runoff in the first presidential election since a disputed vote five years ago triggered violence that killed more than 3,000 people. Polls closed at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT).

Official results expected within five days.

Poland: The populist right-wing Law and Justice Party, which opposes adopting the euro currency and is antimigrant, wins Poland’s parliamentary election. Prime

Minister Ewa Kopacz concedes defeat after an exit poll showed her centrist, pro-European Union Civic Platform party facing a decisive defeat. An Ipsos exit poll shows Law and Justice receiving 39 percent of the vote, and for the first time in Poland’s post-communist history, no left-wing parties appear to have won enough votes to enter Parliament. Official results are expected on Monday.

Republic of Congo: A constitutional referendum is being held to decide if the country’s longtime president is eligible for a new term.

Under current laws, 71-year-old President Denis Sassou N’Guesso is barred from seeking reelection when his second term expires next year. The referendum asks voters to change the constitution to scrap a two-term limit and 70-year-old age limit for candidates. Polls closed at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Results could come by Friday.

Tanzania: Tanzanians turn out in large numbers to vote in general elections in which the ruling party, in power for decades, faces a strong challenge from a united opposition. The ruling party candidate, John Magufuli, is battling a former prime minister, Edward Lowassa, who defected to the opposition earlier this year, in a presidential race many analysts say is too close to predict. Polls closed at 9 a.m.

EDT (1300 GMT). Results expected within three to four days.

Ukraine: Elections for local councils and mayors are seen as a test of strength for President Petro Poroshenko’s government and the oligarchs accustomed to running regions of the country. Voting is not taking place in parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russiabacked rebels, and was scrapped at the last minute in Mariupol, a major port and steel city that rebels have been trying to capture for over a year. Polls closed at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Preliminary results expected on Monday. AP

TV comic Jimmy Morales wins Guatemala presidential runoff

JIMMY MORALES, the National Front of Convergence party presidential candidate, arrives to the Electoral Supreme Court headquarters in Guatemala City on October 25. AP/OLIVER DE ROS

A MOTORCYCLIST rides through floodwater after a heavy rainfall in the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, on October 25. AP/HEBA KHAMIS

Severe weather sweeps Middle East, 6 dead in Egypt

C

A IRO —Severe weat her swept across the Middle East on Sunday, pounding Israel with baseball-sized hail, sending torrents of uncollected garbage through the streets of Beirut and killing six people in Egypt, five of whom were electrocuted by a fallen power cable.

The cable from a tramway in the coastal city of Alexandria landed in streets flooded with water, electrocuting the five, senior health official Magdy Hegazy said.

He said a sixth person, a judge, drowned when he was trapped in his car by the floodwaters.

The flooding in Egypt’s secondlargest city, a major port and former shipping and trade center, underlines how basic infrastructure, such as drainage systems, are still lacking despite the demands

of a surging population. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ordered the government to provide aid to the Alexandria area.

State news agency Mena reported heav y rains in several other Eg y ptian governorates, with authorities closing the port of Ain Sokhna near the southern end of the Suez Canal due to high winds and waves. Sandstorms and f lash f loods hit parts of the Sinai Peninsula. Cairo saw a rare rainstorm.

Alexandria’s seaside corniche, once the jewel of a cosmopolitan city but in recent decades jammed with traffic, was inundated in many areas. Cars passed through pools of water only slowly by late afternoon, while pumps directed water back into the Mediterranean.

In neighboring Israel, high

winds knocked over cranes while hail the size of baseballs struck cities across the country.

The Israeli police said they received reports that one of the cranes struck a man, although his condition was unknown. Elsewhere, trees were knocked down, including one that hit a bus, seriously injuring a passenger.

Media reported wind speeds of 100 k ilometers (62 miles) per hour, with rain expected to continue on Monday.

Israeli media aired footage of a crane collapsing in central Tel Aviv, cars squashed by trees and pedestrians seeking shelter from the hail.

In Lebanon heavy rains caused floodwaters to mix with mounds of uncol lected garbage, raising public-health concerns. The

countr y has been in the grip of a monthslong trash cr isis that started when the government shut down the city’s main landfill without finding an alternative. The crisis ignited mass protests against the government, which has failed to provide a number of basic services and is widely seen as corrupt and dysfunctional.

Activists from the You Stink movement, which has been leading the protests, shared videos on their Facebook page of plastic trash bags and other garbage f loating down a narrow street lined with cars. The Beirut River, where garbage had been piling up on the banks for months, resembled an open sewer. Activists volunteered to help clean it, which could revive the antigovernment campaign. AP

G

UATEM A L A CIT Y—T V com ic a nd se l f - st yled outsider Jimmy Morales swept to Guatemala’s presidency on the back of popular anger against the political class after huge anti-corruption protests helped oust the last government.

Morales, who is to assume the presidency on January 14 and has never held political office, said he would get right to work with a transition team to study economic issues and work on developmentoriented government policies. “It is not I who declare myself the w inner but rather the people who have done so,” said Morales, 46, who starred in the comedy Moralejas.

Morales claimed victory late Sunday and his runoff opponent, former first lady Sandra Torres, conceded defeat after official resu lts showed him w inning around 68 percent of the votes with 97 percent of polling stations tallied. Election officials were expected to give a final count on Monday.

“ We recog nize Jimmy Morales’s triumph and we wish him success,” Torres said. “Guatemala has serious problems, but the people made their choice and we respect it.” Hundreds of Morales backers gathered at his party headquarters, where a “ banda” musical group played while they waited for the candidate.

“It is a historic vote,” said supporter Israel Orozco. “It is a response by the people to ratify hope for change.”

The runoff was held a month and a half after President Otto Perez Molina resigned and was ja i le d i n con ne c t ion w it h a sprawling customs scandal. His former vice president has also been jailed in the multimilliondollar graft and fraud scheme.

T hough t he protests h ave died dow n since Perez Molina’s resig nat ion, m a ny Gu atem alans remain fed up w ith corruption and politics as usual, and Morales w ill face pressure to deliver immediately on widespread demands for reform. AP

WORLD

C  A

China to set new 5-yr growth plan

BIDEN OPTED OUT ON 2016 DEM RACE Biden opted out on 2016 Dem race because he ‘couldn’t win’

Second of three parts

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, however, disputed that the amount has “gone down” due to the government’s payment of the so-called equity rental to the parent company of the train line, the MRTC. “In the past, we were looking at shelling out P54 billion, a computation that was made a few years ago,” he said. “But we continued to pay the equity rental payments, so the amount has been lowered. It could be less than P50 billion. The last I heard is that the amount is in the high 40s [P40 billion].”

LUMADS AIR PROTEST An indigenous people from southern Philippines, known as B22

Lumad, eats a candy given by students as he march around the streets on Monday in Manila. The Lumads, who arrived on Sunday evening after traveling from their ancestral lands in the south by land and sea, are protesting recent killings of three of their leaders and the alleged humanrights violations perpetrated by paramilitary groups, as well as the increased presence of the military in their areas in the south. AP

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 46.4540

LOBAL nerves have calmed a bit about China’s economy since late summer, when gyrating mainland markets spooked investors worldwide and Beijing’s move to weaken its currency sparked concerns about currency wars.

But the slowdown of the world’s second-largest economy is still a major worry. Starting on Monday, China’s top leaders will gather for a key annual meeting, and the main focus will be the country’s next fiveyear economic plan.

But other topics—from corruption to the one-child policy—may crop up, as well.

Here’s a look at what’s on the

agenda: What is this meeting and who’s coming?

The meeting—the Fifth Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China— is a gathering of several hundred top leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

It will run through Thursday. The fourth plenum, held in October, focused on legal reforms. What’s the five-year plan? China has drafted five-year plans since 1953 to lay out strategies for fiscal and social development. This plan will cover the years from 2016 to 2020.

Chinese leaders are expected to set a goal for the country’s

average annual economic growth rate. Many economists expect the target to be between 6 percent and 6.8 percent. That’s still faster than the US and much of the rest of the world, but a significant slowdown from the double-digit annual increases in China for much of the last quarter-century.

China’s GDP grew at a 7-percent annual rate in the second quarter this year. “ They will only reveal the major spirit of the plan, the overall guidelines and so forth,” said Willy Lam, a Hong Kong-based political commentator.

S “C,” A

■ JAPAN 0.3827 ■ UK 71.1118 ■ HK 5.9941 ■ CHINA 7.3156 ■ SINGAPORE 33.2408 ■ AUSTRALIA 33.5263 ■ EU 51.1691 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.3993

Source: BSP (26 October 2015)

A2 Tuesday, October 27, 2015

BMReports BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Mrt buyout: Deal or no deal?

Continued from A1

Sobrepeña begged to disagree, saying that the previous computation was only enough to fund the bonds held by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).

According to the businessman, the price tag for the acquisition of the equity alone will only amount to “less than P25 billion,” given the years left in the concession period.

But a quick check on the web site of the train system showed that the complete takeover of the rail line will amount to more than double the amount that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) announced to the media. The outlay should be around P112 billion, the Web page noted, explaining the movement of prices due to inflation.

“We, the private-sector owners of the MRT 3 system, are willing to sell if the government is, willing to buy us out. But the reality is through all these years of the DOTC saying they want to buy us out, we have not received one single offer or proposal from anyone from the department or Abaya to buy us out,” Sobrepeña lamented.

This is particularly true, as the transport chief admitted that his camp is only talking to the officials of MRTC— mainly composed of the nominees from the government financial institutions (GFIs)— as the party to the buyout deal only involves the aforesaid stakeholders.

“When Abaya says he will talk to MRTC, he means the government nominees who sit in the Board. Those GFI nominees in the MRTC Board are not authorized to negotiate a sell due to conflict of interest,” the

businessman explained.

“There is no way that the DOTC can execute a buyout without the consent of the owners, namely MRT Holdings Inc., which is owned by the private sector whom they have not even talked to about a buyout today nor all the years passed,” he quickly added.

Executing 101: Budget

Despite this key hurdle, the transport chief is hopeful that the transaction will be smoother than planned. Funding will be a primary issue to this deal, but Abaya said his camp will push lawmakers to allot the outlays needed to execute the takeover.

“The money will come from the national budget. It is in the unprogrammed fund. We are also convincing Congress to make sure that it is also in the 2016 budget, so that the budget doesn’t become an issue,” he said.

“Even though we get to agree, but we are left without a budget, then something vital isn’t there to execute. We have to make sure that all things are in place.”

