BusinessMirror January 18, 2015

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Monday, January 18, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 102

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

Asean ministers push tourism agenda to counter ‘risky’ tag B M. S F. A

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INSIDE

HE 35th Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) and the Travel Exchange (Travex) are being held this week in Manila against the backdrop of the recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, which has already raised global concern on the safety of travel to Southeast Asia.

CHINA-LED DEVELOPMENT BANK AIMS TO SWIFTLY APPROVE LOANS

THE WORLD

Special to the BM

A6

PISTONS DENY WARRIORS TIE OF NBA RECORD

Officials from the Philippines’s Department of Tourism (DOT), however, underscored the need to keep pushing tourism forward, and “not giving in to the terrorists.”

Around 2,000 delegates from 62 countries, including tourism ministers from Asia, “high-level officials” from national tourism organizations (NTOs); international buyers (tour operators/ travel agents); Asean sellers (hospitality companies, resorts, airlines,

107M

Forecast international visitor arrivals in Asean last year

tourism destinations); and the media are expected to attend the five-day ATF and Travex, which begin today, January 18, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The ATF 2016 opening ceremonies will be on January 20 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Hosting the ATF will boost the DOT’s “Visit the Philippines Again 2016” campaign, as the government shoots for a 10 million foreign visitor-arrivals target this year. (See “Celebrities grace ‘Visit Philippines Again 2016’ London launch,” http://www. businessmirror.com.ph/celebrities-grace-visit-philippines-again-2016-london-launch/.)

In an interview with the BM, Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. said tourism ministers will be meeting this week “to see through the adoption of the Asean Tourism Strategic Plan for 20162025 and the signing of memorandum of cooperation among Asean and China, Japan and South Korea [Asean+3]. This plan and agreement will stimulate tourism growth [to the region] through a responsible, sustainable and inclusive manner.”

He stressed that the Philippines and Asean can overcome the perception that it’s risky to travel to the region, “by being

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SPORTS

Alberto C. Agra

C1

RAFFIC congestion is no longer a joke. There are times during the day when the whole stretch of White Plains Avenue is like a parking lot. This was not the case last year. December traffic will be the norm sooner than we think. No one is exempt from the menace of traffic jam. Traffic congestion is a great equalizer.

C  A

Miners hoping to see a new ‘friend’ in Malacañang

Investors will really want to see who our new leaders will be, because that will, in turn, shape up the country’s minerals policy.”

—Recidoro PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 47.6790

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B M G P

EVELOPMENTS on the domestic front—including the seemingly miningfriendly roster of presidential bets—are giving miners hope for a strong rebound this year. The external factors, however, particularly the China gloom and depressed prices of commodities, are tempering their expectations.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines Vice President for Legal and Policy Ronald S. Recidoro

FED TO DEATH

FOOD AND BEVERAGE BUSINESSES MAY BE LEADING FILIPINOS TO OBESITY AND DEATH

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PPP a solution–but not the only one–to traffic gridlock PPP Lead

BMReports

told the BM that 2016 will prove to be another challenging year for the mining industry, especially since the prices of metals in the international market continue to tumble down.

“The prices of these commodities are dependent on several factors, primarily China. So, given the downturn in the Chinese economy, the appetite for the minerals that we extract is currently down. And it’s not just for the Philippines; it’s a global trend,” he said.

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B R C First of three parts

HAT’S in your hand impacts population.

Negatively, unfortunately.

According to experts, a potato chip—the last from a dozen or so bags consumed—can lead to obesity, which can lead to death.

That logic comes from the World Health Organization (WHO), which noted that obesity and being overweight ranked fifth among the leading risks of global deaths, with 2.8 million adults dying each year due to this medical condition.

According to Ivy D. Ramallosa of the Makati Medical Center (MMC), obesity is a disease, citing the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE).

Ramallosa, a registered nutritionist-dietician with the MMC, cited National Nutrition Council findings that said three of every 10 Filipino adults are obese.

That percentage could go higher, based on a study conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI). The FNRI study reveals it expects the number of overweight and obese Filipino adults to have grown in 2015, from 22.3 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, of the total adult population recorded four years ago.

“If the trend continues, this will lead to more health-related diseases, which can lead to death,” the FNRI said in the study.

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S “M,” A

n JAPAN 0.4039 n UK 68.7054 n HK 6.1242 n CHINA 7.2361 n SINGAPORE 33.1795 n AUSTRALIA 33.2027 n EU 51.8366 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.7117

Source: BSP (15 January 2016 )

A2 Monday, January 18, 2016

BMReports BusinessMirror

Fed to death C  A

Aside from blaming parents—genetics is a factor on body weight— Health Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go points to food as contributing to obesity.

The availability and price of food products, which affect food consumption, and access to a number of food selections are also factors, Hartigan-Go said.

Fast food

INDIVIDUALS who opt to eat at fast-food chains, instead of at home with home-cooked meals, increase their risk of becoming obese, experts said.

A study by clinical pharmacologist Ananya Mandal said fast-food meals contain a high calorie count and its portion size varies. In contrast, calorie content with meals cooked at home can be controlled, since the individual can choose healthier options for his or her ingredients that will go into the dish, Mandal said in her study. Most fastfood meals contain high sodium and high saturated and artificial trans fats and are high in sugar content, the study said.

Mandal notes that eating out is a contributing factor in obesity, as calorie content of meals eaten outside of the home is 55 percent higher than that of meals consumed or prepared at home.

A survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2009 shows a boom in fast-food chains and restaurants.

A total of 13,120 establishments

belonged to the food and beverage sector. Restaurants, coffee shops and fast-food chains garnered the biggest chunk of the pie with 10,282 (78.4 percent). In 2009 alone, food and beverage establishments reached a whopping P161.606.5 billion in total revenue, with restaurants, cafés and fast-food chains contributing P153.438.1 billion (94.9 percent).

Years later, the market saw the entry of eat-all-you-can restaurants.

But these establishments also contributed to the risk of making Filipinos obese.

If an individual eats out often and opts to go for an eat-all-you-can buffet, this increases his or her chance of accumulating unwanted body fat, according to Ramallosa. Eat-all-you-can buffet meals can often lead to overeating, thus, increasing one’s chance of getting obese.

“Eat-all-you-can restaurants may offer healthier choices like grilled, boiled, or steamed, but if you will not control the amount, it may also lead to excess calorie intake for the day,” Ramallosa said.

A study by Brian Wansink, Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab director, noted that overeating can sometimes stem from the individual not knowing when he or she is already full.

Wansink claims the obesity epidemic is connected with the availability and affordability of food doled out in large portions, a classic example of which is the emergence of eat-all-you-can buffets. The numerous choice of dishes laid out tempts

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Miners…

39.9% Percentage of obese and overweight individuals in the National Capital Region the consumer to eat more than they usually do, Wansink’s study said.

Consumers at eat-all-you-can buffets think they need to get their money’s worth and prompts them to eat as much as they can, regardless of the food’s nutritional value.

Body index

ACCORDING to the Oxford English Dictionary, obesity is “the condition of being grossly fat or overweight.”

The AACE, on the other hand, defines obesity as a person having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. This means a person’s weight is greater than what is considered to be healthy for his or her specific height.

An obese person has a BMI of 30 or greater. For example, if an Asian weighs 80 kilograms (kg), or 170 pounds, and his height is 1.6 meters (5”3’), he will have a BMI of 30.1. According to the rule, he would now be considered having a medical condition called obesity.

The Eighth National Nutritional Survey by the FNRI said five out of 100 children with ages ranging

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON EASTERLIES AFFECTING EASTERN SECTION OF THE COUNTRY (JANUARY 17, 5:00 AM)

from 0 to 5 are overweight. They form roughly 5 percent of that age group. The FNRI added 9.1 percent of children with ages ranging from 5.8 to 10 years, and 8.3 percent among adolescents are considered obese.

The FNRI data also showed that out of 10 adults with ages ranging from 20 and above, three are most likely overweight or obese. They make up roughly 31.1 percent of respondents having a BMI greater than or equal to 25. The study showed there are more obese females: 34.4 percent of obese women in the adult age range as against 27.6 percent obese or overweight males.

To note, the National Capital Region is composed of 39.9 percent of obese and overweight individuals.

The FNRI also saw a yearly increase in the number of obese children (0-5 years of age) at an average of 0.17 percent. There is also a yearly increase of 0.33 percent for children ages 5.8 to 10, and 0.34 percent for adolescents. There is also an increasing trend for the adult age group: 16.6 percent from 1993 to 29.9 percent by 2013.

Twelve years ago a World Health Organization (WHO) review of scientific evidence on BMI and Asians affirmed the international classifications on BMI cut-off points. In that study published in the 2004 edition of the Lancet, the WHO experts said the cut-off point for observed risk varies from 22 kg/m2 (kilogram/meter squared) to 25 kg/ m2 in different Asian populations; for high risk it varies from 26 kg/ m2 to 31 kg/m2. To be continued

China, with its massive industrialization program in the past decade, ramped up its infrastructure initiatives, increasing its need for base metals, such as nickel, iron and copper.

However, the downturn in its economy has cut its demand for such commodities.

Also, Recidoro said China has amassed a substantial stock of the metals during the times it was aggressive in its development and construction. This reserve has not yet been used up. The situation in China has caused prices of metals in the international market to go down.

The Philippines exports its metals—such as gold, copper and nickel—mainly to China and Japan.

But the mining companies also have reasons to be optimistic, buoyed by developments in the domestic front.

For one, investor confidence is not affected yet by the May elections, as none of the presidential bets have openly expressed opposition to mining activities, according to Michael Toledo, Philex Mining Corp. vice president for Public and Regulatory Affairs.

He said this is important because mining is seen to help ensure the sustainable growth of the Philippine economy.

Recidoro said local stakeholders are keenly following the political movements for upcoming polls. “Investors will really want to see who our new leaders will be because that will, in turn, shape up the country’s minerals policy.”

The industry is also implementing several initiatives in their internal operations to boost their viability.

Philex, for one, will still continue to increase its production this year.

The latest report from the company showed improvements in its metal output. Philex’s copper production in the third quarter of 2015 rose by 2 percent to 8.82 million pounds, from 8.64 million pounds recorded in the same period in 2014. The company’s gold output during the period increased by 5 percent to 27,910 ounces.

C  

However, the increment in production was not enough to prevent the reduction in the company’s revenues due to the depressed metal prices in the world market.

Philex’s consolidated operating revenues for the third quarter of last year went down by 7.32 percent to P2.406 billion from P2.596 billion in 2014.

Other mining firms, such as Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. and Nickel Asia Corp., also observed increases in production levels and reduction in revenues in their latest reports in 2015.

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also showed that the value of Philippine metallic production in the first nine months of 2015 went down to P85.78 billion as compared to P107.24 billion, in the same period in 2014.

But Toledo said the strategies implemented

by Philex in managing its costs and reducing its expenses, together with its increased metal output, have partially offset the impact of the low prices in the global market.

“We put into place, as part of our strategic planning, a number of cost-reduction measures, which have been very successful. At the same time, we still endeavor to continue our production levels,” he said.

“Most of our mining companies would have to reduce their cost. To offset the downturn in prices, they’ll try to lower their cost,” Recidoro said. Two more factors are boosting the miners’ optimism.

“The good thing now is oil prices have gone lower, so that’s helping. We’re also looking at the dollar exchange rate because that will help us as net exporters,” Recidoro said.

But, naturally, he said some small miners have been severely affected. Some were not able to address their losses, forcing them to temporarily stop their operations until such time that the prices of commodities have improve.

BMReports BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, January 18, 2016

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16th Congress hopes to wrap up unfinished business in nine days W B J M N.  C

ITH just nine session days left for the 16th Congress to wrap up unfinished business, the House of Representatives will approve starting today (Monday) several pending economic bills, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said on Sunday.

Belmonte, in a text message, said bills that will be approved this week include measures institutionalizing and strengthening the public-private partnership (PPP); a bill removing investment restrictions on the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL); the amendments to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.

(PDIC) charter; and the measure extending the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Acef ) to 2022.

mobilize private resources for the purpose of financing, designing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects and services normally undertaken by the government.

The bill 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 Investments.

The 16th Congress hopes to approve the PPP bill and a measure removing investment restrictions…in just nine days.”

“This week the House will sponsor and approve the PPP bill or the amendments to the BOT [Build-Operate-Transfer] Law,” he said, adding, “we hope to also approve [this week] the bill removing investment restrictions on the FINL, the PDIC charter and the Acef bill.”

The 16th Congress went on a Christmas break last December 19 and will resume sessions today (January 18).

The third and last regular session of the 16th Congress is expected to be cut short, as the two chambers will take a break again from February 6 to May 22 for the 2016 national and local elections.

“We have self-imposed tasks; all of which are subject to time constraints. But we will maximize our remaining workdays to deal with important businesses [before the break for the May 2016 elections],” Belmonte said.

The PPP bill seeks to recognize the indispensable role of the private sector as the main engine for national growth and development, and create an enabling environment for PPPs. The measure also seeks to provide the most appropriate incentives to

The creation of a joint congressional oversight committee is, likewise, proposed to oversee the implementation of the PPP law. The committee shall be composed of five members each from the Senate and the House of Representatives to be designated by the Senate President and Speaker, respectively. The committee shall be jointly chaired by the respective chairmen of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways and Senate Committee on Public Works.

The bill removing investment restrictions on the FINL allows foreigners to own 100 percent of adjustment, lending and financing companies, and investment houses.

Under Article XII of the Constitution, foreign investors are prohibited to own more than 40 percent on certain industries, while they are totally not allowed ownership in firms that exploit natural resources, public-utility companies and the media industry.

