BusinessMirror March 7, 2016

MEDIA PARTNER OF THE YEAR

BusinessMirror

UNITED NATIONS

2015 ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA AWARD LEADERSHIP AWARD 2008

A broader look at today’s business Monday, March 7, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 151

www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Relax rules on regulated chemicals ASAP–Seipi

T

B C N. P  B C

HE semiconductor and electronics industry urged the government to fast-track efforts to simplify the process of securing permits for regulated chemicals from the Philippine National Police (PNP), as it is hampering factory operations.

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (Seipi) also told the BusinessMirror that there has to be “closer coordination” between local manufacturers and the PNP in crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for controlled chemicals.

INSIDE

THE TWO WAYS POWER TRANSFORMS PEOPLE BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

B D D

The powerful are likelier to be rude, to lie and to cheat. For example, people driving expensive cars are less likely to stop for pedestrians.

W here does t his tendenc y to b e h ave u ne t h ic a l ly come from? Past ev idence points to t wo pr i m a r y f ac tor s: p owe r seems to lower inhibitions and produce a higher-than-average self-focus. People without inhibitions are less likely to respect social norms, while self-focus

tends to make powerful people prioritize their own needs over others’. For instance, people who make less than $25,000 a year give away 4.2 percent of their income, while people who make more than $150,000 give away only 2.7 percent.

However, a lack of inhibitions and a healthy self-focus can also be an advantage. An uninhibited leader will speak up during negotiations and secure good deals, object when witnessing

an injustice and urge his coworkers to behave ethically. A self-focused leader tends to be good at getting what he needs, including resources within the organization and inf luence in the marketplace.

But how can the negative effects of power—the tendency to lie and cheat—be mitigated? We have evidence that leaders can learn “perspective-taking.” They can develop the habit of asking, “What does the person in front of

me think and want?” “If I were on the other side of the table, what would seem fair?” “Would I want this decision to appear on the front page of The Wall Street Journal?” Perspective-taking can be primed through short exercises or developed through training.

Power may indeed tend to corrupt—but it can be turned to ever ybody’s advantage.

David Dubois is an assistant professor at INSEAD.

MAKING PERSONALIZED MARKETING WORK B S T

S

OON, every digital ad you see will be tailored to a very specific audience—you. Twitter, for example, recently launched Brand Hub, an analytics tool for large advertisers and mediumsized companies. It enables businesses to monitor brand-related tweets, measure their share of conversations relative to competitors and automatically classify customers’ tweets.

While marketers want to track customers’ brand sentiments on social media, Brand Hub’s real power is that it enables companies to hyper-target consumers by viewing the top influencers in the conversation. The tool lists phrases being tweeted and estimates brand loyalty implied by tweets, enabling marketers to personalize messaging. If your company isn’t the right fit for Brand Hub, try these techniques: n Get (more) social. If you were a professional photographer, you’d consider a woman searching for wedding photographers to be a target customer. The key is to step back and look at her family and friends, too. You should also offer her discounts to encourage

her to like or follow your brand on social media. n Try account-based marketing software, another effective way to hyper-target marketing efforts.

My company uses ABM software to deliver personalized ads based on search queries. Somebody who searches “land contract” will be targeted with a message reading, “Create your land contract today.” n Consider the bigger picture.

Spotify personalizes ads based on consumers’ interests and demographic data. If somebody listens to a “Morning Run” playlist, Spotify might deliver ads for running shoes or other athletic apparel. n Use geotargeting to reach smartphone users. Geotargeting is particularly useful for industry conferences, a concentrated source of leads. If you can’t attend, use geotargeting to market to attendees without leaving your office. Buy mobile ads in the city—or specific block—where the conference is being held. Then, use ABM software to tailor messages for each lead.

Today we can’t predict exactly who will buy what and when, but we’re getting closer.

Sathvik Tantry is the cofounder of FormSwift, a software-as-a-service platform.

HOW TO BRING IN A NEW C.E.O. FOR YOUR STARTUP B S D

A

Resistance to change must be overcome—especially if early contributors, seeing their influence and status diminish, try to undermine the new leadership. n Facilitate close connections among the founder, the new CEO and the team. At many start-ups, teams are structured loosely and often work in informal groups. A key part of the CEO transition is bringing these groups together, transforming the tribes into a cohesive team that works effectively with the CEO and across functions. n Ensure knowledge capture and transfer. Founders hold vast amounts of information in their heads, and when they step down, the new team can experience a knowledge gap that can result in chaos. n Define the transition’s strategic significance and communicate it. For buy-in across the company, the new management’s plan to take the start-up to the next level needs to be carefully presented.

The best CEO for the job will enable the founder’s vision to flourish.

MONDAY MORNING

When to skip a difficult conversation B D G R

L

EADERS occasionally need to give tough feedback to their employees, colleagues and clients. And yet, no matter how skilled or experienced they are, most would do almost anything to avoid the confrontation.

As an executive coach, I often help clients overcome their hesitation so they can handle such conversations in the right way. But sometimes I discover that their avoidance instincts are valid.

Not every conversation needs to

be had immediately, had by them or had at all. How can you assess whether you’re making a strategic choice to avoid a difficult conversation or just chickening out? These questions may help you consider what to say, delay or skip: n Based on what I know about this person and our relationship, what can I realistically hope to achieve by having the conversation? n What is my “secret agenda” or “hidden hope” for this conversation?

Long-term harmony? Revenge?

That the person will change? n What concrete examples of

the issue at hand can I share? n Have I contributed to the situation myself? n Do I tend to look for problems with this person or issue? n Is the issue already resolving itself? n How long ago did it arise? Is it a repeat or recurring problem? Could it become one? n How relevant is the issue to our relationship or to the job? n How committed am I to being “right?” n What reasonable, actionable solution can I offer?

n Is this the right person to talk to about this issue?

Leaders who decide carefully and strategically about whether to speak up about a problem or let it go aren’t abdicating responsibility. They’re making sure that the messages they communicate are delivered for the right reasons and generate the desired results.

S much as they may love the start-up they created, only a few founder-CEOs have the skills to ensure growth beyond the company’s early stage.

A smart founder understands that there is often a trade-off between creating sustainable value and preserving control. That may mean recognizing the need for a new CEO. But how can founders handle this transition? Once the decision is made to hire a new chief executive, the founder-CEO and board should work together, ideally over a six-month period, to plan the transition. The following steps can help this go smoothly: n Determine the start-up’s strategy and identify CEO candidates accordingly. The right replacement will complement the leadership team and have experience in g row ing a company. n Select a CEO who will create a culture that’s both responsive to customers and collaborative, supporting effective teamwork. n Break away from the past.

As the company grows, its management skills need to evolve.

E1

ROARING ROARING RORY Deborah Grayson Riegel is a principal at the Boda Group, a leadership and team development firm. She also teaches management communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

S “S,” A

BMReports

TRANSFORMS PEOPLE O people in power behave less ethically than everybody else?

A significant body of research demonstrates that, in fact, people who consider themselves powerful think, feel and act differently from people who feel powerless.

Value of electronic products exported last year

Monday, March 7, 2016 E 1

THE TWO WAYS POWER D

$28.91B

Last year the PNP expanded its list of regulated chemicals, and increased the procedures and permits required for chemicals used in making products sold domestically or exported to other countries.

This resulted in delays and lower production key commodities, such as semiconductors and electronic products. Chemical substances are among the raw materials being imported by local manufacturers of electronic products. Even smaller enterprises importing common household chemicals have also been affected by the PNP’s tighter regulations.

According to industry sources, companies pay an average of P20 million annually for the PNP’s escort fees alone.

Last year the PNP agreed to suspend the implementation of the policy from ºDecember 9 to February 9, 2016.

Suren Dutia is a senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

© 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

Device cuts across Filipino class division with a swipe B R C | Researcher

SPORTS

T

C1

First of three parts

HE index finger has never been as important to many Filipinos owning a smartphone. Aside from picking a nose, the index finger graduated from being inserted in a hole and moved clockwise on a plastic surface, to pushing and moving on glass.

The smartphone has changed not only how Filipinos use the index finger, it also is changing the class division of Philippine society. With mass production came gadgets that were priced less than $200 each.

And with consumers seeing their pockets filling up with cash, smartphones have become affordable to many.

Trends

A REPORT by the GSMA Intelligence group revealed a total of 50.9 million, a notch half of the total 100 million population of the Philippines, have subscribed to using mobile phones in 2014.

Mobile-phone usage saw an increasing trend since the start of the mobile-phone age, according to

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

PPP parameters: The winner is…

PPP Lead Alberto C. Agra

L

IKE any other contest, the selection of the winning private-sector proponent (PSP) in a publicprivate partnership (PPP) competitive process is based on predetermined parameters.

“Who the winner is” for a particular project depends on the applicable modality and relevant law. There is no single formula to determine who wins.

While there is discretion to determine the applicable parameter, there should be no discretion or subjectivity in the application of said parameter when the process has been set. A scan of PPP laws and regulations reveals that there are seven possible economic parameters. The choices and underlying questions are: C  A

PPP CONTRACT

10 SECTIONS

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 47.1150

PROJECT

MODALITY

TERM

CONTRIBUTIONS

RISKS

GOVERNANCE

APPROVALS

AMENDMENTS

ROLES

C  A

BusinessMirror

OUT NOW To order, e-mail us at bmturningpoints@businessmirror.com.ph or call 893-1662, 814-0134 to 36 Available at all National Book Store and Fully Booked branches

PARTIES

AUTHOR: ALBERTO C. AGRA

n JAPAN 0.4145 n UK 66.8138 n HK 6.0657 n CHINA 7.2095 n SINGAPORE 33.9348 n AUSTRALIA 34.6248 n EU 51.6333 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.5674

BM GRAPHICS: JOB RUZGAL

Source: BSP (4 March 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, March 7, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Device cuts across Filipino class division with a swipe C  A

GSMA Intelligence, the research division of the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA). For the year 2013 mobile-phone subscribers in the country reached 49.2 million from 46.8 million in 2012 and 44 million in 2011.

This translated to an annual growth rate of 4 percent for the year 2014 for unique subscribers.

For the year 2013 subscription peaked at 5 percent, while for the years 2012 and 2011 the market reached a growth of 6 percent.

Of the market statistics on mobile users, people turning to use smartphones were also increasing.

The year 2014 posted a 28 percent share of the market; 17 percent for 2013; 2012 had 9 percent share; and 2011 had 5 percent.

By 2014 the Philippines has become the third-largest smartphone market in Southeast Asia.

The top smartphone brands that have dominated in the Philippine market for the year 2014 are Cherry Mobile, Samsung and MyPhone, two of which are local brands.

Cherry Mobile had a 26 percent market share both for the year 2014 and 2013; Samsung had 9 percent share of the market for 2014, a decrease from its 18 percent share for the year 2013 and MyPhone market share increased to 10 percent in

MRT 3. . .

C  A

The BLT contract was awarded to MRTC two decades ago, when it acquired the company’s original contractor due to a botched agreement with the government.

The 25-year contract essentially provides for the private partner to build the line, the government leases the transport system and the infrastructure transferred to the state at the end of the concession period.

When it was built, observers, at first, thought it a flop, as average daily ridership hit only 40,000 passengers back then. The private company that built the system warned that major expansion programs must be undertaken

2014, from its 9 percent total share in 2013.

Of the numbers, Cherry Mobile accounted for most of the sales of smartphone units in the country, with a share of 21.9 percent from the total number of shipments that reached 26.8 million units in the year 2014. Samsung had 13.3 percent share of the shipments and MyPhone accounted for 11.2 percent.

According to research firm International Data Corp., the world market for smartphones continues to grow at an average of 13 percent annually. For the second quarter of last year, smartphone shipments reached a total of $341.5 million.

ALLEANA CHUA, a working millennial, said she owns a smartphone because it allows her to call, send text messages and check her social-media accounts at any time she wants.

“Smartphone brands are not that important for me, as long as I can use it and it gives me convenience; that’s what is important,” she told the BusinessMirror.

Call, text messaging, video chat, MMS (multimedia message sending), instant messaging—all these and more can be utilized using a smartphone.

A fter the evolution of the

humble cell phone through the years, smartphones came into the present picture, with a variety of applications and uses that the owner can choose from. It is apparent that smartphones at this day and age are the handy gadget that can cater to a person’s every technological need.

Smartphones already have the capabilities that landline phones, desktop computers and even cameras can provide. Making calls, sending e-mails, recording videos, taking down notes and more all can be done with just one device.

The hard plastic and steel device now has the features of a bulky immovable computer.

Chua notes that, as long as the features and what she is looking for in a phone are there, she’ll go for the brand.

In terms of reliability, she notes that a foreign brand, like Samsung, is No. 1 for her, the reason being that it is already tried and tested. Amid her preference for foreign brands, she is still open to trying local brands, like Torque and Cherry Mobile.

“The Torque brand may not be that popular, but it is locally made, so I am open to try that depending on the features,” Chua said.

“But since the Samsung brand is already trusted and has long been standing in the phone industry, I

to prevent congestion in the railway line.

The state, however, refused, saying the train system must first hit the 350,000-passenger mark before it does anything as drastic as an expansion.

The line hit its rated capacity in four years and still the government failed to approve proposals to add capacity to the train system.

As the economy accelerated and ridership leap frogged, the line hit its crush load, or it’s maximum capacity. Still, the government refused to hear the cries of both the consumers and the private partner to modernize the line.

Several private companies are proposing to fix the mess at the MRT. But the government has, thus, far gave them a cold shoulder.

Together with foreign firms Sumitomo Corp. of Japan and Globalvia Infrastructuras of Spain, Metro Global Holdings Inc. is proposing to

“fix” the ailing system through a $150-million investment that involves procuring a total 96 new trains, the rehabilitation of existing 73 coaches and increasing capacity by fourfold to 1.2 million passengers daily.

Under the proposal, a single point of responsibility will be implemented, meaning the rehabilitation and maintenance of the line will be handled by a single company.

There are two other proposals pending before the transportation department— one from Metro Pacific Investments Corp., and another from German firms Schunk Bahn-und Industrietechnik GmbH and HEAG Mobilo GmbH. Under its proposal, Metro Pacific will shoulder the upgrade cost and release the government from the bondage of paying billions of pesos

Millennials

WITH the evolution of the mobile phone to smartphone, the users’ needs with regards to phone usage have also changed.

The evident use of the text-messaging service is still present since it is cheaper than making voice calls. But when Internet access also became readily available as a function of the device, the industry saw smartphone use grow rapidly.

“Yes, for me, Internet or data is used more often now than before,” Chua said. “I feel like the accessibility that the Internet provides is important. Even if I don’t have load, I can still access my socialmedia accounts and other apps with just that.”

The increase in mobile-data usage in the country did not go unnoticed by telcos. The growing number of smartphone use coincided with mobile-data use.

Smart, hence, attempted to roll out third-generation technology (3G), fourth-generation (4G) and long-term evolution (LTE) technologies early in the game.

According to Ramon R. Isberto, head of Smart Communications public affairs, about 40 percent of the telco’s subscriber base were using smartphones as

of end of last year.

“Of that number, about 90 percent of these are 3G/HSPA/HSPA+ handsets. The balance are 4G/ LTE handsets,” Isberto told the BusinessMirror via electronic mail. “That’s why at this point, we have paid specific attention to increasing the capacity of our 3G network, because this delivers an immediate benefit to the majority of mobile-data users.”

The GSMA Intelligence group research also showed that the Philippines has a rapid growing number of Internet users.

For the third quarter of 2014, mobile Internet adoption reached 62 percent of total subscribers, with the primary device used being mobile phones. And with telcos, like Smart and its rival Globe Telecom Inc., continuing to offer affordable mobile-data packages, usage of the Internet through smartphones continue to increase. “ We’ve complemented t his with strong 3G handset promo programs, like our Smart 888 offer, which is putting more smartphones in the hands of our subscribers,” Isberto said. “At the same time, however, we are rolling out our 4G/LTE network, as the number of LTE handsets in the market is rising and data usage on the LTE network is building up.”

in equity rental payments.

The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, which earlier entered into a partnership agreement with the corporate owner of the MRT, intends to spend $524 million and overhaul the line.

This would effectively expand the capacity of the railway system by adding more coaches to each train, allowing for more cars in service and at faster intervals. The multimillion-dollar expansion plan would double the capacity of the line to 700,000 passengers a day from the current 350,000 passengers.

It was submitted in 2011, but the transportation agency’s chief back then rejected the proposal. The group revived its proposal before Congress in 2014.

On the other hand, Schunk is seeking to

place whole train system under a massive transformation program to augment its capacity and to provide a safe and comfortable travel to commuters from the northern and southern corridors of Metro Manila.

The P4.64-billion proposal, submitted in February last year with Filipino partner Comm Builders and Technology Phils. Corp., calls for the complete overhaul of the 73 light-rail vehicles of the MRT, the replacement of the rails, the upgrading of the line’s ancillary system, the upgrade of the track circuit and signaling systems, the modernization of the conveyance system and a three-year maintenance contract. Under the amended build-operate-transfer law, the government has to inform the proponent whether it accepts or rejects an unsolicited proposal within 120 days.

would still go for that first, given the chance.”

Evolution

Seipi. . .

C  A

The moratorium was subsequently extended until April 30, after the PNP, other government agencies and manufacturers failed to agree on the IRR of Presidential Decree (PD) 1866.

PD 1866, as amended by Republic Act 9516, codified the laws on the illegal possession, manufacture, trade, acquisition or disposition of firearms, ammunitions, explosives or instruments used in the manufacture of firearms, ammunition or explosives.

The IRR is meant to streamline the PNP’s licensing procedures and to rationalize the list of 100 regulated chemicals.

However, the crafting of the IRR appears to have hit a snag, as the recommendations of the industry and other government agencies were not reflected in the PNP’s draft.

For one, manufacturers of electronic products and semiconductors said their proposal to categorize chemicals according to risk—green, yellow and red—was not followed.

Some chemicals that have already been tagged as green, which requires minimal paperwork, have been classified into yellow or red.

Aside from this, suggestions to merge and simplify procedures— such as combining the importation with the permit to unload—was not in the IRR drafted by the PNP. Also missing from the PNP-crafted IRR was the recommendation to waive the requirement for companies to submit a seven-page “personal history.” The PNP has also retained the collection of escort fees and added new requirements, such as the permit to transport and the collection of an inspection fee.

While his group supports the PNP’s objective to ensure the security of businesses, Seipi President Dan Lachica said this should not result in higher costs and tighter regulations that tend to disrupt company operations.

A subtechnical working group focused on streamlining procedures will meet this week to review the PNP’s drafted IRR. The main working group consisting of the DTI, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the PNP and the Bureau of Customs will meet in the next two weeks to discuss the recommendations of local firms.

Last year outward shipments of electronic products grew 7.9 percent to $28.91 billion, from $26.79 billion in 2014, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Receipts from electronic products accounted for nearly half of the $58.64 billion in merchandise goods exported in 2015.

As for factory output, Moody’s Analytics said the Philippine industrial sector likely improved in January and bucked regional trend, as the country is less dependent on China for trade. In its latest Asia Pacific Economic Data Preview, Moody’s Analytics said factory output likely rose to 5.3 percent in January. This projection is higher than the 4.9-percent increase recorded in December 2015.

