BusinessMirror October 31, 2015

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A broader look at today’s business Saturday 2014 Vol. No. 40 Vol. 11 No. 23 Saturday,18, October 31,102015

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D.O.F.’S BELTRAN SAYS IT IS A GOOD TIME TO IMPORT RICE WITH THE DEPRESSED PRICES IN WORLD MARKET

‘Rice importation to stem inflation’ ARBITRATION PANEL OKs JURISDICTION IN SEA ROW BETWEEN MANILA, BEIJING T B D C

HE current period of depressed rice prices presents an opportunity for the Philippines to counter inflationary pressures that will be caused by the effects of El Niño and the havoc wreaked by Typhoon Lando (international code name Koppu).

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Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said the Philippines can exploit this opportunity by importing more rice to make sure the country will have ample supply.

“To stabilize rice prices, the Philippines should take advantage of

AT HEART OF SYRIA TALKS: WHAT TO DO ABOUT ASSAD The World BusinessMirror

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At heart of Syria talks: What to do about Assad A

Detained, flogged briefs Saudi blogger ROCKETS NEAR BAGHDAD AIRPORT KILL SOLDIERS, awarded EU’s top IRANIAN REFUGEES rights prize

SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad (left) talks to government soldiers during his visit to the Christian village of Maaloula, near Damascus, Syria, on April 20, 2014. Russia’s military intervention in Syria has increasingly bolstered the sense that Assad may survive the war, and his surprise visit to Moscow, the first time he’s left the war-torn country in nearly five years, underscores how emboldened the leader has become. AP/SANA

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IENNA—The success or failure of the Syrian peace talks this week is tied to the fate of one man who’s not even at the table: President Bashar al-Assad.

Neither Assad nor any of his representatives are in Vienna, where US Secretary of State John Kerry and senior diplomats from almost 20 other countries began negotiations on Thursday. But his future is at the heart of all the talks.

The broad group of governments—an unprecedented collection of countries on the Syria issue—is looking for a plan that might convince Syria’s government and its Western-backed rebels to agree to a national cease-fire and start a long process of “political transition.”

Even bitter foes Iran and Saudi Arabia will be sitting at one table along with their powerful partners, Russia and the United States. That reflects the urgency all parties say they’re attaching to finding a peace formula.

It’s mostly about Assad.

Since the start of Syria’s unrest four years ago, his future has been a stumbling block to all efforts aimed at ending the fighting. President Barack Obama demanded that Assad leave power in 2011.

Russia resisted the push by blocking attempts at the United Nations to pressure the Syrian leader and insisting that any new government only be established by mutual consent of both the government and the opposition. That essentially gave Assad veto power over his own would-be replacements.

The US and its Arab and Euro-

pean allies have since tempered their calls, suggesting that Assad can remain in office for months as part of the transition if he agrees to resign at the end of the process.

But even that softened demand has been too much for Russia and Iran, who are both engaged militarily alongside Assad’s forces, fighting rebels supported by the Saudis and the Americans. And neither of the Syrian sides has suggested they would support such a plan.

In Vienna, Kerry is being joined

by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and counterparts from other nations, all hoping to get past disagreements that have held back international mediation efforts over the confl ict’s four-anda-half years. More than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 11 million people—half the country’s population—have been uprooted from their homes.

The war has led to the rise of the Islamic State (IS) and sparked a refugee crisis that has deeply unnerved much of Europe.

“We’ve a lot of very important meetings. We’ll see what happens,” Kerry said as he kicked off his first session, with Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz. Kerry then met with the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, his key counterpart in a

seven-nation nuclear deal wrapped up in July.

He later met with the foreign ministers of Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey before bigger talks on Friday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Wednesday that Assad must step down “within a specific timeframe,” though he didn’t elaborate. That unleashed bitter recriminations from Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, who called al-Jubeir a “tumor.”

Given their differences, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini played up the significance of the meeting.

“It is very important that tomorrow [Friday], here in Vienna, we’ll have all the relevant actors both regionally and internationally ... around the same table trying to define a common space for the beginning of a political process,” she told reporters after meeting Zarif.

Even if the countries do reach an agreement on Assad, it won’t solve everything. Syrians of all stripes will have to figure out how to stop the violence between the army and the many different militant groups and how to share power in a government comprised of such fierce enemies.

They need a new Constitution.

They must figure out what to do about groups, such as the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda-linked militia that has at times worked alongside Western-backed fighters. They must decide whether to hold people accountable for crimes committed by all sides. And they have to find a way to cooperate to help defeat IS. None of those decisions seem reachable without first determining Assad’s future. That includes what “transition” would mean for him, what powers he could maintain as part of that transition, how long the

process should take and whether he can compete in a future presidential election, something his international backers refuse to rule out.

“Assad’s role is a key factor here,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier this week, describing a situation that has barely budged in three years.

But Iran’s participation this week is new, representing a realization by the US and Saudi Arabia that peace is unlikely without support from Assad’s key backers.

Tehran’s attendance appeared to bolster diplomatic hopes, with several European and Arab countries making late requests to attend, even as it outraged Syria’s rebels.

Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has been more outspoken than the US in labeling the talks as a test of Shiite Iran’s seriousness to seek peace.

Iran’s attendance without a shift in position would mean little, and Zarif said his presence should not indicate he was accepting any conditions. Any plan, he told Iran’s official news agency IRNA, should end the fighting, bring together counterterrorism efforts, create a unity government and achieve “a permanent solution accepted by Syrian people and groups.”

Up to now, its leaders have largely echoed Assad’s contention there is no reason for him to go after he won re-election last year in a vote that Western countries called a sham. Assad’s term ends in 2021 and Russian lawmakers who met him recently said he was willing to hold early presidential elections— but would be on the ballot.

Assad himself appears to be digging in. His office issued a statement this week reiterating that he would not consider any political initiatives “until after eradicating terrorism.” AP

SAUDI Arabian blogger, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, was awarded the European Union’s top humanrights prize on Thursday in a gesture of support for freedom of expression in the conservative kingdom.

The harsh penalties imposed on Raif Badawi for starting a web site carrying content critical of the Saudi religious establishment sparked outrage in the West, where human-rights groups have campaigned for his release.

“In the case of Mr. Badawi, fundamental rights are not only not being respected, they are being trodden underfoot,” European Parliament President Martin Schulz said when he announced the awarding of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in Strasbourg, France.

He urged the Saudi monarch, King Salman, to free Badawi so that he might travel to Europe in December to collect his prize. “The same should apply to all individuals condemned for having expressed freely their opinions in Saudi Arabia and beyond,” Schulz added in a statement.

Badawi’s case has put a spotlight on the strict limits to free expression and dissent imposed by the Saudi monarchy, which enforces an ultraconservative form of Islam.

In January Badawi was taken in handcuffs and shackles to a square outside a mosque in Jidda, where a first round of 50 lashes was administered with a large cane, according to the London-based rights group Amnesty International.

The next round was postponed on the recommendation of doctors, who said Badawi had not yet recovered from the first. However, his wife, Ensaf Haidar, said this week that she had been informed by a Saudi contact that the flogging would soon resume. In addition to the flogging and imprisonment, Badawi was ordered to pay a stiff fine.

Haidar, who lives in Canada with the couple’s three children, issued a statement on Thursday, saying that her husband “would be very happy to see the extent to which his fight is shared by so many people in the world.”

“This prize is further evidence of that,” she said.

Badawi was one of three nominees for this year’s prize, including the Venezuelan opposition movement Mesa de la Unidad Democratica and Russia’s slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

The prize, which is named after the Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, honors groups and individuals who champion human rights and fundamental freedoms. Previous recipients include the late South African President Nelson Mandela and teenage Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Los Angeles Times/TNS

external sources of rice to fill in the gap in domestic demand and anticipated lower domestic production due to the ongoing dry spell and the damage of recent Typhoon Lando,” the Department of Finance (DOF) chief economist said.

S “R ,” A

BAGHDAD—A barrage of rockets slammed late on Thursday into a former military base near the Baghdad International Airport that houses an Iranian refugee group, killing three Iraqi soldiers, officials said.

The Iranian exiles said at least 20 of their people died in the attack.

Iraqi police said 16 rockets hit Camp Liberty, a former US base that now houses the exiled Iranian opposition group known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).

They said at least 16 soldiers guarding the camp were also wounded while the Iranian group, known as MEK, said dozens of Iranian refugees were wounded, as well.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. AP

IRANIANAMERICAN ARRESTED IN IRAN NEW YORK—A Dubai-based businessman has become the fourth IranianAmerican to be arrested by Iran’s security forces and imprisoned in Tehran, several newspapers reported on Thursday.

Siamak Namazi, believed to be in his early 40s, was arrested earlier this month while visiting a friend in Tehran, a family friend told the Washington Post. It was not immediately clear whether any charges have been brought against Namazi. The friend asked not to be identified.

The US State Department declined to confirm Namazi’s arrest.

“We’re aware of recent reports of the possible arrest in Iran of a US citizen. We’re looking into these reports and don’t have anything further to provide at this time,” Michael Tran, a State Department spokesman, said late on Thursday. AP

SAN DIEGO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO LYING ABOUT FIGHTING IN SYRIA SAN DIEGO—A Syrian-American man from San Diego pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to US officials about knowing a member of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group and about participating in combat against the Syrian regime.

Mohamad Saeed, 24, entered his plea in federal court to two counts of making false statements involving international terrorism.

The statements were made in March to FBI and State Department officials during a terrorism-related interview at the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, where Saeed had stopped on his way back from a trip to Syria.

US authorities arrested him in April at his home in a San Diego suburb.

In his plea agreement, Saeed said he did know a member of the IS in Iraq, and that while in Syria he fought alongside Al Nusrah, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization. He had denied both things when questioned by US officials. AP

DEMONSTRATORS display placards during a rally outside the Chinese consulate in Makati City in this June 16, 2011, file photo. AP/BULLIT MARQUEZ

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MEXICAN PARENTS REFUSE TO ACCEPT SONS’ DEATHS ON DAY OF DEAD

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and the other students were taken away by police in the city of Iguala on September 26, 2014, and, according to government prosecutors, turned over to a drug gang who killed them and incinerated their remains. Charred bone fragments have provided a match to only two of the students.

Mauricio’s father, Meliton Ortega, shakes his head when asked if the family will set up an altar to his son. AP

EXICO CITY—As millions of Mexicans set up altars to the dead and buy orange cempasuchil flowers to adorn their offerings of food and drink, the parents of 43 college students missing more than a year refuse to accept the government’s finding that the young men are dead.

There will be no altar on the November 1 and 2 Day of the Dead observance for Mauricio Ortega, who was 18 when he

NEW ZEALAND CIRCULATES U.N. DRAFT RESOLUTION ON ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS U NITED NATIONS—A proposed UN resolution aimed at setting the stage for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations is almost certain to raise objections from both sides, with its calls for a halt to Israeli settlement expansions and Palestinian action at the International Criminal Court.

The draft resolution, obtained on Thursday by The Associated Press (AP), notes “with alarm the escalating cycle of violence” between Israel and the Palestinians. It declares that a two-state solution, achieved through direct negotiations, is the only path to peace.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully, whose country is serving a two-year term on the Security Council, told a council meeting last week that

recent events “cry out for action.”