Meanwhile, the legislative leaders reached a consensus to adopt the Senate version of the PDIC reform bill to expedite its approval and signing into law.

Henares sets 21% hike in 2016 haul

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HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) looks to ramp up its collection this year by about a fifth from the tax haul in 2015, data from the BIR show.

In Revenue Memorandum Order 2-2016 signed by Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, the BIR formally adopted its collection target for the year totaling P2.025 trillion, higher by 21 percent from the P1.67-trillion collection goal in 2015.

The BIR said the revenue goal was based on actual collection for 2015 and on refinements to the economic assumptions and indicators supplied by the country’s economic managers.

Data show the bulk of the expected collection will come from the personal- and corporate-tax streams

this year. More than half, or P1.192 trillion, was seen collected from the tax on net income and from profits generated by the various business enterprises.

The next biggest collection were to come from the value-added tax, where the goal was set at P405 billion for 2016.

Meanwhile, excise tax were to contribute P170 billion to the total revenue haul for the year, percentage tax of another P82 billion, as well as other taxes of still another P118 billion.

The remaining P55.67 billion were to come from so-called nonrevenue operations.

As of end-November 2015, the BIR collected P1.95 trillion, representing annual growth of 12 percent. Bianca Cuaresma

TOURISTS continue to visit the Philippines and other Asean destinations, despite the recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia. The photo shows European tourists enjoying the country’s warm weather at a hotel in Parañaque City. NONIE REYES

Asean ministers push tourism agenda to counter ‘risky’ tag C  A

vigilant but pushing tourism efforts, so as not to lose momentum so far built. As they say, we must ‘make a choice between fear and freedom.’”

The Asean forecast international visitor arrivals in the region to have reached 107 million in 2015, almost double the 66 million recorded in 2009. International visitor arrivals in Asean+3 were up 7 percent to 241 million in 2014. Asean is composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In a separate interview, Domingo Ramon Enerio III, COO of the Tourism Promotions Board, said: “It’s unfortunate that the bombings took place in Jakarta last week, and we sympathize with the Indonesians. But acts of terror can happen anywhere, as it has in Paris, Egypt and now Indonesia. We should all stand together and not be defeated by fear. Without tourism, there is no economy.” The TPB is the marketing arm of the DOT. He added that during the ATF, members will likely sign a manifesto condoling with the Indonesians, which includes support for Asean tourism that stresses “not to give up on freedom.”

Enerio also assured that organizers are coordinating tightly with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure the safety and security of ATF delegates who are checked into several hotels in Manila and Makati, and will be attending events at the SMX, PICC, Sofitel Philippine Plaza, and other venues.

About 400 PNP personnel have been assigned for the event, but he emphasized “there are no threats” against Manila, as per their latest security briefings. “We’ve recently hosted the Apec [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] summit and just held the Black Nazarene procession; and these all went smoothly,” Enerio added, expressing confidence in the security preparations for the ATF. For her part, Asean Tourism Association (Aseanta) President Aileen Clemente said: “Terrorism is a global issue, despite the fact

that the recent event was in Jakarta. There is always a risk anywhere you go or travel. The more important fact is that we in Asean remain united in solving the challenges of terrorism, and still continue to forge relations with our neighbors with diverse religions and cultures to ours, and find that as a human race we pursue peace and unity. And, in this instance, through tourism.”

She also underscored the importance the ATF 2016 in Manila, saying: “This ATF is pretty significant, unlike the past ones. This is the first ATF immediately after the Asean integration [into one economic community], so the interest is growing as we market ourselves as a region.”

The Aseanta is a nonprofit group that is composed of private and public tourism-sector organizations in the region.

Clemente, who is also president of Rajah Travel Corp., said the ATF 2016 is an opportunity for the Philippines, particularly Manila, to be “reintroduced” to the world.

“The last time some [delegates] visited Manila was 10 to 20 years ago; and we want to promote Philippines as a new, growing and revitalized destination.”

She added that there will be many foreign buyers who are coming for the Travex, and “are interested to have business with the Philippines and Asean. This is also enforced by hosting post-tours for them.”

These tours will take delegates to key destinations in the country, such as Bicol, Boracay, Busuanga, Cordillera, Davao, El Nido, Negros, Puerto Princesa, Southern Luzon, Ilocos and the Visayas.

The ATF Travex will feature 450 buyers from about 55 countries, such as Australia, Azerbaijan, South Africa, France, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Russia and Singapore, as well as 475 sellers.

“We are also looking at 100 to 110 foreign media who will join us at ATF,” Undersecretary for Tourism Development Benito Bengzon Jr. said.

He added that 13 local government units (LGUs) will also participate in the ATF 2016, to sell the destinations in their particular

areas. “You will see stronger presence of our LGUs—Palawan, Cebu, Davao, Bohol, etc.

And for us, this is significant, because this shows how aggressive our local destinations have been in recent years. These are the guys who do their own sales missions, road shows.

So, we’re very happy these LGUs will come in strong for ATF 2016.”

The ATF is an annual event, which is widely regarded as the “largest and most significant platform for promoting Asean as a single destination to the global market,” Bengzon said.

Indonesian police said the attack by suicide bombers in the heart of Indonesia’s capital was funded by the Islamic State (IS) group.

This, after they seized an IS flag from the home of one of the attackers and carried out raids across the country, in which one suspected militant was killed.

National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters that Thursday’s attack was funded by IS through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian who spent one year in jail for illegal possession of weapons in 2011, and is now in Syria fighting for the group.

Supporters of IS also circulated a claim of responsibility for the attack on Twitter late Thursday. The radical group controls territory in Syria and Iraq, and its ambition to create an Islamic caliphate has attracted some 30,000 foreign fighters from around the world, including a few hundred Indonesians and Malaysians.

The IS link, if proved, poses a challenge to Indonesian security forces. Until now, the group was known only to have sympathizers with no active cells capable of planning and carrying out a plot, such as Thursday’s, in which five men attacked a Starbucks café and a traffic police booth with handmade bombs, guns and suicide belts.

They killed two people, one a Canadian and the other an Indonesian, and injured 20 in the first major attack in Indonesia since 2009. The militants were killed, either by their suicide vests or by police.

The attack “was funded by ISIS in Syria, through Bahrun Naim,” Haiti told reporters after Friday prayers, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. He did not elaborate.

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AseanMonday BusinessMirror

Nevada-based Supernap to open $300-million data center in Thailand

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OMPETITION in the Thai data-center market is heating up, with a global player making a significant investment to build a facility here and existing operators expanding capacity.

Supernap International, a Nevada-based data-center developer and operator, is spending $300 million to open its first data center in Thailand and only its second one outside the US after Italy.

With capacity to serve more than 6,000 server-rack cabinets, Supernap’s Thai data center will boast Asia Pacific’s most advanced facility and Thailand’s largest data center, chief executive Khaled Bichara said.

To be located in Chon Buri’s Hemaraj Industrial Estate, the data center will start operations in next year’s first quarter.

“With the emergence of the Asean Economic Community and Thailand’s plans for a digital economy, our data center will set a new standard for quality, security and innovation in Asia Pacific, including Thailand,” Bichara said.

Supernap Thailand will be set up in partnership between Supernap International and CPB Equity, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank and True Internet Data Center (TIDC).

Bichara said development of Supernap Thailand ’s data center would enhance the use of technology in the banking sector and provide a homegrown solution for Thai companies seeking to expand their information-technology capabilities.

Earlier, TIDC General Manager Thanasorn Jaidee said the company expected Supernap Thailand’s facility to cater to the premium customer segment.

In a related development, Wanchai Vach-Shevadumrong, deputy managing director of Internet Thailand Plc. (Inet), a Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)-listed data-center operator, said his company would build its third data center at a cost of 2 billion baht.

The 8,000-square meter data center in Saraburi province will have capacity to serve 2,000 computer racks and begin operations in 2018. Construction of the 700-million-baht first phase will start this March.

Wanchai said the new facility would accommodate growing cloud-based service.

Inet expects revenue of 1 billion baht in 2017, half from cloud-based services, up from 30 percent of revenue of 600 million last year. MCT

Monday, January 18, 2016 A5

Detained Malaysian hours away from suicide attack

A

MALAYSIAN man was detained just hours before planning to blow himself up at an entertainment venue in Kuala Lumpur, a government official said on Sunday, after authorities raised the alert level following bombings in neighboring Indonesia.

The 28-year-old Malaysian was detained on Friday at a monorail station in Kuala Lumpur, said national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar. He said the man confessed he planned to blow himself up in an attack after receiving orders from members of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

A government official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to release information, said on Sunday that the man is an insurance salesman from northeast Terengganu state.

The official told the Associated Press he was detained just hours before his planned suicide attack at an entertainment outlet, either a karaoke bar or a pub.

Khalid said in a statement that the man also had been hanging IS flags in several Malaysian states to oppose the government’s crackdown on the

150

Number of suspects linked to the Islamic State group detained by Malaysian authorities over the past two years militant group within the country.

Khalid tweeted that “weapons and IS documents” were seized when the man was detained.

Police have raised the security alert to the highest level following the deadly attacks in Jakarta on Thursday. Security has been increased at public places, such as shopping malls and tourist spots, with

extra precautions taken at border areas to prevent any infiltration by militants, Khalid said.

Federa l Ter r itor ies Minister Adnan Mansor said militant groups were targeting popular tourist destinations and shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur.

“The threats are there and we are very well aware of this, so we are on standby for any possible event,” he was quoted as saying by The New Sunday Times newspaper.

He said the motive was to destabilize popular tourist countries and create fear, like in Jakarta.

Separately, three Malaysians were detained on arrival at Kuala Lumpur’s airport on Monday after Turkey repatriated the two men and one woman last November 16 for trying to sneak into Syria, allegedly to join the Islamic State group, Khalid said.

The three were recruited through Facebook and the Telegram phone messaging service by a Malaysian man who had joined the militant group in Syria, Khalid said.

Malaysian authorities have detained more than 150 suspects linked to the IS group over the past two years, including some who were allegedly plotting attacks in strategic areas in Kuala Lumpur.

12 arrested

INDONESIAN police said they have arrested 12 people suspected of links

to the Jakarta bombings, as the death toll in the brazen attacks by Muslim militants rose to eight after a third civilian succumbed to wounds.

An Indonesian man who was shot in the head when two attackers fired into the crowd died at a hospital late Saturday, Jakarta police spokesman Col. Muhammad Iqbal said on Sunday.

The audacious assaults by suicide bombers and gunmen on Thursday targeted a Starbucks and traffic police post in bustling central Jakarta, leaving eight dead, including three civilians, and more than 20 wounded.

It was the first major assault by militants in Indonesia since 2009. Police said the attackers were tied to the Islamic State group through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with IS in Syria. National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters the 12 arrests were made in west and east Java and in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo Island.

Elaborating on an earlier claim that the militants received funding from Bahrun, he said police have determined money was transferred to Indonesia via Western Union. He added that one of those arrested had received money transferred from IS. Separately, authorities say they have blocked more than a dozen web sites expressing support for Thursday’s attack as they try to counter radical Islamic ideology online. AP

The World BusinessMirror

A6 Monday, January 18, 2016

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • news@businessmirror.com.ph

UN panel: $40 billion needed to aid people in war, disasters B 125M

MERKEL’S MIGRANT TROUBLES FLARE, BUT CHANCELLOR REMAINS ADAMANT

People devastated by wars and natural disasters in the world

IN this December 14, 2015, file photo, families begin their journey home from the Estayesh Food Distribution Site in Denkena Kebele, Meket Woreda, Ethiopia. The US government has announced an $88-million funding to help feed hungry people in drought-affected areas of Ethiopia, bringing the total number of humanitarian aid provided to the country in 2015 to more than $435 million.

The announcement came as the Ethiopian government is appealing for $1.4 billion from the international community and donors to help feed more than 10 million people. AP/DAVID R. KAHRMANN

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NITED NATIONS—An estimated $40 billion is needed annually to help the rapidly growing number of people needing humanitarian aid as a result of conflicts and natural disasters—and one possibility to help fill the $15-billion funding gap is a small voluntary tax on tickets for soccer games and other sports, concerts and entertainment events, airline travel and gasoline, a UNappointed panel said.

The panel’s report on humanitarian financing, to be launched later Sunday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Dubai, says the

world is spending around $25 billion today to provide life-saving assistance to 125 million people devastated by wars and natural disasters

—more than 12 times the $2 billion that was spent in 2000.

“We have an exponentially, growing problem,” said panel cochairman Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commission’s vice president for budget and human resources. “The good news is that the world has never been so generous to people in need.

The bad news is that never has our generosity been so insufficient.”

The nine-member panel calculated that an additional $15 billion is needed annually to reduce suffering and ensure that no one in need dies or has to live “without dignity” for a lack of money.

“This is a lot of money, but not out of reach for a world producing $78 trillion of annual GDP,” the panel said in the report to the secretarygeneral released on Sunday.

The 31-page report focuses on three interlinked solutions to address the widening financial gap: mobilizing additional funds, shrinking the need for aid and improving the efficiency of humanitarian assistance.

The report says that today’s massive instability and its capacity to cross borders, demonstrated by the

flight of people from Syria and other conflict areas to Europe, “makes humanitarian aid a global public good that requires an appropriate fundraising model.”

It recommends that at the first UN humanitarian summit, to be held in Istanbul in May, governments voluntarily sign up to “the successful model of a solidarity levy and create a steady flow of revenues for humanitarian action.”

The report points to a small levy on airline tickets, initially proposed by France, which raised €1.6 billion between 2006 and 2011 from just 10 participating countries—Georgieva estimated this at $2.3 billion—to help fund diagnosis and treatment for HIV/ AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in low-income countries.

