BusinessMirror March 12, 2015

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Life

Father of a multitude

EXPLORING GOD’S WORD, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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he Philippines will offer tax breaks to as many as three automakers, as one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies aims to become a regional production hub.

OPRAH WINFREY SELECTS CYNTHIA BOND’S ‘RUBY’ FOR BOOK CLUB »D4

BusinessMirror

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

Thursday, March 12, 2015

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Sake, strawberries and spells on a tour of Osaka

PHOTOS BY ROSEMARIE B. RAZON

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B G R Lifestyle & Entertainment Editor

literature I wouldn’t have been able to decipher even if my life depended on it, ultimately buying four cans of very strong espresso that I hoped would give me enough buzz to let me finish my work. (It did.) “Arigatou gozaimasu!” I said to the genial elderly man manning the cashier as I collected the canned javas I’d just paid for, punctuating my thanks with a bow straight from the waist. He smiled a genuinely genial smile and said the same and did the same.

For a moment there, I was tempted to repeat the process to further underscore my appreciation of his help when I was fumbling through my payment in coins that were foreign to me, but then the voice of Tito Valiente—BM film and media critic, Japanologist and a longtime friend—rang in my ear: “However tempted you may be to bow again after a Japanese returns the gesture, don’t—unless you both want to be exchanging bows through eternity.”

On my way back to the hotel, as I resisted the temptation to explore a side street vibrant with lights and late-night life, I wondered again if I had been a Japanese in a previous life, as my sense of deep affinity for all things Japanese had not been banished by neither the reality of earlier trip to Nagoya (also courtesy of Cebu Pacific) nor this tour of Osaka, which according to Wikipedia is “the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan and among the largest in the world with nearly 19 million inhabitants. Situated at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is Japan’s second largest city by the daytime population after the Tokyo 23 wards, and serves as a major economic hub.”

Also according to Wikipedia, Osaka was “historically a merchant city...known as the ‘nation’s kitchen’ and served as a center for the rice trade” during the Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period, considered a golden age in Japan when the country experienced robust economic

T was past midnight of February 27 in Osaka, Japan, only a little over 24 hours since we arrived in this beautiful capital city of the Osaka Prefecture—courtesy of Cebu Pacific, the Philippines’s largest carrier, which had flown in a small group of media professionals for a four-day familiarization tour— and, of course, I knew it was chilly, even freezing, outside. I was, however, in desperate need of some strong shots of black coffee if I were to survive the next hours with eyes wide open to get some work done before catching an hour—or two, if I were lucky—of sleep.

Terribly worn-out from the day’s tours—the hugely popular Universal Studios Japan theme park, the Floating Garden Observatory of the Umeda Sky Building, the Osaka Castle—I couldn’t bring myself to put on anything else beyond my shoes and the Uniqlo lounging set I had brought along for sleeping. It made for a strange fashion statement, I admit, but never mind that. I took the elevator down to the lobby of the modern Cross Hotel (www.crosshotel.com/ osaka/), where we had been billeted for the night, and quickly ushered myself out onto the hotel’s sidewalk to buy coffee at the Lawson convenience store just a short block away.

The cold wind promptly hit me like a frozen sledgehammer. The temperature must have been in the low 1°C, and there were all these smartly dressed locals in their fur-lined black parkas and trenches bustling about, passing me by, perhaps a few wondering if this oddlooking, brown-skinned foreigner standing on the sidewalk in loungewear—in a thick cotton, yes, but still cotton—in freezing weather was certifiably insane.

I didn’t mind. After quickly recovering from the initial shock of bitterly cold wind, I embraced the chill and greedily took in the clean and very cold air as I ambled to the Lawson store. There, I browsed through merchandise whose labels and

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life

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solar-powered plane lands in India on 2nd leg of world trip The World BusinessMirror

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

Good news for some of us: Others are quitting US jobs

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ASHINGTON—Quitting your job—all but unheard of during and after the Great Recession–is becoming more common again. That could mean pay raises are coming for more Americans. The trend has already emerged in the restaurant and retail industries, where quits and pay are rising faster than in the overall economy.

Workers in those industries appear to be taking advantage of rising consumer demand to seek better pay elsewhere. Workers who quit typically do so to take higher-paying jobs.

That’s why rising numbers of quits typically signal confidence in the economy and the job market. As the trend takes hold, employers are often forced to offer higher pay to hold on to their staffers or attract new ones.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that the number of people who quit jobs rose 3 percent from December to January to 2.8 million—the most in more than six years. Quits have jumped 17 percent over the past 12 months.

Since the Great Recession ended, the figure has soared. Just 1.6 million people quit their jobs in August 2009, two months after the recession officially ended. That was the fewest for any month in the 14 years that the figures have been tracked.

Quits tend to open up more jobs for the unemployed. One barrier for the jobless in a weak economy is that few workers risk quitting their jobs to take a different one, in part because new hires are often most likely to be laid off. So most workers stay put, leaving fewer options for college graduates, people recently laid off and others seeking work. The rising number of quits has begun to affect many larger corporations. Frank Friedman, interim CEO at the consulting and auditing firm Deloitte, says his firm’s clients, which include about 80 percent of the Fortune 500, are increasingly struggling to retain employees.

“The biggest problem for many businesses is talent retention,” Friedman said. “Wages are a critical component of it. The balance of power has changed in favor of the employee.”

Deloitte itself faces the same challenges. It’s stepping up its hiring, in part because more of its employees have left for other jobs.

The firm plans to add 24,000 people this year, including paid internships, to its staff of 72,000.

That’s up from the past several years, when Deloitte typically hired 19,000 to 21,000 people, and the increase is largely to make up for more quits.

The same trend is squeezing the restaurant and hotel industries.

Nearly half their workers quit last year, up from about one-third in 2010. And average hourly earnings for restaurant employees rose 3.4 percent in January compared with 12 months earlier, before adjusting for inflation. That’s much better than the national average of 2.2 percent, which was barely above inflation.

About one-third of US retail workers quit last year, up from one-quarter in 2010. And pay rose 3.2 percent in January from the previous year.

Individual retailers, including Wal-Mart, the Gap, and TJX Cos., which owns T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, have announced pay raises in recent weeks Not surprisingly, quit rates are much lower in higher-paying industries. Just 12 percent of manufacturing workers and 14.8 percent of financial services employees left work last year. The quit rate in government was just 7.7 percent.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said that data from payroll processor ADP showed that workers who switched jobs in the final three months of 2014 received average pay increases of nearly 14 percent compared with their previous jobs. For those who remained in the same job for a year, pay rose an average 3.2 percent, before adjusting for inflation. AP

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Solar-powered plane lands in India on 2nd leg of world trip

In this March 9 photo released by Solar Impulse, a Swiss solar-powered plane lands in Muscat, Oman, after it took off from Abu Dhabi early Monday, marking the start of the first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel. AP

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HMADABAD, India—A Swissmade solar-powered aircraft landed in western India on Tuesday night, completing the second leg—and its first sea crossing—of its historic round-the-world trip.

The Solar Impulse 2 touched down at Ahmadabad airport in Gujarat state about 16 hours after it took off from Muscat, Oman, for the 1,465-kilometer (km) flight without a drop of fuel.

The world’s first aircraft powered by solar energy was to remain in Ahmadabad for two days before flying to the holy city of Varanasi in northern India on Saturday. The Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and

Andre Boschberg, are taking turns at the controls of the aircraft during their 35,000-km journey.

The aircraft’s wings are covered by more than 17,000 solar cells that recharge the plane’s batteries. It flies ideally at around 45 km per hour (25 knots). On Monday, Borschberg, who co-founded the Solar Impulse company that built the plane, flew the Si2 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to nearby Oman in the first leg of the epic journey. Piccard flew the second leg to Ahmadabad.

The Swiss explorers say their aim is to highlight the importance of renewable energy and the spirit

of innovation. They say the visionary journey is a “strong message for clean technologies.”

The Si2 is slated to make 12 stops during its journey, including in China and Myanmar, before it crosses over the Pacific Ocean. It will then land in Hawaii and the US Midwest and East Coast before flying over the Atlantic Ocean. It may also stop in southern Europe or North Africa, depending on weather conditions.

Some legs of the trip, such as over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, will mean five days and five nights of flying solo. Both pilots have been training hard for this journey, which will span 25 flight days over five months.

Borschberg has been practicing yoga and Piccard self-hypnosis.

Neither pilot will be able to stand in the cockpit while flying, but the seat reclines for stretching and its cushion can be removed for access to a toilet. There is no running water onboard. Armbands placed underneath their suits will buzz if the plane isn’t flying level.

