BusinessMirror January 28, 2016

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INSIDE

Even the most secret ones

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WORD & LIFE, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

Thursday, January 28, 2016

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A WORLD OF LUCK UNFOLDS IN RWM 2016 IMPERIAL FESTIVAL

Looking for a 2016 vacation?

Here are 16 must-see destinations First of two parts

BY CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS Los Angeles Times

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LSEWHERE called. It misses you. In fact, it wants you to hit the road soon. Here are 16 destinations (alphabetically arranged) that look especially pleasing in 2016.

BOZEMAN, MONTANA BOZEMAN in Montana in the US makes a great gateway to Yellowstone National Park 80 miles south, in part because of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. Day by day, this college town (population: about 42,000) seems to sprout more reasons for a visitor to linger, especially if it’s summer. The Lark Hotel, opened early 2015, has transformed an old motor lodge into a snappy, stylish stop. In its parking lot is the gleaming silver trailer of Victory Taco, a casual food stand that’s also a popular summertime ice-cream stop for families strolling Main Street.

For more grown-up pleasures, there’s Montana Ale Works, which serves hearty meals and about 40 draft microbrews in a big, old railroad freight building.

Locals line up for breakfast at the Nova Café and Main Street Overeasy. But do remember to get to the national park. It was America’s first, after all.

■ Info: www.downtownbozeman.org

than it was in the dark days of Colombia’s internal strife at the turn of the 21st century. The colonial city center is rich with boutique hotels and restaurants made from old homes.

La Vitrola is a longstanding see-and-be-seen restaurant; gourmets head for Carmen Cartagena (seven-course tasting menu, $78, plus wine). Instead of arriving by way of Bogota or Medellin, many US travelers now fly straight to Cartagena from New York’s JFK (JetBlue), Fort Lauderdale (JetBlue) or Atlanta (Delta). Intercontinental, Radisson and the W brand opened hotels here in 2014.

A stylish Delano Cartagena is due in 2016. The previously gritty Getsemani neighbor is especially trendy, with night spots and the upscale 10-room Casa Lola hotel (which occupies one building from the 17th century and one from the 19th). For information on crime and safety, see the US State Department’s June 5 warning on Colombia.

■ Info: www.ticartagena.com/en; http://1.usa. gov/1M�DuaS DUBLIN, IRELAND A HUNDRED years ago, Dublin’s Easter Rising launched Ireland on a path to independence from British rule. The armed insurrection brought bloody results, including the execution of 16 leaders, but in 1922 the Irish Free State was established. In months ahead, dozens of centennial events are planned in Dublin, including an exhibition at the National Library of Ireland, lectures at Trinity College and various historical reenactments. On January 1 the Cross Border Orchestra—whose young players are gathered from Ireland and Northern Ireland— delivered a Peace Proms performance in the Convention Center. The National Museum of Ireland will unveil “Proclaiming a Republic: the 1916 Rising” on March 3. On Easter Sunday, March 27, at 1:15 p.m., wreath-laying ceremonies are planned at spots throughout the city.

■ Info: www.ireland.ie; www.museum.ie

restaurant (especially its Sunday gospel breakfast).

But there’s plenty more well-loved soul food at Amy Ruth’s Restaurant and Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too. The Abyssinian Baptist Church gets so many Sunday morning tourists that it urges visitors to attend 11 am services, leaving the 9 am service to members.

■ Info: www.Harlemheritage.com; www.bigapplejazz. com IRAN MANY Americans are eager to visit Iran, and several tour operators are helping them. (In terms of US government red tape, it’s easier than going to Cuba.)

Iran is full of historic towers, mosques and squares, especially in the ancient city of Esfahan (where the atmospheric Abbasi Hotel is a favorite of western visitors). Persepolis, not far from the city of Shiraz, holds some of the most striking pre-Christian ruins outside of Egypt and Peru.

Both destinations are well removed from the Iraq and Afghanistan border zones, which the US State Department urges travelers to avoid. Tehran, more modern, includes many museums. To get there, Americans often fly to Istanbul, then continue on to Tehran or Esfahan.

■ Info: www.distant-horizons.com MYANMAR THE allure of its culture and scenery has never been in doubt. And now, after decades as an outcast nation controlled by the military, it’s edging toward the mainstream. Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, is full of faded grandeur that will remind some people of an Asian Havana.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is a 335-foot golden spire (crowned with diamonds, rubies and sapphires), the nation’s most revered Buddhist site. The plains of Bagan, along the Irrawaddy River, are dotted with hundreds of 11th to 13th-century temples (and popular with balloonists). Irrawaddy cruises between Mandalay and Bagan are offered by Avalon Waterways, Belmond, Viking River Cruises and others. Lodging can be buggy and rustic, and infrastructure is shaky, but change is coming: Hilton opened hotels at Nay Pyi Taw, the capital, and Ngapali in 2014, with others to follow at Bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay in 2017.

■ Info: www.myanmartourism.org; www.lat. ms/1QNND4W

RESORTS World Manila (RWM, www.rwmanila.com) welcomes luck in this Year of the Fire Monkey as a tapestry of Chinese-themed and Valentine events headline its Fourth Imperial Festival ushering in the Lunar New Year and the month of hearts from January 27 until February 28.

Launching the series of special events for RWM’s Imperial Festival is the Manila leg of leading Chinese Feng Shui and Astrology master Joey Yap on January 28, 8:30 am, at the Marriott Grand Ballroom B. Attendees of this year’s seminar will gather insights and useful tips from the best-selling author’s sessions that will help them attract luck for the year.

Starting February 1, RWM’s The Plaza in Newport Mall will be transformed into Manila’s little Chinatown offering Chinese food and goods for the whole family. Shoppers also get lucky as a Lunar New Year mall sale with enticing discounts from participating tenants are on offer starting February 5 to 8. Guests will also be treated to a Lion and Dragon Dance performance happening at the Newport Mall on February 9. Coinciding with the Lunar New Year events will be a Valentine’s Fair at The Plaza from February 1 to 14. RWM also keeps its reputation as the premier place for a world of luck as guests may also have the chance to win special prizes in the Lucky Ang Pao Promo at the Newport Mall, the Lucky Fortune Cookie Giveaway at RWM’s signature Cantonese restaurant Passion, and Cinema Roulette at the Newport Cinemas which can happen on any day during the festival.

LIFE

CHEF Heston Blumenthal at Taste of London

HK LAUNCHES FIRST TASTE FESTIVAL IN ASIA

GLOBALLY renowned as the must-attend culinary event of the year with its European origin, the world’s greatest restaurant festival will make its debut in Asia starting with Hong Kong from March 10 to 13 on the Central Harbourfront.

Organized by IMG, Taste of Hong Kong will unveil a dynamic and fun mix of ingredients for all foodie fanatics in a city recognized for its exceptional food culture and wealth of culinary talent.

Following the successful format of global Taste Festivals, 12 of Hong Kong’s finest Michelin star cuisine and Hong Kong’s top chefs will congregate in one location for the ultimate dining experience, serving a premium menu of more than 40 signature dishes on small plates and iconic one-off festival creations. “Taste is the most serious, indulgent and exciting food festival, bar none,” world-renowned chef and three Michelin star winner Heston Bluementhal OBE said.

Local and international culinary celebrities and world-class chefs will be cooking up a storm and mingling in the festival grounds. There will be unique Taste of Hong Kong chef collaborations; exclusive Champagne master-classes; local artisanal produce to buy; and entertaining, interactive food and wine attractions—all in a casual and celebratory festival environment. Now in its 11th year, Taste Festivals are currently celebrated in 22 destinations including Paris, London, Rome, Dubai, Sydney and Cape Town.

In a city famous for its cuisine and multiculturalism, the fine-dining community promises to showcase to locals and visitors alike the eclectic and exquisite Taste of Hong Kong.

Visit www.DiscoverHongKong.com for more information.

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Sports BusinessMirror

ARTAGENA, COLOMBIA THIS Caribbean-facing coastal colonial city is far safer

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The rest of 2016’s must-see destinations will be revealed next week.

Editor: Jun Lomibao

ANGELIQUE KERBER (left) and Johanna Konta win on another distracting day in Melbourne. AP

DAMAGED SPORT WIMBLEDON Chairman Philip Brook (center), along with Association of Tennis Professionals Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode (right) and International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty, speaks during a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday. AP

The first Grand Slam of the season has been overshadowed from the start by media reports alleging that tennis authorities had failed to thoroughly investigate evidence of match-fixing.

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The Associated Press

tennis—the International Tennis Federation , ATP and Women’s Tennis Association tours, and the four Grand Slams—to take quick action to

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address the issue.

A BBC and BuzzFeed News report which coincided with the start of the Australian Open alleged 16 players—all ranked at some stage in the top 50—had been flagged for being involved in matches where suspicious betting activity was detected. No players were identified and no specifics were published, and many critics believed the data was based on matches that had already examined.

Philip Brook, chairman of the Tennis Integrity Board (TIB), said while the reports “did not reveal anything new, it was widely written about and has caused damage to our sport.”

With that going on in the background, Konta went on court and beat Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai, 6-4, 6-1, to become the first British woman since 1983 to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam.

It will be Konta’s first semifinal at a Grand Slam, and it ended Zhang’s seven-match winning streak, including three in qualifying.

“It will be my first match against her [Kerber],” Konta said. “She’s top 10. She’s an incredibly decorated and successful competitor and player. I’m just going to go out there and bring to the court what I can.”

The The 27-year-old Zhang entered the Australian Open with a 0-14 record in Grand Slam matches.

Zhang says her two weeks in Melbourne should result in a big rankings boost that could help her get into the Rio Olympics for China.

“In my heart I feel like I’ve won this tournament because I’ve won seven matches,” Zhang said. “It didn’t matter winning or losing today.”

Kerber went down a break in the second set

before winning five consecutive games and saving five set points before beating two-time champion Azarenka, the result coming as a surprise despite the difference in seedings. No. 7 Kerber broke No. 14 Azarenka’s serve to end the match, her first win in seven matches against the Belarussian.

“When I was down 2-5, I was actually playing more aggressive,” Kerber said. “I think the key from this match was that I was playing and I won the match, she didn’t lose it.”

It ended a strong few weeks for Azarenka, who won the Brisbane International and hadn’t dropped a set.

“My footwork didn’t have enough, my shots didn’t have enough,” Azarenka said. “I felt I did a little bit too many unforced errors in the key moments.”

Six-time champion Serena Williams and No. 4-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska will meet in the other women’s semifinal on Thursday.

Two men’s quarterfinals were scheduled for later Wednesday—No. 2 Andy Murray plays David Ferrer and Gael Monfils takes on Milos Raonic.

The independent review announced in a news conference at Melbourne Park, earlier reported by the Associated Press, will be funded by the TIB, which oversees the anticorruption unit set up by the sport in 2008 to combat match-fixing. It will be led by Adam Smith, a London-based lawyer who is an expert in sports law.

Kermode acknowledged that the announcement of the review helped keep the topic of match-fixing prominent in and around the tournament action.

“It has been hard on the Australian Open, no question about it,” Kermode said. “Obviously the report was timed to hit at this point, try to create as big a story as possible. But [Australian Open organizers] have been unbelievably supportive of the actions we’ve taken. They agree we had to hit this head-on now even though it was during the championships.”

“Roger’s World”—when Roger Federer was No. 1, still dominating men’s tennis and the favorite face of sponsors.

On Thursday the two players’ worlds collide. Again.

The top-ranked Djokovic will play No. 3 Federer in a blockbuster semifinal match at the Australian Open. It will be the 45th installment in a riveting rivalry that is so equally split that they are tied with 22 wins each.

It’s a rematch of last year’s final at the US Open and Wimbledon, both of which Djokovic won in thrilling nail-biters.

It will be their 15th matchup at a Grand Slam tournament, more than any other pair of men in tennis’ Open era, which dates to 1968. Djokovic

and Rafael Nadal have played each other 13 times at majors, Federer and Nadal 11 and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl 10.

But more than just numbers, it is a tantalizing rematch that holds great importance to both players as they try to cement their place in history.

For Federer, who owns a record 17 Grand Slam titles, it offers a chance to prove that his best is not entirely behind him. He is 34, which means that time really is running out.

“It would mean a lot to me, no doubt about it,” Federer said on Tuesday when asked about the significance of winning one more major in the era of Djokovic. “It’s part of the reason I guess I’m still playing. I feel like I’m competitive at the top.

I can beat all the guys on tour.”

That is true, but the problem for Federer has been making it happen in the last round of a major.

Federer hasn’t won a major since Wimbledon in 2012 despite repeatedly coming close. He was runner-up in 2014 at Wimbledon and in 2015 at Wimbledon and the US Open— beaten all three times by Djokovic.

The 28-year-old Djokovic finished 2015 as the No. 1 player for the fourth time in five years. The Serb won three Grand Slams—the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open— and reached the final at the French Open.

Djokovic is considered the best baseliner in the game, contorting his body as he stretches and slides between defense and offense.

In Melbourne, Federer has been playing a brilliant brand of attacking tennis, ushering him comfortably through the draw and past No. 6 Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4.

Djokovic and other players have commented that he’s playing as well as ever, if not better, deploying well-honed new skills and aggressiveness at net.

“Roger is playing really terrific tennis,” Djokovic said after his 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal win over No. 7 Kei Nishikori. “He’s got great defense, amazing offense. He’s very complete.

He puts constant pressure on the opponent.

You have to be aware at all times. You got to be tough. You’ve got to be concentrated.

“This is going to be a big challenge for

both of us,” Djokovic said. “I’m expecting a great fight.”

Something else Djokovic can expect is the “SABR.” It stands for “Sneak Attack By Roger” and it’s a maneuver the Swiss star introduced last year but hasn’t yet displayed in Melbourne.

It’s a tactic in which he races forward on an opponent’s second serve and half-volleys a return while heading to the net.

During his on-court interview on Tuesday, Federer, who is adored by Australian tennis fans, was asked why he hadn’t shown off his “sneak attack” at the Australian Open.