Georgieva said in a video briefing from Brussels before the report’s release that the panel couldn’t agree on the specifics of a levy because some members are against taxation.

But she said she is “more optimistic on a voluntary levy, especially combined with social responsibility.”

The panel has talked about a

small tax on “high-volume transaction businesses” like Uber, concerts, entertainment, movies and sports, and has been talking to some “potential players” including Fifa, the governing body of world football, Georgieva said.

She said people probably wouldn’t feel a five-cent or 10-cent addition to a ticket or a ride, but the money generated could have a major humanitarian impact.

The report also calls for governments with greater wealth to provide more aid, for the humanitarian community to “harness the power of business to deliver its key skills and capabilities,” including by supporting the delivery of aid and creating jobs, and for Muslim countries, which are most affected by conflict, to use “Islamic social finance” to help meet humanitarian needs.

Georgieva said zakat, the annual donation many Muslims are religiously required to make as a basic tenet of the Islamic faith, raises between $300 billion and $500 billion a year, and earmarking just one percent of that for humanitarian aid would go “a long way” toward closing the $15-billion gap.

To shrink the need for aid, the panel calls for world leaders to commit to preventing and resolving conflicts and to increasing investments in reducing the risk of natural disasters. In addition to putting more money in these areas, it recommends that aid should focus on “fragile countries” and countries experiencing shocks due to conflicts or natural disasters.

The panel also recommends that humanitarian aid should follow people in need, not countries.

Georgieva said this means, for example, that when people fleeing conflict move from Syria to Lebanon and Jordan, those middleincome countries can get access to grants and low-cost loans.

To improve aid delivery, the panel calls for an end to competition between aid organizations and between humanitarian and development agencies.

It calls for donors and aid organizations to come together in “a grand bargain” in which donors provide more cash, long term, with fewer strings and aid organizations are more transparent so that everyone can “follow the money.” AP

China-led development bank aims to swiftly approve loans

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EIJING—The head of the newly opened Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said the China-led group is aiming to approve its first loans before the end of the year, part of Beijing’s efforts to weave together regional trade partners and solidify its global status.

The AIIB officially opened at a ceremony on Saturday in Beijing, formalizing the emergence of a competitor to the Washingtonled World Bank and strengthening China’s influence over global

development and finance.

AIIB’s inaugural president, the Chinese banker Jin Liqun, said Sunday that Asia still faces “severe connectivity gaps and significant infrastructure bottlenecks.”

The bank would welcome the US and Japan, two economic powers that have declined invitations to join the organization, said Jin, who was previously a high-ranking official at both the World Bank and Japan-led Asian Development Bank.

Washington has said it welcomes the additional financing for

development but had expressed concern looser lending standards might undercut efforts by existing institutions to promote environmental and other safeguards. Chinese officials have said the bank will complement existing institutions and promised to adhere to international lending standards.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has outlined a broad plan called “One Belt One Road” to deepen trade relations with neighboring countries and open new markets, with the AIIB a key component of that strategy. AP

JIN LIQUN, inaugural president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), bows as he arrives for a news conference at a hotel in Beijing, on Sunday. The head of the newly opened AIIB says the China-led group is aiming to approve its first loans before the end of the year, part of Beijing’s efforts to weave together regional trade partners. The AIIB officially opened at a ceremony on Saturday in Beijing. AP/ANDY WONG

ERLIN—Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant troubles have reignited in the new year, but the German leader is sticking to her guns, insisting her country will manage the challenge and that diplomacy can bring solutions.

Germany registered nearly 1.1 million asylum-seekers last year, and 2,000 to 3,000 are still arriving daily even in mid-winter.

A surge of robberies and sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve in Cologne— and the fact that some of the suspects were asylum-seekers—have highlighted the difficulty of integrating so many newcomers. With pressure mounting for the government to manage the influx, Merkel’s Bavarian allies are once again pushing for a cap on asylum-seekers.

Public opinion toward refugees has been souring for months in Germany, although polls suggest political support for Merkel’s conservatives is down only slightly.

While Germany doesn’t hold a national election until late 2017, smaller votes this year—starting with three state elections in March—will offer a test of the mood.

“The events of New Year’s Eve have again shone a spotlight on the challenges we face, made them clear from a new side we had not viewed so far,” Merkel acknowledged. Within days, her government proposed legislation to make it easier to deport criminal foreigners.

On the refugee influx itself, however, Merkel is standing firm—sticking to her much-criticized mantra that “we will manage it.”

The woman chosen as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” insists that the solution is not to unilaterally close borders, but to work with reluctant European partners, Turkey and others to secure Europe’s frontiers and share the burden of hosting refugees. That has been the central plank of her approach even as the government has tightened policy at home—taking steps to make it easier to send migrants from Balkan nations home and making clear that not all Afghans will be allowed to stay.

Whether Merkel will have any more success in Europe in 2016 than last year is questionable.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, an outspoken opponent of compulsory refugee quotas, said after the Cologne assaults that migrants can’t be integrated and “we don’t want what happened in Germany to happen here.”

Merkel has pledged to reduce the influx but resisted calls to set a specific limit on the number of refugees Germany can take. She rallied her conservative party behind her stance a month ago, heading off calls for a cap by conceding that an unabated influx would “overburden” the country in the long run.

But after a few weeks’ peace, her allies in the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union—her most prominent domestic critics over recent months—renewed their drive for tougher border controls and for a cap. The party’s leader, governor Horst Seehofer, suggested an annual figure of 200,000 asylum-seekers, and grumbling has resurfaced in Merkel’s own party.

Yet Merkel isn’t budging and won’t say by when she aims to get the numbers down.

“It wouldn’t be right to name the exact day,” she said. “We are working at high pressure on a sustainable reduction.”

Her finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said Europe has only “finite” time to secure its external borders but wouldn’t give a date. The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung argued in an editorial that if things don’t change by midyear, Merkel will have to declare a partial, temporary halt to admitting migrants.

The first electoral test since the refugee crisis escalated last summer comes on March 13.

In principle, there’s much to gain for Merkel’s party in three state elections. It aims to win back a traditional stronghold, the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, after five years under a liberal government. In neighboring RhinelandPalatinate, it hopes to end the center-left Social Democrats’ 25 years at the helm; and in eastern Saxony-Anhalt, it looks wellplaced to keep the governor’s office.

Still, lackluster conservative results or a strong performance by the upstart Alternative for Germany party could increase the pressure on Merkel.

Alternative for Germany appeared to be fading last summer after its founding leader was ousted amid a switch from a euro-skeptic to an anti-immigration stance. It has since been bolstered by the huge migrant influx. AP

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Monday, January 18, 2016

Taiwan elects first female president

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AIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as its first female president on Saturday, handing her pro-independence party its first majority in the national legislature and rejecting the Chinafriendly party that has led the selfgoverning island for eight years.

The result should be deeply unsettling to China, which may respond by further reducing Taipei’s already limited ability to win diplomatic allies and participate in international organizations.

In a statement issued after Tsai’s win, the Chinese Cabinet’s body for handling Taiwan affairs reaffi rmed its opposition to Taiwan independence, but said it would work to maintain peace

and stability between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

“Our will is as strong as a rock, our attitude unswerving on the principal matter of safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Taiwan Affairs Office said.

Voters are concerned that Taiwan’s economy is under threat from China and broadly opposed to Beijing’s demands for political unification resoundingly chose Tsai over

the Nationalists’ Eric Chu, a late replacement for his party’s original candidate who was seen as alienating voters.

Tsai said her victory was a further show of Taiwan’s ingrained democracy, and its people wish for a government “steadfast in protecting this nation’s sovereignty.” She, too, pledged to maintain the status quo with China. She said both sides have a responsibility to find a mutually acceptable means of interacting, while adding that Taiwan’s international space must be respected.

She said she would correct past policy mistakes, but warned that “the challenges that Taiwan faces will not disappear in one day.”

Chu resigned from his party’s leadership to take responsibility for the massive loss. In the final tally, Tsai won more than 56 percent of votes, while Chu had 31 percent and a third-party candidate trailing in the distance. Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou is constitutionally barred from another term.

Making Tsai’s task easier, her

Democratic Progressive Party won 68 seats in the 113-member national legislature that has been traditionally dominated by the Nationalists, who took 36 seats, with the rest won by independents and smaller parties. Illustrating the extent of their defeat, the Nationalists had won 64 seats four years ago. The new legislature convenes next month, while Tsai is set to be inaugurated in May. The United States, Taiwan’s most important ally and source of defensive arms, congratulated Tsai.

“We share with the Taiwan people a profound interest in the continuation of cross-Strait peace and stability,” State Department Spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

Tsai said one of her top priorities would be to unite Taiwan in order to gain strength and respect from abroad.

Addressing a thin crowd of a few hundred supporters at his campaign headquarters, the Nationalists’ Chu said: “We failed. The Nationalist Party lost the elections.

We didn’t work hard enough.” He

followed his concession speech by making a long bow.

Reflecting unease over a slowdown in Taiwan’s once-mighty economy, undeclared voter Hsieh Leefung said providing opportunities to the next generation was the most important issue.

“Economic progress is related closely to our leadership, like land reform and housing prices. People aren’t making enough money to afford homes,” Hsieh said.

Tsai has proposed to open 200,000 units of affordable housing in eight years. Her party suggested in May that Taiwan’s laws change to raise wages and cut work weeks from 84 per two weeks to 40 in one.

Tsai also reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty claim over East China Sea islands also claimed by China, but controlled by Japan. She said Taiwan would also work to lower tensions in the South China Sea, where Taiwan, China and four other governments share overlapping territorial claims.

Tsai said she work to recruit talented people to her Cabinet; increase

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the competitiveness of Taiwan’s export-oriented economy; and safeguard the food supply following a series of scandals.

Her win will introduce new uncertainty in the complicated relationship between Taiwan and mainland China, which claims the island as its own territory and threatens to use force if it declares formal independence.

“Taiwan and China need to keep some distance,” said Willie Yao, a computer engineer who said he backed Tsai. “The change of president would mean still letting Taiwanese make the decision.”

Tsai has refused to endorse the principle that Taiwan and China are parts of a single nation to be unified eventually. Beijing has made that its baseline for continuing negotiations that have produced a series of pacts on trade, transport and exchanges.

Observers say China is likely to adopt a wait-and-see approach, but might use diplomatic and economic pressure if Tsai is seen as straying too far from its unification agenda. AP

The W

Business

A8 Monday, January 18, 2016 | Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Launching his cancer moon shot, Biden says politics impeding cure P 250

HILADELPHIA—Vice President Joe Biden has launched a “moon shot” initiative to hasten a cure for cancer, aiming to use his final year in office to break down barriers in the medical world he says are holding back progress on eradicating the dreaded disease.

Biden chose Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia as his venue to call attention to the institute’s pioneering efforts on immunotherapy, in which a patient’s own immune system is deployed against cancer cells. After touring the facility’s Center for Advanced Cellular Therapeutics, Biden sat down on Friday with doctors, researchers and academics to discuss recent advances.

“You’re on the cusp of some phenomenal breakthroughs,” he said.

“In my terms—not your medical terms—we are at an inflection point in the fight against cancer.”

With barely a year left, Biden has yet to lay out exactly what he’ll do that hasn’t been done in the half century since President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer. But Biden said in addition to pushing for more funding, he would use his influence to “break down silos” he says are pervasive throughout the sprawling and fragmented world of cancer.

Since declaring his moonshot last October, Biden has been searching for answers about what’s holding back a cure, with all the meticulousness of a physician diagnosing disease. His conclusion:

Cancer patients treated under the chimeric antigen receptor technology, with promising results.

The hold-up, in large part, lies in the cancer world itself.

Meeting with scientists on Friday, Biden recalled his grandfather’s adage that the world has three kinds of politics: church politics, labor politics and regular politics.

“I hope you’re not offended, but there are four kinds of politics in America. There’s cancer politics,” Biden said. He deemed that particular flavor even more vexing than the rest. But Jim Greenwood, CEO of BIO, which represents the biotech industry, said there’s a reason organizations developing

treatments must keep some information to themselves. “There are proprietary interests, and the model for developing drugs in the US is done by the private sector,” Greenwood said. “That means competition, and there’s a lot of benefit to that.”

Still, Biden has described a system that has left researchers and their discoveries cloistered in their own corners. His campaign this year will work to encourage more data-sharing about patient data and treatment outcomes.

“My hope is that I can be a catalyst, to oversimplify it, to get everybody on the same page,” Biden said.

A key focus will be promising advances such as immunotherapy.

At the cancer center Biden visited Friday, researchers are exploring what’s known as chimeric antigen receptor technology, in which a patient’s immune cells are engineered outside of their body to hunt for tumors, then infused back into the patient’s body. The White House said 250 patients have been treated with the approach, with early promising results.

Another priority for the vice president is to further “precision medicine,” which personalizes treatments based on the genetic makeup of a patient’s tumors. Cancer researchers who met with Biden recently said he was intrigued by the possibilities for improving prevention and early detection.

Biden planned to continue the effort next week by convening global cancer experts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Then he’ll chair a series of meetings with Cabinet secretaries about ways to boost federal funding.

For Biden, the emotional undertones of his mission are difficult to avoid. After his 46-year-old son, Beau Biden, died from brain cancer last May, Biden entered a period of painfully public mourning, followed eventually by his decision not to enter the presidential race.

“This is still a blow that he’s still recovering from,” said former Sen. Ted Kaufman, a Biden confidante for many decades. “He’s in his problem-solving mode. He’s more

comfortable in this area because of his desire to eliminate this thing that caused him so much damage.”