The Si2 aircraft has a wingspan of 236 feet, spanning larger than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

At about 2,300 kilograms, the Si2 weighs about as much as a minivan or midsized truck. An empty Boeing 747, in comparison, weighs some 177.157175 tons. AP

’Obamacare’ fits the bill as more people turn to freelancing

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Puppy love: These business owners and their pooches are never apart, even at work

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office. On any given day, six to seven canines can be found attending office meetings, chomping ice in the break room or napping on orthopedic beds.

The dogs ring a bell tied to a door if they need to go outside. There are some simple in-office ground rules: n Each dog must be vaccinated and up to date on heartworm and flea medication. n Each dog has to be groomed (as in, not dirty, messy or smelly). n Each dog has to be well-behaved.

(Troublemakers need not report to work.)

But even when some of the pups are a little rambunctious, they tend to mellow out within a few weeks, Tyler said.

“The other dogs will say that’s not appropriate behavior,” she said, jokingly.

“There are times they’ll get frisky, start chasing each other around the office and we have to put a kibosh on that.”

Sadie, a 1-year-old chocolate Labrador, has been an office fixture at Charlotte’s Evans Coghill Homes since her owner, Chris Folk, bought her in January. Folk, who co-founded the home construction business in 2001, decided to bring Sadie to his office so she could socialize with humans. TNS

SeAn WIllIAMS is an Uber driver in Chicago, which qualifies him as part of the “freelance economy” under the Affordable Care Act. TNS

By Ellen Jean Hirst Chicago Tribune/TNS

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HICAGO—Sean Williams used to work at Ford. But when the company offered the 46-year-old Chicagoan a buyout, he seized the opportunity to go back to school and pursue his dream of becoming a cinematographer.

Williams graduated in 2012 with a master’s degree in cinema production from DePaul University but has struggled to get his new career started. He landed with Uber last year and now makes his way from his South Side home to downtown each afternoon, chauffeuring urbanites around until the early morning.

After more than two years without health insurance, Williams signed up for Obamacare when he learned he could afford it at $230 a month with a government subsidy.

“It’s kind of expensive to me, but I don’t mind,” Williams said. “It beats going to the emergency room and waiting for someone to talk to you.”

Whether by choice or necessity, the freelancing industry has been growing. About one in three, or about 53 million people nationally, consider themselves freelancers in

some capacity, according to a recent national survey commissioned by the Freelancers Union, a New Yorkbased freelancers advocacy group.

The catch: no benefits.

That’s where Obamacare steps in to a self-directed worklife. Under the law, individuals who make less than $46,680 or families of four making up to $95,400 qualify for a government subsidy if they also don’t have access to health insurance through an employer. “Obamacare is part of this new rising infrastructure that’s coming up around this new work force,” said Dan Lavoie, director of strategy for the Freelancers Union.

“It’s coworking spaces, job-sharing sites. There’s this whole new infrastructure that’s coming up to meet this new work force and so little of it even existed five years ago. There’s kind of a path now [into freelancing] and Obamacare is part of that path for people.”

Stride Health chief executive Noah Lang said he thinks the availability of affordable health insurance for more freelancers will give the already growing freelance economy an extra bump. Stride is an online insurance exchange for freelancers, among others.

“I think it’s where our economy is headed, people managing their work lives more,” Lang said. “Having access to coverage outside traditional means is a huge enabler for that.”

Angela Rudolph had longed to go into independent consulting for years before finally taking the plunge a few years ago. She said the biggest thing holding her back was the idea of losing her employersponsored benefits.

The 43-year-old from Chicago had spent her career in government and nonprofit sectors and signed up for health insurance through Costco when she started her own business.

Now, she said, she pays about $100 less a month through Obamacare.

“It was one of the scariest things that for a long time that kept me from putting my foot out there,” Rudolph said. “It definitely takes that worry off the table.”

Sara Sitzer, a 32-year-old from Elgin, said lacking traditional health insurance has been a burden since 2007, when she graduated with a master’s degree in music and shortly after started working as a cellist with the New World Symphony in Florida. She and her husband both work as freelance cellists.

World

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ready to move on Sports BusinessMirror

| Thursday, MarCh 12, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

READY TO MOVE ON Dustin Johnson, fresh off another World Golf Championship title that renewed his credentials as an elite player, tries to move forward even as there are lingering questions about his past.

By Doug Ferguson

The Associated Press

ORAL, Florida—Whether by choice or coercion, Dustin Johnson sat out for six months.

That much should not be forgotten as Johnson, fresh off another World Golf Championship title that renewed his credentials as an elite player, tries to move forward even as there are lingering questions about his past.

And those questions linger in part because the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour doesn’t release all information about suspensions.

“We don’t think the fans really want to know about most of the stuff we would be talking about,” Commissioner Tim Finchem said on Sunday. “We don’t think there’s a large volume of it, and we don’t think much of it is very serious.”

Heading into the final major of last year, Johnson was No. 5 in the Ryder Cup standings, a lock to make his third straight team. He was No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, poised for a shot at a lucrative payoff. And then he walked away under curious circumstances by announcing a leave of absence in a statement that contained words like “personal challenges” and

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FRANCE MOURNS ARIS—Olympic gold medalist Camille Muffat had retired from swimming to focus on her personal life, boxer Alexis Vastine had some unfinished business after two disappointing Olympics, and the beloved sailor Florence Arthaud was a pioneer for women in her sport.

The three athletes were among 10 people who died when two helicopters filming a reality show crashed in a remote part of Argentina on Monday.

As France awoke to the news, the country’s political leaders and best-knownsports figures registered their shock and expressed their condolences on television and social media.

The French sports daily L’Equipe’s web site carried a picture of Muffat holding her gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics alongside the words, “French Sport in Mourning.”

French President François Hollande spoke of his “immense sadness,” while the secretary of state for sport, Thierry Braillard, said, “French sport has lost three stars.”

“Some had finished their careers and one was dreaming of gold in Rio [in 2016],” Braillard said on BFM television. “I’m profoundly saddened.”

The helicopters collided in mid-air in La Rioja province, about 1,170 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires. Eight of those killed were French, the other two were Argentine. Authorities were at the scene of the crash late Monday trying to determine its cause.

Called “Dropped,” the reality show on French channel TF1 consists of dropping two teams of competitors into a hostile environment, and then filming their walk back to civilization.

“The world of sport and the Olympic family have lost three of their key members,” IOC President Thomas Bach said, adding that the athletes “were all not only champions in their sport but also contributed greatly as role models.”

The Olympic flag will be flown at half-staff for three days at International Olympic Committee headquarters.

Michel Platini, the president of European football’s governing body, said “my thoughts are with them on this dark day for French sport, but also with the families of the other seven other victims of this tragic and terrible accident.”

France rugby Coach Philippe Saint-Andre also offered his support to the families of the 10 victims.

Muffat, who was 25, also won a silver medal in the 200 freestyle and a bronze in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the London Games. She retired last year.

“She had dedicated a lot of her life to swimming to become Olympic champion, and her objective since her retirement was to make a success of her [personal] life,” her friend and agent Sophie Kamoun said. “She had a lot of projects that made her happy, and this show was one of them. I spoke to her on the phone two days ago and she told me she’d spent a fabulous week, one of the best of her life.”

Allison Schmitt, who took the silver behind Muffat in the 400 freestyle by 0.32 seconds tweeted that she was “deeply saddened by the sudden death of Camille Muffat. A great racer and champion. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.”

Also on Twitter, Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps’s coach said: “Such a tragedy. RIP.” Another French swimmer, two-time Olympic gold

“mission of self-improvement.”

The PGA Tour said nothing except to wish him well, and to deny a report by Golf.com that Johnson was suspended for six months. Golf.com reported Johnson failed three drug tests, the last two for cocaine, including in 2012, when he missed three months for what he said was a back injury from lifting a jet ski out of the water.

Six months later, Johnson looks as good as ever.

In the last five weeks, he has tied for fourth at Pebble Beach, lost in a playoff at Riviera and won at Doral.

There was a vibe on Twitter and in the locker room at Riviera, when Johnson was in the playoff that it was not right for him to leave quietly and return with so little inspection. Johnson was helped because most of the attention went to Tiger Woods and his lost tooth and lost game.

Johnson received no earnings in golf tournaments for six months. He has averaged $164,183 per tournament in his career and missed at least seven tournaments he ordinarily would have played.

The tour is required under its anti-doping policy to announce a suspension (but not the substance).

There have been two cases in seven years. But when it comes to recreational drugs, the tour conveniently tucks that under its ubiquitous

“conduct unbecoming a professional” category, in which the tour is not required to publicly disclose anything.

And it rarely does.

Conduct unbecoming could be a three-iron that gets hurled into the water or any other fit of frustration. It could be comments that disparage another player. It could be marijuana.