His optimism comes a year after Congress decided to scrap the programmed budget for the buyout last year, as lawmakers deemed it unnecessary to pass money from one government office to another.

W hile the transport chief is bullish that his office will soon receive the needed capital to execute the takeover deal, his main concern now is to convince the Department of Finance (DOF) and the state-owned lending institutions that the takeover is logical.

“The real challenge now is really talking with the GFIs and talking with the DOF because they might take a loss in execution of the buyout,” he said. “The biggest issue

here is taking a loss.”

In light of this, the legal team of the transport agency handling the deal will sit down with its peers from the finance department to flesh out the details of the buyout.

“We will discuss to them as to how to execute the equity-value buyout. This is important to them because from our end, we believe that we should only pay for the formulaic equation—the value that we see as fit— for the preferred shares. It is important that they are on board and are also kept cool,” the Cabinet official said. A schedule for a meeting among the financial institutions and the departments has been set within the month, albeit indefinitely.

“What is important is to sit down with the DOF, DBP and LandBank and we’re going to schedule that, say within the month. I have given instructions to our legal team for the meeting,” he said. “We’ve done preliminary work. Our legal team has sat down with the GFIs, and feedback is they are now comfortable with the suggestion. So, what’s important is we come face to face and everyone is comfortable with the track to take.”

During the said meeting, officials that will handle the buyout should come out with a concrete plan on how to move forward with the said transaction.

“I think there will be a concrete plan,” Abaya said. “It is important that we make these things clear—on paper, in concept, and everybody signs.”

Midnight deal

Striking a deal at this point, however, will be deemed by many as an irregularity, especially since 2016 is an election year, and

Abaya currently sits as the chairman of the ruling Liberal Party.

“Given the remaining months of the current administration, I think many will look at a deal this late to be somewhat like a midnight deal,” Jose Regin F. Regidor, a transportation expert, said. “It is uncertain at this point how the 2016 presidential elections will go and if the buyout is something that the next administration and transport officials wouldn’t want to inherit despite its inevitability, I can only speculate.”

But for the transport chief, executing the buyout today will spare the next administration from the headaches of paying up billions of rental payments, dealing with the privatesector owner and effectively modernizing the train system without any opposition from another party.

“I’m really hoping to execute this deal because I don’t want the guys who will replace us to experience what we have experienced in this transaction. If I do this, it solves a lot of headache for those who will replace us,” Abaya said.

He did not discount the fact that the private partner will oppose the buyout deal.

But the government’s camp is ready to face these challenges that could go as far as going through the courts.

“Those who don’t want this can take us to court and that is also going to be challenging, because it is done elsewhere,” he said, referring to the arbitration panel in Singapore.

“That is the theater where we will execute all of these.”

Nonetheless, his team will be up for the challenge of battling any opposition in court to save the government and the commuters from the horrors of the MRT.

Set up a crisis team

With all the conflicting sides on the equation—with one opposing the interest of the other—European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines External Vice President Henry J. Schumacher said what is really needed to solve this problem is the setting up of a crisis team to handle the buyout.

“I propose that we create a crisis team composed of [the] government and the private sector to make tough decisions for the benefit of the tax-paying Filipinos, who deserve effective and functioning public transportation services,” he said.

The multisectoral team will be in charge of reviewing the implications of a buyout deal, and will determine how to effectively move forward to lessen all process of improving the system—with or without the takeover.

Subtly, Regidor, a research fellow at the University of the Philippines Diliman National Center for Transportation Studies, agreed, saying that the two camps should enter into a compromise for the benefit of the consumers.

“The only thing I can say about this is that [the] government and private sector should seek a compromise agreement or a middle ground. The government, though, is at an inferior position because it should— as representative of the public—work toward the public good,” he said. Should the two parties fail to arrive at a trade-off, the consumers are left to suffer the ill consequences of a government-private sector war. “By failing to arrive at a compromise agreement to resolve technical, including maintenance and financial issues, it appears that [the] government is the one at fault for the deficiencies of the MRT,” he said. To be continued

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Delinquent candidates face disqualification

A

TOTAL of 785 candidates during the past elections have been found to have violated the law requiring them to file their statement of cont r ibut ions a nd e x pend it u res (Soces) to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The said candidates are now at risk of being perpetually disqualified from running for public office.

Based on the report posted by the Comelec-Campaign Finance Office in its web site, the 785 candidates failed to file their Soces in two or more elections, beginning with the 2007 midterm polls until the 2013 midterm elections.

Section 14 of the Republic Act 7166 provides that all candidates are required to file their full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the elections.

It further states that those who failed to file their SOCEs for a second or subsequent offense shall be subjected to perpetual disqualification to hold public office.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the most number of candidates who are in danger of being disqualified with 194. They include Moro National Liberation Front Chairman Nur Misuari who failed to file his Soce for three elections.

Other regions w ith a high number of non-Soce filers are Calabarzon with 88; Cordillera Administrative Region with 70; Northern Mindanao with 67; Cen-

JIMENEZ: “These are still up for filing of petitions for perpetual disqualification before the Office of the Secretary of the Commission.”

tral Luzon with 60; Soccsksargen with 59; and National Capital Region with 54.

Also, Cagayan Valley had 30; Central Visayas with 25; Ilocos region and Mimaropa with 23 each; Eastern Visayas with 21; Davao region with 18; Zamboanga Peninsula with 16; Bicol region and Western Visayas with 15 each; and Caraga with 7.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said cases against the 785 candidates are now set to be filed before the commission.

“These are still up for filing of petitions for perpetual disqualification before the Office of the Secretary of the Commission,” Jimenez told reporters.

Aside from perpetual disqualification, the candidates are facing administrative fines ranging from P20,000 to P60,000, depending on the position they sought for as provided for under Comelec Resolution 9991.

Candidates for next year’s elections who failed to comply with the Soce requirement are also facing disqualification, according to the Comelec.

Joel R. San Juan

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, October 27, 2015 A3

Comelec refers to DOJ poll sabotage case vs Smartmatic

T

By Joel R. San Juan

HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has referred for preliminary investigation the electoral sabotage case filed against officials of technology provider Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp. for allegedly altering the source code of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (Pcos) machines during the May 2013 elections.

In a resolution, the Comelec en banc unanimously approved the recommendation of its law department for the poll body to recuse from hearing the case due to conflict of interest.

Director Maria Norina TangaroCasingal of the poll body’s Law Department said in the memorandum she submitted to the commission en banc that the poll body will be dealing with Smartmatic, as the successful bidder in the separate biddings for the lease with option to purchase 23,000 and 70,977 units of precinct-based Optical Mark Reader or Optical Scan System to be used in the May 9, 2016 elections.

Tangaro-Casingal explained that the Department of Justice (DOJ) also has the jurisdiction to hear and resolve election-related cases under

Republic Act (RA) 9369, or the Automated Election law.

“In as much as this department would want to take cognizance of the case and conduct the necessry preliminary investigation thereon, this department deems it more appropriate to ask for your Honor’s guidance on whether to proceed with the conduct of the same or to refer this case to the Department of Justice [for action] pursuant to Section 265 of the Omnibus Election Code, as amended by Section 43 of RA 9369,” the memorandum said.

The said provision provide that: “ T he commission shall, through its duly authorized legal officers, have the power, concurrent with the other prosecuting arms of the government, to conduct preliminary investigation of

all election offenses under this Code, and prosecute the same.”

Comelec Chairman Andres Baut ist a a nd Comm issioners Robert Lim, Al Parreño, Arthur Lim and Sheriff Aba approved the referral of the case to the DOJ. C o m m i s s io ne r s L u i e T it o Guia was on leave, while Rowena Guanzon was not present during the proceedings as she was on official business duty.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by former Election Commissioner Gus Lagman and several others against Smartmatic President for Asia Pacific Cesar Flores, Albert Castro Rico and Marlon Garcia.

Lagman’s group accused Smartmatic officials of violating RA 9369 or the Automated Election law when it changed the source code just hours after voting closed on May 13, 2013 Aside from Lagman, the other complainants were Automated Election System Watch members Leo Querubin, Maria Corazon Akol, Glenn Chong, Temario Rivera and Ernesto del Rosario.

They claimed thatthe changing of the source code supposedly happened at the Command Center of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting about two hours after voting had closed and without the required notification of other election stakeholders.

UNA declares official senatorial ticket

President Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, announced the party’s senatorial slate for the 2016 elections.

Tiangco said the UNA senatorial candidates are one with the Vice President Jejomar C. Binay- Gregorio Honasan tandem in addressing poverty, hunger and unemployment under a competent, compassionate and healing government.

“The composition of UNA’s senatorial lineup is illustrated by each candidate’s personal advocacies and the legislative agenda their respective organizations would advance in the Senate. Nagkakaisa ang lahat sa layunin ng partido sa pamumuno ni Vice President Jejomar C. Binay na bigyang ginhawa ang sambayanang Pilipino na nakaangkla sa mga programa at inisyatiba na magbibigay solusyon sa kawalan ng trabaho, mababang pasahod at nagtataasang presyo ng mga bilihin,” Tiangco said.

The UNA senatorial lineup includes boxing champion and Nacionalista Party-list Rep. Manny Pacquiao of Saranggani, former Special Action Force Commander Getulio Napeñas, Parañaque Councilor Alma Moreno, Sulu Sultanate Princess Jacel Kiram, veteran broadcaster Rey Langit and Labor lawyer Allan Montaño.

Completing the UNA senatorial ticket are reelectionist Sens. Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Lakas Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte and migrant-worker advocate Susan Ople. With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

NPA rebels kill Army lieutenant in encounter Miaa, Taguig prepare for All Saints’ Day rush

By Rene Acosta

A

N Army junior officer was killed on Sunday when government forces clashed with New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Occidental Mindoro.

Maj. Angelo Guzman, spokesman for the Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command, identified the fatality as Lt. Mike Nollora, commander of Bravo Company of the Army’s Fourth Infantry Battalion.

Nollora is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Masiglahi” Class of 2009.

Guzman said that Nollora’s platoon was conducting security patrol at the mountainous area of barangay Batasan, San Jose town, at around 9:30 a.m. when the firefight happened.

More or less 10 NPA rebels engaged the Army troops in a 10-minute firefight.

Guzman said Nollora sustained a gunshot wound in

his left thigh. The officer was immediately given first aid and rushed to the casualty collection point for extrication but expired at around 11 a.m.