When Biden, in a Rose Garden speech, announced a bid “to cure cancer,” eyebrows were raised. Some wondered whether Biden was unduly raising expectations.

“I’m an eternal optimist, but I’m not going to go around saying we’re going to cure cancer in five years.

That’s just not realistic,” said Dr. George Demetri, a Harvard Medical School professor and researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who met with Biden’s staff.

Biden acknowledged that some cancers can’t be cured, insisting he wasn’t naive. But he said he thought it was possible to double the rate of scientific advances.

Because cancer takes hundreds of forms, it can’t be eradicated by any single advance. But immense progress has been made recently. Survival rates for most cancers are increasing, although the American Cancer Society still predicts nearly 1.7 million new cancer cases this year and nearly 600,000 deaths. AP

World

sMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph | Monday, January 18, 2016

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IS killed 300 in attacks in Syria’s east

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EIRUT—Syria’s government said on Sunday that Islamic State (IS) militants slaughtered 300 people in an “appalling massacre” committed in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour in daylong attacks that saw the extremists make significant advances in the contested region.

T he state -r un SA NA news agency said that most of those killed in Saturday’s attacks were elderly people, women and children, while opposition activists said many of the victims were Syrian soldiers and pro-government militiamen and their families.

The killings are some of the worst carried out by the extremist group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq and has killed thousands of people in both countries. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory

for Human Rights, which documents all sides of the Syria conflict through activists on the ground, said late Saturday that at least 135 people were killed. It said around 80 of them were soldiers and progovernment militiamen and the rest civilians.

It added that many of them were shot dead or beheaded.

The IS group controls most of Deir el-Zour province and much of the capital with the same name, while the government controls

several districts in the northern part of the city and the adjacent military airport. Most of the casualties took place in the area of Baghaliyeh near the city.

The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV, which is close to the Syrian government, also reported a massacre and said IS killed dozens of people, including women and children, and threw their bodies in the Euphrates River. It said the group took more than 400 civilians hostage. The reports could not

be independently confirmed. The IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency had reported a large-scale multipronged attack on Deir el-Zour that began with a suicide bombing. On Sunday, it reported that the group expanded its control of areas west and northwest of Deir el-Zour, adding that around 110 Syrian government forces were killed and at least five others captured.

It said the group seized control of Baghaliyeh and surrounding areas during the fighting. AP

At least 13 dead, 14 wounded in Afghan suicide UN: Thousands of Ramadi

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ABUL, Afghanistan—At least 13 people were killed and 14 wounded in a suicide attack at the home of a prominent politician in the increasingly volatile eastern city of Jalalabad, an Afghan official said on Sunday.

The attacker detonated his explosives, which were secreted in his clothing, around 10:30 a.m. at the residential compound of Obaidullah Shinwari, said Ataullah Khyogani, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial government.

Shinwari is a member of Nangarhar’s provincial council and his family is active in local and national politics. His father Malik Osman is an influential community elder in the

Shinwari district near the Pakistan border who has spoken out against about the presence in the region of the Islamic State (IS) group Khyogani said a guesthouse on the compound was crowded with people who had been invited to a family event. “The number of casualties is likely to increase because there were so many people there,” Khyogani said. Enamullah Miakheil, spokesman for the Nangarhar Public Health Hospital, said that 13 bodies and 14 wounded people had been brought to the hospital so far.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying in a statement that as “terrorists lose their

ability to fight Afghan forces on the battlefield, not they are carrying out terror attacks on residential areas.”

The compound is close to the Pakistani consulate, targeted last week in an attack claimed by the IS group. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the Sunday attack, but a Taliban spokesman posted a message on Twitter denying Taliban involvement. Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, has seen the number of threats and attacks rise in recent months as the presence of IS has grown in the region. Gunmen affiliated with IS have fought fierce battles with the Taliban, with IS taking control of at least four districts on the province’s border with

Pakistan. In one of those districts, Achin, Shinwari’s nephew Nasim is a former governor. Achin witnessed anti-IS group and anti-Taliban demonstrations on Saturday, when hundreds of residents called for the central government to rid their region of the insurgents.

The attack comes a day ahead of a second round of high-level talks aimed at eventually brokering a peace deal between Kabul and the Taliban, who have been fighting for more than 14 years. The talks will see representatives of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China meet to formulate a road map for a dialogue that will eventually, they hope, include Taliban representatives. AP

buildings damaged, destroyed

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AGHDAD—A United Nations report published on Saturday said the ongoing battle for the city of Ramadi has damaged or destroyed more than 4,500 buildings. The findings, gathered by comparing satellite imagery of the city collected in July 2014 to imagery collected in December, reveal that nearly 1,500 buildings have been completely destroyed, the report said.

The Islamic State (IS) group overran Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, in May after months of clashes with Iraqi government forces. Last month government forces retook the city’s western and central districts under cover of heavy coalition air bombardment. “The kind of damage that happened in Ramadi is incomparable to what we saw in Tikrit,” said Lise

Grande, the UN’s deputy special representative to Iraq, referring to the last major city that forces aligned with the Iraqi government took back from IS control. The extent of the damage in Ramadi, she said, raises concerns about reconstruction. Grande emphasized the report was preliminary as UN teams have not yet been able to access Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, on the ground.

While members of the US-led coalition to fight IS have pledged more than $50 million to Iraqi reconstruction, Iraqi and coalition officials estimate that rebuilding Ramadi alone could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. In the past month the US-led coalition planes launched more than 140 air strikes at IS targets in and around Ramadi. AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, January 18, 2016

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Asean tourism czars meet in ATF 2016

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HE tourism ministers of the 10 countries constituting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are meeting in Manila today at the 35th Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) to map out an integrated tourism development plan and policy framework for the entire region.

The ministers, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT), will also meet with the officers of the national tourism organizations (NTOs) of the Asean-member countries during the ATF 2016.

Comprising the NTOs are indus-

try players and regulators of the various tourism sectors of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

From January 18 to 22, the daily

meetings will be at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza as DOT marketing arm Tourism Promotions Board rolls out the ATF exhibits at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, for the entire duration of the eight-day international event up to January 25.

DOT Undersecretary and ATF 2016 Philippine Host Committee Chairman Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said the ATF exhibits featuring the bests of Asean would give thousands of visitors from all over the world an awesome viewing experience. Among the visitors will be hundreds of foreign buyers and members of the international media.

“Representing the Philippines at the Asean Ministers Meeting is Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr., who sees the region emerging as a major player in global tourism,” Bengzon said.

“The policies to be formulated

and polished will be based on the inputs from the various NTOs and how these can be reconciled with the current laws of the Aseanmember countries and immediately implemented across the board.

The overriding objective is to come up with a single tourism policy infrastructure, legal framework or strategic platform for all of Asean that will be in line with the Asean Economic Community blueprint 2025 formulated recently (November 22, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) and boost the inflow of tourists, not just to one or two countries, but throughout the region,” Bengzon pointed out.

“The objective is to make Asean tourism contribute to the overall regional economic integration agenda that is envisioned to address the human requirements of Southeast Asia’s 622 million people,” Bengzon explained.

“That regional population is

equivalent to a whopping $2.6-trillion consumer market, which can be translated into a massive human resource with a GDP or total economic output of $2.57 trillion at a growth rate of 4.6 percent in 2014, or much faster than the developing Europe’s 2.4 percent, Latin America’s 0.9 percent, and the combined Middle East’s and North Africa’s 2.2 percent, all based on World Bank figures,” Bengzon stressed.

“And while global financial services firm Morgan Stanley has projected the world economy to contract by 5 percent last year, the ADB [Asian Development Bank] sees Asean economic growth rising by 4.9 percent in 2015 and 5.3 percent in 2016 to help balance the deceleration in China and cushion its global impact,” Bengzon added.

He cited tourism as one of Asean’s major strategic and tactical weapons in perking up business

activities, drawing investments from other global growth centers, generating employment, raising government revenues, increasing corporate and individual incomes, and broadening up the region’s domestic capital and entrepreneurial base to help fight poverty and resist global financial shocks.

“We just have to collectively preserve, develop and promote our distinctly natural, historical and cultural tourism attributes as economic assets and use them sustainably in addressing the needs of the Asean people. As the saying goes: ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ This is exactly what Asean tourism integration is and what we envisioned to achieve and inspire through this year’s ATF theme ‘One Community for Sustainability.’ Asean’s tourism resources constitute a gold mine yet to be tapped. Indeed, the best is yet to come,” Bengzon stressed.

Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & AT LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR Spa, Cebu cited as Best Resort Hotel for Business Events TOUR OF HOTEL DE ORIENTE CONVENTION CENTRE

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HE replica of the Philippines’s first luxury hotel, now rebuilt as Hotel de Oriente Convention Centre, opens its doors for public tour starting this month at the country’s first and only Heritage Resort by the sea, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

Resort guests may avail themselves the tour at the new facility constructed based from the old Hotel de Oriente built in 1889 along Plaza Calderon de la Barca in Binondo, Manila. It was considered as the first premier hotel in the country featuring the finest architecture of the Spanish era. The hotel was later destroyed during World War II. Guests may now visit Hotel de Oriente Convention Centre for an additional P200 maintenance fee inclusive of tour, entry to the newly opened exhibit and a especially handcrafted souvenir reminiscent of the resort’s old-world beauty.

Capping the tour is a film showing of old documentaries featuring Manila’s splendor.

The newly built convention hall is a three-story building situated in between Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar’s enchanting river and the highly inviting beach. While its façade was designed based on old Hotel de Oriente photos, its interiors were uniquely fashioned to feature outstanding Filipino craftsmanship.

Upon entering the site, guests will be transported to a fine-art scene with woodworks everywhere from ceiling to flooring, featuring wood mosaics made of marquetry and parquetry, and hundreds of lifelike wooden sculptures. The convention hall’s centerpiece is a marquetry

work based from the Spoliarium, Juan Luna’s most valuable oil-oncanvas painting. The ceiling, in contrast, depicts a wood mosaic series showcasing some of the murals of Carlos “Botong” Francisco, the Philippines’s National Artist for Painting.

The new development has two huge venues, Manila and Binondo Halls, catering to guests of up to 1,000 persons each area. Inside the Binondo Hall at the ground floor, the ceiling is adorned with casting works made of plaster of Paris. The Manila Hall, on the other hand, serves as the main venue of the structure with a built-in stage and state-of-the-art sound system. Located at the second level, this venue features hardwood parquet flooring, casting works on the ceiling, still-life paintings, and carved decors along the columns and walls.

The third floor has four function rooms named after some of the famous streets of Manila—Azcarraga, Avenida, Blumentritt and Santa Cruz. The convention hall will also offer comfort to the most discerning guests with the VIP boxes for the Manila Hall at this level.

Displayed in Azcarraga Function Room is the Hotel de Oriente Convention Centre Exhibit, a narrative spectacle of how the site came to be. It showcases the place’s history, the inspiration behind its development, the artistry of the workers who made the majestic exhibition, and other significant details highlighting its milestone not just for the resort but also for Bataan and the rest of the country.

Sample woodworks, plasterworks,

sketches, and sculptures are presented serving as tribute to the artists who contributed to the overall design of the structure. The exhibit highlights the pieces of the painters, wood carvers, marquetry artists, furniture makers, resin, plaster and terra cotta brick producers who make up the workshop team of the resort. Most of them are locals of the province except for the sculptors who came from Paete, Laguna, and Betis, Pampanga, two places in the country known for the woodcarving industry.

Hotel de Oriente Convention Centre is Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar’s ideal venue for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE). It was earlier previewed to the finance ministers of member-countries during the Bataan leg of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held last June and the Harana concert featuring Lani Misalucha held last October 31.

Visit the enchanting convention facility at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, a 400-hectare world-acclaimed resort in the quaint town of Bagac in Bataan. It is a threehour drive from Manila via North Luzon Expressway and Subic– Clark–Tarlac Expressway. Guests may avail themselves the shuttle service plying the Manila-Bataan route daily with New World Hotel Makati and Astoria Plaza as pickup and drop off points.

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a project of contractor-developer New San Jose Builders Inc. and is managed by Asian Grand Legacy Hotels Corp.

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N the recently released CEI Readers’ Choice Awards 2015, ShangriLa’s Mactan Resort & Spa, Cebu was named Best Resort Hotel for Business Events—a remarkable culmination to a year that had seen a series of highprofile events at the resort, including the historic ministerial meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the annual Asian Carriers’ Conference, among many others.

The awarding body, CEI Asia, is an independent source of information for corporate events within the region.

For the past 15 years, its annual industry survey has been a reputable list that showcases the best in meetings, incetives, conferences and exhibitions destinations as chosen by its readers.

Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa, Cebu has long been a preferred venue for corporate planners because of its extensive array of function spaces and facilities that give them plenty of choices to work with.

The resort’s iconic venues—namely, The Marquee and Ocean Pavilion— make the perfect locales for formal black-tie ceremonies, while outdoor spaces, such as the Ocean Terraces and beachfront, create a refreshing environment for fun team-building activities. Other corporate gatherings, from large-scale conferences to exclusive briefings, also find a home at the resort’s ballrooms and meeting rooms.

On top of that, planners experience the signature Shangri-La hospitality as they get to personalize their event to suit their specific requirements.

A skillful team at the helm provides

meticulous attention to each event, ensuring a conducive environment for all guests.

Leisure is woven into the overall experience as well, as guests have the option to dine at any of the four restaurants and five bars, enjoy any of the sports and recreational facilities, or delight in restful moments at CHI, The Spa. As they mix work and play at the resort, they get to recharge and rejuvenate, making themselves more productive for their activities ahead.