John Daly was hearing rumors in late 2008 that he had been suspended for life because of a series of incidents. He called the Associated Press (AP) to set the record the straight: He was only suspended for six months. The AP called the PGA Tour, which said it does not comment on discipline.

Finchem said it doesn’t make sense to announce a fine when it would only serve to remind people of something “that five people saw on the fourth green.”

Then again, millions of television viewers heard Patrick Reed berate himself over a three-putt in Shanghai by using a gay slur. The only comment came from Reed, who apologized.

By not saying anything, the tour creates a vacuum filled with speculation, innuendo and rumors.

These are what follow Johnson.

When asked if the Golf.com report on

the failed drug trusts were accurate, Johnson said “no” in an interview with the AP and then quickly and politely said he was done answering those questions.

They came up again when Johnson won the Cadillac Championship. And he will face more questions if he wins a major.

Finchem said there are some cases that require comment, though his analogy of a brawl, such as a player “slugging somebody in the stands,” didn’t resonate.

“When we get into substance abuse, it’s kind of in between,” Finchem said. “I mean, I can see some of the benefits of dealing with that differently. Thus far, we have chosen not to.”

And here’s where it gets sticky. If a player is mysteriously absent for a period of time—maybe he needs to clear his head, or even work on his chipping— speculation easily follows that he might be suspended.

Even if the tour says otherwise, how much credibility does it have?

“If it triggers a situation where a player is stepping away from the game, or maybe being suspended, but we really don’t know, does that create confusion?” Finchem said. “And that’s one point that we are giving some thought to on that particular situation.”

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is inviting you to draw your own conclusions. That’s safe for the tour. Is it fair to the player?

medalist Alain Bernard, was also a participant in the show and had been due to fly in another helicopter on Monday.

“Obviously he was in tears, traumatized by what he’d seen,” Kamoun said. “He told me he saw some flames and he knew it was dramatic.”

Fabrice Pellerin, Muffat’s former coach, spoke with pride and emotion about a recent encounter he had with Muffat.

“We spent a good time together, we ate at the restaurant, we shared the same table, we chatted,” he said. “Right now I’m thinking about Camille. She was always the first to wish me ‘Happy Birthday.’ Always smiling. She was a fantastic person.”

Vastine will never get the Olympic gold he craved— and one he felt was unjustly denied him.

The boxer won a bronze medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing after a controversial loss to Manuel Felix Diaz of the Dominican Republic in the semifinals. Vastine was ahead in the bout, but was docked points by the referee in the final round. He broke down in tears after the defeat.

There were tears again at the London Games four years later when Vastine drew on points with Taras Shelestyuk of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, but lost on the count-back rule.

“It feels like I’ve lost a member of my family. He was my friend, he was like my little brother,” said Dominique Nato, the former technical director of the French Boxing Federation. “I had a lot of respect for him, no one will forget him.”

Arthaud, who was 57, was a pioneer in sailing. In 1990, she became the first woman to win the famed Route du Rhum rac—a trans-Atlantic single-handed yacht race between Brittany and the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe—on her boat Pierre 1er.

“She was a fighter,” said French sailor Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, who was second in the Route du Rhum race in 1998.

“At the time it was extraordinary because not many women were doing this. She opened the way for others.”

French sailor Loick Peyron, winner of the Route du Rhum and the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the world, bid Arthaud farewell on Twitter with a simple yet affectionate message: “We’ll miss you Mimine.”

Canoeist Tony Estanguet, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said he felt “devastated” and “so sad for my friends,” while former French sprinter Muriel Hurtis said, “I don’t have words to express the pain I feel, the tears are flowing and won’t stop.”

Former France and Arsenal striker Sylvain Wiltord, ice skating champion Philippe Candeloro and veteran cyclist Jeannie Longo are among the other French athletes who took part in the reality show, but none were involved in the accident.

“I am sad for my friends, I’m trembling, I’m horrified, I don’t have words. I can’t say anything,” Wiltord tweeted. AP CAMILLE MUFFAT celebrates her victory in the »women’s 400-meter freestyle swimming final at the Aquatics Center inside the Olympic Park in the London 2012 Summer Olympics. AP

sports

AIRFARES DROP WITH FUEL, BUT FUTURE REMAINS UNCLEAR

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DUSTIN JOHNSON is looking as good as ever. AP

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President Aquino is set to issue an order implementing the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program (CARS) “within this year,” Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said in an interview in his office in Manila on Tuesday. “The car industry’s supply chain feeds into other industries, and we think that becoming a regional hub will help fill our gaps in manufacturing.”

The Philippines is seeking to replicate Thailand’s success in building its auto industry, betting that a young work force and its biggest economic boom since the 1950s will lure companies such as Volkswagen AG. Mr. Aquino, who steps down in June 2016, is raising spending on roads and airports to a record this year to lure more foreign direct investments (FDI) and bolster growth to as much as 8 percent this year and next.

“Government support will be a factor in determining further investment and future plant expansion,” said Rommel Gutierrez, senior vice president of Toyota

DAle FIte, president and “watch dog” of tyler 2 Construction, watches over Sadie, a Chiweenie, in his office on February 4. tyler 2 Construction is a commercial construction and general contractor business that allows pets in the office. TNS

HARLOTTE, North Carolina— It’s been said the love between a dog and its owner is like the love between a parent and child.

So, what happens when “pet parents” have a business that could take them away from their beloved pooch for hours on end? For three Charlotte business owners, it means dog logos, dog-inspired business names and dogs hanging around the office, going to meetings and sloshing on water in the break room. Katie Tyler’s decision to let dogs roam in her office was a business strategy: She wanted to keep a good employee.

Her accountant worked hard, but spent most of her time at her desk and computer, said Tyler, chief executive of commercial construction firm Tyler 2 Construction. During the accountant’s annual review, Tyler asked what could make life at the office more fulfilling.

The employee, Tyler recalled, said she had just lost her dog and wanted to get a puppy but she didn’t want it to be alone.

“Before she got the words ‘can I bring her to work’ out of her mouth, I said, ‘bring her to work.” And that’s been the norm for the past 14 years. Of Tyler’s 23 employees, about five of them own dogs with a second home at the company’s

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sake, strawberries and spells on a tour of osaka D

TfridayNovember

Thursday, March18, 12,2014 2015 Vol. Vol.10 10No. No.40 154

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DOMINGO SAYS CAR-HUB PROJECT, WHICH INCLUDES GRANT OF INCENTIVES, WILL HELP FILL GAPS IN PHL MANUFACTURING

INSIDE

EAR Lord, You invited Abram to leave his homeland and migrate to another land with the promise that You would make of him a “great nation.” Abram obeyed, but for years, he remained childless—something which made him very unhappy and made him wonder how You could keep Your promise to make of him a great nation. You kept repeating such a promise and as a further reassurance, You even changed Abram’s name to Abraham, father of a multitude.

Eventually, he had his son, the beginning of the fulfilment of Your promises. Amen.

A broader look at today’s business

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ith airfares dropping early in 2015, some officials are optimistic that customers will continue to pay less compared to last year.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents more than 250 airlines globally, estimated airfare could decrease by as much as 5 percent compared to 2014 prices.

“The industry outlook is improving,” said Tony Tyler, the association’s director general and CEO, at the end of 2014.

“It’s a highly competitive industry and consumers—travelers, as well as shippers—will see lower costs in 2015 as the impact of lower oil prices kicks in.”

Travel web site Orbitz.com reported last week that airline prices are down 3 percent right now compared to last year’s spring break.

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PESO exchange rates n US 44.2630

UNIVERSITY SERIES Vista Land President and CEO Manuel Paolo Villar (right) and Vista Residences Inc. Division Head Elizabeth M. Kalaw converse during the launch of Vista Residences’ five new projects that redefine the way Filipino students live. The new projects are part of the University Series of Vista Residences rising near top academic institutions in the country and are perfectly designed to meet the needs of students and academic staff for condominium living. ALYSA SALEN

Another record-high FDI inflows seen this year

By Bianca Cuaresma

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he long-term investments channeled by nonresidents to the Philippines will likely rise further this year to breach the record-high inflows set in 2014, a regional banking giant said.

In its commentary on the recent foreign direct investments (FDI) data on Tuesday, the DBS Bank said coupled with strong remittance inflows, it is evident in the FDI data that the Philippine economy has a “very strong” external liquidity position.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday that FDI inflows hit $6.2 billion in 2014, the highest yearly FDI seen by the Philippines to date.

DBS said the total FDI is likely to sustain this trend and hit another record-high growth in 2015 due to some policy changes that are currently being discussed, which can further boost the country’s attractiveness to foreign direct investors.

Among these policy changes that the DBS cited include the possibility of new tax incentives for targeted sectors, as well as the revision to the negative investment list of the Philippines.

