Businessmirror 10 14 2014

World»B3-1

protocol breach blamed for new u.s. ebola case The transmission of the virus to a hospital health worker takes officials by surprise and spurs new policies.

BusinessMirror

three-time rotary club of manila journalism awardee 2006, 2010, 2012

U.N. Media Award 2008

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A broader look at today’s business n

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 6

P25.00 nationwide | 8 sections 36 pages | 7 days a week

I.B.P.A.P. WANTS NEW ROAD MAP TO HIKE PHL’S SHARE IN GLOBAL INDUSTRY VALUE

BPO revenues at $48B by 2020 BTr REPORTS 29% DROP IN T 8-MO DEBT

INSIDE

five bathroom ideas that go out of the box

Life

your glow

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eAr lord, we know that our light are in the forms of inspiration, hope, kindness, good ways and simple-clean life. when this light burns from within, even the poorest of men can feel. even the blind can see your glow. even the sinners can sin no more. even the indifferent can love again. may this light offer your glow and us, as well. Amen! anne p. and Louie M. Lacson Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

AngelinA Jolie, now An honorAry dAme, meets with Queen elizAbeth ii

BusinessMirror

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

By Catherine N. Pillas

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he country’s businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) industry is seen to increase its annual revenues to $48 billion by 2020, based on its growth trajectory since the past decade.

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Tuesday, October 14, 2014 D1

Five bathroom ideas that go out of the box

By Samito Jalbuena

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the.beast@zoho.com

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HEN it comes to bathroom styles, travelers are the most experienced.

Due to the miles frequented which makes them better equipped than most to say which bathrooms are best, they will answer that the international standard is the pinnacle of bathroom design.

Certain parts of the world have certain parts of the bathroom missing. In some areas of Asia, the toilet bowl is nonexistent.

inasmuch as we want to celebrate all cultures, certain things must be upheld while remaining sensitive to the politically correct assertion that no one culture is more superior than others. But when it comes to bathrooms, ah, some bathrooms are more superior than the rest. Here are five bathroom ideas to help make yours stand out from the crowd.

ENHANCE WITH WALLPAPER THE most conventional bathroom design calls for ceramic or marble tiles and lots of them on floors and walls. But a trend of the past decades has been to cover not a few walls with wallpaper. Seems counterintuitive, right?

Recent advances in wallpaper production have made new products more water-resistant with plastic lining.

The edges of new wallpaper do not to curl due to moisture. This has opened up a whole new world of options for interior designers who want to emblazon their powder room walls with all manner of

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pattern and design. While not replacing the standard bathroom tile as the most convenient surface to handle water, wallpaper is used to beautify walls that do not catch moisture as a result of using the shower or faucet.

EXPERIMENT WITH TILES OF course, tiles will most probably never go out of style. As a de rigueur component to the bathroom surface, they are still the most effective and efficient material to hold and drain water in a room. But some designs are better than others. Decorators have mixed and matched various colors, glazes and patterns to arrive at a variety of looks. By merely varying the color of a tiled wall from that of the floor, a decorator can achieve a nice distinction. Also, tiles can also be cut individually to piece together an amalgamated design called a mosaic.

CREATE A FLOOR/WALL MOSAIC TESSERA is what you call a single piece of tile or stone that is incorporated with other units into the design of a mosaic. The creation of such artwork often requires the preparation of a study.

The entire surface area, including the design of the work, is first drawn on paper. Called a cartoon, this preparatory sketch outlines the forms that will be finally marked by the use of tesserae.

Pipa Murray of PipaMurray. com specializes in mosaics. For a bathroom, shown in photo, she prepared a cartoon which was the basis for the shapes of various tiles that were later cut individually by hand. Piecing the various tesserae together to form paisley designs only required the right tiles which were affixed on the floor with cement and grout.

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OVERSIZE IT BATHROOMS can enjoy the expansive sumptuousness of a spa.

This may be achieved by oversizing the proportions of the room. Arch.

Fernanda Zarattini shows the way.

By giving the bathtub a platform of its own and separating it from the shower and toilet, a spa-like ambiance can be produced for your bathroom.

❶ Turn your bathroom into a spa by oversizing it. Designed by Fernanda Zarattini. FAVARO JUNIOR ❷ GeT out of the box by placing the bathtub inside the bedroom.

Designed by Jeremy Levine.