“Since the Philippines is less reliant on China as an export destination than most other countries in the region, its producers have been less affected by slowing Chinese demand,” the report read. “Food producers will start to see improvements in the coming months as the unfavorable growing conditions caused by El Niño start to dissipate,” it added. Last month the PSA reported that the volume of production index slowed down in December 2015 but remained positive.

Among the sectors that recorded double-digit growth in terms of volume include nonmetallic mineral products, paper and paper products, machinery except electrical, leather products, miscel laneous manufactures and transport equipment. The PSA is expected to release the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries for January on March 10.

BMReports BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, March 7, 2016 A3

‘Conditional cash dole-outs under 4Ps must keep pace with inflation’

C

4.4 M

B C U. O

ASH dole-outs under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) should be indexed to inflation if the government wants the program to make a significant dent on poverty reduction.

This was according to Jose Ramon Albert, senior research fellow of state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). Albert said the purchasing power of the allocations under the 4Ps have already been eroded through inflation.

The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), or 4Ps, is widely regarded as a social-protection mechanism that can help developing countries meet its commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 1 of eradicating poverty by 2030.

“The government gives P300 per child, but this was the computation

back in 2008. [The question is,] is P300 the same today as eight years ago?” Albert asked.

While the government did increase the allocation to include children in high school, Albert said the amount of P500 has not been increased since the change was implemented a couple of years ago.

However, Albert said expanding the CCT Program requires more government resources. This includes any possible increase in the allocation to beneficiaries.

Nonetheless, Albert said the benefits outweigh the costs in the case of the CCTs. This is because its impact, particularly in increasing the

Number of CCT beneficiaries as of end-2015

A DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development social worker conducts orientation on the Expanded Conditional Cash Transfer project to beneficiaries in Barangay Amoranto, Quezon City. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

enrollment rate of out-of-school youth, has been significant.

Since the program’s inception in 2008, the number of beneficia-

ries increased to 4.4 million as of end-2015, from 340,000—making it the fourth-largest CCT after those rolled out in India, Brazil

and Mexico. The program has expanded rapidly and has evolved over time based on lessons and experience.

Examples of evidence-based program adjustments include increasing the grant for older children and expanding the eligibility cut-off, from 14 years old to 18, to raise the rates of high-school graduation of children from poor families.

The CCT Program provides grants to poor families, if they send their children to school, visit health centers and attend familydevelopment sessions.

Albert added that indexing the CCTs to inflation is just one of the means of addressing income inequality in the Philippines.

He said addressing the needs of

the country’s middle class, or those with annual per-capita incomes in 2012 ranging from about P64,317 to P787,572, would also help narrow gaps in incomes. The middle class in the Philippines comprises some 42.19 million households.

“While poverty reduction should be the main focus of development policy, there is a growing need for policy attention to boost the participation of the middle class in growth and development,” according to a study conducted by Albert and PIDS research specialist Raymond E. Gaspar and research analyst Martin Joseph M. Raymundo.

The authors said those earning between P7,890 and P15,780 per month belong to the low-income class, while those earning P15,780 to P31,560 a month comprise the lower middle-income class.

There are about 7.1 million households that are considered low income, while 5.8 million are in the lower middle-income category.

The middle-income class earns between P31,560 to P78,900 per month, while those in the uppermiddle income earns anywhere from P78,900 to P118,350 per month.

A4

BMReports BusinessMirror

Monday, March 7, 2016

news@businessmirror.com.ph

DOT chief: No apologies for setting 10M visitor-arrival target this year A B M. S F. A | Special to the BM

S it becomes increasingly clear that the Department of Tourism (DOT) will likely not hit its 10 million visitor-arrival target for 2016, its head is unapologetic for promising this goal, pointing to the uninterrupted growth, increased revenue and employment in the tourism sector since 2010.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. said: “It takes three years to build an airport. In 2011 I had to say 10 million and I would do it again. I had to say 10 million just to make sure in three years something would have happened. The demand that I was supposed to be serving three years from now means the decision to build the airport must be made now. That’s the nature of the business.”

The DOT is currently finetuning its National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) for 2017-2022. Still in the “consultation and site-visit

₧227.62B International tourist receipts in 2015

stage,” a DOT source said, “the timeline is to have the draft approved

by June, and approval by August.”

This means the next administration to be elected in May will have power to review and approve the new NTDP. Critics, however, have described the targets under the first NTDP of

2011-2016 as “overly ambitious,” considering the slow implementation of infrastructure projects by the Aquino administration.

Yet, Jimenez argued there were no plans to make the new NTDP less ambitious. “Absolutely not! I do not apologize for the 10-million target, because if I never said 10 million, all of you would not have paid any attention.”

Unlike other government agencies, which recalibrated their development-plan targets mid-stream, the DOT did not. “The unfortunate thing of tourism is, it requires the cooperation of everyone to succeed [i.e., other government agencies like the Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Immigration, etc.]. Arrivals are not just a pressure point for me; they’re a pressure point for everyone else who has to cooperate. ‘Why did you set a steep target?’ and believe me, it was steep, not impossible, but it was steep—you infect everyone else with that pressure. And if you found what we found in 2011 when we started, the solution to a lot of our problems, in fact, it still is, is pressure. People have to feel the pressure, so that they respond,” Jimenez said, referring again to the example of building an airport.

He stressed that “we did not lose sight of our relevant statistics— revenue and employment. And not to mention, domestic movement.

We’re very proud to say we exceeded all those targets. In other words, as a result of the 10 million, what our countrymen are counting on is income—and that’s no longer a problem—or employment. It’s also no longer a problem because we already reached those targets.

In fact, we were even conservative in our estimate.”

In a report released last week, the DOT said tourism has become “one of the major economic drivers in the Philippines under the Aquino administration, marked with strong, continued and uninterrupted growth in both visitor arrivals and receipts.” Most tourism goals were attained despite challenges in the climate, environment and diplomatic differences with some source markets.

Foreign-visitor arrivals, the report noted, recorded a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.77 percent from 2010 to 2015, higher than the 7.76 -percent CAGR achieved in nine years from 2001 to 2010. International tourism receipts also showed a dramatic twofold surge from P112.55 billion in 2010 to P227.62 billion in 2015.

International visitor receipts in 2015 were also 6 percent higher than the P214.88-billion earnings in 2014.

“In terms of nose-count arrival, in truth, the numbers were okay.

But for each person that arrived, he spent twice what we expected him to spend,” the DOT chief said.

“The important thing is this, in all likelihood, the Philippines will make it close to 6 million [visitor arrivals] in 2016. And, therefore, whatever anyone says, we doubled the business…. Technically, per head, the Philippines makes more money per tourists than Thailand. The Philippines is really more expensive [compared to other Asean countries], so the people who actually travel here, they really love us to spend that much here,” Jimenez said.

South Koreans continued to be the top spenders in 2015 at P66.55 billion; followed by Americans at P42.31 billion; Australians at P12.83 billion, overtaking the Japanese who spent P12.2 billion; and the Chinese at P10.19 billion.

Among the top 12 tourism markets for the Philippines, Canadians spent the most per capita at P65,537, while Germans came in second at P58,308.29. They were followed by Americans at P55,808.05. Other

top markets with high per-capita spending included the United Kingdom (P54,912.69) Australia (P53,846.21) and South Korea (P48,973.54).

Last year foreign visitors spent an average of P4,888.82 per day on an average stay of 10 nights.

In 2015 total inbound tourists grew some 11 percent to 5.3 million.

In a news statement, Jimenez said: “Our Visit the Philippines Year 2015 campaign and destination-based marketing materials helped in increasing awareness and generating a positive performance, while our market-development efforts served to ensure that this growth will be sustained year-on-year. The strategies outlined in the country’s NTDP 2011-2016 have enabled us to stay focused in improving the sector’s competitiveness and in contributing to the country’s overall goal of inclusive growth. More than accounting for a significant share of the country’s GDP, this rapid growth in the industry is allowing decent jobs and livelihood for many Filipinos,” he said.

Last year tourism employment was estimated to have reached 4.99 million, with a share of 12.7 percent to national employment.

“This represents a 4.8-percent growth from 2014,” Jimenez said.

House backs bill requiring stores to give exact change B J M N.  C

T

HE House of Representatives vowed to support a measure making it unlawful for any business establishment to shortchange a consumer when the sessions resume on May 23.

House Committee on Trade and Industry Chairman and Nacionalista Party Rep. Mark A. Villar of Las Piñas City said the bicameral conference committee report on House Bill 4730 and Senate Bill 1618, or the Exact Change Act, was approved on February 10 during the bicameral committee meeting.

The bicameral committee-approved bill imposes a fine of P500 to P25,000, or from 3 percent to 10 percent of the gross sales of the business establishment, whichever is higher; and suspension or, at most, revocation of license to operate for repeated offenses.

T he committee was copresided by Vil lar and Chair man of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Sen. Paolo Benig no “Bam” Aquino I V. The measure seeks to protect consumers from unfair trade practices and strengthen the protection of the availment of services.

The bill directs business establishments to use price tags, whenever appropriate, indicating the exact retail price per unit or service, which already includes the taxes applicable to the goods or services being offered.

The measure mandates business establishments to put up sig n s i n con s pic uou s pl aces within the premises or reflect in official receipts issued, the

taxes incorporated in the retail price per unit or service.

According to Villar, the measure was in response to numerous complaints in the past from consumers about the practice of not giving the exact change or of giving the change in kind, such as candies. He said the House Committee on Trade and Industry, the representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expressed their support for early passage of the measure.

“This will avoid misleading the consumer as to the exact price they have to pay for the goods or services and, consequently, the exact change due them,” he said.

“While admitting that the complaint might be true in some instances, businesses attributed this to a ‘coin shortage,’ or the difficulty of sourcing coins from banks,” Villar added.

Villar also expressed optimism the measure will put a stop to the abuse practices of business establishments in the country, “unclaimed changes when added up everyday amount to thousands of pesos. It is a trade malpractice that must be stopped.”

“There is a clamor for additional safeguards to ensure that Filipino consumers are protected against deceptive, unfair and unconscionable sales acts and practices,” he said.

“Whether it’s 5 centavos or P20, our consumers have the right to demand exact change. This is a right that need not be insisted on. We want to make sure that this time onward, this right is respected,” Villar added.

The measure was in response to numerous complaints in the past from consumers about the practice of not giving the exact change or of giving the change in kind, such as candies.”

—V

China displays might at Quirino Atoll B R A

T

HE government claims the Quirino Atoll is part of Philippine territory, but China exercised jurisdiction over the area recently when Beijing removed a grounded Filipino vessel from the territory.

The Armed Forces Western Command (Wescom) admitted it does not know who owns the boat and has no clue as to the whereabouts now of the vessel towed by a Chinese ship from the Quirino Atoll.

“We don’t know where they brought the boat, we were attempting to contact the BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] and the Coast Guard to ask them whether the owner

of the boat had already contacted them,” Wescom Spokesman Capt.

Cherryl Tindog said.

“For us, we just pass through those kinds of sightings,” he added, referring to a Philippine patrol that saw the grounded ship and the presence of Chinese military, paramilitary and civilian vessels at the atoll. Tindog said the Coast Guard and the BFAR have yet to coordinate with the Wescom whether they have identified the owner the Filipino vessel that was removed from the disputed territory.

W hi le t he Wescom sa id it holds operational jurisdiction over the Quirino Atoll, it failed to prevent Chinese vessels from removing the grounded Filipino vessel at the atoll. Wescom was

not also fully updated on the developments in the territory, as shown by the case of the capsized Filipino boat later towed by a Chinese vessel.

The case of the grounded “Filipino boat carrier,” as described by the Wescom, sparked international attention after it invited the presence of Chinese military and paramilitary ships. However, after the reported presence of the Chinese vessels was reported, the Wescom initially denied the presence of any Chinese ship at the atoll.

China, however, issued an official statement that it sent ships in the territory, supposedly to remove a Filipino vessel, grounded last November, due to dangers it pose to maritime navigation.

China’s admission coincided with a statement from Pentagon that it has been monitoring the presence of Chinese ships at the atoll. Tindog said it was a Chinese rescue and salvage ship, and not a Chinese coast guard vessel, that pulled out the Filipino ship on February 22.

Quirino Atoll is 133 nautical miles from Rizal, Palawan. As such, the Wescom said it forms part of the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, a former Philippine military ship—BRP Siera Madre— remained aground at the Ayungin Shoal and it has become the outpost of Filipino soldiers guarding the shoal, which is also being disputed by China.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

AseanMonday BusinessMirror

Monday, March 7, 2016 A5

Malaysia Airlines out of danger 2 years after MH370 disaster

M

ALAYSIA Airlines is out of intensive care. Now it’s working on long-term rehabilitation.

Two years ago this week, disaster struck when Flight MH370 vanished, leaving the company reeling from a crisis magnified months later by the downing of a second Boeing 777 over Ukraine.

Shunned by travelers and already ailing from years of mismanagement that saddled it with at least $1.7 billion in losses since 2011, the Southeast Asian airline teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, forcing its government owners to carry out radical restructuring.

New CEO Christoph Mueller, a turnaround veteran, has been scaling back or cutting unprofitable routes, grounding jets and axing 6,000 workers from a bloated workforce as part of a $1.7-billion overhaul aimed at returning the carrier to profitability as early as next year.

Analysts say, however, the strategy of shrinking to survive makes Malaysia vulnerable to fierce competition from the budget carriers proliferating to serve Asia’s booming, travel-hungry middle-

MALAYSIA Airlines CEO Christoph Mueller, who implemented a $1.7-billion overhaul aimed at returning the carrier to profitability as early as next year. AP

class consumers. Competitors include homegrown rival Malaysia AirAsia, as well as Indonesia’s Lion Air, Singapore’s Tigerair and Scoot, and Qantas offshoot Jetstar.

Mueller made his biggest move

yet last December, unveiling a strategic alliance with Emirates that allows Malaysia Airlines to piggyback onto more than 90 of the Gulf carrier’s global routes, as it shrinks its own network to focus on Asia.

The deal with Emirates, one of the world’s biggest airlines by seat capacity, was “definitely a rabbit out of the hat,” said Mohshin Aziz, an aviation analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Securities. “Yet, they made it happen. For me, that’s definitely a solid foundation for their future survival.”

Still, the unsolved mystery of MH370 haunts the airline.

Flight MH370 disappeared after leaving Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014, carrying 293 people. No trace of the Boeing 777 has been found except for a wing part on a Reunion beach last year and, possibly, part of a tail section discovered last weekend on the Mozambique coast.

In June 2014 Flight 17 was shot down en route to Amsterdam by what Dutch authorities say was a Soviet-designed missile, killing all 298 people onboard.

Despite better than expected rankings in airline safety surveys, some travelers still worry, complicating Malaysia’s battle against cutthroat competition. Passenger traffic at Kuala Lumpur International Air-

port’s main terminal, used by Malaysia Airlines and other full-service carriers, fell 9.2 percent last year, while traffic at the budget terminal rose 9.5 percent.

Mohshin credits Mueller, a German and the first foreigner to lead the airline, with making tough changes avoided by predecessors.

However, Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation research firm Endau Analytics, said Mueller’s strategy was too focused on short-term gains.

“They have taken the easy way out,” said Shukor, who was also part of a group whose offer to buy some of the airline’s assets to start a budget carrier was rebuffed. Sweeping cuts are “the quickest way to eliminate cost, but long term, I don’t think it presents an opportunity to really strengthen or...overhaul the fundamental issues of the company,” which include a history of interference from its owner, the sovereign investment fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Mueller carried out a successful but tough revamp of Ireland’s Aer Lingus that earned him the nickname “The Terminator” because his accent made for apt comparisons with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg hitman.

Aiming to help Malaysia Airlines reemerge as Southeast Asia’s lead-

ing carrier, since he took charge last May, he has led renegotiations of supply contracts and aircraft leasing deals, brought in new senior executives with budget-airline experience and introduced state-ofthe-art German cost-management software meant to cut ground operations costs by 20 percent.

To attract more passengers, the airline is updating inflight menus and rolling out new services, like onboard Wi-Fi and a new lie-flat seat in business class on some aircraft.

Malaysia’s already skeletal network outside Asia has been scaled back further. Paris and Amsterdam routes were scrapped in January as part of a broader withdrawal from international markets that started before the crisis struck. London and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, are now its only non-Asia-Pacific destinations, though passengers can buy codeshare flights transiting through Emirates’s Dubai hub.

The airline is adjusting its fleet to cut costs and accommodate the route

revamp, phasing out older Boeing 777s and fuel-hungry Airbus A380s and scaling back on smaller Boeing 737s. The airline has ordered four A350s, Airbus’s latest and most advanced airliner.

Tumbling oil prices have helped cut fuel costs, though the gains were partially eroded by the dollar’s recent rise againstMalaysia’s currency, the ringgit.

Shukor of Endau Analytics questions whether the airline can or even should survive in the long run.

Travelers are now better served by discount juggernaut AirAsia, which flies to more places and makes more money. Doubts persist over whether the government-backed carrier serves Malaysia’s long-term interests.

“The question that needs to be asked is does Malaysia need Malaysia Airlines now?” Shukor said.

“If Malaysia Airlines were to shut down tomorrow, there won’t be many people who would feel the absence.” AP

The question that needs to be asked is does Malaysia need Malaysia Airlines now?”—S  E A

A6 Monday, March 7, 2016

The World BusinessMirror

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

Big cities in poor countries ill-equipped to protect people from climate effects

T

HE money spent by megacities to adapt to climate change appears to be linked more to protecting valuable capital and less to protecting vulnerable people, new research suggests.

That trend means cities in developing nations may be poorly equipped to protect residents against future health, environmental and economic effects of living on a warming planet, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change.

“Current adaptation activities

are insufficient in major population centers in developing and emerging economies,” the study authors wrote.

Humans have been increasingly moving into cities—half the world’s population now lives in them. Although cities are great for concentrating people and resources,

they’re also vulnerable to rising sea levels, extreme weather events and other changes associated with climate change. The complex array of effects also includes rising demand for energy and a growing scarcity of water.

To exacerbate matters, experts say these effects will be disproportionately visited upon people whose lives are most unstable.

“Cities in developing countries are thought to be even more vulnerable to climate change owing to widespread poverty, lack of infrastructure, unplanned informal settlements and a lack of spending on adaptation,” wrote the study authors, a University of College London-led team of British researchers.

To try to get a handle on what that urban response to climate change looks like, the team focused

10

Megacities studied

on 10 of the world’s megacities— those with populations exceeding 3 million, or with a GDP that puts it in the top 25 of cities—and analyzed how much money they spent on measures to adapt to climate change effects.

The diverse metropolitan roster, picked on the basis of size, location and developmental status, included London; Paris; New York; Mexico City; Beijing; São Paulo, Brazil; Mumbai, India; Jakarta, Indonesia;

Lagos, Nigeria; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“It is important to study a range of cities in different regions of the world, with different climates and at different states of socioeconomic development,” the study authors explained. “Although, in economic terms, disaster losses from weather, climate and geophysical events are greater in developed countries, fatalities and economic losses as a proportion of GDP are higher in developing countries.”

The numbers showed a high contrast between cities in more economically advanced countries and those in developing nations. New York spent $2.26 billion (0.22 percent of its city GDP), while Addis Ababa spent $21 million (0.14 percent of its city GDP).

