october 3, 2015

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Saturday 2014 Vol. No. 40Vol.

Saturday,18, October 3,102015 10 No. 359

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Consumption spending, strong macroeconomic fundamentals serve as shield

PHL to survive China slowdown–Fitch

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getting ready for christmas Life

BusinessMirror

Saturday, October 3, 2015

In a special report on the global economic-growth outlook, Fitch Ratings said emerging markets are becoming an increasing source of risk for the global economy, as the collapse in commodity prices and political shocks puts more pressure on the slowdown.

But cited as outliers of this trend, however, were the Philippines, India and Vietnam.

“Growth in the major advanced economies is projected to pick up into 2016, but with downside risk from any rebound from the weakness in emerging markets. However, the

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Getting ready for Christmas something like life ma. stella f. arnaldo

http://stella-arnaldo.blogspot.com @Pulitika2010

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VEN before the Halloween décor, princess costumes and scary masks could be gobbled up in preparation for the coming Halloween parties, Christmas trees are already on display in most department stores. And almost everywhere you go, holiday songs are already playing on a loop.

It’s a bit irrational and surrealistic to look at the plastic orange pumpkin baskets and creepy witch masks in one space, then turn around to be confronted by the piles of colorful Christmas balls and Santa Claus ornaments in another.

But that’s just us, Pinoys that we are. We live every moment with one foot in grave, agonizing and mourning while squeezed into tight MRT trains, for instance, and then as soon as we arrive at our destination, rejoicing and praising baby Jesus for still being in one piece.

But I’ll leave the psychoanalyzing of our nation’s bipolarism to psychiatrists, political commentators and would-be historians or critics minted from watching Heneral Luna.

I’m just happy that Christmas is coming.

Seriously, we all need it.

Sure, the traffic will probably become even more hellish as the season draws even nearer, but nothing beats spending time with family, having a feast and exchanging gifts, to bring us back to some semblance of calm and sanity. (Unless you’re in my family where chaos often rules any time of the year; quiet and solemnity will likely disconcert rather than soothe us. Hahaha.)

So I was walking through The Landmark’s home section recently—it’s a regular shortcut I make through the department store and out to the mall—and I was just so deliriously thrilled to see the wide array of Christmas-

themed throw pillow cases, bathroom and living room curtains, table runners and placemat sets, towels, etc.

I just wanted to pick up every item to take home, but my inner designing diva just had to scream in my head to take it easy. “Nothing good ever comes out from overdesigning your home in one theme!” the voice said. So I caught my breath, tried to relax, and moved away from the merchandise. But I did make a promise to come back for that cute holiday bath curtain.

Other than decorating the home with Christmas items, I also like wrapping gifts. It’s like meditation for me: I take out the item for gifting, measure it against colorful wrapping paper, cut the wrapping paper to size, then enfold the item while deftly snipping scotch tape to keep the item from spilling out of the paper. If the gift is huge enough, I pat down a ribbon on it, then scribble a greeting on the gift tag, to be attached again with more scotch tape.

I try to be personal in my Christmas wishes to the gift recipient, adding a touch of humor where appropriate. And after I’m done, I tick the recipient’s name off the list. I do this over and over again, quietly, although there could be the TV playing somewhere in the background, for about three hours. Every pretty gift-wrapped item is my little stab at art or perfection. (It was the same kind of satisfaction I got wrapping notebooks and books in

Love in THe THiRd age R ETIRED and thinking about what to do next? Here’s some advice on finding love after retirement, from the book How to Love Your Retirement (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com), straight from people who’ve done it: “One of the best things about retirement is that it leaves you plenty of time to focus on the ‘fine points’ of romance that sometimes get neglected when you’re bogged down with work. My husband and I make sure to hold hands, sit close to each other and make eye contact across a crowded room.

He takes care of me when I’m sick, gets me a glass of wine or goes to the store to buy me popcorn. We always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and avoid criticizing each other. After 48 years together, our relationship is better than ever!”—Gay

“People on the verge of retirement will be pleasantly surprised to find that once you retire and you both have unlimited time for each other again, you will quickly and easily fall into those old habits of trying to please each other again. If you never fell out of love in the first place, then it has always been there anyway. It’s more often the lack of time that keeps you from realizing it. My advice is to just be there and spend time with each other. Enjoy the time you have together.”—J.E. “If you are lucky enough to fall in love at this point in your life, don’t play around. You don’t have the time to waste like you once did.

Tell her how you feel. I met my second wife on May 13. We were married three months later, in August.”—M.K.

plastic when I was younger. Nerdy, I know.)

There are some stores though with their own personal Christmas bags and gift tags, so all you have to do is tell the cashier to make sure the price tag is removed before he or she puts the gift item in the bag. At such stores, I usually tell the cashier to leave the bag open instead of closing it at the top with the store’s sticker, just so I don’t get confused come Christmastime who gets what.

I’m proud to say that I’m halfway through with my Christmas list. It’s not really a long list to begin with. At my age, I no longer feel the need to suck up to bosses or people I might need favors from in the future. So I really just buy gifts for those nearest and dearest to me. And send Christmas cards especially to relatives or friends abroad via e-mail. (I gave up on snail-mailing cards since these usually arrive at their destination either too late or too laughably early, or not at all.)

No, I didn’t suddenly come into easy money, giving me the means to buy up all the gifts in one fell swoop. I just buy the items one at a time, over several months. So by the time December rolls around, I’m sitting pretty at home, unfrazzled by the holiday madness of getting last-minute gifts for loved ones.

My list is pretty much the same for the last how many years now, with a few people just getting added or removed. Beside each name is a general description of an item, which I think the recipient would appreciate.

The list is flexible, in the sense that I might find something in the market that might be more appropriate for the recipient. (I also like syncing my lists to my computer so I can keep track of my gifts to my loved ones over the years, making sure I don’t duplicate any.)

Some gifts I pick up in sales that are often held by department stores or branded fashion and home outlets, which occur all throughout

“It was hard to retire because after my divorce, about halfway through my career, my work was really my life. But slowly I realized that I had been using my work to hide from the world. There were really very few social opportunities at work. Many of the women were younger than me, and there was no room for romance in my life. Soon after I retired, I joined a book club, which is where I met my husband. He has brought me so much happiness, and I’m so glad that I decided to stop working and explore life a little, even if I was scared and didn’t know where it would take me. I guess I can thank my arthritis for something!”—Betty

and physically to be in really great shape.

But most men my age don’t take care of themselves the way they expect women to.

I give most of them a pretty low grade. And most men just want to stay home and watch TV, or they want to come over to my house and watch TV. But for most older women today, the whole world is exciting. We don’t want to take care of some boring old man.

For example, this older man called me, and we went out one time, and he’s called several times since, and then he was mad because I hadn’t called back, and finally I just told him, ‘Look, figure it out. I’ve been divorced since 1973—do you really think I want a relationship? I have my family, my job and I need time for myself.’ I’m independent and I like it that way.”—Anonymous

“Dating older men can be really hard.

For example, the ordinary retired guy wants a woman to be really good-looking

Hundreds of Heads

ARMYNAvY SOuTH TRI TEAM’S TEAMWORk POWERS MEMBERS THROugH SPORTS EvENT

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HE recently held Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines was one of the year’s mostawaited multisport events, gathering both Filipinos and foreign triathletes. Amid the enchanting sights of Cebu’s waters and roads, the ArmyNavy South Tri Team conquered the event through determination, drive and teamwork.

“The best thing about the South Tri Team is that it is a very family-oriented team. We look out for one another and cheer each other on until the finish,” remarks Huxley Yu, one of the team’s youngest members and among the five who competed in Ironman 70.3.

Formed in 2009 by a group of nine from spin class, the ArmyNavy South Tri Team has since grown to 40 members, all with the common goal to celebrate life and fitness

through swimming, biking and running.

Composed of professionals from various fields who are mostly residents of Santa Rosa, Parañaque and Alabang, the members come from varying age groups who all share a deep passion for multisport.

Backed by the home of the best burgers and burritos ArmyNavy, the South Tri Team regularly trains together. According to Rico Ibana, who also competed in Ironman 70.3, “The team usually has long Saturday bikes in Nuvali; Sunday runs around Festival Mall Alabang; and swimming sessions at the Palms Country Club.” He adds that anyone looking to train can easily find a companion, as there are also dedicated running, biking and swimming groups within the team. “Each training session is a bonding activity,” Ibana adds. The

team’s bond is further intensified by what happens after training—eating. This, Yu says, is where ArmyNavy comes in.

“One of the treats after long rides and runs that the team has is a meal at ArmyNavy. We ride and run often, so ArmyNavy subsidizes a large amount of post-training meals.” Yu and Ibana agree that the team and ArmyNavy are a great match, because both share the same standards of excellence and quality. “The food at ArmyNavy is filling and fresh, and perfect for training and after-racing meals,” Yu adds.

Also known as Half Ironman, the Ironman 70.3 is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by World Triathlon Corp. The 70.3 stands for the distance in miles covered in the race, which is composed of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.

Rico ibana and Huxley Yu of the armynavy South Tri Team

the year. But for specific products like food, for instance, I just have to make a pointed reminder to order the delicacies in advance.

Remember to be thoughtful in buying gifts. You need to know the likes and dislikes of the recipient. This is quite easy when gifting family and friends, whose personalities you’ve more or less become familiar with over the years. But for bosses, clients, or officemates, it may be a stretch unless you’re particularly close to them. Take the time to research their background, or ask people they know what the interests of the recipients are. And it doesn’t matter if the gift item costs P199 or P199,000.

Giving gifts is not a mindless, thoughtless activity. You need to be serious about this and treat it like a sacred ritual. It takes sincerity and joy to give someone a present, so it will be received in the same spirit.

So get cracking on that Christmas list!

And do give it a lot of thought.

JaRdine distribution inc. and advanta technical team learns first-hand about Maize doble at the corn plantation in Thailand.

JaRdine and advanTa pLanT Seed of paRTneRSHip To benefiT coRn faRMing JARDINE Distribution Inc. (JDI), one of the country’s leading agro-products company, and global seeds producer Advanta Seed International (ASI) recently sealed a partnership that will see the introduction of several biotech products in the country.

In a joint conference between JDI and Advanta at the latter’s breeding and research facility in Lopburi, Thailand, Advanta Business Manager Seraj Ahmad said that the first product to be introduced in the Philippines is ADV Maize Doble, a genetically modified seed product with double stacks gene (MON 89034*NK603) technology that will help corn growers increase their yield.

To kick off the partnership, Advanta COO for Asia and Africa Venkatram Vasantavada recently visited JDI to formally sign the partnership agreement. This was followed by a series of technical training exercises for the JDI team of agronomists.

“These are indeed exciting times for both JDI and Advanta as we participate in the dynamic Philippine corn seeds market,” says Edwin Hernandez, president of JDI. “Adding ADV Maize Doble into our portfolio further shows our commitment to Filipino farmers in providing quality products to improve their livelihood.”

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u.s. prepared to take in syrians The World BusinessMirror

Volkswagen-Audi U.S. sales climb 6.3% amid scandal

hile other emerging markets around the world weigh heavy on global growth outlook due to increased volatility, the Philippines—along with two other emerging markets—continued to buck the trend, and remained strong due to the economy’s intrinsic assets.

INSIDE

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

By Bianca Cuaresma

news@businessmirror.com.ph | Saturday, October 3, 2015

picture for emerging markets is not uniformly gloomy and some countries, including India, the Philippines and Vietnam, are less exposed to the current conjunction of risks,” Fitch Head of Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Andrew Colquhoun said.

Fitch further noted that the vulnerabilities seen in emerging markets, especially those in the region, have been traced to their close trade ties with China—a connection the Philippines is adjudged not so reliant on.

At the recent Philippine economic See “Slowdown,” A6

Wholesale prices lower by 3.7% in July–PSA

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Rail-service shutdown could cost economy $30B ‘Fail-safe’ rail system Federal law requires major freight and commuter railroads to install new safety technology by 2015.

However, many railroads have been lobbying for more time because of the system’s complexity and high cost. The system, known as positive train control, is designed to prevent accidents by slowing or stopping trains automatically when a collision or derailment is imminent.