Furthermore, guests have the convenient pleasure of venturing into the natural attractions and business districts around Cebu, which notably has placed second in the list of Best Emerging Destinations by the same awarding body.

Those interested to have their next corporate event at the Mactan resort may contact (63 32) 231 8159 or email events.mac@shangri-la.com.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently owns and/or manages more than 90 hotels under the Shangri-La brand with a room inventory of over 38,000.

Shangri-La hotels are five-star deluxe properties featuring extensive luxury facilities and services. Shangri-La hotels are in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Fiji, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in mainland China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Qatar and Sri Lanka. For more information and reservations, contact a travel professional or access the itssite at www.shangri-la.com.

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Monday, January 18, 2016

A11

DIVE, TREK, SIP, REPEAT!

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Photos by Andrea Nadine Lucas & Ben Sarinda

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E were 28 feet deep underwater, going deeper and deeper until we could barely make out the surface. My throat started to dry up, my ears felt like they’re about to explode, and for a moment I was gripped with a sudden fear. What if the underwater pressure is more than what my body can handle and I pass out?

Perhaps sensing my anxiety, my dive instructor motioned me to “equalize” which means that I had to pinch my nose, breathe gently, and swallow. The trick worked, and the discomfort was replaced by pure astonishment when I finally turned my sight to the spectacle before me.

It’s as if I was seeing a cacophony of colors: school of fish resembling vibrant confetti, coral reefs creating a kaleidoscope of hues and other marine species exuding subtle shades against the depth of the ocean’s color. Yes, I have never seen an underwater sight this beautiful.

Earlier that day, we attended a Discover scuba diving course, which Oliver Ang, owner of Acacia Resort and Dive Center, conducted especially for us. He briefed us on

the know-how, dos and don’ts, and the various steps that one has to go through to get a scuba diving certification. He also ran us through three vital skills when going underwater: equalization, which is done when the pressure gets greater and there is a need to equalize the air spaces in the ears; mask clearing, in the event that the water gets inside the scuba mask; and regulator recovery, which is done when the first stage regulator is accidentally pulled out of your mouth, and you have to get the second stage hose.

Later on, he asked us to practice breathing underwater in a pool. Surprisingly, we quickly got the hang of it thanks to the assistance of our dive instructors. After the pool exercise, we finally headed out for our

first open-water dive which was really the highlight of our four-day stay in the resort.

For a destination widely considered as the birthplace of the country’s scuba diving, Anilao really raises the bar high when it comes to underwater spectacle. Little wonder that its market continues to thrive as foreign and local divers flock in throngs to see what it has to offer. Its unparalleled popularity bodes well for the dive resorts as it means high occupancy particularly during the peak season that run from December to March.

“The market is big enough for Anilao so there’s no need for the resorts to fight over the market. Besides, most of the resort owners here are all friends,” Ang said.

PHL TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT

AT THE 2015 WTM IN LONDON

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HE Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) placed the Philippines on center stage as it showcased the best of the country at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2015 in London. As the leading global travel industry event, WTM provides a unique opportunity for participating countries to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business with other international travel professionals.

This year, the Philippines’s pavilion highlighted the greatest offerings of the country—from the renowned hospitality of its people to its natural wonders and world-class facilities. The pavilion also presented a package of exclusive deals and incentives that aim to draw first-time and returning tourists.

TPB also took the opportunity to launch its new tourism campaign Visit the Philippines Again (VPA) 2016 in one of London’s iconic buildings —the Gherkin. VPA 2016 aims to drive urgency and excitement among foreign travelers who

have visited the Philippines to return for more fun, friendship, feel-good adventures and fabulous memories to cherish.

The launch, attended by international travel media, bloggers, celebrities and trade partners and investors, featured worldclass Filipino talents led by no less than Black Eyed Peas member apl.de.ap who sang the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” song in which he also composed, The Voice Philippines finalist Jessica Reynoso, and technoviolinist Princess Christine Ybañez TPB is confident that the Philippines’s participation in WTM 2015 will help sustain the growth momentum of the country’s tourism industry. Endowed with rich natural treasures, exciting adventure destinations, a thriving contemporary culture rooted in Filipino traditions, as well as vast business opportunities, truly the Philippines will continue to be an irresistible destination for both first-time visitors and those who have already experienced our unique brand of hospitality.

Acacia Resort and Dive Center is among the first dive resorts in Anilao that catered to the upper scale market. Aside from spacious rooms, it also offers a superb buffet-style restaurant which serves local and international cuisines. As it capitalizes on the guests’ convenience, it has its own gas-filling facility, camera set up area, and a swimming pool, an uncommon amenity for a dive resort way back in 2008. PADI and GUE courses are also offered, a plus point for dive fanatics.

When asked how he started the business, Ang shared that the idea to put up a resort had been a long running joke among his friends. Back when they were still diving regularly, they would often bring up the convenience of owning a resort. He began

to seriously consider the idea when someone tipped him about a property that was put up for sale. It was in 2008 when he finally decided to make the purchase, which, according to him “was really just an opportunity that presented itself.”

Today, Acacia is one of the goto resorts for underwater photographers and divers, particularly even those from abroad. It covers just about everything which is unsurprising given that it bills itself as,“Your next home in Anilao.”

Not just a diving spot

If you think that diving is all there is in Anilao, then you haven’t been to Mount Gulugod Baboy. Interestingly, the jump-off point to this trekking site is just a few minutes away

from the resort. For the uninitiated, Mount Gulugod Baboy is named as such, as its silhouette resembles that of a pig’s spine. Never leave Anilao without climbing the mountain, because really, the view from the summit is well worth the two-hour trek.

After the trek, head straight to the first and only coffee shop in Mabini called Café Melanio. This charming coffee shop serves not just great cups of coffee, but also coffeebased coolers and delicious smoothies.

Pair any of these with a selection of pastries and cakes, with blueberry cheesecake being the crowd favorite.

So, yes, not only were we able to explore the treasure-trove that is the diving site, but also discover what Anilao has to offer beyond its underwater spectacle.

A12

Science Monday BusinessMirror

Monday, January 18, 2016

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Philippines making ‘big step’ with first microsatellite Diwata

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HE Philippine science and technology field is marking a milestone as it ventures into the outer space through its first microsatellite that will be launched in space in two months.

Named after Filipino mythological character, Diwata (fairy), the microsatellite was “Proudly Filipinomade,” being a product of Filipino scientists and engineers who were trained at Japan’s Hokkaido University and Tohoku University in 2015.

It was handed over to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

(Jaxa) on January 13. Jaxa will send Diwata to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the US for its launch to join the International Space Station that orbits the Earth.

“By investing in our intellectual resources, harnessing the best minds in our country, we developed Diwata to provide our people the opportunity to reap the many benefits it offers aside from information critical to agriculture because these same data can be used to monitor our forest cover

and natural resources, implement a responsive disaster-risk management program like Project Noah, enhance water-resources management systems and improve weather monitoring and forecasting,” Science Secretary Mario Montejo said in a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) news release.

“We at the DOST believe that this is a big step forward to attaining technological self-reliance by harnessing the power of science, technology and innovation. The talents of our own scientists are working

for our people and we are confident that the benefits of Diwata will boil down to improving the lives of Mang Juan and Aling Maria in the long run,” Montejo said.

The satellite technology will improve the capability of the Philippines’s national weather agenc y, t he DOST-Phi l ippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), to make accurate forecasts and weather monitoring that is crucial in agriculture, the DOST said in a news release.

The data that will be generated by Diwata will enable DOSTPagasa to predict extreme weather systems like the El Niño that can dramatically affect agricultural productivity, crop yield and threaten food security.

In fact, Pagasa was able to map out its strategy months before the onset of El Niño in March 2015.

This was made possible due to satellite weather data that was sourced from independent satellite data providers at that time, the DOST said.

With Diwata, Pagasa’s forecasting will greatly improve because of more available data at its disposal.

Using satellite data and imageries, Pagasa was able to make a forecast on the extent and severity of El Niño in the different provinces and regions on a month-to-month basis. This will allow local farmers, agricultural officers of local government units and the private sector who are involved in producing and processing agricultural products to plan and establish safety nets to cushion the impact of the dry spell.

Project: Outreach: For a nation of technopreneurs, innovators JOHN D’ALBORA, 41, a senior research technician, wipes impurities from a flow cell before running it through a HiSeq X Ten machine for sequencing at the Genome Institute at Washington University on April 23, 2015. CRISTINA FLETES-BOUTTE/ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/TNS

$240-million project to map human genomes

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AINT LOUIS—The federal government is funding a monumental project to map 200,000 human genomes in an effort to understand the genetic causes of common diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, epilepsy and autism.

Four institutions were chosen to take part in the four-year, $240-million project announced on Thursday by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s medical research-funding agency.

The four institutions will join to form the Centers for Common Disease Genomics. Their combined genetic sequencing and analyzing power will map genomes of the large and diverse populations required to understand how one’s genes increase or even protect against the risk of complex diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and mental illness.

The diseases are considered complex because they involve numerous genes and environmental factors; unlike for example, sickle cell anemia, which is caused by just one mutation. They are also unlike cancers, where researchers can sequence one person’s tumor cells and healthy cells and look for differences.

“So, what we have to do is sequence people who have the disease and those who don’t have the disease and compare their genomes,” said Rick Wilson, director of the McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine, one of the four institutions chosen for the project.

“That’s fine, but we have to sequence a lot more genomes so we can figure out what is different because of the disease, or different because these are different people.”

The findings could lead to the earliest diagnosis possible—garnered from a needle prick as a newborn. That would allow a person to be vigilant in protective lifestyle choices and detection exams; or use medications to counter the activities of bad genes or boost the protection from good genes.

“If we can identify these genes, we might be able to create new drugs and identify people who are at risk way before they would ever have a heart attack,” Wilson said.

The other institutions chosen are the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; and the New York Genome Center in New York City.

The large-scale effort is mind-boggling, given that just over 10 years ago, it took researchers more than a decade and about $1 billion to first sequence the human genome.

The newest machines can sequence 18,000 genomes a year for about $1,000 per genome.

“We are at an extraordinarily exciting time for the field of genomics,” said Dr. Eric Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part of NIH. “What was unfathomable only a decade ago is now within our grasp.”

The four research institutions chosen to

receive the funding have been at the forefront of the advances and are equipped with the latest sequencing machines, the HiSeq X, released last year and developed specifically for large-scale studies. The machines—at cost of $1 million each—are sold only in groups of 10.

“It is the first time anything has been done on this scale,” Wilson said. “There are only a few places in the world that can do this work, and we are excited to be one of those places.”

The genome institute in Saint Louis established itself as a leader of genomics research early in the game, when it was a key player in the effort to first map the human genome, ultimately contributing 25 percent of the blueprint.

In 2008 the institute was the first to sequence the cancer genome of a leukemia patient, opening the door to the sequencing of hundreds more cancer genomes and discoveries already resulting in improved personalized treatments.

Not only do the partnering institutions have the latest large-scale sequencing technology, they also are able to store and analyze the massive amount of information generated. One human genome alone contains enough data to fill a phone book the size of the Washington Monument.

At the McDonnell Genome Institute that effort is led by computational biologist Ira Hall, who is constantly developing new methods to make faster and meaningful comparisons.

“Having the tools to analyze this data is as important as the sequencing technology itself,” Hall said.

In fact, Wilson said, most of the funding will go to such efforts. “Right now we can generate more data than we have the ability to analyze,” he said.

The research team at Washington University will spend the first four years of the grant looking for the genetic variants involved in heart disease and diabetes by sequencing up to 40,000 genomes. The research centers already have banks of genetic and biographical material, collected as part of past studies, so they can get started right away.

Wilson said his team is able to study genomes from diverse ethnic backgrounds, including its thousands of genomes of African-Americans. The institute also is working with 20,000 samples from a unique Finnish population with very similar genes that make it easier to pinpoint differences related to disease.

The team has already discovered a gene responsible for a dangerously high lipid level that puts people at risk for heart disease, and a drug company has a medication in the works, Wilson said. “But we’ve just scratched the surface.”

The money will allow researchers to dig further. “All the work we’ve been doing so far is looking at a small part of the genome,” he said. “We know we need to look at the whole genome.” TNS

DR. Carlos Primo David (center), executive director of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), shares PCIEERD’s plans at the Project: Outreach news briefing held recently at the Balay Kanilaw in University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City. Project: Outreach “aims to increase interuniversity collaboration, accelerate the formation of a critical mass of innovators and provide a bigger pool from which future ventures can form.” With David are (from left) Engr. Albert Amante, head of Batangas State University Center for Technopreneurship and Innovation; Dr. Luis Sison, program leader of the DOST-UP Enterprise Center for Technopreneurship; Jinky Bornales, vice chancellor for Research and Extension of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology; and Ria Dixon, director at the Research Team and Development Office of Bataan Peninsula State University.

S  P  I Q | Special to the BusinessMirror

F

REDDIE, an engineering student from one of the country’s state universities, dreams of creating the next great invention or of being the next Mark Zuckerberg, whichever comes first, from his dorm room in Manila.

He is just one of hundreds of students who do research and development (R&D), but whose work would just end up in libraries as documentation, missing the opportunity to put to use the invention or technology. However, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Freddie’s dreams are hindered by the usual suspects: lack of funding and support. There is hope, though. It comes in the form of technology business incubators (TBIs), and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-UP Enterprise Center for Entrepreneurship (Enterprise) is one of these.

According to the Enterprise web site, a TBI is “a venture of universities, public research institutes, local government and private institutions to promote and bolster a new technologyintensive enterprise.”