In fact, essentially all the wealthy

CLINTON, SANDERS DIVIDE 3 STATES; TRUMP, CRUZ EACH WINS 2

W

ICHITA, Kansas—Providing new evidence that there’s no quick end in sight to the fractious Republican Party race for president, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump each captured two victories in a four-state round of primary voting.

Bernie Sanders won on Saturday in Nebraska and Kansas in the Democratic race, while front-runner Hillary Clinton took Louisiana, another divided verdict from the American people.

Cruz, a Texas senator, claimed Kansas and Maine, and declared it “a manifestation of a real shift in momentum.”

Trump, still the front-runner in the hunt for delegates, took Louisiana and Kentucky.

In the overall race for Republican delegates, Trump led with at least 375 and Cruz had at least 291. Rubio had 123 delegates and Kasich had 33. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.

Clinton had at least 1,117 delegates to Sanders’s 477, including superdelegates—members of Congress, governors and party officials who can support the candidate of their choice. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination. There were 109 at stake on Saturday.

Cruz, a favorite of the ultraconservative tea-party movement, attributed his strong showing to conservatives coalescing behind his candidacy, calling it a “manifestation of a real shift in momentum.”

With the Republican race in chaos, establishment figures frantically are looking for any way to derail Trump, perhaps at a contested convention if no candidate can get enough delegates to lock up the nomination in advance.

Party leaders—including 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and 2008 nominee Sen. John McCain—are fearful a Trump victory would lead to a disastrous November election, with losses up and down the Republican ticket.

Trump, at a postelection news conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, declared himself primed for a head-on contest between him-

J

Australia’s Victoria turns to seawater as drought looms

A

VOTERS walk to a Republican caucus on Saturday in Chelsea, Maine. A large turnout forced some voters to park more than a half-mile away from the Kennebec County caucus location at the Chelsea Elementary School. AP/ROBERT F. BUKATY

self and Cruz, and called for Rubio to drop out.

“I would like to take on Ted one-on-one,” he said, ticking off a list of big states where he said Cruz had no chance. “Th at would be so much fun.”

Despite the support of many elected officials in Kansas, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio came up short, raising serious questions about his viability in the race. Cruz suggested it was time for some Republican candidates to quit the race.

In Maine Cruz won by a comfortable margin over Trump.

On the Democratic side, meanwhile, Sanders won by a solid margin in Nebraska and Kansas officials said he’d won the state caucuses, giving him seven victories so far in the nominating season. Clinton, who’s been doing well with African-American voters, had an easy win in Louisiana.

Clinton hoped that strong support among African-Americans in Louisiana would propel her to vic-

tory. Vermonter Sanders, trailing far behind Clinton in the delegate count, had higher hopes of making progress in Nebraska and Kansas, where the Democratic electorate is less diverse.

With Republican front-runner Trump yet to win states by the margins he’ll need in order to secure the nomination before the Republican convention, every one of the 155 Republican delegates at stake on Saturday was worth fighting for.

It was anger that propelled

many of Trump’s voters to the polls.

“It’s my opportunity to revolt,” said Betty Nixon, a 60-year-old Trump voter in Olathe, Kansas. She said she liked the businessman because “he’s not bought and paid for.”

Overall, Trump had prevailed in 10 of 15 contests heading into Saturday’s voting. Rubio had one win in Minnesota.

Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich both pinned their hopes on winner-take-all contests on March 15 in their home states. AP

South Africa: Ailing miners get multimillion-dollar settlement

OHANNESBURG—Gold miners infected with lung diseases brought on by repeated exposure to the dust of South Africa’s mines have won a multimillion dollar out-of-court settlement, their lawyer said on Saturday.

Anglo American South Africa and AngloGold Ashanti have agreed to pay the equivalent of $32,595,800 to claimants affected by silicosis, settling the case before it went to court,

cities spent about 0.22 percent of their city GDP on measures responding to climate change, while the developing cities mostly spent around 0.16 percent. (The exception was Beijing, which spent 0.33 percent of its city GDP, or $1.19 billion).

Sliced another way, Paris spent the most per person ($553.76), while Addis Ababa spent the least ($6.56), followed closely by Lagos ($7.69).

“The evidence seems to suggest that current adaptation responses may be largely influenced by market-based responses to protecting physical capital, rather than at-risk populations,” the study authors concluded. The findings highlight a need to shift the focus to protecting the people who will bear the brunt of climate change’s effects, they wrote. Los Angeles Times/TNS

said lawyer Zanele Mbuyisa, who represents 4,365 claimants.

Silicosis, caused by the inhalation of dust particles, makes victims vulnerable to diseases like tuberculosis. Most of the claimants worked in South Africa’s gold mines during apartheid, when miners rarely had the proper protective gear, according to the miners’ lawyers.

“Thousands of silicosis victims must have died uncompensated

during a period when the industry should have been well aware of their predicament,” Mbusiya said.

She and human-rights lawyers from the London-based firm Leigh Day have worked on the case since 2012, collecting the stories of miners in rural South Africa and neighboring Lesotho. About 400 miners died before the settlement was reached, she said. Claimants will undergo a medical exam to determine the compensation

they should receive, Mbuyisa said.

The families of the deceased miners will also be compensated.

Binyana Benson Qubeka plans to use his compensation to rebuild his home in the Eastern Cape province and send his children to school.

Qubeka, born in 1952, estimates he was around 18 when he began working in the mines.

“I can’t say just how happy I am,” said Qubeka, who was diagnosed

with silicosis in 1998.

The mining companies said the settlement was reached without an admission of liability from the operators.

“Both companies and the plaintiffs have a common interest in settling this highly complex case that could take several years to resolve through litigation,” AngloGold Ashanti CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said in a statement. AP

USTRALIA’S Victoria state said it plans to order water from a desalination plant as its capital city Melbourne faces drought conditions and “critically low” water levels.

The Labor government of state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that it would order 50 gigaliters (13.2 billion gallons) of desalinated water to be delivered next summer, with Melbourne’s water storages falling steadily for the past two years, according to an e-mailed statement.

A A$5.7-billion ($4.2 billion) processing plant on Australia’s southeast coast to turn the ocean into a source of drinking water has sat idle since it was built in 2012.

“We’ve always said the desalination plant is our insurance policy to secure our water supply and boost the amount of water available in the water grid—now it’s in Victoria’s best interests that we call on that insurance,” Andrews said in the statement. “As our population continues to grow and our state faces drought, we need to secure water supplies for Victorian communities—and adding desalinated water will help us meet these challenges.”

Nations from the US to China are grappling with how to respond to water shortages, drought and population growth while the desalination industry, whose major companies include Veolia Environment SA, General Electric Co. and Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co., is positioning itself to be part of the solution.

Victoria’s desalination plant would suck water from the Bass Strait through an underground tunnel into a complex of more than two dozen buildings in a seaside town south of Melbourne. At the heart of the facility is technology that can remove salt and supply as much as 150 billion liters of water a year, or about a third of the city’s consumption.

Lisa Neville, Victoria’s minister for environment, climate change and water, said on Sunday that the government was responding to the advice of Melbourne’s water corporations, based on an analysis of current water levels, the likelihood of low inflows, dry conditions in the short-term and forecast demand.

The cost of the order will add A$12 ($8.93) a year to the average metropolitan water bill, according to the statement, which also said that the government planned to release a proposal to help deal with issues including shifting rainfall patterns, climate change and population growth. Bloomberg News

The World BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • Monday, March 7, 2016

A7

China’s legislature a venue for the wealthy

B

EIJING—China’s take on parliamentary democracy kicked off its annual session on Saturday to address national priorities at a time of slowing economic growth. Unlike legislatures elsewhere, China’s does little in the way of legislating, is carefully stage-managed and allows no foreign leader to address it.

But like such chambers of power elsewhere, China’s has become something of a billionaire’s club, where the super-rich sit shoulder-to-shoulder with colorfully adorned Tibetan, Mongolian and other minority delegates and members of the country’s vast bureaucracy. The delegates are selected through an indirect-voting system that ensures those approved by the party leadership get elected.

Here is a look at the National People’s Congress (NPC), which runs through March 16: ■ Some talk, little action—China firmly rejects Western political notions of separation of powers, so challenging the leadership or questioning its decisions are not part of the somewhat nebulous mandate for the NPC’s nearly 3,000 delegates.

10

Richest delegates worth $184 billion

Nor does it draft or seriously challenge the government’s budget proposals, instead discussing the various speeches and reports in small groups before voting to approve whatever measures put before it at the close of the roughly two-week session.

The exercise is not entirely without merit, however, since members gain a better understanding of the

government’s priorities and can also channel up to the leadership some of their grassroots concerns.

The vast majority of the NPC’s legislative work is handled by its 171-member Standing Committee, which meets every two months to discuss and pass laws and is more firmly under control of the ruling Communist Party.

The full body only occasionally votes on legislation considered especially significant, notably the 2005 antisuccession law aimed at Taiwan.

Even among the laws that reach the Standing Committee, most are fairly prosaic, with the truly crucial matters of state handled directly by the party’s paramount Politburo Standing Committee.

■ Pomp and repression—The NPC strictly proceeds along well established lines, beginning on its first day with the premier’s work report, a kind of State of the Nation address that reviews achievements of the previous year and sets out the new year’s goals and priorities.

Focused heavily on the economy and public services, the report is pulled together by a committee based on submissions from major government departments.

Considerable lobbying precedes the premier’s 90-minute speech, since a mention of one’s pet project can be touted as a high-level endorsement.

The time around the meeting is usually a dismal period for China’s embattled dissident community, which may be confined to their homes or taken on outof-town trips in the constant presence

other top Chinese leaders are allowed to address the assembly. The most a visiting leader can hope for is a speech at one of China’s top universities.

A SECURITY guard talks into a microphone attached to his sleeve, as he clears the hall after the opening session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday. Unlike legislatures elsewhere, China’s does little in the way of legislating, is carefully stage-managed and allows no foreign leader to address it. AP/NG HAN GUAN

of state security agents.

Security is ratcheted up nationwide, but especially in Beijing, where out-of-town petitioners are cleared out and paramilitary guards are posted throughout the city. Saturday’s opening session at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing was swathed in multiple layers of security, starting with bag checks in the subway and an additional checkpoint just to look onto the square.

■ No room for outsiders—Although Chinese President Xi Jinping has grown fond of addressing his host country’s elected assemblies during overseas trips, the NPC doesn’t afford the same honor. Partly, that’s because of limited availability, with the full congress meeting just once a year, but also because of its rigid structure that brooks no outside interference.

Foreign guests may observe from the gallery, but only the premier and

■ Billionaire’s club—The NPC includes many of China’s wealthiest citizens, with more than 100 billionaires by some estimates. The real number isn’t known, since delegates are under no obligation to declare their assets and wealth in China is often hidden.

However, observers who run the numbers say the top 10 richest delegates are worth around $184 billion, about 100 times the wealth of the 10 richest American members of Congress. Membership confers both status and access to policymakers who can help grease the wheels of commerce.

While the NPC’s membership originally was drawn from government officials, workers and farmers, former President Jiang Zemin opened it up more than a decade ago to China’s newly rich. That’s given it a reputation as the world’s wealthiest parliament, more likely to draw comparisons to the annual Davos gathering than any true elected assembly.

That may seem at odds with the Communist Party’s original mandate of seeking capitalism’s downfall. Yet they’re not so far opposed as it may seem, since many of those fortunes were made in the post-Mao reform era, during which the party oversaw the transfer of vast land holdings and other public assets into private hands. AP

A8

The W

Business Maldives’s young democracy sliding back to autocracy

Monday, March 7, 2016

C

BRAZIL’S former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is surrounded by supporters as he leaves the Worker’s Party building in Sáo Paulo, Brazil, on Friday. Brazilian police, acting on a warrant, questioned the former president and searched his home and other properties, in the most recent development yet in corruption case at the oil giant Petrobras. AP/NELSON ANTOINE

DESPITE HIS BEING LINKED TO CORRUPTION

Crowds cheer for Brazil’s Silva

S

ÁO PAULO—Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff joined hundreds of people gathered outside the residence of her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday, one day after police questioned him in an investigation into a sprawling corruption case involving state-run oil company Petrobras.

“She is going to meet with Lula as a gesture of solidarity and support,” a press officer at the presidential palace said, referring to Silva by his nickname. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to speak on the matter.

Images aired by the Globo TV network showed Rousseff arriving at Silva’s home. Minutes later, images were broadcast of Rousseff, the former president, and his wife Marisa waving to the crowd from a balcony.

Police raided Silva’s home on Friday morning and took him to a federal police station at the city’s Congonhas airport, where they questioned him for about four hours. Later that day, Rousseff expressed her “total unconformity” with the operation, which she called unnecessary.

Outside Silva’s building in Sao Bernardo do Campo, an industrial suburb of São Paulo, supporters chanted “if you mess with him, you mess with me.” They hung a banner that read “Lula, the most honest and honorable man of this country.”

Unlike Friday, when Silva supporters and critics clashed in front of the building, Saturday’s gathering was peaceful in the absence of Silva opponents.

$8.12M Payments for speeches and donations to the Instituto Lula by construction firms that officials are looking into

Some opponents did paint on a wall of his nonprofit foundation Instituto Lula: “Lula, thief.

Enough of corruption...your hour has arrived.”

In an editorial published on Saturday, the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said Silva “always knew of the corruption scheme” and that he was its “mentor hiding behind the mask of a hero for ethics in politics.”

“That mask was ripped off on Friday,” it added.

David Fleischer, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Brasilia said: “The questioning by police of Lula is the beginning of the end of his era and by extension the end of Dilma.”

“It will also weaken the Workers’ Party which is being wiped out,” he said. “It is the beginning of the end of a long dirty journey.”

The once-immensely popular

president, who governed from 2003 to 2010, angrily denounced the raid on his home by police as part of a campaign to sully his image, that of his party and that of his handpicked successor, Rousseff.

“I felt like a prisoner,” said Silva, who has expressed interest in possibly running for president again. At a rally late on Friday in São Paulo, an emotional Silva insisted on his innocence and blasted those accusing him.

“If they are a cent more honest than I, then I will leave politics,” he pledged, his eyes welling with tears.

Police said they also searched the headquarters of the Instituto Lula, as well as properties connected to his sons and other family members. One of his sons was brought in for questioning.

Officials said they were looking into 30 million Brazilian reals ($8.12 million) in payments for speeches and donations to the Instituto Lula by construction firms that were crucial players in the Petrobras corruption scheme.

They were also looking into whether renovations and other work at a country house and beachfront apartment used by Silva and his family constituted favors in exchange for political benefit.

“No one is exempt from investigation in this country,” said public prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima. “Anyone in Brazil is subject to be investigated when there are indications of a crime.”

Prosecutors in the so-called Car Wash corruption case say more than $2 billion was paid in bribes to obtain Petrobras contracts, with some money making its way to several political parties, including the governing Workers’ Party.

Some of Brazil ’s wealthiest people, including the heads of top construction companies, have been caught up in the probe, as have

dozens of politicians from both the governing coalition and the opposition.

The reaction of the governing party was scathing. Workers’ Party President Rui Falcao issued a video statement calling the detention “a political spectacle” that revealed the “true character” of the probe.

“It’s not about combatting corruption but simply to hit the Workers’ Party, President Lula and the government of President Dilma,” Falcao said.

Legal analysts said bringing Silva in for questioning suggests that any possible case against him is still in its early phases.

“Police are still collecting evidence. There is no smoking gun because if there were, the searches wouldn’t be needed,” said Jair Jaloreto, a São Paulo-based expert on money laundering.

A lathe operator at a metal factory who entered politics as a labor union leader, Silva was widely seen as representing the common man, and his ascension to the country’s highest office was hailed in a nation long dominated by the elite.

During his two terms in office Silva presided over galloping economic growth that pulled tens of millions of poor Brazilians into the ranks of the middle class.

Despite a votes-for-br ibes scandal that took down his chief of staff and others, Silva left office with record-high popularity levels and his hand-picked successor, Rousseff, handily won the presidency. Silva and Rousseff have seen their popularity nosedive as Brazil has slipped into its worst recession in decades and the Car Wash investigation spread.

Rousseff ’s approval ratings have dipped into single digits, though they’ve rebounded slightly of late. She faces impeachment proceedings. AP

Refugee shot by Utah police came with family for new life

S

ALT LAKE CITY—A 17-yearold Somali refugee critically wounded in a high-profile police shooting in Utah fled to the US from a refugee camp where food was scarce, scorpions scurried everywhere and a toilet was a hole in the ground. Abdi Mohamed’s family settled in Salt Lake City, hoping for a better life.

But things took a turn and he began to get in trouble with police after his beloved grandfather suffered a brain injury in a car accident, his cousin Muslima Weledi said.

She remembered the family’s

hopeful journey from a makeshift home with sand walls at a refugee camp in Kenya to the Western state of Utah where the teenager is now hospitalized—and at the center of the latest flashpoint in the nation’s discussion about police use of force against minorities.

Police have said that Mohamed was shot when he would not obey commands to drop a metal stick being used to beat a man.

It was near-constant violence in Somalia that drove the family to flee to the refugee camp, Weledi said. There, they lived in homes

with a single bed, cracking sand walls and metal roofs that would fly off with the wind, she said.

“You’re pretty much fighting for survival,” Weledi said. “We actually came to America to have a better life.”

The families arrived in Salt Lake City in 2004, when she was 5 and Mohamed was 6. There, she saw grass and snow for the first time.

“It was better, because we had water, we had food, we had electricity. We actually had light in the house,” she said. W hile the young cousins picked up English

within a few years, learning a new, written language was more difficult for their parents and making ends meet was sometimes tough. Mohamed ’s family brief ly stayed at a Salt Lake City homeless shelter when money was tight, Weledi said.

In a city that’s home to the headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their Muslim faith stood out.

Weledi remembers classmates staring at her when the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks came up in school. AP

OLOMBO, Sr i Lanka— With most opposition leaders in jail or exile, public protests tightly controlled and courts rendering verdicts decried for lack of due process, the Maldives has nearly slid back to where it was eight years ago: an autocratic state that quashes dissent.

Since assuming power in this Indian Ocean archipelago nation of luxurious seaside resorts just over two years ago, President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has tightened his grip on this fledgling democracy with virtually no challenger.

The opposition is in disarray and freedoms have been restricted. Mohamed Nasheed, a pro-democracy activist who won the 2008 elections, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, and two defense ministers, including one of Gayoom’s allies who fell out of favor, have been given long prison terms.

Street protests are banned and rallies that are permitted in restricted places are poorly attended.

Even two of Gayoom’s vice presidents have been voted out by allied lawmakers in Parliament. The first fled the country and the second has been arrested for attempting to assassinate the president in a mysterious blast on his speedboat.

“If the ruling party doesn’t allow the opposition to function, again the concept of democracy is flawed,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Maldives researcher. “In today’s Maldives the reality is this.”

The US State Department has called for an end to politically motivated trials and urged the country to “restore confidence and a commitment to democracy and human rights.”

It’s been a depressing downward spiral for this young democracy of 1,200 coral islands that in 2008 was brimming with hope after holding its first multiparty election, ending the autocratic 30-year rule of Gayoom’s half-brother.