“On the latter, progress has been painfully slow,” DBS, however, noted.

The country’s negative investment list identifies the specific sectors that are only reserved to Filipino nationals.

DBS also noted that 60 percent of the FDI projects approved in 2014 were

meant for the manufacturing sector.

“The revitalization of the manufacturing sector has been one of the key positives for the Philippines in the past couple of years. The economy has been labeled as overly dependent on its services sector,” DBS said.

Among the regional bank’s concern, meanwhile, are the strong growth in the construction sector and the change of administration next year.

“Robust growth in the construction sector since 2011 has also led to some concerns that the economy may overheat,” DBS said.

“Still, a close monitoring is warranted for this year, especially ahead of the presidential elections in 2016,” it added.

n japan 0.3656 n UK 66.6955 n HK 5.7045 n CHINA 7.0685 n singapore 31.8668 n australia 34.1852 n EU 47.3614 n SAUDI arabia 11.8032 Source: BSP (11 March 2015)

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EC: Include geographical indications in EU-PHL FTA. . .

He said among those that will be covered by the EU-GSP+ are food products and processed food. These products are eligible for registration, subject to GI standards.

GI-registered products, Ledoux said, can be twice as valuable as their non-GI counterparts and, thus, can fetch more profits for the producers and farmers.

GI products can also serve as effective marketing and tourism tools for the country. For the Philippines, GI can be used for Lucban Longganisa, Sarap Sarangani, Yaman Gensan and

Continued from A8

Capiz Quality seal and Logo.

“For the Philippines, food ex ports to EU amounted to some €800 million last year, 17 percent more than 2013. Not only will the Philippines have more access due to the EU-GSP+, but with the GI, the value can actually double,” Ledoux said.

In Europe estimated sales of GI products reached € 54.3 billion, and 15 percent of the food and beverage exports are GI protected.

However, to take advantage of having GI products, regulation must be in place to protect it, a mandate of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

Ledoux said the EU supports the country’s move to improve regulations and legislation for intellectual property protection.

Similarly, GI protection is

needed as Laurent Lourdais, the director general for Agriculture at the Asean desk at the EC, noted that a possible FTA to be entered into by the Philippines with the EU must include a GI Chapter to be able to impact the export potential of the Philippines.

“The GI Chapter is a must-have in the FTA. Today the Philippines should be ready to deal with GIs to get a good FTA outcome. There is a link between GI and market access chapters, we cannot avoid it,” noted Lourdais in his presentation.

“Philippine legislation on GIs will have an impact on the FTA outcome, and on the export value.

In the legislation we have to avoid low level of protection, and ensure reinforcement of IP protection is constant,” Lourdais said.

Registration for GI is conferred

by IPOPHL under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293). However, legislation for tighter GI protection, according to Pablo Gancayco of renowned IP firm Gancayco Balasbas and Associates, there is indeed a dearth.

Part and parcel of maximizing GI, however, is market access to the EU , added Undersecretary for Agriculture Segfredo R. Serrano, who emphasized the full implementation of the Food Safety Act to meet standards.

“Even if tariffs are zero, the EU is a sophisticated market and a relatively high-income market. There are standards and requirements, conventions and agreements on product standards and sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards. We have to understand the requirements of the EU,” Serrano said.

IT-BPM players buck plan to cut perks

T

he information technology and business-process management (IT-BPM) industry is contesting the move of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to cut the incentives offered by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), warning that this will curtail the country’s ability to attract investments in the sector considered to be a prime mover of economic growth.

In a position paper addressed to Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and forwarded to the DTI, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IB-PAP) bucked several points in Senate Bill 35 and 987, particularly on the move to remove income-tax holiday given to Peza-registered exporters.

“The removal of the ITH as an incen-

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST MARCH 12, 2015 | THURSDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER

MAR 13 FRIDAY

MAR 14 SATURDAY

METRO MANILA

20 – 30°C

20 – 31°C

TUGUEGARAO

21 – 28°C

22 – 30°C

tive puts the Philippines at a disadvantage with our neighboring countries in terms of attracting foreign investments.

It must be noted that at present, the Philippines, with an income-tax rate of 30 percent, has one of the highest income-tax rates in Southeast Asia and this, alone, drives away investors from coming to the Philippines,”said Jose Mari Mercado, president of IB-PAP, in his letter to Angara.

Currently, the Philippines is already at a disadvantage given that Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have corporate income-tax rates of 25 percent, while Singapore’s is at 17 percent, added the IB-PAP head.

Moreover, with the removal of incentives, the Philippines could lose its position as a top global destination for businessprocess management, Mercado said.

MAR 15 SUNDAY

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 22– 32°C

MAR 14 SATURDAY

MAR 15 SUNDAY

21 – 32°C

METRO CEBU

24 – 32°C

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TACLOBAN

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CAGAYAN DE ORO

SBMA/CLARK 21 – 27°C METRO MANILA 19 – 27°C

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MOONRISE

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METRO DAVAO

SBMA/ CLARK

22 – 28°C

22 – 29°C

22 – 30°C

ZAMBOANGA

TUGUEGARAO CITY 20 – 27°C

BAGUIO CITY 12 – 20°C

TAGAYTAY

18 – 27°C

19 – 28°C

LEGAZPI ILOILO/ BACOLOD 23 – 32°C METRO CEBU 24 – 31°C

TACLOBAN CITY 21 – 29°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 21 – 31°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY 22 – 33°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

23 – 29°C

22 – 30°C

23 – 31°C

SUNSET

MOONSET

6:06 AM

6:06 PM

10:21 AM

FULL MOON HALF MOON

23 – 32°C

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MAR 14

CELEBES SEA

9:36 PM

0.08 METER 2:05 AM 1:48 AM Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers and/or thunderstorms

24 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

Cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers and/or thunderstorms Light rains

Weekday hourly updates: 6:00 AM on Balitaan, 7:00 AM & 8:00 AM on Good Morning Boss!, 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM on News@1, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 6:00 PM on News@6

www.panahon.tv

SABAH

LOW TIDEMANILA HIGH TIDE

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers

23 – 32°C

11:25 PM

SOUTH HARBOR

MAR 6

Watch PANAHON.TV everyday at 5:00 AM on PTV (Channel 4).

METRO DAVAO 23 – 32°C

SUNRISE 19 – 29°C

LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 28°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

MAR 13 FRIDAY

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING LUZON (AS OF MARCH 11, 5:00 PM)

Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”.

It affects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread cloudiness with rain showers.

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 22 – 31°C

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

This is because despite the higher cost of doing business in the Philippines, Mercado said the incentives somehow cushion the impact the cost differential, and this is an important consideration for investors, aside from the skill of Filipino workers.

“Removal of the financial incentives in the form of the income-tax holiday will remove the long-term competitiveness of the Philippines in attracting new locators and convincing existing locators to expand in the Philippines versus other locations,” Mercado said.

Mercado said IT-BPM firms may shift their expansion to Latin America, where the countries are slowly sweetening their offers to companies. Costa Rica, for instance, has a lower income-tax rate of 17 percent against the Philippines’s 30 percent. Catherine N. Pillas

@PanahonTV

1:48 PM

0.80 METER

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Don’t judge Napeñas hastily, Espina says

By Rene Acosta

D

EPUTY Director General Leonardo Espina, National Police officer in charge, refused to pass judgment against the former Special Action Force (SAF) commander, Director Getulio Napeñas, even as he expects the submission on Thursday of the results of the investigation of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) that looked into the Mamasapano carnage.

Espina apparently took the cudgels up for Napeñas, whom President Aquino had solely blamed for the massacre of 44 SAF commandos during the January 25 operation in Maguindanao that killed Jema’ah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan.

“Let’s wait first for the findings of the BOI,” Espina said on Wednesday. “I am not here to pass judgment on anybody,” he added. Aquino earlier said Napeñas “fooled me” as he blamed the relieved SAF commander for the death of his men.

“The BOI [report] is based on facts, it’s fact-finding, devoid of emotions… facts from start to finish [of the operation],” Espina said.

The BOI, headed by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Director Benjamin Magalong, was supposed to have submitted espina its findings on Monday but it asked for a three-day extension so that it could come up with its full and complete report.

The report will be submitted to Espina, who, in turn, would submit it to Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who ordered for the creation of the BOI and its investigation. Espina said it is not up to the BOI to determine the guilt of anybody as it is only a fact-finding body. Instead, it would be the Department of Justice that would determine the charges against any individual.

Poll watchdog: Brillantes lawyering for Smartmatic

E

LECTION watchdog Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E)onWednesdayaccusedformer CommissiononElections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto S. Brillantes Jr. of lawyering for the controversial Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) in its bid to get multibillion-peso contracts for next year’s elections.