Slowing or stopping a train before an accident Tracking the train • A train’s location and speed are tracked by GPS and sent to a local network operations center • The center can slow or stop a train remotely if it is going too fast or approaching a stop signal or misaligned switch and the engineer fails to act

Staying in sync Switches, radio towers, signals, the train and the network operations center continuously share information to track the train’s progress

GPS satellite

Radio tower

Track-side signal

Network operations center Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Congressional Research Service, Meteorcomm LLC Graphic: Jemal R. Brinson, Ryan Haggerty, Chicago Tribune

© 2013 MCT

Graphic diagrams show the system, known as positive train control, is designed to prevent rail accidents by slowing or stopping trains automatically when a collision or derailment is imminent; Federal law requires major freight and commuter railroads to install new safety technology by 2015. ChiCAgo TRibune 2013/ MCT

A SHINGTON—A looming shutdown of the nation’s rail system could have a bigger economic impact than the 2013 government shutdown and could even trigger a recession, according to a new report. Railroads have warned that they will curtail freight and passenger operations on Januar y 1 if Congress does not extend a year-end deadline for them to install a collision-avoidance system called positive train control.

T he A mer ican Chemistry Council calculated that a month-long rail service disruption could cost the economy $30 billion. By comparison, the Standard and Poor’s credit ratings service estimated that the government shutdown two years ago cost $24 billion.

Cal Dooley, the chemistry council’s president and CEO and a former congressman from California, said in a statement that a freight service shutdown could harm the entire economy. “A prolonged shutdown would be truly catastrophic, likely resulting in a recession,” he said. “We cannot afford to let this self-inflicted crisis happen.”

The top-ranking leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have introduced a bipartisan bill to give railroads until 2018 to complete the installation of the system, which Congress mandated in 2008.

“Railroads must implement this important, but complicated safety technology in a responsible manner,” said Rep. Bill Shuster, Republican-Pennsylvania, the panel’s chairman, “and we need to give them the necessary time to do so.”

Executives from the country’s largest railroads wrote Sen. John Thune, RepublicanSan Diego, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, in early September that they could not meet the December 31 deadline for positive train control. Absent an extension, they concluded that their only legal alternative would be to curtail operations, in some cases before Thanksgiving.

Ordinarily, railroads see higher shipping volumes in October ahead of the holiday season. Railroads serve major container ports on the East and West coasts through which consumer goods manufactured overseas enter the US market. United Parcel Service

and FedEx, often thought of as truck and air shippers, are major rail shippers as well.

Grain producers, coal-fired power plants, auto manufacturers, chemical companies and oil refineries rely on rail service to transport raw materials and finished products.

Millions of passengers use Amtrak and commuter railroads, and a suspension of rail service could force those workers onto crowded roadways, or to just stay home.

Amtrak carries about 1.2 million passengers a month, while commuter railroads move about 38.5 million, according to recent figures from Amtrak and the American Public Transportation A ssoc i at ion. A mt ra k a nd some commuter rai lroads have said they will be finished w it h t heir posit ive train control systems by the current deadline. According to the Government Accountability Office, however, most commuter ra i l road s need another three to five years.

Outside the Northeast, Amtrak and commuter railroads generally operate overlines owned by freight carriers. If those companies shut down their operations, no passenger trains will operate, either. A head-on collision between a commuter train and a freight train near Chatsworth, California, in 2008 prompted Congress to pass the Rail Safety Improvement Act, which required the installation of positive train control on passenger train routes by December 31.

The system has proved to be expensive and complicated to install. But the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended it for decades and has noted that it could have saved dozens of lives in accidents over the years. The system can prevent trains from running past stop signals. In the Chatsworth crash, the commuter train’s engineer was texting and missed a stop signal, crossing into the path of the freight train. The engineer and 24 others were killed.

The system also can prevent trains from exceeding speed limits when approaching curves or when railroad maintenance workers are present.

In Philadelphia in May, an Amtrak train sped into a 50-milesper-hour curve at 106 mph and jumped the tracks. Eight people were killed. TNS

Syrian refugee pupils welcome German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel as he visits the classroom during his visit at the Zaatari refugee camp near Mafraq, north of amman, Jordan, on September 22. Gabriel said his country will give about half a €500 million for Syrian refugees and called on the United States and Gulf states to step up. (inset) Gabriel (right) talks with a Syrian teacher during his visit at the Zaatari refugee camp. AP/RAAd AdAyleh

US prepared to take in Syrians

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ASHINGTON—The US is well-prepared to assist the thousands of Syrian refugees that President Barack Obama plans to resettle in the country, federal immigration officials signaled on Thursday, as some Republicans raised concern about the risk of terrorism.

The US has a long tradition of helping foreigners who seek asylum and funds will be available to help them resettle, officials from the State Department, Department of Health and Human Ser v ices, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

They also assured senators that no shortcuts would be taken in their security clearance process.

The resettlement program focuses on refugees with immediate need who do not pose a security threat, said Larry Bartlett, admissions director at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

They are, Bartlett said, subjected to more intense security than any other travelers.

“The program enjoys substantial support from state and local governments, as well as community members,” he said.

Obama has pledged to take in at

least 10,000 refugees fleeing wartorn Syria for the fiscal year that began on Thursday. This week he ordered the ceiling for the number of total refugee admissions to be raised from 70,000 to 85,000.

Barbara Strack, chief of the Refugee Affairs Division at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, testified that her agency, which conducts security checks of applicants, has met the refugee admission ceiling of 70,000 for three years in a row.

“W hen I meet with new officers joining the refugee cor ps, I talk with them about the US’s long-standing tradition of offering protection to those f leeing prosecution,” she said.

However, US agencies have often struggled to clear refugees through a vetting process that takes 18 to 24 months.

Conservatives have voiced concern about the security risk that refugees from countries infiltrated

by terrorists may pose. Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, chairman of the subcommittee, criticized plans to increase the number of refugees accepted by the US to at least 100,000 next year.

Such an increase, he said, would further stretch public benefits and outpace the security screening process refugees are required to undergo.

He also cited recent data from the Pew Research Center that shows the near-record growth of foreignborn residents, who now account for 14 percent of the US population.

“The situation in Syria and throughout the Middle East is a serious one,” Sessions said. “It cannot be solved with immigrating large numbers of people from that region.”

Another Republican committee member, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, recalled the February slaying of four people, a case in which the suspect had been granted special immigration status.

The State Department spent about $3 billion in the last fiscal year to help resettle refugees.

Sessions questioned how the country could afford to bring in more refugees. The witnesses said that some programs may be given lower priority to find additional funds. Human-rights groups and some Democrats have called upon the US to admit more Syrians. About 1,300 have been brought to the US since the war there began in 2011.

“In light of this global emergency situation, we urge the US to lead a comprehensive global initiative in partnership with European and other states to improve access to protection for refugees,” Human Rights First, a Washington-based group, wrote in a letter to the subcommittee.

Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota said experience has shown that the country can resettle refugees and deal with security concerns.

On the day last week that Pope Francis told Congress to respond to the refugee crisis in a “humane, just and fraternal” way, 18 mayors wrote to Obama, expressing their willingness to accept Syrian refugees in their cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

More than 3,800 Syrians already live in Lehigh County, where Allentown is located.

More than 4 million Syrians are estimated to have fled since the uprising began against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Many headed to Europe, largely driving a global refugee crisis not seen since World War II, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The crisis has further exposed division among European Union members. Among countries that are opening their borders, Germany has agreed to take 800,000 Syrians, while France and Britain have each pledged to accept 20,000. TNS

New cars of the German car manufacturer Volkswagen are ready to be shipped at the Volkswagen factory in Emden, Germany, on September 30. Ingo Wagner, dpa via AP

Boehner’s departure a good thing, poll finds

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A SHINGTON—More than four in 10 Americans, or 43 percent, think it’s a good thing that Speaker John A. Boehner will give up his gavel and retire from Congress later this month, a new poll from The Economist Group/YouGov finds.

But, perhaps, as a sign of the uncertainty to come, slightly more of the country doesn’t quite know what to make of Boehner’s surprise announcement that he’s leaving the speakership after four tumultuous years. Just 13 percent of the poll’s respondents said that Boehner stepping down is a bad thing, while 44 percent said “not sure.”

The poll’s findings show a public with mixed feelings about the outgoing speaker, whose support among his Republican colleagues had slipped in recent years.

Boehner was a somewhat or very weak leader, 62 percent of respondents said, and 47 percent somewhat or strongly disapproved of the way he handled his job. That compared to 25 percent who said they somewhat or strongly approved, and slightly more than a quarter who weren’t sure.

That disapproval came from both sides of the aisle. While Boehner wasn’t conservative enough for 21 percent of respondents, 22

percent found him too conservative. Similarly, 23 percent said that Republicans in Congress are not conservative enough compared with 37 percent who say they are too conservative. Boehner spoke about the bipartisan nature of the challenge he faced in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation. He noted accomplishments, such as deficit reduction, an overhaul of entitlement programs and keeping taxes low.

“All done over last four-and-ahalf years with a Democrat president, and all voted against by my most conservative members because it wasn’t good enough,” he said.

According to the poll, 79 percent

of respondents who identified as strongly supportive of the tea party movement believe that Boehner’s “not conservative enough.” Of that same group, 88 percent believe Boehner is somewhat or very weak.

Despite the general disapprov a l , A mer ic a n s w a nt t he next speaker to somewhat follow Boehner’s lead: 62 percent say they want a speaker who will compromise to get things done.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican-California, the current majority leader and the most likely person to succeed Boehner as speaker, has pledged to move his party in a more conservative direction. TNS

the world

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ED DAVAD

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By Cai U. Ordinario

W BusinessMirror media partner

holesale prices of commodities sold in the Philippines fell for the eighth consecutive month in July, according the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data released by the PSA on Friday showed that the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) in July contracted by 3.7 percent compared to a 3.4-percent increase posted in the same period last year. The GWPI has been declining since December 2014.

“The continuous decline was attributed to the double-digit decrease of 27.7 percent recorded in the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index,” the PSA said.

The double-digit decline in wholesale fuel prices failed to prop up the July GWPI, despite the increase in the prices of other commodities.

Data showed that wholesale food prices grew 5 percent; beverages and tobacco, 8.9 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 3.3 percent; chemicals, including animal and

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olkswagen AG’s US sales rose 6.3 percent last month, less than rivals’ but better than analysts expected, in a sign of how consumers are reacting to the automaker’s cheating on diesel emissions tests.

VW, which boosted incentives to above the industry average, didn’t give results for its diesels, including the 2-liter models that were pulled from lots.

Sales rose 0.6 percent for its namesake brand and 16 percent for the Audi luxury unit, the company said on Thursday. Four analysts in a Bloomberg survey had split evenly on whether the combined total would rise or fall, with an average estimate of a 0.8-percent gain, the lowest for any major automaker. For the Volkswagen brand alone, the average of three estimates was for a 6.- percent slide.

“We would like to thank dealers and customers for the support of the Volkswagen brand,” said Mark McNabb, COO for Volkswagen of America. “Volkswagen will continue to work diligently to regain trust and confidence in our brand.”

The company’s marketing promotions per vehicle jumped $479, or 17 percent, to $3,381, according to an analysis by Autodata Corp., which said the industry average rose 5.7 percent to $3,144.

The Volkswagen brand, down 2.5 percent through September, has been lagging, while America’s love of pickups and SUVs, fueled by available credit, affordable fuel and the latest technology, helped push auto sales to the highest level in more than a decade. Audi, with a 13-percent increase through nine months, has been benefiting from a surge in demand for luxury vehicles.

Volkswagen brand deliveries in September increased to 26,141, led by a 51-percent surge for its Golf models.

Audi sales rose to 17,340, the brand’s best September in the US. The compact A3 was the line’s only model that is sometimes equipped with the 2-liter diesel engine implicated by the cheating. A3 sales rose 16 percent.

Combined sales for the two brands were 43,481, up from 40,913 a year earlier.

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See “Wholesale prices,” A6

PHL gets Apec grant to prepare off-grid areas for natural disasters

By Lenie Lectura

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HE Department of Energy (DOE) said it will soon receive funding from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) for the conduct of workshops aimed at improving energy resiliency in off-grid areas.

“I already signed several weeks ago the acceptance. We’re waiting the release of the funds, because, ideally, it should be finished by end

of June 2016, before a new president takes over,” Energy Undersecretary Loreta G. Ayson said.