During his time in office, Nasheed faced conflicts with the judiciary and bureaucracy. His han-

dling of disputes and controversial steps like locking up the Supreme Court and arresting opposition politicians raised questions about his own abuse of power.

His ordering of the arrest of a top sitting judge in 2013 and holding him in secret detention triggered weeks of protests.

Nasheed resigned amid the public outcry and after losing support from a section of the military, but he then battled Gayoom in a contentious 2013 election. The Supreme Court annulled the first round results that showed Nasheed in the lead, and police then delayed a revote giving Gayoom enough time to form a winning coalition.

Gayoom, 56, has steadily concentrated power in his hands and tried to sideline opponents.

After governing coalition party leader resort owner Gasim Ibrahim defected to the opposition last year, his properties were seized by the government and his bank accounts frozen. He fled the country and returned several months later in support of Gayoom’s government, and won court cases that gave him back control of his properties and accounts.

Last month Sheikh Imran Abdulla, leader of the country’s conservative Islamic party, was sentenced to a 12-year jail term for instigating violence in a speech during an anti-government protest last year. Even Gayoom’s allies aren’t safe. His running mate in the 2013 election was voted out by Parliament and Gayoom appointed an ambitious young loyalist to the post. But within months the new deputy was arrested for plotting to assassinate Gayoom in a blast aboard the presidential speedboat.

The government insists it was a bomb but the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigators said there is no such evidence. No vice president has been appointed since.

Gayoom also plans to make defamation a criminal offense amid series of media reports and opposition statements implicating him in corruption and money laundering—charges he denies. AP

Family, friends ask Iran to release ex-FBI agent

C

ORAL SPRINGS, Florida— The family and colleagues of a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who disappeared in Iran nine years ago while on a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) mission expressed anger and disappointment at a rally on Saturday that he wasn’t part of a January prisoner exchange with Tehran.

Several hundred people attended the rally for Robert Levinson, 67, who disappeared from Iran’s Kish Island in March 2007. A 2013 Associated Press (AP) investigation revealed that the married father of seven was working for the CIA on an unauthorized intelligence-gathering mission to glean information about Iran’s nuclear program.

If Levinson remains alive, he has been held captive longer than any American—longer than thenAP journalist Terry Anderson, who was held more than six years in Beirut in the 1980s. Unlike Anderson, Levinson’s whereabouts and captors remain a mystery. US officials believe the Iranian government was behind his disappearance. It has denied that.

The case drew renewed attention in January, when Levinson was not part of a prisoner swap between the US and Iranian governments that freed four other Americans who had been in Iran’s custody.

Levinson’s family insists he is still alive, even with health issues, including diabetes, gout and high blood pressure. They last received video and photos of him about five years ago.

Stephanie Levinson Curry, his

second-oldest child, said her autistic 9-year-old son Ryan cried for days when the other American captives were released, but not his grandfather. The rally’s stage was decorated with nine chained and padlocked glass cookie jars filled with yellow rocks, each one representing a day Levinson has been held captive. The crowd held yellow signs showing the social media hashtag “whataboutbob.”

“Bob Levinson has been deprived of being a grandfather, a job that he would love so much,” Curry said.

“We worry all the time about what he is thinking while he is alone in his cell. Even prisoners in jail get to see their families, write them letters and call them. Bob Levinson has none of that.”

Retired FBI agent Ellen Glasser harshly criticized the Obama administration for not demanding that Iran release Levinson or, at least, turn over information about his whereabouts.

The FBI says it still investigates every lead and remains committed to finding Levinson. A $5-million reward for information leading to his whereabouts remains in effect.

“The failure to push publicly and hard for answers about Bob was an outrage,” Glasser said. “A rare opportunity was squandered when we had the most possible leverage to bring him home. Despite many requests, no new pressure was put upon Iran to produce information on Bob’s status.” US Rep. Ted Deutch told the crowd they should send messages to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who is active on Twitter. AP

World

sMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph | Monday, March 7, 2016

A9

Governor asks Greece: Declare state of emergency

I

DOMENI, Greece—A regional governor called on the Greek government on Saturday to declare a state of emergency for the area surrounding the Idomeni border crossing, where thousands of migrants are stranded due to border restrictions along the route toward western Europe.

Some 13,000 to 14,000 people are trapped in Idomeni, while another 6,000 to 7,000 are being housed in refugee camps around the region, said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, governor of the Greek region of Central Macedonia. That means the area handles about 60 percent of the total number of migrants in the country.

“It’s a huge humanitarian crisis.

I have asked the government to declare the area in a state of emergency,” Tzitzikostas said during a visit to Idomeni to distribute aid to the Red Cross and other nongovernmental organizations. “This cannot continue for much longer.”

The neighboring former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia has stopped all but a trickle of Iraqi and Syrian refugees from

crossing, following similar restrictions by countries further north on the migration route.

The moves have caused a huge bottleneck in Greece, whose islands’ proximity to the Turkish coast has made it the preferred entry point for refugees and other migrants seeking better lives in Europe.

Greek authorities said only 184 people crossed the border between 6 a.m. on Friday and the same time on Saturday morning, while another 100 crossed between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. “The former Yugoslav republic needs to open immediately to borders, and the European Union [EU] needs to implement severe action against the countries that are closing borders today, whether they are members of the EU or candidate members,” Tzitzikostas said.

“This is unacceptable what they are doing.” The governor said the region needed the emergency measures—or alternatively for the law

to be amended—so that regional authorities can obtain the necessary emergency supplies and food to support the refugees and improve their living conditions. He also called on the government to provide a comprehensive plan on how to handle the migration crisis. The refugee camp at Idomeni has a capacity of about 2,000 and has dramatically overflowed, with new arrivals daily setting up small tents along the railway tracks next to the camp and spilling out into surrounding fields.

Hundreds of men, women and children arrive each day, walking more than 15 kilometers from a nearby gas station, where an impromptu camp has been set up.

Greek authorities have been trying to discourage more people from arriving because of the bottleneck, but many prefer to wait at the border than in other refugee camps set up nearby, in the hope of getting into the giant line waiting to cross.

As the impromptu camp in the

fields has swelled, many of its residents have begun to settle in for the medium term, realizing they will be here for several days at the very least. Authorities set up more large tents on Saturday to house the increasing number of arrivals.

One thing that has been in short supply is firewood, which the refugees use to ward off the nighttime cold and to cook in the fields. Many have been breaking branches off nearby trees, dragging them down the road to cut into smaller pieces to feed their campfires.

A tractor trailer that arrived with a large supply of wood was instantly mobbed, with refugees scrambling to grab logs before the driver could get to his delivery point. The EU and Turkey will hold a summit on Monday to discuss the refugee crisis which has severely strained relations among EU countries.

“We are expecting Turkey to start finally doing what it should be doing for months now and we also expect

our European partners to start receiving refugees in their countries,” the governor said. “There needs to be a proportional distribution between the countries.”

It is the EU-Turkey summit that many in the camp are turning their attention to.

“On Monday there’s a meeting.

Let’s hope it’s a decision in our favor,” said Mohammed Ousou, a Syrian Kurd sitting by a small tent in the field as its occupants, Syrian Kurds, played music and sang traditional Kurdish songs, to the delight of passers-by who stopped to clap.

“All of us are waiting for that day.

Because here, the situation is bad.

Every day we are losing money just to stay alive” buying food and supplies, Ousou said. The lunchtime line for a sandwich and a piece of fruit is about two hours long.

“We have to keep moving,” chimed in Adnan Khantek, one of the musicians. “With God’s will, we will go.” AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, March 7, 2016

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Hyogo’s Kobe beef and Himeji Castle DINERS are seated in front of teppanyaki-like iron griddles

HIMEJI Castle, seen from just inside Hishi no Mon or the Water chestnut gate.

V

S    S B O. S

ISITING Himeji Castle and eating beef in Kobe were only supposed to be “fillers” in my autumn trip to Japan. I had an open itinerary a day before going back to Manila and, with all the Osaka-related shopping for snacks and souvenirs already done, it was time to indulge in arguably the best beef in the world and immerse myself in more cultural treasures of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Kobe-Sannomiya Station is a brief, 30-plus; minute train ride on the JR Tokaido-Sanyo line from Umeda Station in Osaka. Acting on a tip from a friend had us on a gastronomic quest to find Steak Land, one of the popular establishments in the area which serves melt-inyour-mouth Kobe beef and steaks.

The early bird gets the beef

IT is recommended, but not mandatory, to skip breakfast; what is required, though, is to line up 40 to 45 minutes before the kitchen doors open at 11 a.m. to be one of the first customers served. The lunch menu consists of five choices: small (¥1,080) or large (¥1,480)

THE topmost floor features the Osakabe Shrine and gives visitors a bird’s-eye view of Himeji City below.

steak; small (¥1,980) or large (¥2,580) tender steak; or the Kobe beef steak (Y3,180) lunch.

The small steaks weigh 100 grams, while the steaks of the large and Kobe beef sets weigh 150 grams. All sets come with a cup of rice, miso soup, salad, grilled vegetables, Japanese pickles and a choice of after-meal coffee or orange juice. The addition of hors d’oeuvre and grilled seafood not only makes the dinner sets more luxurious than the lunch options but more expensive, as well.

The setup of Steak Land is similar to teppanyaki restaurants, where a hot-iron griddle is placed in front of the diners. The chef as-

signed to prepare and cook our Kobe beef set first sautéed garlic chips in butter before setting them aside to focus on the beef steaks.

The cooking procedure was both poetry in motion, and a display of cooking science and precision, at the same time.

Every movement the chef made was graceful, yet efficient; seasoning the beef just enough to enhance the flavor while keeping track of the amount of time the steaks need to reach medium doneness. Once the top and bottom were seared, our part-artist, part-scientist chef split the steaks in two before cutting the strips into cubes.

Placing the cooked beef on a plate, the chef then proceeded to grill stalks of Chinese cabbage and bean sprouts on the same iron griddle; healthy and guiltfree side dishes to accompany the succulent beef cubes. The Kobe beef was as good as advertised: juicy, melt-in-your-mouth with solid beef fl avor, even without any sauce or condiment.

Even though we wanted to take our time savoring the eight cubes of beef, the pieces must be ideally eaten within 10 to 15 minutes, as they will get cold and won’t taste as good as when they just left the cooking surface. Walking out of Steak Land and seeing the long lunch crowd lining up outside not only justified our choice, but also our decision to line up early.

A view to die for, literally

FORTY-THREE minutes away from Kobe-Sannomiya train station is Himeji Station, the gateway to one of Japan’s national treasures— Himeji Castle. As the train made its way toward Himeji Station, we can

already see the white, lime plaster appearance of the castle also known as Haruko (flying white egret) Castle.

The midafternoon sun shined brightly, making sure that the 14th-century, Unesco World Heritage castle was ready to welcome visitors armed with smartphone cameras. From the train station, tourists can either walk (1.8 kilometers, 20 to 25 minutes) or take the ¥100 Loop Bus from JR Himeji Station to the main gate (Otemon Mae) of Himeji Castle.

The castle is enclosed by a moat and sits on top of a hill overlooking the city of Himeji. The main keep (fortified tower in castles) was reopened to the public on March 27, 2015, and can be visited by the public for a fee of ¥1,000 (¥300 for children).

Before exploring the halls, rooms and corridors of the castle, we were required to take off our shoes, put them in provided plastic bags, and carry them throughout the tour. There are several placards filled with bits of information about the castle and its surroundings; documents pertaining to restoration efforts; and even smallscale replica of what Himeji City looked like centuries ago.

There are six levels inside the main keep, with each floor getting smaller and the wooden stairs getting steeper and harder to climb the higher we got. There are only two wooden pillars supporting the whole building, a marvel not only of Japanese engineering but of beauty, simplicity and elegance, as well.

Being the largest castle in Japan and because of its designation as a Special Historic Site, most locals, older ones in particular, not only

STEAK Land Kobe is just a five-minute walk from JR Kobe-Sannomiya Station.

QUALITY Kobe beef only need salt and pepper to bring out its natural goodness.

IT is advised to quickly eat the juicy and melt-in-your-mouth beef cubes. visit Himeji Castle but also try to make six-story climb to the top floor. We had already witnessed an older gentleman fall unconscious at the Diamond Gate in the castle grounds when we saw another man in his 60s lying horizontally and getting first aid on the fourth level of the main keep.

The view from the top floor is actually restricted by wires and small windows; making taking photographs a challenge. But for Shinto believers, the Osakabe Shrine is

worth the effort in climbing the cold, wooden stairs. Shinto followers say a little prayer before pulling a thick rope to ring a bell and making their way back down to the lower levels.

Visitors, who want to pass a little time after visiting Himeji Castle, can also visit the Himeji City Zoo, Museum of Art, or Koko-en— a garden built on the former site of Himeji Castle Nishi Oyashiki. All three attractions are around the perimeter of the castle and can be toured in a couple of hours.

One day really was not enough to explore everything that Hyogo prefecture had to offer, but I’m glad to have encountered two of its main attractions: Himeji Castle, and its famous Kobe beef. When I come back to Japan, I will make sure to allocate enough vacation time to learn and experience more of what Hyogo has to offer.

date that your booking has been confirmed. You shall nevertheless bear such tax, fee or charge as and when they fall due prior to departure unless otherwise stated.

4.4 Currency Fares and charges are payable in the currency prescribed with our published fares unless otherwise specifically agreed by us.

Version1 /11/2015

V AIR CORPORATION Conditions of Carriage FOREWORD The following provisions spell out the rights and obligations of both V AIR and the Passenger. Prior to making a booking, please read this document. Should you need further clarifications, please visit our website at www.flyvair.com or contact us through our Call Center. By completion of your booking process, you also confirm that you have read, understood and expressly accepted these Conditions of Carriage. If these Conditions of Carriage are in conflict with Civil Aviation Regulations, the latter will nullify the former.

4.5

Accuracy All fares, flight schedules and routes published are accurate at the time of publication. We reserve the right to revise any fares and flight schedules from time to time without prior notice.

4.6 Applicable Fares Applicable fares are those published by us or on our behalf, whether electronically or by way of other medium. Fares may exclude administration fees, service charges and other charges unless otherwise specifically stated by us.

4.7 Administration Fee We reserve the right to charge an administration fee for ancillary services.

CONTENTS Article 1: Article 2: Article 3: Article 4: Article 5: Article 6: Article 7: Article 8: Article 9: Article 10: Article 11: Article 12: Article 13: Article 14: Article 15: Article 16:

Applicability Definition Validity Fares Booking Check-in and Boarding Refusal and Limitation Of Carriage Baggage Schedules and Cancellations Refunds Conduct During Flight Liability Limitations Time Limitation on Claims and Actions Choice of Law and Jurisdiction No Right of Third Parties Modification and Waiver

Article 1: APPLICABILITY

5.1 Booking Requirements The booking of a Seat is confirmed after full payment of the fare is made and after we issue you an eTicket number. Once confirmed, the booking cannot be cancelled and payments made are not refundable, except as provided in these Conditions of Carriage.

We accept group bookings of minimum ten (10) passengers or more in a single reservation. Please contact our Group Desk or Call Center for further details –+886-2-4498677 Less than four (4) hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time, no changes are allowed. More than four (4) hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time, you are allowed to change the booked flight to another flight subject to availability, payment of the prevailing charges per Passenger per Sector and also subject to the following conditions: a. If the new flight booked is at a lower fare than that of the cancelled booked flight, the difference in fares will not be refunded to the Passenger. b. If the new flight booked is at a higher fare than that of the cancelled booked flight, the difference in fares shall be paid by the Passenger before the cancellation or change can be made.

Except as provided in these Conditions of Carriage, in the event of inconsistency between these Conditions of Carriage and any other regulations we may have dealing with particular subjects, these Conditions of Carriage shall prevail.

Less than four (4) hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time, no changes are allowed. More than four (4) hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time, you are allowed to change the booked route to another route subject to availability, via our Call Center only, payment of the prevailing charges per Passenger per Sector and the following conditions: a. If the new flight booked is at a lower fare than that of the cancelled booked flight, the difference in fares will not be refunded to the Passenger. b. If the new flight booked is at a higher fare than that of the cancelled booked flight, the difference in fares shall be paid by the Passenger before the cancellation or change can be made.

The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:

“Baggage” or “baggage” means your personal property accompanying you in connection with your trip. Unless otherwise specified, it includes both your Checked and Hand Carried Baggage.

“Baggage Identification Tag” means a document issued by us solely for identification of Checked Baggage.

“Baggage Options” means our range of baggage services and fees as detailed on our Website.

“Call Center” means the telephone contact center operated by us or a third party service provider designated by us to facilitate telephone booking and enquires. The telephone numbers are listed at www. flyvair.com.

“Carrier” means V Air Corporation or V AIR as the case may be (see also definition of “we”, “our”, “ourselves” and “us”).

“Checked Baggage” means Baggage of which we take custody and for which we have issued a Baggage Identification Tag. “Convention” means any of the following:  The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929 (the Warsaw Convention);  The Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague on 28 September 1955;  The Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague and by Additional Protocol No. 4 of Montreal (1975);  The Guadalajara Supplementary Convention (1961);  The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Montreal on 28 May 1999 (the Montreal Convention);  Any other applicable protocols or conventions and any enabling legislation.

c. The change is not confirmed until we issue you a new eTicket number.

“Fees and Charges” means the page titled “Fees and Charges” on our Website.

“Hand Carried Baggage”, means any Baggage other than Checked Baggage including all items brought by you into the aircraft cabin.

“Journey” means a flight or flights pursuant to an eTicket number or Passenger Name Record (PNR) being issued.

“Passenger”, “you”, “your” or “yourself” means any person, except members of the crew, carried or to be carried in our aircraft with our consent.

“Reduced Mobility Passenger” means a person whose mobility is reduced due to a physical incapacity (sensory or locomotory), an intellectual deficiency, age, illness or any other cause of disability when using transport and whose situation needs special attention.

“Sector” means the flight from the airport at the point of origin to the airport at the point of destination.

“Seat” means a seat in our aircraft.

“Serious Injury(ies)” shall have the same meaning as defined in Paragraph 4, Article 10 of Taiwan’s Criminal Code, which reads: “The term “serious injury” means one of the following listed injuries: (a) destruction of or seriously damage to the sight of one or both eyes, (b) destruction of or serious damage to the hearing of one or both ears, (c) destruction of or serious damage to the function of speech, taste, or smell, (d) destruction of or serious damage to the function of one or more limbs, (e) destruction of or serious damage to the power of procreation, or (f) other serious injury to body or to health that is either impossible or difficult to cure”.

Name changes are permitted only via our Call Center upon payment of the applicable change fee (see Fees and Charges). Name changes may only be made more than four (4) hours before the time of scheduled departure within our Call Center operating hour .

Clauses 5.3 to 5.5 may not apply to certain promotional fares. Please refer to the terms and conditions of each promotion for further details.

5.7 Payment Fares must be paid in full when a booking is made. In the event that the fare has not been paid in full when a booking is confirmed for any reason whatsoever, we reserve the right to cancel the booking at any time and/or to disallow you to board the aircraft.