C3E co-convenor Nicanor Elman said he was referring to Brillantes’s appearance before the Comelec purportedly to assist a certain Worthy Acosta in filing a complaint against his former employer Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco for alledgedly masterminding a propaganda campaign to discredit the 2013 national and local elections.

“In the guise of helping the Comelec, he has carried on his

job as the main man and champion for Smartmatic,” Elman said.

In his affidavit, Acosta said Cojuangco was the one who conceptualized the scenario to show there was massive fraud in the last elections by stealing and tampering the ballots sourced from Baguio City.

Meanwhile, the C3E also accused Comelec and SmartmaticTIM of conspiring to ensure that the latter will be the one to bag the contracts related to the 2016 national and local polls.

Elman cited the successive failed biddings of the ComelecBids and Awards Committee, which could be a pre-designed scenario with an end goal of awarding Smartmatic-TIM the coveted automated election systems contracts. Joel San Juan

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Thursday, March 12, 2015 A3

Ombudsman suspends Makati mayor

O

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

MBUDSMAN Conchita CarpioMorales on Wednesday slapped a sixmonth suspension on Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay and other officials pending investigation into the alleged irregularities in the construction of the Makati Parking Building.

Morales said the suspension order is effective immediately.

Morales also ordered Binay and other Makati officials to submit their respective counteraffidavits.

Last Friday Morales announced that the preliminary investigation against Binay and his father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, as well as 22 others for malversation, falsification, violations of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act will start immediately.

Included in the complaint are former City Administrator Marjorie de Veyra, City Legal Officer Pio Kenneth Dasal, City Budget Officer Lorenza Amores, former Central Planning Management Office (CPMO) chief Virginia Hernandez, former City Engineer Mario Badillo, former City Accountant Leonila Querijero, former Acting City

Accou nt a nt R aydes Pestaño, City Accountant Cecilio Lim III, A c t i ng C it y Accou nt a nt Eleno Mendoza, City Treasurer Nelia Barlis, CPMO Engineers Arnel Cadangan, Emerito Magat binay a nd Con n ie Consulta, CPMO chief Line de la Peña, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat heads Giovanni Condes and Manolito Uyaco, Technical Working Group (TWG) Chairman Rodel Nayve, BAC member Ulysses Orienza, General Services Department

(GSD) OIC Gerardo San Gabriel, GSD staff member Norman Flores, as well as private respondents Orlando Mateo of Mana and Efren Canlas of Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. (Hilmarc).

The complaint said the accused awarded the P11.975-million contract for the design/ architectural services to Mana without public bidding, and periodic payments were released to Mana without its corresponding deliverables under the contract.

It also said that the bidding and the construction for Phases I and II (out of five phases) of the car-park building proceeded without a detailed engineering plan from Mana, contrary to procurement laws and regulations.

Aside from criminal charges, the respondents, except the Vice President, also face administrative charges for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Vice President Binay’s camp immediately assailed Morales’s “undue and deliberate haste” in suspending the Makati mayor.

Rico Quicho, the Vice President’s spokesman for political affairs, said: “It would have been desirable if the Ombudsman had scrutinized and evaluated the supporting documents so far presented in support of the complaint against Mayor Binay, Vice President Binay, and other respondents before a rash and precipitate action.”

A6 Thursday, March 12, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

From top to bottom

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HE Metro Manila subway, which is an underground electric railway system meant to improve the seriously failing mass-transport railway system in Metro Manila, might just be the Pandora’s box we don’t need.

It is a public-private partnership project of the Department of Transportation and Communications that would cost a whopping P370 billion.

The figure is more than enough to build an overhead “skyway” that could stretch from South Luzon Expressway to its northern counterpart.

Private vehicles could take the upper deck while public-utility vehicles such as buses could ply Edsa.

In any mass-transit project, security is paramount. A subway, obviously located underground, could be a “crime zone” for all sorts of criminals—from gropers, sex offenders, “flashers” and petty thieves to more high-profile crimes, such as rape, terrorist attacks, bomb attacks and kidnapping.

Let’s not even go to where the chain of tunnels might attract informal settlers, street children and the homeless into its dark maze. In the United States, according to statistics, close to 3,000 assaults have been reported within a five-year period along subways.

Building the tunnel system could also invite all kinds of rodents and other pests to dwell there, increasing the risk of animal waste-related sicknesses and infestation. Again, in Manhattan’s Grand Central station, the presence of black rats has reached a “state of emergency” status. Based on the study of the office of US State Sen. Bill Perkins, rats are often seen inside the trains, the railways, along the benches—almost everywhere the commuters pass.

Subway systems have also been targets of terrorist attacks over the years. On March 20, 1995, a domestic religious group called Aum Shinrikyo launched a chemical attack along the Tokyo Subway, killing 12 people, injuring 50 and causing temporary vision impairment to a thousand other Japanese. Most subways around the world like those in Moscow London, Madrid, South Korea and Paris have had similar attacks. In Moscow it was two suicide bombers.

There is also the question of flooding, accidents and waste disposal, which could lead to the destruction of underground water pipes, pollution and contamination. Vermin infestation could lead to increase in cases of leptospirosis and other illnesses.

If our mass-transport strategists are thinking of going from top to bottom in their attempt to improve our mass-transport systems, it must also seriously consider security protocols from top to bottom. No stone must be left unturned.

A subway, planned and funded well, might help in alleviating vehicular congestion and other problems experienced by our commuters. However, to beef up security and waste disposal, extra cost will be demanded. Guess who will pick up the tab?

Making sense of it all John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

T

HE global financial and asset markets are volatile, confused about the future, and at the mercy of the major central banks and governments. It is difficult to get commentary and analysis that is impartial because it seems that everyone has an agenda to push. And it is all based on self-interest. Here is an example.

The US Dollar Index has surged to a new 12-year high, having gone up nearly 25 percent in the last eight months, the fastest increase since 1981. The exchange value of a currency has complicated effects on a nation’s economy. But you might think that the US government and its central bank would be on the same page.

White House economist and aide to President Obama, Jason Furman, said that the strong dollar is a headwind for US economic growth. At virtually the same time the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and member of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee, Richard W. Fisher said that a strong dollar is good for US jobs.

Both of those statements of analysis might be true. However, is the US government striving for growth without more jobs or more jobs with slower economic growth?

In truth, the White House is setting up to use the stronger dollar as an excuse if economic growth slows.

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) can do little right now to weaken the dollar and is trying to put a positive spin on the dollar’s strength. Further, if and when the Fed raises interest rates— which it has been predicting it would do for the past 18 months—the dollar will continue to go up. The Fed needs some cover and justification for higher rates since there is almost no reason to raise rates except to maintain credibility.

Local investors are needlessly worried about a potential Fed interest rate increase. Here is why.

The benchmark 10-year US government now bond pays about 2.15 percent. The Philippine government 10-year pays about 4.10 percent. A US rate increase would not make Philippines bonds much less attractive particularly since the Philip-

pine peso will continue to be stable.

These factors will not create a rush of foreign money leaving the country as in other nations where interest rates have been lowered. Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Philippines have not lowered rates recently and will all remain competitive except for the currency exchange rates.

Additionally, any US rate increase would be relatively small, maybe 0.25 percent, because the US government cannot afford rates to go much higher as their debt service would become unmanageable. With $18 trillion in government debt, a 1-percent increase would raise debt service from $430 billion to $600 billion, a 40-percent increase. Rates will not return to “normal.” If US interest rates would go back to 2008 levels, the debt service would jump to nearly $1 trillion.

This year the US government will take in $1.6-trillion revenue. Even the Fed can do the math.

With Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) keeping a sensible interest rate policy, the peso will remain stable.

Even as the dollar is up 20 percent in 2015, the peso is virtually flat even without any BSP intervention as money is flowing in. Philippines gross international reserves are at a one-year high.

But the greatest advantage that Philippines has is that the BSP has many options to keep the peso stable, keep inflation low, and to keep credit at just high enough levels to keep economic growth going.

But isn’t the local stock market

going to crash if the Fed raises rates?

The stock market is fueled by money looking for a good return and instant liquidity. There is no better alternative available. Neither is the US stock market going to crash. A stronger dollar is almost inevitable and foreign money coming to the US will continue to invest in stocks at least through the end of the year.

Further, when money does starts coming out of US stocks, some of it will come to the Philippines. Philippines has a stable currency, market-based interest rates, a growing economy not based on too much debt, and most of all, profitable corporations.

We need to listen to the “gloomand-doomers” but the Philippines is doing pretty well considering 2014 was not a great year. Government has yet to spend much for hard asset projects to support the economy.

Structural reform in areas such as the mining industry, investment incentives, and taxes is still a dream. The nation is divided thanks to intense political wrangling and division.