Apec will provide $100,070 to finance the conduct of a series of workshops meant to identify and address common challenges, lessons learned and best practices in improving resiliency of energy infrastructure in off-grid areas.

The amount will be sourced from the Apec Energy Efficiency SubCommittee Fund.

PESO exchange rates n US 46.7050

AYSON: “We want to do a handbook on the guidelines on how to attain energy resiliency in offgrid areas. This will take up standards of infrastructure, retrofitting of poorquality infrastructure, engineering solutions, to withstand the strongest calamities.”

“It will be our finance department that will keep the fund that will be released by Apec. The objective here is to conduct workshops, gather all experts with regard to energy-infrastructure resiliency,” Ayson said.

“We want to do a handbook on the guidelines on how to attain energy resiliency in off-grid areas. This will take up standards of infrastructure, retrofitting of poor-quality infrastructure, engineering solutions, to withstand the strongest calamities,”

she added. The DOE official said she is hopeful that the funds would be released within the month.

Apec stressed the need to improve resiliency of energy infrastructure in off-grid areas, given the threats of natural disasters and the impacts of climate change.

Electricity in these areas is mainly sourced from diesel generators, putting the supply at risk in times of energy disruptions.

At the end of the workshops, a

report will be prepared enumerating the current status of implementation of policies and programs among Apec member-economies in ensuring energy access and security of energy supply in the event of natural and man-made disasters, and extreme weather occurrences.

The final output of the project is the publication of the guidelines on best practices, lessons learned, success stories and conclusions from the documentation.

n japan 0.3895 n UK 70.6693 n HK 6.0266 n CHINA 7.3394 n singapore 35.2357 n australia 32.9558 n EU 52.2395 n SAUDI arabia 12.4547 Source: BSP (2 October 2015)

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News

BusinessMirror

Saturday, October 3, 2015 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Kabayan causes flight cancellations, class suspension

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OUR flights were canceled on Friday morning owing to bad weather brought by Tropical Storm Kabayan, the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) said.

In addition, classes in many parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, were suspended owing to the inclement weather.

The Miaa said that among flights canceled include 2P 2051 ( M a n i l a- C at ic l a n) a nd 20 52 (Caticlan-Manila).

T hese f l ights belong to Philippine Airline Express.

Also canceled were flights DG 6227 (Manila-Caticlan) and 6228 (Caticlan-Manila).

These flights belong to CebGo, also known as TigerAir. The weather bureau earlier

Legislator pushes bill hiking pay of public school teachers

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SENATOR is pushing for the passage of a bill that seeks to increase the salary of publicschool teachers in elementary and secondar school.

“As we celebrate the teachers’ role in the society and nation-building—most especially as molders of our children’s future—we should also give priority to their welfare,” Sen. Juan Edgardo M. “Sonny” Angara said.

Senate Bill 61 aims to upgrade the minimum salary grade level of teachers from Salary Grade 11 to 19, nearly doubling their current monthly base pay from P18,549 to P33,859.

Angara, while still a congressman, was one of the authors of the salary standardization law III that raised the salary of publicschool teachers in 2012.

“Teachers are a special breed and to teach is a special calling. One writer once said, ‘Students are actually better off in a bad school with an excellent teacher, than in an excellent school with a bad teacher,’” he said in an event in celebration of the National Teachers’ Month.

Angara has also filed a bill that seeks to provide grants and scholarship with return of service agreements to academic and nonacademic personnel to upgrade their qualification through masteral, doctoral or postgraduate studies.

The lawmaker pointed out that there is a need to retrain teachers to meet the instructional aptitude needed to teach an entirely new curriculum provided under the K to 12 Program.

The scholarships and grants will also attract new teachers and researchers to the higher-education sector, he added.

“I think every teacher realizes deep in their heart that they are not doing this for personal glory or for personal riches, but definitely, to leave a legacy.

Ito ang nag-iisang propesyon kung saan nasusukat ang kanilang tagumpay sa tagumpay ng iba,” Angara said. Recto Mercene

predicted stormy weather over the provinces of Aurora, Quirino, Nue v a V i z c ay a , Nue v a Ecija, Tarlac, Benguet, La Union and Pangasinan.

In Nueva Ecija heav y rains brought by K abaya n on Fr iday caused flooding and rendered some areas impassable to vehicles.

Based on the latest report from the Nueva Ecija Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), those areas not passable to all types of vehicles due to floods are the Bongabon Road in Barangay San Vicente;

the Barangay Lusok bridge connecting Bongabon-Palayan; and the Rizal-Bongabon Road in Barangay Makapsing in Rizal town.

Likewise, the PDRRMO said a landslide took place in Barangay Ligaya, Gabaldon, rendering the area not reachable by all types of vehicles.

The PDRRMO also reported that areas in barangays Betenia and San Antonio in Laur town and the Laur-Gabaldon Road in Barangay Sagana are not passable to light vehicles due to knee-deep floods.

In addition, villages in Cuyapo town, and Barangays San Jose, Bulala, Bantog, Ventican and District 5, all in Quezon town are flooded and not reachable by light vehicles.

E a rl ier, Nue v a E c ija G ov.

Aurelio Umali, who chairs the PDRRMC, declared the suspension of classes in all private and public schools, as well as work in government offices due to heavy

rainfall that hit the province since Thursday night.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), mea nwh i le, sa id t h at it h a s laid dow n preparations w ith P34.7 million in standby funds, 148,772 family food packs, and P71 million worth of food and nonfood items that can be tapped to augment the resources of local governments that will be affected by Kabayan.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon J. Soliman said all disaster teams in DSWD-Field Offices along the path of Kabayan have been placed under alert status.

Soliman assured that the disaster teams are ready to provide technical assistance to local governments along relief distribution and management of evacuation centers.

In Aurora prov ince strong winds spawned by Kabayan on Friday toppled electric posts and uprooted some trees in that cut

off electric power supply in the entire province. “ T he prov ince-w ide power outage was caused by the toppling of electric posts and uprooting of big trees, particularly in the area of San Luis town and in parts of Central Aurora,” Elson Egargue, head of the Aurora PDRRMO, said.

Egargue, however, said there is now an ongoing clearing operations being conducted by the Philippine Army and other concerned agencies for the immediate restoration of power supply in the province.

He a lso sa id t hat t here were no reported casualties in the province.

“As of now, the situation in the province is normal. There is no more rain but still have cloudy skies,” he said.

Meanwhile, classes in primary up to secondary levels, both in public and private, in the province were suspended. PNA

Salceda proposes transfer of Palace, Congress, natl govt centers to Lucena L EGAZPI CITY—Albay Gov. Joey Salceda proposes the transfer of Malacañang, both Houses of Congress, and the national government centers (NGCs) outside Metro Manila, particularly to Lucena City in Quezon, to help solve Metro Manila’s traffic congestion and promote truly meaningful countryside development.

Salceda said transferring the seat of the national government to a nearby, spacious and safe area will ensure the efficient flow of the government’s urgent daily functions unhampered by monstrous traffic jams and flooding in the metropolis—problems that do not have prompt and easy solutions.

Lucena is only about 135 kilometers south of Manila.

The more practical recourse, the governor said, is to transfer the national government seat, and its entire apparatus outside Metro Manila, somewhere near, safe and with ample space for better layout, he said. A study revealed that the Philippines is third in Asia and fifth in the world, in terms of traffic chaos.

Salceda said the government

SALCEDA

could build a new “Presidential Mansion” in Lucena City, resettle both Houses of Congress and develop NGCs in the area designed along the green economy principles in infrastructure planning. A respected economist and economic adviser to Philippine presidents, he had pioneered the green economy concept in his province, which has recently gained international acclaim.

Albay’s Green Economy scheme is anchored on the principles of disaster risk-reduction management (DRRM). The multibillionpeso Albay Guicadale (Guinobatan-

Camalig-Daraga-Legazpi ) Economic Township in Barangay Alobo, Daraga, is now the best showcase of the “building back better elsewhere” principle in DRRM. Initially a geostrategic intervention scheme designed to move people out of harm’s way in risky areas to safer grounds, Guicadale is now fast shaping up as an economic development platform to transform its 64,000 hectares of rolling terrain into a sprawling business boom center, with the Daraga International Airport at its center.

Malacañang, being the seat of government, and the NGCs, should smoothly function unhampered by chaotic traffic congestion and disaster risks, such as flooding, a stark reality in Metro Manila, he noted.

Salceda said the government shou ld reduce infrastr ucture buildup within Metro Manila, and instead focus on developing the countryside, especially in areas that support the transport industry and those that would connect as bridges the islands in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The governor said the roll-on-

Congressman seeks revamp of airport security

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MEMBER of the House of Representatives on Friday called for a top-to-bottom revamp of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS), now under fire for the series of “laglag bala” and mulcting incidents that have victimized a number of departing airline passengers.

Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian of Valenzuela City call for a total revamp at the OTS was prompted by the revelation of Liberal Party Rep. Noel Villanueva of Tarlac that he, too, fell prey to the laglag bala syndicate while he was leaving for abroad sometime in August 2014.

The OTS, which is under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), is the agency in charge of the x-ray scanning machines where luggages of departing passengers, both checked-in and hand-carried, pass through before check in at the airline’s counter.

Villanueva made the disclosure on Tuesday during the House Committee on Transportation’s hearing on the budget of the DOTC and its attached agencies.

Gatchalian said it was alarming that OTS personnel carry bullets in their pockets. This, he said, is already a breach of security at the Ninoy Aquino

International Airport (Naia).

“There is no question that OTS personnel have already lost their credibility and it is but proper that a top-to-bottom revamp be made

by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya Jr. in order to rectify the breakdown in security at the Naia,” said Gatchalian, who had filed House Resolution 2419, which directs the Committees on Good Government and on Transportation to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the series of laglag-bala incidents at the Naia.

Gatchalian added: “It is bad enough that such nefarious activities being committed by OTS personnel are causing an embarrassment to the Naia and as an institution. But what’s worse is the serious threat it poses to our tourism industry and the overall security of our airports.” He said it is high time for Abaya to personally address the issue by ordering a total revamp of OTS personnel and assigning new personnel with untarnished record to man the x-ray machines in all Naia terminals.

“This is the height of mismanagement on the part of the Naia and the DOTC. How can they assure us of airline safety if the very people

who are supposed to protect us are the suspects? Matagal na pala itong nangyayari, but Secretary Abaya doesn’t have a clue,” said Gatchalian, a majority member of the House Committee on Tourism.

At least two laglag-bala incidents have been reported. The two victims were first-time American tourist Michael White and a wheelchairbound balikbayan who had to pay P500 to the airport security personnel to be allowed to leave the country.

White, a 20-year-old missionary from Florida, was detained for five days by airport police for allegedly concealing two caliber .22 rounds in his checked-in baggage, which was “discovered” by the x-ray scanner at the Naia Terminal 4.

White alleged that a male security man told him that his problem will be settled for P30,000.

The latest incident to surface was that of an overseas worker returning to Hong Kong after a brief vacation in Manila in May 2015 whose bag was rummaged by a woman “screener” shortly after coming through the xray and her HK$500 allowance forcibly taken.

The worker posted her experience on Facebook, which went viral. Recto Mercene

roll-off (Roro) transport must be maximized, to efficiently link up Leyte and Cebu, Cebu and Bohol, Bohol and Negros, Negros and Panay, and Leyte and Surigao in mainland Mindanao.

He also proposed the construction of new international gateways at the Clark Freeport Zone and other strategic locations; extension of the South Luzon Expressway to Matnog, Sorsogon, via Lucena and Legazpi City; and the development of the Luzon West Coast Road. These projects, he said, can be funded through a competitive public-private partnership scheme and concessional official development assistance, and value engineering to ensure and boost desired results.

The government should heed the popular call to establish a Luzon-wide transportation system that should “pave the way for the construction of an integrated railway system, high-standard highways, and strategically located airports, seaports and land transport stations in provinces all over Luzon,” Salceda added. PNA

USAid chief strategist plots more help for Yolanda survivors

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NITED States Agency for International Development (USAid) Chief Strategy Officer Carla Koppell has been in the country since Thursday to reinforce the US government’s commitment to help Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) survivors build back better.