5.8 Personal Data V Air will seek your consent before using your personal data. You hereby acknowledge and agree that your personal data has been given to us for the purposes of making a booking for carriage and providing you with confirmation of that booking, and for providing and developing ancillary services and facilities, direct marketing and communicating with you in relation to promotions (which we will only do at your request or with your consent), products and services offered by us and our service partners, facilitating immigration and entry procedures, accounting, billing and auditing, checking credit or other payment cards, security, administrative and legal purposes, credit card issuance, systems testing, maintenance and development, statistical analysis, and helping us in any future dealings with you. For these purposes, by entering into a contract of carriage with us you authorize us to retain and use your personal data and to transmit it to our own offices, Authorized Agents and third party business associates, government agencies, other carriers or the providers of the services mentioned above. For more details see the Privacy Statement on our Website.

We will release your personal data related to your booking to our subsidiary companies, Carriers and other companies involved in providing the Passenger with transportation or related services and facilities, data processors, agents, government enforcement agencies, and credit and other payment companies and screening companies.

You can gain access to the information we hold about you and ask for correction of your personal information by writing to us at: V AIR CORPORATION 11/F, No.139, Zhengzhou Road Datong Dist., Taipei 103 Taiwan, R.O.C. 5.9 Seating We will attempt to accommodate your seat reservation, however, for safety, security or operational reasons, we cannot guarantee any particular Seat despite the fact that in some instances you may have paid for it. We reserve the right to assign or reassign Seats at any time, even after boarding the aircraft.

5.10 Meal Unless otherwise specified at the time of booking, your fare does not include meals or refreshments.

6.1 Check-in Deadline Check-in deadlines vary for different airports and for particular flights. In any event, we reserve the right not to accept you for travel if you arrive at our airport check-in counter less than forty-five (45) minutes before the scheduled departure time of your flight. You must arrive at the airport sufficiently in advance of the scheduled flight departure time to permit completion of government formalities and check-in procedures. It is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with these deadlines particulars of which will be available at the time you make your booking. Without derogating from the generality of other provisions of these Conditions of Carriage governing the right of refusal of carriage, we reserve the right not to allow you to check-in without any liability to you and without having to refund to you any fare paid: a. If you attempt to check in at the airport after closure of the airport check-in counters; b. If you fail to have proper identification or fail to identify yourself to our staff; c. If you fail to have the proper documents, permits, and/or visa necessary for travel to a particular place or country; d. If you have not fully paid any fare or other fees or charges due to us or any other authority;

“We”, “our”, “ourselves”, “us” or “Carrier” means V Air Corporation, V AIR or a carrier acting on our behalf as applicable.

e. If you have used threatening, abusive or insulting words towards our ground staff or a member of V Air or otherwise behaved in a threatening manner physically or verbally;

“Website” means the Internet site www.flyvair.com which is designated by us for the purpose of Passengers making online bookings and to access information about us.

f.

3.1 Prima Facie Evidence of Contract The issuance of an eTicket is prima facie evidence of the contract for carriage between a Passenger and us.

h. If, in our sole judgment, you are not medically fit to travel or your medical condition poses or could pose a danger or threat to the health of other passengers.

3.2 Validity

Article 4: FARES 4.1 General Fares apply only to carriage from the airport at the point of origin to the airport at the point of destination. The fare is not valid for ground transportation between airports or to/from airports. We are a point-to-point carrier and will be only responsible for the services being included the fares, and shall not be responsible for flight abnormality not resulting from V Air. Fares will be calculated in accordance with our Tariffs in effect on the date of payment for the flight or flights concerned. Any approved flight change may be subject to additional payments due, as specified herein.

4.2 Infants An infant under the age of two (2) years (on the date of travel) will fly at the prevailing ticket fee of TWD 900 per Sector provided the infant sits on an adult’s lap. Only one (1) infant is allowed for one (1) passenger. The infant must travel with a passenger of at least eighteen (18) years old and above. The exception is when the infant is in the charge of its parent who is under eighteen (18) years of age. No baby seats or perambulators are allowed in the cabin of the aircraft. A child over the age of two (2) will require their own booking and separate Seat like any other Passenger. Newborn babies less than nine (9) Days old will not be accepted for carriage.

4.3 Taxes Any tax, fee or charge imposed by a government or other authority or by the operator of an airport in respect of your use of any services or facilities will be in addition to our fares, administration fees and charges and shall be borne by you, unless otherwise specifically stated by us. Such taxes, fees and charges imposed on air travel may change from time to time and can be imposed even after the

If the government or other authorities prohibit your checking in or boarding the aircraft;

g. If, in our sole judgment, you are drunk or under the influence of alcohol or drugs or any obvious adverse medical physical or mental condition; and/or

Article 3: VALIDITY

We will provide carriage only to the Passenger(s) named in the eTicket. You will be required to produce appropriate identification at check-in. Please refer to clause 6.2 of these Conditions of Carriage for more details.

We may refuse carriage of you or your Baggage for reasons of safety or if, in the exercise of our sole discretion, we determine that: a. Such action is necessary for reasons of safety or security. b. Such action is necessary in order to comply with any applicable laws, regulations or orders of any state or country to be flown from, into or over. c. Your conduct, status, age or mental or physical condition or the physical condition of your Baggage is such as to: i) require special assistance; or ii) cause harm, discomfort or make yourself objectionable to other Passengers or our crew; or iii) involve any hazard or risk to yourself or other persons or to property. d. You have committed misconduct on a previous flight and such conduct may be repeated. e. You have not observed, or are likely to fail to observe, our instructions. f.

You have refused to submit yourself or your Baggage to a security check.

g. The applicable fare or any charges or taxes payable have not been paid; or credit arrangements agreed between us and you (or the person paying the fare) have not been adhered to. h. The payment of your fare is fraudulent. i.

j.

You do not have or appear not to have the proper documents for travel, you fail to have or provide such proper identification as we may require or you fail to adequately identify yourself to our staff and handling agents.

The booking of your Seat has been done fraudulently or unlawfully or has been purchased from a person not authorized by us.

l.

The booking confirmation is counterfeit or fraudulently obtained.

m. The booking confirmation has been altered by anyone other than us or our Authorized Agent, or has been mutilated (in which case we reserve the right to retain such documentation). n. The person checking in or boarding cannot prove that he/she is the person named as the Passenger on the eTicket or Boarding Pass.

7.2 Unaccompanied Child and Young Passenger Children within two (2) to below twelve (12) years old will not be accepted for carriage unless they are traveling with an Accompanying Guest who will take full responsibility for the child.

Young Passenger within twelve(12) to sixteen(16) years old may travel on their own by completing an indemnity form signed by its Parent or Guardian. The indemnity form is not required if the Young Passenger is traveling with an Accompanying Guest.

7.3 Special Assistance We will not allow a person to travel without an Accompanying Guest unless the person can travel safely without assistance or supervision. We do not have the systems, staff or facilities required to assume responsibility for such assistance or supervision.

However, we may be able to provide specific assistance or services to accommodate guests who require a wheelchair to get to and from the aircraft. We must be notified of the condition/requirements at the time of booking or at least forty-eight (48) hours before the flight through our Call Center in order for us to coordinate an airport third party to provide service needed. Failure to notify us in advance may result in the service being unavailable on your arrival at the airport and you being refused carriage.

7.4 Reduced Mobility Passengers For safety reasons, V AIR can carry only a maximum of four (4) Passengers per flight who have reduced mobility and require special assistance at the airport or on board. Please refer to the Special Assistance Policy. We must be notified of the condition/ requirements at the time of booking or at least forty-eight (48) hours before the flight through our Call Center in order for us to coordinate an airport third party to provide service needed. Failure to notify us in advance may result in the service being unavailable on your arrival at the airport and you being refused carriage. There may be a fee charged by a third party for some services that we have to obtain. The services may not be available on all routes due to local airport limitations.

7.5 Visually Impaired Passengers Such Passengers are permitted for carriage subject to the terms of the Special Assistance Policy.

8.2 Valuable and Fragile Goods Passengers should not check valuable and fragile goods as Baggage. If they are checked in as Baggage, Passengers agree they send for carriage such items at their own risk. Such items include money, jewelry, precious metals, silverware, electronic devices, computers, cameras, video equipment, mobile phones, negotiable papers, securities or other valuables, passports and other identification documents, title deeds, artifacts, manuscripts and the like.

8.3 Right to Search For reasons of safety and security, we may require you to undergo a search, x-ray or other type of scan on your person or your Baggage.

We reserve the right to search your Baggage in your absence if you are not available. The search is conducted under the supervision of an appropriate security personnel for the purpose of determining whether you are in possession of or whether your Baggage contains any unacceptable or prohibited items. If you refuse to comply with such searches or scans we reserve the right to refuse carriage of you and your Baggage without refund of fare to you and without any other liability to you. In the event that a search or scan causes injury to you or damage to your Baggage, we shall not be liable for such injury or damage unless the same is due to our fault or negligence. If required, you must attend the inspection of your Baggage, checked or unchecked, by customs or other government officials. We are not liable to you for any loss or damage suffered by you through your failure to comply with this requirement unless due to an act or an omission on our part done with intent to cause damage or recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result.

8.4 Checked Baggage Baggage may only be checked in when check-in counter is open. Upon delivery to us of Baggage to be checked, we shall take custody thereof and issue a Baggage Identification Tag for each piece of Checked Baggage. Checked Baggage must have your name or other personal identification affixed securely to it. Checked Baggage will be carried on the same aircraft as you unless we decide for safety, security or operational reasons to carry it on an alternative flight. If your Checked Baggage is carried on a subsequent flight we will deliver same to you within a reasonable time of arrival of that flight unless applicable law requires you to be present for customs clearance.

8.5 Baggage Options A Baggage fee is charged for the total weight of all Checked Baggage.

Baby buggies, wheelchairs and walking frames are carried free of charge. The Baggage fee may be prepaid at the rates set out on our Website under the “Travel” page when making your reservation online. Additional Checked Baggage can be purchased either at the time of booking or at a later date either online or by calling our Call Center up to four (4) hours prior to departure.

All Checked Baggage remains subject to our rules regarding maximum size and subject to the conditions and limitations contained in these Conditions of Carriage. Any individual piece of Checked Baggage exceeding thirty-two (32) kilograms will not be accepted.

The Baggage fee excludes sporting equipment – see Bulky Item set out on our Website under the “Travel” page. All Baggage fees paid are non-transferable and non-refundable.

8.6 Excess Checked Baggage You will be required to pay a charge for carriage of Checked Baggage in excess of what you have purchased, at the rates set out in our Fees and Charges. Excess Checked Baggage rates may be varied from time to time and will be available in our Fees and Charges or from us upon request and available at check-in. Carriage of all excess Checked Baggage is at our sole discretion and subject to space availability, and no refusal to carry your excess Baggage will make us liable for your loss, damage or inconvenience.

8.7 Hand Carried Baggage Only one (1) piece of Carry-On Baggage not exceeding the dimensions of 56cm X 36cm X 23cm plus an additional handbag or laptop of reasonable size is allowed to be carried on board with a combined weight of not more than ten (10) kilograms.

Such Baggage must fit under the seat in front of you or in an enclosed storage compartment in the cabin. Items of excessive weight or size or of an offensive nature will not be permitted on board. Objects not suitable for transport in the cargo compartment will not be accepted for transportation in the cabin compartment except as otherwise provided in these Conditions of Carriage or with our prior written consent. The transport of such objects may be charged for separately.

You shall collect your Baggage as soon as it is available for collection at your destination. If you do not collect it within a reasonable time and the Baggage needs to be stored at our premises, we may charge a storage fee. If Checked Baggage is not claimed within three (3) months from the time it was made available to you, we may dispose of it without any liability to you.

We will deliver the Baggage to the person who is in possession of the Baggage Identification Tag or otherwise he/she has to establish to our satisfaction their right thereto, and if required by us, such person shall furnish adequate security to indemnify us for any loss, damage or expense which may be incurred by us as a result of such delivery. Acceptance of Baggage by the bearer of the Baggage Identification Tag without complaint at the time of delivery is prima facie evidence that the Baggage has been delivered in good condition and in accordance with these Conditions of Carriage between us.

Other conditions relating to the carriage of your Baggage, including but not limited to carriage of sporting equipment and musical instruments, can be found on our Website under the “Travel” page.

Article 9: SCHEDULES AND CANCELLATIONS 9.1 Schedules We will use our best efforts to avoid delay in carrying you and your Baggage. We will endeavor to adhere to published schedules in effect on the date of travel. However, times shown in timetables, schedules or elsewhere are subject to change due to force majeure, safety and commercial reasons. Except where legally obliged, we shall not be liable in any way whatsoever for any loss incurred by Passengers as a result of such changes either beyond our control or as outlined in Paragraph 9.2.

9.2 Cancellation and Changes of Schedules At any time after a booking has been made we may change our schedules and/or cancel, terminate, divert, postpone, reschedule or delay any flight where we reasonably consider this to be justified by Uncontrollable Circumstances or for reasons of safety or commercial reasons. In the event of such flight cancellation or changes to the schedule so as to depart more than four (4) hours before or after the scheduled departure time, the Passenger may elect, either: a. To be carried at the earliest opportunity on another of our scheduled services on which space is available without additional charge and, where necessary, extend the validity of your booking; or

6.2. Check-in Requirements On check-in you are required to present certain information relating to your flight and identity. This must include the eTicket number for the flight and a valid passport (and visa, where applicable) with the required validity period of at least six (6) months . For infants not requiring their own seat, a valid passport is required as proof of age (under two (2) years).

6.3 Boarding You must be at the boarding gate (after checking in) at least thirty (30) minutes before the scheduled departure time. Boarding gate closes ten (10) minutes prior to departure. Passengers arriving late at the boarding gate will not be accepted for travel, their bags will be offloaded and no refund or compensation given. If you fail to board your flight, any travel on a later flight will require a new booking at the applicable fare.

6.4 No-show You must be present at check-in counter on time and be present at the boarding gate not later than the time specified by us at the time of check in. If you fail to check in on time or fail to board the aircraft by the time the boarding gate closes, the fare and fees you paid will not be refunded to you for any reason whatsoever. For bookings with more than one flight, failure to travel on the first flight will not nullify the booking for the second or subsequent flight(s).

6.5 Compliance You are solely responsible for complying with all laws, regulations, orders, demands and requirements of countries flown from, into or over and with these Conditions of Carriage, notices and instructions given by us relating thereto. We shall not be liable in any way whatsoever to you in connection with obtaining necessary documents or complying with such laws, regulations, orders, demands, notices, requirements or instructions, whether given orally or in writing or otherwise, or for the consequences to you resulting from your failure to obtain such documents or to comply with such laws, regulations, orders, demands, notices, requirements or instructions.

6.6 Travel Documents You are solely responsible for obtaining and must possess and have available for presentation as required by the relevant authorities

b. To extend your ticket validity for 6 months. You are entitled to book or transfer your ticket in the same class in the same route once, free of charge. This free of charge re-booking must be used within 6 months of the original cancelled flight date; or

Where a cancellation or significant alteration is made to our schedule before the date of your departure, we will use all reasonable efforts to inform you of any such cancellation or alteration through the contact details which you provided at the time of booking.

If you require an extra Seat for a musical instrument or other article, you must book via our Call Center or Authorized Agent. We must be notified of the condition/requirements at the time of booking or at least forty-eight (48) hours before the flight through our Call Center.

The prevailing fare will be charged and advance Seat assignment, including the payment of associated fees, will be required.

We will try our best to book you at the earliest opportunity on another of our scheduled services on which space is available without additional charge and, where necessary, extend the validity of your booking. If we are unable to provide you with a flight, or if you postpone your travel, we will offer you a credit voucher for the value of your fare, provided you rebook within six (6) months from the date of issue.

Article 8: BAGGAGE 8.1 Items Unacceptable as Baggage or To Be Carried Inside Baggage

9.3 Sole Remedies

9.4 Denied Boarding

c. Items of which the carriage is prohibited by the applicable laws, regulations or orders of any state or country to be flown from, to or over;

Article 10: REFUNDS

If we are unable to provide you with previously confirmed space on any flight, we shall provide you with compensation in accordance with our denied boarding compensation policy and existing laws, rules and regulations.

10.1 General There shall be no refund whatsoever except in the circumstances as provided herein or on our Website.

We will only consider a request for refund if: a. After completion of the booking, the passenger cannot board the flight due to the death, or a serious illness defined by Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Act with a proof from a certified teaching hospital, of self, spouse, a parent, or a child; or

e. Fragile or perishable items; f.

Live or dead animals;

g. Human or animal remains; h. Fresh or frozen seafood or other meats provided that such items may be carried on board as Checked Baggage only if we are satisfied that they have been properly packed. (Strictly only styrofoam and/or cooler boxes that contain dry food/non-perishables are allowed to be checked-in after inspection of contents by relevant authorities.).

Should Passengers refuse inspection, we have the right to refuse the Baggage; i.

Firearms and ammunition;

j.

Explosives, flammable or non-inflammable gas (such as aerosol paints, butane gas, lighter refills), refrigerated gas (such as filled aqualung cylinders, liquid nitrogen), flammable liquids (such as paints, thinners, solvents), flammable solids (such as matches, fire lighters), organic peroxides (such as resins), poisons, infective substances (such as viruses, bacteria), radioactive material (such as radium), corrosive materials (such as acid, alkali, mercury, thermometers), magnetic substances, oxidizing materials (such as bleaches); and/or

k. Weapons such as antique firearms, swords, knives and similar items provided that such items may be allowed as Checked Baggage at our sole discretion. These cannot be carried into the aircraft for any reason whatsoever.

If any items referred to in any part of this paragraph are carried, the carriage thereof shall be subject to the charges, limitations of liability and other provisions of these Conditions of Carriage applicable to the carriage of Baggage.

All refunds will be subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations or orders of the country in which the booking or refund was made.

Subject to the foregoing provision, refunds will normally be made in the currency in which the booking was paid.

Article 11: CONDUCT DURING FLIGHT 11.1 Control of Passengers If, in our sole discretion, you conduct yourself on board of the aircraft so as to endanger the aircraft or any person or property on board, or obstruct or hinder the crew in the performance of their duties, or fail to comply with any instruction of the crew including but not limited to those with respect to smoking, alcohol, use of cellular telephones, or use any threatening, abusive or insulting words towards the crew or behave in a manner which causes discomfort, inconvenience, damage or injury to other Passengers or the crew, we may take such measures as we deem necessary to prevent continuation of such conduct including restraint. You may be disembarked and refused onward carriage at any point and may be prosecuted for offences committed on board the aircraft.

11.2 Diversion Costs If, as a result of your conduct, we decide to delay or divert the aircraft for the purpose of offloading you, then you shall be liable for all costs which we incur of any nature whatsoever as a result of or arising out of that delay or diversion.

11.3 Use of Electronic Devices For safety reasons, we may forbid or limit operation on board the aircraft of electronic equipment, including but not limited to, cellular telephones, laptop computers, portable recorders, portable radios, CD players, electronic games or transmitting devices, including radio-controlled toys and walkie-talkies. Operation of hearing aids and heart pacemakers is permitted.

Article 12: LIABILITY LIMITATIONS 12.1 Warsaw, Montreal Convention Notice If the Passenger’s Journey involves an ultimate destination or stop in a country other than the country of departure, the Warsaw Convention or the Montreal Convention may be applicable and the Warsaw Convention or the Montreal Convention governs and in most cases limits the liability of carriers for death or personal injury and in respect of loss of or damage to baggage.