“You want to see it?” Federer asked, as the crowd voiced its approval. “All right. I’ll definitely play at least one in the next match.” AP

SPORTS

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LOYZAGA, 85

SPORTS

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People living in a country with a serious corruption problem

NCC BARES PROJECTS TO PUSH PHL GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

NOVAK-ROGER IN SEMIS

ELBOURNE, Australia—Novak Djokovic has a larger-than-life presence at the Australian Open.

His face smiles at fans from sponsor’s billboards. His voice gives inspirational advice over center-court speakers between matches.

There’s even a new addition to Melbourne Park called “Novak’s World,” where fans can slip on virtual reality goggles and feel as if they’re walking in Djokovic’s shoes—as he stretches in the locker room and then walks out onto the court as the crowd roars.

A few years ago, the Australian Open and the other majors could have been called

ORRUPTION remains a serious problem in the Philippines, according to the latest Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which showed that the country’s ranking in 2015 dropped to 95th from 85th in 2014.

S “C,” A B D P ELBOURNE, Australia—Angelique Kerber and Johanna Konta advanced to the Australian Open semifinals on Wednesday on another day when the integrity of tennis was part of the tournament conversation.

The first Grand Slam of the season has been overshadowed from the start by media reports alleging that tennis authorities had failed to thoroughly investigate evidence of match-fixing.

On Wednesday just as Kerber began her 6-3, 7-5 win over two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals, the governing bodies of tennis announced they will commission an independent review of their anticorruption unit to restore “public confidence in our sport.”

In announcing the review, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Chairman Chris Kermode said the reports had “caused damage to the sport,” which compelled the major stakeholders in

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

Serious corruption problem plagues PHL, TI survey says CPI 2015 revealed that the country’s public sector garnered a score of 38 from experts and institutions tapped by TI. The international non-governmental organization said countries that obtained a score of less than 50 have “serious corruption problem.”

DAMAGED SPORT HARLEM, NEW YORK FOR too long, Manhattan above 110th Street was terra incognita among tourists. But that’s been changing as the area gains prosperity. Harlem Heritage Tours offers half a dozen itineraries, as does Big Apple Jazz Tours. On lively 125th Street, there’s the Apollo Theater, opened in 1934 and busy with music and comedy acts, as well Wednesday-night amateur | Tas HURSDAY , JANUARY 28, 2016 acts. Nearby stands the Studio Museum in Harlem. mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Sylvia’s may be the neighborhood’s best-known sports@businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, January 28, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 112

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REELING: SENSUAL SHAKESPEARE; MACABRE ‘MACBETH’ D2

RESORTS World Manila welcomes the Year of the Fire Monkey with its monthlong Imperial Festival 2016.

BOTSWANA IT’S a smallish country, about the size of France, with not quite 2 million people. But Botswana, in southern Africa, has the Okavango Delta and the vast Central Kalahari Game Reserve. In fact, 38 percent of the country’s territory is set aside for national parks, reserves and wildlife-management areas. And as of 2016, it also has 50 years of independence. Before 1966 it was a British protectorate known as Bechuanaland.

Now, as a democracy with a reputation as the least corrupt country in Africa, Botswana is an increasingly popular destination for safari-seekers.

In the delta, you can canoe past hippos. In Moremi Game Reserve, you see lions on the prowl. In Chobe National Park—well, you’ll find about 50,000 elephants for starters. Among tour operators offering safaris here are Abercrombie & Kent, Micato Safaris and Wilderness Safaris.

■ Info: www.botswanatourism.co.bw

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B C U. O  C N. P

LOOKING FOR A 2016 VACATION? EAR Lord, we know that judgment will be absolutely fair, for it will take into account not only our actions, but also our intentions and motives, even the most secret ones. You will judge us not on hearsay or on the witnessing of others, but simply on what we have wanted, what WE have done, and how much and how sincerely we have loved. Knowing the decisive importance of that deliberation, and that such will be the object of Your judgment, it is only wise that we should prepare for it, everyday of our life, through aspirations, attitudes, decisions and actions guided only by love of You and neighbor. Amen.

A broader look at today’s business

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B C N. P

HE National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is considering a slate of projects for 2016, in its bid to boost the country’s chances to land on the top 3 of the global competitiveness rankings.

These projects include a “game changer” plan that will focus on key policy reforms with substantial economic impact.

“What the council is looking at is to come up with a metric prioritizing policy reforms but that are forward-looking.

For this year we want to intensify the ease of doing business, and look at human resource development with the Asean economic integration,” said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary and concurrent NCC Public Sector Cochairman Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. in an interview.

According to the board meeting notes, the NCC Council is eyeing a policy reform-oriented project, dubbed “Gamechanger,” which will identify, advocate and support the passage of vital, “game-changing reforms.”

S “NCC,” A

PRESIDENT Aquino and His Majesty the Emperor Akihito of Japan enjoy the cultural presentation during the Welcome Ceremony at the Malacañan Palace Grounds for the State Visit to the Philippines on Wednesday. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Emperor Akihito: Japan must remember wartime agony and suffering of Filipinos

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B R M

MPEROR Akihito had expressed his profound remorse to the loss of lives of many Filipinos in 1945 between the Japanese imperial army and the US army, and he also mentioned that the Japanese must remember the agony and suffering experienced by the Filipinos.”

The emperor’s press secretary, Hatsuhisa Takashima, made this statement in response to a question of whether President Aquino and Emperor Akihito talked about the last war, and if the issue of Filipino comfort women was discussed during the latter’s courtesy call at Malacañang

on Wednesday.

Takashima presided over a news conference following the emperor’s visit to Malacañang at the Sofitel Hotel on Wednesday. He discussed what transpired in the Palace while the Emperor was there.

Takashima said a banquet would be held in honor of the visiting dignitaries at Malacañang on Wednesday night, and that the emperor is expected to deliver a speech.

“My understanding is that he had already expressed his profound remorse but it is up to him [to apologize]. I don’t know the content of the speech,” he said.

Takashima added that the emperor and his wife would like to visit many

countries where the war took place and pay tribute “not only to the Japanese war dead but to those who sacrificed their lives.”

“Whenever they find time to visit, they will do that, talking about the war.

I don’t think it is the emperor’s role to express the details in each individual,” he said, adding that the emperor had always mentioned the need for peace and stability in international relations.

He said the Palace meeting between Mr. Aquino and Akihito was very tight but it was marked with a cordial and friendly atmosphere. “The atmosphere was cordial and friendly, like a family gathering,” Takashima said.

S “E A,” A

Australia: Nations to respect tribunal decision on South China Sea arbitration That arbitration will settle, once and for all, the question A of whether or not an artificial reef can create some kind of 12-nautical-mile buffer. Our belief is that it does not.”—Bishop PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 47.9870

N international arbitration case over the disputed South China Sea that has been boycotted by China will “settle once and for all” whether artificial reefs are entitled to territorial waters, Australia’s top diplomat said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the ruling by the tribunal in The Hague in the case brought by the Philippines will be “extremely important” as a statement of international principle. She said that although Beijing is saying it will not be bound by the

ruling, which is expected later this year, the tribunal’s decision “will be embraced and upheld by all other nations with claims or interests in the region.”

China has built up several artificial islands to advance its sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, a major thoroughfare for world trade. China says its claims have a historical basis, but that has brought it into conflict with other claimants, like the Philippines and Vietnam, and raised broader international concerns over Beijing’s intentions.

“In my mind that arbitration will settle, once and for all, the question of whether or not an artificial reef can create some kind of 12-nautical-mile buffer. Our belief is that it does not, as a matter of international law,”Bishop told a seminar organized by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

Australia is not among the claimant-governments in the South China Sea, but Bishop said that, like the US, it supports freedom of navigation and overflight. She sidestepped questions about whether Australia, a close

US ally, would follow Washington in conducting a freedom of navigation mission close to China’s artificial islands.

She called on Southeast Asian nations and China to put in place a code of conduct on behavior of nations in the South China Sea — an initiative that has made little headway in the past dozen years.

“We want to see de-escalation of tensions in the region. We would hate for there to be some kind of miscalculation that would lead to conflict,” Bishop said. AP

■ JAPAN 0.4051 ■ UK 68.8901 ■ HK 6.1566 ■ CHINA 7.2909 ■ SINGAPORE 33.6562 ■ AUSTRALIA 33.4614 ■ EU 52.1091 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.7941

Source: BSP (27 January 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, January 28, 2016

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Mamasapano Massacre probe: Purisima moves to exculpate Aquino but Enrile unconvinced

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B B F

ISMISSED National Police chief Alan Purisima, under grilling by senators, on Wednesday sought to exculpate President Aquino from any liability for the slaughter of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos by Moro rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, last year, even as Aquino already assumed “ultimate responsibility” for the massacre of SAF troopers by Moro rebels last year.

Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile pointed out that Purisima himself admitted before senators that he cleared the police personnel deployment for Oplan Exodus, which bagged international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, at his hideout in Maguindanao, only to be ambushed

by Moro rebels and other gunmen as they were extricating from the area after completing their mission.

“If the President was not involved here, why did you ask his approval?” Enrile asked Purisima, noting that he even included the date of the mission for Aquino’s “consideration and approval.”

Purisima, in response, claimed he merely “forwarded that [SAF’s Oplan Exodus] for his information,” referring to Aquino. Pro-administration senators also asserted there was no point for Aquino, who flew to Zamboanga as the fighting was ongoing, to be alarmed at that time because of the information being fed to him by his men in touch with the SAF commandos on the ground in Mamasapano. But Enrile, who moved to reopen the Mamasapano Massacre inquiry of the Committee on Public Order chaired by Sen. Grace Poe, confronted Purisima on testimonies

indicating that the President “compartmented” information on SAF operation, in effect limiting certain details to certain people.

Even as the President had earlier assumed “ultimate responsibility” for the fatal mission, Purisima insisted that his and Aquino’s role in the fatal execution of Oplan Exodus was “limited to advisory” capacity. Purisima even recalled that when he went to brief the President at his residence in Bahay Pangarap about the mission, Aquino “was telling me about a new music system that he has [just acquired].”

Under questioning by Sen. Juan E. Angara, former Armed Forces chief of staff Gregorio Pio Catapang also sought to clear Aquino, saying the President did not prevent the Armed Forces from rescuing the SAF troopers ambushed by Moro rebels and gunmen.

Asked by Angara if Aquino gave an order for the military to stand down because of ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Catapang replied: “I did not receive an order to stand down.”

Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and then-Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who were

Emperor Akihito. . .

He added that the President’s sister, Pinky Aquino-Abellada, had been appointed as hostess to welcome the visiting couple.

“President Aquino said his sister was appointed [as the] unofficial goodwill ambassador to Japan,” Takashima said, adding that Abellada had been to Hokkaido in northen Japan before, and went around the place without a need for an escort because she was using an automatic translation software in her mobile phone.

“She [Abellada] was able to move around and visit various places in Hokkaido without the need of [a] guide,” he said.

The emperor asked Abellada whether she was affected by heavy snow at the time of her visit and the presidential sister replied that she liked the snow.

Takashima said the two leaders dis-

Corruption. . .

C  A

“Not one of the 168 countries assessed in the 2015 index [got] a perfect score and two-thirds [scored] below 50, on a scale from 0 [highly corrupt] to 100 [very clean]. More than 6 billion people live in a country with a serious corruption problem,” TI’s report read.

CPI 2015 showed that the Philippines was among the two-thirds of 168 countries who got a score of below 50. The country is also tied in 95th place with three other countries—Mexico, Mali and Armenia.

Among its Asean-5 counterparts, the Philippines was second to the last in terms of ranking and score.

Singapore led Asean-5, ranking 8th globally with a score of 85.

In Asean, Malaysia ranked 54th overall with a score

FORMER Philippine Police Officer in Charge PDDG. Leonardo A. Espina (Ret.) (right) answers questions from Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile (not in photo) during the continuation of the investigation on the Mamasapano encounter on January 25, 2015. On the left is Philippine National Police Chief PDG. Ricardo Marquez. ALYSA SALEN

If the President was not involved here, why did you ask his approval?”—Enrile to Purisima present at the hearing, also testified they were not aware of any stand-down order from the Commander in Chief.

Senate President Frank lin Drilon, likewise, came to Aquino’s defense, saying that it was SAF commander Getulio Napeñas, not Aquino, who should be held liable for compartmentalizing information about the SAF mission. Drilon also sought to elicit confirmation from Purisima that it was Napeñas who compartmented information, in a bid to pin the blame on Napeñas to spare Aquino.

For his part, Enrile said he got the “sense of frustration” of

Aquino, as Oplan Exodus began to unravel early morning of January 25, 2015, as the SAF commandos exfiltrating from the area after completing their mission were pinned down by MILF, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and other gunmen in Barangay Tucanalipao, Mamasapano.

Asked by Enrile why he did not send air assets to support the SAF commandos encircled by Moro rebels, Catapang said he ordered immediate assistance to the SAF commandos, even if they were unaware of actual situation on the ground.

“We did not really know the sit-

uation; it took some time for our men to react to the situation”, he said, recalling that “two to three helicopters were prepositioned in Cotabato” as the firefight was going on. “Unfortunately, it was not requested by the National Police.”

Catapang added: “We follow the chain of command; we do not micro manage, our commanders know what to do.” But Enrile maintained that “the command system was paralyzed” on that fateful day, resulting in the massacre of the 44 SAF commandos.

Delay in filing raps

NOTHING prevents the Department of Justice (DOJ) from submitting a report to the Senate to explain the apparent delay in filing charges in court against those responsible for the death of the 44 SAF commandos in Mamasapano, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. said.

“The DOJ owes it to the family of the victims, and to the public, in

cussed the economic situation between Manila and Tokyo, and the emperor was impressed to be told that Japanmade consumer products, including automobiles, are much in demand here in the country.

“It is his pleasure to see the exchange between the Philippines and Japan to be increasing year-by-year, not only in the economic front but in overall relations,” Takashima said.

Aquino told the Emperor that the big issues confronting the economy are the horrendous traffic and the lack of infrastructure, and that he wants to modernize and make it better for the sake of the economy.

“He thanked Japanese assistance to some development programs in transport and infrastructure and the betterment

program, including the capital’s subway system, the airport, port, as well as major railway system,” Takashima said.

He added that the emperor had voiced out his opinion that the major issues confronting the Philippines, such as the traffic and major accidents, are due to the geographical factors of the country.