TBI “refers to the type of incubation where the focus group consists of innovative, mostly technologyoriented, or knowledge-intensive service sector enterprises and interactions with the academic sphere giving a substantive element of the incubation process.”

“Enterprise, along with other incubators from the DOST, was created to solve the problem of innovation. In particular, if you have a tec h vent ure—maybe it’s the next app, the next agrotec hnolog y or biotec hnolog y product—we provide mentoring.

Given our expertise and access to the R&D community, we help

provide technology prototyping, we network you not only with customers and technology partners, but also with other cofounders,” said Dr. Luis Sison, Enterprise program leader.

There are different kinds of incubators and each one has its own value proposition. There are incubators based on academe and local government (called as developmental incubators to spur regional development and the local economy), as well as industry incubators “We’re not saying that academe incubator is the best. Every kind of incubator has its own specific contribution to the total innovation ecosystem in the Philippines, and we need more. Wherever you are, whatever stage your venture is in, there should be somebody where you’re at who will be able to support you,” Sison added.

That’s good news for Freddie.

Project: Outreach

IN line with reaching out to help incubate technology ventures, the DOST-UP Enterprise is assisting state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country to establish their own TBI through a program called Project: Outreach.

Enterprise recently announced the culmination of the first phase of Project: Outreach. It is being supported by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), headed by Dr. Carlos Primo Da-

vid. The DOST, which supervises the PCIEERD, has allocated about P21 million for the initial operations and equipment for the TBIs and partner-institutions.

The educational institutions currently assisted by Enterprise are the Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU), Batangas State University (BSU) and the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).

Currently, these select schools have already identified the industries that they w ill focus on given their capabilities and comparative advantage—BSU for information and community technology and food processing; BPSU for aquaculture and tourism; and the MSU-IIT for engineered bamboo and information and community technology.

Since the project started, more than 20 faculty members from the three schools have been engaged in the planning and training sessions, and about 250 students are expected to undergo the technopreneurship class per semester.

Building a nation of technopreneurs

“ THERE is a need to cultivate a culture of technological innovation in the countr y, especially through our higher education institutions. The presence of TBIs in schools will ser ve as a springboard for new technolog y-based products and ser vices that can be made available to the public,” Sison said of the significance of teaching people about technopreneurship, which essentially is identifying opportunities and bringing the technolog y to the market.

Engr. Albert Amante, head of BSU’s Center for Technopreneurship and Innovation, agreed. He said the value is in spurring the technopreneurship and innovative mind-set. He noted that students before were trained to think of being employed after they graduate.

But now, with technopreneurship

platform, students are being taught that they can be employers, as well.

Dav id, for his part, noted PCIEERD’s role in capacitating SUCs in terms of doing research.

He said it is about time that “we also capacitate the other schools that do research and provide required funding.”

“There is a continuous study looking at all the SUCs, including even the private universities, looking at their capabilities in what we can build by providing funds to these universities. This 2016 we are providing funds to two schools that we think are on the verge of breaking into doing a lot of research.

These are PUP [Polytechnic University of the Philippines] Santa Mesa and Central Mindanao University. We see to it that we give this opportunities to everybody and see, one or two years after, who is performing well and provide more funds to them.

“The assistance of PCIEERD is for all the regions because we want to make sure we’re not missing a few schools, very progressive schools that are almost at a breakthrough. We want to be part of their development,” David shared. In terms of the growth of the economy, Sison mentioned that the entrepreneurship and technopreneurship components are not usually appreciated.

“If we are going to grow as an economy and pull our countrymen out of poverty, there’s no better way to do that than jobs creation and venture formation, because if you look at the big companies they are only growing at a certain phase.

“A real, bigger driver of growth and competitiveness are small ventures, especially technological ventures that have high-value added, that are able to become competitive in their respective markets and industries. And that’s where we want to help. That’s where we want to make an impact, and there are a lot of possibilities,” Sison said.

Green Monday BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Monday, January 18, 2016 A13

TURNING GARBAGE INTO GOLD

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B J L. M

management, ranging from recycling and reprocessing junks to biomass to energ y.

SING his pedicab, Gerry Ignacio, not his real name, buys junks inside a subdivision in a town in Cavite. He buys old newspapers, empty bottles, plastic containers and even broken home appliances.

“I bring them to the junk shop. I earn from each item. From bottles, newspapers, plastics and from worn out cooking pots or appliances,” he said in Tagalog.

Gerry, 35, considers himself “self-employed” and earns P150 to P300 daily. Buying and selling junks has been his source of income since he was 12 years old.

The saying that there is gold in garbage is true for Gerry.

Sometimes, with no capital to buy junks, Gerry scavenges in an open dump near his home, where he had to deal in a turf war with other scavengers, and, more seriously, expose himself to serious health risks.

Thousands of Filipinos, mostly those who have no opportunity to land a job due to lack of education, end up as scavengers.

For the government, however, turning garbage into gold is easier said than done. Especially when the garbage problem has gone from bad to worse.

Not all garbage produced every day are actually hauled off to open dumps or sanitary landfills. Some end up in canals, rivers and esteros; street corners and vacant lots, according to the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).

Environmental pollution, health risks

IN the Philippines, with an estimated population of 100 million and an estimated 40,000 tons of garbage produced every day, or 14.6 million tons a year, solid waste management has become a serious health and environmental issue.

Garbage can be a major cause of air, water and soil pollution that can harm the environment and pose serious health risks to people.

Indiscriminate dumping of garbage kills rivers and other water bodies; it prevents the free flow of water and contaminate water, aside from causing flood.

All rivers in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized cities in the provinces are already found to have high biological and chemical oxygen demand, making some of the country’s rivers biologically dead or too polluted for fish and other species to live in or survive.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has an ongoing program to revive the country’s dying rivers. Called “Adopt an Estero,” segments of river tributaries are adopted by DENR partners, including several local government units (LGUs) but mostly private companies.

Liquid residues from decaying garbage also pollute the soil, killing beneficial nutrients, making the soil barren and unproductive.

Huge concentration of garbage, such as in open dumps, also emits intoxicating odor, causing air pollution. Worse, garbage heaps are known to produce methane gas, which could trigger fire. Methane is a greenhouse gas, which increases temperature that causes climate change.

Poor implementation

OFFICI ALS of the DENR and NSWMC blame LGUs for the country’s worsening garbage problem.

LGUs have been identified as the main culprit behind the poor implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, a law which aims to address the

country’s looming garbage crisis—enacted more than 15 years ago. Environment Secretary Ramon J. Paje said as of the end of 2015 only 36 percent, or 545 LGUs, comply to all aspects of RA 9003. There are a total of 1,634 LGUs in the Philippines.

Paje said a total of 54 materials recovery facilities (MRFs) were established last year with the help of the DENR, bringing to 8,656 the total number of MRFs in the country, servicing a total of 10,327 barangays. There are over 42,000 barangays all over the country.

According to the NSWMC, the agency primarily tasked to implement RA 9003, there are still around 400 open dumps in various parts of the country, which it intends to shut down, converted or replaced with sanitary landfills or controlled waste facilities, as mandated by law.

Eligio Ildefonso, executive director of the NSWMC Secretariat, said there are currently 120 sanitary landfills or controlled waste facilities in the country; 300 more need to be put up if all 400 open dumps are to be closed within the year.

In open dumps, mixed garbage, regardless of their classification, are dumped. In sanitary landfills, wastes are segregated and, mostly, residual wastes are sealed and buried underground.

Biomass-to-energy projects

GARBAGE collectors segregate junks on top of a moving garbage truck. JONATHAN L. MAYUGA

THIS year, as it steps up the implementation of RA 9003, the DENR and NSWMC are posing to file charges against defiant LGUs for failure to comply with the provisions of RA 9003.

Besides the conversion of open dumps into sanitary landfills and establishment of MRFs, the law mandates LGUs to implement waste segregation, recycling and composting to reduce the volume of garbage produced every day.

Last year more than 30 LGUs have been charged before the Office of the Ombudsman for violating R A 9003, for failure to close existing open dumps within their jurisdiction.

More LGUs who blatantly defy orders to close the dumps and implement the provisions of RA 9003 will be charged before the Office of the Ombudsman, Ildefonso said.

“Waste segregation is not implemented. The garbage we collect are not segregated,” he said. While hauling garbage, he said he and his colleagues try to segregate but get only those that can be sold to junk shops for extra income.

In the process, he and his colleagues are able to earn extra from P500 to P1,000 every day.

“At least we earn extra. Some of my colleagues are not regular employees. They are volunteers only,” he disclosed.

He said all the garbage they collect go straight to the town’s open dump, where scavengers salvage whatever they can sell to junk shops.

This reflects a serious problem in segregating waste at source, as 70 percent of the country’s garbage produced every day are actually household waste, including toxic, such as broken light bulbs and batteries. De la Cruz said residents do not segregate their garbage and the haulers never asked them to do it because local officials do not require proper waste segregation, anyway.

Environment Assistant Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said sanitary landfills should be put up to encourage LGUs and communities to practice proper solid waste management. “We can’t convince them to practice recycling and waste segregation if garbage get mixed in open dumps,” Cuna said partly in Tagalog.

What segregation?

Low budget, low priority

Cracking the whip

WASTES are supposed to be segregated according to their characterization. They are either biodegradable or nonbiodegradable. Implementing proper waste segregation solves half of the garbage problem. Wastes that can be recycled are separated. Also under the law, toxic waste, such as waste tainted with hazardous chemicals that pose serious environmental and health problems, do not belong in open dumps or sanitary landfills, because they require a more rigid management regime for disposal purposes.

Rene de la Cruz, a garbage truck driver, said segregation at source is rarely enforced.

An employee in a town in Cavite, de la Cruz, not his real name to protect his identity because he is not authorized to speak publicly, told the BusinessMirror he has been driving the town’s garbage truck for more than 15 years.

Incidentally, the law mandating waste segregation was passed 15 years ago.

WITH a lot of creativity and ingenuity, garbage, including agricultural waste, can be useful and can be sold as recycled waste byproducts.

Huge volume of garbage can be converted into something very useful—such as natural gas and fuel—which can be used to generate electricity.

Ildefonso said to prove that proper solid waste management is possible, the NSWMC will pilot-test biomass-to-energy projects and put ecology centers or resource-recovery facilities one each in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Once successful, the NSWMC will push for the establishment of similar facilities, at least 16 or one for every region. “We would show in resource-recovery facilities what could be done to garbage. The same with proper segregation, recycling, composting and marketing of recycled materials,” Ildefonso said.

The NSWMC, he said, has earmarked a total of P230 million, or P115 million each for the Visayas and Mindanao. He said the agency is still scouting for the possible pilot sites of the projects, where waste segregation and recycling are already being enforced.

FOR years, governments, both national and local, provide very little budget for the implementation of the law. It was only this year that a bigger budget allocation was granted for the implementation of RA 9003, with P500 million having been realigned for solid waste management from the DENR’s National Greening Program (NGP), on top of its regular budget for the purpose.

This year, a total of P588.2 million will be spent by the DENR and NSWMC for solid waste management. LGUs provide very little budget for solid waste management and is the reason for the poor implementation of the garbage law, says Environment Undersecretary for Environment and International Affairs Jonas Leones.

“Solid waste management is not in the order of priorities of LGUs. It is time for LGUs to prioritize the garbage problem,” he said.

Leones said some P8 billion is needed to fully implement RA 9003. A budget proposal made by the DENR-EMB for such hefty

amount was turned down in 2014.

Lack of technical know-how

ILDEFONSO said aside from the poor political will, LGUs lack the technical know-how to implement the law. He noted that many LGUs have failed to come up with a credible solid-waste management plan.

Many of the 10-year solidwaste management plans submitted to the NSWMC by LGUs have been rejected because they lack substance, such as waste characterization and analysis, a study from which a good plan on how to manage solid waste can be drawn, Ildefonso said.

The NSWMC said only 79 percent of LGUs, or 1,287 out of the total 1,634 LGUs, have submitted their 10-year Solid Waste Management Plans for 2010-2015, beating the June 30, 2015, nonextendable deadline. Of the submitted plans, only 122 have been approved by the NSWMC as of November 25, 2015, 60 of which were approved only last year.

National Ecosavers Program

LGUs, however, are not the only problem. Segregating waste at source—the households—is another big problem.

In 2012, the DENR, in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), launched the National Ecosavers Program (NEP). The program aims to institutionalize waste segregation at source by giving incentives to students who will bring to schools junks that can still be recycled or sold to junk shops. Ildefonso said it needs to be institutionalized in every household, barangay, city or municipality. The program is ongoing, with a total of 763 public elementary schools taking part.

“Thousands of students benefit from the program,” Ildefonso said.

Under the NEP, participating students are given an Ecosavers passbook. The credits they earn are recorded every time they bring junks. In return, the students receive cash or good from the accumulated points over a certain period. During program’s launch, 2,500 Ecosavers passbooks were turned over by the DENR to the DepEd for distribution.

Zeroing in on wastes

LGUs can greatly benefit from proper sol id w a ste m a n a ge ment, starting with segregation and recycling.

Most LGUs pay for the hauling tons of garbage within their jurisdiction. With proper waste segregation, recycling and composting, the volume of wastes can be substantially reduced, thus, saving LGUs financial resources while creating jobs or livelihood opportunities.

Sonia Mendoza of Mother Earth Foundation said properly used, the additional fund earmarked for solid waste management can help build the capacity of many LGUs. Mother Earth Foundation is just one of many NGOs that promote waste recycling The group has been promoting zero waste and has provided LGUs with technical support as well as training in proper waste management—and with huge success.