12.2 Notice of Baggage Liability Limitations Liability for Damage to Baggage is limited unless a higher value is declared in advance and additional charges are paid.

12.3 Where the Warsaw Convention or the Montreal Convention Not applicable Where your carriage is not subject to the liability rules of the Warsaw Convention or the Montreal Convention, the following rules shall apply: a. Any liability we have for Damage will be reduced by any negligence on your part which causes or contributes to the Damage in accordance with applicable law. b. We will not be liable for Damage to Checked or Hand Carried Baggage unless such Damage is caused by our negligence and such Baggage was within our control or custody. c.

Except in the case of an act or omission done with intent to cause Damage or recklessly and with knowledge that Damage would probably result, our liability in the case of Damage to Checked Baggage shall be limited to NT$1,000 per kilogram and in the case of Damage to Hand Carried Baggage shall be limited to NT$20,000 per Passenger, provided that if in accordance with applicable law different limits of liability are applicable such different limits shall apply. If the weight of the Baggage is not recorded on the Baggage Identification Tag, it is presumed that the total weight of the Checked Baggage does not exceed the applicable free Baggage allowance for the class of your Journey or the Baggage allowance you purchased (if applicable).

d. We will not be liable for any Damage arising from our compliance with applicable laws or government rules and regulations or from your failure to comply with the same. e. Except where other specific provision is made in these Conditions of Carriage, we shall be liable to you only for recoverable compensatory damages for proven losses and costs in accordance with applicable law. f.

We are not liable for any injury for Damage caused by you, your Baggage or by property contained in your Baggage. You shall be responsible for any Damage you have caused, or is caused by your Baggage to yourself, to other persons or property, including our property.

g. We shall have no liability whatsoever for Damage to articles or items not permitted to be contained in Checked and Hand Carried Baggage including but not limited to fragile or perishable items, items having a special value, such as money, jewellery, precious metals, computers, personal electronic devices, negotiable papers, securities, or other valuables, business documents, passports and other identification documents, title deeds or samples. h. For the death of one Passenger, NT$3,000,000; for Serious Injuries, NT$1,500,000; for circumstances other than death or Serious Injuries, the actual damages will be calculated, with compensation amount not to exceed NT$1,500,000. We are not responsible for any illness, or disability, including death, attributable to your physical condition or for the aggravation of such condition. i.

We are not liable for normal wear and tear of Baggage such as small scratches, scuffs, dents, cracks and cuts; or for unsuitably packed, perishable, damaged or fragile baggage, for water damage to non-water resistant baggage or any damage to external fixtures such as handles, wheels, zipper or locks, including luggage tags, luggage belts, insignia or similar.

j.

Unless otherwise provided in these Conditions of Carriage, we, our agents and employees shall not be liable for any death, personal injury (unless such death or personal injury was caused by negligence of us or our agents and employees), nor for any loss or damage however caused.

k.

The contract of carriage including these Conditions of Carriage and exclusions or limits of liability, applies to our Authorized Agents, servants, employees and representatives to the same extent as they apply to us. The total amount recoverable from us and from such Authorized Agents, servants, employees and representatives shall not exceed the amount of our own liability if any.

l.

Nothing in these Conditions of Carriage shall waive any exclusion or limitation of our liability or any defense available to us under the Warsaw Convention or any other applicable Convention or applicable local laws unless otherwise expressly stated by us. We will not in any circumstances be liable for indirect or consequential damages and in no event will our obligations exceed any liability specified in these Conditions of Carriage.

Article 13: TIME LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS AND ACTIONS 13.1 Notice of Baggage Claims

Upon the occurrence of any of the events set out in the preceding clause, the options outlined therein are the sole and exclusive remedies available to you and we shall have no further liability to you.

b. Items which are likely to endanger the aircraft or persons or property on board the aircraft, such as those specified in the Dangerous Goods Regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and in these Conditions of Carriage;

d. Items which, in our sole discretion, are unsuitable for carriage by reason of their weight, shape, size or character;

10.4 Currency

c. To receive a full refund in accordance with these Conditions of Carriage (not applicable if the cancellation or change is due to an Uncontrollable Circumstance).

7.7 Extra Seats

a. Items which are not properly packed in suitcases or other suitable containers in order to ensure safe carriage with ordinary care and handling;

Refund processing will be completed within ninety (90) days upon rece the refund request.

8.9 Other Conditions

Pregnant women must have completed their Journey in full by the end of the thirty-fourth (34th) week of pregnancy. If the Passenger is between twenty-eight (28 ) and thirty-four (34) weeks pregnant, a medical certificate is required to confirm that she is fit to travel before she is accepted on-board for the flight. Flying is not permitted from the beginning of the thirty-fifth (35th) week onwards. V Air has no legal responsibility if a pregnant passenger, who does not notify her pregnancy before boarding, encounters any incident during a flight. V Air may also seek for compensation if a flight is deviated from its original plan because of a pregnant passenger's incident, including, but not limited to any medical emergency.

We reserve the right to refuse carriage of such Baggage or such items found in Baggage as follows:

We will not accept requests for refund from any person other than the Passenger.

8.8 Collection and Delivery of Baggage

7.6 Pregnant Passengers Article 6: CHECK-IN AND BOARDING

“Uncontrollable Circumstance” includes, among others, weather conditions at point of origin or destination or en-route to other ports, industrial action caused by staff not directly employed by V Air, air traffic control requirements or restrictions, closure of runways, or acts of war.

3.3 Identity

Article 7: REFUSAL AND LIMITATION OF CARRIAGE

k. The credit card by which you paid for the fare has been reported lost or stolen.

5.6 Promotional Fares

“Tariffs” means our fares and charges published electronically or on paper and conditions applicable thereto.

The eTicket is only valid for the Passenger(s) named and the flight(s) specified therein subject to any subsequent changes in accordance with these Conditions of Carriage.

You shall submit to any security or health checks by government or airport officials or by us. If not, you may be denied carriage.

5.5 Name Change

“Damage” includes death, bodily injury to a Passenger, delay, loss, partial loss or other damage including to Baggage, arising out of or in connection with carriage or other services incidental thereto performed by us.

“Days” or day means calendar days, including all seven days of the week, provided that, for the purpose of notification, the day upon which notice is dispatched shall not be counted.

6.9 Security Inspections

5.4 Route Change

Article 2: DEFINITIONS

“Authorized Agent” means a sales agent who has been appointed by us to represent us in the sale of air passenger transportation on our flights and/or handle airport operation such as check-in and baggage services.

You agree to cover any cost due to detention caused by your inadmissibility or personal reason.

c. The change is not confirmed until we issue you a new eTicket number.

These Conditions of Carriage was written in Chinese and may be translated into other languages. In the event of any inconsistency between the Chinese version and the translation(s) in any other language(s), the Chinese version shall prevail.

“Accompanying Guest” means a paying adult passenger of above sixteen( 16)years of age, who, in our reasonable opinion, can travel independently and is able to and will provide the appropriate assistance and supervision as required for the guest they are accompanying.]

If we on your behalf are required to pay or deposit any fine or penalty or to incur any expenditure by reason of your inadmissibility into or your failure to comply with any laws, regulations, orders, demands or other requirements of any country, state or territory on any part of your journey, you shall on demand reimburse us any amount so paid or expenditure so incurred or to be paid. We may apply towards such payment or expenditure the value of any carriage unused by you, or any funds due to you in our possession.

7.1 Right to Refuse Carriage

5.3 Flight Change

1.2 Conditions of Carriage Prevail

1.4 Language

You agree to pay the applicable fare whenever we, on order of any government or immigration authority, are required to return you to your point of origin or elsewhere, owing to your inadmissibility into a country, whether of transit or destination. In addition, in such circumstances we will not refund the fare to you.

5.2 Group Bookings

These Conditions of Carriage apply to the carriage by air of Passengers and Baggage performed by us in any of our flights and to any liability we may have in relation to that carriage.

If any of these Conditions of Carriage is or subsequently become void, illegal, unenforceable or otherwise invalid, that shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of the other provisions of these Conditions of Carriage.

6.7 Refusal of Entry

6.8 Detention Costs

Article 5: BOOKING

1.1 General

1.3 Severability

all entry and exit, health and other documents required by law, regulations, order, demands or requirements of the countries flown from, into or over. We reserve the right to refuse carriage of any Passenger who has not complied with, or whose documents do not appear to comply with, such applicable laws, regulations, orders, demands or requirements.

b. The Passenger has had a flight cancelled or changed due to our requirements other than Uncontrollable Circumstances in accordance with clause 9.2 of these Conditions of Carriage.

10.2 Taxes If after having made a reservation you do not fly with us, whether or not a refund of the fare is payable, you will be entitled to claim a refund of any government taxes paid by you, which as a consequence we have no obligation to pay to any government or other authority. We reserve the right to deduct an administration fee from any such refund, if applicable, where you fail to fly with us despite a flight being available. If the administration fee exceeds the amount of refund, no refund will be made.

10.3 Proper Person/Mode of Refund In the event that we make a refund, it shall be made in the same mode of payment as was originally made and to the person who paid for the booking, upon presentation of identification and satisfactory proof of such payment. A refund administration fee may be required.

Passengers eligible for refund shall submit a written refund request form together with supporting documents if required hereby, within ninety (90) Days of scheduled departure date of unflown flight, to us at:

V AIR CORPORATION 11/F, No.139, Zhengzhou Road, Datong Dist., Taipei 103, Taiwan, R.O.C. Attention to: Sales & Distribution Department

Acceptance of Baggage by the bearer of the Baggage Identification Tag without complaint at the time of delivery is sufficient evidence that the Baggage has been delivered in good condition and in accordance with the contract of carriage, unless you prove otherwise. If you wish to file a claim or an action regarding Damage to Checked Baggage, you must notify us as soon as you discover the Damage, and at the latest, within seven (7) Days of receipt of the Baggage. If you wish to file a claim or an action regarding delay of Checked Baggage, you must notify us within twenty-one (21) Days from the date the Baggage has been placed at your disposal.

Every such notification must be in writing and posted or delivered to us within the above periods.

13.2 Limitation of Actions Any right to Damages shall be extinguished if an action is not brought against us within two (2) years from the date of arrival at the destination, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived, or from the date on which the carriage stopped.

Article 14: CHOICE OF LAW AND JURISDICTION Unless otherwise provided by the Convention or any applicable law, government regulations, orders or requirements: a. these Conditions of Carriage and any carriage which we agree to provide you with (in respect of yourself and/or your Baggage) shall be governed by the laws of Taiwan, ROC, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions therein. b. Any dispute between you and us concerning or arising out of such carriage in any way whatsoever shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Shilin District Court of Taiwan, ROC. Article 15: NO RIGHT OF THIRD PARTIES A party that is not a party to the relevant contract of carriage shall not have any right to enforce any terms therein including these Conditions of Carriage.

Article 16: MODIFICATION AND WAIVER None of our agents, employees and representatives have authority to alter, modify or waive any provisions of these Conditions of Carriage.

Your purchase of a ticket in any of our flights becomes a binding contract on your part to follow these Conditions of Carriage.

Depending on the fare rules applicable to your ticket, non-use of the same may result in forfeiture of the fare or may subject you to the payment of additional charges if you wish to change or cancel your booking. For more choices and /or control in your flight plans, please consider other fare types, if applicable. Contact our Call Center or visit our Website www.flyvair.com for further details.

Science Monday BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, March 7, 2016

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

Scientists find ‘pool of evidence’ between Zika and birth defect

TECHNICIAN Ce Zhang works in the Tissue Culture room on March 1 at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering in Baltimore, Maryland. Researchers at the institute are reporting on their work as part of a team that is studying how the Zika virus causes microcephaly. AMY DAVIS/BALTIMORE SUN/TNS

B

ALTIMORE—When scientists in Brazil suspected a link between a troubling upswing in a birth defect called microcephaly and the mosquitoborne Zika virus last fall, the hunt began for proof. Johns Hopkins neuroscientists and their partners in Florida and Atlanta now say they’ve discovered a big clue.

In lab dishes full of stem cells, they may have seen how the virus becomes the disease, as cells that are the building blocks of brain development were destroyed or damaged by Zika.

“It was in a dish, not in a fetus,” said Hongjun Song, director of the Hopkins Stem Cell Biology Program and one of the researchers.

“But it fits.”

Proving the link between Zika and microcephaly is important because it would rule out other potential causes for the surge in babies being born with the often deadly birth defect and justify the massive public-health response and spending on developing a vaccine.

The Hopkins stem-cell study, published on Friday in the journal Cell Stem Cell, was accelerated after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public-health emergency on February 1. Zika infections are spreading rapidly throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and more babies were being born in those areas with small brains and heads.

There have been more than 100 cases of Zika in the United States among travelers.

Among those infections were nine pregnant women, four of whom either reported miscarriages and abortions after images showed abnormalities and one who delivered a baby with microcephaly, according to public-health officials.

They believe mosquitoes will transmit the virus directly to Americans when warmer weather arrives, particularly along the Southern border where the carrier Aedes mosquitoes are more prevalent. For the study, two labs at Hopkins produced the specialized stem cells that could grow into brain tissue. The cells were sent to a lab at Florida State University that infected them with Zika. Then they were sent on to a lab at Emory University for analysis.

The team now plans to replicate the effort in a so-called 3-D cell system that will more closely mimic brain development. This could finger Zika more definitively as the culprit for microcephaly, or one of them. Other viruses are known to cause the abnormality, and genetic and environmental factors haven’t been ruled out. But Zika remains the prime suspect, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, which helped fund the study. He said other investigations are underway, including an ongoing study of pregnant women.

“It does not provide definitive smoking gun proof that Zika is the cause of microcephaly,” Fauci said of the study. “But it’s another bit of information among the rapidly accumulating evidence.”

Fauci and leading microcephaly researchers who have seen brain tissue or images of fetuses from Brazil say the cell study results mirror what they’ve witnessed.

Brain tissue of stillborn babies with microcephaly showed nerve cell death and damage, which is what the study showed, adding to the “pool of evidence,” said Dr. Ernesto Marques, a University of Pittsburgh microbiologist who is collaborating with Brazilian researchers. Another study published on Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine found evidence that Zika can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, including ones not connected previously to the virus.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles and the Fiocruz Institute in Brazil followed 42 pregnant women who tested positive for Zika and found through ultrasounds and exams that 12 of the fetuses were subject to “grave outcomes,” including fetal death, low-to-no amniotic fluid, fetal growth restriction and central nervous system damage, including blindness. The impacts were seen at various stages of pregnancy and some affected the fetus and others the placenta, which is the fetal lifesupport system.

The Hopkins team, lead by Song and Dr. Guo-li Ming, his wife and fellow neuroscientist in the Institute for Cell Engineering, were using cells derived from human skin to decode other brain disorders, such as epilepsy and Huntington’s disease when their students suggested they investigate Zika.

They were about to call Hengli Tang, a virologist friend from graduate school who had a lab at Florida State, to ask if he had a sample of the Zika virus when he rang first.

They immediately prepared different cells, including so-called pluripotent stem cells that are made by reprogramming mature cells so they can become any type of cell in the body.

One type of those cells, cortical neural progenitor cells, then develop into the nerve cells that make up the cortex or outer layer of the brain. They sent the cells and a pair of experienced graduate students to Florida and then to Emory to assist in the research. The team found a link in the neural progenitor cells. Three days after exposure to Zika, 90 percent of those cells were infected and churning out new copies of the virus.

The cells died or failed to divide normally, which in a fetus would stall brain development — the hallmark of microcephaly. The most severe cases, now seen thousands of times in Brazil, showed extremely small brains and heads leading to death or serious disability.

“It’s very telling that the cells that form the cortex are potentially susceptible to the virus, and their growth could be disrupted by the virus,” said Ming, a professor of neurology and neuroscience.

One doctor involved in analyzing the fetuses with microcephaly, said the study’s findings “are almost predictable.” Dr. William B. Dobyns, a pediatric neurologist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, said he saw 15 brain scans of Brazilian fetuses with the same devastating version of microcephaly in recent months. He’d only seen the same pattern two or three times before out of about 6,000 cases of microcephaly he’d reviewed over 25 to 30 years. TNS

STUDENT Venjie Cabria (on the computer) registers on the Starbooks server, while Science Assistant Secretary for Country Development Urduja Tejada (second from right), Tomas Briñas (right), Department of Science and Technology Region 5 director; and high-school Principal Ma. Theresa Ruivivar of Taysan Resettlement Integrated School (TRIS); and the rest of TRIS faculty look on.

Starbooks addresses lack of research facilities in schools

V

S    S T

ENJIE CABRIA is a biologist in the making. A 16-year-old Grade 10 student from Taysan Resettlement Integrated School (TRIS) in Legazpi City, his dreams of learning about life and human survival are very evident, even though accessibility to up-to-date educational materials and resources are limited.

Hopeful, he goes to the Internet shop almost every day to do research, spending one to one-and-ahalf hours in front of the computer and paying around P15 to P20 to complete his school assignments and get needed information for the following day’s class.

“I walk to the nearest computer shop and do research for my assignments and projects after school hours,” Cabria said. “I am always there researching information and pay almost P500 a month for Internet use.”

School Principal Ma. Theresa Ruivivar is concerned with how much her students spend for computer and Internet use.

TRIS, a young school, was established in 2008 for residents of Barangay Padang in Albay, who were displaced by Supertyphoon Reming (international name Durian) in 2006, have been given new homes in the resettlement area. Its establishment aimed to address the educational needs of children and families, and to help students get back to their normal lives.

“TRIS started in 2008 with the elementary department, and in 2009 for the high-school department. Today we have around 1,090 students from kindergarten to

Grade 10, but we have no library,” Ruivivar said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.

“TRIS has only instructional classrooms equipped with some stuff. We currently have a computer laboratory but without access to the Internet. With the Starbooks [Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosks] program turned over by the DOST [Department of Science and Technology], we can have access to a lot of information for students and teachers alike.”

Starbooks

THE DOST, particularly its Science and Technology Information Institute (STII), wants to address the problem of the nation on limited educational facilities. The institute then planned and formed a solution to this problem for students who have no, or limited, access to Internet and up-to-date information.

STII created the Starbooks, a user-friendly stand-alone library that does not need any Internet connection and the first science digital library in the Philippines.

With over 25,000 science and other subject materials both from local and international sources, this program gives access to stu-

dents with sufficient information for instruction and educational purposes. Upon knowing about the Starbooks program of DOST-STII, Ruivivar has asked her information and communication technology coordinator and one of the science teachers of TRIS, Reggie Baile, to make a proposal to the regional office to get acquire the program.

“After making the proposal in October 2015, we only waited for three months and there was a fast response from the DOST Regional Office,” Baile said.

The package included a complete set of a computer and the installed Starbooks program.

The main computer is connected to the local terminal computers.

Through the local connection, the computers can access information from Starbooks. Students, teachers and other users have to register for a username and password to access Starbooks. The turnover of the DOST’s Starbooks was held at TRIS on March 3.

No digital divide

A BIG percentage of schools, most especially in the countryside, don’t have access to the Internet. This means that up-to-date information cannot be acquired by many students. This creates a digital divide between privileged students and those who have limited access.