The current wave of violence began in mid-September in Jerusalem amid tensions over a sensitive holy site and quickly spread deeper into Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Eleven Israelis and 58 Palestinians have been killed.

Israel says the latest violence is the result of Palestinian incitement. But Palestinians say it is the result of frustration stemming from nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation.

The draft resolution demands that Israel and the Palestinians take steps “to end the violence, avoid incitement and protect civilians.”

It calls on both sides to refrain from “provocative acts, including acts which threaten the historic status quo of holy

A PALESTINIAN waves a national flag above the poster of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Nablus on September 30. AP/MAJDI MOHAMMED

sites in Jerusalem,” including the hilltop compound revered by Muslims and Jews.

With little prospect of negotiations amid the escalating conflict, McCully said the Security Council should mandate a course of action for the two parties to prepare for talks in “a realistic but early timeframe.”

The draft resolution declares that the 17-month suspension of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians “is unacceptable” and calls on the parties to take steps to rebuild trust.

It asks members of the Quartet of Mideast mediators—the US, UN, European Union and Russia—as well as sponsors of the Arab peace initiative and Security Council members to assist the parties in preparing for negotiations.

The Security Council has not adopted a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for six years because of deep divisions and prospects for this measure are uncertain.

The US Israel’s closest ally, has blocked several proposed resolutions.

The draft calls on both parties to refrain from actions or statements that might undermine or prejudice negotiations or their outcome, “including continued expansion of settlements and demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied territories.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told AP: “This proposal is destructive instead of being constructive.

“The only way to achieve peace is through direct talks between the parties,” he said. AP

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U.N. PROBER URGES MYANMAR TO ALLOW MUSLIMS TO VOTE The World BusinessMirror

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ARGENTINE PREXY DEFENDS GOVT, DOESN’T MENTION SUCCESSOR

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina— Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is touting her government’s accomplishments in her first public address since her party’s poorer-than-expected showing in Sunday’s presidential election.

In a speech late on Thursday that included several encores, Fernandez reminded Argentines of steps taken by her administration, including the nationalization of Aerolineas Argentinas and the YPF oil company, social-welfare programs for the poor and free education in public universities. Fernandez said such accomplishments are “not irreversible” and called on Argentines to defend her government’s policies. But she did not mention her governing party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Scioli, by name. Chosen by Fernandez to run, Scioli garnered 37 percent of the votes in Sunday’s election, compared to 34 percent for opposition candidate Mauricio Macri. The tight finish means a runoff next month. AP

IVORY CO COA OAST PRESIDENT VOWS TO LOWER UNEMPLOYMENT ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast—Ivory Coast’s president said on Thursday he hopes to reduce unemployment by 2 million during his second term in office, backing a campaign promise that opponents said he failed to fulfill during his first term.

President Alassane Ouattara told the Associated Press that he had already started reducing unemployment in the agricultural sector. Since Ouattara came to power in 2011, the cocoa-producing powerhouse has experienced economic growth.

He campaigned on the impressive rebound, but critics say citizens have not benefited and many Ivorians complain about the high cost of living. “Over the past four years I have reduced unemployment by 2 million people,” he said, adding that a good part of that was in the agricultural sector.

“Certainly in the next five years we should be able to reach this target to decrease unemployment by another 2 million.” Ouattara was a favorite going into the October 25 presidential poll and easily won reelection, facing a divided opposition that failed to gain traction. AP

North Korea to hold biggest party congress in decades

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EOUL, South Korea—North Korea’s ruling party said on Friday it will hold its biggest convention in decades next May. The Workers’ Party said in a dispatch carried by state media that it has decided to hold its seventh congress as the North is faced with “the heavy yet sacred task” of building a “thriving” nation. It didn’t elaborate on what it will discuss. Analyst Cheong Seong-chang of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea said that North Korean leader Kim Jongun will likely use the congress to reshuffle party officials, bolster his grip and present major state policies.

Since taking power after the death of his dictator father in late 2011, Kim has been struggling to revive his country’s moribund economy and grappling with an international standoff over the North’s nuclear and missile programs. He rules the country with a slew of high-profile posts, including the first secretary of the Workers’ Party.

The Workers’ Party last held its congress in 1980, when Kim’s father Kim Jong Il made his political debut with an appearance that confirmed he was in line to succeed his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.

Other previous congresses elected top party officials, adopted party regulations and discussed major state policies, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. AP

BUDDHIST monks brave rain on October 4 to reach a conference hall to attend a gathering of nationalist Buddhist monks, nuns and their supporters to celebrate four controversial bills that recently become laws in Yangon, Myanmar. More than 10,000 people turned out to celebrate the passage of four “race and religion” laws that critics say discriminate against women and members of Myanmar’s Muslim minority. AP/ GEMUNU AMARASINGHE

UN prober urges Myanmar to allow Muslims to vote

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NITED NATIONS—A United Nations investigator accused Myanmar of discrimination and urged the government to take immediate action to allow minorities and migrants to vote in November elections.

Yanghee Lee, the special rappor teu r on hu m a n r ights i n Myanmar, also urged the country’s Election Commission to establish an independent process to review the disqualification of

candidates, many of them Musl ims—inc lud ing t wo c u r rent members of parliament. Lee said on Thursday that the November 8 legislative elections will be “an important milestone” in the

cou nt r y ’s democrat ic t ra nsition. But she said the elections won’t be free and fair unless they are inclusive.

“The credibility of the elections will be judged by the environment in which they are conducted and the extent to which all sectors of Myanmar society have been allowed to freely participate in the political process,” Lee said.

She stressed that “the disenfranchisement of certain communities and groups, particularly on discriminatory grounds, does not meet that test.”

Lee pointed to the disenfranchisement of some 760,000 people

Congress on track to OK budget and debt deal

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A S H I N G T O N —T h e ambitious budget and debt deal cleared a major hurdle in the Senate early on Friday, setting the stage for Congress to pass the measure and send it to President Barack Obama.

The Senate voted 63-35, gaining the 60 votes necessary to end any delaying tactics. Several of the Republican presidential candidates had criticized the legislation, which is aimed at averting a catastrophic default, avoiding a partial shutdown and setting government-spending priorities for two years.

Obama negotiated the accord w it h R e publ ic a n a nd Demo cratic leaders who were intent on steering Congress away from the brinkmanship and shutdown threats that have haunted lawmakers for years. Former Speaker John Boehner felt a particular urgency days before leaving Congress, while lawmakers looked ahead to presidential and congressional elections next year.

The opposition was strong in the Senate, and White House hopeful Republican Sen. Rand Paul left the campaign trail and returned to the Capitol to criticize the deal as excessive Washington spending. Still, Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican

from Texas and the party’s top vote counter, said he was confident it would garner the 60 votes needed to overcome delay ing tactics by Paul and another Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz.

“We’re saying here: ‘Mr. President, you can raise the debt as much as you want. You can spend as much as you want, and we’re going to do nothing,’” Paul griped. “In fact, we’re going to help you.”

Cruz canceled campaign events in Nevada to return to Washington for the votes. Speaking on the Senate floor late on Thursday, he said the Republican majorities had given Obama a “diamond-encrusted, glow-in-the-dark Amex card” for government spending.

“It’s a pretty nifty card,” Cruz said. “You don’t have to pay for it, you get to spend it and it’s somebody else’s problem.”

The agreement would raise the government debt ceiling until March 2017, removing the threat of an unprecedented national default just days from now. At the same time, it would set the budget of the government through the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, and ease punishing spending caps by providing $80 billion more for military and domestic programs,

paid for with a hodgepodge of spending cuts and revenue increases touching areas from tax compliance to spectrum auctions.

The deal would also avert a looming shortfall in the Social Security disability trust fund that threatened to slash benefits, and head off an unprecedented increase in Medicare premiums for outpatient care for about 15 million beneficiaries. The promise of more money for the military ensured support from defense hawks like Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, while additional funds for domestic programs pleased Democrats.

Obama and Democratic allies like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California were big winners in the talks, but Republican leaders cleared away political land mines confronting the party on the eve of 2016 campaigns to win back the White House and maintain its grip on the Senate.

The measure leaves a clean slate for new Speaker Paul Ryan, as he begins his leadership of the House.

Obama had repeatedly said he would not negotiate budget concessions in exchange for increasing the debt limit, though he did agree to package the debt and budget provisions. AP

who previously held temporary registration cards, mainly Rohingyas in Rakhine state, but also ethnic Chinese and Indians.

They had the right to vote in the 2010 and 2012 elections, but Myanmar’s President Thein Sein announced that all temporary registration cards would expire on March 31 and holders of new identity cards are not allowed to vote.

The Rohingya are considered Bangladeshis by the government, and in Rakhine state, where most of them live, their rights have been stripped and their movement severely restricted. Lee said the government’s restrictions

on freedom of expression also undermines “independent and critical voices” critical for a free and fair election.

Lee ca lled for the gover nment to take urgent steps to ensure full respect for freedom of expression, assembly and association—and easing arbitrary arrests, detentions and dispropor tionate sentences against those exercising their rights.

Myanmar’s UN Ambassador U Kyaw Tin rejected the “inaccurate and distorted” allegations in Lee’s report, telling the General Assembly that the government is committed to make the election “free, fair and transparent.” AP

Cambodia opposition leader removed from parliament

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HNOM PENH, Cambodia— A senior leader of Cambodia’s opposition party was stripped of his post as the vice president of parliament in an unexpected vote on Friday attended only by the ruling party, and condemned by his supporters as illegal.

The removal of Kem Sokha by a 68-0 vote was the result of maneuvering by Prime Minister Hun Sen to get rid of his most bitter critic.

The vote was not on the National Assembly’s agenda.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) members were taken aback when the vote on a motion to remove Kem Sokha was announced. All 55 of its lawmakers in the 123-member house decided to boycott the vote in protest. Sokha was not present in the house.

Describing the vote as “unlawful,” CNRP Spokesman Ou Chanrith said it contravenes the Constitution and democratic principles.

“A vote that no one ex pected is unacceptable,” he sa id, adding t hat Sok ha’s post cannot be vacated un less he d ies or he h imsel f resig ns. Hun Sen has been in power for almost

CAMBODIA’S main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party Deputy President and National Assembly Deputy President Kem Sokha (center) speaks to the media outside the Phnom Penh Municipality Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 8. He was stripped of his post as the vice president of parliament on Friday. AP/HENGSINITH

three decades. While Cambodia is formally democratic, his government is authoritarian and known for intimidating opponents.

Relations between the government and the opposition deteriorated earlier this year after the CNRP tried to make an issue by accusing neighboring Vietnam, with whom Hun Sen’s government maintains good relations, of land encroachment. AP

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USINESS M IR ROR founder Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua on Thursday received a plaque of appreciation from the National Press Club (NPC) for his continuous support to the media group.

D. Edgard A. Cabangon, who received the plaque on behalf of his father during the 63rd anniversary of the NPC, thanked the officials of the club, headed by its president, Joel Sy Egco, and vice president, Benny Antiporda.