“The area was mountainous.

A helicopter was deployed to extricate him but unfortunately he expired,” Guzman said.

Col. Gevin Edjawan, commander of the Army’s 203rd Infantry Brigade, ordered troops to conduct pursuit operations against the rebels.

For his part, the Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya expressed sadness for the death of Nollora.

“It is sad that we lost a young commander and a good officer who was serving and protecting the people of Occidental Mindoro,” Visaya said.

At the same time, Visaya vowed to intensify military operations against the NPA in Occidental Mindoro to win the peace in the island.

UNITED Nationalist Alliance (UNA)

T

HE Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) will start implementing Oplan Undas 2015 on Tuesday, in anticipation of the increase in the number of arriving passengers, both international and domestic, for the commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. The agency said the plan is an added measures “to ensure safe, reliable and convenient operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in the next two weeks.” The Miaa said they have coordinated with the airlines concerned for the efficient processing of their passengers especially at the check-in counters.

“Additional airline personnel will be deployed as needed to accommodate the increase in travelers,” the Miaa said in a statement.

Check-in counters will be opened two hours before departure of a domestic flight, while three hours are alloted for international flights. Airline counters would be closed 45 minutes before departure.

Maximum deployment of security personnel will be observed at the Naia, as the “no leave” policy will be kept by the Airport Police Department (APD) during the entire duration of Oplan Undas, the Miaa information office added.

Miaa General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said: “At the heart of Oplan Undas is the passenger. We want to make sure that traveling will be as hassle-free as possible as we observe the solemnity of the occasion.” An estimated 50,000 passengers daily are expected to use the Naia for the holidays.

As a high volume of people are expected to troop to

A man cleans and repaints a tomb at the Manila North Cemetery in preparation for the traditional observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on November 1 and 2. PNA

the nine cemeteries in Taguig City, the local government implemented its own Oplan Undas 2015.

Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano said that the local government will ensure the convenience and security of those who will go to the cemeteries.

“Every year, we always prepare for this holiday as we have nine of the largest cemeteries in Metro Manila. We will do our best to make sure nothing untoward happens during this day,” she said.

Dust particles in Cebu’s air now beyond safe limits

C

EBU CITY—The Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) regional officer in Central Visayas said on Monday that dust particles in Cebu’s air have gone beyond safe limits as “smaze,” a combination of smoke and haze, continues to hover over the central Philippine province.

The smaze has affected parts of Mindanao and the Visayas, including Metro Cebu.

William Cuñado, EMB Central Visayas director, said the amount of small particles, or particulate, matter, measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter in Cebu’s air reached 85.70 micrograms per cubic meter in a test on Sunday.

The limit is 75 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Values of the Philippine Clean Air Act.

Cuñado said the agency has sent letters to the region’s governors along with the latest ambient air-quality monitoring data.

He said the data will guide the governors and mayors and give them a basis to procure N95 masks and protective goggles for constituents, especially those suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments.

He said the N95 mask is available in pharmacies, while the protective goggles can be acquired in hardware stores.

Cuñado said those who cannot afford to buy N95 mask may use a wet handkerchief or towel.

He also advised exercise buffs to avoid jogging or exercising outdoors as the smaze persists.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) advised the people, particularly the

elderly, children and those with asthma or other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs) on ways of coping with the risks of haze.

DOH Spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy said the haze from the forest fires in Indonesia can cause air pollution, which can bring about increased risks for respiratory tract infections and cardiac ailments.

In a DOH advisory, Lee Suy said it is important for the vulnerable sectors of the population to stay indoors with good ventilation.

He added that it will help if appropriate dust masks will be worn when going outside the house.

Lee Suy also said that refraining from physical activities in heavily populated areas is another way to counter haze so

that the body may gain and maintain its strength or natural immune system.

He added that staying away from lowlying areas where smoke and suspended particles tend to accumulate can help.

“Tune in to the radio or television for more health advisories and, most important, consult the doctor if there is difficulty of breathing, cough, chest pain, increase tearing of eyes and nose and throat irritation,” he said.

He stressed that if a person feels something abnormal in his body, it is very important to seek consultation with a doctor for early treatment and better management.

The DOH official also reminded motorists that if they encounter haze on the roads, they should exercise extreme caution to prevent accidents. PNA

Recto L. Mercene and Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Economy

A4 Tuesday, October 27, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

Peso amendment to cut rural unemployment rate

L

By Estrella Torres

abor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Monday said local government units (LGUs) will soon institutionalize their role in providing jobs and livelihood that is not based on political affiliation or patronage but through skills available in their communities.

She said the signing of the amended Public Employ ment Service Office (Peso) law compels LGUs to allocate funds in profiling workforce in their communities and matching them with the needs of public and private industries.

The Peso law was an “unfunded law” in the last 15 years and the amendments will now require LGUs to operate the office with funds from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

“I’m looking forward to a more in-

stitutionalized Peso that is not subject to some political convenience and permanent positions specially for the Peso managers, which will mean stability and continuity in the delivery of employment facilitations services nationwide,” Baldoz said in an interview at the sidelines of the 15th Peso Congress held on Monday at the Philippine International Convention Center.

The amendment to Peso law was signed on Monday by President Aquino who was the keynote speaker at the event. Baldoz said the amended Peso law is expected to be implemented by early next year after the Department of Labor and Employment has crafted its implementing rules and regulations.

Labor Undersecretary Nicon Fameronag, in a separate inter-

view said Peso is the government’s frontline service in providing jobs and livelihood.

There are currently 2.9 million unemployed Filipinos, many of them in rural areas.

Fameronag said Peso is crucial in providing jobs for unemployed youth in rural areas who have no access to regular online job platforms.

He said there are now 1,600 Peso offices that are fully operational but the labor department can only fund 360 of them.

The amendment to the Peso law will have full funding for Peso offices to be sourced from IRA. He said Peso offices currently have 83-percent placement rate, which translates to 1.6 million who have found jobs out of 1.9 million who accessed Pesos.

Government urged to invest in solar bottle bulb

M

yShelter Foundation is pitching calls to bring eco-friendly solar bottle bulbs to low-income communities to help illuminate households through its Liter of Light program, a sustainable lighting project being spearheaded by the foundation.

The project is being implemented since 2011, and aims to install a million bulbs around the world by 2016.

According to Gene Angelo P. Ferrer, director for communications of Liter of Light, the solar bottle bulb is a program that uses appropriate technologies to a grassroots green lighting program.

He said that governments should consider adopting the effective and efficient lighting solution and can use the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) as a model climate-change mitigation and adaptation project.

“We welcome the call for projects of the People’s Survival Fund and propose that the Philippine government take a look at our already effective and efficient lighting solution,” he said.

Some 20 million people suffer from energy poverty in the Phillipines, Ferrer added.

He said that, while the cost of solar power has decreased over the past few years, all products are still assembled abroad and imported which results in developing countries, such as the Philippines to continually depend on imported solutions to solve local problems.

“There are several areas that the solar bottle bulb makes sense in creating lower carbon emissions,” he said.

Ferrer explained that the plastic bottles used in the solar bottle bulbs are “upcycled” and avoid larger energy use of gathering, shredding, manufactur-

T

Subic posted 55% port revenue increase in Sept

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

S

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Port of Subic has recorded a 55-percent increase in revenue last September, as more foreign and domestic vessels sailed into the harbor either for cargo shipment or for rest and recreation.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia said on Monday that the Subic agency collected P99 million in port revenues last month, compared to an income of just P63 million in September last year.

Garcia said the major contributors to the increase in revenues were port leases and rentals, which surged by 126 percent, and SBMA shares, which improved by 110 percent.

He added that income from cargo charges also proved significant, as this went up by 19 percent, while processing fees and other charges also jumped by 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

The rise in port revenues last month came about as the Port of Subic, which is being marketed as an alternative to the Port of Manila, saw an increase of 56 percent in the number of calls by domestic vessels and 47 percent by foreign ships.

With this, Subic port also marked huge improvements in cargo volume for the period as containerized cargo shipments swelled by 50 percent in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), Garcia said.

“As of last month, we have already broken our 2014 year-end record of 77,000 TEUs,” Garcia also disclosed, noting that total TEUs from January to September this year had already

reached a total of 93,757.

He explained that, while transshipments decreased from 65 TEUs in September 2014 to just 6 TEUs in September this year, the drop was compensated for by a 51-percent increment in import shipments and a 19 percent upturn in export shipments, along with a 52percent and a 84-percent growth in incoming empties and outgoing empties, respectively.

Similarly, noncontainerized cargo volume registered a growth of 48 percent in terms of metric tons (MTs) in September, compared to the same month last year, Garcia said.

These cargoes largely consisted of liquid bulk and petroleum shipments, which jumped by 99 percent, followed by bulk and break bulk at 16 percent, and heavy equipment, lo-lo, and roll-on, roll-off shipments by four 4 percent.

Subic also recorded a 10-percent increase in gross registered tonnage (GRT), as domestic vessels mustered a substantial spread of 126 percent in GRT and foreign ships, a modest gain of 6 percent.

Garcia said Subic’s positive performance in port revenues could be attributed to the recent establishment of Subic’s one-stop shop, which is the only one of its kind in Luzon, as well as to the SBMA’s port marketing programs, which includes two recent maritime summits, and the formation of a Maritime Technical Group here.

“All these initiatives, plus the fact that Subic Bay is the only port in the Philippines western seaboard that still has enough capacity to handle additional container volume, have further sharpened our port’s competitive edge,” Garcia said.

briefs makati nets p11.58b last month The city government of Makati has achieved 94 percent of its target revenue collection for the year, posting a total of P11.58 billion as of end of September.

Based on a report from the City Treasurer’s Office, the figure exceeded by 9 percent the city’s total revenues for the same period last year.

Acting City Mayor Romulo Peña Jr. said the highest collection came from business taxes with a total of P6,194,563,878, followed by real property tax (RPT) with P3,934,345,110; fees and charges, P556,943,245; and economic enterprise with P161,173,460.52.

“Looking at the figures that we have right now, I am definitely sure that we can surpass the 8.8-percent increase posted last year. We have already attained 94 percent of our projected target of P12,284,535,000 for this year, and we still have two months of collection period before year-end,” Peña said in a news statement released on Monday.

Peña expressed his gratitude to the business sector for their confidence and trust in the new leadership, reassuring them of the efficient utilization of funds for the benefit of both the taxpayers and Makati constituents.