Aquino told the emperor that enormous efforts are being done by his administration to tackle those issues, and that to have them resolved is the No. 1 concern of the Philippine government.

President Aquino added that rather than the geographical configuration, it is the existence of very old cities and villages that he wants to preserve as heritage sites and also promote the development of urban areas. Takashima said the two visitors talked about their last visit to the Philippines 54 year ago, when when they went to Tagaytay. The couple failed to see the

volcano because it was then covered by a thick fog.

“The fog was so thick I couldn’t see the lake at all,” the emperor told Aquino, who offered to take him to Tagaytay again, but the emperor declined because of tight schedule. “Instead, the President showed the picture of the volcanic lake to their majesties and they were pleased to watch it,” Takashima said.

The last issue they talked about concerns agriculture and the International Rice Research Institute.

Aquino told the visitors that the Philippines used to be a major agriculture economy in the past, “but because of changes in the situation, the Philippines [has] become a net importer of rice.”

Aquino said it was the lack of irrigation and maintenance, the failure and mistake in the rice-pricing system and aging farmers that contributed to the failure in this sector of the economy.

of 50, while Thailand was tied in 76th place with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, India and Tunisia with a score of 38.

Meanwhile, Indonesia ranked 88th with a score of 36 out of 100. Six other countries obtained the same score and ranking—Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Peru and Suriname.

Asia-Pacific countries averaged 48 out of 100, with New Zealand garnering the highest score at 88. North Korea was the laggard in the region, as it ranked 167th with a score of 8.

“This year’s poor results demand that [Asia-Pacific] leaders revisit the genuineness of their efforts and propel the region beyond stagnation. They must fulfill promises, and ensure efforts aren’t undermined in practice,” the report read.

Guillermo Luz, National Competitiveness Council private sector chairman, said the Philippines’s ranking is not “any better or worse” than the three other countries

which also garnered a score of 35 and ranked 95th.

“The corruption index is [based] on 12 different surveys and it’s not the same for all countries. Some of the reports take place over a two-year span. There’s no single instrument for the index,” Luz said.

The Philippines is targeting to improve its ranking and join the top-third of countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2016. “We have our work cut out for us. We have to work very hard on achieving that goal.”

Malacañang, for its part, said the Aquino administration has remained faithful to its Daang Matuwid (straight path) mantra.

“The government continues to strengthen public institutions so that civil servants imbibe the ethos of transparency and public accountability,” Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said.

Overall, Denmark took the top spot for the second straight year in CPI 2015, while North Korea and Somalia

were the worst performers, scoring just 8 points each.

CPI 2015 ranked 168 countries while the 2014 edition involved 175 countries.

TI said top performers share key characteristics such as high levels of press freedom; access to budget information so the public knows where money comes from and how it is spent; and high levels of integrity among people in power.

It added that these leading countries have judiciaries that don’t differentiate between rich and poor and are truly independent from other parts of the government.

The CPI is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption. Countries’ scores can be helped by open government where the public can hold leaders to account, while a poor score is a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.

C  A

With a report from Dave Cagahastian

general, to explain why a year after that tragic incident no formal charges have been filed in court against those responsible,” Marcos said.

“Even if they are not formally invited to testify in the Senate hearing they can simply submit to us a report on the status of the case so we can all know why it’s taking them so long to file appropriate charges in court,” he added.

Newly-appointed Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas earlier denied that the department is sitting on the case and promised that a resolution will be out soon.

Reports said the DOJ has concluded the preliminary investigation on the case on January 14.

Marcos said former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should do the same to help the Senate identify possible snags that continue to hamper the progress of the case.

De Lima was the sitting justice secretary at the time of the Mamasapano Massacre and the start of the investigation on the case.

She later announced that charges will be filed in court against 90 of the gunmen who slaughtered the police commandos.

It could be recalled that in a letter dated January 20, 2016, addressed to Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, Marcos requested the panel to invite de Lima and Director Virgilio Mendez of the NBI to testify at the reopening of the Senate investigation into the massacre.

However, Poe explained that since it was Minority Leader Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile who sought the reopening of the investigation, the panel accorded him the prerogative of identifying the resource persons for the hearing.

Marcos vowed that no matter what happens in the Senate hearing he will continue to press the effort to give justice to the families of the SAF 44. “Awarding medals posthumously to the SAF 44 may assuage the pain of their families but only justice will give them peace of mind and allow them to move on with their lives,” he added. With Recto Mercene

NCC. . .

C  A

These priority policy reforms were called as such because of their high impact on the economy in terms of expanding the middle class and boosting incomes of the bottom 40 percent through job generation.

Although this has been proposed before the board, Cristobal said no timeline for the crafting of the guidelines and metrics have yet been set.

This year will also see the NCC’s continued push for easing the process in setting up a business with its Ease of Doing Business Gameplan 4.0. The Council’s Gameplan 1.0 to 3.0 were able make the country jump by more than 45 spots in the World Bank GroupInternational Finance Corp.’s Doing Business Report.

The Doing Business Report measures the ease of doing business across 10 processes, which a business must undertake with several government agencies over its typical life cycle: Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits, Getting Electricity, Registering Property, Getting Credit, Protecting Investors, Paying Taxes, Trading Across Borders, Enforcing Contracts, and Resolving Insolvency.

The Doing Business Report is one among 12 global competitiveness rankings that the government tracks.

From 2011 to 2015, the Philippines has improved the most in Transparency International’s Corruption Index, jumping by 49 spots.

However, the country recently slipped, year-onyear, from a ranking of 85th from 175 countries in 2015 to 95th out of 168 countries in the Corruption Index.

Other proposed projects for the year, pending approval of the board, include a Project Repeal agenda that aims to streamline the layers of legislation that hamper the business environment in terms of increased cost of compliance and cost of doing business.

“The establishment of a systematic review and repeal process of legislation, executive and departmental orders, and even local government ordinances and issuances will streamline our regulations and clean the books of unnecessary laws,” the notes read.

BMReports BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, January 28, 2016 A3

Fast-growing tourism industry to boost PHL economy–DOT B R L. A

T

Contributor

HE Philippine tourism industry is growing faster than the global and Asian average and is seen pushing the country’s economy from 2019 to 2021.

At the launching of the Hospitality Investment Conference Philippines in Makati City on Wednesday, Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said inbound foreign tourists reached more than 5.3 million in 2015, 10 percent better than the 4.8 million arrivals in 2014.

This is higher than most countries in the region, which collectively grew by 5 percent with a total of 277 million visitors last year and, likewise, greater than the 4.4-percent hike to 1.2 billion travelers across the globe, as per the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Revenue-wise, the tourism sector generated around $6 billion in 2015, mainly due to higher visitor expenditures and longer stays.

Its contribution to GDP was more than 8 percent, while employment has reached close to five million.

“Overall, the economic outlook remains positive. Our estimated GDP growth of 5.7 percent in 2015 is still one of the best in the region.

This is expected to increase to about 6.1 percent in 2016,” Bengzon said.

Aggressive travel campaigns, increased air traffic and improved infrastructure are among the driving factors of robust tourism in the country.

The DOT undersecretary noted the government’s liberalized civil aviation policy, which has resulted in more visitor traffic to other gate-

ways, such as Mactan-Cebu, Kalibo, Clark and Davao.

“These are just some of the investment areas that will be accessible to more international flights from short and long-haul markets and which you may want to seriously consider for investment,” he said.

Bengzon added that the “It’s More fun in the Philippines” initiative launched four years ago has created a buzz for the country that lured more visitors. The campaign gained international citations for its various destinations.

“We believe that our sustained advertising campaign has created a higher awareness level around the globe and helped us gain all these recognitions,” he said.

As an offshoot of the successful initial campaign, the DOT then launched the Visit the Philippines Year 2015, and this year kicked off a first of its kind: Visit the Philippines Again 2016.

This is the first back-to-back tourism initiative aimed at sustaining the DOT’s global advertising presence, according to the official.

At a sideline interview, he told reporters that they also have addressed infrastructure requirements by entering into a convergence program with the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Started in 2013, the program aims to ensure that access roads to key tourist sites are built and prop-

TECHNICAL PACT Officials of Roberts AIPMC and Metaltech Co. Ltd. recently signed a Technical Assistance Agreement. In photo are (from left) Christiane Medina, managing director of Roberts AIPMC; Eddie Gallor, executive vice president of Roberts AIPMC; Ryuichi Yajima, president of Metaltech Co. Ltd., and Noriyuki Asai, director and CFO of Metaltech Co. Ltd., during the signing of the Technical Assistance Agreement between the two companies held at Seda Hotel, Nuvali, Santa Rosa, Laguna. NONOY LACZA erly maintained.

“We allocated about P15 billion in 2015. [In] 2016, we’re looking at about P24 billion,” he said, adding: “Just a few examples, we’ve developed a number of access roads in the province of Albay. In Cagayan de Oro, we’ve also worked for the development of roads there.”

The DOT also forged a similar initiative with the Department of Transportation and Communica-

tions to guarantee that major airports and seaports are ready for the influx of visitors.

Bullish on a more equitable distribution of visitor traffic nationwide, the tourism undersecretary sees tourist arrivals reaching 6 million this year, generating $6.5 billion in revenues.

He also expects tourism’s GDP contribution at around 10 percent to 12 percent in the next three to

five years.

To help achieve such goals, the DOT’s overall game plan for tourism is anchored on the National Tourism Development Plan of 2011 to 2016. Covering the period 20172022, it will focus on encouraging more investments and ensuring inclusive growth.

“We will come up with an official title for the plan. But for now, we are just using the generic term ‘Succes-

Fed faces a messier economic picture 6 weeks after rate hike

S

IX weeks after raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, Federal Reserve (the Fed) policy-makers now face a more perilous global picture that could alter their plans for further raising rates this year.

Since the Fed increased rates last December 16 from record lows, stock markets have plunged, oil prices have skidded and China’s leaders have struggled to manage a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Though some analysts say the Fed erred in raising rates last month, don’t expect the central bank to acknowledge so when it issues a statement after its latest policy meeting ends on Wednesday afternoon.

But in their meeting, the Fed’s policymakers will surely grapple with how to respond to the altered landscape. And some analysts say the Fed might hint in its statement that the pace of three or four additional rate increases that many had expected this year may become more gradual—with, perhaps, only two rate hikes this year.

The most visible sign of the economic fear has been the sharp fall in the stock market.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed more

than 7 percent of its value in the first three trading weeks of 2016.

China has unnerved investors because of an economic slowdown that Beijing seems incapable of steering properly. The country’s decelerating growth has shrunk global commodity prices and the emerging market countries that have supplied them to China.

Last week the price of oil reached a 12-year low of $28.15 a barrel before rebounding slightly this week.

The tumbling markets so far haven’t shaken consumer confidence. One measurement of confidence climbed for a second month, the Conference Board said on Tuesday. Much of the optimism stems from solid job growth: US employers added an average of 284,000 jobs a month in the final quarter of last year.

And the unemployment rate remains a low 5 percent.

The robust hiring has come despite weakness in American manufacturing. Export sales have slowed, in part, because a higher-valued dollar has made American goods more expensive overseas. The strong dollar has also made imports cheaper, which, along with falling

2% US economic growth projected by analysts in Q1 2016, faster than the forecast 1 percent in Q4 2015

energy prices, has kept inflation below the Fed’s target level for more than three years.

The economy’s growth, as measured by GDP, has lagged, with many analysts suggesting that it slowed to a sluggish annual rate below 1 percent in the October to December quarter. Still, they foresee a rebound to a rate of around 2 percent in the current

House set to pass bills on PPP, CCT, FINL C  A

It also said that a lending company may be owned up to 100 percent by foreign nationals, “provided, however, that where the loan is secured by land, a lending company, more than 40 percent of whose capital is owned by foreign nationals, may bid and take part in any sale of such land as a consequence of such mortgage, avail of enforcement proceedings, take possession and transfer their rights to qualified Philippine nationals for a period not exceeding five years from

Noncompulsory MEANWHILE, the lower chamber adopted late Tuesday Senate Bill 2178, or the Election Service Reform Act, mandating that the electoral boards formed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) shall be composed of a chairman and two members—all publicschool teachers who are willing and available

to render election service.

The bill said, should there be a lack of publicschool teachers willing, available or qualified to serve, the Comelec may instead appoint the following personnel in this order of preference: private-school teachers; national government employees; Department of Education nonteaching personnel; other national government officials and employees holding regular or permanent positions, excluding uniformed personnel of the Department of National Defense and all its attached agencies; members of the Comelec-accredited citizen arms; and any registered voter of the city or municipality of known integrity and competence who is not connected with any candidate.

PNP personnel shall be appointed as a last resort if no other qualified voters are willing to serve, the bill said.

The bill also mandates the Comelec, within 30 days of the law’s effectivity, to determine if there is still material time to implement non-

compulsory election service in the 2016 national and local elections. Otherwise, it will take effect in the next polls.

The measure also raises the honoraria for the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) chairman from P3,000 to P6,000; for BEI members from P3,000 to P5,000; for Department of Education supervisors from P3,000 to P4,000; and for support staff from P1,500 to P2,000. They will also be given a travel allowance of P1,000, double the amount granted in 2013.

ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, one of the authors of the bill, said, “This is a historic victory for public-school teachers, who have long clamored to make election service voluntary instead of compulsory.”

“While teachers have discharged the burden of obligatory election service well, their ranks have also paid the price. We dedicate the passage of this law to the memory of Filomena Tatlonghari, Nellie Banaag, and other teachers who gave their lives while serving in elections, he added.”

January to March quarter, helped by strength in consumer spending.

Many point to the Fed’s December rate hike as a key factor in the stock market’s tumble. The move amounted to only a small rise in the Fed’s still-extremely low target rate for overnight bank lending. But it signaled that a seven-year period of near-zero rates was ending and that while borrowing costs wouldn’t be rising fast, they would be headed steadily up.

The Fed’s critics had warned for years that by keeping rates so low for so long, it was fueling dangerous bubbles in assets such as stocks. Some now see the falling stock prices as the correction that they had forecast would occur after the Fed started raising rates.