“I would like to thank the officials of the NPC for recognizing my father Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua’s contribution to the media industry. Among the businesses of my dad, ang puso n’ya ay nasa

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Sea, with Beijing claiming it has sovereignty over virtually all of the waters. Some of the disputed areas are believed to sit atop vast undersea deposits of oil and gas, and straddle some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

The tribunal, which conducts its hearings behind closed doors, said the Philippines has stressed it is not asking arbitrators “to decide the question of sovereignty over maritime features in the South China Sea that are claimed by both the Philippines and China” or rule on maritime boundaries in the region.

China has declared it would not take part in the arbitration, insisting on one-on-one negotiations with smaller rival claimants, which analysts say would give it advantage because of its sheer size and clout.

After Thursday’s ruling, China reiterated its position of not accepting or participating in the arbitration.

“The attempts to attain more illegal interests by initiating arbitration unilaterally is impractical and will lead nowhere,” said Zhu Haiquan, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. “China is committed to resolving relevant disputes through negotiation and consultation with parties directly S “A P,” A

US economic growth slows sharply in the third quarter

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media,” the young Cabangon told members and officials of the NPC. Egco said the plaque of appreciation is a very small thing compared to the big contribution of the ambassador to the media industry, particularly to the NPC. “The NPC gave this plaque of appreciation to the ambassador for his unceasing support to the NPC in the pursuit of its goals of a truly free press, and promotion of journalist security and welfare,” Egco said.

Cabangon Chua is also the chairman emeritus and founder of Aliw Broadcasting.

Cabangon Chua’s media empire includes the BUSINESSM IRROR and tabloid Pilipino Mirror, dwIZ 882 AM, 97.9 Natural FM and CNN Philippines.

N international tribunal ruled on Thursday that it can take on a case between China and the Philippines over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), overruling objections from Beijing that the arbitration body has no authority to hear the case (Related story on A3).

The Philippine case, which was filed before the tribunal in The Hague in January 2013, contends that China’s massive territorial claims in the strategic waters do not conform with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), and should be declared invalid. The Philippines also asserts that some Chinese-occupied reefs and shoals do not generate, or create a claim to, territorial waters.

The tribunal said it has authority to look into seven issues raised by the Philippines against China, but added that its jurisdiction over seven others “will need to be considered in conjunction with the merits.” It asked Manila to clarify one other issue.

It said it has set hearings and expects to hand down a decision on the case next year.

China, the Philippines and four other governments have overlapping claims across the vast West Philippine

HE US economy slowed sharply over the summer, expanding at less than half the rate of the second quarter, as the pace of economic activity eased almost across the board.

Total economic output, also known as GDP, increased at a 1.5-percent annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

The economy grew at a 3.9-percent a nnu a l rate f rom Apr i l through June.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 46.8900

Economists had expected growth to slow, amid global economic trouble, but the closely watched figure—the first of three government estimates of third-quarter growth— was less than the 1.7 percent that analysts had forecast.

Solid consumer spending helped keep the economy from slipping further. Still, the 3.2-percent increase in personal consumption expenditures was down from 3.6 percent in the second quarter.

Businesses cut back heavily

on their inventories, which was a major drag on economic growth.

Such a reduction, though, usually is followed by inventory buildup, and is a reason the economy is expected to rebound in the fourth quarter.

Aside from the inventory drop, the report was solid, said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. He forecast the economy would bounce back to about 3-percent growth in the final quarter of the year.

Overall private investment decreased at a 5.6-percent rate in the third quarter, after increasing 5 percent the previous quarter. The decline was driven by a drop in spending on nonresidential structures, such as oil-drilling rigs. A measure of business investment increased 2.1 percent, down from 4.1 percent in the second quarter.

Hurt by the strong US dollar, exports grew 1.9 percent in the third quarter. That was down from a 5.1-percent increase the

previous quarter. The pace of government spending also declined, hurt by a cutback in defense expenditures. Government spending increased 1.7 percent in the third quarter, after a 2.6-percent increase in the previous quarter.

Continued concern about the health of the US economy led Federal Reserve policy-makers on Wednesday to vote to keep their benchmark short-term interest rate near zero, though they hinted a hike could come in December. MCT

n JAPAN 0.3871 n UK 71.7980 n HK 6.0506 n CHINA 7.3765 n SINGAPORE 33.4046 n AUSTRALIA 33.2035 n EU 51.4758 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.5030

Source: BSP (30 October 2015)

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China’s graying migrants have a hidden stash of money to spend

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IGRANT worker Guo Huailiang is planning to live it up a bit in his retirement.

After 19 years living in cramped quarters in Beijing, rising at 5:30 a.m. for a 12-hour shift, the 52-yearold construction worker is socking away money that would allow him to return to his eight-room house and 4-acre plot in the countryside, spend a bit of cash and travel. He’s

dreaming of trips to Hainan Island, Taiwan and even South Korea.

Multiply Guo by the millions who migrated to China’s cities, toiling away in factories and building sites for decades, and you have a hoard of savings that stands to revolutionize China’s consumer market. It turns

Arbitration panel... involved. This is the only right choice.” The long-simmering disputes have strained relations and sparked fears that it could ignite Asia’s next major conflict. China’s move to undertake massive construction to transform at least seven shoals and reefs into islands in the West Philippine Sea’s Spratly Islands have ratcheted up tensions.

Earlier this week a US-guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of one of China’s artificial islands to underscore Washington’s position that the geographic alteration would not allow the previously submerged reef to generate territorial waters.

The US Navy sail past provoked angry Chinese reactions but was welcomed by America’s allies,

out that China getting old may just help create the balanced economy its leaders have been aiming to engineer.

“China’s aging should definitely support the shift away from investment and exports toward consumption,” said David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington who previously worked for the US Treasury in Beijing. “We have seen this previously in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, with an increase in consumption as a share of GDP as the population aged.” In

China the shift may be even more rapid because of the one-child policy rolled out in the late 1970s, Dollar said.

In an historic shift, the party’s decision-making Central Committee approved plans to allow all couples in China to have two children, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Thursday at the end of a four-day gathering in Beijing. That waters down a policy that saw the world’s most populous country skew its demographic profile. Bloomberg News

ing sovereignty claims in the West Philippine Sea, but it opposes coercion and wants all of the disputes to be resolved “peacefully, diplomatically and through international legal mechanisms, such as arbitration.”

Top US diplomat for East Asia Daniel Russel said that when the tribunal issues its final decision, there would be an international expectation that China would not flout its obligations under the convention.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “We welcome the decision of the arbitral tribunal that it has jurisdiction over our case. We look forward to the tribunal’s further hearing on the merits of the case.”

The Philippines on Friday welcomed the decision of the tribunal.

Such ruling by the five-man judges of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on October 29, three months after the Philippine legal team argued its case in The Hague in July, enables the court to finally proceed to formal deliberations on Manila’s complaint that challenges the legality of Beijing’s assertion that its ownership of nearly the entire West Philippine Sea is “indisputable” and “historical.”

“We welcome the decision of the arbitral tribunal that it has jurisdiction over our case,” a Foreign Affairs statement said. “We look forward to the tribunal’s further hearing on the merits of the case.”

Recto Mercene, AP, PNA

continued from A1

including the Philippines and upheld by others like Vietnam, which has also been locked in a bitter territorial feud with China.

On Thursday a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said the country’s military will take “all necessary” measures in response to any future US Navy incursions into what it considers its territorial waters around islands in the South China Sea. The US noted that the final decision by the tribunal—not expected until next year—would be legally binding on both the Philippines and China, which have both ratified the Unclos.

State Department Spokesman John Kirby said the US does not take a position on the compet-

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Rice importation...

In an economic bulletin released on Thursday, Beltran pointed out that despite the El Niño, which is expected to persist well into the early part of 2016, rice prices in the world market had continued its steady decline.

This decline in the prices of rice is due to the higher supply coming from the major rice-producing countries in the world, such as Vietnam and Thailand.

However, in the Philippines, the price of rice is threatening to go up, not only because of the recent devastation by Lando in the riceproducing provinces, but mainly due to the declining production of this staple, of which the Philippines had become one of the biggest importer in the world from its previous position as a net exporter of this commodity.

In another economic bulletin released last week by Beltran, it was pointed out that the devastation caused in Central Luzon had pushed back the country’s rice reserves by at least seven days, putting the country’s rice reserves at a precarious level of below 50 days’ worth of supply.

These estimates had already prompted the National Economic and Development Authority to recommend the importation of another 1 million metric tons of rice for the first semester of 2016 alone to stave off possible inflation that will result from the destruction of locally produced rice.

Ironically, in the world market, the price of rice had been steadily declining due to high levels of supplies and the resulting lower prices of fertilizers due to the persisting depressed cost of oil.

continued from A1

For example, data from the World Bank indicated that the price of Thai rice, which represents the world-market price, had declined by 16.4 percent in 2014 from its price in 2013, which was at $506 per ton.

T h i s f u r t her de c l i ne d b y another 9 percent in 2015 to settle at a low $385 per ton.

The World Bank estimates the prices of Thai rice to rise by a range of 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent each year starting 2016 up to 2020.

“While the global grains market appears to be in a comfortable position, the World Bank cautions that the impact of the dry spell is likely to be predominantly local rather than global, because markets are currently well-supplied, unless a significant player is significantly affected so as to send ripples in the international market,” Beltran said in his latest economic bulletin, reiterating the need for more importation of rice.

According to Ateneo Economics Prof. Cielito Habito in a recent forum, the agricultural sector had been a drag to the country’s GDP growth, with the agricultural sector actually contracting in the second quarter of this year by 0.5 percent. This contraction is due to the decline in the production of key crops, such as palay (-0.3 percent); corn (-15.7 percent); and sugarcane (-15.4 percent).

The jobs generated in the industry and services sector amounting to some 768,000 new jobs from January to July had also been offset by the jobs lost in the agricultural sector alone for the said period, estimated at 877,000.

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, October 31, 2015 A3

Philippines welcomes tribunal jurisdiction over case vs China

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HE Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday welcomed the decision of an international tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, to assume jurisdiction over the Philippines’s case against China, which seeks to invalidate Beijing’s massive claim in the resource-rich South China Sea. Such ruling by the five judges of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on October 29, three months after the Philippine legal team argued its case in The Hague in July, enables the court to finally proceed to formal deliberations on Manila’s complaint that challenges the legality of Beijing’s assertion that its ownership of nearly the entire South China Sea is “indisputable” and “historical.”

“We welcome the decision of the arbitral tribunal that it has jurisdiction over our case,” a Foreign Affairs statement said. “We look forward to the tribunal’s further hearing on the merits of the case.”

In an initial legal victory for the Philippines, which filed the case in January 2013, the tribunal said it will be holding hearings soon and that a final ruling on the case will be handed down in 2016.

The tribunal, in its 147-page decision, also debunked China’s argument that Manila’s case is beyond the scope of the court’s mandate.

In its decision, the tribunal said it has immediate jurisdiction on seven out of 15 points raised by Manila against China, called “submissions” in legal parlance, but postponed for “later consideration” its jurisdiction ruling on eight other issues raised by Manila, saying it will be decided on as it conducts a formal hearing on the merits of the case.

“The tribunal will convene a further hearing on the merits of the Philippines’s claims. In consultation with the parties, the tribunal has provisionally set the dates for the merits hearing,” the ruling said. “The tribunal expects that it will render its award on the merits and remaining jurisdictional issues in 2016.”

China says it owns about 90 percent of the South China Sea and the cluster of islands, reefs and atolls further south called the Spratly Island Group.