“I also attribute the growth in tax collection to enhanced efficiency in business permit processing and collection of business and realty taxes,” he added.

Other sources that form part of the city revenue collection are interest income with P89,552,093.48 and Internal Revenue Allotment, P652,030,065.

In comparison to last year’s tax collection as of September, revenue from business tax increased by 13 percent from P5.4 billion. On the other hand, the city government has already surpassed its target realty tax collection at 115 percent as of September. PNA

ing and shipping of new bottles, but instead uses them as-is to a higher purpose of a lighting appliance.

“The process is simple with the cutting of a steel sheet that serves as a metal lock to prevent the slippage of the bottle, then this is sealed with epoxy on to the plastic bottle, which will be simply filled with water and 10 milliliter of bleach then can be immediately applied through the roof,” he said.

Liter of Light had also applied advances in solar technology and incorporated it to the bulbs to also provide light at night, an even bigger problem that face rural areas, he added.

The solar bottle bulb, he said

illuminates and is free energy, no carbon emissions, and can easily be replicated by the local governments using its more considerable resources.

“With the PSF soon being implemented we welcome this as a great development in paving a sustainable future for the Philippines,” he said.

Liter of Light is preparing for the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties in Paris, France this December to show the international community that a local group from the Philippines can have a global impact across the world.

The year 2015 is the UN declared International Year of the Light.

The 2015 Zayed Future Energy Award recipient, Liter of Light targets to light five islands in the Philippines and five international locations in two months.

“With one month left before the COP 21, we have already reached all our target areas and are surely to hit our mark. We are now embarking on a social-media campaign and are asking everyone to use the hashtags, #PHLighttheWorld and #BetheLight, as we take the month of November as our last push to send a message to the international negotiations that we want a sustainable future,” he said. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Legislator seeks review of computation of master sergeant retirees’ pension pay he vice chairman of the House Committee on National Defense and Security asked the lower chamber on Monday to review the discrepancies in the computation of pension of retired chief master sergeants (CMS) and senior master sergeants (SMS) of the armed forces.

In House Resolution 2416, Party-list Rep. Gary C. Alejano of Magdalo said that the retired CMS and SMS cited discrepancies in the pension they are receiving after observing that there are retirees who have the same rank and length of service as them but are receiving higher pensions.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The resolution is currently pending with the Committee on Veterans Welfare and Affairs. “These inconsistencies impair the essence of the law in providing adequate and just remuneration and benefits to the retired CMS and SMS,” Alejano said.

Also, the lawmaker said that the House needs to revisit Republic Act (RA) 8820, to provide for a correct interpretation of the law, particularly on retirement and separation to avoid discrepancies in the amount of pension being received by retirees with the same rank and length of service.

“It is imperative for the Committee on Veterans Welfare and Affairs to review the provisions of Republic

Act 8220 to identify and resolve the sources of the alleged discrepancies and to ensure that CMS and SMS retirees are given adequate care and benefits,” Alejano said.

Enacted on October 9, 1996, RA 8220, otherwise known as “An Act Creating The Ranks Of Chief Master Sergeant/Master Chief Petty Officer and Senior Master Sergeant/Senior Chief Petty Officer in the Enlisted Ranks Of the AFP,” created the grades of Chief Master Sergeant/ Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9) and Senior Master Sergeant/Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8) and makes them a component part of the noncommissioned officers’ grades of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The ranks were created to provide career development and promotion to the rank of master sergeant, who with the absence of the newly created ranks, may be forced to remain in the service for a long period of time under the same rank.

The law further provides that enlisted personnel who attain the rank of master sergeant/chief petty officer, senior master sergeant/senior chief petty officer and of chief master sergeant/master chief petty officer shall, upon retirement, be entitled to the retirement pay and benefits of a second lieutenant/ensign.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

lawmaker seeks lando reconstruction fund in 2016 budget Sen. Francis G. Escudero pushed on Monday for the inclusion of rehabilitation and reconstruction fund for areas ravaged by Typhoon Lando (international code name Koppu) in the 2016 national budget to help Luzon get back on its feet after the onslaught on the strongest typhoon to hit the region in five years.

The proposed funding is similar to the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund, which became part of the 2014 General Appropriations Act upon the proposal of Escudero when he was chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance.

“We can have a separate Lando Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund in the 2016 budget or, at the very least, we should itemize Lando-related rehabilitation activities in the Calamity Fund, which is officially called National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management or NDRRM Fund,” Escudero said.

According to the veteran lawmaker, the large-scale devastation that Lando left in Northern and Central Luzon regions underscores the need for a separate rehabilitation fund in the budget.

“Lando did not only alter the landscape of north Luzon, but also that of the national budget. It has created a big gash across the island,” said Escudero, the leading vice presidential candidate in the 2016 polls.

Based on official government estimates, Lando’s destruction footprint is large with over P7 billion in damages to farm and public works, and over 1.2 million persons affected. PNA

search is on for 10 outstanding soldiers

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MFI) and Rotary Club of Makati Metro (RCMM) signed on Monday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the Search for The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers (TOPS) for 2016.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hernando DCA Iriberri, along with MFI President Aniceto M. Sobrepeña and RCMM President Atty. Al Miguel T. Leogardo, signed the MOA which signals the start of the annual search.

Present in the ceremony were senior military and defense officials, including major service commanders and past TOPS awardees. Among them are AFP vice chief-of-staff Major Gen. Romeo T. Tanalgo (2009), AFP Sergeant Major Romeo H. Jandugan (2009), 1st Air Division commander Major Gen. Raul Del Rosario (2011), and AFP deputy chief of staff for operations Brig. Gen. Carlito Galvez.

“The search for TOPS started in 1994 and has produced 176 awardees who continue to serve as models of excellence, professionalism, nobility and integrity in their service,” Leogardo said during the ceremony.

Now on its 16th iteration, TOPS has become a highly sought-after award among soldiers who have shown exemplary service worthy of the honor. PNA

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

German firm asks PHL to speed up issuance of permit for RE projects

A

solar provider based in Germany is urging the Philippine government to fast track the processing and issuance of permits for renewable-energy (RE) projects.

“The general process here needs to be revised. It takes very long. So, we hope policy-makers could address this concern and help make renewable-energy projects a bit more of a priority,” said Jens Kompauer of IB Vogt GmbH, a global solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company.

IB Vogt is among the German companies that are keen to support the Philippines’s 90-percent electrification goal with RE. The IB Vogt official cited the “tedious land process which take over a year.”

“We don’t think this must be the way. It should be revisited so the penetration of renewable energy can be accelerated,” Kompauer added.

The company is developing solar projects in Mindanao. He said construction could start in the next three weeks until February of next year.

“There’s different process in developing simple rooftop programs.

The actual development process is so complex for just a few kilowatt on the roof. I’m sure this can be facilitated. In Germany, these projects are given priority,” he added.

Other German firms that form part of the delegation include 8P2 Ingenieurspartnerschaft; an engineering firm specializing in technical inspection and consulting; Autarsys GmbH, a provider of modular energy-storage systems; IBC SOLAR AG, an international provider of comprehensive solar solutions; PV2 Energie GmbH, a solar-project developer; Qinous GmbH, a provider of plug and play energy-storage solutions; SaEnergy Systems GmbH, whose “Power&Life Container” provides independent and stand-alone energy supply; Solea AG, a leading turnkey PV systems provider; and the experts from eclareon GmbH, a consulting firm focusing on RE. Innovative off-grid RE power generation and distribution solutions are required to achieve the household electrification goals of the country.

Locations in remote areas and on small islands make electricity line extensions unfeasible. Stand-alone micro-grid solutions powered by RE and hybridization of diesel plants, backed up by intelligent battery and power-management systems, offer a promising path toward electrifying those communities.

The visiting German companies have developed such solutions and are looking for partners in the private and public sectors to implement them in the Philippines. Lenie Lectura

Tuesday, October 27, 2015 A5

Legislators wary on BIR’s quid pro quo proposal on tax reform

L

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

awmakers on Monday expressed concern over the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) proposal amending the bank secrecy law in exchange for the Executive Department’s support on tax-reform proposal in Congress.

Deputy Majority Leader and National Unity Party Rep. Magtanggol T. Gunigundo of the Second District of Valenzuela said that this proposal of the BIR is very dangerous.

“That’s dangerous. It violates the right to privacy of taxpayers. It also does not encourage those in the informal economy to enter the formal economy,” he said.

Gunigundo, one of the authors of the bill lowering income and corporate-tax rates, said that the current administration should leave the tax proposal to the next government.

“Although I am for lower income taxes, it would be best to leave this policy shift to the next

administration. The GAA [General Appropriations Act] of 2016 is working under the premise of the existing tax structure. Any policy shift will be rolled out by 2017 at the earliest,” he said.

In a news report, Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means committee, admitted on Monday that Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said that the Executive will be supportive to the tax-reform proposal if it pass the proposal amending the bank secrecy law.

Angara, in the same report, added that the Department of Finance (DOF) and BIR are taking a

position that, in order to preserve the revenue balance, the taxreform initiative will need to be offset by measures that will take up the slack causes by reduced collection due to lower taxes.

“This apparently includes loosening up bank secrecy laws in order to empower the BIR to run after tax cheats and bring about improved collection,” the senator added.

Earlier, Malacañang, taking the cue from the DOF and the BIR, has rejected the passage in Congress of a long-pending bill mandating adjustments in individual and corporate income-tax rates, saying that the government “cannot put our fiscal sustainability and credit rating at risk by doing piecemeal revenuereducing legislation.”

But for Henares, the BIR wanted Congress to ease the restriction on bank accounts for “tax purposes” before President Aquino's term ends in June 2016, saying the Philippines is one of the three countries in the world that still have restrictive banking laws.

Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian of the First District of Valenzuela, for his part, said that the BIR proposal is

unfair for the middle class.

“That’s not fair for the middle class. These are two very distinct policies and it cannot be intertwined,” he said in a text message.

Earlier, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. rejected the Executive proposal to lift the bank secrecy law to collect more taxes, saying it will only scare businessmen in the country.

“I am against it because this will scare off local and foreign investors,” Belmonte said, adding, “My challenge to the BIR is to expand the minuscule tax base of the country, and start with the country’s richest families and those, although ostensibly not rich, deport themselves with super expensive cars.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Party Rep. Roman Romulo of Pasig backed the BIR proposal amending bank secrecy law.