STEVE RICE ❸ For effect, vary the color of tiles of a wall from that of a floor.

JOHANNES ECKERT

TAKE THE BATH OUT OF THE ROOM FiNALLY, the final frontier: What if you take the bath out of the room? Arch. Jeremy Levine accomplishes the task by combining three adjoining rooms into a single bedroom. While the rest of the bathroom finds their place in rooms which hold the shower and toilet, a stone-clad tub sits in the lone bedroom, overlooking a private garden.

➍ noThinG beats the dedication one puts in creating a mosaic.

Designed by PipaMurray.com.

DUTCHBABY ➎ rePLace tiles with wallpaper and make the bathroom glow.

FAVARO JUNIOR

design Talks brings renowned powerhouse speakers

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ig names in the local and international design industry will grace the much-awaited Design Talks, in celebration of Design Week Philippines (DWP), during the 60th Manila Fame scheduled at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City from October 16 to 19.

Design Talks is the banner event of DWP, a multifaceted platform that brings together creative visionaries from diverse backgrounds and disciplines in a series of programs and events that celebrate design and artistry.

With the theme “Design for Life,” the four-day, design-oriented series will focus on the role of design in improving lives through its “presence” in products and services. “Design is ever present in all

aspects of our lives—from the images we see, to the products we use and consume, to the spaces we live and work in, and even to the processes we encounter. Design improves the overall quality of life,” said Rosvi gaetos, executive director of the Center for international Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem).

Citem has invited these notable speakers from abroad to share their expertise in Design Talks: Alexander von Vegesack, founding director of the Vitra Design Museum, and founder and president of the Centre international de Recherche et d’éducation Culturel et Agricole, a nonprofit organization that runs Domaine de Boisbuchet, a place to practice and discover design and culture in dialogue

with nature; italian marketing specialist for sustainable textiles giusy Bettoni; Cebu-based Costa Rican furniture designer Bernardo Urbina, founder of Tacloban Prevails (a group that transforms debris left

by Supertyphoon Yolanda and gives them new life); New York-based luxury retail business expert Joseph Boitano; Japanese industrial designer Motomi Kawakami, chairman of the Japan institute of Design Promotion; and top Taiwanese architect Johnny Chiu. in the local scene, invited speakers include National Commission for Culture and the Arts Chairman Felipe de Leon Jr.; artist/social entrepreneur and creative collaborator Jeannie Javelosa; Oliver Segovia, co-founder and CEO

of AVA.ph (a curated online boutique for premium brands and experiences); Digital Marketing Expert Donald Lim of ABS CBN; Carl Mamawal, co-founder of Nyfti Bicycles (a convenient folding bicycle that encourages alternative means of transportation); Aisa Mijeno, co-founder of Sustainable Alternative Lighting (an ecologically designed lamp powered by salt and water); Joshua de le Llana, head of Tactiles (a simple and integrated learning tool that encourages interest in electronics engineering among young people); Jen Horn, designer and founder of the shoe brand Tala Luna which promotes traditional weaves from around the country; and lifestyle blogger Alessandra Lanot of Life

after Breakfast. gaetos added, “Design Talks will afford Filipino design practitioners the rare opportunity to learn from design luminaries who have made their mark in the world of design.”

DWP was created to expand the range of activities offered to visitors and locals alike during Manila Fame, the country’s premier design and lifestyle event. Held biannually, Manila Fame is a showcase of craftsmanship, eco-sustainability, and artisanship in Philippine products (furniture and home furnishings, holiday gifts and décor, and fashion accessories). in celebration of DWP, Manila Fame headlines Design Talks in its exciting lineup of activities.

life

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perfect time for baguio E

1 | TuEsday, OcTObEr 14, 2014 sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Mike G. Besa | www.pinoygolfer.com

Perfect time for Baguio

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By Mike Besa

he “Ber” months are here again and the oppressive heat of summer has left us.

With the arrival of more temperate weather, those who love golf have one destination that is cherished above all others: Club John hay in Baguio.

On a recent visit to the country’s summer capital a few weeks back, it was clear that sweater weather had arrived at last. This is what gives Club John hay an almost unfair advantage when it comes down to discussing our favorite places to golf. It’s hard to beat Baguio’s beautiful weather.

True, it isn’t a championship golf

course. And yes, there are many challenges to maintaining a golf course in a location such as this.