Other claimants are Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Taiwan. Parts of the South China

Sea that fall under Manila’s exclusive economic zone was renamed West Philippine Sea by the Philippine government.

All claimants have stationed military troops in their territories in the vast sea, said to be sitting atop huge oil and gas deposits, except for Brunei.

The international tribunal ruled on Thursday that it can take on a case between China and the Philippines over disputed territory in the South China Sea, overruling objections from Beijing that the arbitration body has no authority to hear the case.

The Philippine case, which was filed before the tribunal in The Hague in January 2013, contends that China’s massive territorial claims in the strategic waters do not conform with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and should be declared invalid. The Philippines also asserts that some Chinese-occupied reefs and shoals do not generate, or create a claim to, territorial waters.

The tribunal said it has authority to look into seven issues raised by the Philippines against China, but added that its jurisdiction over seven others “will need to be considered in conjunction with the merits.” It asked Manila to clarify one other issue. It said it has set hearings and expects to hand down a decision on the case next year.

China, the Philippines and four other governments have overlapping claims across the vast South China Sea, with Beijing claiming it has sovereignty over virtually all of

the waters. Some of the disputed areas are believed to sit atop vast undersea deposits of oil and gas and straddle some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

The tribunal, which conducts its hearings behind closed doors, said the Philippines has stressed it is not asking arbitrators “to decide the question of sovereignty over maritime features in the South China Sea that are claimed by both the Philippines and China” or rule on maritime boundaries in the region.

China has declared it would not take part in the arbitration, insisting on one-on-one negotiations with smaller rival claimants, which analysts say would give it advantage because of its sheer size and clout.

After Thursday’s ruling, China reiterated its position of not accepting or participating in the arbitration.

“The attempts to attain more illegal interests by initiating arbitration unilaterally is impractical and will lead nowhere,” said Zhu Haiquan, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. “China is committed to resolving relevant disputes through negotiation and consultation with parties directly involved. This is the only right choice.”

The long-simmering disputes have strained relations and sparked fears that it could ignite Asia’s next major conflict. China’s move to undertake massive construction to transform at least seven shoals and reefs into islands in the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands have ratcheted up tensions. Recto L. Mercene, PNA and AP

OSG gears for presentation of evidence in WPS case

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OVERNMENT lawyers are now preparing for the presentation of the Philippines’s evidence before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague after the latter ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear and resolve the Philippines’s complaint against China’s incursions in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, a member of the Philippine legal team who presented the position of the country that the tribunal has jurisdiction over the case, welcomed the decision as it would pave the way for the presentation of the merits of the Philippine’s substantive claims.

“The decision represents a significant step forward in the Philippines’s quest for a peaceful, impartial resolution of the disputes between the parties and the clarification of their rights under Unclos [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea],” Hilbay said in a text message to reporters.

The Philippines brought its case before the arbitral tribunal in January 2013, challenging the legality of China’s nine-dash line claim over the entire South China Sea, which overlaps in the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Hilbay disclosed that the tentative schedule for the presentation of merits is from November 24 to 30.

After presentation on the merits, the court is expected to rule on the merits next year.

On Thursday the PCA unanimously ruled that it has “jurisdiction” to hear the matters raised in seven of the Philippines’s submissions.

The court, however, stressed that the ruling does not decide any aspect of the merits of the parties’ dispute.

“In light of the foregoing, the tribunal has concluded that it is presently able to decide that it does have jurisdiction. The tribunal has concluded, however, that its jurisdiction with respect to seven other submissions by the Philippines will need to be considered in conjunction with the merits. The tribunal has requested the Philippines to clarify and narrow one of its submissions,” the tribunal, led by Judge Thomas A. Mensah, said in a statement.

Although the hearing on the merits of the Philippines’s case will not be open to the public, the tribunal said that it will consider written requests from interested states to send delegations to attend the hearing as observers.

The court said, “States which sent observers to the hearing on jurisdiction and admissibility, namely, Malaysia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Thailand and Japan, will be informed of the hearing dates.”

The UN-backed arbitration court, in deciding to proceed the hearing of the case, threw out China’s argument that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case for the reason that the dispute was actually about the sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea. They also did not give credence to China’s assertion that the case filed by the Philippines concerns the delimitation of a maritime boundary between the two countries. Joel San Juan

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A4 Saturday, October 31, 2015

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Aquino unfazed his rejection of tax relief compromise may backfire on LP candidate

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By Butch Fernandez

ALACAÑANG maintained on Friday that President Aquino remains unfazed by concerns that his refusal to consider a compromise on long-pending incometax reforms could backfire on his anointed candidate Manuel A. Roxas II’s 2016 presidential bid.

The Palace conveyed confidence that President Aquino’s steadfast rejection of the tax relief compromise to adjust the 19-year-old incometax brackets would not sink Roxa’s chances in next year’s polls.

Malacañang officials shrugged off warnings that President Aquino’s hardline stance against a tax-rate cut, or even at least the tax-bracket adjustments being pushed by his Congress allies will turn off voter taxpayers, as well as their voting age dependents.

“The President believed he is doing right by his bosses and that

people will be fair in judging his administration,” Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said on Friday.

Coloma recalled that President Aquino affirming his resistance to pending proposals in the Senate and the House providing downward adjustments in personal and corporate income taxes, as well as taxation brackets set nearly 20 years ago.

He cited President Aquino’s statement before foreign correspondents on why he is rejecting the proposed tax reforms.

“President Aquino believes in

wholistic and comprehensive tax reforms and is determined to stay the course until the end of his term,” Coloma said.

Roxas assailed

A PARTY-LIST coalition assailed Roxas for his continued opposition to the growing clamor to reduce income taxes and claimed that he is already showing signs of “dictatorial tendencies” with seven months to go before the elections.

Speaking before the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Roxas said the lowering of income taxes should not be an electoral issue and must be discussed in a more sober time.

In an e-mailed statement, Sanlakas party-list group said that “Roxas’s statement gives a clear and frightening picture of what is to come if he is elected.” The group said it found it alarming that a candidate for the presidency is not only stonewalling a long overdue and legitimate grievance of a tax-burdened electorate but is also dismissing it as a nonissue in the upcoming elections.

“Elections are an integral part in any democratic state. It is the people who decide which relevant issues to throw at candidates and which of

the candidates’ platform will uplift them from destitution and be worthy of their votes,” Aaron Pedrosa, secretary-general of Sanlakas said.

He added, “Roxas must recognize that the electoral campaign is not exclusive to aspirants running for public office, but also a democratic process where organized communities and interest groups can avail [themselves] of the democratic space to influence politicians and policy-makers.”

Roxas was reported to be the only major presidential candidate that has openly spoken against lowering taxes. His running mate, Liberal Party Rep. Leni Robredo of Camarines Sur, has also joined the chorus for tax reforms.

Pedrosa insisted that, “For Roxas to insist ‘a more sober time’ to discuss the validity of the arguments for income-tax reduction is equal to prolonging the misery of ordinary wage earners. This only reveals his detachment from the plight of millions of Filipino families.”

“While the administration has, time and again, failed the workers by not enabling the constitutional right to a living wage, the least it could do is to remove taxes to incomes that are below the daily cost of decent living,” he added.

The group also demanded that the government cease granting incentives to foreign multinational corporations, a result of laws authored

by Roxas himself during his stint as legislator to offset whatever fiscal impacts the reduction of income taxes will incur.

“For as long as he positions himself opposite to the interests of the poor majority of the Filipino nation.

Roxas will be farthest in the minds of the 41 million labor force come election day,” Pedrosa said.

Roxas, an investment banker by profession, authored and coauthored numerous procorporate, antipoor decrees, including the Liberalization of Foreign Investments in 1996, the Oil Deregulation Law in 1998, the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, the Regional Headquarters Incentives for Multinational Companies of 1999 and the infamous Expanded Value Added Tax law in 2005. In 2008 Roxas also supported the ratification of the “severely lopsided” Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, or Jpepa.

Sanlakas party-list group has consistently criticized Roxas’s leading role in implementing neoliberal economic policies since his days in Congress.

Red tape in Lando relief operations hit by senator

By Jelly F. Musico Philippines News Agency

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ITH the expected influx of foreign donations into the country, Sen. Francis Escudero on Friday urged the government to waive tax and hasten the processing and release of all donated relief goods to victims of Typhoon Lando (international code name Koppu) in Northern and Central Luzon.

Escudero said taxation and red tape issues must be eliminated in order to facilitate the faster distribution of relief goods to some 1.2 million people affected by the strongest tropical storm to hit Luzon in five years.

“The urgently needed aid for Lando victims should not be delayed from reaching communities due to taxation and customs procedures,” Escudero pointed out. It was earlier reported that the international community has started efforts to bring relief to Lando victims, with Australia vowing to provide P33 million in emergency relief supplies. France

also offered assistance to typhoon survivors. Foreign organizations and Filipino communities abroad have also begun gathering cash donations and relief goods for the victims.

Escudero has sought to institutionalize the customs duty or tax exemption on donated relief goods when he filed Senate Bill (SB) 422, also known as the Anti-Smuggling Act, which amends the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines to stop smuggling, simplify rules and facilitate trade transaction, among others. The bill has been merged with seven other measures into SB 2968, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

The consolidated bill was already sponsored on the Senate floor by Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara on September 28.

Under the proposed CMTA, relief consignment, or goods such as food, medicine, equipment and materials for shelter, donated or leased to government institutions for free distribution to or use of victims of calamities, shall be exempt from duties and taxes.

Yearly sojourn

Hordes of people are waiting buses at the Araneta Provincial Bus Terminal in Cubao, Quezon City. The annual All Saints’ Day trek to the province has prompted bus companies to field more trips and terminal operators and government law enforcement agencies to impose tighter security. NONOY LACZA

Lawyer asks SC to sack Binay from BSP

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By Joel R. San Juan

LAWYER on Friday filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to declare as unconstitutional the holding by Vice President Jejomar C. Binay of the national presidency of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) concurrently.

In a 15-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, lawyer Jesus Nicardo Falcis also sought the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin Binay, who is eyeing the country’s presidency in 2016, for discharging the functions and duties of the BSP president.

Falcis argued that Binay acted with grave abuse of discretion in holding another office during his tenure as vice president. He said Binay is covered by the prohibition under Section 13, Article VII of the Constitution.

The said provision states: “The President, Vice President, the Members of the Cabinet and their deputies or assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment

during their tenure. They shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or -controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office.”

Falcis said he is entitled to the issuance of a TRO to restrain Binay from discharging the functions and duties of the president of the BSP, as he has a “clear and unmistakable right to be protected”; “there is material and substantial invasion of such right”; and “there is an urgent need for the writ to prevent irreparable injury to the applicant.”

“Petitioner submits that the continued holding by Binay of the office of president of the BSP concurrently with the Office of the Vice President constitutes irreparable injury, since the invasion of petitioner’s right cannot be adequately compensated in damages,” Falcis insisted.

Legislator seeks return to 2-party system

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ARTY-LIST Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay on Friday called for drastic reforms in the country’s electoral system, given the fact that current setup of having several political parties with almost identical sets of candidates will only further weaken the country’s democracy.

