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Monday, February 15, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 130

SEC wants to stop bank transfers from scammers

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B VG C

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking new power to compel banks to stop wire transfers of money suspected as coming from investment scams.

SEC Chairman Teresita J. Herbosa said they are pushing for the amendment of the Securities and Regulation Code, so the private-sector regulator could have more teeth and stop criminals falsely promising high return.

Herbosa said the present code only allows the SEC to issue advisories to discourage the public from taking part in irregular investment activities involving securities. The only other action by the regulator is to issue cease-and-desist orders against alleged investment con artists.

INSIDE

PHIL’S ON A MISSION

In other countries, the SEC’s counterpart corporate watchdog has the power to stop wire transfers.

“We see the need to go proactive in curbing investment scams. I learned in the US that they actually have a system, which would trigger all [government] agencies involved, in running after investment scams to take note of the complaint within 24 hours, and be able to notify a recipient bank to stop the wire transfer,” Herbosa told reporters.

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We see the need to go proactive in curbing investment scams.

I learned in the US that they actually have a system, which would trigger all [government] agencies involved, in running after investment scams to take note of the complaint within 24 hours, and be able to notify a recipient bank to stop the wire transfer.”—Herbosa

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SPORTS

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

BEHIND THE SCENES: PPP OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTROSPECTION PPP Lead Alberto C. Agra

P

HILIPPINE publicprivate partnership (PPP) is pictured on the web site of the PPP Center as all rosy. But behind the good work, awards, accolades, citations and infographics are unpublished or unheralded stories and “truths” about PPPs. While good news must be for PPPs—must know and emtrumpeted, not-so-good news brace PPPs, warts and all. Pubmust be equally underscored. lic officials are actually doing Negative or unpopular news a disservice if news on PPPs must not be dismissed. They are sanitized, if those outside must be viewed as opportunigovernment are branded as filities for reform and introspecbusters, and when leaders and tion. The public—the reason consultants claim infallibility.

C  A

PPP ELEMENTS C4

REVENGE OF MAIN STREET

PARTIES

PICKUP trucks in this photo are about to be delivered to a car-manufacturing plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Last December car owners filed a case against an employee of Toyota Alabang, who allegedly masterminded a rent-a-car scam involving 62 vehicles. NONIE RYES

Motor vehicle-theft cases bare crafty players, tech-reliant cops ₧44.04M A B M M, Researcher  D E, Editor

First of three parts

PERSPECTIVE

First of three parts

E4

Worth of vehicles pinched from 29 individuals scammed in a rent-a-car scheme in 2015

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 47.4310

FTER a waiter took the plates of unfinished coq au vin, Sarah tipped the glass to Lily and said: “I can make you rich.”

More than a month later, Lily sat

not behind a dining table in a chic restaurant but in front of a cop. Lily (not her real name) told Capt. Joel D. Conde the car she loaned to Sarah has disappeared along with the person Sarah reloaned it to. It was a case of “failure to return” (FTR), Conde told the BM, pointing to a new

PROJECT

PERIL ALLOCATION

PACT

10 P’s

PUBLIC GOOD

PERFORMANCE

PAYMENT SCHEMES

PERIOD

PROCEDURES

PARTNERSHIP

AUTHOR: ALBERTO C. AGRA

BM GRAPHICS: JOB RUZGAL

C  A

n JAPAN 0.4220 n UK 68.6516 n HK 6.0879 n CHINA 7.2253 n SINGAPORE 34.1304 n AUSTRALIA 33.5961 n EU 53.6966 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.6499

Source: BSP (12 February 2016 )

A2 Monday, February 15, 2016

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Motor vehicle-theft cases bare crafty players, tech-reliant cops…

C  

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motor vehicle-theft case that has left the Philippine National PoliceHighway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) dumbfounded. Is this a new modus operandi by car thieves? Is this a new method by a new carnapping group?

Is ‘failure to return’ an isolated case?

WHAT was initially a good longterm investment turned out to be a wild goose chase, leaving car owners and the police stumped.

Is Sarah an accomplice or, like Lily, an unwitting victim in a renta-car scam involving employees of a car distributor?

According to Conde, Lily was one of 34 people who filed a case last December after a certain Sarah Martinez failed to remit money.

Based on the complaints, Martinez invited her colleagues in Toyota Alabang to lend their car to an unknown rental service.

The rates ranged from P25,000 a month for a manual-transmission sedan and P40,000 a month for a larger vehicle types.

Martinez was able to secure the confidence of 62 people who entered into “trust agreements” or deals based on trust, according to PNPHPG P/Supt Elizabeth Velazquez.

PNP-HPG received complaints last December that a certain Sarah

BM GRAPHICS: JOB RUZGAL

Vel a zquez sa id t h at bec ause of low amortization rates that Toyota offers its employees, the rental appealed to the victims.

Others even offered to lend their vehicles for hire, three at a time, she explained.

After a few months, the payments stopped coming in and Martinez admitted that she had turned over the vehicles to a certain Veronica Brequillo who had ran off with the motor vehicles. Brequillo could no longer be contacted.

Further investigation by the HPG revealed that the vehicles were illegally pawned. Over P44.04 million worth of vehicles were pinched from the 29 individuals Martinez convinced through a rent-a-car scam that transpired in 2015.

As of February 10, PNP reported to have retrieved 10 of the missing vehicles. “After one month of contract, na wala naman talagang contract, hindi na nagpakita,” Velasquez told the BM in an interview. “’Yung car rental wala din pangalan so parang fly-by-night lang.

Siguro nasilaw lang sila sa P25,000 to P40,000 a month na pangakong kikitain nila.”

Of the 62 units reported stolen, HPG only received report for 34 missing vehicles. Twenty-five of these are Toyota models. The rest were identified as of the Mitsubishi, Ford and Chevrolet brands.

As of this writing, Toyota Alabang

has not responded to the BM’ request for comments.

“If incidents have happened in the past, [we haven’t receive] comments or complaints from a customer,” said Joseph A.C. Ayllón, assistant vice president for communications of Ford Philippines Inc., adding he is unaware that any similar incident has happened to their company. “We can also vouch that our dealers are doing...the process are done with integrity and with credibility because every quarter we conduct an audit and our auditor comes from the region, sa Asia Pacific, to really check on them.” Velasquez clarified that the case filed against Brequillo is not carnapping but estafa, unless the court rules it otherwise.

Modus

ACCORDING to Velasquez, the FTR modus is the third most instigated modus operandi in the country.

Before Martinez’s case was detected, other methods of FTR include suspects who masquerade as buyers, request to test drive a car and run off with the vehicle, according to Velasquez. Others pose to rent-a-car companies as clients and, due to a lax screening process, are able to get their hands on vehicles, she explained.

The most prominent method of motor-vehicle theft, referred to as carnapping, remains to be Stolen While Parked Unattended,

or SWPU, Velasquez said. She said SWPU cases make up 75 percent of the carnapping modus employed wherein suspects use different tools and speed away with the vehicle.

One of the most alarming cases include carnapping groups establishing connections with unscrupulous repair-shop mechanics or employees of car-wash shops who duplicate the key of vehicles the owner left behind.

PNP-HPG Chief Supt. Arnold D. Gunnacao said if it were up to him, he would make parking cars on the streets prohibitive to lessen carnapping rates and reduce traffic, as well.

Gunnacao said that another form of new modus operandi, which falls under FTR, involved the perpetrators availing of affordable car loans using fictitious documents.

Once the vehicle is within their possession, they sell it to unwary buyers who, in turn, bear the weight of the unpaid balance of the loaned vehicle.

“Hindi alam ng car dealers ’yun.

Kapag may nag-inform lang sa kanila [that’s when they become aware of the illicit deal] kasi natunton nga namin na ganoon ’yung modus operandi,” Gunnacao told the BM.

GPS

DESPITE the intricacy of the new carnapping stint, Gunnacao said the global positioning system (GPS)

feature installed in most cars make it easier to track stolen vehicles and identify suspects. Just last December, the HPG was able to nab members of crime syndicates in Taguig City with the use of the built-in tracking system in the GPS, he said.

Gunnacao said for 2016, he plans to eradicate carnapping syndicates, especially those in Metro Manila. He added he will see to it that car dealers are informed of the new modus that involves employees that may be working for carnapping groups.

We plan to meet with car dealers and warn them that an employee may be colluding with a scam artist or group of confidence men, Gunnacao told the BM in Filipino. He advises car dealers to monitor employees because they process the documents for every car purchased. “That’s where the risks and temptation to commit a fraud or crime come in.”

Gunnacao said he is confident of hitting his target for this year. The PNP-HPG at present is 1,300-menstrong nationwide, he said.

We were also the main beneficiaries of new motorcycles and patrol car units the PNP bought for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last November, he said. In a media statement, PNP Chief Director General Ricardo C. Marquez said the new motor vehicles will further boost the proficiency of the PNPHPG this 2016. To be continued

SEC wants to stop bank transfers from scammers C  A

She said the agency will call for the filing of the said amendment once Congress resumes its session in May. Herbosa said the SEC also wants the said powers other agencies already have. She cited the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which has the power to go against erring taxpayers, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which has the authority to freeze assets suspected acquired via illegal means.

Herbosa said the agency’s lack of power to go after confidence men is the main reason many victims of investment do not come out in the open. “Why would they lodge a complaint when they can no longer recover their money? In other instances, the money they have invested is already sent abroad, where the Philippines no longer has jurisdiction,” she said. “But if there is already a law that would grant us this power, then we would be able to notify a recipient bank to stop the wire transfer.”

Herbosa explained if the money is deposited by the investment scammer, “then the recipient bank, upon the SEC’s direction could immediately stop and not receive it, so it goes back to the victim.” Previous efforts by the SEC to amend the SRC focused on the definition of a security as the investment instrument have evolved and redefined, sadly, mainly by investment scammers.

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A4 Monday, February 15, 2016

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Climate change could worsen social unrest–International Alert C B L L  M G P

LIMATE change could worsen social unrest and trigger conflicts, according to an international non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on peace building.

While human conflict can be caused by more than one factor, International Alert CEO Harriet Lamb said climate change is one of the “security issues” that exacerbates it.

“One of the factors that makes human conflict worse is climate change,” Lamb said during a recent discussion in Quezon City. She said erratic weather patterns threaten farmers’ livelihoods. The loss of food and viable sources of income could bring people or groups to clash over limited resources.

Lamb added that people who live in poverty find it harder to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence.

A study by International Alert commissioned by members of the G-7 titled A New Climate for Peace focused on how climate change threatens global security.

“Climate change is the ultimate ‘threat multiplier.’ It will aggravate already fragile situations and may contribute to social upheaval and even violent conflict,” the report read. The report noted that when climate change affects livelihoods that are dependent upon climatesensitive sectors, such as agriculture, the risk of political instability increases.

From 2011 to 2013 International Alert Country Manager Francisco J. Lara Jr. said there has been an increase in violent incidents in Mindanao during the lean months, or what he described as the “hungriest period of the year.”

Based on the NGO’s Bangsamoro Conflict Monitoring System from 2011 to 2013, violent incidents increase from July to late August, coinciding with the agricultural lean season.

The report noted that the lean season is traditionally the period of “extreme deprivation” and hunger and a period when natural calamities often strike before the main season rice crop is harvested in the last quarter of the year.

“This verifies other studies that have highlighted the lean season and the variable climatic conditions during the same time as a critical period where violent attacks against persons and properties intensify,” the report read.

International Alert noted that farmers usually fight over irrigation systems.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), for its part, said there is a need to validate the data in the International Alert report.

“The study may only be considering the lean months for rice. However, it can be a good indicator to determine whether there’s a need to provide more interventions in the region,” said Dennis Arpia, officer in charge of the DA Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division.

Building resiliency

IN December last year, world leaders inked a deal that aims to address the problem of climate change. Lamb said governments and the private sector must work together to put the agreement into action.

“The government and companies need to play their part in reducing carbon emission, to adapt to changes in the climate and to mitigate its bad effects,” she said.

“There’s a lot of work to be done.

We need to build the resiliency of the community. It’s only going to get worse,” Lamb added.

Meanwhile, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) President and COO Richard Tantoco said reducing the country’s dependence on coal-fired power plants as the main source of electricity will help address concerns on climate change.

“We have a golden opportunity to learn from the mistakes of other countries whose over reliance on coal is now costing them trillions of dollars in externalities,” Tantoco said during the First Philippine Environment Summit.

Citing a study by the Interna-

A RICE field dried up due to an El Niño-induced drought in the Philippines. Non-governmental organization International Alert warned that climate change could trigger clashes, particularly in areas where there are limited resources. BLOOMBERG

tional Monetary Fund, Tantoco said the environmental and health costs not included in the price of fossil fuels like coal amounted to $5.3 trillion, or about $10 million per minute in 2015.

“I certainly hope that we do not have to learn the lessons from the mistakes that we will knowingly commit moving forward because to do so would make our future generations suffer the consequences of going the ‘fake cheap’ route,” he said.

“Rather, we should see this as an opportunity to take the time to take up cleaner and more efficient technologies that manage environmental, health and social impacts better,” Tantoco added.

Countries that have depended

50,000 Number of people who could die every year due to erratic weather patterns in countries vulnerable to climate change

on coal plants as their main source of electricity have learned that such reliance can ultimately be very costly.

“On an ex-plant basis, coal may readily appear to be the cheaper option—especially with the recent crash in global coal prices—but what

other countries may have saved in electricity prices by taking the fast and cheaper route, is quickly being eroded by the mounting social and environmental costs that they did not foresee or simply chose to ignore,” he said.

In terms of disasters, the Philippines and 19 other countries comprising the V20, or nations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, face an average of around 50,000 climate change-related deaths per year.

The Philippines also stands to lose least 2.5 percent of GDP per year, equivalent to about P360 billion, or P150,000 per person, the EDC official said.

“The phenomenon that is climate change has never been territorial.

It does not matter how much or how little carbon we emit today as a country relative to others,” he said.