The greens of numbers 6 and 11 are in an almost constant state of repair and rehabilitation because the overhanging trees reduce the amount of much-needed sunlight that the greens so desperately require. But where else in this tropical country can you play golf in a vest or cardigan? Where else can you roll your rock on cool season Bent Grass, the same grass that adorns the greens at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters? Where else in the country can you enjoy your postround libation in front of a roaring fireplace in a majestic log clubhouse?

Indeed, it is in ambiance that Club John hay outdoes every other golf course in the Philippines. But that said, the golf isn’t bad either.

The golf isn’t bad at all. The course has some of the most intriguing short par fours in the country. Two, 8, 10 and 13 are wonderful holes that challenge the neophyte, as well as the accomplished golfer. It’s exciting to take the driver off the tee in an attempt to drive the green. At the same time, the short hole levels the playing field for those less endowed with length.

My favorite hole on this golf course is the opening hole which, in my opinion, is one of the most dramatic holes in Philippine golf. The experience on the tee is unmatched. The view is

breathtaking and so is the difficulty of the tee shot which must negotiate the overhanging Benguet pines. If you are fortunate enough to find the fairway, the hole is easily reachable by the longer hitters and offers a chance for a birdie to start your round. The green is not so accommodating; you’ll have to find the correct tier or risk three putting.

We were glad to see our good friend Tim Allen back at the helm of Club John hay. Tim is a good fellow and is extremely professional in the discharge of his duties. Over dinner and a few bottles of wine, we spoke of the challenges of managing a golf club in the midst of an environment-sensitive area; the sixth

and 11th greens, in particular, need extraordinary care to get them to survive with the amount of sun they receive. But if anyone is up to the challenge it’s the good Mr. Allen. The course should be in form by the time the Fil-Am circus rolls into town.

If you’re planning a trip to Club John hay, best book your accommodations well in advance. The beautiful weather is no secret and many will be making the trip up to the City of Pines. But the inconvenience is well worth it. Club John hay remains one of our favorite golf courses and an idyllic place to pass the time in the country’s mountain retreat.

golf

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bolivia’s morales wins 3rd term The World BusinessMirror

B3-2 Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Mormons pushing church on gay marriage

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“People under 30 all know somebody who has come out.

They are not the other, they are not scary. They understand that they are just like them,” said Munson, whose group Mormons Building Bridges stays neutral on gay marriage because they want to work within church doctrine. “So, that’s really hard to reconcile with a Christian church where we follow the teachings of Jesus.”

On Monday—after the US Supreme Court unexpectedly rejected appeals by Utah and four other states trying to protect their same-sex marriage bans—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints said in a statement that the decision will have no effect on church doctrine or practices, while acknowledging that “as far as the civil law is concerned, the courts have spoken.”

Still, church leaders are not ready to accept gay unions. Dallin H. Oaks, one of the church’s highest-ranking leaders, told a worldwide audience last week at a Mormon conference in Salt Lake City that legalizing same-sex marriage is among the world values threatening Mormon beliefs.

Yet, he also urged members to be gracious toward those who believe differently in what many gay advocates in the church saw as the latest example of the softer tone leaders are taking.

The majority of Mormons will stand behind church teachings on the topic, said Scott Gordon, president of a volunteer organization FairMormon that supports the church.

That doesn’t mean they are bigots or hatemongers, though, as they are sometimes labeled, he said.

The reality is that most Mormons have gay relatives or friends they love, but they also agree with the religion’s opposition to gay marriage rooted in a deeply held belief that families are the center of life and for eternity, and that a family led by a man and a woman is best for children, he said. AP

Bolivia’s Morales wins 3rd term

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A PAZ, Bolivia—Evo Morales easily won an unprecedented third term as Bolivia’s president on Sunday on the strength of the economic and political stability brought by his government, according to an unofficial quick count of the vote.

Morales, a native Aymara from Bolivia’s poor, wind-swept Andean plateau, received 59.5 percent of the vote against 25.3 percent for cement magnate Samuel Doria Medina, the top vote-getter among four challengers, according to a quick count of 84 percent of the voting booths by the Ipsos company for ATB television.

If confirmed by partial official results expected after midnight local time on Sunday (0400 GMT), it would give Morales an outright victory without the need for a second round of voting.