“What we’re witnessing now is the genuine, real distortion of the electoral process. The citizenry is not given any choice. Hindi na ang mamamayan ang namimili. Ang pagpili ay sa pagitan na lang ng pulitiko sa pulitiko. Now many senatorial cadidates of one party are also candidates of other parties. There’s an urgent need for reforms and a return to a sane system of elections,” Atienza said.

One reform that is urgently needed, Atienza said, is a return to the two-party system.

“We need to restore the two-party system to ensure fair elections.

Right now, there are no real, organized political parties to speak of.

There are many places where prospective candidates are discouraged from running because of financial considerations. Walang maiiwan na ibang kandidato kung hindi ang mga mayayaman na binili na ang mga makakalaban nila.”

“There will be no election in many districts, because there will only be one candidate running and the people will have no choice at all.

Eventually, this political malady will weaken the very foundations of democracy.

“One example is that all the candidates now for vice president come from the Nacionalista Party. Anong klaseng eleksyon ang mangyayari?

Sinong kandidato ang pipiliin ng mga tao? Kung walang eleksyon, walang demokrasya.

“Political parties have practically rendered themselves inutile and meaningless. There is an urgent need to review our electoral processes and the role of political parties in our democracy. This must be done to restore genuine democracy in our country,” Atienza said.

“I will continue to fight in Congress for the return of the two-party system, as well as the restoration of Section 67 of Batas Pambansa 881, or the Omnibus Election Code, that calls for the resignation of any elected official running for higher office. The removal of this section has allowed a reversion to the malpractice of the past, where senators who ran for higher office, but lost, could conveniently go back to their positions after the elections. This was tailor-made for senators with six-year terms,” Atienza added.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Smart backs regional disaster communications summit

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O help institutionalize disaster communication protocols, mobile leader Smart Communications committed to support the Office of Civil Defense’s (OCD) first-ever regional disaster communications conferences, dubbed as ICT Bayanihan. Smart is the first telecommunications company partner of OCD in coorganizing these regional meetings.

“The importance of communications in the entire disaster riskmanagement process cannot be overemphasized. For a country of many islands like the Philippines, located in an area being visited by at least 20 typhoons a year, this series of regional summit focused on communications is exactly what we need,” said Smart Public Affairs Community Partnerships Senior Manager Nova Concepcion.

“And as member of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

(NDRRMC), we saw it fit to support the ICT Bayanihan of the OCD,” Concepcion added.

The regional conferences aim to institutionalize rapid emergency telecommunication teams to lead immediate response and support when there are disasters.

The most recent summit was held in Cagayan de Oro for Region 10, which was the first region in Mindanao to hold the event. The Region 10 summit was attended by public and private agencies, and fully supported by the regional offices of the National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO).

Northern Mindanao is committed to help out when needed to respond.

OCD 10 Regional Director Ana Cañeda emphasized the significance of the quick and effective response within the first hour of an emergency situation.

Delegates from theNorthern MIndanao disaster communications summit affix their signature on the commitment wall to indicate acceptance of their responsibilities as members of Rapid Emergency Telecommunications Team in the region.

DOST-ICTO Regional Director Evamay dela Rosa, on the other hand, stressed the value of dedication and practice for the plans to be effective.

“We should not stop here. Let us revisit and ensure that we have the mechanism in place, and that these mechanisms are clear to everyone,” de la Rosa said. “Let’s capacitate the rapid emergency

telecommunications team and ensure that the Region 10 emergency telecommunications cluster is able to install, operate and maintain a system of communication that will reconnect us to related local governments, emergency operation centers, NDRRMC’s operation center during and postdisaster,” de la Rosa added.

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Red Cross mobilizes for Oplan Undas 2015

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HE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will once again mobilize first-aid stations in cemeteries and memorial parks and in major highways, bus terminals and airports and seaports for the observance of All Saints’ Day. Meanwhile, travelers and cemetery goers in urgent need of assistance can contact PRC Hotline 143 or 790-2300 to connect with first-aid units closest to them.

PRC Chairman Richard Gordon also urged the public to report traffic accidents and other incidents through 0917-8068513 or e-mail opcen@redcross. org.ph so the PRC Operations Center can refer these to the nearest units.

PRC’s annual Oplan Kaluluwa will be present in 277 cemeteries, 11 seaports and airports, and 12 bus terminals in the

country. There will be a total of 310 firstaid stations, 72 ambulances on standby, and 1,810 first aiders.

“Let’s work together to help keep our cemeteries and transport routes safe this weekend,” Gordon said.

The Red Cross will be present in 11 gasoline stations in major highways, in partnership with Chevron, Petron and Shell. There will be first-aid stations in the North Luzon Expressway, South Luzon Expressway (Slex), PNN Malvar and Slex Highway Sucat.

PRC will also have five standby rescue teams with 30 personnel, 66 welfare stations, three beach-patrol stations in La Union, six rescue vehicles, five Humvees and one 6x6 truck on standby in case of mass-casualty incidents.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Power transmission tower bombed in Marawi; brownout in many areas

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AMBOANGA CITY—Unidentified persons have toppled a transmission tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) late Thursday, causing power outage in several areas in Mindanao.

Elizabeth Ladaga, NGCP regional information officer, said on Friday an NGCP transmission tower in Barangay Patani, Marawi City, was bombed at around 9:20 p.m. on Thursday.

Ladaga said the toppling of the tower has isolated the 80-megawatt (MW) Agus 1 and the 180-MW Agus 2 plants from the Mindanao power grid.

The Agus 1 hydroelectric-power plant is in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, while the Agus 2 is in Saguiran town, also in Lanao del Sur. Ladaga added the isolation of the two power plants “caused power loss in several areas in the Mindanao grid.”

“The NGCP will begin restoration activities as soon as the area is secure,” she said.

The local police has started an investigation into the power transmission tower’s bombing, while Army troops in the area were deployed to secure other transmission towers and help in the pursuit operations against the assailants. PNA

A5 Saturday, October 31, 2015 A5

GRI up 5.7% in second quarter

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By Cai U. Ordinario

OWER gross sales in the manufacturing and real-estate sectors caused the total Gross Revenue Index (GRI) to slow to a growth of only 5.7 percent in the second quarter of 2015.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the total gross revenue index decreased from a growth of 10.8 percent in the same period in 2014.

The PSA said the manufacturing sector posted a growth of only 1 percent in the second quarter of 2015, from a growth of 13.8 percent in the same period last year.

Further, the real-estate sector posted a growth of only 5.3 percent in April to June this year, from 15.8 percent in the second quarter of 2014.

The GRI was boosted by the transportation and communication sector that posted the biggest increase at 9.3 percent. However, it was still slower than last year’s 21.1-percent growth.

With the growth of the gross revenue index slowing in the second quarter, the total employment index and the compensation index both slowed to increases of only 2.8 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.

The Total Employment Index slowed from the 4.7-percent growth of the same quarter in 2014, while the Total Compensation Index slowed from the 6.3-percent growth in the same period in 2014.

The total employment index in transportation and communications contracted to 1.5 percent from a 5.9-percent growth, and trade declined to –2 percent from a 0.1-percent growth.

The total compensation index of transportation and communication, on the other hand, caused the total compensation index to slow. Data showed that transportation and communication slowed to a growth of only 0.9 percent in

2015, from 7.3 percent in 2014.

With the total compensation index growing faster than employment, Total Compensation per Employee Index increased by 3 percent, from 1.5 percent last year.

The growth was due to the growth in Private Services at 3.9 percent in 2015, from a growth of 2.8 percent in 2014; Real Estate 3.3 percent, from 3.2 percent; and Trade 3.1 percent, from 1.8 percent.

“Only Mining and Quarrying suffered a setback to -8 percent from an already declining rate of 5.4 percent last year,” the PSA said.

The total GRI was obtained from the October 2015 issue of the Quarterly Economic Indices (QEI) of the Philippines.

The QEI intends to provide measures of growth in production, gross revenue, employment and compensation in the various sectors of the economy.

Ombusman orders dismissal of Atimonan mayor

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HE Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Mayor Jose Mendoza of Atimonan, Quezon, for sacking a driver.

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales said that for defying a lawful order of a constitutional authority, Mendoza was ordered dismissed from the service for Gross Neglect of Duty and Oppression.

Morales also said the mayor was also meted out the accessory penalties of

perpetual disqualification from holding public office, cancellation of eligibility, bar from taking the civil-service examinations and forfeiture of retirement benefits. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Romeo Parin, who was illegally dismissed by Mendoza as driver of the local government in 2010. Parin sought Mendoza’s reconsideration but to no avail.

The Ombudsman said the case was elevated to the Civil Service Commission

(CSC), which ruled in Parin’s favor and ordered Mendoza to reinstate him with back wages. In May 2013 the CSC issued a resolution granting Parin’s motion for execution but the same remained unexecuted until September 2014.

In ruling against Mendoza, the Ombudsman said that respondent “blatantly refused to reinstate complainant and to pay him back wages without justifiable reason.”

Morales has also directed the local

government secretary to immediately implement the dismissal and to promptly report the action taken.

“The said act cannot be countenanced without running afoul of the established rule of actions of government officials and employees highlighting that respondent’s show of arrogance and persistent disregard of lawful orders of a constitutional body continued while serving anew as mayor of Atimonan,” she said.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

A6 Saturday, October 31, 2015 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Who would you vote for if…

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he national elections are nearly 200 days away, and with the intense rhetoric both from and about the presidential candidates, you might think we were in the final campaign thrust. While we can criticize Philippine politics for many reasons, there is no question that we take our politics seriously.

The elite criticize the “masa” for voting for the wrong reasons; the masa criticize the elite for being out of touch with the real world. Candidates are disparaged for not focusing on the issues and offering specific solutions.

The candidates blame the media in part for helping turn the process into a beauty contest.

However, asking any man or woman to take on the duties and responsibilities of being president of the Philippines is as unfair as the Greek god Zeus asking Atlas to hold the sky on his shoulders. Who really wants to be president of a country where people indentify first with their ancestral province and clans, and not as Filipinos? How hard is it to govern a country that stretches 1,500 kilometers from north to south that traverses a hundred different dialects and customs?

Nonetheless, there are some that want the job, and “We the people” have an obligation to choose the applicant who, in our opinion, is best qualified.

We wrote a few months ago about the characteristics that seemed to be common among presidents and prime ministers who were considered successful.

But each of us has in our own minds the specific qualities of a person that we are looking for to cast our vote. But real life is not about the theoretical, so we asked around about who would be best sitting in Malacañang in the event of, perhaps, unlikely but realistic situations.

Who would you vote for if you knew that in 2017 a major earthquake would strike Metro Manila? The answers were varied and even included some people not running for president. Some thought about whom they wanted to oversee the government’s efforts to rebuild the area, while others focused on the problems immediately following the disaster.

Who would you vote for if you knew that in 2017 a war in the Middle East would require the evacuation of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of overseas Filipinos? Here again, the answers were torn between who could best handle the immediate problem and who could best deal with the economic consequences of the situation.

We asked other questions, for example, about China and global economic circumstances, but there was no clear “winner” as to who would be the right person for all of the scenarios a president might face. It is almost impossible to find one person that has the skills to get the country thorugh every possible circumstance.

However, if the fire alarm does ring, do we look to the person who has memorized the “disaster plan”? Or do we go to the person who can find the nearest evacuation exit and has the leadership skills to bring people out safely?