“In principle, I have no problem with the suggestion that we amend the bank secrecy law for tax purposes. However, it would be appreciated if they provide us with details so that we can study it. We have been requesting for a draft for our study but no draft has been submitted,” Romulo said.

PSALM’s Alzona, power firm execs face P14-billion plunder charges briefs

P

lunder charges were filed against the chief of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the officers of a private corporation accused of connivance resulting to a loss of P14 billion to the government.

In a 20-page complaint-affidavit filed at the Department of Justice, San Miguel Energy Corp.

(SMEC), represented by Elenita D. Go, charged Lourdes S. Alzona, president and CEO of PSALM; Suguru Tsuzaki, president of Team Philippines Energy Corp. (TPEC); Kochi Tamura, executive vice president of Team Sual Corp. (TSC); and several John and Jane Does of violation of Section 3 (E) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The case arose from a memorandum of agreement (MOA) entered into in June 2009 by PSALM with TPEC and TSC, which served as the independent power producer (IPP) for the Sual Power Station.

The said MOA, entitled “Memorandum of Agreement in Respect of the Excess Capacity of the Sual Power Station,” gave birth to the concept of “excess capacity,” wherein it was agreed that the “ECA [Energy Conversion Agreement] contracted capacity would be 100 megawatts (MW) net per unit. TSC shall be entitled by itself and/or through TPEC, to market, offer, sell and supply the nominal excess capacity to any customer, independent of and without payment of any fee to PSALM and/or

Devt, growth at The Fort

A nanny takes her ward to a morning stroll under the watchful eye of the toddler’s mom at The Fort in Taguig City against the backdrop of an eye-catching billboard enticing would-be residents to invest on condominium residences. The Fort has seen remarkable development and growth since its privatization from a military camp. Nonie Reyes

National Power Corp. [Napocor]…”

In June 2009 the SMEC won the bidding as the SUAL IPP administrator and was granted the rights to 1,000-MW net contracted capacity of the Sual Power Station.

The SMEC alleged that they were not able to get the net contracted capacity of 500 MW per unit because TPEC ’s 100-MW nominal capacity was given priority in accordance with the 2009

MOA on excess capacity. “…The TPEC trading amount is settled first and kept intact most of the time, while the PSALM trading amount (for SMEC) is only the balance after the TPEC trading amount

is deducted from the total trading amount,” the complaint said.

The SMEC then requested the PSALM to review the questioned MOA, but the latter eventually sided with TPEC and “practically endorsed pro rata sharing proposal, saying that both SMEC and TPEC should share these [generation] imbalances.”

It argued that TPEC illegally benefited from the excess capacity to the detriment of the Philippine government and SMEC. The SMEC claimed that from November 2009 to September 2013, TPEC was able to gain P17.2 billion from the 2.82 million MW generated as the “excess capacity” using the MOA settlement formula.

It added that from the said amount, P14 billion should have gone to the government in accordance with ECA which states that the “entire power-station output” should be dedicated to Napocor, while P3.3 billion should have been given to SMEC corresponding to the capacity that was taken from SMEC’s 1000 net contracted capacity.

The SMEC stressed that that the ill-gotten wealth in this case came from a series or combination of payments made to TPEC, anchored on the illegal MOA executed by PSALM, TPEC and TS. It noted that all the elements of plunder are present because of the connivance of Alzona with TPEC and TSC by continuing the implementation of the questioned MOA. PNA

Customs raid in Manila yields 32K packs of Fortune Tobacco, Mighty cigarettes

C

lose to 32,000 packs of fake Marlboro cigarettes were seized in a raid headed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently in Santa Cruz, Manila.

According to Deputy Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno of the BOC-Enforcement Group (EG), the 31,986 packs of Marlboro Red, Marlboro Lights, Marlboro Lights Menthol, Philip Morris, Fortune Menthol, Fortune Lights, Fortune Blue, Jackpot Menthol, Jackpot Red, Hope, More, Fortune Red, Marlboro Black Menthol and Mighty Menthol 100s were found inside the storage of a four-story building at 1741 Old Antipolo Street, corner Pedro Guevarra Street in Santa Cruz, Manila.

Covered with a letter of author-

ity signed by Customs Commissioner Alberto D. Lina and mission order issued by Nepomuceno, the Customs raiding team led by Lt. Geronimo Azarcon carried out the specific instructions of the EG deputy commissioner for the effective execution of the said operation.

The BOC-EG head said that they received highly reliable information that fake cigarettes have been smuggled into the country and allegedly being offered for sale to the public.

On October 15 the Customs raiding team initially coordinated with the local station of the Philippine National Police, as well as with the barangay chairman of the target area and proceeded to the suspected fourstory building. They were accepted by a certain “Linda.”

The said the woman quickly denied to be the owner of said building, and further presented

documents that the building was registered and owned by Paloma General Merchandise.

Right after the operation, EG recommended the issuance of a warrant of seizure and detention as the fake cigarettes were imported in violation of Section 2530, Property Subject to Forfeiture Under Tariff and Customs Laws, of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended, in relation with Republic Act 8293, or The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

The BOC is currently reassessing the value of the counterfeit cigarettes earlier estimated at P3 million.

BOC officials said the confiscated items will becondemned by burning them in the presence of Marlboro officials and representatives from media, and other law enforcement agencies on a date to be scheduled this week. PNA

petroleum firms cut gas, diesel pump price Oil firms are reducing the price of petroleum products to reflect movements in the international oil market.

As of press time, Eastern Petroleum Corp. announced that it would slash the price of gasoline and diesel products by P1.00 and P0.40 per liter, respectively, at 6 p.m. on Monday Fernando L. Martinez, Eastern Petroleum chairman and chief executive, said the latest price adjustment reflects the downward trend in world oil prices at the close of last week’s trading owing to oversupply against slow demand outlook.

“Analysts expect a sharp slowdown in global oil demand in the fourth quarter of the year, which marks the slowest pace of growth in five quarters, while they also expect investments [in the petroleum sector] to likely drop further next year,” Martinez said.

Petron Corp. also announced a rollback effective at 12:01 a.m. of October 27. It will cut by P1 per liter the price of its Blaze 100, XCS, Xtra Advance and Super Xtra; P0.35 per liter for Turbo diesel and Diesel Max; and P0.40 per liter for kerosene.

PTT Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum will also implement the same price adjustment albeit starting 6 a.m. of Tuesday. The new prices, they said, would reflect the continued decline in the prices of refined petroleum products in the world market. Lenie Lectura

legarda hails passage of unifast law

Sen. Loren Legarda on Monday hailed the passage of the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) law, or Republic Act 10687, which was signed

by President Aquino on October 15.

Legarda, one of the authors of the UniFAST Law, explained that the measure was crafted in order to expand and rationalize the government’s scholarship program and to ensure that Filipino students, especially those belonging to indigent families, are fully supported throughout their studies. ”I am glad that this significant measure has finally been enacted as it is seen to have a huge impact on the Filipino youth by providing our poor but deserving students equal access to quality tertiary education through grant-in-aids, scholarships and student loans,” Legarda said. PNA

A6 Tuesday, October 27, 2015 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Are Philippine overseas remittances in trouble?

T

he news stories read something like this: “Philippines’s remittances fell 0.6 percent in August, the first negative print since April 2003. This brings YTD [year-to-date] growth in remittances to 4.3 percent year-on-year, versus 5.8 percent in 2014.”

That prompted a flurry of commentary of the sort that we have heard repeatedly for at least a decade: The end is coming soon for our remittance-fueled economy. We will file this under “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”

As we pointed out a few days ago, foreign fund inflows to the country from the outsourcing business are almost as large as remittances from Filipinos living abroad. But maybe more important, all remittances are not created equal.

Remittances include in-bound cash from the oil-field worker in the Middle East that has been there for 20 years. Remittances also include money from the retired balikbayan lady living in the US sending birthday cash to her grandchildren. To draw the conclusion that because the growth of overall remittances is slowing that this “industry” is doomed is just wrongheaded.

The correct reason the growth of remittances has slowed is because of foreign-exchange rates.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Malaysia are making 18.5 percent less in Philippine peso terms than 12 months ago. Remittances from Canada are worth 11 percent less and from Australia are 14.5 less valuable. While the money that Filipinos are sending from countries using the euro receives 8.3 percent fewer pesos than a year ago, money from the US in dollars receive 4.5 percent more.

The biggest gain comes from the Middle East. From 2014 remittances from Saudi Arabia now are exchanged for 3.5 percent more Philippine pesos, and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the gain is 4.1 percent.

Not only are the remittances potentially worth less in Philippine pesos but overseas Filipinos may just not be sending money back. From Barclays Bank: “Weakness in host countries’ currencies may also push some overseas workers to hold off from sending money home. This is unlikely to be a significant concern, as we think a potential decline in remittances would only likely prove temporary.”

Before the howling that the “Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas should do something!” starts, it is both impractical and economically hazardous to manipulate the foreign-currency exchange rate to make remittances more valuable in peso terms. If you push the balloon on one side, it bulges on the other. Push too hard and it breaks.

As in every other business, the “profitability” of the remittances flows is going to go higher and lower. We must learn to live with that.

A recent survey of Filipinos working in the UAE is interesting. Seventy-eight percent intend to buy property in the Philippines within the next two years with an average expected purchase price of P2.1 million. Maybe the OFWs know something more about their financial prospects and remittances that the experts do not know.

Doomsday machine John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

T

he Philippine stock market has risen substantially—by recent standards—in the last few trading sessions. The upside move has been a little too far too fast with not much volume for my taste. But you cannot expect everything to be perfect when the department store sign says “Buy one, take one.”

It is not so much that the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index (PSEi) is up over 4 about percent since last Wednesday and has created at least two major trading gaps that will eventually be filled to the downside. It is the reasons given for this medium amount of buying pressure and the fact that sellers are waiting on the sidelines.

The more sensible analysts for local stockbrokers are looking at the potential of some good profits results coming out shortly from local companies as a buying rationale. That makes sense for those investors that buy and sell on the good fortune of listed companies.

It is the foreign experts that are truly frightening.

For the average investor that wants to make investment decisions by looking at the bigger global picture, their heads must be spinning. Is it the US or China

that controls the global game of stocks?

Last week it was China. China’s latest economic numbers, although the lowest in years, did come in above expectations.

I guess that’s good for the global and regional economies and stocks. But if you look at the internals, what looks good?