“As a country with limited resources, our capacity to respond to emergencies, disasters and calamities has proven to be clearly inadequate. We cannot continue to live with this fact unaffected,” Tantoco added.

He said the Philippine government’s COP (UN Climate-Change Conference) 21 commitments, including that of undertaking GHG (CO2e) emissions reduction of about 70 percent by 2030, is a “critical step in the right direction.”

Tantoco called on all sectors to rally behind the government to honor and be accountable for such commitments.

Neda bats for tax reforms Aquino signs blueprint to hike to curb Pinoys’ ‘bad habits’ export receipts in three years The service sector continues to grow and we expect the world market to improve.”–Ortiz-Luis T P 10% B C U. O

HE National Economic and Development Aut hor it y (Neda) again pushed for the implementation of tax reforms that will discourage the ‘bad habits’ of Filipinos, such as drinking soft drinks.

These reforms include imposing a 10-percent ad valorem tax on soft drinks and carbonated drinks, and increasing excise taxes on petroleum, Neda Assistant Director General Rosemarie G. Edillon said.

Edillon said the soft drinks tax will help improve health, particularly in reducing the number of diabetic Filipinos, while higher fuel taxes can help ease traffic in Metro Manila.

“Since we really cannot [control it], again, this is your private behavior, [we] can only regulate it through the tax system. We really need tax reform to improve efficiency and to improve equity,” she told reporters.

Edillon said Neda is also in favor

Proposed ad valorem tax on soft drinks

of reducing personal income taxes and to peg it to inflation.

This, she said, will help the government broaden its tax base and increase revenues.

Proposed tax reforms are expected to be tackled during the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting on Monday.

Edillon said the DBCC’s executive technical board (ETB) will be presenting its macroeconomic targets based on two scenarios—a businessas-usual scenario and a tax-reform scenario.

She said the DBCC’s Cabinet Committee, chaired by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, will decide on the economic targets by first considering tax-reform measures.

Tax-reform proposals could be discussed as the government needs to firm up its sources of revenues to sustain its implementation of macreconomic reforms.

The DBCC is one of seven interagency committees under the Neda Board. The Neda Board is the highest policy-making body in the government and is chaired by the President.

Apart from making economic targets, the DBCC is also tasked to recommend to the President levels of annual government spending for economic and social development, national defense and debt service.

It allocates expenditures for various government activities and amounts allocated for capital outlays for various infrastructure projects.

B C N. P

RESIDENT Aquino has signed the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP), a blueprint which details strategies to boost outward shipments of locally-produced goods in the next three years.

The Philippine Exporters’ Confederation Inc. (Philexport) lauded Malacañang’s belated approval of PEDP 2015-2017, which had been in the backburner since December 2014. Memorandum Circular No. 91 was signed on February 4.

PEDP reflects the optimism of the private sector and the government that exports will do well this year despite a 5.6-percent drop in exports last year and the Export Marketing Bureau’s projection that outward shipments would conract by as much as 4 percent this year.

“The service sector continues to grow and we expect the world market

to improve,” said Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. Among the strategies outlined in the PEDP include designing comprehensive packages of support for selected emerging and key export sectors, and removing unnecessary regulatory impediments to the movement of goods and delivery of services. In implementing “packages of support for selected export sectors,” a significant component of the plan is the conduct of a global value-chain analysis that will identify products and market opportunities for local exporters.

Earlier, Trade Secretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said President Aquino himself told agencies that are part

of the Export Development Council to “study well the emerging trends in technology, and stay ahead of the curve and to think of new products.

He also puts emphasis on creating a healthy environment for start-ups.”

As part of its task of aiding micro, small and medium enterprises, Cristobal announced the start of the process of making a road map and work program for the start-up community.

The Department of Trade and Industry has been implementing its Industry Development Program since 2012. The program entails implementing interventions, specified in a ‘road map’ crafted by the local industries and sectors, in a bid to improve their competitiveness.

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AseanMonday BusinessMirror

Monday, February 15, 2016 A5

Things to know about Obama’s Asean summit

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RESIDENT Barack Obama hosts Southeast Asian leaders at an unprecedented summit in California starting on Monday, as he looks to deepen ties with the region’s fast-growing economies. But a nation not invited—neighboring power China—will be the proverbial elephant in the room as the leaders grapple with sensitive territorial disputes.

As part of Obama’s so-called pivot in US foreign policy toward the Asia Pacific, he has made a point of traveling to the region each fall to meet with the 10-nation Asean.

Now, Obama is inviting Asean leaders to the US, and to the same venue where he hosted China’s President Xi Jinping in 2013. US officials say the two-day summit at the Sunnylands estate is not directed against China, a strategic rival of the US. But the military might and economic clout of the rising Asian power is likely to loom over their discussions.

Some things to know about the summit:

TOP ISSUE: SOUTH CHINA SEA

THE top security issue on the agenda.

China says it has a historical right to virtually all of the South China Sea and has built seven artificial islands, including airstrips, to assert its sovereignty. Taiwan and Asean members Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Viet-

$226B

Total investment of American companies in Asean nam and the Philippines also claim land features in these potentially resource-rich waters, an important thoroughfare for world trade. Although not a claimant, the US has spoken out against China’s conduct and the Navy has sailed close to some of the artificial islands, angering Beijing but getting some quiet encouragement from most Asean members.

The US is looking for Asean to take a unified stance by calling for the territorial disputes to be resolved according to international law.

TRADE AND TPP

AMERICA has long-standing eco-

nomic interests in Southeast Asia.

US companies have invested $226 billion in the region, and two-way trade was $254 billion last year. On Day One at Sunnylands, the leaders will discuss how to expand trade and investment with the help of US entrepreneurship and innovation.

Also likely on the agenda: the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), Obama’s signal achievement on trade, which the administration often characterizes as an opportunity for the US, rather than China, to shape the rules of world trade. The four Asean members in the TPP—Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam—will want to know if its Congress will ratify the pact, which remains in doubt. Other Asean members, like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, have expressed interest in joining the TPP at a later date.

THREAT FROM ISLAMIC STATE GROUP

THE US wants to deepen counterterrorism and intelligence cooperation with Southeast Asian nations.

Despite the region’s relative success in combating al-Qaeda-linked militancy since 9/11, the Islamic State (IS) group, appears to be gaining a foothold. Indonesian authorities said that IS funded a suicide attack that hit a Starbucks in Jakarta last month, the first major terrorist attack in the capital city in six years.

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s most populace Muslim nation, have all reported citizens traveling to fight in Iraq and Syria, and several small militant groups in the Philippines have pledged allegiance to IS.

AWKWARD QUESTIONS ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS

THE 10 members of Asean run the gamut of political systems, from open democracy to one-party rule.

Obama will emphasize the importance of the rule of law and civil society but likely avoid open criticism of a particular nation. Human-rights activists have faulted the US for inviting unelected leaders, like Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a May 2014 military coup. Also attending is Cambodia’s Hun Sen, who has used violence and intimidation against political opponents and is making his first official US visit during a 31-year tenure as prime minister.

WHO ISN’T COMING

LIKE Obama, several of the Asean leaders are lame ducks with little time left in office. They include Philippine President Aquino, whose six-year term ends in June, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who was sidelined at a recent Communist Party congress. Both men are due to come to Sunnylands, but the outgoing leader from Myanmar is sending a deputy in his place.

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein has overseen democratic reforms in the former pariah state but his pro-military party was trounced last November elections and he’ll stand down by April. The new government, led by the party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has yet to take office.

Obama is unlikely to deliver any big economic prizes, but will allow the American side to press the advantages of joining the TPP that

doesn’t include China.

The meetings at Rancho Mirage in California set for Monday and Tuesday will be the first summit of its kind for the 10-member Asean on US soil. Its special nature is intended to show the Obama administration’s commitment to countering growing Chinese influence in a region that is home to 620 million people and a $2.6-trillion economy.

Southeast Asian nations have benefited from increased trade and investment stemming from their giant neighbor’s economic rise but many are wary of China achieving overweening influence. The US, meanwhile, has an interest in maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a crucial global trade route.

The summit is meant to send a signal that the US values Asean, said US Deputy National Security Advisor. “We are going to be engaged in Southeast Asia, we’re going to be engaged in working with the nations of the Asia Pacific to clear rules of the road on the various issues of common interest that we share with them,” he said.

The US-led TPP pact is awaiting ratification by national parliaments.

The agreement eliminates many tariffs and also imposes minimum labor standards on member-nations as part of US efforts to set rules for trade and business in the region and beyond.

Indonesia, which is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, Thailand and the Philippines are prospective members of the pact, which took several years to negotiate and was a main plank in Obama’s drive

for a deeper relationship with Asia.

Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar, which are the least developed countries in Southeast Asia, aren’t eligible to join because they aren’t members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation grouping.

Richard Javad Heydarian, assistant professor of political science at Manila’s De La Salle University, said he expects Obama to pitch the benefits of American-led economic initiatives, and particularly for Southeast Asia’s economic heavyweights, Indonesia and Thailand, to join the Pacific trade agreement.

He also expects Obama to court Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar as countries that are within the economic orbit of China.

“What the US can do, what Obama can do, is encourage these countries to be less dependent on China so that they have more options when it comes to their foreign policy, when it comes to how they govern themselves,” he said.

A new US initiative called Asean Connect aims to set up US government regional offices in Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore to help Southeast Asia on infrastructure projects, and support development by helping poorer countries, such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, to improve customs services, develop investment regulations and the rule of law.

Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said expanded economic ties could “form the building blocks of a potential trade agreement and, perhaps, prepare the region in joining the TPP.” AP

A6 Monday, February 15, 2016

The World BusinessMirror

Pope challenges political, church elite in Mexico

POPE Francis celebrates Mass at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, where her image is displayed behind, in Mexico City, on Saturday. The pontiff ’s five-day visit included a prayer before the Virgin of Guadalupe shrine, the largest and most important Marian shrine in the world and one that is particularly important to the first Latin American pope. AP/MARCO UGARTE

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EXICO CITY—Pope Francis challenged Mexico’s political and ecclesial elites on Saturday to provide their people with security, justice and courageous pastoral care to confront the drug-inspired violence and corruption that are wracking the country, delivering a tough-love message to Mexico’s ruling classes on his first full day in the country.

The raucous welcome Francis received from an estimated 1 million cheering Mexicans who lined his motorcade route seven-deep contrasted sharply with his pointed criticism of how church and state leaders here have often failed their people, especially the poorest and most marginalized.

“Experience teaches us that each time we seek the path of privileges or benefits for a few to the detriment of the good of all, sooner or later the life of society becomes a fertile soil for corruption, drug trade, exclusion of different cultures, violence and also human trafficking, kidnapping and death, bringing suffering and slowing down development,” he told government authorities at the presidential palace.

In a subsequent hard-hitting speech to his own bishops, Francis challenged church leaders known for their deference to Mexico’s wealthy and powerful to courageously denounce the “insidious threat” posed by the drug trade and not hide behind their own privilege and careers.

He told them to be true pastors, close to their people, and to develop a coherent plan to help Mexicans “finally escape the raging waters that drown so many, either victims of the drug trade or those who stand before God with their hands drenched in blood, though with pockets filled with sordid money and their consciences deadened.”

The speech was met with tepid applause, with only a handful of bishops standing in ovation.

Francis’s entire five-day trip to Mexico is shining an uncomfortable spotlight on the church’s shortcomings and the government’s failure to solve entrenched social ills that plague many parts of the country—

poverty, rampant drug-inspired gangland killings, extortion, disappearances of women, crooked cops and failed public services.

Over the coming days, Francis will travel to the crime-ridden Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec, preach to Indians in poverty-stricken Chiapas, offer solidarity to victims of drug violence in Morelia and, finally, pay respects to migrants who have died trying to reach the United States with a cross-border Mass in Ciudad Juarez.

The grueling schedule appeared to be already taking a toll: By Saturday evening, Francis seemed tired and winded. He appeared to doze off during Mass and lost his balance and fell into a chair set up for him to pray before the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The 79-year-old Francis has had an exhausting two days, with backto-back public events, dozens of kilometers spent standing in his popemobile and a seven-hour time zone difference.

In addition, Mexico City’s altitude of more than 7,000 feet provides a challenge to anyone not acclimatized, perhaps more for Francis who lost part of one lung as a young man.

Francis began his first full day in Mexico with a winding ride into the capital’s historic center to the delight of tens of thousands greeting history’s first Latin American pope.

Despite an exhausting Friday that involved a historic embrace with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Francis obliged their demands and stopped to hand out rosaries to the elderly, sick and disabled who gathered in front of his residence.

The mileage that Francis is clocking standing up in his open-air popemobile is a testament to his

appreciation of Mexicans’ need to see him up close: After a 23-kilometer nighttime ride from the airport and the 14 km logged on Saturday morning, Francis still has about 150 km more to go in the popemobile before his trip ends on Wednesday.

In a nod to his thrifty ways, three of the five popemobiles Francis will use are being recycled from his US trip last September. Francis is also sticking to an economy car when he’s not in a popemobile, using a tiny white Fiat to move around.

Francis began Saturday by meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto at the presidential palace.

He told the president and other members of government that public officials must be honest and upright and not be seduced by privilege or corruption.

Corruption permeates many aspects of Mexican society, from traffic cops and restaurant inspectors who routinely shake down citizens for bribes, to politicians and police commanders who are sometimes on the payroll of drug cartels.

Even Peña Nieto’s administration has been tainted by what critics call fishy real-estate dealings by people close to him, including the first lady, with companies that were awarded lucrative state contracts.

Francis said political leaders have a “particular duty” to ensure their people have “indispensable” material and spiritual goods: “adequate housing, dignified employment, food, true justice, effective security, a healthy and peaceful environment.”

In his speech, Peña Nieto said he shared Francis’s concerns about hunger, inequality and the dangers of people “letting themselves be carried away by evil.”

Francis then met with his own bishops at the city’s cathedral, issuing a six-page mission statement urging them to be true pastors and not gossiping, career-minded clerics who spew words and inoffensive denunciations that make them sound like “babbling orphans beside a tomb.”