Koppell visited Tacloban City on Friday to inaugurate education and health facilities with local government officials, led by Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

She was accompanied by the new USAid Philippines Mission Director Susan Brems. The visit marked Brems’s first official trip outside Manila.

Koppell, Brems and Romualdez inaugurated a newly constructed five-classroom school building in Panalaron Central School, a tuberculosis treatment center and a birthing facility at the Diit Health Center.

They also visited a community where the USAid’s US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services, built transitional shelters for 130 relocated households from 17 vulnerable, high-risk coastal barangays in Tacloban City.

“To date, the US government has provided approximately $143 million to help the Philippines respond to, and recover from, the devastating effects of Yolanda.

In addition to the humanitarian assistance, the USAid supports rehabilitation and recovery activities in the typhoonaffected areas, particularly in Leyte province.

The USAid assistance to these areas restores access to education, health services and livelihood activities. This includes reconstructing damaged classrooms and improving the overall physical environment of schools, hospitals, rural health units and market trading centers, as well as furnishing classroom furniture, teaching kits and hospital equipment. Recto Mercene

Anakbayan urges Leni: Don’t fall for Roxas, Aquino trap

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

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HE youth group Anakbayan has warned Liberal Party Rep. Leni Robredo of Camarines Sur not to allow herself to be used as a deodorant by Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Manuel A. Roxas II. In a message to Robredo, Anakbayan National Chairman Vencer Crisostomo said, “Roxas and President Aquino are the most traditional of trapos hereabouts.”

Robredo should not tarnish the legacy of her husband, Jesse Robredo, who headed the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Crisostomo said.

Jesse Robredo was also a fraternity brother of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay in the Alpha Phi Omega, along with the late Arthur Macapagal, brother of detained former President Gloria Arroyo.

A na kbayan e x pressed concern that Roxas will only use the “Robredo brand” to boost his candidacy in the context of growing anger against Mr. Aquino’s incompetent and arrogant mishandling of people’s

issues. “We are appealing to Rep. Leni Robredo not to squander the good name she has built for herself by siding with an administration noted for the unconstitutional and illegal Disbursement Acceleration Plan, the pork barrel, budget cuts for state universities and colleges, the Mamasapano carnage, MRT-LRT breakdown, neglect of Yolanda victims, among others,” Crisostomo said.

The youth group told Robredo to be wary of the Roxas camp’s appetite for backstabbing and dirty politics, recalling how LP had wooed Sen. Grace Poe to be the running mate of Roxas only to “savage her later on the citizenship and residency issues.” “ Traditional politicians like Roxas are like serpents in a snake pit. They will try to seduce you if they can calculate any profit and suddenly bite you if you don’t bow to their vested interests,” Crisostomo told Robredo.

Anakbayan also urged Robredo to not tarnish the legacy of his late husband, saying the Roxas camp’s growing desperation to shore up its uninspiring performance is pushing it to feed on the reformist reputation of her late husband.

News BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Saturday, October 3, 2015

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Natl Police reports 70-percent decrease in carjacking incidents

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By Rene Acosta

HE National Police said on Friday that it recorded only nine carjacking incidents from August 24 to September 27 showing a 70-percent decline in car theft this year as compared to the same period in 2014.

The force’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) said the decline of carjacking cases was attributed to the National Police anticriminality campaign Operation Plan Lambat-Sibat (Oplan Lambat-Sibat).

Based on the same record, the

DIDM said the police district with most significant decrease in carjacking incidents is the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), with only one recorded incident from September 21 to 27.

Out of the 39 incidents that were recorded during the same period last

year, the QCPD had 15 cases.

From September 21 to 27, the Southern Police District also recorded only one incident of carjacking, followed by Manila Police District and Eastern Police District with two incidents each, and Northern Police District with three recorded cases.

The DIDM also noted that 86 percent of the carjacked public-utility vehicles from January 5 up to September 27, were taxicabs and 12 percent were jeepneys.

On the other hand, 27 percent of stolen private vehicles were vans, followed by sedans with 19 percent, sport-utility vehicles with 18 percent and cargo trucks with 17 percent.

Also, 54 percent of carjacked vehicles were stolen while parked and 29 percent were forcibly taken.

The DIDM said 63 percent of the carjacking cases have occurred from 12 midnight to 8 a.m.

The DIDM, however, did not give the total number of carjacking cases from

January up to September this year.

Because of the effects of the Oplan Lambat-Sibat against carjacking, the National Police chief, Director-General Ricardo Marquez, wanted it to be expanded by ordering the Highway Patrol Group to visit business establishments selling second-hand motor vehicles in order to ensure their legitimacy and eliminate the chances of selling stolen vehicles.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office turned over to the five police districts in Metro Manila 180 field training officers (FTOs) and 656 police trainees in order to beef up the current number of policemen who have been downloaded to the streets for patrol duties.

The FTOs have completed their 15 days of supervisor training and would supervise the police trainees who would undergo the five months compulsory training as part of their Public Safety Field Training Program.

Drilon: Use idle Caap properties for commercial ventures

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ENATE President Franklin M. Drilon on Friday proposed that all unused real-estate assets of the Civil Aviation Authorities of the Philippines (Caap) be opened for commercial exploitation to generate billions of pesos for the government.

“Halimbawa na lang, iyong Bacolod Airport. This is 30 hectares of prime government property. Why is it not being developed? These are assets which can generate activity,” Drilon said during an ambush interview.

“And I assume, when you look around the country, you will find other examples, such as in Iloilo and Cebu.”

“These are previous airports that had been converted into commercial areas and they generate income,” he added, saying as a policy, “we should look at these idle assets of the government and see what can be done in order to generate employment and economic activity.”

Asked how much could be generated if the airport’s idle properties are developed, Drilon said “we are talking billions of pesos.”

“I’m sure we are talking here of a big amount of money, maybe hundreds of millions, if not billions of pesos. These are government assets, which properly attended to, can benefit our economy.”

He cited as example the present Ayala Avenue, which used to be Nielson Airport during World War II. It was closed in the 1950s and turned into the highly successful Ayala Commercial Center, while the airport was brought to the PasayParañaque boundary to become the Manila Domestic Airport and later, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with the addition of an international runway, 06-24.

Drilon said that Bacolod Airport is 30 hectares and at P10,000 per square meter, he sees hundreds of millions of assets that is waiting to be utilized. Recto Mercene

Harvesting men

Nacionalista Party (NP) President Manuel Villar swears in local officials of Balayan, Batangas, as new members of the NP, the premier political party in the country. The party is gearing up for the 2016 elections.

Good eats, creative discoveries

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HE quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. The saying works for women as well, for Celine Reyes, self-proclaimed tourism advocate who loves to take visitors to her town, Angono in Rizal, to restaurants showcasing the locals’ creativity, particularly in food.

Reyes uses her blog, “Celineism,” to promote the town located east of Manila, known as the “Art Capital of the Philippines.”

“My dream is for Angono to become the first thing that comes to mind when Filipinos are asked where to find the best artists,” she gushes.

Challenging visitors’ adventurous spirit, she highly recommends BalawBalaw, the exotic restaurant known for its “creepy crawlies” and out-ofthe-ordinary dishes. A hit with diners is uok, or fresh woodworms. The bursting of larva juice is not for the weakhearted, she warns. It is best paired with a glass of local beer or fruit shake.

Another specialty dish is farm snails cooked in coconut milk and spices— said to be Angono’s version of escargots, served as appetizer in Portugal, Spain and France.

Deep-fried frog legs are also popular.

“It really does taste like chicken, just a tad tougher and grainy,” Celine says.

Other Balaw-Balaw delicacies include white ants, stir-fried crickets

and cow testicles stew, better-known as Soup Number 5.

For visitors who do not have the daring for extreme eats, Celine recommends the artsy Atelier Museum Café.

The place boasts of native specialties such as fried itik (duck),pesangdalag (mud fish) and kanduli (local catfish), as well as traditional Filipino dishes like sisig and liempo.

Atelier ups the ante with its ambiance: guests dine amid the great paintings and sculptures of Angono artist Nemesio R. Miranda, or Nemiranda, and other local artists. Nemiranda is known for his paintings depicting rural life in Angono.

Another place that can be enjoyed by both art lovers and mystery explorers is the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs.

The site has been cited as one of the oldest records of primitive writing in Asia after it was discovered by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco.

Celine explains how her town’s annual Higantes Festival, held every November, helps promote Angono as an art capital. During the main parade locals carry colorful and papier mâché statues as tall as 12 feet with distinct facial expressions—similar to the effigies early townsfolk used to protest oppressive acts of Spanish hacienderos centuries ago.

“The Higantes Festival symbolizes

the larger-than-life spirit and creativity of the locals,” Celine says. It is something she wants to promote not just locally, but also internationally. She believes that, like Paris and Venice, it can find its place in the art world.

Aside from the artsy places and exotic restaurants, Angono also boasts of family-friendly attractions. San Vicente’s Lakeside Park offers activities like biking and bird-watching, amid a stunning view of Laguna Bay. The local government is also developing a river in Sitio Labahan.

These tourist attractions and locals’ creativity in Angono, Rizal, have inspired Celine to join the annual Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA) video-making competition organized by wireless leader Smart Communications Inc. (Smart).

“My group [called Tropang Higantes] joined DPSA for two things,” she shares. “First is to promote our hometown’s tourist spots, especially the artsy ones. Second is to hone the creativity of our team, plus my other students who joined.”

DPSA is part of Smart’s digital-inclusion advocacy, making information accessible to more Filipinos through mobile and Internet technologies. It is also the country’s first and longest-running crowd-sourcing competition designed to uncover the best and the most unique Filipino hometown stories.

Congressional spouses hold biggest fund-raising event for ’15

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HE Congressional Spouses Foundation Inc. (CSFI) will hold its biggest fund-raising event for the year, the Kabuhayan National Livelihood Trade Fair 2015, from October 15 to 18 at the Megatrade Hall 2, Fifth level, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. There are 97 booths this year showcasing the best of Philippine products, which include personal effects and

accessories, health and wellness supplements, home furnishings and a delectable spread of ready-to-eat delicacies, as well as dried and fresh produce. The trade fair aims to provide small and medium Filipino entrepreneurs with an opportunity to display their ingenuity and widen their market reach.

The merchants include Lupe Saenz, a leather shoe company from Marikina that

offers custom-made ballerina flats; Meycauayan Jewelry Industry Association with its export-quality jewelry; the Villar Sipag Foundation known for promoting livelihood and entrepreneurship will showcase bags and footware made from waterlily; ELMN Enterprises from Rizal will market snakeskin bags, wallets and accessories; La Herminia Piña Weaving from Kalibo

will carry barong and woven products; the I Love Quirino Caravan will feature fossilized flowers which were part of recent China expo; Gotad Ad Ifugao will sell stone crafts, wood products and banig; the Province of Nueva Vizcaya that will retail fresh vegetables, banig and woven baskets; and Alavar’s Seafood Restaurant from Zamboanga City, famous for its Alavar sauce.

SC resolves legal tussle over GSIS contributions

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HE Supreme Court (SC) has finally resolved the issues on whether the government’s share in the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) contributions for contractual employees can be validly sourced from the 20-percent premium pay given to such employees, in lieu of leave benefits.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza, the SC’s Third Division dismissed the petition filed by the GSIS “on the ground of forum shopping, with a warning to the [agency] that a repetition of the same or similar acts in the future shall be dealt with more severely.”

The SC upheld with modification the appealed decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling that “the deduction of the government share in GSIS contributions from the 20-percent premium pay granted to contractual employees may only be made upon the effectivity of Memorandum Circular 14, series of 1999 granting leave benefits to such employees.”

Republic Act (RA) 8291, or the Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997 provided for, among others, the compulsory GSIS coverage of all government employees, regardless of employment status on May 30, 1997.

The petitioners, all contractual employees of the various projects and programs within and under the control and supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), wrote the GSIS to inquire about their standing, since and prior to RA 8291.

In a letter dated January 8, 1998, the GSIS, through its Senior Vice President for the Social Insurance Group Lourdes Patag, advised that while casual and contractual employees paid from the regular lump-sum appropriation are covered under RA 8291, contractual employees, who were hired coterminus with projects and are receiving additional 20-percent pay, were not.