China export trade: down 8.8 percent year- to-date (YTD). China import trade: down 17.6 percent YTD. Cement output: down 3.2 percent year-over-year (YoY) .

Industrial output electricity: down 3.1 percent YoY. But we know by now that “Bad is good” because when the data is bad, the government do something “good” that lifts the stock markets. In this case, China cut its interest rates to “stimulate the economy.”

OK, maybe that will work. It has not been working any place else for the last six years. Maybe China’s sixth interestrate cut in less than a year might be the

one that does the trick. But who cares; the stock markets went up.

The “bubble-maniacs” and “gloomand-doomers” preaching economic Armageddon have been wrong for the last two to three years, are still wrong, and will continue to be wrong for some time to come. But as in all religions, they are fueled by faith and it is hard to argue with faith.

The global apocalypse will happen but many things have to occur between now and then. I have talked about the great global political changes that will continue to occur. Here are more. The political candidate anointed by the current Peronist administration in Argentina “surprisingly” may lose in a run-off election to the opposition after ruling the country since the 1960s. A former TV comedian with no experience in government has just won the run-off vote in Guatemala’s presidential election with 72 percent of the vote against a former first lady who is part of the country’s political elite. Poland’s right-wing opposition party, out of power for nearly a decade, apparently seized control in elections held last Sunday.

The global political scene is in chaos, particular for the ruling and political class. The rhetoric and policies of the central banks are a replay of the 2009 through 2013 failures. The number of countries (including the Philippines) with genuine—not debt-fueled—economic growth that is actually raising

the standard of living can be counted on one hand.

On July 17 I wrote that I believed that the PSEi would reach a historic high during the month of October. That was premature. At the beginning of this month, I said “Not to worry; PSEi 8,000 is only a matter of time” and I am comfortable with that prediction.

But it is not going to be a walk in the park getting there. In fact, it is going to be a nightmare of a trek through the worst snake-infested swamp with waist-deep mud and maybe Jurassic park dinosaurs.

“The Doomsday Machine” is the title of an episode from the Star Trek television show. A device is created that cannot be turned off and will literally eat planet earth. As it eats, it grows stronger and bigger even as planets in its wake are destroyed.

The doomsday machine, created and unleashed by governments and central banks, is “eating” the global economy and is actually growing stronger every day as people are still helpless to stop it. In the meantime, stock markets are like parasites feeding on the monster.

As long as the doomsday machine is still functioning, buy stocks.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Globalizing micro, small and medium enterprises

I

By Doris Magsaysay-Ho | Abac 2015 chairman

N May the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Ministers Responsible for Trade met in Boracay and adopted the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac) welcomes this development, as it builds on Apec’s extensive work on regional integration and trade facilitation, ensuring that our efforts remain relevant and responsive to the needs of both MSMEs and big business. The Action Agenda also widens the opportunity for close collaboration between Abac and Apec.

Recognizing the importance of sharing the benefits of globalization to MSMEs is a priority agenda of Abac’s chairmanship this year. MSMEs play a vital role in boosting economic development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Unfortunately, many MSMEs are unable to access financing, thus stifling their ability to grow their business, pursue innovation, or comply with minimum standards to enable their participation in local supply chains, much less global value chains.

Financial inclusion is key to the development of MSMEs, which, in turn, is vital to the region’s quest for inclusive growth, job creation and sustainable growth. This requires increasing access to financial services and improving bank lending efficiency, as well as broadening the range of financing instruments available to MSMEs to better serve their diversified financing needs.

Given the my r iad financing challenges facing MSMEs, we recommended, and the finance ministers agreed, that a public-private

Financial Infrastructure Development Network (FIDN) be established.

As a specialized subgroup within the Asia Pacific Financial Forum, FIDN will facilitate workshops, dialogues and studies to support the establishment of legal frameworks for Credit Information Systems, secured transactions and the use of movable assets as collateral.

We also encourage initiatives that promote an enabling environment for trade and supply chain finance and alternative financing mechanisms, and to identify best practices for strengthening MSMEs’ resilience against unexpected events, disasters and financial crises.

Asia Pacific being the world’s most natural disaster-prone region—the Philippines is still reeling from the effects of a spate of disasters—MSMEs must be equipped with the right financial instruments that will allow them to build resilience in the face of disaster risks and also enable them to cope with disasters that can have

MAGSAYSAY-HO

enormous economic consequences on their businesses.

The region is home to more than a billion people who do not have access to a bank account or formal financial services. There has to be a clear understanding of the perspectives across disadvantaged communities in order to more effectively promote financial inclusion. These are people who, if given the right opportunities and access to resources, may just become the next successful global entrepreneur.

What about digital financing solutions? They potentially allow deeper penetration than financial services providers in many economies. The business models of digital finance are changing the environment for lending, savings, insurance and payments in a way that warrants more attention by policy-makers. The economic evolution brought about by the digital revolution affords us options we have never had before.

We need to address digital finance

BusinessMirror media partner

issues that impact financial access and their alignment with global and regional efforts.

The Abac provides advice on specific business sector priorities, responds when the various Apec fora request information about businessrelated issues, and provides the business perspective on specific areas of cooperation. Abac comprises of up to three members of the private sector from each economy.

Abac members are appointed by their respective leaders, and represent a range of business sectors, including small and medium enterprises.

This private-sector body presents recommendations to Apec leaders in an annual dialogue and advises Apec officials on business-sector priorities and concerns. Abac meets four times per year, and Abac representatives also attend Senior Officials’ Meetings, the Annual Ministerial Meeting and the sectoral Ministerial Meetings. www.abac2015chair.com

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Coping with longtime insurgencies Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur

Third of a series

T

he dispute with China is not the only problem threatening the security and economy of the Philippines. The new president that Filipinos will elect in 2016 will inherit two insurgency problems that have hounded different administrations for several decades.

I’m referring to the Muslim and communist insurgencies. In a report titled “Guide to the Philippines conflict,” published in 2012, BBC online noted the long history of conflict in the southern Philippines, where armed groups, including Muslim separatists, communists and criminals were all active.

Two Muslim groups, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which split from the MNLF, were both founded to seek separation from the Philippine Republic.

The Abu Sayyaf, also a breakaway faction of the MNLF, is now considered as a terrorist group.

On the other hand, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its military wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), are seeking to overthrow the government.

Several administrations, from President Ferdinand Marcos to President Fidel V. Ramos, had conducted peace negotiations with the MNLF, which was founded in 1971

by Nur Misuari. The negotiations eventually led to the establishment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at the initiative of President Corazon Aquino, but failed to establish lasting peace in Mindanao.

Proof of this is the establishment of the MILF, which was organized in 1981 by Salamat Hashim, who left the MNLF in 1978. The MILF is now considered as the country’s largest Muslim rebel group.

The current administration signed an agreement with the MILF in 2014 to establish peace in Muslim Mindanao, but the success of the agreement will depend on the enactment of the proposed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL).

As I observed at the start of this series, I am not optimistic that the BBL will be enacted under the current administration because of constitutional and other issues. If it is enacted, I don’t think it will be accepted by the MILF, because of the revisions being considered

by Congress.

Enactment of the BBL was derailed following the deaths of 44 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during a police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on January. The massacre, which happened in an area controlled by the MILF, prompted both houses of Congress to launch investigations, which led to a review of the BBL provisions.

The review of the BBL measure, in turn, drew questions about the constitutionality of some of its provisions. The MILF on September 10 claimed that a diluted BBL would delay the decommissioning of its armed combatants and its firearms.

“For sure, the MILF will reject it

[diluted BBL] outright, and worse, the various aspects of the normalization process including decommissioning of its weapons [and combatants] will come to a halt,” the MILF said in an editorial posted on its web site www. luwaran.com last month.

Older than the Muslim insurgency is the communist insurgency, which also mounts antigovernment campaigns from Luzon to Mindanao. In a report in February 2011, the non-governmental organization International Crisis Group said the Philippine government had been unable to “develop large parts of the country because of the long-standing communist insurgency,” which had lasted more than 40 years and killed tens of thousands of combatants and civilians.

The government has been conducting talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the CPP’s political arm, over the years. The peace talks were suspended after the United States included the CPP-NPA in its list of terrorist groups. The government also conducted talks with the CPP in the Netherlands in 2011, but no agreement has been forged.

Talks were suspended in 2013 after the government rejected the CPP-NDF’s demand to release some of their leaders who were being detained for criminal cases.

In July newly appointed Armed Forces Chief Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberi welcomed the possible resumption of peace talks with the CPPNDF-NPA. The Muslim and communist insurgencies are, right now, on a standstill, and this is affecting the people and businesses in the areas where clashes with government forces happen.

The longtime insurgencies are also exacting a heavy toll on the Philippine economy and impeding the country’s development. The recent abduction of four people, including three foreign nationals, in a resort on Samal Island is expected to discourage tourists.

It is ironic because tourism has the potential to become a major contributor to the economy, as well as in generating employment in areas outside urban centers.

Other industries, like mining, are also hampered by insurgencies.

It would be difficult to convince investors to put up factories in places where they cannot operate safely.

The campaign for the presidency has yet to start, but I believe those who are aiming for the highest position in the government should now be making preparations on how to resolve the insurgency problems.

(To be continued)

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

Drive for fair taxation Edgardo J. Angara

L

ast week a ray of hope returned to fairer income-taxation movement when Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. told the press that contrary to earlier news reports, the House of Representatives would pursue the measure upon resumption of session on November 3.

Belmonte explained that he and Senate President Franklin Drilon were seeking an audience with President Aquino to push the matter further, after there were indications of a presidential veto should the measure be passed in its present form.

Answering questions from the media, the President expressed

T

featuring Pakistani writers, singers and sports administrators, and the local Hindu nationalist government has banned dance bars, lingerieclad mannequins and Valentine’s Day. An increasing number of states are enforcing laws against the slaughter of cows (a cause Modi himself has espoused) and in some cases, the sale of beef. Mobs enraged at rumors of beef-eating or cow-slaughter have recently killed at least three people. Three other murders of secular writers and thinkers have spurred high-profile

of the measure’s implementation.

Many rightly point out that this projected revenue loss can be easily offset through the additional collections of value-added tax and other consumption taxes, which will be buoyed up by the people’s added purchasing power. The shortfall could also be easily compensated if tax-collection processes were made more efficient and less tedious, incentivizing more people to pay rather than avoid taxes.