As the unofficial results were announced, Morales’s supporters ran out into the streets to celebrate the win. While known internationally for his anti-imperialist and socialist rhetoric, the 55-year-old coca growers’ union leader is widely popular at home for a pragmatic economic stewardship that spread Bolivia’s natural gas and mineral wealth among the masses. A boom in commodities prices increased export revenues nine fold and the country has accumulated $15.5 billion in international reserves.

Economic growth has averaged 5 percent annually, well above the regional average.

A half-a-million people have put poverty behind them since Bolivia’s first indigenous president first took office in 2006, with per capital gross national income up from $1,000 that year, to $2,550 in 2013, according to the World Bank.

Public works projects abound, including a satellite designed to deliver Internet to rural schools, a fertilizer plant and La Paz’s gleaming new cable car system. His newest promise: to light up La Paz with nuclear power. “I voted for Evo Morales because he doesn’t forget the elderly,” said Maria Virginia Velasquez, a 70-year-old widow. Universal old-age pensions—Velasquez gets $36 a month—are among the benefits instituted by Morales that have boosted his popularity.

Morales had sought on Sunday to improve on his previous best showing—64 percent in 2009—and to maintain a two-thirds control of Bolivia’s Senate and assembly.

That would let him change the Constitution, which restricts presi-

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EOUL, South Korea—North Korea says the remains of thousands of American soldiers killed during the Korean War are being moved due to construction projects and flood damage.

The US suspended efforts to recover war remains in North Korea over the country’s plans to launch a long-range rocket in 2012.

About 8,000 US service members are listed as missing from the 1950

to 1953 war. An unidentified North Korean military spokesman said in a statement on Monday that American soldiers’ remains are “left here and there uncared and carried away en masse” because of building projects, land reorganization and flood damage. Analysts say the North’s statement is aimed at pressuring Washington to resume the recovery project as a way to get money and improve ties with the US. AP

the left-leaning Democracy Center based in Bolivia and San Francisco.

Morales has capitalized on his everyman image, while his Movement Toward Socialism party has consolidated control over state institutions. He long ago crushed and splintered the opposition, nationalized key utilities and renegotiated natural-gas contracts to give the government a bigger share of profits.

His image-makers have built a cult of personality around him.

Stadiums, markets, schools, state enterprises and even a village bear Morales’s name. In the center of the capital, crews are building a second presidential palace, a 20-story center complete with a heliport.

Yet, Morales has alienated environmentalists and many former indigenous allies by promoting mining and a planned jungle highway through an indigenous reserve.

And, despite Bolivia’s economic advancements, it is still among South America’s poorest countries.

Nearly one in five Bolivians lives on less than a dollar a day. AP

Police arrest 17 Saint Louis protesters S AINT LOUIS—Seventeen people were arrested during a weekend protests, Saint Louis police said on Sunday, and more demonstrations were planned over the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in suburban Ferguson this summer. Organizers of the four-day Ferguson October summit are protesting the shooting of the black man by a white policeman, which sparked sometimes violent demonstrations in the predominantly black Saint Louis suburb of Ferguson in August.

Early on Sunday morning, about 200 protesters, some wearing masks, made their way to the south Saint Louis neighborhood, where another black 18-yearold, Vonderrit D. Myers, was killed by a white police officer recently.

Protesters marched toward a Quicktrip gas station convenience store and tried to force open its doors, Saint Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said at a news conference. Police assembled in riot gear and instructed the crowd to disperse, he said. About 50 of the marchers created a

North Korea: Remains of US soldiers being moved

human chain by locking their arms and about half of them heeded the police warning and left.

“The people who were left there were people who made a conscious decision they wanted to be arrested,” he said.

Saint Louis police Spokesman Schron Jackson said on Sunday in an e-mail that 17 people were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly. There were no reports of injuries or property damage, the e-mail said.

On Monday a “direct action,” led by local and visiting clergy members, was planned for Ferguson and other spots in and around Saint Louis. Protest leaders didn’t plan to release details until shortly ahead of time to avoid tipping off law enforcement.

“We still are knee-deep in this situation,” Kareem Jackson, a Saint Louis rap artist and community organizer, whose stage name is Tef Poe, said on Saturday.

“We have not packed up our bags, we have not gone home. This is not a fly-bynight moment. AP

World

ProteSterS march on Saturday in Saint Louis to protest Michael Brown’s death and other fatal police shootings in the area and elsewhere. AP/chARles Rex ARBogAst

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mvp injured!