Others say the market’s swoon is not the product of the small increase in the Fed’s benchmark rate. They point instead to China’s economic troubles, the slide in oil prices and weakness in key areas of the global economy.

Still, some economists suggest that if the Fed could have foreseen what has ensued in the weeks since it raised rates, it might have reconsidered.

A prolonged drop in the stock market can sometimes—but certainly not always—signal an impending recession. Most analysts note that the six-and-a-half-year-old economic expansion has lasted longer than most.

Yet, they don’t see a recession as imminent.

Behravesh said he puts the possibility of a mild recession starting later this year at around 20 percent. But he said his firm’s forecast is for the economy to rebound from a slow final three months of last year to growth of around 2.5 percent this year.

And what should the Fed be doing?

The Fed may make some slight changes to its policy statement to express concern, in particular, about intensified global pressures.

That could assure investors that the Fed will weigh such developments in deciding when to next raise rates.

Some economists foresee only two quarter-point rate hikes this year. Some other analysts think the Fed could stick with the four rate increases that officials had signaled could be coming this year, with the first hike possibly coming at the Fed’s next meeting in March. AP

Tatlonghari was killed in a ballot boxsnatching incident in Mabini, Batangas, in 1995, while Banaag died when her school was burned down by armed men during the 2007 elections.

effectively implement the same.

It added all other government agencies shall promote the judicious and efficient use of energy through their different mandates.

The bill said the BOI shall include EEC and conservation projects on the list of the country’s investment priorities entitled to incentives.

Umali said lawmakers consider the EEC bill as an important piece of legislation due to the Philippines’s commitment to the recent Paris Climate Conference.

“The Philippines is committed to lowering greenhouse-gas emissions to prevent the rise of global temperatures. Furthermore, this will have huge environmental and economic effects.

“An EEC measure helps in maximizing our energy resources, resulting to less waste products and less importation of resources. Any kilowatt or megawatt saved is like putting a similar magnitude of additional capacity. We save a lot. We save resources that we would not pay for when we import oil or other things,” Umali said.

Energy conservation

MEANWHILE, Liberal Party Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, panel chairman and principal author of the bill, said the EEC bill is a major step in ensuring stable power supplyin the country. Umali said the Department of Energy (DOE) shall be the lead agency to implement the provisions of the proposed EEC Act of 2016.

The bill said all energy end-user entities shall exert efforts to use every available energy resource efficiently and promote the development and utilization of renewable-energy technologies and systems across sectors from the household level to industries in compliance with the declared policies of this act. To this end, the DOE shall, in collaboration with the energy end-user entities, develop the appropriate mechanism to

sor Plan’,” Bengzon said. “[With this blueprint], we will have to continue to work on air access because we are almost entirely dependent on air traffic to bring our visitors.

We would have to continue to expand the capacity and continue to widen the offers in terms of products and services. And then, of course, continue empowering our stakeholders,” he stressed.

‘Nlex-SCTEx integration finished by June’ B L S. M

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HE P650-million integration of the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway (SCTEx) should be completed by the first half of the year, Tollways Management Corp.

Spokesman Robin Ignacio said.

“We cannot complete it physically by the first quarter. But currently, we are working toward the completion of the integration of both the systems and physical plazas, which should take a couple of months. We can complete this project by the middle of the year,” Ignacio told the BusinessMirror.

The integration of the two expressways would speed up the queues on exit plazas, increasing the amount of transactions per hour to 800 from the current 200.

The toll-linkage project involves the conversion of separate Nlex and SCTEx toll-collection systems into a single system that should allow for more efficient toll collection and faster movement of traffic for motorists.

It also involves the installation and removal of temporary plazas and the construction of interchange plazas that will also require the widening of existing entry or exit ramps.

Manila North Tollways Corp. bagged the contract to manage, operate and maintain SCTEx late last year.

Under the terms of the contract, the company will be responsible for the management, toll collection, traffic safety and security, toll road and facilities maintenance, including greening and landscaping, public relations and marketing of expressway until 2043.Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is the largest tollroad operator in the Philippines. It also has interests in expressways in Vietnam and Thailand.

Asean

BusinessMirror Editor:

www.businessmirror.com.ph

10 things you don’t know about Asean?

Asean-EU Perspective

HENRY J. SCHUMACHER

1

ASEAN will be 50 years old in 2017 when the Philippines will have the chairmanship of Asean. It started with five founding member-countries in 1967—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined in 1984; Vietnam in 1995; Lao PDR and Myanmar in 1997; and Cambodia in 1999.

2. Asean did not have a secretariat until 1976, nine years after its creation. It is based in Jakarta and is headed by a secretary-general.

There are about 300 employees in the secretariat.

3. The Asean Charter entered into force in 2008. The Charter gave Asean, after more than 40 years of existence, a legal personality and profiled it as a rules-based organization.

4. Each Asean member-state has appointed a permanent representative to Asean with the rank of ambassador based in Jakarta. All of them collectively constitute the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR). The CPR supports the work of the Asean Community Councils and Asean Sectoral Ministerial Bodies, coordinates with the Asean National Secretariats, liaises with the secretary-general on all subjects relevant to its work and facilitates Asean cooperation with external partners.

5. Eighty-three non-Asean countries have appointed ambassadors to Asean.

6. Asean has 10 dialogue partners. These are Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US. Asean has also established a Comprehensive Partnership with the United Nations.

7. If Asean were a single country, it would be the third-largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world by GDP. At current trends, it is projected to be the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050.

8. The Asean chair—and host of annual Asean summits and meetings —rotates yearly among member-states. As mentioned above, the Philippines will chair Asean in 2017, during its 50th Founding Anniversary.

9. The 8th of August is observed as Asean Day, marking the day of its creation through the Asean Declaration in 1967. Various activities are held to mark it at the national and regional levels.

10. Asean is keeping the momentum of regional integration and community-building through the next 10 years, after the launch of the Asean Community in December 2015. Asean’s Vision 2025 is a bold, visionary, progressive and forward-looking document to reflect the aspirations of the next generation of Asean nationals. It will realize a politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible, and a truly people-oriented, people-centred and rules-based Asean.

Survey finds most countries in Southeast Asia still struggling with corruption

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HREE Southeast Asian nations—Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar—rank among the 30 most corrupt countries in the world, while one—Singapore—is among the 10 least corrupt, according to Transparency International’s annual survey.

Two Southeast Asian countries—Malaysia and the Philippines—were seen as becoming more corrupt last year, while the others all improved or remained the same, according to the Corruption Perception Index released on Wednesday.

“If there was one common challenge to unite the Asia-Pacific region, it would be corruption,” Srirak Plipat, Transparency International regional director, said in a statement. “From campaign pledges to media coverage to civil society forums, corruption dominates discussion. Yet, despite all this talk, there’s little sign of action.”

The index tracks perceptions of public sector corruption in 168 nations, and the watchdog says it’s calculated based on expert opinions. Each nation is assigned a score in which less corruption gets a higher number. This year’s survey puts Denmark on top with a score of 91 and North Korea and Somalia at the bottom, each with eight.

The top scoring Southeast Asia nation is Singapore, coming in at

From campaign pledges to media coverage to civilsociety forums, corruption dominates discussion.”

—Srirak Plipat of Transparency International.

85, which ranked the island the eighth least-corrupt nation in the world. It scored 84 the year before.

The others are: ■ Malaysia fell to 50 points, from 52, placing it 54th globally.

■ Thailand unchanged at 38, or 76th.

■ Indonesia improved to 36, from 34, and 88th place.

■ Philippines fell to 35 from 38, with a global rank of 95.

■ Vietnam was unchanged at 31, good for 112th place.

■ Laos was unchanged at 25, and 139th globally.

■ Myanmar improved to 22, from 21, good for 147th place.

■ Cambodia was unchanged at 21, or 150th.

Bloomberg News

a

. de eon • Thursday, January 28, 2016 A5

71-year-old boss of Vietnam’s ruling party returns to top post

V

IETNAM’S Communist Party on Wednesday reelected its 71-yearold chief for a second term, an expected outcome that sees the conservative pro-China ideologue cementing his hold on power.

The party’s congress elected Nguyen Phu Trong (pronounced Noo-yen Foo Chong) to a 19-member Politburo, the all-powerful body that handles the day-to-day affairs of the government and the party. In a subsequent vote, he was immediately chosen as the general secretary, the de facto No. 1 leader of the country.

The announcement was made on the official Vietnam News Agency’s web site.

Officials said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was also elected to the Politburo, and he is now expected to become the prime minister. He will replace Nguyen Tan Dung, who had had led economic reforms over the last 10 years and had harbored ambitions for the top job. His challenge, however, was snuffed by Trong’s supporters during the weeklong party congress that ends on Thursday.

The third most important member elected to the Politburo was Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, who will be the country’s new president, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The general secretary, the prime minister and the president, along with the chairman of the National Assembly, are the four key members in the collective leadership represented by the Politburo, and the 180-member Central Committee, which handles policy.

4.5M

Membership of Vietnam’s Communist Party where the leaders of the country’s 93 million people are selected

The renewal of the leadership means little change for Vietnam.

Trong is expected to continue to push Dung’s economic reforms. Despite having a reputation for being pro-China he is not likely to be totally subservient to Beijing as that would risk massive anger from ordinary Vietnamese who harbor a deep dislike and historical suspicion of China.

“Many people were afraid that a conservative trend would prevail if Mr. Trong is reelected. But...whoever they may be, and however conservative they may be, when they are at the helm they are under pressure to carry out reforms,” Le Hong Hiep, a visiting Vietnamese fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore, told the Associated Press.

The Communist Party is entitled

IN this July 3, 2015, file photo, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong gestures during a meeting with the Western press in Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnam’s Communist Party on Wednesday reelected its 71-year-old chief for a second term, officials said, an expected outcome that sees the conservative pro-China ideologue cementing his hold on power. The party’s congress elected Nguyen Phu Trong to a 19-member Politburo, the all-powerful body that handles the dayto-day affairs of the government and the party. In a subsequent vote, he was immediately chosen as the general secretary, the de facto No. 1 leader of the country. AP

by the constitution to govern, and Vietnam’s 93 million people have no direct role in electing the leaders of the 4.5 million-member party.

It is believed that as a compromise with Prime Minister Dung’s camp, Trong will not serve his full fiveyear term but may hand over power to another leader mid-way.

Dung was seen as a pro-business leader who investors believe would have continued with economic reforms he set in motion 10 years ago that helped Vietnam attract a flood of foreign investment and was partly responsible for tripling the percapita GDP to $2,100. He was also seen as standing up to China, which is making aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea and building islands, much to the chagrin of Southeast Asia nations who have

conflicting claims in the waters.

China sent an oil rig into Vietnamese waters in 2014, triggering a massive backlash among Vietnamese, including attacks on Chinese businesses. Dung was vocal in criticizing China then, while Trong was muted.

Despite Trong’s reputation as being an antithesis of Dung, the reality is not so black-and-white. Observers agree that the economic reforms Dung started have the blessings of the collective leadership, including Trong. A clear example came when a plenum of the outgoing Central Committee overwhelmingly endorsed Vietnam joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a US led free-trade initiative.

As for China, Trong will likely not risk the ire of the public by being soft if Beijing’s assertiveness impinges on Vietnam territorial integrity. AP

Saudi scandal no match for economic risk to Najib

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ALAYSIAN Prime Minister Najib Razak has so far weathered a scandal over a murky $681-million “personal donation” from the Saudi royal family, as he turns his focus to a potentially bigger threat to his hold on power— the economy.

After seven months and a series of probes involving the attorney general’s office and antigraft agency, investigators say they found no evidence of wrongdoing by the premier, who received the money in the months before a closely fought 2013 general elections.

Najib has maintained the funds were not used for private benefit, with $620 million later returned to the Saudi donors, though there has not been a clear explanation as to what the rest was spent on or where that money is now. He’s retained the support throughout of the bulk of the ruling party’s powerful division chiefs.

“Najib has survived all the attacks on him,” said Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a research center in Singapore for Southeast Asian issues. “He’s actually in a spot where he can’t really be challenged.”

Calling the imbroglio an “unnecessary distraction” for Malaysia, Najib on Tuesday pledged to prioritize efforts to halt a slowdown in growth.

A sputtering economy is the most serious risk to voter enthusiasm among ethnic Malays in rural areas, a group that has for decades been the backbone of his party.

The prize for Najib is winning an election that must be held by 2018. To do that he must prevent a further erosion of support that saw the ruling coalition— in power since independence

Najib has survived all the attacks on him. He’s actually in a spot where he can’t really be challenged.”

—Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a research center in Singapore for Southeast Asian issues.

in 1957—lose the popular vote for the first time at the last election, mostly as non-Malays deserted it.

Survived attacks

FENDING off efforts by some within his own party, including former premier Mahathir Mohamed, to get him out, Najib has fired detractors and curbed dissent to preserve his grip on power. He’ll need that influence to carry out further reforms in order to reach a goal of making Malaysia a developed economy by the end of this decade.

The backing of divisional chiefs in his ruling United Malays National

Organisation may wane if they believe there is a risk of losing further ground in the next election with Najib at the helm. Voters could shift toward the opposition if they feel the economic slowdown, accompanied by rising costs and lower subsidies, is impacting their daily lives.

Austerity path

INVESTOR confidence in Malaysia has already been battered by plunging crude prices and the political upheaval.

Najib, who has often relied on handouts to the poor to preserve support, needs to keep voters appeased while staying on an austerity path that will satisfy credit rating companies.

GDP is forecast by the government to increase 4 percent to 5 percent in 2016, after an estimated expansion of as much as 5.5 percent last year.

The economy grew at the slowest pace in more than two years in the three months through September from a year earlier.

“He wants to slow down the pace of fiscal consolidation because he knows that growth is slowing down, as well, so he doesn’t want to exacerbate that,” said Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore.

“He will try and manage the pace of fiscal consolidation without kind of losing sight of the overall mediumterm agenda, which is to reach a certain point to have a balanced budget later on.”

Taming deficit

THE prime minister is expected to announce a revision to growth forecasts and cuts to operating expenditure on Thursday to keep the fiscal deficit for 2016 for Asia’s only major net oil

exporter in check. Moody’s Investors Service lowered its credit-rating outlook for Malaysia this month, citing an external environment that has crimped government revenue.