Under its zero-waste advocacy, Mother Earth Foundation was able to help several barangays to address garbage woes, effectively reducing wastes through proper segregation, recycling, composting and other activities by as much as 80 percent. She said Barangay Potrero in Malabon City is now a model barangay in solid waste management. The same with Barangay Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

“Many barangays were able to reduce their wastes and can be considered model barangays through proper solid-waste management,” she said. Mother Earth Foundation has developed a module for LGUs to improve solid waste management which it is promoting for adoption by LGUs.

Support to LGUs

THE DENR and NSWMC said LGUs would continue to get the needed technical assistance to enhance their solid-waste management capabilities. “We will continue in providing training to help them establish the facilities they need,” Cuna said.

Cuna, also the concurrent Director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), said as early as 2014 the DENR has proposed a cost-sharing scheme for the establishment of sanitary landfills or MRFs with LGUs. Lack of financial resources should not be a hindrance, Cuna said, suggesting that LGUs can explore other options, such as public-private partnership (PPP).

“In the absence of financial resources, LGUs can pursue PPP projects to put up whatever facility they need to comply with the provisions of the law,” he said.

Several LGUs have existing PPP projects for sol id waste

Big problem, big opportunity

WITH the country’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 70 percent under a businessas-usual scenario from 2020 to 2030, the government sees a big opportunity in pursuing renewable energ y through biomass waste-to-energy projects.

Under its “condition commitment” in the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Leones said biomass and wasteto-energy projects can factor in.

He said besides massive reforestation, biomass-to-energy projects are being eyed for financing under the Green Climate Fund mechanism, a special UN fund to help strengthen the climate change capacities of developing countries.

While the Clean Air Act prohibits waste incineration, Leones said there is an opportunity in constructing power or methane plants fuelled by biomass wastes in sanitary landfills. Some private companies are also eyeing to produce biofuel from wastes.

“We have many open dumps.

When we convert them into sanitary landfills we can put up methane plants,” Leones said.

Natural gas, such as methane, can be harnessed and harvested from sanitary landfills which could partially help address the country’s power shortage.

There are several waste-to-energy plants operating in the Philippines, including the Bacavalley Montalban Methane Plant in Rodriguez, Rizal, which produces 14 megawatts (MW) of electricity by extracting methane using landfill gas. Another project, the Bacavalley San Pedro Methane Plant in Laguna produces 4 MW of electricity, using the same technology. The Payatas Landfill Methane Recovery Plant in Quezon City produces 1 megawatt, while the Consolacion Landfill Recovery Plant, in Cebu produces 4 MW of electricity.

Some cement plants in the Philippines are now using biomass to generate power in their operation.

Converting tons of waste into energy is like hitting two birds with one stone, Leones said.

Besides, cutting costs in the disposal of wastes, the government, particularly LGUs, can generate revenues and energize communities through landfills’ largely untapped resources to boost revenues, in the process, turning garbage into gold.

A14 Monday, January 18, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The negatives of low oil prices

I

T seems like only yesterday when the Philippines was being called the “biggest winner” of falling oil prices, and the government was making sure everyone knew it.

Actually, it was on January 7, 2015, that Fortune magazine published an article, and said: “The Philippines should take a victory lap. The Philippines is going to crush it.” A report from Oxford Economics that produced the analysis went on to say, “Lower oil prices would cause inflation to drop and potentially allow the Philippines to lower its 4-percent interest rate.”

Of all the nations on Earth, the Philippines was expected to see the greatest advantage from cheap oil, with forecasts predicting a 1.9-percent annual boost to our economic growth. The one warning was that all this would depend on oil going to $40 a barrel in 2015 and staying at that price. At the time the analysis was prepared, oil was priced at $50 per barrel. Oil fell to the $40 level last July and is now slightly below $30.

There’s a line of thinking that the current low price in crude oil creates winners and losers. Norway is feeling great economic damage, because that economy is dependant on oil revenues. Countries like the Philippines that buys its oil win from low prices.

But that is not the way the global economy works. Oil touches every aspect of economic life in the same way that the Internet does. If your Internet is down, you might not go to the mall to see a movie—and buy snacks—because you cannot find out what’s showing and what time the movie starts.

Because of low prices, companies that own oil in the ground must devalue the worth of those assets. The world’s largest mining company, Australian BHP Billiton Ltd., is taking a $7.2-billion write-down on the value of its US shale assets. Those devalued assets now cannot be used as collateral at a bank to borrow money. The bank loses lending income, and BHP will not be spending money for business expansion.

Imagine if a technology were developed that a single communications tower on Mount Makiling could bring superfast Internet and cell coverage to everyone from Batangas to Bulacan for P100 per month. Consumers would be overjoyed. But the billions of pesos the telecoms companies spend on capital expenditure would not be spent. The millions they spend in rental for their cell-phone towers would disappear.

Low oil prices are causing a short-term crisis in many oil-producing countries and with companies in and related to the industry.

Longer-term adjustments will be made if prices stay below $50 for an extended period.

But the serious questions are, how much global economic damage is being caused by current low prices, and will the benefits to consumers balance out this damage?

In the meantime, enjoy the lower prices and be glad for once that the Philippines imports almost all of its petroleum-product requirements.

PCSO donates ambulances nationwide Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

T

ODAY (Monday) and tomorrow, I and other Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office officials and employees are in Negros Occidental for ambulance-donation and branchinspection activities.

This is in line with PCSO strategies related to charity assistance of a national character. By giving local government units (LGUs) and provincial hospitals the means to transport patients to medical facilities during times of emergency, lives can be saved.

Under its Ambulance Donation Program, the PCSO donated 691 ambulances in 2015 to qualified requesting parties around the country, with the long-term goal of donating one ambulance to every city and municipality.

Ambulances are distributed from Luzon to the Visayas to Mindanao. Among the recent recipients of ambulance units are the municipality of Villasis, Pangasinan, way up in Northern Luzon; and Lamitan Malunggay Integrated Group, Basilan, at the southernmost tip of Mindanao.

How does an LGU request for a PCSO ambulance? The requirements are simple, and among them are a resolution from the local Sanggunian (Panlalawigan, Panglungsod, or

Bayan, depending on the requesting party), and a letter from the head of the municipal health center that the ambulance will be attached to the local health-center facility.

Fourth- to sixth-class municipalities may receive their ambulances as outright donations.

However, first- to third-class municipalities enter into a 60-percent to 40-percent cost-sharing scheme, and, thus, have to submit a certification of availability of funds from the provincial, city, or municipality treasurer for their 40-percent share.

Apart from LGUs, public and private hospitals, as well as government agencies, governmentowned and -controlled corporations and state-owned colleges and universities, may also request for ambulances.

Recognizing, as well, that vehicles undergo wear and tear, especially in remote areas, the PCSO allows recipients to request for a new ambulance every five years.

Each ambulance is equipped

with a basic kit necessary to safely transport a patient to a health or medical facility: a spineboard, an oxygen tank with cannula, a collapsible stretcher and a first-aid kit. Recipients may add, on their initiative, other equipment they may need.

The ambulance conductions of patients using PCSO-donated ambulances are supposed to be free of charge, and it is up to the donee LGU or institution to maintain, service, fuel and operate the vehicle for the benefit of the area’s residents.

The PCSO’s Ambulance Donation Program is benefiting our kababayan nationwide, and this is because the agency implements good governance, prudent stewardship of resources and reform initiatives as it walks the matuwid na daan. nnn

THE Ambulance Donation Program, as well as the PCSO’s other social-welfare programs, are funded by its revenue-generating activities, which are the conduct and operation of numbers games, including the popular Lotto.

It’s likely that by now everyone has heard of the US Powerball game, which is similar to the PCSO Lotto. On January 13 Powerball offered the biggest jackpot in history—around $1.5 billion, or around P70 billion. The pot was shared by three winners.

That sounds astronomically huge, but federal taxes will take a whopping 39.6-percent bite, leaving a total cash value of $929 million.

The winners can opt for a 30-year payment scheme or a lump sum, after taxes of $187.2 million each.

The PCSO Lotto mounts up to more modest sums—the biggest Lotto jackpot was the Grand Lotto 6/55 prize of P741 million, or about $15.7 million, in November 2010— but its advantage over the US version is that it’s totally tax-free.

Not only does playing the PCSO Lotto give you the chance to be a multimillionaire, it also raises funds for charity that will benefit our kababayan around the country who need help the most, during their time of illness and distress.

We invite those who haven’t tried the game to check it out. There are several variants: the Lotto 6/42, Mega Lotto 6/45, Super Lotto 6/49, Grand Lotto 6/55 and the year-old Ultra Lotto 6/58.

Our other games include the 6-Digit, 4-Digit, Swertres and EZ2 Lotto. PCSO outlets also sell Scratch It! and Kas-Cash scratch cards for instant wins, and some have Lotto Express (keno) monitors.

The PCSO extends its heartfelt thanks to all the loyal Lotto players who, through their buying of tickets, have supported PCSO programs throughout the years, from the Ambulance Donation Program to the flagship Individual Medical Assistance Program. You are truly the PCSO’s partners in charity! nnn

Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

PPP a solution—but not the only one—to traffic gridlock

By Alberto Agra

PPP LEAD Continued from A1 In an article published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rene Santiago also blames “population, motor vehicles and economic activities in a compact area.” This nightmare is also attributed to lack of infrastructure, a saturated road network and sparse development of railway system. He also points out that road projects in the pipeline are “buffeted by right-of-way issues and prevalence of NIMBYs [not-in-my-backyard] resistance.”

What has to be done? Is it hopeless? Should we immigrate?

Should we just stay home, rally, sue government, wait for the next President, and fault the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, local governments, the Philippine National Police and

public-utility vehicles (PUVs)?

Is there a plan to solve traffic congestion? Yes, there is one. The Roadmap has been prepared. It proposes to shift away from roadbased to rail-based transport, clear backlogs on unimplemented road projects, rationalize operations of buses and jeepneys, and install a more intelligent trafficmanagement system.

The problem with this Roadmap is, we do not know if this is the plan. Assuming this plan was approved by the Neda Board, we are not certain if the next administration will respect this plan.

Assuming this Roadmap went through consultations, we are not certain if all stakeholders—all government agencies, all affected local governments, private businesses, operators and drivers of

PUVs, civil-society organizations (CSOs) and ordinary citizens, like you and I—know there is such a plan, comprehend the impact of such plan on our lives and will embrace the plan.

What can be done to implement the plan? public-private partnerships (PPPs) has been identified as a key strategy to make the Roadmap a reality. Under the Transport Investment Program, the development strategies are to “ramp up tendering” for infrastructure and computerization projects; execute major transport projects under a PPP approach; and “tap official development assistance for quick and targeted planning.”

I fully support the “strongbias-for-PPP” approach. But we must be cautious not to put PPPs in a pedestal, adopt PPP as if it is a panacea and exclude other strategies. PPP is an approach, vehicle, means and strategy, and not the be-all and end-all to solve a problem like traffic.

In order for PPP to be a viable solution in addressing traffic congestion, which is both a cause and effect, PPP should not be viewed

as project-specific, transactionfocused or contract-based. PPP must be appreciated and pursued as a change-for-a-better-qualityof-life initiative.

To “future-proof “ this kind of PPP amid threats of successor risk or change-in-administration risk, innovation, participation, accountability, organizational readiness, trust and leadership are needed.

These elements were not or could not be covered by a vision document like the Roadmap.

Yes to mass-rail transit PPPs. The government cannot do this on its own. The private sector can provide the funding, operate the system and innovate. We have private-sector proponents that can make this happen. Scarcity of funds, fiscal-space creation, innovation and risk allocation are key value drivers to justify the adoption of this development strategy. We have enough laws to support this.

Yestobundling. To be viable, masstransit projects must be integrated or “bundled” with other activities like land development.

S “PPP,” A

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Common problems with common carriers

An analysis of the business importance of accounting Filbert Tsai

DEBIT CREDIT

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

D

LEGALLY SPEAKING

AY in and day out, whether it be on the news or social media, we hear dreadful stories of commuters and their horrific experiences with notorious taxi drivers. The usual complaints mostly consist of taxi drivers overcharging passengers, contracting higher fares, engaging in rude behavior, or driving recklessly.

The problems with these taxicabs have become so rampant that even Congress had, and rightfully so, taken notice. Just recently, Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara urged authorities to look into the alleged overcharging scheme by airport taxis at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Based on reports made by passengers, airport taxis would normally charge thousands of pesos for a trip that would normally cost around a couple hundreds only. Aside from airport taxis, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board had also been on the receiving end of numerous complaints regarding regular taxicabs. It is no wonder that app-based transport services, such as Uber and GrabCar, have been such a huge hit for the commuting public. Many would seem to agree that these appbased transport services have safer and more systematic operations. On top of that, the drivers of these services are more courteous and their cars smell better, too.

Nevertheless, despite what kind of public transport you hire, they all fall within the concept of “common carrier.” Article 1732 of the Civil Code defines common carriers as persons, corporations, firms or associations engaged in the business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or both, by land, water or air, for compensation, offering their services to the public.

Simply put, a common carrier is one that holds itself out to the public as ready to engage in transporting passengers or goods for compensation as public employment and not as casual occupation.

Since a common carrier is a public service, it is subject to regulation by the government. As part of its regulation, the law imposes upon them a strict liability such that, in case of loss of effects of passengers or death or injuries to passengers, the common carrier is presumed to be at fault or have acted negligently, unless it can prove that it observed extraordinary diligence in the transport thereof.