Abolish the personal income tax...period John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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id you ever try to have a serious conversation with someone, and they gave answers that were off topic? That is what is happening in the discussion with politicians about lowering the personal income-tax rates.

The people are trying to have a discussion about income taxes based on two ideas. Why can other regional nations have lower income-tax rates, particularly on average wage earners and the Philippines cannot? Have lower tax rates over the years created an environment for greater economic growth in those countries?

The politicians are not responding to those ideas. One presidential candidate recently said something along the lines of “Yes, we can begin lowering the income-tax rate but then, where does it end?” The implication is maybe the income-tax rate would go to zero.

Perhaps, a history lesson is in order for the person who wants to be the next Philippine president. Personal income tax rates started at zero and have been going up ever since. It is the people that are saying “Where will it end?”

Here is the “strongest” politician’s argument for keeping taxes as high as the people can bear. If income-tax rates are lowered, government spending programs are going to have to be cut.

The people will “suffer.” That reminds me of the child who says “If you don’t, buy me ice cream, I will hold my breath until I die and then you will be so sorry.”

Instead of working out ways to reduce the personal income-tax burden, the government response is that this is not in the best interest of the country. And of course, the politicians are smarter than the people even if they have not tried any reasonable alternatives to the current tax system.

We are told an important reason that we have higher taxes in the Philippines is because not enough people are paying their proper taxes. Yet, which candidate has ever put forth a collection system to insure that the tens of thousands of sari-sari store owners are properly taxed? Of course, doing that might be bad at election time. Saying the government will go after erring doctors and attorneys is good for getting votes even if it is easier to evade taxes at the sari-sari store.

Not wanting to tax the brainpower of the government with this

matter, here is the most reasonable solution: abolish the personal income tax completely.

Before any heads start exploding, let’s look at the facts and the reality of the situation. According to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the government took in P294 billion from personal income taxes (PIT) in 2014.

The Philippine government budget for 2015 is P2.606 trillion. Therefore, even assuming that PIT would be P350 billion in 2015, PIT would account for less than 14 percent of the national budget.

We certainly do not want the next president walking the halls of Malacañang late at night trying to figure out how to cut wasteful spending from the budget by 14 percent. Where can we get the P350 billion, or $7 billion, at a 50 (just to be conservative) to 1 US dollar exchange rate?

The total domestic and foreign debt of the Philippine government is about P5 trillion, or $100 billion. Therefore, we would need to increase the total amount of debt by 7 percent to make up the P350 billion shortfall.

The government could take advantage of its credit rating and go borrow the $7 billion in the international market now at 4 percent interest rate as it did in January 2015. At that time, foreign lenders were offering to buy $13.5 billion of Philippine government 25-year bonds at 4-percent interest.

Even with this new loan, the government would still have one of the best debt-to-GDP ratios on planet Earth.

The World Bank’s distorted rankings Leonid Bershidsky

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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or some governments, improving their country’s standing in the World Bank’s Doing Business survey has become a national priority. Yet, the results of such efforts sometimes are deceptive.

That’s because the annual ranking of business friendliness of regulatory systems isn’t based on surveys of businesses. Instead, it analyzes regulations and regulatory change, and awards points for pro-business measures and takes them away for antibusiness ones.

In practice, that means rating government policies without considering their real effect. It’s a ranking of institutional good intentions, which explains why so many politicians swear by it.

Consider the case of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has set the goal of getting India into the top 30 by 2018 (for 2015 it was ranked 130th for Ease of Doing Business). President Vladimir Putin’s goal is more ambitious: He wants Russia (No. 51) to be in the top 20. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the

strongman of Kazakhstan (No. 41), aims for the top 35 by 2020. Ukraine’s Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius said he wanted his country (No. 83) to rise by 25 places in 2015, because “one notch in the rankings is $600 million of extra investment.”

Even relative success is a reason to break out the champagne. When this year’s ranking was published this week, the Kenyan government discovered Kenya had jumped 21 positions to 108th place. Deputy President William Ruto called the improvement “historic.”

Russia has a lot to celebrate this year: It jumped 11 slots to reach No. 51, almost achieving the goal of No. 50 set

by President Vladimir Putin for 2015.

If the World Bank is to be believed, it is now easier to do business in Russia

than, say, in Luxembourg, ranked 61st, or in Israel (No. 53). Russia jumped in the charts, thanks to four innovations: It cut the number of days required for a new company to open a bank account and register property; cut property taxes; and simplified the process of obtaining an electricity connection.

These hardly seem substantial improvements, compared with the danger of losing property to powerful and thoroughly corrupt law-enforcement agencies and bureaucrats, the risks imposed by Putin’s external aggression; and the country’s shrinking economy and decayed infrastructure. It’s not for nothing that Russia is 143rd out of 152 nations in the Heritage Foundation’s latest Index of Economic Freedom. How did Russia do so well in the Doing Business survey? “On the whole, we are working actively with the World Bank, this work is constant,” Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov boasted to Putin as he presented Russia’s improved results. He didn’t imply anything improper: Like officials from other countries, Shuvalov’s staff merely draw the attention of the survey’s team to relevant policy measures.

A recent study by Mary HallwardDriemeier of the World Bank and Lant Pritchett of Harvard contrasted the Doing Business data with enterprise surveys in developing countries and found

However, the annual interest payment on that loan would be approximately P15 billion. Where would that money come from?

Assuming Filipinos would spend the extra P350 billion in tax savings and not bury it in the ground, it should generate P50 billion in corporate profits, which would be taxed at 30 percent equaling P15 billion in revenue to the government to pay the debt interest payment. Further, a portion of that P350-billion spending would also be subject to the current value-added tax, generating more revenue.

The conventional argument is that lowering taxes might cause problems with the government’s balance sheet, requiring more borrowing to cover the budget deficit, thereby, limiting economic growth. But this does not apply to the Philippines, which also has one of the lowest budget deficit to GDP ratios in the world at a negative 0.6 percent. Malaysia’s is negative 3.5 percent, with Thailand at minus 2.5 percent.

Abolish the personal income tax.

Borrow the money to make up the budget shortfall. Pay the new debt from increased economic activity.

Let the president get a good night’s sleep while making the people and the country richer.

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.

that the business environment couldn’t be assessed just from the de jure regulatory climate. For example, some companies’ bureaucratic problems are resolved much faster, or slower, than required by law—presumably depending on their ability to grease the wheels. “Given our evidence, it is a completely open question how reforms that altered the Doing Business indicators will actually affect the investment climate that most firms actually experience,” the economists wrote.

To be sure, Doing Business is not completely useless. Despite the economy minister’s stated goal, Ukraine only rose four places in the ranking this year, reflecting the government’s failure to fulfill its promises of reform. When little is happening, even on paper, the ranking takes note.

Doing Business, however, shouldn’t reward governments for tweaking the rules here and there when those rules are arbitrarily enforced. Two years ago an independent panel urged the World Bank to stop compiling an aggregate country ranking and to stick to assessing policy moves in specific fields. World Bank President Jim Yong-kim rejected the suggestion, saying the ranking was “part of the success” of Doing Business. The survey may be good for the World Bank, but it needs real-life data from businesses to be truly relevant.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Marcos’s unmatched legacy: Energy Cecilio T. Arillo

database Part 1

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NFRASTRUCTURE development is the fuel that keeps a country cruising at a rapid pace in the race toward growth and economic stability in today’s emerging global environment.

Dr. Jeffrey Delmon, senior infrastructure specialist of The World Bank, affirms this by stating that: “Poor infrastructure impedes a nation’s economic growth and international competitiveness.”

Infrastructure, thus, becomes imperative as it plays a direct and crucial role in people’s everyday lives. The development of high quality roads and transport systems, bridges, hospitals and schools is vital both for economic growth and improving the quality of life of citizens. If built and maintained properly, these infrastructures will benefit both present and future generations.

In this area of public service, President Ferdinand Marcos made a legacy so remarkable and enduring that it has been the life work of his foes to obliterate it in the chronicles of our history.

Yet, no matter how hard they attempted to stigmatize him, the significant things he had accomplished cannot change the fact that because of what he did in his time remains today in the global map, a feat that has never been equaled by the five presidents who succeeded him.

Marcos’s accomplishments in infrastructure and development, missing in history books deliberately prescribed for our students and unheard of by many Filipinos, are discussed below.

Energy

The energy sector plays a key role in the country’s economic activities. When energy prices go up, the costs of food, transportation and other basic necessities follow suit. To prevent skyrocketing oil and power rates that would eventually result in high prices of commodities brought about by the 1973 global oil crisis, the government sought to decrease dependence on imported oil by harnessing indigenous sources of energy. As a result, the Marcos regime completed 20 power plants: Agus 2 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1979; Agus 4 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1985; Agus 5 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1985; Agus 6 Hydro Electric Power plant, recommissioned in 1977; Agus 7 Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1982; Angat Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1967; Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, completed in 1983; Ca l aca Coa l Power Pl a nt, completed in 1984; Cebu Thermal Power Plant, completed in 1981; Kalayaan Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed 1982; Leyte Geothermal Power Plant, completed 1977; Magat A Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1984; Magat B Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1984; Main Magat Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1983; Makiling-Banahaw Geothermal Power Plant, completed in 1979; Masiway Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1980; Palinpinon 1 Southern Negros Geothermal production Field completed in 1983; Pantabangan Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1977; Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant, completed in 1980; and Pulangi Hydro Electric Power Plant, completed in 1985.

A study by Gilberto Llanto (2002),

A study by Gilberto Llanto (2002), Infrastructure Development: Experience and Policy Options for the Future, reveals that during the Marcos Administration, electrification reached 1,270 municipalities/ cities, 19,680 barangays and around 2.7 million households in 1986, which represented 45.6 percent of total households.

Infrastructure Development: Experience and Policy Options for the Future, reveals that during the Marcos Administration, electrification reached 1,270 municipalities/cities, 19,680 barangays and around 2.7 million households in 1986, which represented 45.6 percent of total households.

Almost three decades after Marcos was ousted from power, not only did his successors fail to build a single power plant; but more devastatingly, the nation also saw the aggressive privatization of the energy industry. Foreign players and the local private sectors started to participate in energy projects through privatization and the build-operatetransfer scheme.

As a result, a few oligarchic families amassed billions of profit, while the consumers bore the brunt of shouldering costly power rates. The Philippines has even earned its place as one of the countries with the most expensive power rates in Asia.

It can be recalled that for 13 years, a specific period covered by Marcos’s total energy plan for the country made successful by the right combination of regulated and deregulated policies saw the steady, low-cost supply of oil and cheap electricity to consumers.

In that period, the Marcos government, based on indisputable government records, had succeeded in reducing the country’s dependence on Middle East oil from 92 percent in 1973 to 71 percent in 1980 and further to 57 percent in 1984. By 1985, the Philippines stood as the world’s second-largest user of geothermal power, next to California, resulting further to 44-percent reduction of the country’s dependence on imported oil worth billions of pesos.

On June 19, 1986, four months after the Edsa Revolution, President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino’s administration deliberately abolished the Ministry of Energy and placed the multibillion-peso Philippine National Oil Corp., a successful Philippine firm featured successively in Fortune’s 500 Best Corp., under the administrative supervision of the Office of the President.