Still, economists say spending cuts would weigh on expansion, with Malaysia’s exporters facing headwinds from a China slowdown and a weakening yuan. Businesses are asking the government to defer a plan for a higher minimum wage from July, while Malaysians are still feeling the inflationary impact of a nationwide consumption levy implemented last year.

A key consumer confidence gauge fell to a record low last quarter, and households are turning more negative in their financial outlook for the first half of 2016, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research said on Wednesday.

“The economy is very much affected by the world economy and there’s not much to be done beyond the government trying to apply certain measures to help with people’s livelihoods,” said Oh Ei Sun, an analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and Najib’s political secretary from 2009 to 2011. “There is very little they can do to stimulate the economy.”

Not all agree that Najib remains the right person to lead the coalition to the next elections.

“It’s an issue of a crisis of confidence in the economy,” said Terence Gomez, a professor at the University of Malaya.

“What this means for the party is they will now have to think about what to do with a prime minister that is discredited, who doesn’t inspire confidence and the implications on the party as they look forward to the impending general election.” Bloomberg News

TheBroa

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PHL TO WIELD COMPE SO BUSINESS GAINS MA F

B D C, C U. O  C N. P

OR many decades, Filipino consumers complained of cartels and monopolies in certain industries that seem to be legal on paper, but are actually oppressive and against the natural law of the market: competition.

A classic case is the telecommunications industry that, in 1992, was lorded over by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

PLDT’s monopoly may have inspired by then Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to describe the Philippines as “a country where 98 percent of the residents are waiting for a telephone and the other 2 percent are waiting for a dial tone.”

It seemed that Filipino consumers would have no choice but to submit to profiteering schemes of cartels and monopolies simply because the goods and services offered by them are basic necessities of modern life.

These cartels and monopolies cannot be merely subjected to the regular market forces that govern a free market, since the sheer size of their businesses and connections among these so-called old boys’ club can easily manipulate the market to make extraordinary profit at the expense of small consumers and drive outsiders to the club out of business. Both forms of business control—cartels and monopolies—restrict competition and make price determination as over and above the law of supply and demand.

An economist who requested anonymity said there are many industries in the Philippine economy wherein there is an “obvious” cartel composed of only two or three corporations, which can set the prices of basic commodities among themselves.

This control over the prices can be achieved by these cartels despite the requirement that the prices can only be effected with the approval of the pertinent regulatory authority from the government.

The approval of the regulatory authority, in this kind of situation, would operate to legitimize the increase in prices of the goods or services, even though such increase in prices would hardly have a basis in prevailing market prices.

Predatory pricing

PREDATORY pricing, however, is not monopolized by big corporations.

Predators can also be found even in small communities where an unscrupulous few seek to take advantage of their dominant position over their disadvantaged neighbors.

One such instance is the common knowledge in the Philippines regarding the predatory pricing that middlemen of farm products use in quoting very low prices when buying the harvest of Filipino farmers who have no choice but to sell at such a low price because all the other middlemen have agreed to offer the same price, or worse are actually working for the same opportunist, possibly a big retailer cornering all the suppliers for such agricultural products.

In the face of such a scheme, a small farmer would feel that he might have found the “pearl of the world,” only to find out that in trying to

₧300M

Budget of the Philippine Competition Commission for 2016

sell, market forces can be manipulated such that all of the prospective buyers will collude to appraise the pearl at such a low price for being a “monstrosity.”

But the bigger a corporation becomes, the more tempting it is for that corporation to corner its market and those of others, even at the expense of the consumers themselves and through the use of unscrupulous business practices that might have been legal in the past until now.

New law

WITH the new law providing for a national competition policy and prohibiting abuse of dominant positions and anticompetitive practices, economists are hopeful that healthy competition can be promoted in the Philippines to ultimately benefit Filipino consumers who are forced to patronize the goods and services of monopolies and cartels despite the poor quality of products and delivery of services.

In an ideal situation, the role of the government in the economy should be merely to make sure that everybody in the private sector are playing on a level playing field, with predictable rules that apply to all players, so that the ensuing competition among all the players in the market will redound to innovation, efficiency and, thus, cheaper goods and services for consumers.

Under the new Republic Act (RA) 10667 establishing the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), the anticompetitive practices of monopolies and cartels operating in the Philippine economy were enumerated, aside from providing regulations for mergers and acquisitions that might be used by the big corporations as a means to control the prices of goods and services.

This control over prices can be achieved by big businesses, even though an increase in prices can only be effected upon approval by a regulatory authority, if the few corporations controlling an industry will agree among themselves at what price they shall offer their goods and services.

University of the Philippines School of Economics Associate Professor Agustin L. Arcenas said the new law is necessary to make the Philippine companies more efficient amid expected stiffer competition as the economic integration of the economies of the Asean continues to be implemented.

Arcenas said it was high time that the Philippines had a law against an-

We believe Balisacan is an excellent and possibly historic choice to establish and be the first [chairman] of the PCC. He deeply understands market dynamics and the political economy of the country.” —Forbes ticompetitive practices. Before the enactment of RA 10667, it is only the Philippines that did not have a law against anticompetitive practices in the Asean, according to him.

“We need to promote competitiveness among the Philippine private sector,” Arcenas said. “Competition promotes efficiency, and if a corporation is not efficient, then another corporation which is more efficient can come and take over its business.”

Inclusive growth

FILIPINOS are dependent on the companies that employ them and allow them to exercise their professions and be of ser vice to their fellowmen.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) estimates that the private sector—both formal and informal—accounts for

as much as 70 percent to 75 percent of the country’s GDP. This market, however, not only allows for the growth of cartels and monopolies, but also the demand for greater corporate transparency and accountability. This is the reason the passage of the RA 10667 (Competition Law) last July was a landmark legislation that held the promise of a level playing field and equal distribution of wealth.

This is also the reason newlyappointed PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan believes the creation of the PCC is a means for the country to achieve inclusive growth.

Balisacan considers his appointment to the PCC a big challenge because it strikes at the heart of the equitable distribution of economic prosperity. There are a lot issues in our economy, Balisacan

75%

Share of the private sector in the GDP of the Philippines

told the BusinessMirror.

“Maraming sectors, maraming industries, areas of the country na big challenge ang competition. We don’t want to have a situation where the economy is growing, but the benefits of growth are just accruing to a small class. Competition is an important force to ensure that the benefits of growth are properly shared.”

Wider scope

BALISACAN explained to the BusinessMirror that the PCC has a wider scope than the antitrust commission of countries like the US. He added the PCC has quasijudicial powers that allow it to build cases and impose penalties on erring companies. The PCC also has the power to oppose cer tain mergers and acquisitions. Among the prohibited acts under the new law is the abuse

of dominant position in certain industries by big corporations.

Some of these abuses of dominant position may be: selling goods or services below cost with the object of driving competition out of the relevant market and imposing barriers to entry or committing acts that prevent competitors from growing within the market.

Included prohibited actions are direct or indirect imposition of unfairly low purchase prices for the goods or services of, among others, marginalized agricultural producers; fishermen; micro, small and medium-scale enterprises; and other marginalized service providers and producers.

Other prohibited practices that the PCC is mandated to prevent are agreements between corporations that will result in virtual monopolies, and mergers and acquisitions that will result in substantially preventing, restricting or lessening competition in the relevant market where the merging corporations are engaged in.

The PCC has review powers in the sense that it can reexamine existing government policies that encourage uncompetitive behavior among firms. In statement on his seven-year term as PCC chairman, Balisacan said he wants to address

aderLook ETITION COMMISSION AY REACH MORE POOR

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www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, January 28, 2016

missioners of the PCC will not be allowed to practice their profession for the duration of their appointment and a year after their term expires. Balisacan said, however, that commissioners who are faculty members of universities in the country, will still be allowed to continue teaching.

But, if appointed commissioners are lawyers, for example, they will barred from practicing from the time they are appointed until two years after they leave the commission, he said.

The Competition Law also provides that PCC commissioners and the executive director cannot hire their spouses and relatives within the fourth civil degree or allow them to conduct any business with the commission during their term. Two of the commissioners would have a secen-year term while the other two would have a five-year term.

“They shall not, during their tenure, directly or indirectly practice any profession, except in a teaching capacity, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or any franchise, or special privileges granted by the government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned and -controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.

They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office,” the law stated.

According to Balisacan, the PCC would have a funding of P300 million this year. Its budget for next year would be included in the 2017 national budget.

Welcome, vigilance

We need to promote competitiveness among the Philippine private sector. Competition promotes efficiency and if a corporation is not efficient, then another corporation that is more efficient can come and take over its business.”

—Arcenas the problem arising from the Philippines’s growing economy that the benefits of growth are felt only by a small portion of the society because of anticompetitive practices.

“We would want to address the problem of having a growing economy but with the benefits of such growth only for a small sector.

Promoting fair and healthy competition among firms is a major factor in ensuring that the benefits of growth are properly shared,” he said on January 27.

Balisacan told the BusinessMirror that the key to succeeding in implementing the Competition Law is an empirical-based PCC. He said this is the reason he thinks his training in evidence-based policies

and development economics will come in handy at the PCC. “I see it as quite a good challenge because it will really muster your capacity to establish this causality, the nature of causality, how certain actions lead to anticompetitive outcomes, anticompetition outcomes and establish where those are coming from,” Balisacan said.

“This agency will have to have a good understanding and establish bases for competitive behavior.”

Anticorruption

THE crucial and sensitive job of the PCC also require strict qualifications for its commissioners, Balisacan said.

For one, he explained, all com-

FOREIGN and local business groups welcomed the appointment of Balisacan as PCC chairman, citing confidence that his leadership can be “corruption-free.”

Peter V. Perfecto, speaking as the executive director of Makati Business Club (MBC), lauded the economist’s installation as PCC chief on January 27, citing confidence in the official’s character and experience.

“We welcome Balisacan’s appointment to the PCC as we recognize that he is a public servant of utmost integrity and professionalism,” Perfecto said. “This, together with his expertise in development and international economics, make him a suitable leader for the commission,” he said in a text message.

The MBC is similarly pushing for more progress on the creation of the PCC as its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) has yet to be released. “We believe the government should be able to provide an enabling environment for businesses, incentivizing when necessar y and penalizing unfair and unjust behavior and practices.”

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) President Gunter Taus also welcomed the move for the economist to head the commission “as his track record shows his advocacy for a level playing field.”

“Secretary Balisacan has always promoted the level playing f ield that the Philippine Competition Law is going to create,” Taus said in a text message.

“This means that the implementation of the law and its IRR are expected to ref lect this kind of objective.” John Forbes, senior

A7

SALIENT POINTS OF THE COMPETITION LAW 2015 SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY The efficiency of market competition as a mechanism for allocating goods and services is a generally accepted precept. The State recognizes that past measures undertaken to liberalize key sectors in the economy need to be reinforced by measures that safeguard competitive conditions. The State also recognizes that the provision of equal opportunities to all promotes entrepreneurial spirit, encourages private investments, facilitates technology development and transfer and enhances resource productivity. Unencumbered market competition also serves the interest of consumers by allowing them to exercise their right of choice over goods and services offered in the market.

Pursuant to the constitutional goals for the national economy to attain a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged and the constitutional mandate that the State shall regulate or prohibit monopolies when the public interest so requires and that no combinations in restraint of trade or unfair competition shall be allowed, the State shall: (a) Enhance economic efficiency and promote free and fair competition in trade, industry

and all commercial economic activities, as well as establish a National Competition Policy to be implemented by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and all of its political agencies as a whole; (b) Prevent economic concentration which will control the production, distribution, trade, or industry that will unduly stifle competition, lessen, manipulate or constrict the discipline of free markets; and (c) Penalize all forms of anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, with the objective of protecting consumer welfare and advancing domestic and international trade and economic development.

SEC. 3. SCOPE AND APPLICATION This Act shall be enforceable against any person or entity engaged in any trade, industry and commerce in the Republic of the Philippines. It shall, likewise, be applicable to international trade having direct, substantial, and reasonably

foreseeable effects in trade, industry, or commerce in the Republic of the Philippines, including those that result from acts done outside the Republic of the Philippines.

This Act shall not apply to the combinations or activities

of workers or employees nor to agreements or arrangements with their employers when such combinations, activities, agreements, or arrangements are designed solely to facilitate collective bargaining in respect of conditions of employment.

ANTICOMPETITIVE AGREEMENTS SEC. 14  Restricting competition as to price, or components thereof, or other terms of trade  Fixing price at an auction or in any form of bidding including cover bidding, bid suppression, bid rotation

and market allocation and other analogous practices of bid manipulation

 Setting, Kmiting [sic], or controlling production, markets, technical development, or investment  Dividing or sharing the market, whether by volume of sales or purchases, territory, type of goods or

services, buyers or sellers or any other means

ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION SEC. 15  Selling goods or services below cost with the object of driving competition out of the relevant market  Imposing barriers to entry or committing acts that prevent competitors from growing within the

market in an anticompetitive manner

 Making a transaction subject to acceptance by the other parties of other obligations which, by their

nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the transaction

 Setting prices or other terms or conditions that discriminate unreasonably between customers or sellers

of the same goods or services, where such customers or sellers are contemporaneously trading on similar terms and conditions, where the effect may be to lessen competition substantially  Imposing restrictions on the lease or contract for sale or trade of goods or services concerning where, to whom, or in what forms goods or services may be sold or traded, such as fixing prices, giving preferential discounts or rebate upon such price, or imposing conditions not to deal with competing entities, where the object or effect of the restrictions is to prevent, restrict or lessen competition substantially  Making supply of particular goods or services dependent upon the purchase of other goods or services from the supplier, which have no direct connection with the main goods or services to be supplied  Directly or indirectly imposing unfairly low purchase prices for the goods or services of, among others, marginalized agricultural producers, fisherfolk, micro-, small-, medium-scale enterprises, and other marginalized service providers and producers  Directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling price on their competitors, customers, suppliers or consumers  Limiting production, markets or technical development to the prejudice of consumers adviser to the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, praised the choice of Balisacan, saying: “We believe Balisacan is an excellent and possibly historic choice to establish and be the first [chairman] of the PCC.” “He deeply understands market dynamics and the political economy of the country,” Forbes added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is taking a measured stance on Balisacan’s appointment. PCCI President George T. Barcelon said in a phone interview they must first see the IRR and the initial performance of Balisacan before they can express their expectations.