It is, likewise, important to note that, in case of injuries or death of

Since a common carrier is a public service, it is subject to regulation by the government. As part of its regulation, the law imposes upon them a strict liability such that, in case of loss of effects of passengers or death or injuries to passengers, the common carrier is presumed to be at fault or have acted negligently, unless it can prove that it observed extraordinary diligence in the transport thereof. passengers, the liability can fall on both the common carrier and the driver. As regards the common carrier, the passenger has a contractual relationship with him to transport such passenger to safety. Failure to do so on the part of the common carrier entails a breach of contract, or culpa contractual. Meanwhile, as regards the driver, his act or omission in causing injuries or death to the passenger is a form of quasi-delict, or culpa aquiliana.

The common-carrier business must be closely monitored and properly regularized by the government. Every negligent common carrier allowed on land, air, or water puts to risk the life, limb or property of a person. Thus, complaints against common carriers that violate the law are most welcome if only to address the rising problems in the public transport business.

These would not only make the public aware of the dangers and fraudulent schemes employed by defiant drivers, it would also make the people clamor for better services or transport alternatives. In turn, the common carriers should take the complaints as a challenge to raise their operation standards to more acceptable levels. After all, are we not deserving of a safer and more systematic public transport sector? Just as important, are we not entitled to have more courteous drivers and better smelling public transports, as well?

For comments, you may e-mail me at lpkapunan@kapunanlaw.com.

PPP. . .

C  A

I hope to see in the not-so-distant future systems, like those in Hong Kong and Japan.

Also, to be successful, the shift to mass-rail transit through PPPs must be coupled and synergized with other infrastructure and transport projects. PPPs on airports, seaports and bridges must also be prioritized.

Yes to LGU-initiated PPPs. To complement transport projects which cut across several territories, local governments units (LGUs) must be allowed to implement their own traffic-decongestion PPPs. Intra- and inter-LGU monorail systems could present benefits to the riding public. These projects too must form part of the bigger whole.

Yes to extra Metro Manila PPPs. Development through PPPs should not be confined to Metro Manila. To unclog the region, people must feel and believe they can be prosperous elsewhere.

National government and LGUs must establish PPP projects on infrastructure and social services outside the metropolis. PPPs should be decentralized.

Yes to constructive engagement. The government does not have the monopoly of solutions and brilliant ideas. CSOs do not also have an exclusive claim to righteousness. PPP involves partnerships not just between those who will implement a project. Nonsignatories to PPP

Monday, January 18, 2016 A15

A

CCOUNTING is usually viewed as the back-office department that merely adds cost for compliance purpose without adding any real value. It is difficult to articulate the value of accounting to management, and more so finance people used to doing highly complex calculations and forecasting business performance. So, indeed, what value is accounting adding to a business or to an organization?

Traditional textbooks define accounting as the language of business, which allows investors to interpret the financial performance or position of a company.

Indeed, accounting information provides a great deal of information about a company’s performance and position through the financial statements, and savvy analysts tend to be able to predict the upcoming performance of the company. But for most companies, these analysis tend to be not really relevant, albeit reliable, as financial statements are merely prepared for the purpose of filing for regulatory compliance.

Work i ng w it h i nvest ment bankers and transaction advisors, most of the time made me realize why accounting is actually relevant. Investment bankers and transaction advisors are interested in achieving a high level of free cash flow used to compute for the corporate value using the discounted cash-flow approach.

Being nonaccountants, financial models built by investment bankers and transaction advisors usually rely heavily on cash-basis accounting, which results to large differences in actual free cash flow after consideration of accrual basis accounting.

After careful analysis of what’s really important to businesses, the mismatch between accounting and finance boils down to two key points: n Distributable reserves n Cash tax payments The importance of accounting for businesses is down to its cash implications. Regardless of the size of the business, owners (businessmen or shareholders) are interested in what a company actually pays out either through dividend (or drawings for small businesses) or through capital growth (through improved corporate valuation).

Distributable reserves is the key driver in appreciating the importance of accounting. Distributable reserves is the amount

contracts, that is, you and I, must be part of the process, the planning and project regulation.

Yes to informed and purposive sacrifice. Whether we are part of the solution, we will have to bear the “pain” of PPP and government projects. Transport projects will not be cost-free. If we want to live in Metro Manila, or in any urban city for that matter, we will have to pay for the projects, either as end-users or taxpayers.

To ease traffic jam, there will be worse traffic congestion. During the construction of projects, there will be dislocation, discomfort and inconvenience. We have to “sacrifice,” believing that the general welfare will be served by PPP. Again, PPP is not the objective.

Yes to leadership. Enough with “we have good plans” and “we have too many laws.” It is time to act. We need leaders and citizens who can adapt, trust, build on the gains of the past, empathize, be ethical, be accountable, accept mistakes, listen, empower organizations, foster learning, and bite the bullet.

The menace of traffic congestion calls us to action. We all have a stake. Let us start our engagement by reading the “Dream Plan.” It is downloadable from the Internet.

PPP Learn No. 8 ‘Dream Plan’ Projects THE Roadmap prepared by Almec Corp. lists the major projects under the “Dream Plan” which can be undertaken through PPPs. These are:

Large businesses or conglomerates understand the importance of distributable reserves as finance departments keep on pushing the limits of free cash flow. The problem with most large businesses is the mismatch of understanding of free cash-flow concept in the finance department versus the distributable reserves concept in the accounting department.

Free cash flow is a finance concept adopted from the cash-flow statement in accounting and is usually computed by investment bankers to project corporate value. actually distributable from the company’s retained earnings determined in accordance with accounting standards. The problem is that in complying with accounting standards, accrual of expenses and noncash adjustments can prove detrimental to a company’s distributable reserves.

Meanwhile, small business or entrepreneurs usually see cash balance in their business as the actual earnings, ignoring distributable reserves as the true net worth of a business results to potential bankruptcy concerns. In fact, most small businesses and entrepreneurs ignore the importance of accounting, resulting to difficulty in settling obligations as they fall due because of the lack of transparency in liquidity.

Large businesses or conglomerates understand the importance of distributable reserves, as finance departments keep on pushing the limits of free cash flow.

The problem with most large businesses is the mismatch of u nderst a nd i ng of f ree c a shflow concept in the finance department versus the distr ib -

utable reserves concept in the accounting department.

Free cash flow is a finance concept adopted from the cash-flow statement in accounting and is usually computed by investment bankers to project cor porate value. In essence, free cash-flow information is the key input to compute for the value of a business, which, under ceteris paribus, would equal the distributable reserves. But the world of accounting complicates the amount of distributable reserves through accruals, which results to significant cash being strapped out for dividends as they are tied against liabilities. While the overall distributable reserves over the life of a business will generally equal the free cash flow, timing differences for the release of these cash assets could result to significant valuation differences due to the time value of money.

Cash tax payment is an easy discussion. Every business, regardless of its size, is concerned by the net amount of cash tax payment. While in Asia, income tax inclines toward cash accounting, tax accounting under International Accounting Standards 12 (IAS on Income Taxes) would still result to tax expenses being recognized at the amount of accounting profit determined based on accrual accounting. In developed countries, the determination of cash tax payment using accrual basis accounting will generally result to increased importance of accounting, as a determinant of the amount of cash tax to be paid. In developing countries, the tax gap between cash and accrual accounting will impact distributable reserves instead of cash taxes.

Understanding the importance of accounting can simply be highlighted through its cash impact.

The role of the accounting department in a business can play between a mere transaction processor to a valued business adviser, which depends on the readiness of the business to change the role of their accountants.

Accounting for large business and conglomerates are handled by accounting departments, which are fully staffed with capable and qualified personnel. What is important then is to ensure that proper linkage between finance department and accounting department is enabled to maximize corporate value. Changing the business perspective of the accounting depar tment f rom a financial processor role to a valuable business adviser role is critical in the long-term growth of the business.

For small businesses and entrepreneurs, accounting does not

Accounting for large business and conglomerates are handled by accounting departments, which are fully staffed with capable and qualified personnel.

What is important then is to ensure that proper linkage between finance department and accounting department is enabled to maximize corporate value.

Changing the business perspective of the accounting department from a financial processor role to a valuable business adviser role is critical in the long term growth of the business.

necessarily need to be complex and costly. A few training sessions to enable nonaccountants to do the basic role of recording financial transaction as they happen would provide small businesses and entrepreneurs ease of mind to have a ready glimpse of their financial position and performance.

So how is accounting important to the profession itself? The Economist estimates a 94-percent probability for accountants to be replaced by technology within the next two decades in their article dated January 18, 2014. With the continuous improvements in accounting systems, most of the accounting work can be done automatically by accounting systems, which ultimately reduces significantly the need to have accountants working of the transaction processing.

Understanding the importance of accounting highlights, as well as the expectations from an accountant. For accountants to be responsive to today’s business requirement, an accountant would need to know more than number crunching and transaction processing.

Accountants would now need a more holistic understanding of business, economics and finance to be able to form valuable inputs and make appropriate judgment calls.

Machines cannot replace the ability of humans for judgments.

But do you have the knowledge to make the right judgment?

Filbert Tsai is a Filipino financial accounting advisory services executive in the UK with specialization in transaction accounting in the power and utilities sector. He had provided accounting advice to a significant number of government and financial institutions investing or providing financing structures in the renewables sector in Europe and in developing countries.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A16

BusinessMirror

Monday, January 18, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Laguna de Bay plan fused with environment laws

A

B J L. M

N updated master plan for the sustainable development of the Laguna de Bay has been approved by the board of directors of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), providing strategic direction to ensure the lake’s sustainable development.

Approved during the LLDA’s board of directors’ meeting held at the agency’s Green Building in Quezon City last December 15, the 2016-2026 Laguna de Bay Updated Master Plan (UMP) is harmonized with four important environmental laws and puts premium on climate-change impacts, according to Cesar R. Quintos, head of the LLDA’s policy, planning and information division.

The LLDA board of directors act as the highest policy-making body in the management of the Laguna de Bay.

The area includes the 90,000-hectare freshwater lake, the country’s biggest and third-largest lake in Asia, and a major fishing ground and aquaculture hub in Luzon.

The UMP carries a hefty budget of P88 billion for the implementation of various government-funded projects and activities. In doing so, it will promote public-private partnership (PPP) schemes for big-ticket projects, such as the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Project (LLEP), Quintos told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

Four laws have been enacted since 1995: the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Solid Waste Management Act and the Fisheries Code.

Quintos said the UMP is geared toward further improvement of air, soil and water quality, solid-waste management and disaster risk reduction.

The impacts of climate change, Quintos added, were an important consideration in the crafting of the new plan.

“Another reason for the crafting of a new plan is the development of new technologies. We need to cope and be able to make use of these new technologies,” Quintos said.

Among the big government-funded projects identified in the Laguna de Bay UMP are construction of a centralized sewerage system and a centralized wastewater-treatment plant. These carry a total proposed budget ranging from P20 billion to P25 billion.

Quintos explained that the projects are geared toward reducing all forms of pollution in the lake, while implementing various capacity-building programs to empower local government units (LGUs) and communities to benefit from the Laguna de Bay’s bounty.

Some of the big-ticket projects will be implemented through PPP, while

some will be funded by the national government, such as sanitary landfi lls and materials-recovery facilities (MRFs).

“As much as possible, we want the LGUs to finance their own waste facilities,” Quintos said. “But we [also] want to establish solid-waste management systems within our jurisdiction,” he said.

This, he said, will require funding for the construction of MRFs in areas that still do not have one.

Previous activities of the LLDA with the help of the World Bank led to the establishment of 16 MRFs in various towns. Around 40 LGUs currently have MRFs, according to Quintos.

He said addressing the garbage problem in the lake caused by indiscriminate dumping of household waste in the lake or river tributaries connected to the lake is among the LLDA’s priority thrusts under the UMP. “Industrial-waste problems have somehow been addressed already.

The household waste is a more serious problem today.”

The Laguna de Bay area covers 66 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila, and five neighboring provinces—Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, Cavite and Quezon. All cities and

municipalities in Laguna and Rizal are part of the watershed.

We really need “a centralized sewerage system and wastewater-treatment plant,” Quintos said. “These are new additions. Before, the master plan is more about regulation.”

Also integrated in the plan are the Comprehensive Land Use Plans of the LGUs within the Laguna de Bay region, he said.

Quintos added that components of the said government projects and activities include commitments of the LLDA to the Governance Commission for GOCCs. Several goals and objectives are maintaining water quality for fisheries and implementation of solid-waste management for LGUs and communities within the LLDA jurisdiction.

He said the LLDA commits to improve fisheries production.

Around 60 percent to 70 percent of fish supplies to Metro Manila come from the Laguna de Bay. The target, he said, is to increase fish production by 10 percent to 15 percent and keep the number of fish pens and fish cages within the maximum limit allowed by the Fisheries Code.

Under the Fisheries Code, the area allowed for aquaculture should be limited

to 10 percent of the water body.

Quintos said, because of the popularity of the aquaculture business in the Laguna de Bay in 1996, the number of fish pen and fish cages grew and the area expanded beyond the lake’s carrying capacity, reaching as much as 15,000 hectares.

“We need to improve fisheries production to keep the price of fish in Metro Manila market at affordable level,” Quintos said. Otherwise, the price of fish would increase and would impact hard on the poor, he explained in Tagalog.

Quintos added that the plan is to give more areas for open fisheries in the lake and confine aquaculture production within the designated areas.

The strict implementation of the lake’s zoning plan, Quintos added, will be implemented. It is aimed at maximizing revenues from the lake’s use, particularly in aquaculture, he said.

The LLDA has encountered problems because of the proliferation of illegal fish pens and fish cages without its permission. Until now, it has not succeeded in clearing the lake of illegally built fish pens and fish cages.

LLDA officials allege that some owners of these illegal fish pens and fish cages are connected to influential people and people in the government.