M.V.P. INJURED!

Kevin Durant complains of an ache in his foot after practice last Saturday and later tests show he has a “Jones fracture,” a broken bone at the base of his small toe.

Thunder General Manager Sam Presti says surgery is likely, and that similar injuries have forced players to miss six to eight weeks.

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Sports BusinessMirror

| Tuesday, OCTOber 14, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

By Cliff Brunt The Associated Press

KLAHOMA CITY—Kevin Durant, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) leading scorer of this decade and the reigning Most Valuable Player, will likely miss the first six to eight weeks of the season after fracturing a bone in his right foot.

The Oklahoma City star forward complained of an ache in his foot after practice last Saturday, the team said. Tests showed he has a “Jones fracture,” a broken bone at the base of his small toe. Thunder General Manager Sam Presti said Sunday that surgery is likely, and that similar injuries have forced players to miss six to eight weeks.

The Thunder open the season on October 29 at Portland. A six-week absence could have Durant back for the start of December, with about 65 games remaining.

“We’re really fortunate to be catching it when we’re catching it,” Presti said. “Very fortunate that Kevin notified us yesterday, and we’re catching it kind of on the front end, before this became a little bit more of an acute issue.”

The Thunder have a couple of high-profile matchups in December, playing LeBron James and the Cavaliers on December 11 and going to San Antonio for a Western Conference finals rematch on Christmas.

Durant won the scoring title last season, collected his first MVP award and led the Thunder to the Western Conference finals. He skipped playing for the US national team in this summer’s World Cup so he could get additional rest.

He played in two preseason games before complaining of pain.

On Media Day, Durant was asked about witnessing Indiana Pacers forward Paul George’s grotesque broken leg during a USA Basketball scrimmage and offered perspective on injuries.

“You could get hurt walking outside,” Durant said. “I know you hear that a lot, but you can get hurt anywhere. Just knowing that keeps you kind of levelheaded, and at peace with what happens on that court. If you worry about it too much, you start to get scared a little bit. So I just try not to worry about it.”

The Thunder were forced to play for nearly two months last season without their other All-Star, Russell Westbrook, because of a knee injury, but remained among the West’s best because of Durant.

He averaged 32 points, 7.4 points and 5.5 assists and was an overwhelming winner of MVP honors, ending LeBron James’s bid for a third straight. Durant had a run of 41 consecutive games with at least 25 points, the third-longest streak in NBA history.

He has won four of the last five scoring titles, and was at his best during Westbrook’s absence from late December through the All-Star break, averaging 35 points and 6.3 assists as the Thunder went 20-7.

For the first time, Durant will have an extended absence. He has never missed more than eight games in a season, and he has missed 16 regular season games in his seven NBA seasons. Now, it will be up to Westbrook to raise his game while Durant is sidelined, or the Thunder risk falling behind quickly in the powerful West.

“You don’t replace Kevin Durant,” Presti said. “It’s not going to be one person, it’s going to be a collective mindset. We know we’re a better basketball team with Kevin Durant on the floor, but we can have some influence over how good we are in the meantime. We’re certainly not going to be looking at the calendar waiting for him to get back. I don’t think he’d want us to do that.” nets edge Kings in China IN Shanghai Mirza Teletovic sank a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining to lift the Brooklyn Nets to a 97-95 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday in the first of two NBA exhibition games to be played in China this year.

The Kings had a chance to tie the score with 20 seconds remaining, but Sergey Karasev blocked a jumper by Ben McLemore beneath the rim as time expired. Brook Lopez led the Nets with 18 points and six rebounds and Deron Williams added 12 points and six assists. Teletovic and Jarrett Jack had 10 points apiece.

Lopez is still working to get back to his best after undergoing foot surgery and spending most of last season on the sidelines.

A CHinESE fan makes a face during an exhibition game between Brooklyn nets and Sacramento Kings in Shanghai on Sunday. AP

“I think Brook is getting himself in shape,” said Assistant Coach Paul Westphal, who replaced Head Coach Lionel Hollins for the game after Hollins became ill. “He’s far ahead of where we were afraid of where he was going to be. He’s getting his timing. I think his foot is holding up really well.”

The Kings were led by Ramon Sessions off the bench with 18 points and Darren Collison with 15.