Speaking off the cuff, he urged them to maintain unity and show more transparency. “If you have to fight, fight. If you have to say things, say them, but do it like men: to the face,” he said.

Later in the day, Francis celebrated his first Mass in Mexico at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, considered the largest and most important Marian shrine in the world.

Francis has spoken reverently of his “most intimate desire” to pray before the icon so beloved by Latin Americans, Catholic and not. Thousands packed the square outside to welcome the pontiff, holding balloons

1M Mexicans who cheered in his motorcade route and flags in a festive atmosphere befitting a rock star’s welcome.

Catalina Ramirez, 77, said she came to beseech the Virgin and the pope to help her great-granddaughter recover from surgery for cerebral palsy. She added that she was excited to witness her first papal Mass, and hoped that Francis “comes to rescue us.”

Francis’s visit has been cheered

by Mexicans who have been treated to six previous papal trips—five by Saint John Paul II and one by Benedict XVI—and are known for their enthusiastic welcomes.

Vatican officials estimated 1 million people lined Francis’s motorcade route or attended one of his events on Saturday, some watching from rooftops and balconies, and thousands more gathered in Mexico’s main square, known as the Zocalo, to catch a glimpse as he arrived for his meeting with Peña Nieto. Authorities set up huge TV screens that transmitted the scene inside the National Palace.

“What the pope told the president shows he is very aware of the violent situation the country is going through,” said 48-year-old Jose Luis Santana, who watched the pope’s speeches at the Zocalo. “I think [the speech] was good, and hopefully it will be able to change things.”

Francis’s denunciation of the social ills afflicting Mexico reflected the reality of the world’s largest Spanish-speaking Catholic country: According to government statistics, about 46 percent of Mexicans live in poverty, including 10 percent in extreme poverty.

Mexico’s homicide rate rose precipitously after then-President Felipe Calderon launched a war on drug cartels shortly after taking office in 2006, with the bloodshed peaking around 2011. Murders declined somewhat for the next three years after that, before ticking up again in 2015.

Women have been particularly targeted: At least 1,554 women have disappeared in Mexico state, bordering Mexico City, since 2005, according to the National Observatory on Femicide. AP

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

ZIKA-RELATED ABORTION DEBATE HEATS UP IN BRAZIL

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IO DE JANEIRO—Before her son was born, Danielle Alves didn’t know Luiz Gustavo would have microcephaly, a condition that has left the 3-year-old so disabled he can’t walk, talk or eat without help.

Still, Alves says she would have gone ahead with the pregnancy even if she had known—and she thinks thousands of pregnant women caught up in Brazil’s Zika virus outbreak should be required to do the same.

“I know it’s very difficult to have a special-needs child, but I’m absolutely against abortion,” said Alves, who lives in Vitoria da Conquista, a city in the impoverished northeastern region where Brazil’s tandem Zika and microcephaly outbreaks have been centered.

Alarm in recent months over the Zika virus, which many researchers believe can cause microcephaly in the fetuses of pregnant women, has prompted calls, both inside and outside Brazil, to loosen a nearban on abortion in the world’s most populous Catholic country.

But the pro-choice push is creating a backlash, particularly among the families of disabled children. Many have taken to social-media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, where more than half of Brazil’s 200 million people are connected, to make their case. They argue that all babies, including those with severe forms of microcephaly, have a right to be born.

The Catholic Church and Pentecostal faiths, strong forces in this deeply religious country, have also been fighting back.

“Abortion is not the answer to the Zika virus, we need to value life in whatever situation or condition it may be,” Sergio da Rocha, the president of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, said earlier this week.

Abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, danger to the mother’s life or anencephaly, another birth defect involving the brain—although in practice wealthy women in urban areas have relatively easy

access to safe abortions in private clinics, while the poor often rely on dicey backalley procedures.

The growing national debate is also spilling out into the courts, and will likely intensify in the months to come.

A judge in the central city of Goiania has said he will authorize abortions in severe cases of microcephaly. Some of the nation’s top newspapers have also weighed in, running editorials urging abortion laws to be revisited.

“The most logical solution would be to revise the penal code relating to abortion, decriminalizing the practice. The legislation is three-quarters of a century old,” the daily Folha de S. Paulo said in a recent editorial.

A prominent group of attorneys and psychologists is preparing a lawsuit calling for women infected with Zika during their pregnancies to be allowed to get legal abortions. The group, which in 2012 won an eight-year legal battle that succeeded in adding anacephaly to justifications for obtaining a legal abortion, hopes to take the suit before Brazil’s Supreme Court early this year.

Before the outbreak, groups that support abortion groups were on the defensive following a proposal by the powerful Pentecostal lobby that would further restrict abortion access by adding additional hurdles for rape victims, such as getting an exam and filing a police report. The proposal has been approved by a House of Representatives committee, though its prospects in the full chamber are unclear.

When the first case of Zika was discovered in Brazil in the middle of last year, health officials here weren’t unduly worried. First detected in a Ugandan forest in 1947, Zika has spread to parts of Asia and Oceania and is thought to have made the leap to Brazil through one or more infected tourists visiting the South American nation for the 2014 World Cup or perhaps an international canoeing tournament in Rio de Janeiro the same year. AP

Scalia’s death a test of Obama, Republicans’ political will

T

HE death of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia 11 months before President Barack Obama leaves office, amid an already heated presidential campaign, sets up a titanic test of political wills with risks for both Republicans and Democrats.

Within an hour of the announcement on Saturday that Scalia died while vacationing in Texas, US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that “this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” It was a stance that got the fullthroated support from Republican presidential candidates.

Obama said he won’t hesitate.

“There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote,” he said.

“These are responsibilities that I take seriously as should everyone. ” The ferocity of reactions from both sides in the immediate aftermath of Scalia’s death foreshadowed a bitter and bruising political fight over how to replace him directly in the middle of the 2016 White House campaign.

Campaign topic

SCALIA’S replacement already was a top topic on the campaign trail as the Republican candidates gathered for a debate in South Carolina. They sought to outdo each other in praise of Scalia, a conservative icon, while also rallying behind McConnell.

“It’s up to Mitch McConnell and everybody to stop it,” real-estate mogul Donald Trump said on the stage. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, charged that “if Donald Trump is president, he will appoint liberals.”

Both parties have tried to convince voters that the stakes in the presidential race are high, in particular because the next president could pick as many as three justices. A Republican president could pick justices who would chip away at abortion rights, Obamacare and Obama’s executive order on immigration.

Democrats say they need to tilt the court back from a 5-4 majority that has at times sought to undo Obama’s key initiatives. Democrats framed the argument in constitutional terms in an effort to portray Republicans as obstructionists.

‘Shameful abdication’

HARRY REID, the Democratic leader in the Senate, countered with a warning against trying to run out the clock on Obama’s presidency.

“Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate’s most essential constitutional responsibilities,” he said.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told a gathering of Democrats at a dinner in Colorado that the fight over the court was a reminder of the importance of the November vote and that “elections have consequences.”

“Barack Obama is president of the United States until January 20, 2017,” she said. “That is a fact my friends whether the Republicans like it or not.”

Republicans may be motivated to hedge their bets depending on who emerges as the nominees from both parties and the political atmosphere.

There also is the risk that Democrats win the White House and a majority in the Senate in the November election, resulting in the next justice being much more liberal than any consensus candidate Republicans could negotiate over this year.

Court decisions

MORE immediately, Scalia’s death greatly reduces the chances of major conservative victories in pending Supreme Court cases involving Obama’s immigration plan, abortion, affirmative action, mandatory union fees and voting rights.

One potential candidate to replace Scalia is Sri Srinivasan, a 48-year-old federal appeals judge in Washington who would be the court’s first justice of Asian ancestry.

A potential compromise is Srinivasan’s appeals court colleague, Merrick Garland, 63, whom Obama considered for Supreme Court openings in 2009 and 2010. At the time, Garland had support from prominent Republicans, including Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said there’s “no way to compel” the Senate to let Obama get a vote on a potential successor. He said there also is no precedent for such a long delay in filling a Supreme Court vacancy.

Bloomberg News

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Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • Monday, February 15, 2016

A7

Russia’s PM says West rekindling the Cold War

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UNICH—Russia’s prime minister accused the West on Saturday of rekindling the Cold War, telling a meeting of top defense officials, diplomats and national leaders that sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and new moves by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (Nato) alliance “only aggravate” tensions.

Related story on A8.

Dmitry Medvedev said Russian President Vladimir Putin told the same Munich Security Conference in 2007 that the West’s building of a missile defense system risked restart-

ing the Cold War, and that now “the picture is more grim; the developments since 2007 have been worse than anticipated.”

“Nato’s policies related to Russia

remain unfriendly and opaque—one could go so far as to say we have slid back to a new Cold War,” he said.

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg threw the blame back at Moscow.

“Russia’s rhetoric, posture and exercises of its nuclear forces are aimed at intimidating its neighbors, undermining trust and stability in Europe,” he said.

President Dalia Grybauskaite of Russia’s neighbor Lithuania said Moscow “is demonstrating open military aggression in Ukraine, open military aggression in Syria.”

“It’s nothing about cold,” she said.

“It is already very hot.”

The annual conference is one known for frank talk among top officials, and participants this year include US Secretary of State John Kerry, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond and many others.

Speaking after Medvedev, Kerry

fired back that Europe and the United States would continue to “stand up to Russia’s repeated aggression” and noted that in addition to a joint focus on Ukraine, Washington had quadrupled spending to help European security.

That will allow the US to maintain a division’s worth of equipment in Europe and an additional combat brigade in central and eastern Europe.

“Those who claim our trans-Atlantic partnership is unraveling—or those who hope it might unravel— could not be more wrong,” Kerry said.

Medvedev’s comments came shortly after Stoltenberg told the group that in response to a “more assertive Russia... which is destabilizing the European security order,” the alliance does “not want a new Cold War, but at the same time, our response has to be firm.”

Stoltenberg stressed the need for dialogue, but also defended Nato’s move to strengthen defenses, including moving more troops and equipment to countries bordering Russia,

and said at an upcoming summer summit in Warsaw he expected member countries “to decide to further strengthen the alliance’s defense and deterrence.”

He underlined that Nato’s deterrent also included nuclear weapons, saying “no one should think that nuclear weapons can be used as part of a conventional conflict—it would change the nature of any conflict fundamentally.”

Medvedev scoffed at what he said was a suggestion that Russia may use nuclear weapons in a first strike.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s 2016 or if we live in 1962,” he said, referring to the year of the Cuban missile crisis.

He called for sanctions on Russia imposed after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 to be lifted, saying they were “a road that leads nowhere.”

Earlier in the day, Medvedev suggested the West would harm itself if it did not lift the sanctions soon.

“The longer the sanctions con-

tinue, chances for the Europeans to keep their position at the Russian market as investors and suppliers are fading,” he said. “That’s why one has to act quickly.”

Kerry said if Russia wants an end to sanctions, it has the “simple choice” to fully implement the Minsk peace accord agreed upon last year.

“Russia can prove by its actions that it will respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, just as it insists on respect for its own,” he said.

He also called upon Russia to strive for a peace deal in Syria, saying that its continued support of President Bashar al-Assad would just increase “the call to jihad” and complicate the fight against the Islamic State group.

He said Russia and Assad are wrong if they think “indiscriminate bombing” will win the war.

“The Syrians who have rejected Assad have endured four years of shelling, barrel bombs, gas, Scud missiles, chemical attacks, torture,” Kerry said. AP

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Monday, February 15, 2016

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AS RUSSIA IS SKEPTICAL, FIGHTING RAGES

Syria truce hopes dim

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Seoul: Pyongyang used money from joint factories for weapons

S

EOUL, South Korea—North Korea channeled about 70 percent of the money it received for workers at the nowshuttered Kaesong industrial park into its weapons programs and to buy luxury goods for the impoverished nation’s tiny elite, South Korea said on Sunday.

T he joint ly r un park, just outside the North Korean city of Kaesong and about 50 kilometers from Seoul, employed some 54,000 North Koreans who worked for over 120 South Korean companies, most of them smalland medium-sized manufacturers. Seoul closed the park last week in retaliation for Pyongyang’s recent rocket launch.

In a statement issued on Sunday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said that about 70 percent of the 616 billion won ($560 million) paid to the North since the park was established in 2004 was used to develop nuclear weapons, missiles and for the luxury goods.

It did not detail how it arrived at that percentage.

Pyongyang was able to divert the money because the workers in Kaesong were not paid directly. Instead, US dollars were paid to the North Korean government, which siphoned off most of the money

and paid only what it wanted to the employees in North Korean currency and store vouchers, the statement said.

Pyongyang responded to Seoul’s closure by announcing a military takeover of the complex and seizing everything that the companies’ South Korean managers were forced to leave behind.

The last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation began during an era of relatively good cross-border relations, combining cheap North Korean labor with the capital and technology of wealthy South Korea.

But Seoul is desperate to pressure Pyongyang after its nuclear test earlier this year, followed weeks later by a February 7 rocket launch, which was condemned by the rest of the world as a test of banned missile technology.

While the Kaesong closure will hurt North Korea, it is not critical to that nation’s economy.

Pyongyang gets the vast majority of its earnings from trade with China. The last time the park closed was in 2013, when North Korea withdrew its workers amid escalating tension in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test.

The park reopened after about five months. AP

Democracy back in Egypt amid woes, leader says

C A BUILDING is seen with heavy damage in Aleppo, Syria. The fighting around Syria’s largest city of Aleppo has brought government forces closer to the Turkish border than at any point in recent years, routing rebels from key areas and creating a humanitarian disaster as tens of thousands of people flee. ALEXANDER KOTS/KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA VIA AP

M

UNICH—Hopes of securing a temporary truce in Syria within a week dimmed on Saturday as Syrian government forces tightened the noose around rebelheld parts of Aleppo and Russia’s foreign minister put the chances of a quick truce at less than 50 percent.

His comments and strong words from US Secretary of State John F. Kerry underscored deep US-Russian disagreements over Syria.