Governments always need additional funds to provide social services, roads and ports. Several revenue-generating measures are being considered in Congress, including new taxes on sodas and softdrinks; the rationalization of the country’s mining tax regime; land valuation reforms; and customs modernization, among others. These should be given as vigorous a push as the opposition

Business with a social mission

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

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) is the agency tasked with providing financial, institutional and technical assistance to electric distribution utilities to make them deliver quality service as part of the rural electrification program of the national government.

made statements that appear to condone the September 28 lynching of a Muslim man less than 30 miles from Delhi. Lower-level politicians and Hindu ideologues have reason to assume party leaders approve of their actions.

Their extreme pro-Hindu rhetoric threatens to alienate the moderate voters who swept Modi into office last year. An even greater danger is that vigilantism will become accepted. It’s up to the government to ensure that police vigorously investigate all the recent

killings. And any BJP ministers and legislators who continue to incite hatred should be swiftly removed from office.

Above all, Modi must put his abundant rhetorical gifts to work against sectarianism.

So far, he has hedged—waiting two weeks to condemn the September 28 lynching and neglecting to reach out to the victim’s family. The central government, he told one interviewer, had no role to play in a local law-enforcement issue.

Leadership requires that Modi move more

forcefully against the spreading tension. He should tell his supporters that when Hindus speak or act against Muslims, they dishonor their faith and India’s proud multiethnic history, betraying the message of opportunity for all that brought Modi to power. India has much sad experience with unscrupulous politicians twisting and snapping the bonds between its many faiths and ethnic communities. Modi’s foremost responsibility is to preserve and reinforce those bonds. Bloomberg View

S

ocial entrepreneurship is a recent phenomenon. While most entrepreneurs try to grow their business so they can make a neat profit for themselves and their shareholders, social entrepreneurs seek to transform societies at large and bring them to a better state of well-being.

authors to return their awards to a national arts academy, to protest its failure to condemn the attacks more loudly.

While Modi has been careful to keep his own rhetoric measured and to focus on economic development, many of the figures driving these campaigns are members of the Hindu supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organization, which has long provided Modi’s most loyal foot soldiers. What’s more, several officials from Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have

to income-tax adjustment.

As the country’s tax effort has steadily improved and the budget deficit has been reduced to manageable levels, there is surely some fiscal space and good sense to let people keep more of their hard-earned money rather than have chunks of it, automatically channeled to the national treasury. In other words, Filipinos deserve a truly fair taxation.

Some presidentiables and aspiring parliamentarians have expressed support for income-tax reform— which is not surprising, given the issue’s widespread popularity. But few have come out on how they plan to ensure that government revenues and spending policies can be improved. In short, tax reform should be a central issue of this coming 2016 elections.

in the 2004 elections. When the Aquino administration took office in 2010, Silva managed to get himself promoted as presidential assistant for Rural Electrification with the rank of undersecretary. He then installed Bueno as NEA chief, allowing him to hold on to the reins of the agency.

The Silva-Bueno tandem still holds sway over 119 electric cooperatives nationwide. But it seems that not everyone is happy with the way things are going.

In June 2014 22 mayors representing 32 Lanao del Sur towns filed a plunder case against Bueno and two others, claiming that the NEA officials did not explain its disbursement of its P190-million barangayelectrification fund and P25 million of the government’s Pantawid Kuryente Program.

The mayors also wanted the NEA officials to explain their alleged failure to remit P603 million in electricity bill payments collected from consumers in the province from 2007 to 2012 to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

The NEA administrator’s travails have not stopped. In April this year the Office of the Ombudsman indicted Bueno, along with 20 others, over the Local Water Utilities Administration’s P80-million acquisition of a Laguna-based thrift bank, Express Savings Bank Inc. (ESBI) which turned out to be insolvent. Bueno, an ESBI executive, was included in the charge sheet for graft.

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales found Bueno and five others administratively liable for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and were consequently dismissed from the service. They were also meted out the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service and perpetual bar from taking the civil service examination.

The NEA credo is to “go where the darkness looms” and “install the lines of progress” as part of its mandate to bring electricity to industries, communities and households. But has NEA’s enhanced role in the power industry brought tangible benefits to its target beneficiaries, or has it strayed from the Aquino administration’s daang matuwid?

ABOUT TOWN

Social enterprises are missiondriven organizations that work to benefit the poor and marginalized, including farmers, fisherfolk, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and women, among others, through provision of goods, services and opportunities that enable them to take part in economic activities in which the profit goes back to the community.

Pending before Congress is a bill, Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (Present), that seeks to make the poor take part in their own development.

The bill intends to develop more social enterprises by supporting major economic subsectors with the most number of poor. It aims to empower the poor by giving them the means to start and scale up their social enterprises through loans, funds for research and development, preferential procurement for social enterprises, linkages to value chain and market, trainings and capacity-building activities, and insurance for social enterprises in times of disasters.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority, the rate of poverty reduction in the country has been slow for the period of 2006 to 2012 with an overall reduction of only 1.4 percent in six years’ time. We recently invited three key people pushing social entrepreneurship to our regular Saturday Forum at Annabel’s to enlighten us on the concept.

Party-list Rep. Cresente Paez of the Coop-NATCCO and principal author of the Present bill in Congress (and incidentally, among the senatorial candidates of the ruling Liberal Party coalition), told media: “We are pushing the passage of the Present bill because these enterprises, whose primary mission is to reduce poverty, are actually the best model for inclusive growth.”

Lisa Dacanay, president of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship

A7

Its vision is total electrification on an area coverage basis by 2020.

So how is this government agency performing its mandate?

Last year the government allotted P4 billion as subsidy for NEA to restore power to 33 electric cooperatives in the 19 provinces hardest hit

by Supertyphoon Yolanda. In 2013 the government also subsidized NEA operations in the amount of P2.5 billion. With its current mandate under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the agency appears to be hounded by controversy.

According to information we gathered, the current NEA administrator, Edita Bueno, tried to appoint to the post of project supervisor (PS) of a large Iloilo electric cooperative an individual who was unqualified because of the lack of the required academic qualification. The NEA rules state that the post requires a graduate of a four-year college course.

A PS is automatically appointed by the NEA as general manager of an ailing electric cooperative.

The proposed appointment was withdrawn after a NEA department manager raised a principled objection, thus, saving the large and financially sound cooperative from serious risks. The administrator is also said to have issued what appears to be an antedated ruling to oust an elected director of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) that serves Bacolod and four other urban centers in Negros Occidental.

An outgoing Ceneco director not qualified for reelection wanted his chosen man to replace him and filed a protest against an ex-director, a registered and licensed engineer, alleging that the ex-director is not “a member of good standing.”

Bueno sided with the unqualified director whose protest had been thrown out by the District Election Committee (Decom), the proper authority under NEA rules. The NEA upheld the Decom move on October 1, 2014.

The unqualified protestor, the same person that Bueno wanted to fill the PS post, apparently did not even pay the P50,000 protest fee according to the NEA election code.

But the administrator seems to have gone out of her way to make a ruling in favor of the unqualified director.

Bueno succeeded Fr. Francisco Silva, who was appointed to the top NEA post during the previous administration in the belief that he was influential in Cebu politics and delivered many votes for former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Ernesto M. Hilario

The leadership India needs from Modi he sectarian climate in India has grown so toxic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been moved to reprimand several officials of his own party for making inflammatory anti-Muslim comments. It’s a first step toward calming the situation, but Modi will have to do much more.

During his year and a half in office, Hindu radicals have assumed a new prominence across India. In Mumbai, the country’s most cosmopolitan city, thugs have disrupted events

worry that lowering income-tax rates could reverse the current narrowing of the country’s deficit and adversely affect our well-earned “investment grade” credit ratings. These anxieties, I’m afraid, are unfounded.

Finance officials paint the bugaboo that we could lose up to P30 billion in revenues on the first year

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

in Asia (ISEA) said: “With the potential of social enterprises in bringing development that is felt by the poor, we call on the government to fasttrack the legislation of the Present bill to influence the plans for adoption of SDGs [Social Development Goals of the United Nations] that will surely affect the lives of the Filipino poor.”

Alvira Reyes, CEO and cofounder of Bote Central, a social enterprise involved in the development of 53 community-based coffee enterprises in the country, echoed the same sentiment: “We call on Congress to pass this bill. We should not let the poor wait any further to provide the support they need.”

In a study conducted by ISEA, there are more than 30,000 social enterprises that could benefit 2.5 million poor Filipinos if support mechanisms are available for these enterprises.

At present, the National AntiPoverty Commission and the Department of Social Welfare and Development have identified social entrepreneurship as an antipoverty strategy. The Senate version of the bill was filed by Sen. Benigno Aquino III. The bill now awaits second reading in both chambers of Congress.

The passage of the bill is supported by the Present Coalition, an alliance of various social-enterprise practitioners, advocates, academics and non-governmental organizations, who have vowed to lobby for the bill.

Convenors of the coalition are Ateneo School of Government and the Foundation for a Sustainable Society Inc.

Is this agency straying from the straight path?

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Insurers can now cover crops of small farmers

By David Cagahastian

I

n a bid to finally take Filipino farmers out of the debt spiral that they’re very susceptible to, the Insurance Commission has come up with a new framework that encourages the private sector to offer socalled micro-agri insurance products that will cover crops damaged by typhoons frequently plaguing the Philippines.

The policies and guidelines for the agriculture microinsurance framework are provided for under the new Circular Letter 2015-53 issued by Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc, and allows private insurance companies to innovate, design and market products that are tailor-fitted to the needs of small farmers.

These small farmers are most vulnerable to destruction caused by typhoons on their crops, on the harvest they depend on for the payment of past debts incurred as planting

expense but left unpaid due to past typhoons, each one putting them one level down in a debt spiral.

The new agriculture microinsurance framework seeks to take farmers out of debt by extending them some cover against the risk of losing their crops to typhoons. Just last week Typhoon Lando (international code name Koppu) barrelled through the country’s food basket in Central Luzon, destroying an estimated 326,000 metric tons of rice or seven days worth of supply.

Despite the importance of food security under President Aquino, the so-called market penetration rate of crop insurance is only 4 percent of local output measured as the GDP in 2012 and higher to 8 percent in 2013, with most of the crops covered by insurance policies of the stateowned Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC).