As a consequence, the long-term total energy plan for the country went down the drain after the Aquino regime corrupted, dissipated and privatized its money-making corporations and subsidiaries, including the National Power Corp. and the highly profitable Petron that served as a buffer against foreign oil production and distribution monopoly. Petron controlled 40 percent of the fuel distribution network in the country.

To be continued To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio. arillo@gmail.com

Saturday, October 31, 2015

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Philippine cooperative centennial year: 1915-2015 Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

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he Philippine Cooperative Movement recently marked its centennial year. Below is the manifesto issued by the Cooperative Movement in line with its 100th year celebration, particularly with its recently concluded Centennial Unity March.

On a personal note, I would like to express my gratitude to the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) for the recognition given me during the Philippine Cooperative Centennial Year: Culmination Rites and Cooperative Expo.

The cooperative movement is among the programs of the Church and it is part of the Catholic Church’s social teachings. It is a self-help organization and not a dole-out to help the poor. Cooperatives may not be able to provide the whole answer to poverty and economic injustice, but they are part of the answer.

Philippine cooperative manifesto centennial unity march

The Philippine Cooperative Movement’s celebration of its centennial year proves its resilience and reaffirms relevance to the society.

The existence of cooperatives in the country is a strong manifestation of its role in developing businesses from the grassroots and empowering the common tao.

Universally, modern cooperativism offers an alternative business

and economic model to the dominant neoliberal capitalist system.

Even Pope Francis has recognized the role of cooperativism as the key to better economy—and a better world. The pope has consistently criticized the dominant economic model as one that “promotes exclusion and inequality,” and “economy that kills.”

And the pope has this important challenge to cooperatives—whose intrinsic design is based on members-ownership, value-based and sustainability: “The future of humanity is in great measure in your own hands, through your ability to organize and carry out creative alternatives.”

With very rich experience, accumulated over its 100-year existence, the Philippine cooperative movement remains very relevant and is ready to take on greater challenges ahead.

Aside from being rooted on realities on the ground, the spirit of cooperativism is planted firmly in Philippine laws. The Constitution has declared it as one of the state

policies “to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments of equity, social justice and economic development.”

The Constitution also made sure that this state policy would be translated into tangible service to the people by mandating the government, through Congress, the creation of the agency to promote the growth of cooperatives—the CDA. In recognition of this important role of giving equal opportunities for the poor to get out from the rut of poverty, cooperatives are given certain privileges that would make them competitive, economically and financially feasible like the privilege of tax exemption.

Thus, as we celebrate the centennial of the cooperative movement, we gather together to reaffirm the morale and legal basis of the Cooperatives’ existence in the country.

As a movement, we reaffirm the role of cooperatives as agents of social justice, equity and economic growth.

We further reaffirm the need for the CDA to fulfill its Constitutional and statutory mandates to provide services for the development of cooperatives and, at the same time, serve as the faithful regulatory agency— all these to protect the interest of the people.

As a movement, we call on government to be faithful to the substance of the Constitutional basis of cooperatives by upholding and protecting its privilege of tax exemption. It is only through this affirmative action from the government can poor people be competitive in their enterprises in

Beijing’s choice in the South China Sea

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o its credit, this week’s US operation to challenge Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea was measured. China has good reason to ensure its response is, too.

In the Navy’s carefully calibrated mission, a guided-missile destroyer and a pair of surveillance planes passed within 12 nautical miles of two artificial islands that China has recently reclaimed from the sea. Under international law, these formerly submerged reefs have no territorial seas. By distinguishing its actions from the “innocent passage” that ships claim when moving through another nation’s waters, the US made clear that piling up thousands of tons of sand gives China no special claim to surrounding waters.

US officials responded to reporters’ queries, but didn’t overhype the operation. And while some critics complained that the US had waited too long to act, the timing was fortuitous. Chinese leaders, preoccupied this week with a Communist Party plenum in Beijing, have thus far confined their outrage to diplomatic complaints.

It’s important not to expect too much from this one gesture. The

operation didn’t contradict China’s claim to sovereignty over the artificial islands; the US takes no formal position on overlapping claims in the South China Sea. And there’s little chance the Chinese will now suddenly halt construction of runways and other facilities with possible military uses there. Nearly two years ago, the US sent a pair of B-52 bombers to challenge the air-defense identification zone China had unilaterally declared over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Dozens of airlines still respect the zone, even though the US and Japan don’t.

The real test of success is whether

HCPTI is aboveboard MAIL

Please e-mail your letters to the editor to oped@businessmirror. com.ph. Letters chosen for publication in this section are edited for brevity and clarity.

WE write relative to the news stories (enumerated below) wherein it was intimated that Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) is unlawfully conniving with the National Food Authority (NFA) in illegally storing imported rice within the port premises: n “Port operator under fire for storing NFA rice without

government permit” published on September 28, 2015 n “Group threatens to sue NFA for using port as transit hub” published on October 1, 2015 n “NFA welcomes probe on use of port as transit hub” published on October 5, 2015 n “Consumer group sues NFA, HCPTI for illegal storage of rice” published on October 20, 2015 n “PPA asked to probe ‘import irregularities’ in local ports” published on October 26, 2015 It is our position that the allegations contained in these news stories are baseless, malicious and defamatory. While it is true that HCPTI has done business and transacted with NFA, all dealings with the same agency are conducted transparently and more important, legally. All unloading operations concerning rice importation of NFA are carried out through Direct-To-Truck operations.

Simply stated, all cargoes are directly

US actions reinforce existing maritime law and norms. The US could further that goal by now going forward with military cruises that target reefs and rocks controlled

by Vietnam and the Philippines.

When President Barack Obama visits Southeast Asia next month for a pair of regional summits, he should press US friends and allies to clarify their own maritime claims and seek international arbitration, as the Philippines has in bringing a case at The Hague against China’s expansive claims. The White House might even consider a new push to get the Senate to ratify the United Nations

loaded to truck of the consignee and are never stored or kept within the port premises. In fact, a certification to this effect was recently issued by the NFA amid the allegations of a boisterous consumer group. In the interest of bringing light to the issue, we took the initiative to contact and locate the representatives of the involved consumer group but our efforts were futile as both their contact number and address, as reflected in their corporate papers, are inexistent.

Further, Atty. Danilo L. Bonabon of NFA, in his report relative to the ocular inspection conducted at the HCPTI premises on September 28, 2015, was quoted to say that “During our visit to verify the veracity of said accusation which was being published in several newspapers, Kenneth Soldevilla, assistant vice president for Terminal Operation, assisted us in the conduct of inspection of the only warehouse standing inside the premises of

the free market lorded over by capital from the rich.

As a movement, we call on government to strengthen the agency created by law to provide developmental and regulatory services to cooperatives—the CDA—by increasing its budget and providing all necessary powers for it to be a faithful instrument of the cooperatives and the interests of the state.

As a movement, we support the road map of the CDA that leads the cooperative movement to become game changers in (1) Poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and the vulnerable; (2) Rapid, inclusive and sustained economic growth; (3) Transparent, accountable and participatory governance; (4) Just and lasting peace and the rule of law; (5) Integrity of the environment and climate-change adaptation and mitigation.

As a movement, we call on everyone to be vigilant against any threat to the cooperative movement.

Let this manifesto guide the Philippine Cooperative Movement as it strides to greater challenges and more substantial social impact.

We will continue with Laudato Si next week.

To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www.caritasmanila.org. ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www. veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

Convention on the Law of the Sea, so the US can stand on firmer legal ground itself. The goal is to show China that the costs of escalating are greater than any realistic benefits: It can ramp up its naval presence in the South China Sea, but that probably won’t keep the US away. Rapid militarization —something that Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his recent visit to Washington, vowed not to pursue—would only increase the risks of an unintended clash and badly exacerbate tensions with China’s Southeast Asian neighbors.

China can’t afford that right now.

Policy-makers are rightly consumed with the Herculean task of easing the economy into a slower-growth trajectory without sparking a financial crisis. The Chinese military still lags far behind that of the US, despite recent improvements. Stability continues to serve Chinese purposes better than conflict.

These facts appear to have persuaded Beijing to dial down tensions in the East China Sea; this weekend, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will take part in a trilateral summit with the leaders of South Korea and Japan.

China would be wise to show similar restraint further south. Bloomberg View

Manila Harbour Centre to show that there is no NFA/Commercial Rice being stored but mostly are materials made of iron. Not even a single grain of NFA rice is stored and found at the said warehouse.” Hence, removing all doubts of existence of illegally stored rice within HCPTI premises.

In this regard, we urge you to cease and desist from publishing further, any article which relate or pertain to the above baseless allegation of illegal storage of rice within our port premises. HCPTI has always been committed to faithful compliance with applicable rules and regulations set forth by any and all government agencies, and upholding the laws of the land in general. Any allegation to the contrary serves to malign, vilify and defame the good name of the company.

Iran Isabelle J. Servillon Manila Harbour Centre, R-10, Vitas, Tondo, Manila 1013

Sports BusinessMirror

PSL EMBRACES TECHNOLOGY

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HE Philippine Superlga (PSL) made Philippine sports history after officially adopting the video-challenge System for the second round of the Grand Prix that started on Thursday night at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

The video-challenge system is used in world-class volleyball leagues sanctioned by the Federation International Volleyball (FIVB). Superliga embraced the system through its technology partner Data Volley Project.

“Today marks the history of the new technology,” PSL President Tats Suzara said. “Of course this has been used in the FIVB events, but for Philippine volleyball this is history.”

Only the Philippines, through the PSL, and Thailand are using the system which allows coaches two challenges each per set.

The league, teams and sponsors spent millions of money to make this world-class technology possible. PSL Chairman Philip Juico said in the press conference that all the efforts were worth it.

“We’re happy to be using science technology here because there are many things that the naked eye cannot see. It’s only fair to give them back a good technology which will make the game even fairer,” PSL Chairman Philip Ella Juico said in a press conference on Thursday night.

A total of 26 cameras will be installed in all logical angles in the arena. There will be a large LED screen for players, officials and spectators to view.

“We brought it because that is what the league deserves and that is what the people deserve and the stakeholders. In any aspect, technology is very important, it’s a game changer whether you do strategic management or you do some other things,” Juico added.

A challenge could be made in situations like ball in or out, ball contact with antennae, net touch, service line fault, attack line fault from back row attack, center line fault and block touch. A challenge should be called not more than five seconds after the end of a rally. Lance Agcaoili CIGNAL’S Ariel Elizabeth Usher (4) prepares to defend against »Foton’s Alyja Daphne Santiago (3) and Ivy Perez (9) in Thursday’s

D

E LA SALLE completed a doublechampionship sweep of the Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) table tennis tournament after the Green Archers beat the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers in the finals on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

It was the third straight crown for the Green Archers, whose counterparts in the women’s division also swept their way to the crown on Thursday.

The Green Archers beat the Growling Tigers, 3-1, in Game One and escaped with a narrow 3-2 decision in Game Two to clinch their fifth crown overall.

Green Archers’ Walden Ledesma took his second Most Valuable Player award in three years while his teammate, Carlo Mateo, bagged the top rookie honors.

It was De La Salle’s second straight double championship in the sport.

The Junior Archers followed the footsteps of their elders and also swept the high-school division.