Further complicating the picture, Turkey’s foreign minister said his country and Saudi Arabia may launch ground operations against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, Turkish media reported on Saturday. Diplomats from countries with interests in Syria’s fiveyear civil war—including the US, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia—agreed on Friday to work toward a temporary “cessation of hostilities” within a week. They also agreed to “accelerate and expand” deliveries of humanitarian aid to besieged Syrian communities beginning this week.

Still, officials acknowledged from the start that the test would be turning commitments on paper into reality on the ground—and it wasn’t clear whether deep differences regarding the truce and which groups would be eligible for it could be overcome.

The truce deal in Munich came as Syrian government forces, aided by a Russian bombing campaign, are trying to encircle rebels in Aleppo, the country’s largest city, and cut off their supply route to Turkey. Speaking on Saturday at

the Munich Security Conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov—pressed to say how confident he is that a cessation of hostilities will be implemented within a week—replied: “49” out of 100 percent. He indicated that Russia remains deeply suspicious of US intentions.

Lavrov said everyday military cooperation between the US and Russia in particular is “the key tool” to ensuring the delivery of humanitarian supplies and an end to hostilities in Syria. But he complained that coordination hasn’t gone beyond an agreement to avoid in-air accidents. “If we are moving closer to practical goals of [a] truce, then without cooperation between the military, nothing will work out,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov said comments by US officials raised the impression that their aim was to stop Russia’s military operation in Syria while the US-led coalition’s continues— “although we are fighting the very same...organizations which the UN Security Council has designated as terrorist organizations.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry,

49% Russia’s confidence level that cease-fire will be implemented in Syria

who negotiated the deal with Lavrov and others, said after Lavrov’s pessimistic assessment about the proposed truce that “we will, we will make it work.”

Still, Kerry’s address earlier on Saturday to the Munich conference underscored the persistent tensions between Russia and the West over Syria. He repeated allegations that Russian air strikes in Syria have not been directed at terrorists but rather at moderate opposition groups supported by the US and its European and Arab partners.

Kerry also said Russia would have to change tactics if the agreement for a temporary truce in Syria is to actually take effect in the planned time frame.

“To date, the vast majority, in our opinion, of Russia’s attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups. And to adhere to the agreement it made, we think it is critical that Russia’s targeting change,” Kerry said. “If people who want to be part of the conversation are being bombed, we’re not going to have much of a process.”

The opposition “may be pushed back here and there, but they are not going to surrender,” Kerry said.

The State Department said Kerry and Lavrov met again on Saturday afternoon to go over plans for a task force to work out the details for the truce and also briefly discussed the organization of a second task force to coordinate humanitarian aid. It remains unclear whether fighters in Syria

will adhere to a truce. On Saturday Syrian government forces captured another village near Aleppo.

State TV and an opposition activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said troops captured Tamoura on Saturday amid intense shelling and air strikes by Russian warplanes.

Syrian government troops still have to take several more villages and towns, including Hayan, Anadan, Hreitan and Kfar Hamra, in order to completely encircle the Aleppo rebels. Hezbollah-run AlManar TV said government troops are now overlooking Hayan and parts of Anadan. The Lebanese militant group is fighting alongside forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s war has killed 250,000 people, wounded more than a million and displaced half the country’s population. A half-million Syrians were among the 1 million refugees who flowed into Europe last year in the biggest migration the continent has seen since World War II. Neighboring Turkey is hosting at least 2.5 million refugees from Syria.

Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, was quoted in the Yeni Safak newspaper on Saturday as saying that “Turkey and Saudi Arabia may launch an operation from the land” against IS, which holds a swathe of Syrian territory.

Saudi Arabia is “ready to send both jets and troops” to Turkey’s Incirlik air base, Cavusoglu was quoted as saying, and a ground operation is possible if there is “an extensive results-oriented strategy” in the fight against the Islamic extremists. Incirlik is now being used by the US-led coalition in the campaign against IS. Turkish television channels NTV and CNN Turk also carried remarks by Cavusoglu suggesting that Turkey and Saudi Arabia see eye-to-eye on the need for ground operations in Syria. AP

AIRO—Egypt’s president said on Saturday that his country has established democratic and constitutional rule after years of turmoil following the 2011 uprising, but rights groups say he has presided over an unprecedented crackdow n on dissent.

President Abdel-Fatta h el-Sissi declared the completion of Egypt’s transition to democratic rule in a 32-minute address to parliament, a 596-member chamber packed with his supporters.

In practices reminiscent of Eg y pt’s past autocratic regimes, state television labeled the president’s speech “ historic” before it started, and some lawmakers, in a show of patriotism, placed Egypt’s red, black and white f l ags before t hem in t he c h a m b e r. S e v e r a l ot he r s greeted el-Sissi’s arrival in the chamber with shouts of “We love you, Mr. President!”

W hen his speech was later interrupted by the same chant, he replied: “I love you too!” El-Sissi acknowledged that the country is still struggling to rebuild its economy and combat Islamic extremists, but said it had succeeded in restoring representative government.

“From this place, under parliament’s dome, the Egyptian people declare to the entire world that they have laid the foundation of a democratic system and rebuilt constitutional institutions,” he said in a speech that largely consisted of generalities and was repeatedly interrupted by applause.

The former general led the 2013 military overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected and first Islamist leader, amid mass protests against his divisive yearlong rule.

Since then, the government has waged a massive crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of Islamists, as well as several prominent secu lar activ ists who led the 2011 revolt that toppled

long t i me autoc r at Hosn i Mubarak. A draconian law passed in November 2013 prohibits all unauthorized protests.

Over the past week, Egypt has faced allegations that security forces were behind the abduction, torture and k i l l i n g of a n It a l i a n re searcher who disappeared on January 25, the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising, when police were out in force to prevent any demonstrations. Egypt’s Interior M i n i st r y h a s den ied t he police had any involvement in the killing and insists it was a criminal act, but the incident has strained ties with Rome.

Eg y pt has a lso seen pro tests t his week aga inst po lice br uta lit y held by t he doc tors’ s y nd ic ate, a f ter t wo doctors were a l leged ly beaten up by police in a Ca iro hospita l. A nger at police br uta lit y was one of the main grievances behind t he 2011 upr ising.

El-Sissi did not mention either incident, and commended the police on “their care for the security and stability of the nation and the protection of its people.”

“We must be aware that there are those waiting in the wings who don’t want this nation to be an exception to the fate of some nations in our turbulent region and to hinder our national project for development and stability,” he said.

Egypt has been battling an insurgency led by a local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group based in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. Militant attacks, mainly targeting securit y forces, have spiked since Morsi’s ouster. A military officer and a soldier were killed on Saturday while dismantling an explosive device in northern Sinai, military Spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir said on his official Facebook page. He said another soldier was wounded in the incident. AP

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A9

Finding work in Europe an uphill battle for refugees

V

IENNA—Antonio Piani appears to have beaten the odds stacked against refugees finding work in Europe, but the hotel where he works was set up specifically to employ people like him.

The 40-year-old says the janitor’s job is his first permanent position since leaving Iran more than 11 years ago—a disheartening message for the hundreds of thousands of new arrivals seeking work in Austria, Germany, Sweden and the few other prosperous European Union countries willing to take them.

“It’s bound to get more difficult,” said Piani, an Iranian Christian who changed his name to Antonio when he was baptized. “Refugee numbers are increasing and so is

the sentiment that they are taking jobs from the locals.”

Nearly 40 percent of those unemployed in Austria were classified as migrants, or of a migrant background, according to statistics cited in April by Volkshilfe, Austria’s largest non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to helping the underprivileged.

In Sweden, official figures released on Thursday found that 38 percent of the 386,000 registered as unemployed were non-European migrants. And German Labor Of-

fice figures from last month show a more than 60-percent rise in the number of non-European migrants without a job over the year.

And numbers are only half the story. Biases in hiring, lack of documents from passports to diplomas, and legal status needed to obtain a job, provide significant hurdles to refugees looking for employment.

In Austria, fears are being magnified by rising unemployment, and the more than 30,000 new arrivals looking for jobs this year have helped hoist the xenophobic Freedom Party to topping popularity polls. But the job-stealing refugee is only one of the perceptions that make finding a job difficult.

Type-casting refugees as qualified for only the most menial jobs also works against them, even if it could be true for at least some. Thirty percent of Afghans questioned by the Austrian Employment Office in a recent informal survey of 898 refugees

38% of 386,000 unemployed in Sweden were nonEuropean migrants

granted asylum never attended school. Near the other end of the scale, 68 percent of Syrians— the largest group—either held a university degree, a high-school diploma or a trade qualification, as did 90 percent of Iranians.

Complicating matters, many arrivals not only lack passports but also paperwork ref lecting their education. Johannes Kopf, who heads the Austrian employment office, sees “optimistic results” for job seekers from Iran, Syria and Iraq, and “ depress-

ing results” for Afghans. Even the better-qualified candidates face subst a nt i a l hu rd les. I n most cases, only migrants who have been granted asylum can work legally, but that process can take up to two years. Then comes the ability to speak German—crucial for employment.

Yet, the challenge of learning the language is made even more daunting by a shortage of courses. Even as refugee numbers continued to climb last year, the national employment office announced that it had cut its classes to 15,000 from 23,000 in 2014.

A s oppor t u n it ies t ig hten, some may decide it’s all not worth it. As of November, the status of all of those who qualified for asylum since then is subject to review in three years, to see whether it is safe for them to return to their home countries.

That is bound to crimp the motivation to assimilate.

Hajar Al Jashame doesn’t fall into that category. But as the 20-year-old Iraqi opens up about her job search in halting, but serviceable, German, it quickly becomes evident that even those who are here to stay don’t have it easy.

Four years after arrival she has managed to complete Grade 9 in an Austrian school. Not enough, she says. “They all want a woman with at least Grade 10,” she says of responses to her job applications as a dental assistant. And when she asked her own dentist, she was told he wants “a girl without a headscarf.”

“I asked, ‘how come?’ I was told ‘that’s how it is,’” she says. Austrian social workers relate similar cases of supermarket cashiers told to take off their headscarves while working. Her one Austrian girlfriend is no help. Al Jashame says she turned to her once for motivation, only to be told “you foreigners are taking our jobs.” AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, February 15, 2016

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

CALABARZON EYES PARTNERSHIPS

AND RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

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B L R. G

OURISM offers economic, sociocultural and environmental benefits. It provides direct jobs to the community through hospitality as tour guides and hotel housekeeping, and brings infrastructure development, such as airports, roads, schools, hospitals and retail areas.

Aside from allowing more trade and better flow of goods and services, tourism also brings a real sense of pride and identity to communities by showcasing the distinct characteristics of their ways of life, history and culture. Tourism also encourages the preservation of traditions which may be at risk of being forgotten by the public.

Moreover, tourism provides financial support for the conservation of ecosystems and natural resource management, making the destination more authentic and desirable to visitors.

In 2014 the tourism sector contributed 7.8 percent, or P1.4 trillion, to the Philippine GDP.

‘Strengthening Partnerships to a Vibrant and Responsible Tourism’

KNOWING the importance of tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 4 in cooperation with the city of Tagaytay, held the first tourism summit with the theme, “Strengthening Partnerships to a Vibrant and Responsible Tourism” before year-end of 2015.

Lectures dealing with the importance of inclusive growth through partnerships and collaboration and disaster preparedness were discussed

by Warner Andrada, chief of Planning and Research, Office of Tourism Planning, Research and Information Management; Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., director of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; and Hon. Mark T. Lapid, former governor of Pampanga and COO of the Tour-

ism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.

“Calabarzon is prone to natural hazards. We need to live safely with these hazards. We need to safely experience the beauty of the region,” Solidum noted in his presentation. He specifically mentioned Taal Volcano and Corregidor islands to be byproducts of nature.

As such, he encouraged tourism stakeholders in Calabarzon for the resiliency of their infrastructures, as well as of their workers.

Also, as the Visit Philippines Again 2016 was launched, special recognition/commendation were given to the top contributors to tourist arrivals in the region as spearheaded by DOT 4A Director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit .

Taal Lake Circumferential Road to entice more tourists to Batangas province

WHERE do you see a volcano within a lake? Only in Batangas! The Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL) traverses through a circumferential road of 13 municipalities and three cities.

Soon more tourists would be able to enjoy the TVPL with the completion of the Taal Lake Circumferential Road, a 122.9-kilometer road project for Batangas under the government’s Convergence Program on Enhancing Tourism Access.

The DOT Region 4A through the help of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), has started the construction in Agon-

PHILIPPINE Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Dr. Renato Solidum Jr. reminds stakeholders to take necessary measures to safely experience the beauty of the region.

cillo. The 4.6-km Taal Lake Circumferential Road in Agoncillo, worth P77 million, was officially turned over to the local government last November 6.

Present during the turnover ceremony were City Mayor Daniel Reyes, Rep. Nelso Collantes of the Third District of Batangas, DOT 4A Director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit and DPWH 4A Director Samson Hebra.

“Now, investors are taking a second look at the area, especially in Laurel, Talisay, Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Santa Teresita and Alitagtag,” Collantes told media representatives. “We are going to connect the circumferential road also to Mataas na Kahoy and Cuenca.”

Collantes initiated the Agoncillo road project under the tourism program, which identifies vital access roads and other infrastructure requirements in certain tourism areas.

The Taal Lake Circumferential Road-Agoncillo Section, which currently connects the Talisay, Laurel and Agoncillo municipalities, was completed in 2014. Completion of the entire Taal Lake Circumferential Road project is set in 2019, covering part of the TVPL. Taal Volcano is one of the top

Loving you, Bellevue

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N its continuous efforts to enhance Davao’s position as a premier destination in the country, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Davao lines up three key institutional programs for 2016.