The DENR, through a Memorandum dated September 16, 1999, accordingly informed its projectandprogramdirectorsthat deductions from the premium pay shall be “reflected in the payroll starting October 1999 to include arrearages for the months of January to September 1999.”

Tolentino et al. argued that the

GSIS committed forum shopping in the case. At the time the GSIS filed its petition on July 23, 2002, it already had knowledge that a coparty Department of Budget and Management had already filed an appeal before the CA. Despite this knowledge, the GSIS filed another pleading, contrary to its undertaking in its certification against forum shopping, the GSIS did not inform the SC of the pending case before the CA. In its ruling, the SC rejected Tolentino et al.’s claim of exemption from RA 8291.

According to the SC, Section 3 of RA 8291 is clear that, save for specified officials of the government, membership in the GSIS shall be compulsory for all employees, regardless of employment status.

“Neither can they claim exemption based on the letter dated January 8, 1998 sent by thenGSIS SVP Patag advising them of their noncoverage,” the SC said.

“The policies behind the pertinent laws and regulations in this case show that the same can be harmonized to give effect to every relevant provision of law or regulation. Section 5 of RA 8291 shows a clear intent to divide responsibility for payment of the required GSIS premiums between the government employer and the covered employee,” it added.

The SC said that the pertinent Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules, on the other hand, show a clear policy to equitably balance the benefits given to regular and contractual personnel of the government. “This was evident, first, in the provision of premium pay to contractual employees in lieu of leave benefits and, ultimately, in the eventual grant of leave benefits to such personnel. In light of the above policies, Joint Circular 99-3 should be understood to have meant to apply prospectively, that is, payment of the government share out of the 20-percent premium pay should start only after the contractual employees’ entitlement to said pay was considered withdrawn with the grant of leave benefits,” the SC said.

“Thus, payment of the government share in GSIS contributions from the premium pay of contractual employees cannot be made earlier than the effectivity of CSC Memorandum Circular 14, series of 1999, it added. PNA

A4 Saturday, October 3, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Are Filipinos shallow and superficial?

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o hear some of our “intellectual” commentators on the recent “AlDub” phenomena, you would think that the Philippines is inhabited by immature children whose attention can only be captured by trivial entertainment. Apparently, these same people have never heard of Americans hanging on all the exploits of the Kardashians or Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner.

The BusinessMirror columnist Tito Genova Valiente explained it well in his recent column, titled “The AlDub nation is also Luna country.” The minor controversy of the nation being captured by noontime-entertainment television reminds us of a prominent Filipino writer of English-language novels who bashed the Philippines a few years ago. His contention was that Japanese Kabuki theater—created to entice clients into the brothels of 17th-century Edo (Tokyo)—was far superior to the traditional Filipino tinikling dance.

However, our problem is that we are provincial in our thinking and outlook.

We look at the world from a narrow perspective and focus. Therefore, we often look for and then are satisfied with simplistic views of complex situations.

The headline in a local newspaper read: “US to respond ‘within hours’ if PHL sovereignty is challenged.” Well, that is certainly comforting, and there is obviously no need to worry about China and our territory being usurped.

Except, where was the US when China was taking over the Panatag Shoal in 2012? The US says it will ensure rights of passage in international waters, but has stayed as far away as possible from the Chinese reclamation projects in the West Philippine Sea. From a nation that produced Antonio Luna and Carlos P. Rómulo, among many others—men and women of courage, strength and vision—we now seem to be content not wanting to look beyond the next hill.

The Middle East is exploding with Russia building military bases in Syria and pushing the Americans aside. And local television news seems to only report what is trending on social media. Only our sister company, CNN Philippines, has done any in-depth reporting on what is happening in that region.

The Philippines has a great economic and human stake in that area and, yet, we only really care when Filipino workers have to be emergency evacuated.

Does anyone remember the Filipino soldiers in the United Nations peacekeeping force who battled Islamic militants in a seven-hour firefight in the Golan Heights last year? They did not surrender, and stood their ground courageously.

It is not that the Philippine government or people can do anything particularly significant to influence global events. But we need to be more aware and educated about world conditions.

The current “unofficial” presidential campaigns are a prime example. Look at the official web sites of the candidates, and you will not find a single word about anything global neither economic nor geopolitical, except for one fleeting “feel good” mention of the conflict with China.

Are Filipinos shallow and superficial? Of course, not. But we have been conditioned in the last decades to think of little outside of our own small “province”.

What this turning point means John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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F you have been reading my columns for the last few months, then you know I have talked about the change in cycle of economic confidence model (ECM) that occurred on September 30th.

This cycle change is no different than when the southwest monsoon—which we call the habagat —changes to the northeast winds, known as the amihan season. The change in the wind-direction cycle is regular and, therefore, predictable.

Each cycle change brings with it an equally predictable set of conditions that are noticeable with a short time.

The last time the ECM peaked was in 2007, almost to the day that the subprime mortgage debt exploded.

That negative trend continued until a bottom in mid-2011, when it turned to the upside. Within a few months of that turn, stock markets, including here on the Philippine Stock Exchange, started their runs to the 2015 historic highs. There are, of course, minor waves within the major cycle.

We are now in a major downtrend that should bottom out in 2020, with a minor wave bottom occurring about one year from now. But it is important to understand that this is not about the markets, it is only about confidence in government.

Note some of the events that have happened in the last few weeks. The US Federal Reserve, after months of clear signals to the contrary, decided not to end its zero-interest-rate policy reducing its credibility to almost as low as its interest rates. Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund just said that the rate of global economic growth this year will probably be weaker than in 2014.

German automobile company Volkswagen has been found to have cheated on its emissions tests not only creating a huge scandal and financial hit for the company, but putting the entire diesel-car industry in jeopardy.

Russia has moved in to Syria and is building airbases to support Syria’s Assad government throwing the entire Mideast into chaos. China will soon be sending “military advisors.” Iran already has hundreds of its troops on the ground. At the United Nations, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time. This is a

monumental political change involving the Middle East.

Three days ago, a senior Saudi Arabian prince made the unprecedented call for King Salman to abdicate.

Tens of thousands of refugees from the Middle East have flooded in Europe. Fifteen bombings occurred in the Chinese region of Guangxi, which followed two massive industrial accidents within days of each other. In Spain the area of Catalonia, which includes the city of Barcelona, just voted for a political party demanding independence, throwing Spain into a constitutional crisis.

Not a single one of the above-mentioned events could be considered “business as usual” no matter if you might consider all of this as some sort of conspiracy-theory madness. Even the Philippines was not spared. Even by the normally loose standards of Philippine politics, the revelation of what can only be described as lewd entertainment at a gathering of politicians is nothing short of amazing.

This turning point is not about the markets, it is about confidence in government.

The major central banks—we were told—had the global economic situation well under control. Governments that are properly serving the interests of its citizens are not supposed to be subject to call for breaking up as in Spain and Scotland, among others. When an authoritarian government, as in China, cannot keep the lid on domestic terrorism, the people are

going to lose confidence.

Confidence is the only thing that keeps the economic and social system running. You accept pieces of paper with pictures of national heroes as payment for your labor, because you have confidence that the next person will accept that paper in payment for his goods or services. You believe that government can protect your life, liberty and property, or you take the law into your own hands. You believe in the stable value of soft paper-based assets, or you find a way to hoard your wealth in hard assets like sacks of rice that you know will always have value to trade.

Historically, when there is a loss of confidence in government, there has initially been a profound shift from government-controlled assets, like debt, to highly liquid assets, like stocks. While markets can be closed, as in Greece this past summer, the banks always close first.

The money move will be into currencies not supported by massive government debt and into those stock markets which have domestic value. It is only a matter of a short amount of time and then, “Welcome to the Philippines!”

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.

The war of Amazon, Apple and other near-monopolies Megan McArdle

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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mazon has announced that it will stop selling Google Chromecast and Apple TV devices at the end of the month.

Why? Because these devices don’t fully work with Amazon’s streaming video service. Amazon is apparently willing to anger some of its customers in order to deliver a competitive edge to its own streaming services.

We’ll get to the morality and wisdom of this move in a minute, but let’s stop to note that this is yet another skirmish in a long battle between the tech giants of our era. Four companies—Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple—are all jockeying to control as much of our technology experience as possible. A legal expert that I interviewed a few years back called it “the war of the APIs,” but it goes well beyond that. Each company is trying to leverage the dominance it has in one area to push into as many other areas as possible, while simultaneously trying to undercut the other firms

that are already there.

So when Apple announced that its mobile devices would finally permit ad-blocking apps, that was a win for consumers—and also a blow for Google, which makes its money off of those ads. Google, of course, has already challenged Apple where it makes its money, on pricey mobile devices. And now Amazon would like to force both of those behemoths to support its streaming video service —or steer consumers toward devices, like Roku, which already do.

This is exactly the sort of activity—leveraging a quasimonopoly to

gain dominance in another market— that caused the Justice Department to go after Microsoft in the 1990s.

And, indeed, one already hears rumblings about applying net neutrality rules to content providers (providers who, ironically, supported net neutrality as a way to keep cable companies off their turf). If Comcast can’t give preferential treatment to XFinity over Netflix, then why should Apple TV be allowed to favor iTunes content over Amazon Video?

You could see Amazon’s actions as an argument for vigorous government action. The company is increasingly a one-stop shop for many people, and knocking the Chromecast and the Apple TV off of its product listings will unfairly advantage its own offerings. And yet, I actually think that this move shows exactly why government intervention isn’t needed. Each of these companies has ample weapons at its disposal to fight the coming battles. Each is dominant in one area—and yet, still under considerable competitive threat from the others. Google and Apple could keep Amazon’s applications out of their mobile stores, for example, which would deal a severe

blow to Amazon’s sales.

That does not mean that this move is smart. For one thing, regulators might decide that their intervention is required. For another, Amazon’s market power comes from the fact that it is a one-stop shop. Refusing to carry popular devices might deal a mortal blow to those firms— but it might also alienate customers, weakening the very power it is trying to leverage. This was the sort of thing that Microsoft could get away with when it was essentially the only game in town. But with other mighty tech giants roaming the land, an aggressive offense can end in disaster.

All that said, you should expect a lot more of this sort of thing in the future, precisely because all of those giants watched Microsoft decline from the undisputed emperor of the realm into a brooding midlife crisis as its core product became increasingly irrelevant. No one wants to get stuck in what used to be a great business; they want to make sure that they have a big slice of the Next Big Thing. And if they have to step on a few toes to get there, they will —whether those toes belong to their competitors, or their customers.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Greed and wrong economic policies

‘Laudato Si’

(A historical perspective)

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

Cecilio T. Arillo

database

Note: We continue the reprint as a series of the Holy Father Pope Francis encyclical Laudato Si (On Our Care for Our Common Home).

The issue of water

Part Four

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ONTRARY to claims that revenues from privatization would help ease the debt burden, power privatization has actually made this worse with impacts affecting both the nation’s coffers and the consumer’s purse.

Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) mandates the government’s assumption of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) debt. In addition all the liabilities and assets of the Napocor have been transferred to Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), a government-owned and managed agency created by Epira.

The accounting, thus, far showed the Napocor’s liabilities already exceeding assets. According to Credit Suisse and Arthur Andersen, “the valuation of the Napocor’s assets, as well as the estimated present value of the Napocor’s financial debt and Power Purchase Agreement Obligations, indicates a shortfall of privatization proceeds against liabilities of between $6.9 billion and $8.5 billion.” Again, the government assumed the liabilities from privatization projects. What made this even more onerous was that only 10 percent to 40 percent of contracted capacity from the independent power producer (IPPs) was in reality being generated.

Having the highest rates, second only to Japan, obviously hurts economically disadvantaged consumers the most. According to Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), it is usually the women in households who have to find ways to stretch the P280 ($5) daily minimum wage.

Aside from lengthening women’s back-breaking working hours, high electricity rates also mean slashing budgets for the most basic needs, such as food, health care, medicines and education.

Answers to problems in the power sector do not lie in handing over the power industry to the private sector. In only a few years the Philippine case already repeats the experiences of other countries whose power and water sectors are undergoing privatization on monopolistic control by the local business elite and big foreign corporations. (Maris dela Cruz, Jayson Edward San Juan & Bruce Amoroto of FDC, 2004).