When asked on the impact of the

PCC on the GDP, Balisacan told the BusinessMirror he expects the law would ultimately hasten the trickle-down effect of a good economy and the gains of business. We expect the law would ultimately lead to quality delivery of service and sustain the inclusive-growth tack of the Philippine government, he told the BusinessMirror.

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Thursday, January 28, 2016

The World BusinessMirror

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Report names Denmark least-corrupt nation

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ERLIN—Public-sector corruption is still a major problem around the world but more countries are improving than worsening, and the United States and United Kingdom have reached their best rankings ever, an anticorruption watchdog said on Wednesday.

Denmark remained at the top of Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index, a closely watched global barometer,

for the second consecutive year as the country was perceived as least corrupt. It scored 91 points out of a possible 100, while North Korea

and Somalia remained at the bottom with unchanged scores of 8.

The index is based on expert opinions of public-sector corruption—looking at a range of factor like whether governmental leaders are held to account or go unpunished for corruption, the perceived prevalence of bribery, and whether public institutions respond to citizens’ needs.

The US rose one spot this year to 16th place with a score of 76, tying with Austria. The UK rose three spots to place 10th, with a score of 81, that tied it with Germany and Luxembourg. The other top spots, from second to ninth,

were occupied by Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada.

Despite so many countries in the top 10, TI said there was still a lot of room for improvement in Europe and Central Asia, which it grouped as one region, saying, “In low-scorers Hungary, Poland and Turkey, politicians and their cronies are increasingly hijacking state institutions to shore up power.”

“It’s even grimmer further down the index,” the organization continued. “In Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan

and others, governments are restricting, if not totally stifling, civil society and free media.”

Russia sat in 119th place, tied with A zerbaijan, Guyana and Sierra Leone, although its score improved from 27 in 2014 to 29 in 2015, bringing its ranking on the list up from 136th place.

Brazil, in the midst of a massive corruption scandal at the state-owned oil company Petrobras, posted the biggest decline, falling 5 points to a score of 38 and dropping 7 positions to 76th place. TI noted that in places like Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Ghana, citizen activists have “worked

hard to drive out the corrupt.”

“The 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world,” TI head Jose Ugaz said.

“But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption—people across the globe sent a strong signal to those in power: It is time to tackle grand corruption.”

Overall, two-thirds of the 168 countries studied scored below 50 and the global average was 43. Still, TI said it was a good sign that 64 countries improved their score, while only 53 declined. The rest were unchanged. AP

Obama set to honor four who protected Jews during Holocaust

W

ASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is honoring four people, including Americans from Indiana and Tennessee, for risking their lives to protect Jews during the Holocaust. The United Nations has designated Wednesday as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis’ Auschwitz death camp in southern Poland in 1945.

Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. Obama was joining Jewish leaders at a ceremony on Wednesday at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, where Righteous Among the Nations medals are to be presented posthumously.

It’s the first time the ceremony is being held in the United States. Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the US, said Obama’s participation “will be a worthy tribute to the worthiest among us.”

Last year Obama said the international anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on progress “confronting this terrible chapter in human history” and on continued efforts to end genocide.

“Honoring the victims and survivors begins with our renewed recognition of the value and dignity of each person,” Obama said in a written statement last January.

“It demands from us the courage to protect the persecuted and speak out against bigotry and hatred.”

Americans Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee; Lois Gunden of Goshen, Ind ia na; and Polish citizens Walery and Maryla Zbijewski of Warsaw are being recognized by Yad Vashem for protecting Jews from harm during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem, based in Jerusalem, is the world’s Holocaust education and research center.

Righteous Among the Nations is an official title awarded by Yad Vashem on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Master Sgt. Edmonds participated in the landing of US forces in Europe and was taken prisoner by the Germans. When the Germans ordered all Jewish prisoners of war to report, Edmonds defied the order by figuring out how to keep the Jewish POWs from being singled out for persecution.

Gunden, a French teacher, established a children’s home in southern France that became a safe haven for children, including Jewish children she helped smuggle out of a nearby internment camp. She protected the children when French police showed up at the home. The Zbijewskis hid a Jewish child in their Warsaw home until the girl’s mother could take her back. AP

IN this January 11, photo, people wait to leave the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the United Nations is hoping to host in Geneva on January 25. AP

UN launches appeal for $393-M humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

K

ABUL, Afghanistan—The United Nations launched an appeal on Wednesday for $393 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to help millions of vulnerable people this year.

Mark Bowden, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, and the countr y’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, launched the appeal in a live national-television broadcast.

The 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan targets millions of people in need of food and other essentials, including shelter, health care, nutrition, safe water and other necessities, Abdullah said.

He said he was hopeful that donor countries would match their commitments of previous years to assist and support the country’s most vulnerable.

Bowden called on the international community to “redouble” its efforts and deliver “ever increasing levels of assistance” over the coming 12 months.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries, and regularly suffers natural disasters, like earthquakes and storms, that displace people from their homes and contribute to widespread hunger.

Between January and November

2015, more than 300,000 Afghans fled their homes due to conflict, a 160-percent increase on the same period in 2014, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

On October 26 last year a powerful earthquake struck northeastern Badakhshan province, leaving around 130,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance.

In a separate development,

four men clearing mines and unex ploded ordinance in the Gereshk distr ict of souther n Helmand province were killed by Taliban insurgents on Wednesday, the provincial governor’s spokesman, Omar Zawaq, said.

M i ne - c le a r a nce work e r s a re reg u larly targeted, and often e it he r k i l l e d or k id n a p p e d , across Afghanistan by Talibanlinked g unmen. AP

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Thursday, January 28, 2016

A9

Immigration at center of pope’s visit to Mexico-US border

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E Y NOSA , Me x ico —T he young Salvadoran woman was robbed and forced to dodge kidnappers working for a drug cartel during her fourmonth odyssey to this border city of belching factories and swirling dust across the Rio Grande from Texas.

She hoped to be on the other side long before Pope Francis visits the region next month and delivers what promises to be a highly symbolic homily addressing immigration. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will flock to the border to hear him speak, and America’s political class will likely be listening, as well.

Francis’s February 17 Mass in Ciudad Juarez comes just eight days after the New Hampshire primaries, and three before contests in South Carolina and Nevada.

Immigration has been a hotbutton campaign issue particularly among Republican hopefuls, such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who have taken an increasingly hard line with Trump vowing to deport the more than 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally, and Cruz aiming to end birthright citizenship for their US-born children.

It is also an issue close to Francis’s heart, and while analysts doubt he will wade too blatantly into the political thicket, his very presence along the border speaking on the issue will turn heads.

“Migration is a complicated situation and he’s not going to ignore the demands of national sovereignty...[but] he’s calling for a more open and generous approach,” said Tom Quigley, former Latin America policy adviser for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. “You can’t assume that he’s going to say ‘You all come,’ but he will clearly be urging the United States government, implicitly at least, to find ways of addressing the reasons people are leaving El Salvador and Honduras and other countries.”

For the Salvadoran woman, who gave only her last name, Miranda, all the talk makes little difference to her plans. She said she was not even aware the Pope was coming, and nothing Trump or the other candidates say can dissuade her from seeking a better life.

Back home in El Salvador— which last year recorded a homicide rate of 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, believed to be the highest of any country not in open war—she faced death threats from hyper-violent gangs that rule entire neighborhoods largely unchallenged.

“It does not make you want to go less,” Miranda said of the rhetoric, “because you know that immigration is never going to stop.”

Violence is also rampant in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras, the latter of which had been the world’s reigning murder capital in recent years. Gangs in all three countries kill with impunity, extort broad swaths of the population and recruit young people so aggressively that some stop attending school or even leaving home. Living in many parts of those countries “is like living in a

dark, dangerous, dead-end alley, and migration is a dark, dangerous tunnel—but it’s a tunnel,” said Kay Andrade Eekhoff, who works for Catholic Relief Services in El Salvador overseeing programs for at-risk Central American youth.

Statistics show that many continue to risk the tunnel, despite a surge in enforcement by the US and

by Mexico along its own southern frontier. US Customs and Border Protection says apprehensions of unaccompanied children mostly from Central America totaled 17,370 from October to December.

That was up 117 percent from the same period a year earlier, while apprehensions of families rose 187 percent. Still, total detentions remain well below historic highs.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on January 2 began rounding up Central American immigrants who entered without permission since May 2014.

Earlier this month. Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced an expansion of a program letting Central Americans apply for refugee status before traveling north.

But some say they may not qualify, or it’s simply too dangerous to wait.

Those in a hurry include a 20-year-old man in San Salvador who was deported from the US just months ago. On his last trip north, last summer, the Gulf drug cartel kidnapped and held him in Reynosa for five weeks until his family scraped together ransom.

US border agents later captured and sent him home. A police officer’s son, he’s now planning to try again after getting gang threats.

“They told me if I did not join them, something was going to happen to me or my dad,” the man said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of gang reprisals.

Francis has made the plight of migrants one of the hallmarks of his papacy, denouncing what he called the “globalization of indifference” toward people desperate to flee poverty and persecution. He has taken his message of compassion to Lampedusa, Italy, destination for many African migrants, and to the European Union and the United Nations. Last fall in the US Congress, Francis lectured lawmakers that “we must not be taken aback by [migrants’] numbers but rather view them as persons.” He reminded them that they, too, descended from immigrants drawn by the dream of a new future.

In Ciudad Juarez, the Argentine-born Francis plans to celebrate Mass in a huge open field on the border and then walk to the Rio Grande to salute people on the other side in a powerful show of solidarity with his Latin American compatriots. Vatican officials say he intends to address violence and drug trafficking, as well. Francis will also come close to fulfilling his wish to cross the border during the US visit, something that was ultimately scrapped for logistical reasons.

It’s a message that resonates with Sister Norma Pimentel, director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. AP

Zero fighter flies over Japan for 1st time since WWII

K

ANOYA, Japan—One of Mitsubishi ’s legend ar y Zero fighters took to the skies over Japan on Wednesday for the first time since World War II (WWII). The restored plane made a brief flight to and from a naval base in southern Japan. Decorated former US Air Force pilot Skip Holm flew the aircraft. Zero fighters were considered one of the most capable long-range fighter planes in World War II, rivaling the British Spitfire.

Only a handful are still in operating condition. This particular plane was found decaying in

Papua New Guinea in the 1970s.

It was owned by an American u nt i l Japa nese bu si nessm a n Masahiro Ishizuka purchased it and brought it to Japan last September. Japanese see the aircraft both as a symbol of their country’s technological advance and a reminder of the harrowing history of the war. In the last phase of the fighting, they were used for kamikaze attacks.

Kamikaze pilots took off from the same airfield as Wednesday’s flight, Kanoya Naval Air Base on the island of Kyushu. AP

IN this January 16 photo, a Palestinian walks on a newly made section of a road that was financed by the European Union (EU), on the outskirts of the West Bank village of Taqoa, near Bethlehem. Construction of the narrow country road has turned into a new battleground between Israel and the EU, deepening a dispute between the allies over Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. AP/NASSER NASSER

Road project puts Israel, EU on collision course J ERUSALEM—A narrow country road outside Jerusalem has turned into a new battleground between Israel and the European Union (EU), deepening a dispute between the allies over Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.

The EU is financing the paving of the dirt road by Palestinians as part of a broader effort to help them develop the local economy on the way to eventual independence. Israel, however, says the roadwork is illegal because it was done without Israeli permits and has ordered it to stop.

The dispute goes far beyond the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) road, which Palestinians say is to help farmers in the area reach their land. At issue is the future of portions of the West Bank known as “Area C,” the 60 percent of the territory that remained under full Israeli control as part of interim peace accords two decades ago. Its ultimate fate has been a major contention point in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as the heartland of a future independent state.

Israel seeks to keep large chunks of the area, which is home to 300,000 of the West Bank’s 2.4 million Palestinians, as well as the 370,000 Israeli settlers in the territory. Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the hardline “Jewish Home” party, has even said the area should be annexed.

According to interim peace accords, any construction in Area C needs permission from Israel.

Israel rarely grants approval for Palestinian building.

The international community

has urged Israel to freeze settlement activity and lift restrictions on Palestinian development in Area C. The Palestinians, backed by organizations like the World Bank and the EU, say they cannot establish a viable state without developing this land. In the maze of lines created by the Oslo accords in the West Bank, Area C divides up the territory under Palestinian control into isolated enclaves, making expansion of Palestinian communities difficult.

Under the accords, that division was supposed to be temporary, with much of Area C to be transferred to Palestinian control, but with the breakdown of the peace process that never happened.

Last week the EU Foreign Affairs Council said a change of policy by Israel in Palestinian areas, and particularly Area C, “will significantly increase economic opportunities, empower Palestinian institutions and enhance stability and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.” The EU runs dozens of projects in Area C. The Israeli government views these efforts with great suspicion and often demolishes projects it says are illegal.

Between Januar y and May 2015, for instance, 41 EU-funded structures that cost some €236,000 ($255,000) to build were torn down by Israel, the EU’s commissioner for aid and crisis manager, Christos Stylianides,

recently told the European Parliament.

Those are the most recent figures available from the EU. But the dispute seems to be worsening. In a meeting with foreign journalists earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the EU-funded structures “illegal.”

“They’re building without authorization against the accepted rules and there’s a clear attempt to create political realities there,” Netanyahu said.

The spat comes against the backdrop of a larger dispute over Israeli settlement construction.

The Palestinians say Israel is expanding settlements in order to create its own political reality— entrenching its control over the West Bank. The international community considers the settlements illegal or illegitimate, saying they undermine the goal of establishing a Palestinian state.

Last year the EU passed a bill requiring Israeli settlement products to have special labels if they are sold in Europe. Earlier this month, it said all agreements with Israel must “unequivocally and explicitly” show that they cannot apply to occupied territories, further underscoring its opposition to the settlements.