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Visit Davao Fun Sale 2016

JON SANTOS SAYS WTF AT RESORTS WORLD MANILA

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tourist drawers of Batangas aside from the beaches of San Juan, Calatagan and Nasugbu. And because Batangas is just three- to four-hour drive from Manila, it has the third largest tourist arrivals in the Calam-

Jon’s impressive know-how on makeup and costume, plus his string of hilarious acts, have endeared his audiences throughout the years. His popular impersonations of Vilma Santos, Armida Siguion Reyna, Joseph Estrada, Cory Aquino, Juan Flavier and Fidel V. Ramos have put him at the top of his class with such veteran comedians as Willie Nepomuceno and Tessie Tomas, both of whom are his mentors. Now with over 20 years of impersonating celebrities, Jon comes back to his favorite topic for his show.

Comedy fans may expect Jon to showcase his new personas as Madonna on how

ba-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (Calabarzon) region in 2014, after Quezon and Laguna.

Calabarzon last year attracted 15 million tourists, who each spent an average of P1,000 a day for food,

Bigger deals, adventure and fun await Davao tourists

HE love bells are ringing as The Bellevue Resort Bohol weaves loving memories for you and your loved ones with romantic beach picturesque, hearty feasts and rekindling love songs.

From February 1 to 29, let the cupids capture your love in a dreamy island escapade with the Red Bliss room package.

For P13,999 net, have a memorable threeday, two-night stay in a Deluxe Ocean View Room and enjoy buffet breakfast for two, roundtrip airport or seaport shuttle service, and P1,000 worth of spa services at Azurea Spa. Fall in love in the paradise at The Bellevue Resort. Whether you’re happily committed or single by choice, celebrate Valentine’s Day the way it should be—sweet, exciting and fun!

Promotions may not be combined with any other discount or offers. Prior reservation is encouraged. Other terms and conditions apply.

N local pop culture, you know you’ve made it when Jon Santos has taken the time to impersonate you in one of his shows. With over 50 impersonations to his name, Jon tackles Philippine politics anew in his upcoming show HuGot your VOTE! WTF: Wala Talagang Forever (Sa Malacañang) at the Ceremioal Hall of the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Resorts World Manila (RWM) this February and March.

With the national elections just around the corner, Jon concocts his freshest comedy material and spot-on impersonations of Philippine presidentiables which promise to make audiences laugh out loud.

AT the turnover ceremony, from left, Engr. Ding Andal, Director Luis Banua, DOT 4A director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit, Agoncillo Batangas Rep. Nelso Collantes of the Third District of Batangas City, Mayor Daniel Reyes, and DPWH 4A Engr. Melaquiades Domingo.

transportation, and souvenir, based on the DOT estimates.

With the completion of the Agoncillo Section, passengers are provided with a fast and accessible route to local tourist hot spots. It also cuts down 50 percent of the travel time of agriculture and maritime product deliveries.

This is the first official turnover under the convergence program in the region.

Labit said that the DOT, as chairman of the Regional Eco Tourism Committee, is conducting the carrying capacity of the TVPL in preparation for the influx of tourists.

“Talisay, Batangas, is our major entry and exit point to the volcano with the vigor road widening, construction and rehabilitation of the Taal Circumferential Road, which is 122 km more or less, we know that once this is finished, immediately, the opportunities, not only for tourism, are created,” Labit said.

Future plans for Taal Volcano includes lighting it just like the video mapping of the Aguinaldo Shrine during the Philippine Independence Day celebration this year, according to Labit.

elections are more fun in the Philippines, Senator Miriam’s unofficial address to voters, P-Noy’s last days in Malacañang, Grace P.’s exclusive interview with Karen D., Erap’s plea for “A Second Chance,” Mommy Dioning’s role as cupid to Manny and Jinky, and witness the hilarious side of the latest current events in the country through the witty mind of the funnyman himself.

Catch Jon mimic the latest roster of Philippine presidentiables and more as he delivers top-shelf comedy on February 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27 and March 3,4,5, at 8 p.m. and on March 6 at 3 p.m.

AFTER the successful implementation of last year’s Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS), this year’s VDFS is back with bigger offerings to tourists in the holy week and summer!

The VDFS is a city-wide sale and events extravaganza in Davao that features discounts and promos in all sectors of tourism from tours, accommodation, shopping, dining, relaxation and adventure. It is the first of its kind in the country where it involves several industries to make the experience of the tourists complete and the branding of the city unified.

For 2016, DOT 11 together with VDFS Execom composed of representatives of key tourism players led by Benjie Lizada of the Restaurant Owners Association of Davao City, has eyed expansion of the tourism sale program, tapping local government unit of Santa Cruz for the promotion of Mount Apo adventure and Island Garden City of Samal for its beach holiday destinations.

Scheduled on March 25, to May 31 VDFS 2016 will have three themes to categorize its various activities. The Adventure and Sports theme will feature Samal Half Marathon, DurianMan Triathlon and the Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge. The Culture and Arts theme, meanwhile, will feature Davao Art exhibitions by various artist groups from the Davao region, cultural and tribal dances which will bring performances and the Davao Grand Indie Film Festival, which is a season-long showcase of awardwinning Mindanao-produced indie films.

The Party, Fun and Leisure will feature EDM events and the Pub Crawl, which is aimed to steer Davao night life.

“As a frontline offering, VDFS 2016 will feature 10 discounted tour packages to include adventure and cultural tour packages from the region islands [Samal and Talikud] to highland [Mount Apo and Marilog Agri-farm] destinations.

9th Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge 2016

THE most extreme 24-hour race to Mount Apo’s peak and back is set on April 14 to 23, 2016. This year’s race covers only three disciplines, namely Water Tubing (5 kilometers), Mountain Biking (36.6 km) and Trail Running (53.5 km). Previous races involved mountain biking, trekking, water tubing and road running.

There will also be some modifications for this year’s race categories. The Open Elite Category, which is composed of two racers and one logistics, is changed to Individual Open Elite (one logistic crew is considered per participant). The relay categories, All-Male Relay and All-Women Relay, will have the same number of players in a team, which are three with one racer to perform each discipline.

This yearly adventure race, which also aims to raise tourism activities and awareness to protect the country’s highest peak, is now in the VDFS 2016 campaign umbrella to boost tourist arrivals in the summer season.

Let’s meet in Davao: MICE Davao program

CONTINUING Davao City’s momentum being an emerging top meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) destination, the DOT 11 with MICE Davao Execom continues to conduct roadshows

and close deals with MICE organizers and service providers, including the national airline companies, in bringing the most competitive support incentives for organizers who want to hold their conferences and events in Davao City.

Moreover, as a new MICE product, DOT 11 and MICE Davao Execom are also brewing Incentive Travel Packages for organizers and companies featuring high-end resorts based in Samal. With the help of the Local Government Support Program under the Local Economic Development supported by the government of Canada, several validation activities are ongoing in Samal and Talikud to come up with competitive offerings for the incentive travel market.

To add to the new partners of the MICE players of Davao composed of hotels, convention facilities, land transport, spas, malls and tour operators, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia Philippines have joined the ranks in making Davao as the premier MICE destination. Giving MICE airfare rates with discounts as way of promoting the Davao connections, thus encouraging more MICE participants flying to Davao. The two airlines will also cobrand with “Let’s meet in Davao program” by promoting the incentive program in its web site and will conduct roadshows with the Davao MICE Execom. “Several roadshows has been lined up this year among organizations, companies, and associations to promote our MICE program,” revealed by Ken Kapulong, MICE Execom chairman.

“These two main programs of the region will help position Davao as the ‘islands to highlands’ destination of adventure, beach holiday, food and culture, shopping and as a ‘premier MICE destination,’” Alabado enthusted.

All the programs are in partnership with the local governments of Davao, Samal and the provincial tourism offices concerned.

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Monday, February 15, 2016

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Spots worth coming back to

THE iconic limestone formation of Coron is a remarkable sight no matter how many times you look at it.

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A PEEK of the lagoon just before jumping into the waters

S    J B

ALAWAN is the island I keep going back to. This province is on the cusp of booming, but not quite ready yet. The slow developments from south to north, unpaved roads and the customs of the locals have allowed it to keep its last frontier appeal.

I have been to Coron before, but there are still places surrounding this island that I have yet to discover.

Discover something new

I SAW few changes since I last visited in 2013, skeletons of hotels and guesthouses, now full bodied and complete, mingle with bungalows and local eateries. The drone of tricycles mix with the eager travel agents selling tours to anyone who passes.

The town kept its rural charm despite the development booming around it.

A trip to Coron is incomplete without joining an island tour. There are very few things to do in town for the intrepid travelers; its slow beat is found in many other towns deep into the heart of the country.

Coron bared its beauty once again when we left the small town to one of the many lagoons, beaches and lakes surrounding it. Our group was initially antsy because of the delays and mistaken passengers. However, once we made it to Kayangan Lake all was well again.

Kayangan Lake was just the way it was the first time I visited, its unassuming beauty settling down on you slowly. Enticing you with its clear, cerulean waters behind jagged, tear-shaped limestone formations piercing out of the water, our

boat had to maneuver around the rocks before docking.

I went up the same steep stone steps before getting to the viewpoint, where the iconic photo of Coron splashed on postcards and magazines was. The giant rock was still there, the waters surrounding it glimmered emerald and blue, the same as I remembered it.

Seeing the lake itself was like traveling back in time to my first day in it, it was still blue, still one of the cleanest in the country. It feigned shallowness with its clearness; I could see the rocks beneath it, its deep sapphire eyes looking back. I took the plunge, breaking its glassy skin with a leap, immersing in its mix of warm and cool waters.

Supertyphoon Yolanda did not spare nature; our guide told us Coron was battered, his house severely damaged, yet, thankfully his family survived. The wooden bridge that lined the entrance of Twin Lagoon during my first visit was no longer there. We had to jump in the water to get in, the lagoon gave us a glimpse of its beauty through the cracks on the towering limestone, inviting us to come in slowly. Despite the change outside, the lagoon stayed as fetching as I remembered it, its waters a hint of azure with a touch of green.

DIBUTUNAY Island’s azure waters and creamy, white sand are worth the trip.

TOURISTS are free to feed the giraffes in Calauit Safari.

The familiar landscapes, the same places somehow felt different. During my first visit, I have yet to see the beaches of our neighboring countries in Thailand and Indonesia. It is unfair to compare, beauty is beauty wherever it is in the world, but I felt thankful that some of those places are here in my own country.

Safe haven

IT was not my intention to visit Calauit Safari when I signed up for the tour, I wanted to go to Black Island, and the former was just part of the itinerary. On the day of the trip, I was disappointed that the island was no longer on the list. I took it in stride, changes are part of any adventure.

It takes around four-and-a-half hours to get to Calauit, the long journey made easy by the placid waters and fresh sea breeze. The trip gave us a glimpse of the life of locals living in the many islands surrounding Coron, their small boats and nipa hut lining the nearby shores. On some islands, there were electrical wires flying through the sky, a semblance of development in a place in the middle of the sea.

I knew I was in a different place, when our guide took us to the conservation area. It looked like Africa was situated in the Philippines with its savannah-like vistas, wandering giraffes and zebras.

Former President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Proclamation 1578, which established the Calauit

KAYANGAN Lake is a mix of fresh and saltwater.

Safari Park. The former president pushed for this conservation effort because the Kenyan government at that time faced instability. Fearing the loss of wildlife, the African state sought help from the International Union Conservation of Nature, the Philippines heeded the call.

The former president chose the island because of its seclusion just in case the experiment fails. What if the animals failed to adapt? What if diseases kill them? The locals faced these lingering questions.

Fast forward several decades, and some of the animals are third-generation offspring already. The locals managed to transform the tropical island into a savannah for the animals to survive.

It was amusing to feed the giraffes, not as towering as their counterparts in Africa, but still majestic.

Our guide told us how they had to experiment with the food they fed the animals as some plant species prevented childbirth or aborted it prematurely. Eventually, the wild animals learned to adapt to their new environment just like the locals, they were survivors, scrapping and making full use of what they have with a little help from the government. They molded the land, transformed into how it should be for them, and made it beautiful in the only way they know.

Dibutunay Island

IT took another hour or so before we arrived in Dibutunay Island, but the

trip was worth the long journey; the beach did not disappoint. The soft, creamy white sand was gentle to the touch, the waters glimmered hues of emerald and azure. It did not take long before all of us decided to douse the afternoon heat in the glass-like waters.

Time went by quickly, and we were on our way back to Coron town. Everything seemed fine until our boat’s engine began to fail and leak fuel. An hour away from town, we found ourselves stranded in the middle of the sea with only an island barangay nearby.

It was the first time I experienced a boat afloat in the middle of the sea because of engine failure. It was a pleasant surprise because we got to admire the stars hanging above us, and converse among the group without anyone having to stare at a gadget every now and these were rewards in themselves.

Our guide sent an emergency call to the travel agency, and within an hour, we were on our way to town.

It was night already, as we approached the town, the bright lights beckoned us to come home after the day’s adventure.

Coron is an island I will keep visiting because there is always something new to discover, experience, whether I’m traveling alone or with friends, family or the strangers I meet on the tours or guesthouses.

The stories we share may be the light we shed on someone who is experiencing the island for the first time.

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Science Monday

Women, girls vital to S&T agenda

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BusinessMirror

Monday, February 15, 2016

NITED NATIONS—Can you imagine an entire day without access to your mobile phone, laptop or even to the Internet? In our rapidly changing world, could you function without having technology at your fingertips? Unfathomable for most of us, but across the world—especially for many in developing countries— using and accessing technology is not readily available, and certainly not a privileged choice. This is particularly true for women and girls.

In low- to middle-income countries, a woman is 21-percent less likely to own a mobile phone than a man, and the divide is similar for Internet access. The possibilities of scientific and technological progress is almost limitless, yet, women and girls are sorely missing in these fields, particularly as creators and decision-makers in spheres that are transforming our everyday world.

In September 2015 the UN General Assembly declared February 11 the International Day for Women in Science. Coinciding with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, or Agenda 2030, which are underpinned by science, technology and innovation (STI) and call for gender equality throughout, including under the stand-alone goal on gender equality, Goal 5, this day has the potential to reverberate across the world. Science and technology (S&T) is not inherently elite, or about gadgets or toys. It is about our everyday life. STI has the power to disrupt and shift trajectories as it increasingly influences all aspects of life today—from economic opportunity in STI sectors and the application of STI solutions within other productive sectors, including to help women grow business and social enterprise, to opportunity for greatly improving health outcomes (including sexual and reproductive health), energy, environment and natural resource management, and infrastructure development.