The restructuring and privatization of the power industry prescribed under Epira had three objectives: (1) rationalizing the roles of the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Electric Authority, the Napocor and the Energy Regulatory Commission; (2) restructuring and privatizing the Napocor; and (3) cross subsidy removal and introduction of so-called competition in the power sector.

The idea of restructuring and privatizing the Napocor involves dismantling the state agency and separating its functions to pursue missionary electrification (Napocor—Small Power Utilities Group) and setting up a National Transmission Corp. (Transco). Immediate casualties of this dismantling were 6,000 Napocor employees retrenched in November 2002.

The Napocor plants and the Napocor–contracted IPPs shall be geographically grouped together to form generation companies (Gencos). Gencos will then be included with other assets and liabilities that will all be transferred to PSALM. PSALM will take the lead in privatizing Transco and Gencos, and liquidating the Napocor’s real estate and other disposable assets, contracts with IPPs, stranded debts and stranded costs arising from such contracts, the Napocor loans,

Part Five

Having the highest rates second only to Japan obviously hurts economically disadvantaged consumers the most. It is usually the women in households who have to find ways to stretch the P280 daily minimum wage.

Aside from lengthening women’s back-breaking working hours, high electricity rates also mean slashing budgets for the most basic needs, such as food, health care, medicines, and education. bonds, securities and other instruments of indebtedness. PSALM assumed the Napocor’s assets and liabilities on June 30, 2003.

Then-Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez, citing government’s inability to operate and maintain the country’s transmission project, had often stressed the importance of privatizing Transco. The government projects a P105-billion ($2.9 billion) income upon completion of the sale.

A Transco privatization committee was formed to oversee the competitive bidding and eventual award of contract to a private-sector concessionaire (most probably a foreign entity). Aside from Transco, DOE and PSALM officials sit as members of the committee. The committee scheduled the first bidding in August 2003. However, the committee had to announce another bidding failure because no investors showed interest in the deal. The government has since been considering a negotiated bid with Singapore Power, the lone bidder.

The projected revenue accruing from Transco’s privatization is, of course, a long-term consideration of the government. In the short term, however, government needs to privatize Transco to be able to borrow by issuing bonds. This is what Perez deliberately failed to mention that Transco privatization is also an Asian Development Bank conditionality for issuing a partial guarantee to the Napocor through bond floatation which is needed for its 2004 operating expenses.

The government has been finalizing its privatization plan for Gencos.

PSALM is proposing that Gencos be privatized simultaneously with the Transco. So far, PSALM was able to arrange five Napocor-owned generating facilities for privatization. The government considered the Transco and Genco privatization as the most important step for opening the power industry to competition. Thus, these have been targeted in preparation for open access and the installation of the wholesale spot market.

Aside from specific provisions covering the Napocor’s restructuring and privatization, Epira proposes reforms for the whole power industry that are deemed essential for market competition. One of these is the unbundling of the rates of distribution utilities to reflect the respective costs of various services (e.g., generation, transmission, distribution of the universal charge) allowing certain costs to be passed on to all end-users. These include, for instance, stranded costs of the Napocor, stranded debts of the national government and stranded contract of distribution utilities.

To be continued

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ther indicators of the present situation have to do with the depletion of natural resources. We all know that it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries and wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented levels.

The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and we still have not solved the problem of poverty.

Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Sources of fresh water are necessary for health care, agriculture and industry. Water supplies used to be relatively constant, but now in many places demand exceeds the sustainable supply, with dramatic consequences in the short and long term. Large cities dependent on significant supplies of water have experienced periods of shortage, and at critical moments these have not always been administered with sufficient oversight and

impartiality. Water poverty especially affects Africa, where large sectors of the population have no access to safe drinking water or experience droughts, which impede agricultural production. Some countries have areas rich in water while others endure drastic scarcity.

One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. Every day, unsafe water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases, including those caused by microorganisms and chemical substances. Dysentery and cholera, linked to inadequate hygiene and water supplies, are a significant

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market. Yet, access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights. cause of suffering and of infant mortality. Underground water sources in many places are threatened by the pollution produced in certain mining, farming and industrial activities, especially in countries lacking adequate regulation or controls. It is not only a question of industrial waste. Detergents and chemical products, commonly used in many places of the world, continue to pour into our rivers, lakes and seas.

Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market. Yet, access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights. Our world has a grave social

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debt toward the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity. This debt can be paid partly by an increase in funding to provide clean water and sanitary services among the poor.

But water continues to be wasted, not only in the developed world but also in developing countries which possess it in abundance. This shows that the problem of water is partly an educational and cultural issue, since there is little awareness of the seriousness of such behavior within a context of great inequality.

Greater scarcity of water will lead to an increase in the cost of food and the various products which depend on its use. Some studies warn that an acute water shortage may occur within a few decades unless urgent action is taken. The environmental repercussions could affect billions of people; it is also conceivable that the control of water by large multinational businesses may become a major source of conflict in this century.

To be continued To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www.caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph.

For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@ gmail.com.

Will Big Data make a big difference in the war against poverty?

Richard Eldridge

view from the 19th floor

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T was not originally envisaged as a tool to succor the poor from poverty, but to make the rich, richer. But “Big Data” has apparently crawled away from being a purely capitalist tool for self-aggrandizement to become an instrument that might make a difference in the worldwide war to limit poverty.

The United Nations sees itself at the forefront of an ongoing campaign that will transform the current data revolution, which includes Big Data, into a revolution for sustainable development that alleviates poverty and helps ensure sustainable growth in the developing world.

In November 2014 the UN released a report that spelled out its new effort to harness Big Data in the global fight against poverty. Big Data is defined as very large amounts of data that can be analyzed to uncover trends, patterns and associations (specifically relating to human behavior and interactions).

It has become all the rage in business, big or otherwise, for its alleged ability to foster more effective decision making. The mantra of Big Data as applied to business appears to be more data, more money.

The UN, however, has taken the technical aspects of Big Data, i.e. this concept’s ability to place massive amounts of data at the feet of decision makers, in another attempt to continue its campaign for sustainable development.

The UN apparently sees Big Data as a key ingredient in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be adopted at a UN summit this September. The SDGs that will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set to end in 2015.

The MDGs consist of eight international development goals established after the Millennium Summit of the UN in 2000. It includes halving extreme poverty rates to providing universal primary education.

The UN claims the MDGs was instrumental in halving the number of people worldwide that live in dire poverty. That number stood at over 1.6 billion in 2000. The UN says the total now stands at 800 million persons. This huge number, however,

shows more must be done, hence, the spotlight on Big Data.

In its report, “A World That Counts: Mobilizing The Data Revolution,” released in November 2014, the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) on a Data Revolution for Sustainable Development proposed ways to improve data for achieving and monitoring sustainable development. IEAG made specific recommendations to address the major challenges it faces. It also called for the UN to lead the effort to mobilize the data revolution for sustainable development.

Among the IEAG’s bolder recommendations is implementing a program that will experiment with how traditional and new data sources (plus Big Data) can be combined to provide better and faster data on sustainable development. IEAG is also batting for the creation of a “world statistics cloud” to improve the quality and cut the cost of producing public data.

Enrico Giovannini, IEAG cochairman, said “governments, companies, non-governmental organizations and individuals need good data to know where problems are, how to fix them and if the solutions are working.”

The UN’s involvement with Big Data dates back to 2009 when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the “Global Pulse” initiative that sought to raise awareness of the opportunities resident in Big Data, and to bring together stakeholders, such as governments and Big Data scientists.

Other multilateral agencies are also using Big Data in their own attempts to fight poverty. In early 2013 the World Bank launched a “Data Dive” with other concerned organizations to search for practical ways Big Data can help improve poverty measurement. Among the World Bank’s partners were the UN’s

The Philippines supports using Big Data to fight poverty and to attain its other socioeconomic goals. Dr. Jose Ramon Albert, secretary general of the National Statistical Coordination Board, acknowledged Big Data is here to stay as an alternative data source. What is needed to make Big Data more meaningful in the Philippine context, however, is to first launch an extensive capacity building program to sort out the challenges confronting Big Data.

Global Pulse initiative; the United Nations Development Program; Qatar Computing Research Institute and DataKind, a New York-based firm that addresses critical humanitarian problems and champions how data science can be applied to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

It’s inevitable Big Data will also be used in the Philippines to combat poverty given the great strides Big Data is taking in the information technology-business-process outsourcing-knowledge process management (IT-BPM-KPM) super sector that today employs over 1.2 million Filipinos and was worth $19 billion in 2014. Analysts see the Philippines as a breakout nation and the next big bet for global investors in Big Data.

The Philippines will be unable to meet all its MDG goals for 2015, especially the major goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. In a report released this March, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the poverty incidence in the Philippines rose by 1.2 percentage points in the first half of 2014 to 25.8 percent from the 24.6 percent in the first half of 2013.

The new report confirms a Neda estimate made in March 2014 saying the Philippines is unlikely to reduce to 17.2 percent the proportion of Filipinos earning less than one US dollar a day by the end of 2015. The Philippines’s MDG goal was to halve poverty incidence from 34.4 percent in 1991 to 17.2 percent in 2015. The Neda blamed the poverty incidence rise on a rapid increase in food prices, especially for rice, and the lingering effects of Super-typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

This failure and the UN move

toward making Big Data a cornerstone of its new SDGs will mean the Philippines will undoubtedly turn to Big Data in a renewed attempt to further reduce extreme poverty and hunger and to attain its other SDG goals.

The Philippines supports using Big Data to fight poverty and to attain its other socioeconomic goals.

Dr. Jose Ramon Albert, secretary general of the National Statistical Coordination Board, acknowledged that Big Data is here to stay as an alternative data source. What is needed to make Big Data more meaningful in the Philippine context, however, is to first launch an extensive capacity building program to sort out the challenges confronting Big Data.

This program will ultimately allow the Philippine Statistical System to effectively harness Big Data. The official statistics community will then be able to certify Big Data quality once they’re able to decipher truth from falsehood in the use of Big Data.

On the plus side for the Philippines as regards Big Data is that the country’s Big Data talent pool is on the rise. In 2013 12 leading universities started offering a complete undergraduate business and IT curricula developed by IBM for Big Data analytics. This move made the Philippines the first country to officially declare Big Data a profession, said IBM, which offers its own Big Data services.

The Philippines is the fourth largest English-speaking country globally and graduates over 500,000 students annually in business, IT, computer science and engineering, which are fields where future Big Data employees should ideally come from.

In addition the Philippines has a “National Transformation Agenda for Economic Growth” focused on next Generation BPO, humancapital development and higher value job creation. This early emphasis on Big Data curricula bodes well for the Philippines.

The edge the Philippines derived from installing Big Data curricula in some of its leading universities is an advantage that must be nurtured.

Doing so will improve the 6-percent share of the IT-BPO-KPM super sector to the Philippines’s gross domestic product in 2013 and ensure the sector’s continuing leadership on the world stage.

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News

BusinessMirror

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Volkswagen-Audi US sales climb 6.3% amid scandal Continued from A1

Holiday effect Analysts said Volkswagen, like other automakers, may have been helped last month by the Labor Day weekend, a traditional car-shopping holiday, falling in September this year after occurring in August the previous year.

The US industry may show a 13-percent jump in September car and lighttruck deliveries, for an annualized rate, adjusted for seasonal trends, of 17.7 million, the average of 12 analyst estimates in the Bloomberg survey.

Volkswagen is the subject of numerous government investigations and lawsuits since the US Environmental Protection Agency said on September 18 that the largest European automaker admitted using a so-called defeat device that turned off emissions controls when vehicles weren’t being put through official tests. The revelation undermined VW’s diesels, which were one of its few strengths, along with a critically acclaimed line of Golf cars. Martin Winterkorn stepped down from his role as chief executive officer of the automaker, but remains CEO of its largest shareholder.

Customer interest

Alan Brown, who runs the nation’s largest Volkswagen store, said earlier this week that customers at his Hendrick VW haven’t stopped asking about the cars. Even with 22 percent of his 237-vehicle inventory now quarantined, his team last weekend sold six new vehicles and handled questions from customers who like the diesels, wanted to know when they’d be available and wondered what kind of discounts they’d soon carry. Bloomberg News

Macau gaming revenue falls 33% on junket woes

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acau’s casino revenue plunged in September, dropping for a 16th straight month, hurt by a reduction in junkets and seasonal weakness ahead of the weeklong Chinese National Day break.