However, it is a good time to make money in the Philippines and do not let anyone convince you otherwise and keep you from benefiting.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Time for full investigations of Hillary Clinton

By Kevin R. Kosar CQ-Roll Call/ TNS

R

ECENT press revelations indicate that Hillary Rodham Clinton likely violated federal law by conducting State Department business via a personal e-mail account. Both Congress and the State Department Inspector General’s Office should commence investigations.

The Washington Post shows this was no accidental goof. Clinton, or a member of her team, set up a private domain e-mail account during her confirmation proceedings to become secretary of state. The New York Times reports that she never once used an official State Department account during her four years in the post. This is unacceptable.

Congress enacted the Federal Records Act in 1950. The objective was straightforward: to preserve records of government action for posterity and for public examination. In short, agencies preserve records of historical value, then transfer them to the National Archives and Records Administration (Nara), which makes them available to the public.

The Nara has issued exacting guidance directing agencies how to discern records from nonrecords, including how to preserve the former and dispense with the latter. By law, responsibility starts at the top: “The head of each Federal agency shall make and preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and designed to furnish the information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of persons directly affected by the agency’s activities.”

In the case of the State Department, that agency head was Clinton.

Nowhere in Nara’s e-mail preservation guidance does it provide for any government employee, to say nothing of a Cabinet head, to use a private e-mail account and walk off with her work missives after leaving the position. On the contrary, all federal employees are obliged to: “review each message, identify its value, and either delete it or move it to a recordkeeping system.” While the guidance allows for incidental messages like spam and all-staff announcements to be deleted immediately, it makes clear that any “substantive policy discussions conducted in e-mail” ought to be preserved for several years and ultimately transfer to the Nara.

The law rightly provides for harsh penalties for removing federal records. Anyone who intentionally “conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing” covered under the law faces both fines and up to three years in prison.

The affair invokes another possible legal peril in the potential mishandling of classified information.

Assorted federal laws and regulations govern how national security information is to be handled and protected. It is inconceivable that none of the tens of thousands of emails sent and received by Clinton transmitted classified information.

The behavior detailed in press accounts is at odds with extensive regulations on how classified information must be safeguarded by government officials. Mishandling of classified information also carries serious penalties.

Clinton titled one of her books Living History. Both the State Department Inspector General’s Office, and Congress itself, should investigate to see if she compromised history by violating our nation’s records laws.

Kevin R. Kosar is the director of the governance project and a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington, D.C. He wrote this for CQ-Roll Call.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Common carriers exempt from local business taxes Atty. Pierre Martin D. Reyes

Tax law for business

O

ne cannot stress too strongly the importance of ensuring the safe and efficient movement of people and goods in a modern economy. Greater mobility translates to increased trade and higher productivity. This is precisely why transportation is considered a key enabler of economic growth. And much recently, the Supreme Court (SC) gave our beleaguered transportation sector a boost when it ruled, in City of Manila v. Hon. Colet and Malaysian Air System, G.R. 120051, December 10, 2014, that local government units (LGUs) cannot impose local business taxes on transportation contractors and common carriers. In this article, I shall discuss this SC ruling and the available remedies in the aftermath of this decision.

The issue of whether or not transportation contractors and common carriers are subject to local business tax began as far back as 1993, when the City Council of Manila enacted the Manila Revenue Code. Section 21(B) of the said code imposed a local business tax “on the gross receipts of keepers of garages, cars for rent or hire driven by the lessee, transportation contractors, persons who transport passenger or freight for hire, and common carriers by land, air, or water…”

Several common carriers assailed the validity of Section 21(B) of the Manila Revenue Code.

On one hand, the common carriers argued that they are exempt from local business tax. They invoked Section 133(j) of the Local Government Code (LGC), which states that the taxing powers of LGUs shall not extend to “taxes on gross receipts of transportation contractors and persons engaged in the transportation of passengers or freight by hire and common carriers by air, land, or water…”

On the other hand, the city of Manila contended that Section 143 of the LGC has empowered it to impose local business tax “on any business subject to excise, value-added, or percentage tax under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended.” As “transportation contractors, persons who transport passenger or freight for hire, and common carriers” are engaged in business subject to excise, value-added or percentage tax, the imposition of local business tax is valid.

The SC resolved the issue in favor of the common carriers. The SC explained that although the power to tax is inherent in the state, the same is not true for the LGUs to whom power must be delegated by Congress and must be exercise within the guidelines and limitation that Congress may provide.

And among the common limitations on the taxing power of LGUs is Section 133(j) of the LGC, which clearly and unambiguously proscribes LGUs from imposing a tax on the gross receipts of transportation contractors

and common carriers.

The SC held that Section 133(j) of the LGC prevails over Section 143(h) of the LGC, as the former is a specific provision that explicitly limits the LGUs’ power to tax while Section 143(h) defines a general power. Specific provisions prevail over general ones. The SC, likewise, stressed that the exemption of transportation contractors and common carriers from local business tax is consistent with the intent of our laws, which is to prevent the duplication of the so-called common carriers tax. Based on this reasoning, Section 21(B) of the Manila Revenue Code was declared null and void, removing all doubts as to the local business tax-exemption status of transportation contractors and common carriers.

With this definitive ruling, what then happens to local business taxes already paid by transportation contractors and common carriers? The ruling has the effect of making the said local business tax payments “erroneously or illegally collected.” And the remedy of the transportation contractor or common carrier is to file a claim for refund pursuant to Section 196 of the LGC. In order to be entitled to a refund/credit of local taxes, the following procedural requirements must concur: (1) the taxpayer must file a written claim for refund/credit with the local treasurer; and (2) the claim must be filed within two years from the date of payment of the tax. This means that transportation contractors and common carriers can only recover said erroneously or illegally collected taxes as far back as two years if they do decide to file a claim for refund.

As a last note, it must be said that although the ruling involves only the Manila Revenue Code, the doctrine laid down by the Supreme Court exempting transportation contractors and common carriers from local business tax applies to all LGUs. However, to nullify similar provisions in the Revenue Codes of other LGUs, actions must be filed assailing their validity and constitutionality.

No despair amid darkness Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

I

N the despondency of grinding exile, it is the memory of God’s merciful love symbolized by Jerusalem that keeps one unvanquished (Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6). The Son of Man came so that those who believe might have eternal life, even as some preferred darkness to the light (John 3:14-21).

If I ever forget you IN the devastating experience of captivity in Babylon, the psalmist paints the deep despondency they went through. The memory of Zion, in particular, and the destruction of the temple made their life devoid of any joy. Those exiled could only weep, sitting sadly by the rivers of Babylon, and hanging their harps on the willows of that land having no taste for music and refusing to make music.

Their captors asked them to sing samples of their songs from Zion and their tormentors taunted them, the dispossessed and the despairing, to be joyous. But how could they sing and be joyous on foreign soil? Joy is being in God’s presence; in that unclean land it would be incongruous to sing a song of the Lord.

The psalmist then makes a passionate oath never to forget Jerusalem. Remembering Jerusalem means keeping in mind God’s covenant love

BLOOMBERG VIEW

F

ISHERMEN trawling the waters off Japan’s eastern coast have been alleging for a while that radioactive water was again spilling into the Pacific from the Fukushima power plant that melted down after a massive earthquake in 2011.

On February 24 Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), which is responsible for the site, admitted those suspicions were justified. And it turns out that Tepco knew about this latest radioactive leak since last May—and the giant utility said nothing for almost a year.

In the 15 days since Tepco finally confessed, have investigators raided its Tokyo headquarters? Have regulators demanded that heads roll? Has Prime Minister Shinzo Abe used

his bully pulpit to demand accountability from the company that gave the world its worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl? In any other major democracy, those steps would have been obvious. But none have occurred in Japan. And that raises troubling questions not just about Tepco’s corporate governance, but the rampant cronyism enabling it.

When he took office in December 2012, Abe pledged to make corporate executives more accountable to inter-

That the world might be saved

HOW the world is saved, how anyone is saved, is Jesus’ sharing of vital truths with Nicodemus. It is the love of God that is behind the salvation of man. God’s love for the world is such, He gave and offered His only Son, so that all who believe in Him, although

condemned to death, might not perish but have eternal life. The Father did send His Son into the world, not that the world might be condemned, but rather so that the world might be saved through the Son. The saving plan of God is clear; the Son’s coming to carry out God’s plan is clear.

What is demanded of anyone in order to be saved is clear: faith in the Son of Man. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but will be saved through him. To believe in the Son is to receive eternal life. But whoever does not believe in the name of the only Son of God has already been condemned; that person will not receive eternal life. This is similar to the case of the bronze serpent Moses lifted up on a stick in the desert during the exodus so that people bitten by snakes might be cured. The people who looked on it were cured of the snake bites. So also people who look up with faith to the Son of Man lifted on the cross receive eternal life.