We see opportunity, particularly through information and communications technology (ICT), to enhance education, learning opportunities and skill development; for engagement with youth; for political participation; and for women and girls to advocate for their interests, rights and social transformation.

Economic opportunities are abundant. The economic forecast in just a few STI sectors reveal staggering numbers. Estimates have shown that the value of climate change and clean-technology sectors in the next decade amount to $6.4 trillion, while the value of the digital economy in the Group of 20 alone is $4.2 trillion.

There is a huge opportunity gap in digitally skilled workers, amounting to 200 million workers, with estimates showing that up to 90 percent of formal-sector jobs will require ICT skills. In energy and agriculture, 2.5 million engineers and technicians will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa alone to achieve improved access to clean water and sanitation.

S&T squarely underlie the enjoyment of human—and women’s—rights and are intrinsic to sustainable development, citizenship and personal empowerment.

The Sustainable Development Goal Gender Goal recognizes this reality by including a means of implementation indicator which directs the global community to “enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular, information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.”

The ability of women to access, benefit from, develop and influence these sectors will directly impact whether we achieve our goals of Planet 50-50 by 2030. If women are left out of these 21st century revolutions, we will not achieve substantive gender equality.

The Financing for Development framework makes additional linkages between gender equality, women’s empowerment and S&T. In establishing the technology

mechanism—which will be guided by a high-level panel, half of which are women—we have the opportunity to operationalize and promote learning and investment around these critical intersections.

The Commission on the Status of Women (2011, 2014) and the 20year Review of the Beijing Platform for Action (2015) addressed this complex issue of girls and women in S&T, and resulted in a series of recommendations on a path forward and needed investments.

New, as well as established good practices, were identified, but we face the urgent need to scale these success stories from all stakeholders and to connect ad hoc good approaches to each other to build more comprehensive pathways and solutions. The 10year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) also resulted in increased commitments around gender equality and a role for UN Women.

An action plan that synthesized priority gender and ICT commitments across a multitude of normative frameworks, including WSIS, was also presented to catalyze engagement of stakeholders.

The urgent need for accelerated implementation of all of these commitments and recommendations cannot be understated.

Evidence shows, including in the recent World Bank Report on Digital Dividends, gains are not automatic.

The number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) falls continuously from secondary school to university, laboratories, teaching, policymaking and decision-making.

There are great divides in women’s access to, participation and leadership within STI sectors, despite being on the frontlines of energy use, climate-change adaptation, economic production and holders of extensive traditional knowledge.

In the formal sector of STI, women globally make up under 10 percent of those in innovation hubs and those receiving funding by venture capitalists, and only 5 percent of membership in national academies in S&T disciplines.

There are similar low figures around women in research and development, publication, leadership in government and the private sector, and so on. The disconnect between women’s practical and regular interface with STI and their formal ability to take advantage of these sectors and in having their knowledge, perspectives and leadership valued is stark, indeed.

The reasons for this disconnect are many, ranging from access to technology, to education and investment gaps, to unsupportive work environments, to cultural beliefs and stereotypes.

Globally, girls start to self-select out of STEM courses in early secondary school. Societal attitudes and bias hinder girls’ participation, with S&T often considered male domains. But change is coming, slowly but steadily. On the ground, UN Women is working to further women and girl’s engagement in the field, with many programs focused on leveraging the power of ICTs. We are running digital literacy and ICT skill-development initiatives in countries, including Jordan, Guatemala and Afghanistan, and we are supporting mobile payment and information systems for farmers and women in small business in Papua New Guinea and East Africa.

UN Women has also been supporting the development of mobile apps and games to raise awareness of violence against women and to support survivors in Brazil and South Africa. We have partnered with the International Telecommunications Union to launch a new global-technology award that recognizes outstanding contributions from women and men in leveraging the potential of information technology to promote gender equality.

At the policy level, we are engaged globally and nationally to promote girls and women in STEM. IPS

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

POSSIBLE CAUSE OF YOUR MOOD, SKIN DISEASE AND SMOKING HABITS

Your Neanderthal inheritance

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T’S been 40,000 years since the Neanderthals disappeared, but their lingering genetic legacy may be influencing your health.

If you are of Asian or European descent, about 2 percent of your genome came from your Neanderthal ancestors, scientists say.

Now, new evidence suggests this inheritance affects a broad range of health disorders—including skin disease, your ability to fight infection and even your risk of addiction and depression.

“Some of t he assoc iat ions we found made a lot of sense when we saw them, but the ones that affected neurological and psychiatric traits—those were surprising,” said Tony Capra, a computational geneticist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville who oversaw the research.

About 50,000 years ago, the anatomically modern humans, who left A fr ica, encountered Neanderthal settlements some-

where in the Middle East, scientists believe. The question of whether the two groups interbred was debated in scientific circles for decades, until 2010 when researchers found clear evidence of Neanderthal DNA sequences in people alive today.

Since then, genetic archaeologists have been trying to determine what instructions these Neanderthal genes contain code for and why they have been preserved over so many millenniums.

The new study, published on Thursday in the journal Science, is based on data collected by the eMerge network, which includes the medical records and matching DNA sequences of 28,000 people in the US. The researchers also worked with a previously published map of all the places

where genetic variants derived from Neandertha ls had been found in the human genome.

Armed with these two data sets, the team analyzed each of the 28,000 individuals in the consortium and determined whether they had the signatures of Neanderthal DNA in any of the known spots on the genome. Then, they looked for patterns that would indicate whether having these Neanderthal variants meant a person was more or less likely to have been diagnosed with a specific disease.

It stands to reason that the Neanderthal versions of genes would function differently from their modern-human counterparts. After all, Neanderthals had been living in northern latitudes for thousands of years before anatomically modern humans ar r ived, g iv ing the Neanderthals plenty of time to adapt to the unique environment and its pathogens. Most geneticists believe that at least some of the Neanderthal DNA variants, that remain in the human genome, were able to spread because they provided some advantage to our ancestors after they left Africa.

“We know when you move a population into a new environment, the bodily systems that are involved directly with that environment are most likely to change quickly,” Capra said.

Indeed, the strongest signal the researchers found involved a Neanderthal variant that improves the blood’s ability to clot, or coagulate. Today, too much clotting is considered a disorder because it increases risk of stroke, pulmonary embolisms and pregnancy complications, but tens of thousands of years ago, this hypercoagulation might have served our ancestors well. “Coagulation is one of the first immune responses the body has to a wound,” Capra said. A clot not only stops bleeding, it also sends messages to the immune system “to join the fight against pathogens.”

He added that the ability to form a scab quickly would have been useful for keeping unfamiliar germs out of the body.

The researchers also discovered an association between Neanderthal versions of genes and keratosis, which are skin lesions that can form after too much exposure to the sun. Keratosis is caused by a dysfunction in a type of cell called a

keratinocyte that protects the skin from ultra-violet radiation. However, in the low-light conditions of the north, this mistake might have allowed more light to reach the skin, enhancing the production of vitamin D, Capra said.

Some of the findings were more difficult to explain. For example, the study authors wrote that Neanderthal variants were associated with an increased risk of mood disorders, tobacco addiction and a relatively strong effect on depression.

If you are picturing hopeless Neanderthals wandering around in a cloud of cigarette smoke, don’t.

“It’s very hard to project backward,” said Joshua Akey, a professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle and a coauthor on the study. “It’s hard to know what the consequences of having that variation 40,000 years ago might have been.”

Still, the idea that neurological and psychiatric traits are influenced by Neanderthal DNA is one of the most intriguing conclusions of the study, said Rasmus Nielsen, who studies evolutionary theory and genetics at the University of California, Berkeley. “That is interesting because it suggests that there were more differences in those traits between humans and Neanderthals than in other traits, suggesting, perhaps, that we are somewhat cognitively differentiated from Neanderthals,” Nielsen said in a statement.

The researchers also found that Neanderthal DNA variants had a subtle but real association with disorders, including obesity, respiratory infections and the hardening of the arteries known as coronary atherosclerosis. However, in these cases the Neanderthal variants account for less than 1 percent of the overall risk. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s significant, said Dr. Gail Jarvik, head of the Division of Medical Genetics at the University of Washington and an author on the paper.

“We now know that Neanderthal variants tweak your risk of certain disorders,” she said.

At the same time, she noted that it’s possible we acquired some good traits from our Neanderthal relatives. “We looked at associations with diseases, not associations with getting along with people or other traits,” she said. Los Angeles Times/TNS

Preparing for ‘The Big One’: Valley Fault System Atlas now online

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RE you preparing for “The Big One?” It is high time that everybody is prepared because it can spell a big difference in our lives—of being safe when the ground shakes and the earthquake comes at the least expected time.

The Big One—or an earthquake with a magnitude of no less than 7.2 in the R ichter scale—may be experienced in our lifetime, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-Phivolcs) said. There are specific locations that are considered most vulnerable to the earthquake because of their proximity to the so-called West Valley Fault (WWF).

The WVF system is an imaginary line marking the area where the different fault systems are located underground and are actively moving from where a big earthquake may originate.

The Valley Fault System (VFS) is an active fault system composed of two fault segments: the 10-kilometer long East Valley Fault in Rizal and the 100-km long WVF that runs through different cities

and towns of Bulacan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite, and Laguna.

T he W V F c a n generate a large earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2, or commonly known as the Big One, which poses threat to people, livelihood, buildings and infrastructures.

The DOST-Phivolcs studies and researches on these fault system resulted in a collection of maps ca l led the Valley Fault System Atlas. This is a printe d h a nd b o ok of l a rge - sc a le maps showing in detail areas traversed by the VFS. The good news is that the atlas can now be downloaded from the web site of DOST-Phivolcs for easier access. The download is for free. “ The VFS Atlas, a tedious work done by our geologists from the DOST-Phivolcs, was launched and distr ibuted to local government officials on May 18, 2015.

It shows areas traversed by the Valley Fault System. Since information on geological hazards is ver y important for disaster planning, we have been giving free copies of the VFS Atlas in CD form to different

stakeholders upon request at the DOST-Phivolcs Main Office,” according to Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo.

Montejo said the VFS Atlas may now be downloaded from the DOST-Phivolcs’s web site at the www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph.

As of December 2015, DOSTPhivolcs counted 99,609 registered downloads. Phivolcs has, likewise, given out 1,506 soft copies. Through these media, the DOST-Phivolcs is able to disseminate the information to as many people and generate awareness for the need to prepare.

Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., director of the DOST-Phivolcs, said the “key to people’s awarene s s a nd p r e p a r e d ne s s f o r earthquakes, appropriate land use, contingency planning for disaster response, and design of houses, buildings and infrastructures, is the location of active faults. The Valley Fault System Atlas was conceptualized as a handy reference for everyone to serve as a guide in making sure that areas traversed by active faults are avoided as sites of houses and structures and

considered in various mitigation and response actions to enhance the safety and resilience of communities to strong earthquake events.”

The VFS Atlas serves as a tool for disaster preparedness and management, an advocacy espoused by the DOST and its warning agencies to make communities safer in times of calamities.

This initiative by the DOSTPhivolcs strengthens the efforts of the department to make information readily available to all to help communities prepare in advance. “The VFS Atlas will be our guide to making our communities safe and secure from the possible negative effects of an earthquake.

By making our people aware of the hazards, they can plan and implement preparedness programs like earthquake drills and retrofitting their houses. In so doing, the DOST-Phivolcs is empowering our communities and our people to embrace a culture of safety because we cannot stop natural hazards from coming, but we can definitely prepare to avert disasters from happening,” Montejo said.

Green Monday BusinessMirror

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

Monday, February 15, 2016 A13

Putting green vote forward PRESIDENTIAL candidate Sen. Grace Poe and vice presidential candidate Sen. Francis Escudero

RESORTS World Manila employees sort materials for recycling.

Resorts World Manila sustains ‘Live and Love Green’ program VICE presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and presidential candidate Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Manuel A. Roxas II (from left) with President Aquino and vice presidential candidate Rep. Lenie Robredo of Camarines Sur

VICE presidential candidate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte

A

B J L. M

WEEK before the electoral campaign kicked off, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) launched its own campaign for the environment.

The campaign aims to remind candidates of their responsibility in ensuring an environmentfriendly electoral contest, while cha lleng ing voters to choose candidates who really care about the environment.

In launching the campaign, Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje issued a statement imposing a joint memorandum circular signed by the DENR, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Commission on Elections, which prohibits the cutting, destroying or injuring of trees along public roads, plazas, parks and school premises and other public grounds not designated as common poster areas.

At the same time, Paje also reminded candidates and their supporters to conduct post-election cleanup operations and urged the public to do their share by reporting to authorities cases of electionrelated littering.

‘Green’ candidates

PAJE said the DENR’s voter-awareness campaign aims “to encourage Filipinos to choose and watch out for candidates who really care about the environment.”

The country’s top environment official has been saying that the environment should be an election issue. He has been holding elected local officials responsible for failing to do their job in enforcing environmental laws, such as Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

At the first Philippine Environment Summit on Wednesday, the DENR chief took a jab at local officials for their failure to implement RA 9003. He lamented that more than 15 years after the law took effect, there are still 440 open dumps and more than 180 controlled dumps all over the country that need to be shut down.

The DENR, he said, will press

charges against local officials who failed to do their job. “As we speak, [Undersecretary] Jonas [Leones] and Ombudsman [Conchita Carpio-] Morales are now filing charges against local officials for failing to close open dumps,” Paje said.

Green voters

WHILE the DENR focuses on making the upcoming 2016 elections “garbage-free,” several environmental groups have launched their own voter-education campaign—promising to mainstream the issue of environment in the coming election.

Filipino voters, they said, need to be educated more about equally pressing issues that still appear to be low in the order of priorities of most, if not all, national candidates.