Gross gaming revenue decreased 33 percent to 17.1 billion patacas ($2.2 billion), narrowing from August’s 35.5-percent drop, data from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau showed. The latest decline was in line with the estimates from nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

“What we’re seeing right now is the continuing weakness of the VIP sector,” Grant Govertsen, an analyst at Union Gaming Group, said by phone ahead of the data release. “The mass market is holding up much better.”

Macau’s casino industry has been suffering from an economic

slowdown in China and a campaign against corruption and extravagance. Macau junket operator Neptune Group on September 25 warned that it may have to shut down if the VIP market continues to deteriorate.

Two of the three US casino companies with operations in Macau declined on Thursday in New York.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. slumped 2.6 percent to $36.98 and has lost 36 percent this year, while Wynn Resorts Ltd. retreated 2.7 percent to $51.71, extending its 2015 slump to 65 percent. MGM Resorts International, down 13 percent year-to-

date, added 1.2 percent to $18.67.

Dore Entertainment, a junket company operating at a Wynn Resorts Ltd. casino, said one of its employees is suspected of stealing HK$100 million from the company.

Some customers may also have been cheated by a former cage manager, or chip cashier, and police are investigating the case, Dore said in a statement published in the Macao Daily newspaper on September 17.

Junket operators reduced lending after the reported theft, which prompted others to withdraw deposits from various junkets, according to Deutsche Bank AG. Macau’s casino regulator is studying new rules to require junket operators to make public its directors, shareholders, key employees and collaborators.

Gross gaming revenue has fallen 36 percent year-to-date. September’s data is typically weaker in the period before the October holidays known as Golden Week, which will test whether Macau’s casino downturn is set to continue or whether a recovery may be in sight.

Bloomberg News

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Wholesale prices. . . vegetable oils and fats, 3.6 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, 2.4 percent.

In Luzon the GWPI fell by 4.1 percent as the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index further went down by 28 percent.

In the Visayas the GWPI declined by 1.9 percent in July as the crude materials, inedible except fuels index contracted 3 percent and the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index went down by 26 percent.

A similar trend was seen in the GWPI in Mindanao, as its annual adjustment dropped by 2.2 percent in July. This was due to the 23.8-percent contraction in the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index. On a monthly basis, the GWPI also contracted 0.2 percent in July on the back of cheaper fuel and transportation prices.

Data showed that crude materials, inedible except fuels contracted 0.3 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants

Slowdown. . .

Continued from A1

and related materials, 3.4 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, 0.5 percent.

“A series of price rollbacks in gasoline, diesel and kerosene pushed down the mineral fuels, lubricants and related material index in Luzon by 3.2 percent; the Visayas, -6.2 percent; and Mindanao, -2.1 percent. At the national level, the group’s index dropped by 3.4 percent,” the PSA said.

The GWPI is an indicator designed to measure the changes in the price levels of commodities that flow into the wholesale trade intermediaries.

Wholesale price refers to the price of commodity transacted in bulk for further resale or processing.

It is the actual “spot” transaction price received usually by the wholesalers, distributors or marketing agents for large lots but net of discounts, allowances and rebates.

It is also the sum of the producer price, wholesale trade margin, tax mark-ups and distribution cost of the wholesaler.

Continued from A1

briefing, Economic Planning Secretary Aresnio M. Balisacan explained in one of his presentations that the country’s growth relies mainly on consumption and that this effectively shields the $285-billion economy from the slowed down Chinese economic engine.

Government officials and economic experts also earlier said government spending, should it accelerate as programmed, could add further stimulus to the growth of the Philippine economy.

This was the also growth scenario

drawn of India’s, as that government’s increase in capital expenditure was seen pushing that subcontinent’s resiliency as one of three emerging markets seen shielded against growth risks in their group.

Overall, Fitch scaled back its forecast growth of the global economy to 2.3 percent. This was its weakest and least optimistic forecast since 2009.

The significantly weaker global growth outlook was driven largely by pressure on emerging markets, such as Brazil and Russia, which are economies in recession.

Life

BusinessMirror

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

Saturday, October 3, 2015

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Getting ready for Christmas something like life ma. stella f. arnaldo

http://stella-arnaldo.blogspot.com @Pulitika2010

E

VEN before the Halloween décor, princess costumes and scary masks could be gobbled up in preparation for the coming Halloween parties, Christmas trees are already on display in most department stores. And almost everywhere you go, holiday songs are already playing on a loop.

It’s a bit irrational and surrealistic to look at the plastic orange pumpkin baskets and creepy witch masks in one space, then turn around to be confronted by the piles of colorful Christmas balls and Santa Claus ornaments in another.

But that’s just us, Pinoys that we are. We live every moment with one foot in grave, agonizing and mourning while squeezed into tight MRT trains, for instance, and then as soon as we arrive at our destination, rejoicing and praising baby Jesus for still being in one piece.

But I’ll leave the psychoanalyzing of our nation’s bipolarism to psychiatrists, political commentators and would-be historians or critics minted from watching Heneral Luna.

I’m just happy that Christmas is coming.

Seriously, we all need it.

Sure, the traffic will probably become even more hellish as the season draws even nearer, but nothing beats spending time with family, having a feast and exchanging gifts, to bring us back to some semblance of calm and sanity. (Unless you’re in my family where chaos often rules any time of the year; quiet and solemnity will likely disconcert rather than soothe us. Hahaha.)

So I was walking through The Landmark’s home section recently—it’s a regular shortcut I make through the department store and out to the mall—and I was just so deliriously thrilled to see the wide array of Christmas-

themed throw pillow cases, bathroom and living room curtains, table runners and placemat sets, towels, etc.

I just wanted to pick up every item to take home, but my inner designing diva just had to scream in my head to take it easy. “Nothing good ever comes out from overdesigning your home in one theme!” the voice said. So I caught my breath, tried to relax, and moved away from the merchandise. But I did make a promise to come back for that cute holiday bath curtain.

Other than decorating the home with Christmas items, I also like wrapping gifts. It’s like meditation for me: I take out the item for gifting, measure it against colorful wrapping paper, cut the wrapping paper to size, then enfold the item while deftly snipping scotch tape to keep the item from spilling out of the paper. If the gift is huge enough, I pat down a ribbon on it, then scribble a greeting on the gift tag, to be attached again with more scotch tape.

I try to be personal in my Christmas wishes to the gift recipient, adding a touch of humor where appropriate. And after I’m done, I tick the recipient’s name off the list. I do this over and over again, quietly, although there could be the TV playing somewhere in the background, for about three hours. Every pretty gift-wrapped item is my little stab at art or perfection. (It was the same kind of satisfaction I got wrapping notebooks and books in

Love in the third age R etired and thinking about what to do next? Here’s some advice on finding love after retirement, from the book How to Love Your Retirement (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com), straight from people who’ve done it: “One of the best things about retirement is that it leaves you plenty of time to focus on the ‘fine points’ of romance that sometimes get neglected when you’re bogged down with work. My husband and I make sure to hold hands, sit close to each other and make eye contact across a crowded room.

He takes care of me when I’m sick, gets me a glass of wine or goes to the store to buy me popcorn. We always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and avoid criticizing each other. After 48 years together, our relationship is better than ever!”—Gay

“People on the verge of retirement will be pleasantly surprised to find that once you retire and you both have unlimited time for each other again, you will quickly and easily fall into those old habits of trying to please each other again. If you never fell out of love in the first place, then it has always been there anyway. It’s more often the lack of time that keeps you from realizing it. My advice is to just be there and spend time with each other. Enjoy the time you have together.”—J.E. “If you are lucky enough to fall in love at this point in your life, don’t play around. You don’t have the time to waste like you once did.

Tell her how you feel. I met my second wife on May 13. We were married three months later, in August.”—M.K.

plastic when I was younger. Nerdy, I know.)

There are some stores though with their own personal Christmas bags and gift tags, so all you have to do is tell the cashier to make sure the price tag is removed before he or she puts the gift item in the bag. At such stores, I usually tell the cashier to leave the bag open instead of closing it at the top with the store’s sticker, just so I don’t get confused come Christmastime who gets what.

I’m proud to say that I’m halfway through with my Christmas list. It’s not really a long list to begin with. At my age, I no longer feel the need to suck up to bosses or people I might need favors from in the future. So I really just buy gifts for those nearest and dearest to me. And send Christmas cards especially to relatives or friends abroad via e-mail. (I gave up on snail-mailing cards since these usually arrive at their destination either too late or too laughably early, or not at all.)

No, I didn’t suddenly come into easy money, giving me the means to buy up all the gifts in one fell swoop. I just buy the items one at a time, over several months. So by the time December rolls around, I’m sitting pretty at home, unfrazzled by the holiday madness of getting last-minute gifts for loved ones.

My list is pretty much the same for the last how many years now, with a few people just getting added or removed. Beside each name is a general description of an item, which I think the recipient would appreciate.

The list is flexible, in the sense that I might find something in the market that might be more appropriate for the recipient. (I also like syncing my lists to my computer so I can keep track of my gifts to my loved ones over the years, making sure I don’t duplicate any.)

Some gifts I pick up in sales that are often held by department stores or branded fashion and home outlets, which occur all throughout

“It was hard to retire because after my divorce, about halfway through my career, my work was really my life. But slowly I realized that I had been using my work to hide from the world. There were really very few social opportunities at work. Many of the women were younger than me, and there was no room for romance in my life. Soon after I retired, I joined a book club, which is where I met my husband. He has brought me so much happiness, and I’m so glad that I decided to stop working and explore life a little, even if I was scared and didn’t know where it would take me. I guess I can thank my arthritis for something!”—Betty

and physically to be in really great shape.

But most men my age don’t take care of themselves the way they expect women to.

I give most of them a pretty low grade. And most men just want to stay home and watch TV, or they want to come over to my house and watch TV. But for most older women today, the whole world is exciting. We don’t want to take care of some boring old man.

For example, this older man called me, and we went out one time, and he’s called several times since, and then he was mad because I hadn’t called back, and finally I just told him, ‘Look, figure it out. I’ve been divorced since 1973—do you really think I want a relationship? I have my family, my job and I need time for myself.’ I’m independent and I like it that way.”—Anonymous

“Dating older men can be really hard.

For example, the ordinary retired guy wants a woman to be really good-looking

Hundreds of Heads

ArmyNavy South Tri Team’s teamwork powers members through sports event

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HE recently held Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines was one of the year’s mostawaited multisport events, gathering both Filipinos and foreign triathletes. Amid the enchanting sights of Cebu’s waters and roads, the ArmyNavy South Tri Team conquered the event through determination, drive and teamwork.

“The best thing about the South Tri Team is that it is a very family-oriented team. We look out for one another and cheer each other on until the finish,” remarks Huxley Yu, one of the team’s youngest members and among the five who competed in Ironman 70.3.

Formed in 2009 by a group of nine from spin class, the ArmyNavy South Tri Team has since grown to 40 members, all with the common goal to celebrate life and fitness

through swimming, biking and running.

Composed of professionals from various fields who are mostly residents of Santa Rosa, Parañaque and Alabang, the members come from varying age groups who all share a deep passion for multisport.

Backed by the home of the best burgers and burritos ArmyNavy, the South Tri Team regularly trains together. According to Rico Ibana, who also competed in Ironman 70.3, “The team usually has long Saturday bikes in Nuvali; Sunday runs around Festival Mall Alabang; and swimming sessions at the Palms Country Club.” He adds that anyone looking to train can easily find a companion, as there are also dedicated running, biking and swimming groups within the team. “Each training session is a bonding activity,” Ibana adds. The

team’s bond is further intensified by what happens after training—eating. This, Yu says, is where ArmyNavy comes in.

“One of the treats after long rides and runs that the team has is a meal at ArmyNavy. We ride and run often, so ArmyNavy subsidizes a large amount of post-training meals.” Yu and Ibana agree that the team and ArmyNavy are a great match, because both share the same standards of excellence and quality. “The food at ArmyNavy is filling and fresh, and perfect for training and after-racing meals,” Yu adds.

Also known as Half Ironman, the Ironman 70.3 is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by World Triathlon Corp. The 70.3 stands for the distance in miles covered in the race, which is composed of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.