De La Salle-Zobel nipped National University, 3-2, to rule the boys’ section on Friday, with Elijah Yamson and Neo Angelo Laudato winning the MVP and Rookie of the Year honors, respectively.

The Junior Lady Archers earlier defeated University of the East in the championship series to become the first girls division champion of UAAP table tennis.

aturday, October 31, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

volquez, Ventura and Cueto

SPORTS PLUS

‘WORLD’ IN WORLD SERIES

When Yordano Ventura takes the mound at Citi Field on Friday night to face the New York Mets, the Royals will become the first team in World Series history to start three pitchers born outside the United States. Each from the Dominican Republic, too.

match won by the Tornadoes, 25-17, 25-19, 25-18. NONOY LACZA

De La Salle completes title sweep

A8 | S

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By Eric Nunez

The Associated Press

EW YORK—Yordano Ventura is the flamethrower who stares down hitters.

Johnny Cueto has flowing dreadlocks and nicknamed his motion “The Rocking Chair.” Edinson Volquez is the always ebullient guy who pitched just hours after his dad died.

And together, the Kansas City trio is about to put the world in the World Series.

When Ventura takes the mound at Citi Field on Friday night to face the New York Mets, the Royals will become the first team in Series history to start three pitchers born outside the United States.

Each from the Dominican Republic, too.

“The fact that we are all in this together is priceless,” Ventura said. “This is so exciting. You feel proud that this is something historic, but at the same time you’re aware this is also unique. Nobody knows if three Dominican pitchers will be ever starting again for the same team in World Series.”

Before this year, six Series teams had started two pitchers from beyond the US, STATS said. Those pitchers came from Cuba, Canada, Venezuela and the Netherlands, among other countries.

Ventura starts with Kansas City holding a 2-0 lead.

Ever since the Royals got Cueto from Cincinnati in a trade in late July, it seems the KC clubhouse has come to resemble a Dominican neighborhood.

“Take a look, we all lined up together here. This is the Dominican corner,” said Kelvin Herrera, another Dominican and a key member of the bull pen. “We have families, but during the season we spent more thing together bonding in the field. I think that makes us a family.”

That family of right-handers came together in the past year.

Ventura is the one with more tenure with the Royals, a winning pitcher in Game Six of the 2014 World Series. He had the highest velocity this year

among starting pitchers who qualified for the earned run average (ERA) title at 96.79 miles per hour.

After the offseason departure of their ace James Shields in free agency, the Royals signed Volquez to a two-year, $20-million contract. He led the team in wins (13) and ERA (3.55) during the regular season.

The 32-year-old allowed three runs over six innings against the New York Mets in Game One on Tuesday. His father, 63-year-old Daniel Volquez, died of heart failure just before he started. The Royals won 5-4 in 14 innings.

Cueto, a soon-to-be-free agent, was acquired at the trade deadline from the Reds. He delivered on Wednesday night, completing a two-hitter in a 7-1 victory. He was a teammate with Volquez, both starting for the Reds in the 2010 National League Division Series against Philadelphia.

“At first it was a little strange because I didn’t know most of the guys, but I became comfortable quickly,” Cueto said. “We’re three Dominicans, tremendous pitchers. We got along as brothers, there’s no envy among us. Everybody is trying to help each other.”

No telling if any of Cueto’s fellow pitchers will benefit from copying his slowed-down, wiggling windup. He calls it “La Mecedora”— the Rocking Chair.

“I read swings, I read rhythms. And I come up with these different type of windups because of the rhythm that I feel is going to be effective on that particular pitch,” Cueto said.

Ventura was suspended seven games after his role in a brawl with the Chicago White Sox on April 23. He also got riled up in other incidents with Mike Trout the Los Angeles Angels and Brett Lawrie of the Oakland Athletics.

The youngest at 24, Ventura praises Cueto and Volquez as good mentors for him, on and off the field.

“The influence that those two guys have brought up on me is great,” Ventura said through a translator on Thursday at Citi Field. “I feel like we’re brothers. I’ve learned a lot from seeing them go out there and pitch and how to react to things, certain situations in the game.”

Alaska bench plays big in win over Elite A

By Joel Orellana

LASKA again drew strength from its bench to waylay a pesky Blackwater, 87-79, for its second straight win in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Calvin Abueva, Vic Manuel and Chris Banchero provided the spark off the bench for the Aces, who trailed most of the way before unleashing a big finishing kick to stay unbeaten at 2-0 and join NLEX, San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shina at the top.

Manuel had another solid game with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, all he made in the second half. Banchero also had 13 markers, while Abueva contributed seven points and 13 rebounds.

“Blackwater gave us some problems.

Credit to them. We did not get what we wanted in this game. Coach Leo [Isaac] had a great game plan tonight,” Alaska Head Coach Alex Compton said.

“But we have more fire in the second half and credit the players for giving a different intensity in the second half,” he added.

LA Clippers 104, Dallas 88

CHAMP CHEERS KNIGHTS World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao holds the championship

trophy that Letran won over San Beda, 86-82, in overtime in Game Three on Thursday night, in the 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball finals series at the Mall of Asia Arena.

KEVIN DE LA CRUZ

Arcilla-Joven showdown in Negros

T

OP seed Johnny Arcilla held off No. 4 Fritz Verdad’s fight back in the second set to carve out a 6-2, 6-4 victory on Friday and seal a showdown with doubles partner Ronard Joven for the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Pintaflores Festival Open Tennis Championship crown at the San Carlos City Tennis Club in Negros Occidental.

Arcilla, a many-time Philippine Columbian Association Open champion, used his power game to dominate Verdad in the opener, then

broke his rival once in the next to complete his third straight-set win in row and gain a crack at the crown in the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and held in conjunction with the host city’s Pintaflores Festival celebrations.

In contrast, the third-ranked Joven, 31, needed to fight back from a tight opening set setback and wore down giant-killer Leander Lazaro, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3, in a grueling two-hour and 40-minute encounter in the other semifinal clash.

It was a sorry loss for Lazaro, who subdued

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

ARMY VS NAVY

ARMY and University of the Philippines (UP) take on separate rivals on Saturday, both eyeing a third straight victory and a playoff for the last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Reinforced Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Lady Troopers, who swept the Kia Forte and survived the PLDT Home Ultra Fast Hitters in five sets to share the lead with the Lady Maroons, clash with the resurgent Navy Lady Sailors in the main 5 p.m. match of the first triple-bill in the season-ending conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

UP, enjoying top form with back-to-back wins over Navy and Coast Guard, battles PLDT Home Ultera in the 12:45 p.m. opener to be shown live on GMA News TV Channel 11.

Kia Forte and Coast Guard clash in the 3 p.m. duel of winless teams, with the winner staying in the semifinal hunt and the loser bowing out early in the tournament presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by Mikasa and Accel.

FORMER champion Santa Lucia Land Realtors defeated Power Innovation Philippines, 95-88, on Thursdsay night to barge into the win column of the fifth DELeague basketball tournament at the Marikina Sports Center in Marikina City .

Eluid “Eloy” Poligrantes topscored for Santa Lucia with 29 points that he capped with four rebounds and as many assists, while Victor Jean chipped in 22 points.

Kazim Mirza finished with 25 points for the Power Innovators.

Metro Pacific Toll Corp., meanwhile, dealt Mindanao Agilas its second defeat, 83-76, also on Thursday night in the league, sponsored by PSBank, Accel Sportswear, PCA-Marivalley, Angel’s Burger, Mckie’s Construction Equipment Sales and Rentals, Luyong Panciteria, Azucar Boulangerie and Patisserie, JAJ Quick Print Advertising, Mall Tile Experts Corp., Jay Marcelo Tires, Polar Glass and Aluminum Supply and Mr. and Mrs. Dot Escalona Byron Villarias topscored for the Road Warriors with 18 points, while Raul Suyud added 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Choi Ignacio and Chris Concepcion made 17 and 15 points, respectively, for the Agilas.

NBA RESULTS Atlanta 112, New York 101

THE Department of Education (DepEd) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) named Legaspi City in Albay as host of the 2016 Palarong Pambansa.

Legaspi City beat the only other bidder—Tuguegarao City, Cagayan— for the right to host the multisport competition for in-school athletes in the primary and secondary levels.

Albay Gov. Joey S. Salceda committed a P300-million budget for the Palaro, which was hosted this year by Davao del Norte in Tagum City.

“We reviewed the recommendations from the regions and had our own deliberations. We went through billeting, facilities, your presentations, including readiness of our regions, as well as other considerations that are specific to 2016.

And the winner by a very, very slim margin is Albay,” Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC, said on Friday.

STA. LUCIA WINS

Tony de la Cruz had nine of his 11 points in the first quarter for the Aces, but Blackwater controlled the first half and even took a 48-41 lead at the break.

Alaska grabbed the lead at the 4:30 mark of the third period after Jvee Casio sank a triple, 62-60. The Aces carried a 69-66 advantage entering the payoff period.

But the Elite, who dropped to 0-2 with the loss, kept on coming back, the last with JP Erram’s three-point play off Manuel to move his team to within three, 76-79, with four minutes remaining.

But Manuel, also the hero in Alaska’s 11498 win over Talk ‘N Text, engineered a crucial 6-2 exchange for an 85-78 margin.

Erram led Blackwater with 13 points and nine boards, while Reil Cervantes contributed 11. Jason Melano and Jerick Canada each had 10 points for the Elite.

Memphis 112, Indiana 103

LEGASPI CITY HOSTS PALARO

second seed Vicente Anasta in the quarters, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, in a match that lasted three hours.

“It’s going to be a great title duel between these two talented players, who are basically familiar with each other’s game being doubles partners. But for sure, one will try to surprise the other, making their clash worth watching,” Palawan Pawnshop President and CEO Bobby Castro said.

Arcilla and Joven dispute the title and the top P40,000 purse at 3 p.m. on Saturday, capping the weeklong event hosted by Mayor Gerardo

Valmayor Jr., with Criston Carmona as organizer and backed by Vice Governor Eugenio Jose “Bong” Lacson and Rep. Julio Ledesma of the First District of Negros Occidental.

Meanwhile, Arcilla and Joven face Mark Gayo and Eduardo Rodriguez Jr. in the quarterfinal round of the men’s doubles which also pits the Anasta-Arvin tandem against Rodolfo BarquinJoshua Kinaadman; Roel Capangpangan-Kim Saraza versus Michael Madrio-Deo Talatayod; and Diego Dalisay-Arc Dolorito against Lazardo-Verdad.

CDO HOLDS RUN

REGISTRATION for the CDO-Foodsphere Inc.’s CDO@40: Run For Odyssey is on Monday, at Chris Sports outlets in Glorietta, Market Market and SM North Edsa, Megamall, Mall of Asia and BF Homes.

The fun run, sponsored by CDO, San Marino Tuna and Highlands Corned Beef, will be held on November 8 at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

The run will include races in the 5K, 10K and 21K categories for men and women.

Proceeds will fund the supplemental feeding program of Odyssey Foundation Inc., the corporate social-responsibility arm of the 40-year-old food processing company.

“When you run for Odyssey, you will not only get to challenge yourself, but you also help nourish the lives of thousands of undernourished children in the country,” Jules Burton, senior manager for Human Resources Department of CDOFoodsphere, said.