“The Starbooks is aimed to give a solution to improve the educational system of our youth, most especially the elementary [pupils] and high-school students who don’t have access to the Internet,” said Dr. Urduja Tejada, assistant secretary for countryside development of the DOST. “We provide a stand-alone library that contains over 25,000 books, videos, journal and how to’s, thus, making this a very important project,” she further added.

Tejada said the project aims to give importance to all students from all levels of life, and each one will be given an opportunity to learn.

“We will give all new information from STII and timely update the main server of computers,” Tejada replied when asked on how new information can be given. She also added, “This is the 45th unit in Bicol and we aim to provide 5,000 or more units all over the country.”

DOST Region 5 Director Tomas Briñas said TRIS was chosen as the first recipient in the first district of Legazpi City, because of the program’s priority to provide educational assistance to depressed areas.

“This is a resettlement area and has no Internet access.” TRIS is on top of Taysan Hills in Legazpi City, 5 kilometers away from the main city and the only form of public transportation is tricycle.

New hope

THE Starbooks computer server and TRIS’s computer terminals are accessible not only to the school’s students, but to everyone who may want to use it, most especially to the other five schools who don’t have Starbooks in the district.

Ruivivar said during the interview: “Science teachers and students in other schools can come and visit our computer laboratory, [although] they have certain schedules to follow.”

She added that even during the summer, science teachers can do research in the school, which is open even during these times. “We also have a projector and they can watch videos from the Starbooks, such as [instructions] on [how to bake cake, how to start a livelihood].”

Cabria is grateful for the opportunity to enjoy the DOST-sponsored program. “This is the key to be a successful student in this school. I think this can help us a lot instead of going to computer shops and spend money [for Internet use] for our research assignments,” he said. Cabria was happy to say that he now just have to go straight to school and focus on becoming a biologist someday.

Green Monday BusinessMirror

Monday, March 7, 2016 A13

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

Fallen elephants live through art ‘T S    J L. M

HIS is, perhaps, the most expensive monument ever to be built,” Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said, referring to the estimated cost of the materials used to build the symbolic elephant monument—the crushed elephant tusks seized by Philippine authorities in 2013.

The elephant tusks, weighing at least 5 tons, is estimated to be worth P400 million. The tusks were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and were destroyed in June 2013, using a road roller.

About 2 tons of ashes were mixed with cement to construct the monument, which now stands beside the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), whose primary mandate is to protect and conserve the country’s rich biodiversity.

The pulverized tusks were cremated at a government animal incinerator to ensure complete destruction. The tusks were reduced to more than 2 tons of ashes after burning. The elephant monument depicts figures of a mother elephant and her calf, clinging to tusks which are crucial to an elephant’s survival.

The monument, conceptualized

by University of the Philippines Fine Arts graduate Janus Nuñez, was unveiled during a simple ceremony highlighting the celebration of World Wildlife Day on March 3 at the Ninoy Aquino Park and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Quezon City.

The elephant is one of the most hunted animals on Earth, because of their precious tusks.

“As we unveil this structure made of concrete and part of the ashes from more than 4 tons of elephant ivory tusks that the Philippines crushed and burned on June 21, 2013, let us be reminded of the thousands of elephants killed for the precious tusks. May this structure inspire and drive us to move further and work harder to fulfill our common goal to fight illegal ivory and wildlife trade,” Paje said in his

5 tons Crushed elephant tusks used for the monument

brief speech during the unveiling of the elephant monument. The event, the DENR chief said, is to further strengthen the country’s commitment to the global effort to fight illegal wildlife trade.

“This is to send the message to the world that the Philippines do not tolerate killings of elephants and the illegal wildlife trade,” Paje said.

The decision to destroy its stockpiles of elephant tusks made the Philippines the first country in Asia to conduct physical destruction of massive ivory stockpile in support of the global effort to combat illegal ivory trade and wildlife trade. It earned the Philippines commendations from former US Secretary of State and now presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Paje said the move also aims to enhance public awareness and rally support for the global effort to combat illegal wildlife trade, as part of the country’s commitment to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

A party to the international treaty signed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1973 to regulate commercial trade in certain wildlife species, including the critically endangered elephants, the Philippines strictly enforces Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. In 1997 the Conference of Parties

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje (second from left) leads the unveiling of the symbolic elephant monument beside the Biodiversity Management Bureau office building at the Ninoy Aquino Park and Wildlife Rescue Center in Quezon City.

of CITES has included the Philippines as one of eight countries of priority of concerns with regards to illegal ivory trade, particularly its role as a trade route and transit country for elephant tusks.

The seven other countries are Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, which are considered as major sources of ivory in illicit trade; China (including Hong Kong) and Thailand as destinations of illegal ivory; and Malaysia and Vietnam as

trade routes and transit countries.

According to Paje, the Philippines is winning the war against illegal wildlife trade. Over the past five years under the Aquino ad ministrat ion, ant iw i ld l ifetrafficking operations led to the confiscation of illegally harvested wildlife resources, rescue of endangered species, and prosecution and conviction of unscrupulous wildlife traders.

“I can say that we are winning

the war against illegal wildlife trade. We have achieved a lot. We have made numerous arrests and we have a lot of conviction,” Paje said. A total of 170 people were convicted by various courts, including 19 people who engage in the illegal wildlife trade and illegal loggers.

“Right now, the Philippines gained recognition worldwide as a leader in the campaign against illegal wildlife trade,” Paje said.

However, he added that with such feat, authorities should not let its guard down, adding that much still needs to be done to strengthen the campaign against illegal wildlife trade. In terms of awareness, he said the Philippines has made waves when it became the first country to destroy elephant tusk stockpiles.

Paje said the creation of the Philippine Operations Group on Ivory (Pogi) and Illegal Wildlife Trade marks the beginning of a more aggressive and concerted approach among key government agencies in combating illegal wildlife trade.

Since its creation in 2013 Pogi had carried out 96 law-enforcement operations, confiscated more than 24,000 wildlife specimens, 500 of which belong to the critically endangered species. It has also filed 55 criminal complaints against 196 violators before various courts.

On the same event, the DENRBMB led the awarding of 97 wildlife heroes for their effort in fighting illegal wildlife trade. The awarding, according to BMB Director Theresa Mundita Lim, is an opportunity to recognize the role of wildlife law enforcement and the importance of wildlife globally.

“This is also an opportunity to recognize the coexistence of biodiversity, not only in the Philippines, but worldwide,” she said.

According to Lim, there is a need to further strengthen the effort against illegal wildlife trade, even as she said the Philippines is on the right track in combating such illegal trade.

“We need to strengthen our partnership with law-enforcement agencies, and coordination with other offices to stop illegal wildlife trade,” Lim said.

The recipient of the Third Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards include members of the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and the BOC. According to Lim, the DENR-BMB, as part of its effort to stop illegal wildlife trade, is recognizing wildlife heroes who rescue injured or trapped wildlife.

“We are now giving recognition to wildlife rescuers to encourage them to help save wildlife,” she said. While the Philippines is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, it is also considered one of the 34 biodiversity hot spots because of the rapid rate of biodiversity loss and it needs all the help it can get, Lim said.

WWF’s Earth Hour set on March 19, the event’s 10th year C OUNTRIES around world will once again swift off their lights with the observance of Earth Hour. And what makes this year’s event more significant is that it is the environment campaign’s 10th year.

Earth Hour 2016, spearheaded by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), will be celebrated on March 19 between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. across the globe, including the Philippines.

WWF-Philippines, led by its national ambassadors Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez and Iza Calzado, and Earth Hour steward Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworksi, recently announced the event’s plans in the country. The Philippines’s Earth Hour main event shall be held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle from 7 to 10 p.m. on March 19.

“It shall be a showcase of climate solutions,” Earth Hour Philippines Director Atty. Gia Ibay said.

She said stationary bikes will partially power this year’s event “to show that united [Filipinos] can light up this country with their collective energy.

Together, anything is possible.”

During Earth Hour, lights are turned off for 60 minutes to deliver a powerful message about the need for decisive climate-change solutions, the WWF-Philippines news release said.

The decade-old movement has grown from a symbolic switchoff event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 to the world’s largest opensourced environmental campaign mobilizing hundreds of millions of people in over 7,000 cities and 172 countries, WWF-Philippines said.

The Philippines has been championing the switch-off since 2008 and has topped participation records from 2009 to 2013—earning it the title of Earth Hour Hero Countr y. During Earth Hour, WWF-Philippines President and CEO Joel Palma said the organization is going to showcase renewable and sustainable technologies to prove they work.

“But the more important thing is how we do things and behave in the 365 days of the year. Problems can be enormous, but if we work together we can

make things work out,” Palma told the BusinessMirror at the sidelines of the news briefing for Earth Hour in Makati City. Alt hough pursu ing susta inable development is a big challenge, Palma remained optimistic, saying “ big things start from small things.

“We have only one planet and one country. No matter how daunting the task is, if we work together, we can solve the problems of the planet,” he said.

“It is just a matter of perspective. Work with government, indigenous groups and business. We can work with the lowest barangay up to the highest executive,” he added. Palma said Leonardo DiCaprio’s victory in the recent Oscars as Best Actor in The Revenant will boost the cause of environmentalism in the global stage.

“We are happy for Leonardo DiCaprio because he is an environmentalist and also an ardent champion of diversity,” he said.

Meanwhile, social media users can promote their commitment to the planet by donating their Facebook

feeds to spread climate awareness and action in a few clicks on earthhour.org/climateaction. Users can also use the hashtags #EarthHourPhilippines, #ChangeClimateChange and #RenewableisDoable to promote climate solutions.

“A simple action on social media is the kind of powerful statement that can excite friends and communities to be a part of the climate action we need to take on this global challenge,” Earth Hour Global Executive Director Siddarth Das said in a news statement.

W W F-Phi lippines sa id a growing list of allies has pledged to support this year’s efforts, led by gover nment par tners, suc h a s t he C l imate C ha nge Commission, depar tments of the Budget and Management, Energy, Foreign Affairs, Health, National Defense, Science and Technology; National Economic Development Authority, League of Cit ies of t he Phi l ippines, L e a g u e of P ro v i nc e s of t he Philippines, Local Government of Quezon City, Metropolitan Manila Development Author-

ity and the Nationa l Histor ica l Commission of the Philippines.

Cor porate champions include ArthaLand, Banana Peel, CocaCola, Hea lthy Options, H&M Philippines, Philips, Starbucks and W hite Gold Club. Technical par tners include A na k ata and Solar Solutions.

A media-driven campaign, Earth Hour is promoted through strong alliances with ABS-CBN, ABS-CBN RNG, ABS-CBN Sports and Action, the BusinessMirror, BusinessWorld, CNN Philippines, Eagle Broadcasting Corp., Eagle News, DZUP, FleishmanHillard, FocusMedia, Leo Burnett, Net-25, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Orange Magazine T V, QCreativs, Radyo Pilipinas, R adyo Agila, R adyo Veritas, Rappler, Tech2Go, T V5 and Yuneoh. W WF is seeking more gover nment, cor porate and media support.

At the same time, W WF-Philippines recently established its National Youth Council (NYC), believ ing that young people, including millennials, should

be given a bigger role in saving Mother Earth because they will be the stewards of the planet in the future.

“We organized the group because this will give us a new insight and be relevant to the new trends to make sure we will have a living planet for the succeeding generations,” Palma told the BusinessMirror.

“They know more than us. I have a 24-year-old son and a 15-yearold daughter. The youth are very different now. Everything is fast,” Palma added.

The members of the NYC WWFPhilippines are Alexandra Beatriz Cancio, Rama Co, Yzabela Nazal, A llen Lemence, Sophia Cr uz, Deign Soriano and Kiana Porras.

Isobel Resurreccion, coordinator of the NYC WWF-Philippines, said the members were recruited from different Philippine-based public and private schools last year. The ages of the members range from 16 to 24 years old.

The terms of the members started on March 1 and renewable every two years. Rizal Raoul Reyes

A14 Monday, March 7, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The drama at Naia

C

RITICS of the Aquino administration branded the government as being a “student council” in its decision-making process and lack of professionalism. While this may be a harsh and unfair assessment, the management of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) may easily fit that description.

On March 1 it was reported that Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) was bringing in and providing its own security equipment to make sure that all of its passengers were safe against a potential terror plot. That is certainly the airline’s privilege, but it does not say much about its confidence in the security arrangements provided by the government.

However, it may not be a problem, because Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) General Manager Jose Angel A. Honrado has threatened to prevent Saudia from using the Naia.

The Miaa claims that nine airlines are remiss in their payments for fees, some going back several years. That seems like a reasonable response by the Miaa. If the airlines do not pay their bills, they should be subject to even severe sanctions, like being denied use of the airport facilities. But the story does not end there.

The airlines are disputing the charges, and requested a detailed breakdown of the fees and the alleged past-due amounts be provided to them. That seems reasonable also. However, Honrado apparently refused to provide a breakdown of the airlines’ arrears, after reportedly being “insulted” by the airlines’ demand.

The landing rights of a foreign airline carrier is an agreement between governments, and is part of the diplomatic relations between countries. Honrado’s personal feelings have absolutely no place in the discussion whatsoever. To show further pettiness—more appropriate of a student council—the Miaa has selectively changed the rules for the issuance of airport-security passes for some airline personnel involved in the dispute. These passes are usually issued on an annual basis, but have been changed to daily.

The Airline Operators Council has sent letters to Miaa management, the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, complaining about both matters and because these are foreign airlines, the embassies of multiple Middle East countries will soon become involved.

What is the problem with the Aquino administration and in the Executive branch that individual departments and agencies seem to be operated as personal kingdoms? What is the problem in the Office of the President that allows appointees to create their own personal policies?

We have come to expect that government agencies have some problems with competence and accomplishments. But the Miaa has been a continuing source of drama, from the lack of security cameras to the planting of bullets in travelers’ luggage.

Running an international airport actually should be boring. Planes and passengers come in and out, and management makes it safe with the highest degree of security. But not in the Philippines. The administration of Honrado has been a continuing bad telenovela.

From ‘guro’ to ‘pangulo’ Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

F

RISING SUN

ROM teacher to president—this was the meteoric trajectory of the career of one of the country’s most accomplished men, all but unknown now to the younger generations.

P resident Elpid io Q u i r i no (PEQ ) came from modest origins in Ilocos Sur. Born in Vigan in 1890, he became a barrio teacher at 16 to raise funds for his schooling in Manila. He obtained a law degree from the University of the Philippines in 1915.

Subsequently, he entered politics, becoming, in turn, congressman of Ilocos Sur, senator, secretary of the interior and of finance, vice president and, from 1948 to 1953, the sixth president of the Republic, succeeding to the office upon the death of President Manuel Roxas.

Apart from his political achievements, he also served as dean of Adamson University’s College of Law from 1941 to 1946.

W hen PEQ succumbed to a heart attack on Februar y 29, 1956, he was buried at the Manila South Cemetery in Makati City, because he was no longer president but a private citizen.

Nevertheless, as a past presi-

dent, certain honors and privileges are appertaining, and reinterment at the Libingan ng mga Bayani turned out to be one of them. It took over a year of effort on the part of the Quirino family to arrange for this long-overdue honor for their ancestor, but, finally, PEQ’s reinterment took place on February 29, his 60th death anniversary.

That day, PEQ’s remains were exhumed from his former resting place and conveyed to the Libingan, where President Aquino was waiting, along with former President Fidel V. Ramos; Cory Quirino, Eduardo Quirino, and other members of their family; various heads and personnel of the military; officers and employees of government; members of the diplomatic corps; the media; and other guests.

PEQ received full military honors, with military personnel serving as pallbearers. They placed the casket containing PEQ’s urn

“I place myself and my administration at the service of all the people without distinction as to creed, class, or station, and pledge my whole effort to the protection of their fundamental rights, the improvement of their livelihood, and the defense of their free institutions.” — President Elpidio Quirino on the Armed Force of the Philippines (AFP) caisson, and set off along the avenue of the Libingan to the other end near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

P resident A qu i no h i m se l f led the walking procession, accompanied by former President Ramos and major service commanders of the AFP, followed by the Quirino family and other guests. The occasion was most solemn and touching. No speeches were made, and the silence was broken only by a prayer said by the AFP chaplain and a few announcements on the conduct of the procession.

At the tomb site, the urn containing PEQ’s remains was taken from the casket and placed by Cory Quirino in the tomb. The flag draped over the casket was care-

PPP parameters: The winner is…

By Alberto Agra

PPP LEAD Continued from A1 (1) H i g h e s t p a y m e n t t o government; W hat is in it for government? For the Daang Hari-Slex Link Road and the M a c t a n - C e b u I nt e r n a t i o n a l A ir port Project, the PSPs that offered the highest upfront payments to the government were adjudged w inners. Sim i l a rly, the PSPs that offered the highest concession fee secured the contracts for power generation and transmission projects.

(2) Lowest government subsidy; What is the cost to government? The PSPs that committed to undertake the Naia Expressway, LRT Line 1 Extension and Cavite-Laguna Expressway projects for the lowest cash support

from the government clinched the awards. For the School Infrastructure Projects, the lowest amount or rent that will be paid by the government to the PSP was applied.

(3) Lowest tariff by end-user; How much will the users pay?

The lowest bulk-water charge was the parameter for the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project. About 20 years ago, the lowest tariff per cubic meter was used for the choice of the water concessionaires in Metro Manila.

For the Automatic Fare Coll e c t i o n Sy s t e m , t h e l o w e s t charge per transaction was an alternative parameter.

(4) Highest share in revenues; How much is the government’s share? For the Cebu-

The PPP bid documents must spell out the justification and specify which of the seven parameters will be used.

The determination of who should get the award is not a one-size-fits-all or cut-and-paste approach.

Cordova Bridge, Valenzuela City Center and Iloilo Ferry Terminal joint-venture (JV) projects, the highest share in the revenues, over and above the contribution of the host local governments, was the basis for the awards. For reclamation projects under a JV setup, the winning coventurer shall be the one who can allot a bigger share of the reclaimed land to the government.

For the lease contracts of t he UP Tow n Center, Batangas Ter mina l a nd Passi Cit y CityMall, the highest guaranteed lea se pay ment w a s t he chosen indicator.

fully folded by military personnel and given to President Aquino, who handed it to Eduardo Quirino.

Rose petals were showered on the assemblage by a helicopter. It was a moving end to a historic occasion, one that few are privileged to witness during their lifetime.

PEQ is the third president interred at the Libingan; the others are Carlos P. Garcia and Diosdado Macapagal.

With the activities that marked PEQ’s 125 birth anniversary last year and this reinterment, it is hoped that the young people of today will be inspired to learn more about this man, his achievements and his place in history.

PEQ believed in education and social welfare, guided by democratic principles, as among the means to uplifting the plight of less-fortunate Filipinos, and this is what he worked for during his term. In his inaugural speech he said: “I place myself and my administration at the service of all the people without distinction as to creed, class, or station, and pledge my whole effort to the protection of their fundamental rights, the improvement of their livelihood, and the defense of their free institutions.” n n n Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

(5) Highest purchase price; How much is the government willing to sell? For the disposition of a government asset like the property of the Food Terminal Inc., the highest purchase price was the requirement.

(6) Highest rated bid; Who can provide the “best” service?

For management and service contracts using public funds, a scoring system based on highest rated bid must be utilized.

(7) Lowest calculated bid/ price; Who is the “cheapest?”