The new EU-funded road is meant to help Palestinian farmers gain better access to their land, Palestinians say. The road runs near the Palestinian town of Tukou, about 8 miles southeast of Jerusalem. The Palestinians say that since the road already existed, the project is not considered new construction and there was no need to ask Israel for a building permit, said an official from the Union of Agricultural Works Committee, the Palestinian nonprofit that has been carrying out the work.

He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss

the issue with the media.

After work began last summer, Regavim, an Israeli advocacy group with ties to the Jewish settler movement, filed a challenge to the Supreme Court and Cogat, the Israeli military body responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank.

Ari Briggs, a Regavim official, said his group objects to the construction on security grounds and fears that the Palestinians will expand their presence into settler areas. He accused the EU of “defying” Israeli law and establishing facts on the ground. “This is something that’s illegal,” he said.

Last December Cogat ordered construction to stop.

The Palestinian union official said 90 percent of the road was completed before the work was halted. He said the union is complying with the order, but is planning a legal challenge.

Ralph Tarraf, the EU representative to the Palestinian territories, said the 28-country bloc will carry on its mission in Area C. “The EU provides humanitarian assistance to communities in need in Area C in accordance with the humanitarian imperative. And second, the EU also works with the Palestinian Authority to develop Area C and support the Palestinian presence there,” he said last week at a ceremony in the in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Tarraf declined an interview request.

With the battle showing no signs of abating, Netanyahu suggested that Israel and the EU “reset” their relationship on the issue.

He told reporters that he recently met with the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, in Paris, and told her the sides need to get past their differences.

“I hope we can do this on better terms,” he said he told her. “We have to figure out a way to resolve this and set things on the right course.” AP

A10 Thursday, January 28, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Passport to mediocrity

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EADED by a globally admired and respected statesman, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is arguably one of the remaining centers of excellence in the Aquino government. It has shown its mettle in public service delivery and innovation under its current leadership. If digital age has changed the way we communicate and do business, the agency bravely embraced change. For example, it opened new frontiers of convenience and transparency when it allowed the people to do part of the process of renewing or getting new passports online.

Simplicity, speed and efficiency make citizens doing business with the government happier. Thus, the success of any government agency critically depends on its capacity to provide such kind of service all the time. That’s how you earn your brand: If people hold you up to a high standard of service that they were made to believe was set to benefit them, they would be greatly disappointed if you don’t deliver at the level you are expected to perform.

It’s not easy to sustain the delivery of excellent service…unless it has become part of the corporate culture. For this to happen in any government agency, officials and the rank-and-file employees must have the gumption to fight mediocrity. Delivering a high standard of service consistently all the time is the most difficult part. Sadly, most government agencies are not able to rise to the challenge. Which is why most people interacting or doing business with the government are generally frustrated.

The degree of frustration rises to stratospheric levels when exceptional agencies like the DFA falter. That’s how people feel when they get something that is not as good as advertised. The higher their expectation of quality service, the greater their disappointment when the agency fails to deliver.

This kind of frustration was felt close to home recently when our publisher availed himself of the DFA’s courtesy lane facility to renew his passport. Apart from members of the media, the facility is being extended to government officials and employees, senior citizens, minor children, people with disability, pregnant women, and overseas Filipino workers with existing valid contracts or confirmed job offers. Owing to his hectic schedule, our publisher thought the DFA courtesy/express lane would make things easier and faster for him.

He was a mile wrong. Given the DFA’s reputation for efficient service, it’s difficult to comprehend how he was made to suffer five long hours to complete the passport-renewal process that can be done, at most, in a matter of minutes.

How much longer would it take to renew passports using the regular route?

We know the DFA is doing everything it can to ensure that passport processing and releasing are as efficient and customer-friendly as possible. The kind of frontline inefficiency that our publisher experienced presents an opportunity for improvement. The DFA must correct this at once. Done repeatedly, this is the kind of service that will lead people to conclude that the centers of excellence in the government are fast disappearing. There’s no better indicator that something may be seriously wrong in our brand of public service than the people’s growing cynicism bordering on dislike of the government.

PHL: At the back of the crowd John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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EADING commentary such as “As the Philippine economy integrates more closely with the global and regional economy, external events will have a bigger impact” might make you think that the Philippines is a player on the world economic scene.

But the Philippines is not a member-nation of the “G-7”, the “BRICS”, or even the “G-20”. The closest we come is the “G-24” with other economic powerhouses like Venezuela and Syria. The Philippines is a founding member of the “G-77,” which is now actually the “G-134”. Apparently, the only economic requirement for membership is that the official residence of the head of state has an indoor toilet.

The Philippines is like that short kid standing at the back, jumping up and down waving his arms trying to attract some attention. And

that is actually a good place to be in the global economic environment of 2016.

This is the way the global supply chain really works. Ignore the country names—it is only for simplicity.

Uganda buys manufactured goods from Croatia. Croatia buys raw materials from Angola. Angola buys farm produce from Uganda. Every country in the supply chain depends on the others in the circle to source the things they need to buy and to sell the things they produce.

If one nation in the chain fails to

Thanks Ian Esguerra Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE

I

AN ESGUERRA, a broadcast journalist, gives the only substantive reports on the Eucharistic Conference in Cebu. First on, there is Timothy Radcliffe, one of the deepest theologians and finest Catholic writers today. (Fine writing is an almost Catholic monopoly.) “I must be a help,” Ian notes Radcliffe as saying. “I mustn’t be a hindrance.” Context? I don’t know. Ian is limited to reporting lines.

But I would guess he means that you gotta be a hindrance to evil and a help to good and not the opposite.

Ian quotes him as also saying, “I think all we do is we help people, as they journey toward God, each person in their own way.” Some will walk with a manly stride; others may sashay—but that is a function of habit and not at all of moral worth, for the thing is to get to Him. Indeed, Radcliffe says, “Everybody’s on their journey, and as Pope Francis said, ‘Who am I to judge?’ In fact, my position on gay marriage is the Church’s.”

Marriage, I would argue, is a sacrament between a man and a woman drawn to each other by love but for the sacramental purpose of procreation. True, this may fail but

that’s not their fault. They can take consolation from Scripture, two are better than one—with or without marriage. Baptism preceded Christ.

In fact, John baptized him. But marriage celebrated with priests came only in the late Middle Ages. Before then, couples made vows in front of a church door, and then reported to the feudal lord because he got first crack at the bride. This explains why there are fewer good-looking people in the world. If you wanted your spouse only for yourself, you picked someone who would not excite Milord.

So does a supposedly giving Church withhold the marriage sacrament from couples of the same

the US. The Philippines’s top import origins are China ($12 billion); Japan ($8 billion); and the United States ($7 billion).

The Philippines is just about as isolated from the rest of the world economically as it is geographically; close enough to be involved, but far way enough not to suffer the same problems or severity.

In 2009 the Philippines had a terrible economic year with growth only at positive 1.1 percent. Global growth that year was negative 2.2 percent.

Here are the 2009 economic results in percentage growth from the “connected” countries: Thailand -0.7; Malaysia, -1.5; the UK, -4,2; the US, -2.8; Canada, -2.7; and Japan, -5.5.

Don’t get too excited at the gloomand-doom about global “headwinds” and “external factors.” The Philippines’s economic success or failure is still just our own problem.

buy or sell for any reason, the others suffer. America slows down its purchases of Chinese goods. China’s economic boom slows and reduces its Australian raw material imports.

Australia has less money to travel as tourists to the US. The Philippines is not a part of any major and critical supply circle. We lump overseas remittances together, but while the greatest number of overseas workers are in the Middle East, the largest amount of money comes from the US. And is the Middle East ready to do without nurses, dental technicians, hotel staff, florists, beauticians and Filipinos building its nuclear-power plants?

Our outsourcing industry generates the majority of its revenues from the US, Europe, and Australia.

But this is across a wide range of industries; telecoms, banking, health services, tourism and travel.

For our goods exports, $16 billion goes to China and $10 billion to both Japan and the US. We have a trade deficit of $4 billion with China, but a trade surplus of $2 billion with Japan and a $3-billion surplus with

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.

sex? No. The Church has nothing to do with it. The sacrament itself pertains only to couples of the opposite sexes for procreation purposes. Just like extreme unction pertains only to people at the point of death. Believe me, you want to delay that sacrament for as long as possible. The Church doesn’t stop couples, of opposite or the same sex, from getting married before a judge or for that matter a voodoo priest, like in the Steve Martin movie, The Idiot. Indeed, a priest cannot celebrate a same-sex marriage. It wouldn’t be the sacrament but a meaningless gesture. In the same way, a priest cannot perform a quantum physics experiment.

He doesn’t know how. On the other hand, my late aunt, a nun at the Assumption Convent could have done it. She was a physics major but then she was not a priest. Next!

Radcliffe said, “Poverty is a death penalty.” Indeed, two things are likely to die if you are born poor: your body from neglect and your spirit by being crushed. But the fact that there are still more poor people who grow to maturity than rich who never grow up, shows that, in the struggle of the fittest to survive, and, therefore, in deciding who should propagate and be propagated—the rich and their children or the poor and their kids—Darwin would pick the poor as

the fittest. Radcliffe said, “Let’s not succumb to what John Paul II called ‘the culture of death.’ Meaning, it is one thing to push for parsimony in procreation—if you can’t afford it, don’t do it—it is another thing to adopt a policy that openly espouses, indeed encourages, less people than more as the ideal, like less is more in interior décor. This is not true, as anyone looking into the eyes of his grandchildren will tell you—the more, the happier.

Sure, it is sad when there are more people than can feed themselves. No one else will feed them in a capitalist economy. But it is not sad that they are many. What it is is tragic that so few get too much and too many get next to nothing. So it is not a problem of overpopulation but of maldistribution.

Radcliffe said, “In this moment of so much darkness in humanity, the Eucharist is a great sign of hope.” He did not explain in what way it is hopeful. Let me take a guess. He is playing with the word “communion,” which is to say interaction. In the important problems, the answer that frequently eludes the individual alone might be found where two or three, or more, are gathered in His name; but not too many—for that way lies the House of Representatives. Thank you Ian, you’re the only one.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Petro price dips: Boon or bane?

Ariel Nepomuceno

F

DECISION TIME

OR three straight weeks, the prices of diesel, kerosene and gasoline have been reduced on an average of P3.20 per liter for diesel, P3.30 per liter for kerosene and P1.60 per liter for gasoline. The reason? Oversupply in the international market.

The International Energy Agency said the world will see further decline in the prices of petroleum products following Iran’s comeback to the market. Already, oil prices are currently trading on an average of $29 a barrel, a phenomenon we have not experienced for the last 10 years. Iran’s market reentry effectively counters the cuts made in production by other non-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries players, according to financial and trading analysts.

Some groups are rejoicing but some sectors are hurting.

The boon

FILIPINO consumers will greatly benefit from this regime of low oil prices. Since most of the oil products in the country are imported, consumption spending will be stimulated, purchasing power increased and markets positively impacted.

Lower oil prices would normally mean cheaper fares particularly in airfare, consumer products and utilities. Since production costs are depressed, industries such as manufacturing (particularly the automobile sector) and mining will reap most of the advantages. Couple this with an inflation rate of between 1.5 percent and 2 percent according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, more investment and busy market activity are expected to happen due to low interest rates.

Initiation and completion of pending infrastructure projects, which the country badly needs, should, likewise, benefit from the downturn. Hopefully, the current situation will provide the impetus for the government to spend and focus on these projects.

The bane

ON an international level, major oil producers, such as the Middle East, Latin America and Russia, are now experiencing very low economic growth rates. China is similarly affected. The adverse effects of more reductions in oil prices will be most glaring in the stock market. Major oil

companies like Petrobras, Total and the other heavyweights are putting a halt to investments, particularly in shale, oil sands and even renewables, as their established engines of growth cannot be relied upon to deliver the profits it needs to fund other projects.

More retrenchments, downsizing, cost-reduction initiatives on the part of these oil giants can affect global economic growth and will surely impact the financial and equity markets.

As for the Philippines, the resiliency of our economy is often attributed to the steady and heavy flow of remittances from our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the bulk of which are found in the Middle East.

Most of our OFWs are employed by companies that are either directly engaged in the petroleum industry or are contractors, suppliers or service providers of these oil giants.

The shipping sector is similarly affected, especially those which are used in the transport of equipment utilized for both upstream and downstream activities of these companies. If layoffs and retrenchments continue to persist, then this will translate into disastrous consequences to our economy, not to mention the challenge that this shall pose to the reintegration of these OFWs into our society.

What to do?

THERE are two sides of the coin and the government, together with the private sector, must prepare a backup plan for a scenario where the temporary upside of falling oil prices would fade. The local economy is part and parcel of a bigger world market that is interdependent in scope and operation.

Ultimately, the gains from this low price environment must improve our fiscal position by making good and robust fiscal policy responses.

There is no room for complacency.

For comments and suggestions, send to arielnepo.businessmirror@gmail.com.

Confidence in God Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

ALÁLAONG BAGÁ

P

LEADING for God’s help, the psalmist expresses confidence in Him and promises to make known the wonders God has wrought (Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17). Jesus, wowing the people and encountering next their homicidal fury, faced up to His task as a prophet-for-all who would be rejected by those who would like to own Him; His refuge is God who sent Him (Luke 4:21-30).

You are my hope, O Lord ALMOST identical in its opening words with those of Psalm 31:1-3, the psalmist here begs God to protect him and save him from shame, to rescue and deliver him, and to hear him and grant his petition. Calling upon God’s justice, he implies his innocence, even as he describes those threatening him as being wicked. His confidence in God’s trustworthiness

is illustrated by comparing the Lord to his rock of refuge, a massive and dependable rock on which one can build a fortress or have a stronghold that provides security.

The psalmist’s confidence in God is not something just recently triggered off by his present distress; it is an old disposition dating back to his youth. Nay, even earlier, while still in his mother’s womb, because actually

I

N his recent book Economics Rules, Harvard economist Dani Rodrik laments how economists often portray a public consensus while disagreeing strongly in private. In effect, economists behave like scientists behind closed doors, but as preachers when dealing with the public.