Who lives the truth comes to the light

BUT why would people turn down God’s saving love available through the Son? It is because the Son who came into the world is the light. The light illumines consciousness and exposes whether the people’s ways of knowing and doing are crooked and alienated: the darkness of the world that appears only when the light is on it. Those who have the

A7

habit of doing evil realize that their wickedness would be exposed and uncovered from darkness. They refuse the opportunity to change and to embrace the light; instead they run away from the light in fear. They need to be saved but they prefer darkness to light.

On the other side, those who have a history of doing good deeds and of living the truth are predisposed to come to the light. Not afraid of the light, truth and goodness, in fact, seek exposure, to be shared, to be imitated. The ultimate source and inspiration of goodness and of truth is God. People know that any goodness in them is a gift from elsewhere, from the giver of life, which they are blessed to receive. That is why when the light came into the world, those who live the truth come to the light, choosing and believing in the Son who is the light.

Alálaong bagá, God is rich in mercy and compassion. God loves the world even in need of salvation; God’s saving love is given to us through His Son Jesus Christ. To believe in Jesus is to receive eternal life. We need to remember always, never forgetting, this divine mercy, so that darkness may be lifted up, and from exile we can return to our Father’s house.

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

Are fossil fuels the next tobacco? They should be

By Gary Cohen CQ-Roll Call/TNS

I

N the 113th Congress, members took in more than $40 million dollars in campaign contributions from oil, gas and coal companies—the same companies that receive $37.5 billion in US subsidies. We’ve seen this dependency on corporate money before, during the tobacco wars of the 1960s.

From that campaign, we learned how critical divestment is for social change.

Kicking an addiction is never easy. It’s particularly hard when it involves an entire society—but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Health-care professionals have fought relentlessly against tobacco addiction, with considerable success. It has been an impressive campaign, in which divestment from tobacco companies played a major role. We pushed Congress to divest their campaign contributions, too.

Now 193 members haven’t taken any tobacco money in 10 years and have been certified “Tobacco Free.”

Between 1965 and 2009, the number of people that quit smoking doubled and billions of dollars in health-care costs were saved.

As Congress now knows, we’re up against the same old tactics for a

It’s time for Japan to punish Tepco William Pesek

and compassion. It means never to be disloyal to God’s holy city, never to accept as forever any defeat, enveloping darkness, setback or exile. To remember Zion is to be committed to return there again and there to serve God again. And, the psalmist continues, if the unthinkable happens and he forgets Jerusalem, let his right hand wither or be paralyzed (never to play the harp or lyre anywhere), and let his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth and be silenced (never to sing songs again). To remember Jerusalem is to place Jerusalem ahead of any personal joy.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

national codes of conduct. In August 2013 he had a perfect chance to show his mettle. At the time, Tepco was still the butt of international criticism for its handling of the aftermath at Fukushima. Abe—concerned that the bad press would affect Tokyo’s campaign to host the 2020 Olympics— declared his government would push Tepco aside and handle the cleanup efforts directly.

It was all for show. Abe’s government never intervened, and Tepco stayed in charge. Four years to the day since the earthquake, Fukushima is still leaking; 120,000 people remain displaced; and Tepco’s opacity and incompetence are unchanged. The company’s obfuscations “tell us all we need to know about its resilient corporate culture of irresponsibility,” says Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo. “It has not changed its stripes.

The decommissioning efforts have been shambolic, it’s still incompetent and negligent and has a very

new dangerous addiction: fossil fuels. We built our entire global economy on a fossil-fuel infrastructure and watched fossil-fuel companies become among the wealthiest corporations on Earth. This addiction, like smoking, is incredibly hazardous to our health.

Several British medical groups asked the health sector to divest from fossil fuels entirely, calling it “a responsibility to future patients.”

They drew on their past leadership in the tobacco divestment campaign and took a brave step in adding their voices to this battle.

Others are joining the fight too: Gundersen Health System froze its fossil-fuel investments earlier this year and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, announced that it has divested itself from 114 risky assets on environmental and climate grounds over the past three years.

They all have compelling reasons for doing so. According the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution from burning fossil fuels kills more than 7 million people each year around the world.

This is more than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

Coal combustion, which accounts for 40 percent of all US energy use, is particularly problematic.

Coal emissions are directly linked to cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease and brain damage in children. Coal mining is also one of the deadliest professions, causing 8 percent of all occupational deaths worldwide.

On top of all these localized effects, burning fossil fuels is the leading cause of climate change, which, in turn, contributes to a range of health effects such as heat stroke, asthma, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever and malaria.

The WHO called climate change the greatest health threat of our time. That may be putting it mildly, since both the health of people and the planet are at stake.

W hat can the anti-tobacco movement teach the health-care sector about how to kick addictions? How do we join the doctors calling for divestment on the hard road to recovery?

First, we need to make climate change a public health priority. It wasn’t until US Surgeon General Luther Terry issued his warning that tobacco was harmful to our health in 1964 that everything changed. A watershed moment in this country, the first surgeon general’s report on smoking and health marks the mo-

ment the public tide began to turn against tobacco, eventually saving 8 million people from premature smoking-related deaths.

The health effects of fossil fuels are clear. We need the surgeon general to issue a warning that climate change—driven by the burning of fossil fuels—is dangerous to our health. Once people understand the health impacts of climate change, we need to turn that comprehension into something more.

Fossil-fuel companies need to be held accountable for public health costs. State attorneys general banded together to hold tobacco companies responsible for their public health costs and we need a similar effort to recoup the health costs of pollution from fossil fuels. This money could help communities create healthy energy infrastructure and prepare for the coming storms of climate change.

We should support those doctors calling for divestment from fossil fuels and we should ask Congress to divest along with us.

Let’s learn from the success of the tobacco movement and forge a consensus that fossil fuels have no place in a healthy 21st century economy. Let’s kick our addiction and start on the path to a healthy recovery.

deep hole to climb out of in trying to regain any public trust.”

How does Tepco get away with it? It’s protected from on high by the “nuclear village,” Tokyo’s answer to the military-industrial complex that is said to hold sway in Washington. This alliance of pro-nuclear politicians, bureaucrats and power companies promotes reactors over safer forms of energy like solar, wind or geothermal, and works to shield utilities from competition and global standards. (That’s how Tepco got away with consistently doctoring its maintenance reports for Fukushima and putting all of its backup generators underground in a tsunami-prone area.)

Even after the Fukushima disaster, national nuclear regulators seemed more concerned about restarting Japan’s 48 remaining reactors (all of which have been shut down in the interim) than neutralizing the one contaminating the northeast of the country.

Tokyo was a scary place to be in March 2011 amid Fukushima’s triple meltdown. Most frightening, though, was the utter lack of transparency from the authorities. Tepco’s then-President Masataka Shimizu gave maddeningly contradictory accounts of events at Fukushima. Two months later, Shimizu took the fall for Tepco sending radiation clouds Tokyo’s way. Tepco’s idea of a new start was to replace him with a 36year company veteran. Four years on, it’s still an open question whether Tepco, or the economy that spawned it, has learned anything.

“I find it galling that not only was Tepco never punished for constructing reactors well below the tsunami warning markers, thereby worsening the effects of the quake and tidal wave, but was even allowed to raise its rates to make the consumer pay for the cleanup costs,” says Robert Whiting, author of Tokyo Underworld.

Even in the context of Japanese cronyism, it’s astounding that no-

body at Tepco has gone to jail. Criminal proceedings against Japan’s business titans aren’t unprecedented. Executives of the optics manufacturer Olympus were arrested over a 2011 fraud scandal. Internet entrepreneur Takafumi Horie and well-known fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami got locked up for insider trading. But Tepco’s executives continue to enjoy a get-out-jail-free card, courtesy of the Tokyo establishment.

At the very least, Tepco’s senior management should be fired without pensions and face charges from prosecutors. The company should also be nationalized. (Taxpayers are bearing the costs of Tepco’s negligence anyway.) Abe’s desire to eliminate the cronyism endemic to Japan Inc. is laudable. It would make the economy more productive vibrant, productive and attractive to overseas investors.

He should start by bringing the most egregious offender to justice. I’m sure the Fukushima fishermen will be happy to testify.

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A8 Thursday, March 12, 2015

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Perks costing govt ₧2B in mining revenues

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

T

he government has lost at least P2 billion in potential mining revenues because of the income-tax holidays it is granting to large-scale miners.

This was disclosed recently by the group Bantay Kita, a coalition of civil-society organizations pushing for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.

The figures were based on its analysis on the Philippine Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) report released recently.

Dr. Cielo Magno, national coordinator of Bantay Kita, said the report revealed a major problem besetting mining-industry regulation, particularly in terms of properly accounting the potential revenues that people can benefit from.