The issues included environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, pollution, climate change and disasters caused by natural calamities.

Asked what qualities they are looking for from the political candidates in the May elections, several netizens were quick to respond.

Renante Trinidad of Nueva Ecija and Monching Rivera Dungca of Bulacan said they want the next leaders to be truthful.

Ian Franklin of Tiaong, Quezon, said he will vote for candidates who are pro-people. “One who is not selfish, not corrupt and not abusive. One who cares for the nation,” he said in Filipino. Juneil Pasco Labad of Oroquieta City, Missamis Occidental, said that besides being pro-people, he will vote for somebody who is pro-God. In an interview, Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE), admitted that, generally, voters would rather go for a candidate based on his or her personality, if not the latter’s position on gut issues on food security, hunger and poverty, health, education

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Vice President Jejomar C. Binay and vice presidential candidate Gregorio Honasan

and corruption in the government more than their position on certain environmental issues or even the more compelling issue of climate change.

Green campaign

ALONG with other environmental groups, Kalikasan-PNE launched the Green Vote 2016 Campaign on February 10 to heighten the awareness of Filipino voters and the candidates about environmental issues.

Among the groups are Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (Agham), Agham Youth, Ban Toxics, Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, Defend Ilocos, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, Kalikasan Youth, Katribu, Kilusang Mayo Uno, PoliSEA, Protect Sierra Madre, Religious of the Good Shepherd-JPIC, Save Freedom Island Movement, University of the Philippines Saribuhay and 350.org Pilipinas.

The Green Vote 2016 Campaign will scrutinize the track record and make public the environmental agenda of national candidates, Bautista said.

Most candidates, he noted, stick to gut issues which they believe voters could easily relate to.

According to Bautista, a survey among the national candidates would reveal their stand on pressing environmental issues, giving voters a more informed choice in casting their vote for the candidates who deserve their precious vote.

These issues include development of coal-fired power plants, logging, mining, solid waste and air pollution, free trade and transboundary waste, genetically modified organism, land conversion, including reclamation projects, agricultural plantations, climate change and extreme weather events, corruption in environmental governance and rights of environmental defenders.

He said such flash-point issues have aggravated the degraded state of the Philippine environment over the past five years. The Green Vote 2016 campaigners, Bautista said, will also serve as election campaign watchdog and that would shame candidates for election practices deemed harmful to the environment, such as the excessive use of plastic campaign paraphernalia, nailing posters on trees and receiving campaign

funds from environmentally pollutive and destructive corporations. “It’s high time we made sure that our current and future political leaders are accountable for these issues,” he said.

Awareness at local level

R

E SORT S World Ma n i l a (RWM), the country’s premier one-stop, nonstop lifestyle destination, continues to go green with its “Live and Love Green” program by following through on its environmentally responsible initiatives this 2016.

In 2015 RWM conducted recycling every month, recovering a total of 18 tons of recyclable materials.

T he campaig n is being done in partnership with the Tzu Chi Foundation, which transfor ms rec yclable mater ia ls, such as PET bott les, newspapers, tarpau lins and old tires into new mater ia ls, such as shir ts and blankets, to be used in disaster-relief drives. The campaign also raised money to fund other advocacy programs of the found at ion. RWM employees also participated in a special activity,

in cooperation with ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.’s Bantay Kalikasan Program, in support of the worldwide Earth Day movement.

A total of 40 volunteers participated in a nursery-planting activity, producing over 250 pots of germinant plants, which will eventually cover a hectare of land for one year when planted at the La Mesa Eco Park in Quezon City.

Live and Love Green allows RWM to pursue various activities aimed at actively promoting environmental sustainability.

“Through our Live and Love Green program, we continuously seek and implement innovative ways to keep our commitment as an environmentally responsible integrated resort development,” Owen Cammayo, RWM director for Corporate Communications, said.

Indian capital to restrict cars again to control air pollution

HE said this is the reason the green vote needs to be put forward.

“The issues, such as jobs and food, are important. But the problem is that the politicians do not have high regard for the environment,” he said in Filipino. However, Bautista said, at the local level, environment can be a major election issue and a candidate’s chances of winning depend largely on his position.

“In Mindoro, no pro-mining politician has won an election,” he said.

In areas where mining exist, Bautista said voters are very much aware of environmental issues because of their impact on agricultural production or on livelihood and the threat of serious disaster.

Platform on environment

THIS, however, is not the case at the national level, wherein candidates stick to gut issues, ignoring even the most pressing environmental issues. Chuck Baclagon of 350.org said, through the campaign, environmental groups want to contribute to forming an informed electorate that is not based on personality, advertisement or catchy and sex y slogans, but on platform of government with particular focus on the environment.

As environmental advocates, he said Green Vote 2016 campaigners would push for votes anchored on environmental platform of the candidates based on their track record and plans if they get elected.

He said all major issues are interconnected to the environmental woes besetting the country.

K im Gargar of Panalipdan, Southern Mindanao, said, “Environment is always put behind, that is why this time we will push it as an election issue.”

He said both election and environment are about people.

“For us, election is about people, and environment is also about people, and they are intertwined....

As environmental advocates, this election is an opportunity for us to highlight the campaign for the environment,” he added.

INDIAN policeman guards the Presidential Palace as smog engulfs the evening in New Delhi, India, on January 13. The World Health Organization last year named New Delhi the world’s most polluted city. The pollution is at its worst in the winter, when winds die down and dense smog often engulfs the city in the morning. AP/TSERING TOPGYAL

N

EW DELHI—T he New Delhi government will restrict cars on the streets for another two weeks to fight the extreme air pollution that has made the Indian capital the world’s most polluted city.

Private cars will be allowed on the streets on alternate days from April 15 to 30 based on even or odd license plates, Arvind Kejriwal, the city’s top elected official, said on Thursday.

The first phase in January was welcomed by people but couldn’t be done permanently because the city’s public bus system was inadequate, Kejriwal told reporters.

The advocacy and research group Center for Science and Environment lauded the formula and said air pollution after the first trial returned “with a vengeance.”

It saw a more than 50-percent jump in pollution levels on the first working day since the January 1 to 15 trial.

The group said PM2.5 levels averaged 277 micrograms per cubic

meter citywide, in the “severe” category. The measurement of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in size was 281 microgram per cubic meter in the last week of January.

“The odd-and-even scheme has proved that the city needs curbs on high traffic volume to pull down peaking of pollution, reduce congestion that further increase emissions, and cut direct exposure to toxic vehicular fumes,” it said.

India’s top court also this month set the terms for pollution control in and around New Delhi—advancement of Euro 6 emissions standards, augmentation of public transport, closure of a coal-based power plant and stronger action on waste burning, construction dust and road dust.

The World Health Organization said last year that the Indian capital had the worst air quality in the world in 2014, surpassing Beijing.

Air-monitoring sensors around the landlocked Indian capital routinely register hazardous levels of pollution, especially in winter. AP

A14 Monday, February 15, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Finally, a property slowdown

F

OR the last 15 years or so, the Philippines has been in the midst of a property-development boom. This business cycle has been orderly and beneficial to consumers, the developers and their suppliers, the banks and the economy in general.

The entire country has seen an increase in the standard of housing available to nearly all the economic classes. The success has been a continuing joint effort of both the private sector and the government, particularly through the strong monitoring of loan practices by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

All the while, those that actually wish to see the Philippines posting only limited success have been ranting about a property building and price “bubble.” We do not have much respect for these people. While they grab the headlines particularly in the international press and media, those that care about this country have been quietly in the background doing whatever was necessary to keep the property boom going while avoiding a damage of a bubble.

Now we may be coming to a necessary pause in the “boom” without having to suffer from a bubble, and this is a good development.

According to property consulting firm Colliers International, Philippine property developers are going to back on new residential condominium developments in Metro Manila this year. Colliers reports that new residential projects in Metro Manila launched through preselling declined by 11 percent, while the take-up of new inventory through pre-selling activities contracted by 18 percent in 2015.

This is confirmed by the number of licenses to sell the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) issued, which dropped by 12 percent for mid- and high-end condominium units. Middle-income housing licenses also fell by 10 percent. However—and this is great news—there was an 82.4-percent growth in licenses issued by HLURB to sell socialized housing, which shows the huge backlog in this segment.

The Housing Index that measures the costs of building hit an alltime high in the third quarter of 2014 and has risen by 37 percent since 2010. That increase in cost to build has not stopped the construction, but now it is time to pull back on building more expensive units.

Since that topping out of costs in 2014, prices are now down about 20 percent. Since the profit margins on lower-cost housing are less than for the high-end, this will allow and encourage the property developers to move in to this vast, but mostly untapped, lower-income market, and still keep their balance sheets and income statements healthy for the future.

But contrary to what the Philippine bashers may say, the property market in Metro Manila is strong, even if prices are not rising as fast as before. About 32,700 residential condominium units were launched in the metropolis last year, and the market took up 32,400 units.

We need this slowdown in the mid- to high-end market so the focus can turn to building for the lower-income buyers. This is not a “housing crisis”; it is another property-development opportunity.

PCSO’s presence in Davao del Norte Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

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RISING SUN

HE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) delivered four ambulances to the province of Davao del Norte last week, as part of the agency’s long-term efforts related to its ambulance-donation program.

With other PCSO officials and employees, I traveled to Tagum City on February 12, upon the invitation of Rep. Anthony G. del Rosario of the First District of Davao del Norte for a turnover ceremony to which were also invited Gov. Rodolfo P. del Rosario, Vice Gov. Victorio R. Suaybaguio, Rep. Antonio F. Lagdameo Jr., mayors, chiefs of hospital and other local government officials.

The recipients of this batch of ambulances for Daval del Norte were the district hospitals of the municipalities of Carmen, Kapalong, and the Island Garden City of Samal and the Davao Regional Medical Center.

These ambulances and the others that the PCSO has donated to various local government units (LGUs), public hospitals, other state entities and charitable organizations are being distributed to benefit our kababayan nationwide, under

President Aquino’s policy of universal health care for all Filipinos guided by the daang matuwid framework.

I have a standard speech at such events, where I emphasize several points about the PCSO ambulancedonation program.

First, is that it is open to all LGUs and other qualified beneficiaries under the law, without bias. Emergency vehicles are given when and where they are needed all over the country, and this is a continuing commitment in that beneficiaries may request for a new ambulance every five years, as long as their paperwork is in order.

Second, that the PCSO receives no funds from the national government. It generates its own funds from the operation of games, including the popular PCSO Lotto.

Therefore, we encourage the public to play our games; in doing so,

Partnering with PCSO creates a win-win situation for all involved, not only in terms of business benefits, but also on a deeper level; there is also a profound sense of fulfillment in being involved with charity work. As Lotto players, the public is part of that endeavor, and we thank them for their enthusiastic support through the years. they enable the administration and implementation of the ambulance-donation program and other PCSO programs.

Third, that we need the support of LGUs to help us in our service delivery by supporting PCSO’s Lotto operations. There are still some LGUs that do not allow Lotto outlets to be established in their areas; nevertheless, the PCSO has branches in those areas and continues to provide the same quality services and support to the people there.

Fourth, that LGUs also benefit from the presence of Lotto outlets in their areas, because they receive a percentage share from the revenues to fund their own social-welfare programs.

Fifth, that Lotto outlets are a good business endeavor for their lo-

cal entrepreneurs—businessmen; young people starting out with a little capital and a lot of guts; retirees looking for something easy to set up and run; overseas Filipino workers who have returned to their hometowns with some savings to invest. This helps boost the LGUs’ micro- to medium-enterprise efforts and develop their economy in general.

Partnering with the PCSO creates a win-win situation for all involved, not only in terms of business benefits, but also on a deeper level; there is also a profound sense of fulfillment in being involved with charity work.

In bringing ambulances to the remote areas of the country, the PCSO is also bringing smiles to the faces of the residents of those areas, whose worries are eased a little bit by having that particular resource they can use in times of need. As Lotto players, the public is part of that endeavor, and we thank them for their enthusiastic support through the years.

The PCSO also looks forward to stronger continuous synergy with the LGUs and other state entities and private organizations in the service of the people. nnn

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

Behind the scenes: PPP opportunities for introspection

By Alberto Agra

PPP LEAD Continued from A1 (1) 11, not 12 PPP projects. It is reported in the media that this administration has awarded 12 projects—three road/expressway, two classroom, one hospital, one airport, two light rail-related, one water and two transport-system projects. But reality is, only 11 will push through, to date.

The modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center has been aborted since the winning proponent opted to back out.

Two years was more than enough for the Department of Health to issue the certificate of possession over the site. Earlier on, stakeholders opposed this project, fearing that the PPP could

mean the end of free services to indigent patients.

(2) 11 out of more than 100 promised projects. When this administration launched its PPP Program in November 2010, it promised to award 100 or so projects. The list was contained in an official publication, entitled PPP projects. Despite the hype, however, to date, only 12 projects have been awarded.

In an attempt to do more, this administration has lined up 14 projects that it wants to seal before it steps down. This is the reason the PPP Center sought exemption from the Commission on Elections regarding the application of the election ban on public works. How many will, in fact, push through be-

In an attempt to do more, this Administration has lined up 14 projects that it wants to seal before it steps down.

This is the reason why the PPP Center sought exemption from the Commission on Elections regarding the application of the election ban on public works. How many will in fact push through before June 30?

fore June 30? Some say two or three.

(3) Two PPP definitions, instead of one. In this case, having more is problematic. Having two definitions of PPP by two administrative agencies, where one is attached to the other, causes confusion and shows internal policy inconsistencies.

The PPP Center’s definition, lifted from the build-operate-andtransfer (BOT) law, is project finance-based, while the definition of the National Economic and Development Authority is partnership-

based. Which one should we follow?

I subscribe to the broader one.

(4) More than six projects awarded under previous presidents. In comparing the number of awarded PPP projects under four presidents, the PPP Center shows the following count: two under President Fidel V. Ramos, three under President Joseph Estrada, one under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and 12 under the incumbent. Apparently, the graph shows the incumbent is more PPP savvy.