Nowhere is this evangelism clearer than on the issue of trade. Ask any economist what issue they agree on, and the first answer you’re likely to hear is “free trade is good.” The general public disagrees vehemently, but economists are almost unanimous on this point.

But look at actual economics research, and you will find a very different picture. The most recent example is a paper by celebrated labor economists David Autor, David Dorn and Gordon Hanson, titled “The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade.” The study shows that increased trade with China caused severe and permanent harm to many American workers: Adjustment in local labor markets is remarkably slow, with wages and labor-force participation rates remaining depressed and unemployment rates remaining elevated for at least a full decade after the China trade shock commences.

Exposed workers experience greater job

churning and reduced lifetime income.

At the national level, employment has fallen in US industries more exposed to import competition...but offsetting employment gains in other industries have yet to materialize.

Autor, et al. show powerful evidence that industries and regions that have been more exposed to Chinese import competition since 2000—the year China joined the World Trade Organization—have been hit hard and have not recovered. Workers in these industries and regions don’t go on to better jobs, or even similar jobs in different industries. Instead, they shuffle from low-paid job to low-paid job, never recovering the prosperity they had before Chinese competition hit. Many of them end up on welfare. This is very different from earlier decades, when workers who lost their jobs to import competition usually went into higher-productivity industries, to the benefit of almost everyone.

In other words, the public might have been wrong about free trade in the 1980s and 1990s, but things have changed.

Popular opinion seems to be exactly right about the effect of trade with China—it has killed jobs and damaged the lives of many, many Americans. Economists may blithely declare that free trade is wonderful, but our best researchers have now shown that public misgivings about these smooth assurances have been

his trust in the Lord is an integral component of his entire human existence. From birth, he has depended on Him; God has been his strength every moment of his life. And God is righteous and just. His wondrous deeds of salvation and kindness to His people attest to that and awaken even more the psalmist’s confidence in Him. Raised from his youth in the tradition of the people who have repeatedly experienced God’s saving love and justice, he is certain about God’s willingness to help those in need. The righteousness of God will surely rectify the psalmist’s situation, as it is the basis for his hope and trust in God.

No prophet is for his own place

IN continuation from last week’s Gospel, Jesus here taught His townmates what being sent by God means for Him. At first the people in the synagogue, knowing Him as from them —“the son of Joseph”, were amazed at His wisdom. And they wanted Him

Last-minute local tax reminders Atty. Rodel C. Unciano

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS

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ECTION 167 of the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991 mandates the payment of all local taxes, fees and charges within the first 20 days of January or of each subsequent quarter, as the case may be. The sanggunian concerned may, for a justifiable reason or cause, extend the time for payment of such taxes, fees, or charges without surcharges or penalties, but only for a period not exceeding six months. So, by this time, all business enterprises must have been able to pay at least a quarter of their business taxes due for the year, otherwise, an interest and surcharge for late payment must have begun to accrue.

Some local government units (LGUs) do extend the time for payment of such taxes, fees, or charges without surcharges or penalties.

One crucial point taxpayers should consider in cases where there is such an extension for payment is that, the extension must be authorized by the sanggunian concerned through a duly enacted ordinance.

The local treasurer or the local chief executive is not authorized to extend the payment of such taxes without the authority of the sanggunian concerned.

Local taxation, like national taxation, is legislative in nature.

Section 132 of the LGC vests upon the local sanggunian the power to impose a tax, fee, or charge or to generate revenue through an appro-

priate ordinance. I must emphasize that what the LGC requires is an ordinance and not merely a resolution as the terms ordinance and resolution are not synonymous.

An ordinance is a law, but a resolution is merely a declaration of the sentiment or opinion of a lawmaking body on a specific matter.

An ordinance possesses a general and permanent character, but a resolution is temporary in nature (GR 156684).

We should be watchful on this as some authorities may be in a hurry to grant relief to some taxpayers without going through the regular process, all for the sake of getting a favorable image in time for the May 2016 elections. Of course, this will pose a big problem later on,

Free trade with China wasn’t such a great idea for the US B N S | Bloomberg View

Thursday, January 28, 2016 A11

completely justified.

Why are economists so willing to declare to the world that free trade is good, even after reading papers like the one by Autor, et al.? Part of the problem is the definition of “good.” According to most models of trade, reducing trade barriers raises efficiency—which is to say, total GDP. But efficiency says nothing about fairness, and almost any model of trade will show that some people, industries and regions lose out. If most Americans experience slight gains from lower import prices, and a few lose their livelihoods and have to go on welfare, economists call that a good outcome, because they are so focused on the concept of efficiency. But because the public cares about a lot more than efficiency, the job losses in industries and regions knocked out by China since 2000 have made economists seem increasingly callous and out of touch.

But this is only part of the problem.

Economists are also stubbornly unwilling to question their benchmark theories, even when the evidence presents a challenge to these theories. The fact that Autor, et al. find total national employment declining in response to trade with China should be cause for concern. Standard trade models, especially the simple ones taught in Econ 101, predict that this shouldn’t have happened. Autor, et al. sternly rebuke the economics profession for relying too much on theory, and

especially if the incumbent officials will not have a good fortune this coming election. Certainly, they will be subjected to close scrutiny by their successors.

Another significant point which is often violated by local tax authorities is the determination of the tax base of the imposable Local Business Tax (LBT). I know of some local tax authorities who withhold the issuance of business permits if the declared tax base is lower than the amount declared in the preceding year. This is without basis as the LGC is categorical that business tax should be based on the taxpayer’s gross receipts for the preceding calendar year (See Section 143 of LGC).

It must be pointed out that for the purpose of determining the proper LBT imposed under the LGC, gross sales or receipts include payments actually or constructively received by the taxpayer (Section 131[n], LGC).

Some local tax authorities require the submission of the taxpayer’s financial statements (FS) and the LBT is computed on the basis thereof.

It must be pointed out that the FS is not necessarily the correct basis in determining the LBT since FS is generally prepared following the accrual basis of accounting. Under the LGC, the basis of LBT especially for service providers is gross receipts and not gross revenue.

While the LGC authorizes the imposition of LBT on the taxpayer’s gross receipts in the preceding calendar year, in at least one case,

not enough on evidence, when it comes to the issue of trade: We argue that having failed to anticipate how significant the dislocations from trade might be, it is incumbent on the economics literature to more convincingly estimate gains from trade, such that the case for free trade is not based on theory alone, but on a foundation of evidence.

The authors suggest that real-world economies may simply be much worse at adjusting to big changes than most economic models assume. It is expensive and time-consuming for workers to train for new jobs and to move to new locations. It also takes time and money for businesses to figure out how to change their business models in response to the new landscape presented by a global economy with China in it. These adjustment costs might overwhelm the gains from trade.

In the case of China, Autor, et al.’s warning may come too late. China’s economy is slowing and its costs are rising rapidly. No new prospective trade partners will be able to replicate anything close to the China shock. In other words, the unique problems created by trade with China might have been a oneoff event. But economists should still reevaluate their benchmark theories, and ease up in their adamant rhetoric in favor of free trade.

to perform healing miracles, as He has done elsewhere and now in favor of His native place. But Jesus pointed out that they have no exclusive privileges or home advantage over others, just as no prophet is for his own house.

With two examples from the prophets Elijah and Elisha, Jesus clarified that God’s blessings are for all in need and are welcoming including gentiles.

The people turned homicidal upon hearing from Jesus what for them was blasphemous: God’s saving gifts also for non-Jews.

Alálaong bagá, Jesus from the start stood for the universality of divine mercy. In carrying out His mission as God’s anointed for the salvation of all, it is clear there would be closed-mind rejection and even violent death and there would be no one but God to call upon.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

however (CTA Case EB 501), the CTA allowed the so called Presumptive Income Level of Assessment Approach (PILAA) as basis for the imposition of LBT. The PILAA is based on “presumptive income” which is a presumed or assumed income based on known or proven factors including information from the industry such as average customers per day, inventory turnover and mark-ups, and other measurable and verifiable indicators specific to the nature of business. However, the court said that PILAA may be used only if the taxpayer is unable to provide proof of its income. The PILAA does not give the local government unit a carte blanche authority to increase the gross sales/ receipts of the taxpayers within its jurisdiction and on that basis, assess the local business tax.

And again, the use of PILAA should be authorized by an ordinance, otherwise, its use is illegal.

The author is a senior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of World Tax Services Alliance.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at rodel.unciano@bdblaw.com.ph, or call 4032001 local 140.

Change in Laos: New communist leaders face old problems

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AO PDR’s ruling communists chose new leadership last week to run the single-party, authoritarian country for the next five years, but the change is not likely to affect relations with Washington.

Foreign media were not invited to cover the 10th congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, which is consistent with the government’s poor human rights record and the party’s obsessive secrecy.

Nonetheless, in keeping with America’s foreign policy pivot to Asia, President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Laos in the summer during a conference of the Asean. Laos is the 2016 chair of Asean, an important honor for the country. The party gathering replaced President and Lt. Gen. Choummaly Sayasone, 79, with Vice President and Col. Bounnhang Vorachit, 78, as both the nation’s and the party’s top leader. Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong was also ousted. Age and military background still play a large role in Laos’s governance.

The party has an estimated 200,000 members in a population of 6.7 million, 70 percent of whom are under 30.

Laos’s problems, apart from sclerotic leadership, include environmental issues that stem from dam building, mining and deforestation. Much of this activity reflects Chinese participation in the Laos economy, including a planned $6.3 billion, 260-mile railroad. Nonetheless, Laos’s economic performance has been strong in the last five years, and its leaders have pledged to attack the wide gap in living standards between city and country.

The US will find Laos a difficult country to court. The people are friendly to visiting Americans, but they still remember the Pentagon’s heavy bombing during the Vietnam War. Besides, with China and Vietnam along the border, the neighbors are likely to play a more influential role politically and economically. TNS

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Thursday, January 28, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House set to pass bills on PPP, CCT, FINL

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HE measures strengthening the public-private partnership (PPP), institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and removing investment restrictions on the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL)—reform bills needed to sustain economic growth—have hurdled second reading at the House of Representatives.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said these bills are among the priority measures of the 16th Congress and will be approved on third reading next week.

The bill institutionalizing energy efficiency and conservation (EEC) and granting rewards to industries pursuing EEC projects, meanwhile, has been reported for plenary approval at the lower chamber.

According to Belmonte, the measure institutionalizing and strengthening the PPP seeks to recognize the indispensable role of the private sector as the main engine for national growth and development, as well as create an

enabling environment for PPP. The measure was principally authored by Belmonte, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Liberal Party Rep. Romero S. Quimbo of Marikina City and Liberal Party Rep. Ronald Cosalan of Benguet.

The measure also seeks to provide the most appropriate incentives to mobilize private resources for the pur pose of financing, designing, constructing, operating and maintening infrastructure projects and services normally financed and undertaken by the government.

$4 and $1

Gabriela says for every $4 loan needed to help finance the CCT, the government would shell out $1 in interest payment

Under the bill, PPP projects may be undertaken through any of the following: build and transfer; build-lease-and-transfer; buildow n-and-operate; build-operate-and-transfer; build-transferand-operate; contract-add-andoperate; develop-operate-and transfer; joint venture; operations and maintenance contract; rehabilitate-operate-and-transfer; and supply-and-operate.

The measure said implementing agencies, in accordance with their respective charters, are authorized to undertake PPP projects with any project proponent in accordance with the provisions of the act.

The measure also said the priority projects that will be implemented under this act shall be consistent with the Philippine Development Plan, or its equivalent at the local level, and the implementing agencies shall submit their list of PPP projects, or any

update thereto, to the PPP Center of Information.

The bill added that the Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) will be used for the procurement of advisory and support services related to the preparation, structuring, probity management, procurement, financial close and monitoring of implementation of PPP projects.

It said that among other incentives, PPP projects in excess of P1 billion shall be entitled to incentives as provided by the Omnibus Investment Code, upon prior endorsement of the PPP Center and registration by the project proponent with the Board of Investment (BOI).

4Ps

DESPITE opposition from the Makabayan bloc, the lower chamber also approved the measure institutionalizing the 4Ps, or the conditional cash transfer (CCT).

The bill, principally authored by Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Susan Yap of Tarlac and Lakas Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga, seeks to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through investment in human capital and improved delivery of basic services to the poor, particularly education, health and nutrition.

The bill said on a nationwide basis, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall select qualified householdbeneficiaries using a standardized

targeting system.

The DSWD shall conduct a revalidation of targeting every three years.

The measure also said that subject to certain conditions, each qualified household beneficiary shall receive a CCT equivalent to P500 per month for health and nutrition expenses, or the equivalent of P6,000 per qualified household beneficiary per year.

A maximum of three children per qualified household beneficiary shall be given-conditional grant for educational expenses, it said.

Also to be given are P300 per month per child enrolled in elementary, or the equivalent of P3,000 per a 10-month school year; P500 per month per child in junior high school, or the equivalent of P5,000 per a 10-month school year; P700 per month per child enrolled in senior high school, or the equivalent of P7,000 per 10-month school year.

The bill said a supplementary education grant of P300 per month shall be given to a child in elementary or high school who has maintained passing grades in all subjects after the second year of availment of the program.

Earlier, Party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela said 4Ps will only increase government debt, saying the CCT is not a solution to poverty.

According to de Jesus, IBON Foundation conservatively estimates interest payments to the

World Bank for the CCT program could reach $94.6 million and $107.4 million to the Asian Development Bank. She said that for every $4 borrowed by the government to help finance the CCT, the country will need to pay $1 as interest.

For 2016 the government has allotted P64 billion for the CCT.

FINL

THE House of Representatives also approved on second reading a measure allowing foreigners to own 100 percent of adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses.

The bill, authored by Liberal Party Rep. Anthony G. del Rosario of Davao del Norte, amends investment restrictions in specific laws governing adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies and investment houses cited in the FINL. The measure seeks to amend “The Insurance Code” for adjustment companies; “The Investment Houses Law” for investment houses; “Lending Company Regulation of 2007” for lending companies; and “Financing Company Act of 1998” for financing companies.

“An investment house may be owned up to 100 percent by foreign nationals. Foreign nationals may become members of the board of directors to the extent of the foreign participation in the equity of said enterprise,” the measure added.

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