Magno said the first Philippine EITI report, submitted to the inter-

national secretariat on December 31, 2014, states that the government got P6.2 billion in mining revenues, and P52.7 billion from oil and gas production in 2012.

Magno said simple calculation using the financial statement of companies submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the government lost about P2.01 billion, or almost 25 percent, of the proceeds from mining because of income-tax holidays granted to mining companies, including Carmen Copper Corp., Carrascal Nickel Corp., Marcventures Mining & Devt.

Corp., SR Metals Inc., TVI Resource Development Inc., Adnama Mining Resources, Berong Nickel Group and Apex Mining Co. Inc. According to Bantay Kita, Semirara Mining Co., which refused to

participate in the Philippine EITI, reported an income of P5.2 billion in 2012 to the SEC. The company only paid P1.2 million in income tax and around P1.6 billion to the Department of Energy as the government’s share in the extraction of coal, according to the EITI report.

This is about 30 percent of the company’s profit in 2012. As owners of the natural resources, the Philippines should get more than the 30-percent share in profit, the group said.

All incentives awarded to extractive companies should be canceled, the group said.

“Extractive companies invest in a country because of the value and quality of the minerals, and not the incentives given to them by the government,” Magno said.

The Philippine- EITI report also highlights the failure of the government to protect the rights of indigenous peoples (IP).

According to the report, the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples could not validate if the indigenous communities, indeed, received P52 million in royalties that the miners are claiming they remitted to the IP communities hosting mining operations.

The Philippine EITI report also highlighted the problems in the monitoring of the different environmental funds. tAccording to Bantay Kita, these are the funds for Environmental Management and Protection Program (EPEP), Mine Waste, Mine Monitoring Trust Fund and Tailings Reserve and the Mine

Oil firms ready to heed SC decision

EC: Include geographical indications in EU-PHL FTA LEDOUX: “Aside from better market access, you can increase profit through geographical indications that may apply to any type of good.”

P

Bloomberg News

the fuel-related savings to customers. Singapore Airlines announced last month it would reduce fuel surcharges between $5 and $83 per sector depending on the distance and class of travel.

Price changes went into effect

on February 26. Dr. Bijan Vasigh, professor of Economics and Finance at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, thinks it’s too early to tell what airline tickets will cost and why for the whole year. MCT/TNS

T

Continued on A2

Construction goods expo Colorful booths showcase the products and services being offered by makers and sellers of contruction materials at the 20th Philippine World Building and Construction Exposition, or Worldbex, which opened on Wednesday at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. ROY DOMINGO

PHL seeks new auto-assembly niche Continued from A1

Motor Corp. in Manila. An incentive program will “benefit both the government and private sector, if it’s feasibly administered,” said Gutierrez, who is also president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. Car companies will need to meet minimum production levels to qualify for the incentives, Domingo said, declining to specify exact amounts as officials are still discussing the details. The government has considered annual output of 40,000 vehicles fully built in the country to qualify for benefits.

Infrastructure improvements

Easing infrastructure logjams also will be essential to spurring more auto production. “If the intention is to start exporting, you need good-

quality ports and roads, and that needs to move in tandem with offering incentives,” said Rahul Bajoria, a Singapore-based regional economist at Barclays Plc. The auto industry accounted for about 3.6 percent of the Philippine economy in 2011, according to a study by Ramon Vicente Kabigting, executive director of the Philippine Automotive Competitiveness Council Inc. The CARS Program is intended to save as much as $17 billion in import costs by 2022.

The Philippines lost to Thailand in 1996 when General Motors Co. chose its neighbor for a $750-million car factory, even as the company was offered fewer incentives. Philippine officials had tried to woo GM by offering free land for the plant to boost the country’s auto industry.

Philippine manufacturing expanded an average 9.2 percent in

Airfares drop with fuel, but future remains unclear. . .

Passenger advocacy groups, including Travelers United and FlyersRights.com, have called for a larger financial break.

“We have seen six months of steadily dropping gas costs,” said Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.com, in a Feb-

By Lenie Lectura

ilipinas Shell on Wednesday said it would seek all legal remedies available in relation to the latest Supreme Court (SC) decision that ordered oil companies to move out of the Pandacan oil depot.

“We shall study the implications of the Supreme Court decision and shall review the options available to Shell. Rest assured that Shell will observe the rule of law,” a company statement read.

The SC denied Shell’s motion for reconsideration. In its November 2014 decision, the SC has given the oil companies six months to remove their Pandacan oil terminals after the submission of an updated comprehensive plan and relocation schedule. It also gave the oil firms 45 days to submit the relocation plan.

Chevron, meanwhile, said it filed a motion for clarification and not a motion for reconsideration.

“We have yet to receive a copy of the decision, hence, cannot fully comment on the matter. But please be clarified that what we filed was a simple motion for clarification.

Finally, we will comply with the final ruling of the Supreme Court on this issue,” it said when sought for comment. Chevron has moved out of Pandacan.

Petron Corp. did not comment but it recently said preparations are being undertaken following a commitment the company made in 2010 with the Manila government and a group of priests, led by then-Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, to draw up a business plan and establish alternative sites for its Pandacan fuelstorage operation.

“We made a commitment to stop our operations and we are ready. We have identified several alternative sites in Luzon to absorb our volumes in Pandacan,” Petron President Ramon Ang said.

He added that the public can be assured of a continuous and reliable supply of fuel to Metro Manila and nearby provinces during the transition.

By Catherine N. Pillas

he European Commission (EC) is urging its Philippine counterpart to include the use of geographical indications (GI) in the proposed European Union-Philippines free-trade agreement (EU).

Geographical indications, according to the World Trade Organization, are place names (in some countries also words associated with a place) used to identify the origin and quality, reputation or other characteristics of products.

Guy Ledoux, head of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, said the use of GI will boost the export potential of Philippine goods, especially agricultural products, particularly in increasing the commercial value of certain exports.

“A side from better market access, you can increase profit through a GI that may apply to any type of good. The GI is a distinctive sign that a product is originating from a territory in a country when a given quality or reputation of the good is attributable to the origin,” Ledoux explained.

GI, a type of intellectual property, is a mark used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.

Well-known examples of GI are Bordeaux wine, Darjeeling tea and Tuscany olive oil.

Ledoux said registration for GI is important given that the country has just gained approval from the EU for the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (EU-GSP+).

Rehabilitation Fund.

Supporters of the Mining Act of 1995 claim these environmental funds to be among the key features of the law to ensure protection of the environment. The government and the companies could not agree if these funds actually exist or not, and if they exist, they could not explain how the monies were spent.

“Mining requires effective government regulation. We cannot allow mining if the government cannot guarantee a fair share in natural-resource extraction or protection and rehabilitation of the environment,” Magno said.

Bantay Kita supports the passage of the alterative mineral management bill and advocates for the review of the fiscal policy governing the extractive industry.

ruary letter calling for greater savings for customers. “By any measure, the money saved by airlines should be reflected in lower airfares.”

Preliminary statistics show 1.3 million gallons of fuel were consumed by airlines in January, about

400,000 more than what was consumed in January 2014, according to the United States Department of Transportation.

Although more fuel was used at the start of this year, airlines paid $1.27 million less, report to the US DOT’s Bureau

2013 and 2014, while net FDI rose 66 percent to $6.2 billion last year, the central bank reported on Tuesday. In 2013 Thailand had $12.6 billion of FDI, while Vietnam attracted $8.9 billion.

Finding a niche

“We can’t compete head on with the likes of Thailand, which is so far ahead of the curve in terms of car production,” Domingo said. “The vision is to find a niche for the region, a mass producer of a model that is not produced in Thailand.”

While Philippine manufacturing has diversified into medical devices, parts for aircraft and motorbikes, and oil and gas platforms, the nation lacks the medium-sized “inbetween” products such as cars and refrigerators, Domingo said.

The Philippines probably is “no longer a competitive place for auto-

makers,” said Jessada Thongpak, an analyst with IHS Automotive in Bangkok. The nation will produce 90,000 light vehicles this year, compared with 2.14 million in Thailand and 1.3 million in Indonesia, IHS projects.

Japanese companies are very interested in the Philippine auto road map, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Akio Mimura said in February. President Aquino met with officials from Volkswagen last September during a trip to Europe, offering the Philippines as an Asian production base.

“We want serious players who really have an intent to make us a regional manufacturing base,” Domingo said. “We want a bigger commitment because they’ll be forced to bring their supply chain, and that will really boost our manufacturing.”

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of Transportation Statistics.

Fuel also cost $1.97 per gallon in January, compared to the $3.04 per gallon reported in January 2014.

Despite pleas to drop prices, American-based airlines have not yet taken steps to pass along any of