Conspicuously absent from this effort to protect the farmers against losses to crops is the private insurance sector, which, until now had been averse to offering crop insurance for fear of losing too much money on claims, especially with the “new normal” situation that the Philippines would be hit by at least one big typhoon each year.

The new framework will now allow private insurance companies to do their share in helping farmers recover from the destruction of their crops due to typhoons, which, by the average of 20 typhoons hitting the Philippines every year is a near certainty. Jonathan Batangan, general manager of microinsurance dis-

tributor Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions, said the private sector used to be wary of engaging in crop insurance because the endeavor might not be a viable business considering the number and intensity of typhoons hitting the Philippines every year.

In fact, some of the biggest general insurance companies, like UCPB General Insurance, do not even have a product that cover crop losses specifically, nor are they considering to get into the business anytime soon.

“We are now the most vulnerable country and the farmers are the most vulnerable sector. It’s simply because the private sector is looking at the viability of the product because if they offer it, it might not be sustainable because of the potentially huge number of claims,” Batangan said.

But with the new framework for micro-agri insurance for crops in place, Batangan said the private sector could be more confident there would be enough volume insurance policies sold to farmers such that the risk of crop loss is spread as wide among Filipino farmers as possible.

Cheaper goods being seized in antipiracy drive this year

China. . .

Continued from A1

“Not many details—the plan itself will still undergo one to two revisions and be announced [in final form] next March. But some comments on the economy are necessary because both Chinese and foreigners are worried about this downturn in the growth. They need to say something reassuring.”

Besides GDP targets, what other economic issues may be included? Reforming state-run enterprises, promoting the service sector and new industries, upgrading manufacturing and further liberalization of the financial sector are all initiatives that might be addressed in the plan. “The government has made considerable headway in addressing four serious challenges: corruption, environmental degradation, excessive local government debt and overcapacity,” University of Hong Kong Prof.

Xiao Geng said in a commentary with Andrew Sheng, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. MCT

MERALCO ON PACE TO HIT P18.5-B CORE NET-INCOME GOAL

By Lenie Lectura

S

oaring power sales will help the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) achieve its core netincome guidance of P18.5 billion this year, its chairman said on Monday.

The P18.5-billion profit guidance is higher than the company’s P18.1-billion actual core net income last year.

At end-September this year, Meralco’s core income stood at P15.8 billion, up by 11 percent compared with its 2014 results. Net income also grew to P16.1 billion, up 13 percent from the same period a year ago.

On a quarterly basis, Meralco’s third-quarter numbers stood at P4.4 billion in reported net income and P4.15 billion in core profit. The figures are lower than last year’s P4.67 billion in reported net income and P4.4 billion in core income.

Revenues—of which electricity sales accounted for 97 percent— declined by 3 percent to P197 billion due to lower distribution tariff and lower pass-through generation charge, among others.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, during Meralco’s presentation of its ninemonth financial and operating

results, said given the company’s performance to date and the outlook for the rest of the year, “we expect to achieve our consolidated core net-income guidance of P18.5 billion for the full year 2015.”

“Power demand started to become strong in May. It was rather weak in the first quarter and came strongest in the second quarter and continued to strengthen up to October. So, that gives us a fair degree of confidence that revenue will be ahead of budget and, therefore, meet the core guidance of P18.5 billion,” he said during a news conference.

At end-September this year, Meralco’s energy sales grew by 4.7 percent to 27,496 gigawatt hours, driven largely by the 5.7-percent growth in the residential segment. For the first 26 days of October, Meralco sales already grew by 7.6 percent.

Meralco customers stood at 5.7 million at end-September this year, with almost 168,000 new customer accounts since September 2014.

Residential customers represent 92 percent and commercial customers account for 8 percent of total customer count.

PHL to see strictest security in years during Manila Apec

T

he Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has seized P1.4 billion worth of counterfeit goods as of September, an 82.5-percent plunge from last year’s haul during the same period.

The drop in the value of seized counterfeit goods was attributed to the low-value pirated items that were mostly confiscated this year. IPOPHL Deputy Director General Allan Gepty said the dive in the value of seizures does not reflect the efficiency of enforcement, but points to the increase of cheaper counterfeits.

“If we are able to seize high-value items like watches, isang container lang malaki na ’yung haul non but the value has been very fluid because the usual goods we’ve been able to get are apparel, medicine and garments. Last year we had food items and watches. It really depends sa retail price of the product,” Gepty said.

Gepty added that the IPOPHL seized P8 billion worth of goods during the same nine-month period last year.

The Bureau of Customs and other agencies tasked to enforce the campaign against pirated goods have yet to submit the data to IPOPHL, Gepty added. The IPOPHL closed out 2014 with P13 billion worth of fake goods seized.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Continued from A1

In this May 2012 file photo provided by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning cruises for a test on the sea. China, this week, hosted a visit to its sole aircraft carrier by senior US Navy officers amid tensions over reported plans by Washington to challenge Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The delegation of 27 commanders and captains boarded the Liaoning on October 19, and held discussions on “exercise management, personnel training, medical protection and strategies in carrier development,” the Chinese Navy said on its official microblog. AP

No guns as China’s coast guard chases boats in South China Sea A

rmed with little more than flashing lights, loud hailers and water cannons, China’s coast guard is becoming the vanguard for the country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The ostensibly civilian “whitehulled” fleet is a frequent presence in the disputed waters, confronting fishing and coast guard vessels from other claimant nations. By not deploying its grayhulled Navy too visibly, China is seeking to avert international condemnation that might result if it tried to impose its territorial assertions with warships.

That distinction is important as the US military is reportedly considering sailing warships into the 12-nautical mile zone that China claims around some man-made islands in the South China Sea. The question is whether China would meet such patrols with the coast guard alone or use it as a reason to bring in its Navy, a move that would significantly raise tensions in the area.

“Initially it would be the coast guard, but I worry about escalation control,” said Susan Shirk, a former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia. “I think we have to anticipate that the PLA Navy would respond in some manner.” Shirk is now chairman of the 21st Century China

China has utilized its coast guard in the area in an effort to underline the political message that it considers at least 80 percent of the South China Sea to be its sovereign territory, subject to its domestic laws. The claim is based on a ninedash line drawn on a 1940s map that doesn’t give precise coordinates. The vessels often operate in waters around the reefs on which it has been building airstrips, buildings and light houses.

“China is employing its coast guard as aggressive instruments of state policy to assert territorial claims,” said Lyle Morris, a project associate at Rand Corp. who has traveled this year to Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Japan to study their coast guards. “And they are adopting more assertive tactics.”

doesn’t dispute territory with China, though some officials have expressed concern about China’s intentions.

The US says it doesn’t take sides over the South China Sea but officials, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, have repeatedly said the country will protect freedom of navigation by sailing and flying wherever international law permits. It has already flown Poseidon surveillance aircraft in the area, though not within the 12-mile zone set out by China.

China has amassed the largest whitehulled fleet in Asia to back its assertions to the South China Sea, alongside its claims to islands in the East China Sea contested with Japan. Parts of the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways and a conduit for trade and energy supplies between Europe and Asia, are also claimed by countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Natuna Islands

Oil rig

Program at the University of California.

‘Aggressive instruments’

In June a Chinese coast guard vessel flanked a Chinese fishing boat in waters around Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, according to Rear Admiral A. Taufiq R., commander of the Indonesian Western Fleet. The islands lie outside the nine-dash line and Taufiq said he ordered the Chinese vessels to leave. Indonesia

China sent its coast guard to protect an oil-exploration rig it parked in waters contested with Vietnam last year, using the boats to ram and fire water cannon at Vietnamese law-enforcement boats.

In 2012 China used its coast guard to help seize the Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines. Bloomberg News

environment in years. The security measures, which have been mapped out at the beginning of this year continuously revised as needed and even rehearsed, may eclipse the security efforts undertaken during the visit of Pope Francis in January.

“When we move heads of state, normally we close the road that we will use. Unlike the pope when he was the only VIP [very important person], we are expecting 20...22,” Marquez said.

Even with the security arrangement already drawn and rehearsed since January, Marquez said they kept on revising the security arrangement in order to implement an airtight security for the visiting heads of economies.

“So the final preparation for security and peace and order is underway. This week there will be series of activities once more. Making sure all areas, maritime, air, and road security, billet, venue are properly secured,” he said.

Aside from closing the roads for the delegates’ routes, the National Police is also considering the jamming of mobile telephone signals as the leaders move around.

“Restriction on communication are still being studied. We’d like to make sure that it costs least convenience to our citizens, at the same time, making sure our visitors, our VIPs, are well secured,” When asked how long a road will be closed to traffic when the delegates travel, Marquez said it would depend on the itinerary of the dignitaries. Since rallies and protests will be staged by different groups, he added, security forces have also already factored in the problem.

“We are expecting protest actions. In any Apec meeting site, you will always see protest actions. We are preparing for these mass protests,” Marquez said. He added that they were also regularly coordinating with economies whose leaders will be in Manila.

“Since three months ago, coordination with our foreign counterparts are ongoing to make sure that

they know what to do when they are here. To make them feel that their principals are secured when they visit our country come ‘November Week,’” he said.

Meanwhile, the Apec Trade Repository (ApecTR), an initiative of the Philippines, will be launched by the 21 member-countries on November 15, in a bid to make tariff and trade information more accessible, especially for small and medium enterprises.

“When you go to the site http:// apectr.apec.org by November 15, it’ll be fully live. This is for both large and small enterprises,” Trade Senior Specialist Sherlyn D. Aquia said at a forum with BusinessMirror staff last week. The ApecTR is one of the deliverables from the Apec Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting earlier in the year. It supports the existing Apec trade facilitation Web portal—the Website on Tariff and Rules of Origin (WebTR)— which was initiated at the Apec MRT in 2010.

The WebTR contains the preferential tariffs offered, rules of origin applied under free-trade agreements and regional trade agreements entered into by Apec members.

The ApecTR will be expanding this information portal by adding most favored nation tariffs; best practices in trade facilitation, trade barriers, such as sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures and other technical barriers, as well as import-licensing procedures, to name a few.

Information that will be significant for micro, small and medium enterprises, such as domestic trade and customs laws and documentary requirements will also be provided, Aquia added.

The ApecTR is a proposal of the Apec Committee on Trade and Investments but was put forward by the Philippines during the MRT meeting in Boracay in May. The virtual tool is in support of trade facilitation and transparency of information on cross-border trade, especially for smaller enterprises struggling to engage in trade in markets abroad.