Because its definition of PPP is confined to the BOT law, the PPP Center did not include in its infographic the two concession agreements of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in 1996, the concession agreement with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and five joint ventures (JVs) by government-owned and -controlled corporations entered into during the last administration, among others.

Concessions and JVs are not considered PPPs by the PPP Center.

To be continued

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Cutting ties

Heads up! Accreditation for CPAs in commerce and industry

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

L

Jeffrey Galang Salazar

LEGALLY SPEAKING

AST week news headlines were filled with the narrative of an employee who claims to have been illegally dismissed for having contacted a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Since then, I was bombarded with questions regarding dismissals from employment. Thus, I have decided to revisit and discuss in a nutshell the salient prerequisites in severing an employer-employee relationship.

The Labor Code requires the observance of the statutory requirements of substantive and procedural due process in all cases of termination of employment. Relevantly, the substantive aspect comprises of just and authorized causes for dismissals, whereas the procedural aspect requires giving employees the opportunity to be heard in his defense.

Just causes for dismissal refer to work-related acts, which are directly attributable to the erring employee.

These refer to acts that are grave in nature and render the employee unfit to continue working. Under Article 297 (formerly Article 282) of the Labor Code, just causes for termination committed by an employee include serious misconduct or willful disobedience, gross and habitual neglect of duties, fraud or willful breach of trust and other causes analogous to the foregoing.

The procedural aspect of just cause cases requires the observance of the twin requirements of notice and hearing. In the case of Perez v.

Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Co. (584 SCRA 110), the Honorable Supreme Court (SC) held that in pretermination procedures, the employer must first serve a written notice to the employee apprising him of the charges against him.

Thereafter, the employer must give the employee ample opportunity to be heard. This can be done by means of a verbal or written explanation from the employee or through the latter’s request for a formal hearing or conference. Note that the hearing requirement does not necessitate a mandatory conference. It is only required in the following instances: (1) if expressly so requested by the employee in writing, (2) when substantial evidentiary disputes exist, or (3) when a company rule or practice requires it. After considering the evidence and the employer is convinced that there exists sufficient cause to terminate the employment, it shall inform the employee by serving to him a second written notice indicating the decision to severe his employment.

On the other hand, authorized causes usually refer to business or health-related concerns. These kinds of dismissals may be justified if resorted to in furtherance of a legitimate business necessity. Under Articles 298 and 299 (formerly Articles 283 and 284), authorized causes include installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment, closure or cessation of business operations and diseases. In instances falling under authorized causes, em-

ployers are mandated to observe good faith and shall only consider termination as a matter of last resort.

The procedural aspect of authorized causes requires that the employer furnish written notices both to the affected employees and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) at least 30 days before the intended date of termination.

Separation pay shall also be paid to the terminated employees unless there is a closure or cessation of the employer’s operations due to serious business losses or financial reverses.

In any event, terminations for just or authorized causes necessitate the observance of procedural due process. Unlike in grounds for just cause terminations save for abandonment, authorized causes do not normally require the conduct of a hearing.

Procedural due process is satisfied so long as there is compliance with the two-notice requirement. However, in the case of Abbott Laboratories v.

Alcaraz (701 SCRA 682), the SC ruled that when a company has prescribed in its existing policies due-process procedures for termination, such must be observed in addition to the statutory requirements.

It must be noted that failure to comply with the procedural aspect will not render the termination invalid. However, such omission shall obligate the employer to indemnify the employee for an amount dependent on the cause for termination.

If based on a just cause, the SC has set the indemnity in the amount of P30,000 per Agabon v. NLRC (442 SCRA 573). The same amount of indemnity also applies when there is failure to comply with the existing company policy procedures for termination. For authorized causes, the indemnity shall be in the amount of P50,000 per Jaka Food Processing Corp. v. Pacot (454 SCRA 119). Relatively, the indemnity in authorized causes is higher because the cause for dismissal is not attributable to the employee.

An aggrieved employee, however, may pursue a case for illegal dismissal against his employer within four years from the date the cause of action accrues.

I hope to have enlightened you with this brief discussion. Let us keep in mind that our labor laws assure protection, both to the laborers and the employers. To be sure, our laborers are ensured adequate conditions of work, while the employers are accorded the right to regulate its undertakings, thus effecting a balance of interests between labor and business.

DEBIT CREDIT

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CCOUNTANTS play a vital role in the field of commerce and industry, ensuring the company is financially stable and that reports provided for both internal and external users are timely, accurate, correct and fairly presented.

But in this complex world of business, only change is constant; this is due to numerous variables not only in the field of finance and accounting, but in other fields like the market, local and international trade, laws and regulation, technological advancement and even climate change.

A ccou nt a nt s, pa r t ic u l a rly those who prepare the financial statements (FS), must be equipped with suitable understanding of the company’s operations per se, and also of the way on how they will present these through figures. FS are very crucial because they reflect the company’s current operations and performance. One point to be considered in preparing these FS is the users’ convenience of using these FS as basis for making sound decisions, and for the regulatory agency to study the

performance of the economy.

FS preparers must continue to improve in coping up with the rapid changes, not only through passing the board exam and years of professional experience, but with proper education and training.

It is timely enough that the Board of Accountancy (BOA), held by former Internal Revenue Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres, passed BOA Resolution 03 Series of 2016 dated January 19, 2016, requiring FS preparers to be Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) accredited in commerce and industry. For those small and medium enterprises that cannot afford or maintain an accredited CPA as a member of their organization, the resolution allows accredited CPAs to be outsourced, provided that it is not the same CPA who will conduct the audit.

Only companies whose gross

B J R | Bloomberg View

UROPE is facing a convergence of the worst crises since World War II, and the overwhelming consensus among officials and experts here is that the US no longer has the will or the ability to play an influential role in solving them.

At the Munich Security Conference, the prime topics are the refugee crisis, the Syrian conflict, Russian aggression and the potential dissolution of the European Union’s very structure. Top European leaders repeatedly lamented that 2015 saw all of Europe’s problems deepen, and unanimously predicted that in 2016 they would get even worse.

“The question of war and peace has returned to the continent,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the audience, indirectly referring to Russian military interventions. “We had thought that peace

had returned to Europe for good.”

What was missing from the conference speeches and even the many private discussions in the hallways, compared to previous years, was the discussion of what Europe wanted or even expected the US to do.

Several European officials told me that there was little expectation that President Barack Obama, in his last year in office, would make any significant policy changes to address what European governments see an existential set of crises that can’t wait for a new administration in Washington.

“There’s a shared assessment that

sa les or re venues e xceed i ng P10,000,000 for one accounting year are covered under this resolution, and that the accredited CPA will issue a Certificate of Compilation Services for the Preparation of FS as an additional attachment for submission of the audited FS. However, due to time constraints in the application for accreditation, only companies whose accounting period ends June 30, 2016 are mandated to prepare their financial statements by a BOA commerce and industry-accredited CPA. This is a regulation and all companies affected must comply, but keep in mind that this is not an additional burden for us CPAs, but an opportunity to broaden our horizons and be accredited. Aside from CPAs in public practice, CPAs in education and academe are all moving toward accreditation; it’s also the time that commerce and industry uplift the standards of the accounting profession.

How to start? The Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Picpa) is providing seminars and training to our fellow CPAs, for them to earn the required number of hours or credits that must be completed for accreditation eligibility. Other organizations and auditing firms are also providing trainings and seminars with an array

The two Republican debates

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B J B | Bloomberg View

HERE were two Republican debates on Saturday night, just as there are two Republican nomination battles right now. One of them is the reality TV show, starring Donald Trump. That one is amazingly entertaining, although it has less to do with how to govern the nation than The Bachelor has to do with real love and romance. Trump lies: No one talked about immigration as a problem until he ran for president! He spoke up against the Iraq war before it started! He insults his opponents. He insults debate audiences. He interrupts. He makes faces. And sometimes the other candidates strike back, often on about the same level.

On Saturday night Trump decided to sharply criticize George W. Bush (who remains quite popular among Republican voters) over both Iraq and the September 11 attacks. Will it matter? Who knows? Nothing else so far has— for that third who want to vote for him, at least.

And then there are the regular candidates. It isn’t as if they are all that edifying either. Their lies are politician lies, not the specials that Trump serves up. Marco Rubio, for example, wants everyone to believe that he and Ted Cruz have similar records on immigration, something that isn’t even close to being true. Cruz, for his part, pretends that Obamacare has cost millions of jobs. But the candidates do at least sort of debate public policy.

The Republicans’ reality show constantly threatens to swallow the normal nomination fight.

Maybe it will. I still don’t believe so: As far as I can tell, Republicans have had plenty of opportunity to decide whether they want to make a mockery of their party, and about two-thirds of them, give or take some, are more sensible than that, according to the voting so far and to polls. If that’s the case, then what we care about is which of the other candidates will survive to beat him one on one.

Saturday night may have offered some clues. Marco Rubio bounced back after his disaster in New Hampshire and had his usual solid performance. If anyone was worried he couldn’t handle competing at this level,

Europe’s convinced US won’t solve its problems

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Monday, February 15, 2016 A15

the European security architecture is falling apart in many ways,” said Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.

“There is a growing sense that this US administration is focused on establishing a legacy on what has already been achieved rather than trying to achieve anything more. Yet, the problems can get much worse.”

During the first day of the conference, the US role in Europe was hardly mentioned in the public sessions. In the private sessions, many participants told me that European governments are not only resigned to a lack of American assertiveness, they also are now reluctantly accepting a Russia that is more present than ever in European affairs, and not for the better.

“There’s not a lot of talk about how the US can be part of the solution.

We seem to be disappearing from

their calculations,” said Walter Russell Mead, a historian with the Hudson Institute. “From the European standpoint, Putin has become somebody that like it or not that they have to deal with.”

On Saturday Secretary of State John F. Kerry gave a speech filled with optimism about the future of Europe and the trans-Atlantic alliance. He sought to assuage concerns about American withdrawal from the region and paint the current state of affairs in a positive light.

“We know many Europeans right now feel overwhelmed by the latest round of challenges,” he said.

“I want to express the confidence of President Obama and all of us in America that, just as it has so many times before, Europe is going to emerge stronger than ever, provided it stays united and builds common responses to these challenges.…

Choosing the one who appears to have the best chance of beating Trump isn’t irrational at all.

Nor is it irrational for moderates and moderate conservatives to look for the candidate with the best chance to beat Cruz.

For very conservative voters, beating Kasich (and perhaps Bush too) might be important. In that context, any signs of life from Rubio might matter.

of topics from taxation, auditing, compliance, ethics and financialreporting standards.

It is also the time to meet with fellow accountants in the field of commerce and industry, to build your network and share your thoughts and professional experiences, which are very useful than doing it alone or within the organization only.

Other requirements such as certificate of employment from cur rent employer, cer tif icate of good standing from Picpa and a written detailed description of work experience, including sample drafts, are provided in the annex portion of the BOA resolution.

CPAs in this sector must apply on or before February 29, 2016 and are given up to June 30, 2016 to complete the training hours requirements.

Finally, it is our time CPAs in commerce and industry to feel proud, for our name and license is in a document certifying a company’s FS that has already become part of our everyday professional life.

Acct. Jeffrey Galang Salazar is a Certified Public Accountant and a Master in Business Administration degree holder.

He is currently connected with Tong Hsing Electronics Phils Inc., Mold Parts Manufacturing Asia Inc. and Pamantasan ng Cabuyao—as part-time professor.

the South Carolina debate should have alleviated that concern.

John Kasich tried to build on his second-place effort in New Hampshire by chastising everyone for negative campaigning.

That is easy for him to promise because he has little money for campaigning and, in expanding Medicaid in Ohio, he is an easy target for other candidates.

Ted Cruz fought with Rubio and Trump; Jeb Bush fought repeated ly w it h Tr ump, a strateg y that hasn’t worked out well for anyone in the past, but perhaps this will change with a smaller

Republican field.

Rubio won the room, presumably by packing it with the most enthusiastic supporters.

He was consistently interrupted by applause, while Jeb Bush’s fans sometimes seemed to be noticing a beat too slow that he had finished speaking before they realized they were supposed to clap. Or maybe it was just about microphone placement.

Of course this sort of thing rarely makes a difference, except that South Carolina voters (outside of the Trump supporters) are presumably looking for some reason to choose among fairly similar candidates. Choosing the one who appears to have the best chance of beating Trump isn’t irrational at all. Nor is it irrational for moderates and moderate conservatives to look for the candidate with the best chance to beat Cruz. For very conservative voters, beating Kasich (and perhaps Bush too) might be important.

In that context, any signs of life from Rubio might matter.

All of this assumes voters will notice the regular campaign. It will be fascinating to see which debate clips play on South Carolina TV news, and on national and South Carolina conservative talk radio. If it’s the reality show, that’s bad news for everybody else.

We are going to do just fine.”

Kerry said the US-Europe relationship was not “unraveling,” as some claim, and he pointed to joint efforts to rebut Russian aggression in Ukraine and the Iran nuclear agreement as examples of successful collaboration. He said the Islamic State would be defeated and he acknowledged the US should do more to help Europe deal with the millions of refugees flowing into the continent.

Kerry then touted his agreement struck on Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria to begin in a week. He didn’t mention that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad publicly rejected the idea, or repeat his statement that if Russia doesn’t stop its indiscriminate bombing in Syria, he would go to an as yet unspecified “Plan B.” Many in the audience noted that

Kerry has little leverage with which to pressure Russia to abide by any cease-fire. There’s little faith among European officials I spoke with that Russia has any plan to end the fighting, unless it is on Moscow’s own terms. Lavrov spoke after Kerry and reiterated that Russia would continue to bomb the “terrorists” in Syria, and that Russia’s view of “terrorists” was expansive.

“Kerry is coming in there telling them this is what he hopes they will do, without having a way to elicit a response to them,” Mead said. “That looks like a negotiation, but that’s not actually a negotiation.”

Derek Chollet, who served in the Obama administration from 2009 until last year, told me the White House believes that while the US should stay committed to European security, it is the Europeans who will have to do more to solve their problems.