Rico Ibana and Huxley Yu of the ArmyNavy South Tri Team

the year. But for specific products like food, for instance, I just have to make a pointed reminder to order the delicacies in advance.

Remember to be thoughtful in buying gifts. You need to know the likes and dislikes of the recipient. This is quite easy when gifting family and friends, whose personalities you’ve more or less become familiar with over the years. But for bosses, clients, or officemates, it may be a stretch unless you’re particularly close to them. Take the time to research their background, or ask people they know what the interests of the recipients are. And it doesn’t matter if the gift item costs P199 or P199,000.

Giving gifts is not a mindless, thoughtless activity. You need to be serious about this and treat it like a sacred ritual. It takes sincerity and joy to give someone a present, so it will be received in the same spirit.

So get cracking on that Christmas list!

And do give it a lot of thought.

JARDINE Distribution Inc. and Advanta technical team learns first-hand about Maize Doble at the corn plantation in Thailand.

Jardine and Advanta plant seed of partnership to benefit corn farming Jardine Distribution Inc. (JDI), one of the country’s leading agro-products company, and global seeds producer Advanta Seed International (ASI) recently sealed a partnership that will see the introduction of several biotech products in the country.

In a joint conference between JDI and Advanta at the latter’s breeding and research facility in Lopburi, Thailand, Advanta Business Manager Seraj Ahmad said that the first product to be introduced in the Philippines is ADV Maize Doble, a genetically modified seed product with double stacks gene (MON 89034*NK603) technology that will help corn growers increase their yield.

To kick off the partnership, Advanta COO for Asia and Africa Venkatram Vasantavada recently visited JDI to formally sign the partnership agreement. This was followed by a series of technical training exercises for the JDI team of agronomists.

“These are indeed exciting times for both JDI and Advanta as we participate in the dynamic Philippine corn seeds market,” says Edwin Hernandez, president of JDI. “Adding ADV Maize Doble into our portfolio further shows our commitment to Filipino farmers in providing quality products to improve their livelihood.”

Sports BusinessMirror

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aturday, October 3, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

NCAA ManCom suspends basketball games because of Typhoon Kabayan

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HE National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) postponed all its Season 91 basketball games on Friday at The Arena in San Juan City because of Tropical Storm Kabayan.

“Due to the suspension of classes in Metro Manila, especially San Juan in all levels, all games today [Friday] are suspended,” NCAA Management Committee Chairman Melchor

Divina of Mapua said in a statement.

The postponed games were between Jose Rizal University (11-6) and San Sebastian (6-11), Emilio Aguinaldo (2-14) and Mapua (10-6), and Perpetual Help (11-6) and Letran (12-4).

Divina said the games will be rescheduled on Thursday, which will be the final play date of the double-round eliminations.

N.U. PEP SQUAD EYES 3RD STRAIGHT TITLE

T ANDRAY BLATCHE plays his best game yet against Lebanon, while Jason Castro continues to impress at the point. FIBA.COM

ALTERNATIVE TO RIO G

ILAS Pilipinas’s 82-70 quarterfinal victory over Lebanon on Thursday night gave the Philippines another option to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

With the Filipinos assured of a top-4 finish, the Philippines—if ever it bombs out of the semifinals or loses in the gold-medal match—could still vie for a ticket to Rio through the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) next year.

But, of course, the Tab Badlwin-coached squad wanted a direct route to the Olympics by winning the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) Asia Men’s Championship in Changsa, China.

The Philippines battled Japan in the semifinals late Friday. Host China and defending champion Iran disputed the other finals berth in the other semifinal.

Only the champion in Hunan will earn an Olympic berth, while the silver medalist and the losing semifinalists qualify for the OQT, which will be played from July 5 to 11 in three different countries.

The Philippines has expressed interest in hosting one of the three OQTs. Mexico, Canada, Italy, Russia and Turkey are the other nations that are also interested in hosting the OQT. The OQT will be composed of 18 countries that failed to qualify in their continental tournaments. The 18 nations will be divided into three groups with each group playing in their own OQT and the winner getting the ticket to the Olympic Games.

France, Serbia, Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic are the five European teams seeded in the OQT. Fiba America’s Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico also advanced to the qualifiers.

Angola, Tunisia and Senegal are Africa’s representatives to the OQT, while New Zealand will represent Oceania.

If the Philippines wins the Asian Championships, it would most likely drop its bid to host the QQT. Jayson Castro and naturalized player Andray Blatche were huge in Gilas’s quarterfinal victory over the pesky Lebanese.

Castro fired 25 points, while Blatche finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds in his best

HE National University (NU) Pep Squad seeks a third straight crown in the highly anticipated University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 Cheerdance Competition at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

From a perennial also-ran, the Bulldogs have been on a steady rise, finishing sixth four years ago, making a podium finish in 2012, before snaring two straight titles.

NU is seeking to become the third school in the 20-year-old competition to win three cheerdance titles after the University of Santo

game yet in the tournament.

They were up against a fired-up Japanese squad that shocked Qatar, 81-74, in their quarterfinal game on Thursday.

China demolished India in its quarterfinal match, 104-58, to set up an interesting duel with Iran, which beat South Korea, 75-62.

The Philippines is eyeing to return to the Olympics for the first time since 1972 in Munich, Germany.

The basketball tournament in Rio is set from August 6 to 21 and eight nations are already qualified in the 12-nation tournament.

As host, Brazil is already seeded, while the United States, the defending Olympic champion, is also in after topping the Fiba World Cup last year in Spain.

Australia also booked a spot after winning the Oceania tournament, while Nigeria took the lone spot for Africa after topping the AfroBasket tourney. Venezuela and Argentina went 1-2 in the Fiba Americas to clinch the two slots, while Spain and Lithuania booked the two spots for Fiba Americas for finishing in the top 2. Joel Orellana

KLUB DON JUAN HOLDS FESTIVAL IN METROTURF

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World’s top BMX flatlanders in town for expo

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UOYED by the success of its inaugural edition last year with more than 10, 000 attendees, this year’s PhilBike Expo is expected to be bigger with the world-class cycling stars leading the opening of its second annual trade and consumer show on Friday at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

The world’s premier Italian trials rider Vittorio Brumotti and two of the world’s best BMX flatlanders Jorge “Viki” Gomez of Spain and Matthias Dandois of France bannered the kick-off of the expo.

The international biking stars flaunted their nifty and jaw-breaking stunts to inspire aspiring Filipino enthusiasts who will attend the event produced by Phil-Bike Convention Inc.

Djokovic, Nadal mix sports with politics in Bangkok

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ANGKOK—Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal swapped tennis outfits for traditional Thai silk jackets on Friday and shook hands with the head of Thailand’s ruling junta on a trip that mixed sports with politics.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic and his longtime rival Nadal were in Thailand for a sold-out Friday night exhibition match, dubbed “Back to Thailand.” The event was organized by local authorities to boost confidence in the country’s safety after the August 17 bombing that left 20 people dead and more than 120 injured.

One of the day’s photo opportunities was a visit to the Erawan Shrine, the site of the blast, where the players laid wreaths and posed for pictures on a brief visit, under tight security and a pelting rain.

The trip to Thailand came with easy money for the two players—who split a payment of

150 million baht ($4.1 million), according to the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand, an organizer of the event. But it clearly came with a few strings attached.

One requirement, apparently, was dress code. The players were outfitted in traditional silk jackets in colors of respect for the country’s monarchy. Djokovic wore yellow—the color that represents the king of Thailand—and Nadal wore blue, in respect for the queen.

GONE IN 28 MINUTES

In their formal attire, the players visited the ornate Grand Palace and then met with the junta leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a May 2014 coup that overthrew an elected government and then installed himself as prime minister.

“I’m glad that two of the world’s best tennis players are here in Thailand,” Prayuth told the US Open champion and the No. 7-ranked Nadal during a meeting at his office, known as Government House.

Regular slots for the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship 2016 have been sold-out in 28 minutes during the registration in Mactan, Cebu, on Thursday, beating its previous record of 40 minutes for the 2015 edition of the premier swim-bike-run event. Photo shows triathletes gracing the event, organized by Sunrise Events Inc. and sponsored by Alaska Milk Corp., at the Cebu Provincial Capitol.

Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe and the University of the Philippines Pep Squad.

Last season the Bulldogs were dominant in all aspects—tumbling, stunts, tosses, pyramids and dances—to tally 677.5 points and take home the P240,000 cash prize. UP, with gender equality as its theme, settled for runner-up honors with 658 points, while UST returned to the podium with 625 points on a Chinese-style performance.

Tickets to the competition have been sold-out.

UP will perform first, followed by La Salle Animo Squad, Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion, NU, University of the East Pep Squad, Adamson Pep Squad, FEU and UST. In the group stunts category, the Tamaraws, who dethroned the Bulldogs last year, are seeking to retain the title.

The cheerdance competition is part of a heavy UAAP weekend, which also features Sunday’s men’s basketball showdown between fierce rivals Ateneo and La Salle, also at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Brumotti, the ambassador of Peace and Sport, started the show with breathtaking demos and shared how biking changed his life.

“The first step riding the bicycle is forever,” said the man of few words who bagged 10 Guinness World Records for trial-riding tricks. Brumotti is also a television reporter in Italy, where he reports on riding bicycles.

Gomez and Dandois, who both started to make some noise in the biking arena at age 19, also shared their stories that could inspire any enthusiast.

“What I recommend to the riders is to have fun riding bikes and don’t think of becoming famous because this is

something that comes or maybe doesn’t come, the main thing here is to have fun,” said Gomez, a two-time World Circuit Series champion.

“This is my favorite thing to do, I just want everyone to experience it, and I hope more people are gonna ride bikes because this is the best thing in the world,” shared Dandois, who established himself through hard work as the world’s best BMX flatlander at age 19 in 2008. Lance Agcaoili Matthias Dandois displays what »he could do with his BMX bike as fellow flatland experts Viki Gomez and Vittorio Brumotti look on. NONIE REYES

HE Klub Don Juan de Manila, a horseowners’ group established in 2002, will be staging its 14th KDJM Racing Festival on Saturday and Sunday at the Metroturf Racecourse in Malvar, Batangas.

The organization is named after Don Juan, a racehorse famous during the 1950s for winning 24 out of its 25 races.

It was owned by businessman Johnny Ysmael and regularly partnered with star jockey Elias Ordiales.

The inspiration for staging the KDJM Derby event came from the National Grand Derby Races set up by the Philippine Tuberculosis Society to raise funds to fight the scourge of TB after the war.

KDJM President Lamberto Almeda Jr. said, in addition to the four iconic championship races, “This year we are also offering rich trophy races for the entire weekend as an incentive to participants and to provide entertainment to racing fans.”

Entered in the 2,000-meter Don Juan Derby are Miss Brulay, Dikoridik Koridak, Princess Ella, Breaking Bad and Court of Honor. The race has a guaranteed prize of P1.5 million and is sponsored

by KDJM and Metroturf.

The P500,000 Klub Don Juan Golden Girls, sponsored by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (1,800 meters), will showcase the talents of Silver Sword, Strong Champion, Eugenie, Security Model, Magatto and Cat’s Diamond.

In the Klub Don Juan Juvenile Colts (1,400 meters) are Light and Shade, Stark, Underwood, Security Chief and Mount Iglit.

The Klub Don Juan Juvenile Fillies (1,400 meters) starts Katniss, Port Angels, Sky Glory, Angelia’s Magic, Contessa, Most Trusted and He He He. Both juvenile races are backed by the Philippine Racing Commission with guaranteed prizes of P500,000 each.

Three trophy races on Sunday are sponsored with guaranteed prizes of P300,000 each from Magic Millions Australia, Pancit Malabon Express, and John and Yoko Resto-Uptown Center.

Providing an added prize to the winner only of P30,000 for their trophy races are Organique Inc., Manila Horse Power, Chairman Joey Uy Jamisola, Maile Atienza, Equine International Air Freight, and All Creatures Great and Small veterinary supply.

There will be four P30,000-added-prize trophy races on Saturday, supported by FR Sevilla Industrial and Development Corp., SC Stockfarm, Mercury Freight and Fundador. Edong Diokno will give an added P30,000 for the 1stHari ng Baclaran trophy race, as well as P5,000 cash and a sack of rice for the winning groom. KDJM will allot an added P20,000 for five more trophy races.