For procurement of infrastructure projects where government funds will be disbursed, the PSP that promises the lowest calculated bid or price compared to the Approved Budget for the Contract should be the winner.

The bid documents must spell out the justification and specify which of the seven parameters will be used. The determination of who should get the award is not a one-size-fits-all or cutand-paste approach. This process involves study and debate. Were you part of this?

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Let us take an unbiased look

O

N Tuesday, February 16, an article from the Associated Press (AP), entitled “Tatars Step Up Resistance to Russian Rule over Crimea,” was published in your esteemed newspaper. It is noteworthy in some respects and I wish to comment on some of the issues raised.

First of all, let us provide a legal evaluation of the event—explosion of electricity pylons. In terms of criminal law, this is an act of terrorism. For sure, perpetrators never cared for millions of their Crimean compatriots, Crimean Tatars, as well, who found themselves in a challenging situation with no heat or electricity in the midst of a cold winter.

Same, by the way, refers to the supplies blockade imposed by the Ukrainian authorities previously, that was another clear breach of humanitarian law. It is even more doubtful that, after this kind of “advertisement” of the new Kiev regime, Crimeans would ever wish to revert to Ukraine, which is today in economic despair and knee-deep in corruption.

The author’s reaction, however, is surprisingly cheerful; he seems to be justifying the act, as well as its consequences.

Moreover, he sounds enthusiastic about conscripting local Crimean Tatars to freshly formed armed groups designed to intimidate civilians and their legitimate authorities. By this, the AP writer calls for terrorist recruitment in a region with Muslim population. He even lamented that the local people are “largely secular,” thus, admitting the radicalization would not be as easy, as someone might desire.

As many other writings on Cr imea, this ar tic le is missing an alternative viewpoint to sound impartial.

The anonymous writer could have bothered to interview hospitals and schools, which were freezing those days. Speaking of Crimean Tatars’ rights violations in Russia, it would be also advisable to ask Crimean Tatars in the government.

It i s wor t h not ic i ng t h at Crimean Tatars, along with fellow Russians and Ukrainians, suffered from Stalin’s dictatorship. Upon returning from Central Asian exile to the Crimea under Ukraine, Crimean Tatars appeared, deprived of basic rights.

Kiev provided no legislative basis to restore their ethnic and cultural rights. Up to 2014, they had been even denied land ownership.

This fundamental right was only granted upon reuniting with the Russian Federation.

Same refers to their native language, which first became official in 2014, while the Ukrainian language has remained official, too. Furthermore, under Ukraine, there were no Crimean Tatar language classes at all. Russian classes, meanwhile, were never favored by the Ukrainian government, which took every attempt to close them.

The recent attacks on energy infrastructure became another proof of the correct choice to reunite with Russia the Crimean people have made at the 2014 referendum, where even predominantly Muslim municipalities voted “for.” Now, intimidation has appeared the only tool Kiev supporters have left to “retract” inhabitants of the peninsula.

Largely, cutting power lines and supply chains have actually affected Ukraine’s exports, rat her t ha n c ha l lenged Russia’s procurement. Practically, Russia was able to release additional funds to ensure peninsula’s food and energy security, while Ukraine eventually has found itself Europe’s poorest nation, which has separated itself from Crimea, including Crimean

Monday, March 7, 2016

A15

When will I reap the benefits of my hard work?

Joel L. Tan-Torres

MAIL

DEBIT CREDIT

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

Tatars. Is there a way it still may become attractive for anyone?

To respond to power outages and sustain Crimea’s energy independence, a “power bridge” has linked Crimea with Russia’s mainland Krasnodar region.

The shrinking Ukrainian budget has, thus, lost another multimillion source of income. This is a result of the “far-reaching” Kiev policies.

Meanwhile, the author is fair enough in saying that “in almost equal measure, Crimean Tatars feel betrayed by Kiev after Ukrainian troops stationed on the peninsula surrendered to Russian forces in February 2014, without putting up any resistance. Later on, most of these troops took Russian citizenship and joined the Russian Armed Forces.”

He probably forgot to mention that Crimean Tatar servicemen of the Ukrainian Army did the same. This is just another showcase of the lack of popularity of the Kiev regime even within its armed forces, as well as Ukraine’s ignorance toward own citizens.

Let us take an unbiased look: it is much doubtful that the Crimean Tatar minority could remain overwhelmingly loyal to its former capital. With no proper evidence, the writer says on behalf of the whole people—“Tatars cheered the power cuts.”

H o w e v e r, f u r t h e r o n , h e admits that the “Muslim batt a l ion” d id not e ven e xceed 500 in number.

W hi le d if ferent forces are trying to make benefit out of the humanitarian catastrophe, which resulted from the 23-year U k rainian r u le, Cr imean Tatars, along with the rest of the peninsula’s inhabitants, remain innocent v ictims. Can power outages or a supplies blockade improve their life?

Speaking of Crimea’s so called annexation, I would like to stress that it is the Crimean people themselves who actually “annexed” the region. After the West backed unconstitutional coup d’etat in Kiev in February 2014, Crimea’s people refused to stay within one state with the new nationalist authorities of Ukraine.

The article by the AP is a genuine example of politicized s pec u l at ion. T he t it le it se l f proves to be a product of obsessed imagination.

The nameless author must have mistaken his wishful thinking for the reality. Nobody resists to the legitimate rule. So-called Crimean Tatars’ rights activists are, in fact, just a small group of loud instigators who have never had anything in common with the virtue of human rights, and no one authorized them to speak on behalf of the whole people.

I hope this letter will be published in your newspaper.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation is open to contacts and partnership with you and will be ready to assist in any matter concerning objective and truthful coverage of the events related to Russia.

Ilya Perenkov Press Attaché Embassy of the Russian Federation

HE accountancy world in the Philippines was awakened with the issuance of a number of regulatory measures by the Board of Accountancy at the start of the year. These included such measures as the requirement for the issuance of the Certificate of Financial Statement preparation; the accreditation of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in commerce and industry, in the accounting education and partners, and CPA professional staff of accounting firms; the revised rules on the Quality Assurance Review; the visitation of the office of the CPA in public practice; and, the submission of the engagement reports and the Quality Assurance Checklist.

In the different fora where I have been expounding on the new measures, I make it a point to discuss in the very beginning of my talks the (1) current situation of the accountancy profession and professionals in the Philippines; (2) the needs of the times in our profession as a result of global, regional and local developments; and (3) the vision of the accountancy profession and professionals that may be attained with the “super majority” of accounting professionals cooperating and moving as a team in line with the six-point Expanding Horizons strategic plan.

With this discussion, I believe that most of those affected by the new measures will now better appreciate and understand why we are doing all these today.

I present the highlights of these discussion points. The Philippine

accountancy profession has been formally organized and existing for over 90 long years, with over 165,000 CPAs registered in the Professional Regulation Commission records since 1923. I believe this will make the Philippines the oldest and largest in terms of history and CPAs in the Asean, if not Asian region. Given this, our profession and professionals should be placed at the “very top level of our region’s/ country’s economic and professional hierarchy.” Are we in that situation right now? Most of us in the accountancy profession will agree that the profession and accounting professionals still have a lot to go in terms of reaching our potential in getting more recognition or respect from the stakeholders; in terms of the professional accountant earning more from their work or practice; in

terms of the outputs (especially the financial statements and accounting disclosures) of the accountants being given more value and credibility by the users thereof; in terms of the quality of the accounting graduates entering into the work force; in terms of making sure that the super minority erring accountants are not able to take advantage the super majority of the professional accountants whom they are able to undercut the fees, “pirate” existing clients and tarnish the image and reputation of the entire profession with their nefarious activities.

There are so many current local, regional and global developments affecting the profession in terms of the way we do our business and how we will “survive” in this changing environment. The developments and issues confronting all of us include (1) the growing emphasis on governance, transparency and quality standards; (2) the increasing opportunities, as well as competition or threats in our economy and profession; (3) the forthcoming MRA promoting the mobility of accountants in the region; (4) the unabated negative impact brought about by the erring ways of the super minority erring CPAs; (5) the expanding role of the various government regulators to protect the interest and welfare of the stakeholders whom they are accountable for; and (6) the perennial unanswered question: “After all my hardships in becoming and professionally functioning as a CPA, how and when will I reap the benefits that I deserve?”

I believe that the answer to this

Excellence is not an act but a habit (Speech delivered by Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc at the 35th anniversary and annual awards of Eternal Plans Inc. on March 3 at the Citystate Tower Hotel in Manila)

I

FEEL I belong already to the family of Eternal Plans Inc., having spoken before you in so many occasions. I have not missed this event during the past five years that I have been in office.

And to further torment me, I also speak before the sister companies of Eternal Plans.

This is an exception because tonight is very special to me. So to the esteemed members of the board of directors, headed by chairman emeritus, whose absence tonight is sorely missed by all of us, Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua; Chairman Anthony Cabangon; Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Antoinette Cabangon-Jacinto; President Elmer Lorica. I do not want to name the names of everyone because this is a star-studded evening. I think we have gathered all the stars in the firmament. We have more stars here than the Oscar Awards night. Directors and officers of Eternal Plans and sister companies, honored guests, led

by Hon. Zenaida Monsado of the Department of Energy, noble men and women of Eternal Plans and the Cabangon group of companies, my colleagues who are all here to support me, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Or should I say best evening?

When I received your invitation, my eyes were glued to two items— “35th” and “Awards.” Those are the two reasons why we are here tonight. The number 35 is very significant to your company, Eternal Plans, but I was asking myself when I read the program, what is the significance of the number 35 in my own life? What was I doing when I was 35 years old? That’s of course many decades ago. And I suddenly smiled and recalled one of the meritorious moments of my life. Yes, I am more than 35 years old and I’m not disclosing my age now.

But I assure you I’m nine months younger than the Insurance Commission (IC). So I promised myself tonight, no numbers and statistics.

So I will depart from my usual talk where I present the numbers, the achievements of the industry and of Eternal Plans. Just a fortnight ago, we celebrated the preneed

week, where I was also the guest of the industry. I think Eternal Plans was the host. It was Eternal Plans’s turn to host the industry’s biggest event where I presented the data and statistics of the industry, its performance last year.

I don’t want to repeat that or I will bore you to death. Tonight is not about me, tonight is all about you, the achievers.

Peter Drucker in his celebrated book, The Practice of Management, wrote that profits serve three significant purposes. First, profit validates the soundness of a company’s efforts. Second, profit compensates for the risk that the company is incurring, and third, profit generates resources needed to fund future growth. From this perspective, it can only be rightfully noted that business generally exists to earn profit. After all, as Drucker playfully put it, and I quote: “The business of business is business.”

But from our perspective, as long as customers, the planholders, are rightfully served, the business rightfully deserves its profits. I have learned that you have smartly captured your values into an acronym to emphasize that you serve your planholders and customers right. R-E-A-P I-T. Reap it. Responsiveness. Excellence. Achiever. Professionalism. Integrity, and Teamwork. Reap it.

I am perfectly aware of how you have responded to the needs of the customers and I am mindful of Eternal Plans’s positive level of integrity and highest degree of professionalism. I have seen you work, and you have contributed significantly to the stellar performance of the preneed industry.

For tonight, allow me to emphasize your three other values: excellence, achiever and teamwork.

That’s Eternal Plans.

It is only fitting to talk about excellence with the help of Aristotle. According to him, and I quote: “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.”

Excellence then is not an act but a habit. And true enough, such habit makes an achiever. I feel honored tonight because I am surrounded by achievers. When I say achievers, I am referring to our awardees tonight, as well as the people behind the success of Eternal Plans.

I also feel delighted to know that the management has continued to recognize the meritorious efforts and contributions of the men and women behind Eternal Plans.

While I am aware that not all of you are awardees, I still would like to extend my congratulations for your contributions to the huge success of Eternal Plans. Don’t worry, you will have your own time. Weather weather lang po ’yan. And when the time comes, I am more than happy to be back, witness the ceremony and congratulate you personally. I do not know whether it is your fortune or misfortune that I will hold this office until December 4, 2019.

To all the awardees, I share with you triumphant joys and victorious smiles. But remember this, be humble and use your awards to inspire others to persevere and achieve greater heights. You will all agree that you would not have performed excellently and achieved such great recognition without the sacrifices of the very people who have challenged your insights, shared their energies and contributed their efforts. Indeed, teamwork is embedded in Eternal Plans. Eternal Plans is a host of a number of innovative ways in delighting its planholders and customers. I am personally amused by your marketing banner, which says: “Let Eternal Plans be your road map to a rich life.” Who does not want to be rich after all?

But with your usual playfulness, you have outsmarted your competitors by putting more meaning to the word “rich.” For you, “R” would mean reach one’s personal financial goals securely; “I” for investing in one’s dream for themselves and for their family; “C” celebrating one’s freedom and financial independence after their retirement; and “H” for heritage, which is achieved by anyone with financial independence and dignity in their lives and even beyond.

Eternal Plans has recorded significant profits growth, and all of you who have worked hard have been richly rewarded, literally and figuratively. As you have favorably achieved your business objectives; shared your financial profits; and received awards and recognition, accompanying questions are created: Are you fully contented, fulfilled with what you have gained?

Second, are there other means of maximizing the value of your gains? Or to put it clearly, are we

question is forthcoming. If the accountancy profession is able to move hand in hand as a team to ensure that (1) the super majority of our accountants are able to work in a just and fair environment where professional work is rewarded; (2) the CPAs are able to gain from their stakeholders their full respect and recognition of the CPAs’ important role and responsibility; and, (3) the super minority accountants either shape up, ship out, or are forcibly separated by the regulator from the accountancy profession. These can be achieved with the implementation of our strategic Expanding Horizons plan. And once these results are attained, we finally will be able to answer the long unaswered question—“After all my hardships in becoming and professionally functioning as a CPA, how and when will I reap the benefits that I deserve?”—with this response: “It will be soon attainable.” And I am sure that if this is the end state that we can expect, then most of us will be ready to sacrifice a little of our effort, time and money to make all these doable.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy. He is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He is concurrently a tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPAs. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

ready to share our profits to others?

The needy, the low-income, the less privileged and the poor. Or give to those who are considered the least and the last.

As I have repeatedly said in the past, business is not just about profit. It is all about service. That is Eternal Plans. Allow me to share with you a powerful passage that I have read 35 years ago, when I was just three years old.

And let me quote: “I shall pass this way but once. Any good thing that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

What can be more fulfilling and meaningful if we share our triumphs, our achievements, our victories and our successes to the marginalized?

In the recent past, the Insurance Commission had been actively involved in various programs and projects that are geared toward financial inclusion. Yes, another ambitious dream, but mind you, we are slowly moving to achieving it. To sustain our efforts, we have partnered with various government institutions and insurance and preneed companies in providing services to a number of qualified communities. The compassionate and benevolent hearts of various sponsors, coupled with the helping hands of our industry partners, the Insurance Commission has reached out to unserved far-flung communities to provide the spark that will ignite ambitious dreams to become reality. So tonight, I will share with you some documentaries of IC’s way of sharing its success. Giving a part of us through service and developing and helping others. We do not just pay lip service. We walk our talk.

I keep on saying that the Insurance Commission has sustained its commitment in ensuring the financial stability and perpetual, or should I say eternal, growth of the industry. And we are happy to have you as our partner. To the awardees of 2016 and would-be awardees in the future, I challenge you make the habit of helping others. Let the words of Winston Churchill resonate in our hearts forever, and I quote: “We make a living with what we get. We make a life with what we give.”

Thank you and good evening to all.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A16 Monday, March 7, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Govt inaction, ignorance caused MRT 3 contract mess–Vitangcol I B L S. M

T was the government’s ignorance, incompetence and inaction that led the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) down a spiraling slope, its former general manager alleged, saying the government would not have had to spend P9.7 billion to fix what could easily have been prevented.

The public, according to Al S. Vitangcol III, should blame the government for mismanaging Metro Manila’s main rail line, as officials appointed by President Aquino repeatedly failed to do their job in improving the facility.

When he was appointed general manager of the train system, Vitangcol learned that the contract for the infrastructure’s maintenance provider was to expire in a week. Knowing the intricacies of

₧9.7B

Amount to be spent by the government to improve the MRT procurement under state rules, he suggested the extension of Sumitomo Corp.’s contract to October 2012. That contract was extended and the transport department, then

headed by presidential aspirant Manuel A. Roxas II, was expected to solicit bids.

Under the build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement, MRT Corp.

(MRTC), not the transport department, was obligated to procure the maintenance provider. But the transport department took on the responsibility and thought nothing wrong with the arrangement, as long as they engage a private company in doing so.

Hence, the search for a suitable maintenance contractor was the job of the government. But due to painfully slow procurement, Vitangcol decided to meet with the board of the rail company to flesh out the details on how to move forward.

The private company, however, informed him that while it was willing to take the responsibility, it was not in the position to do so, as the transport department already assumed the obligation.

Confused, Vitangcol sought Transportation Undersecretary Rene K. Limcaoco, who told him the procurement should be undertaken

by MRTC.

“So, I had to ask the transport secretary. Five months before the expiration of the contract, I asked him for his directive as to which party should undertake the procurement,” Vitangcol told the BusinessMirror. “But he never acted on it.”

Two months then passed and no procurement was undertaken, MRTC Chairman Tomas T. de Leon wrote a letter to Roxas, asking his office to permit the private sector to bid out the maintenance deal.

“But Roxas did not sign it, and it all started from there—when they never acted on anything,” Vitangcol said. “I was stripped of the power to procure contracts with values higher than P5 million, so I couldn’t do it myself.”

The rest, then, is now called the present, where the MRT operates at sharply lower capacity, even as ridership numbers continued to rise.

“Their ignorance, incompetence and inaction created this so-called emergency. They created the emergency themselves,” said Vitangcol, currently facing graft charges for allegedly entering into a dubious

contract while he was general manager of the train system.

The government resorted to emergency procurements due to the failed bidding of a number of contracts, including the multibillionpeso maintenance contract recently awarded to a Filipino-South Korean consortium.

The MRT is in a chronic state of decay, its 16-year-old trains already maxed out of their rated capacity, and the rails evidently having difficulty in handling hundreds of thousands of passengers per day.

Commuters, on a daily basis, complain of long lines, long waiting hours and humid trains, among others. To prevent any more aggravation, the government is spending P9.7 billion to improve the train line. This includes the procurement of new train cars, the modernization of the different disciplines of the MRT, and a maintenance provider. But this track, according to Vitangcol, seem flawed.

“There should have been a clearcut program to be followed. They ordered 48 trains, but where will they place them? Prior to the projected

arrival of the trains, they should have expanded the depot facilities first. I proposed it during my time,” he said.

Second, the power substations should have also been upgraded.

“These substations can only fire up to 20 trains at one time.

It will conk out with more trains,” he added. “The objective of the capacity expansion is to add more trains. But it will look as if they just replaced the old ones, given this situation.”

Likewise, the rails of the train system should have been replaced, as well. Experts from Hong Kong have concluded the tracks of the MRT are prone to breakage.

“There must be a systematic rail replacement program, which I proposed, but up until now, they have yet to do it,” Vitangcol said.

Manila gave birth to the 17-kilometer mass-transit system in 1999 —almost a decade after it was first conceived—with the primary purpose of decongesting the capital’s main artery, the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa).

S “MRT ,” A