Sacramento opened up a 95-91 lead on a jumper by rookie Nik Stauskas with 2:23 left in the game, but Marquis Teague sank three of four free throws down the stretch before Teletovic sealed the win with his three-pointer off a pass from Jack.

“We played much better defense in the second half,” Kings Coach Michael Malone said. “But missed a lot of free throws. You go 22 of 36 from the foul line in a close game, that’s going to make it very hard to win.”

The game marked the 10th anniversary of theNBA’s first preseason exhibitions in China, played by the Kings and Yao Ming’s Houston Rockets in Shanghai and Beijing in 2004.

Yao was on hand to celebrate the anniversary, entering the arena midway through the first quarter to a huge round of applause. He was joined by a handful of other former NBA stars, including Shaquille O’Neal—who grabbed the microphone late in the game and bellowed “Ni hao” (“Hello”) over and over to the fans—as well as former Kings players Vlade Divac, Mitch Richmond and Peja Stojakovic.

The Kings and Nets play again in Beijing on Wednesday.

A lot has changed since the first NBA game in Shanghai in 2004, which was played at a rundown city gymnasium with only 3,000 tickets available for fans. By contrast, Sunday’s game was played at the state-of-the-art, 18,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Arena with giant screens mounted over the courts, corporate hospitality booths and a halftime acrobatic show.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver noted how important the Chinese market has become in recent years, saying there are now 300 million people playing basketball in the country—nearly the entire population of the United States.

“The growth of the NBA over the last decade has exceeded our expectations,” he said. “It’s been remarkable over the past 10 years how knowledgeable the Chinese fans have become about the NBA, and not just its superstars but every roster from player one to player 15.”

KEvin DURAnT could be back in December, with about 65 games remaining. AP

U.S. winS fiRST MAjoR woMEn’S vollEyBAll TiTlE M

ILAN—Kimberly Hill led the United States to its first major women’s volleyball title, scoring 20 points in a 3-1 victory over China on Sunday in the world championships.

Hill had the final kill, and captain Christa Dietzen added 15 points in the Americans’ 2725, 25-20, 16-25, 26-24 victory before 12,600 fans at the Mediolanum Forum.

“We came here to make history and we made it,” said US Coach Karch Kiraly, a threetime Olympic champion. “It was a tough battle, but we made it.”

The US women had never won the world championships, World Cup or Olympics.

The Americans finished second in the world championships in 1967 and 2002.

“It’s the first time for the USA and we made it,” said Dietzen, the Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania, player who had knee surgery in December. “We represented present and future volleyball

programs, but, most important, we did it together.”

The 6-foot-4 Hill, from Portland, Oregon, was selected the tournament’s most valuable player and best spiker. She was 19 of 31 with only one fault and had 13 digs and 25 excellent receptions on 39 attempts.

“I feel ecstatic and happy and just cannot believe it is real,” Hill said. “The award was a surprise and I still cannot believe it either, it is just amazing. Tonight it is everything. Eating, drinking and we are just going to celebrate being together.”

Alisha Glass of Leland, Michigan, was honored as the best setter. She had 36 running sets, 53 still sets and four faults.

“I can’t find the words,” Glass said. “I am incredibly proud of this team, of the USA Volleyball organization, everybody that played a part. It was such a team win.

We did something that’s never been done.

This is only the beginning. We’re going to

get better and better.”

Zeng Chunlei led China with 20 points.

“I would like to congratulate Lang Ping and her team,” Kiraly said. “They played a marvelous tournament. After we got a 2-0 lead we knew China would never give up. It was a battle to the end and they have some great young players, as do we.

“I hope that we will be playing against each other in the future. It is just good for the sport to have teams with such history performing at a high level.”

In Saturday’s semifinals, the US stunned top-ranked Olympic champion Brazil, 3-0.

Brazil beat Italy, 25-15, 25-13, 22-25, 2225, 15-7, in the bronze-medal match. AP

» MEMBERS of Team

USA celebrate after beating China in the finals. AP

Sports

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Vikrant Khanna, principal at consulting firm Tholons, said the compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of the Philippines from 2004 to 2014 was in the range of 9 percent to 12 percent.

In a presentation at the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) International Summit on Monday, Khanna said the global BPO industry’s CAGR, on the other hand, is at 5 percent to 7 percent during the same period.

If this CAGR continues in the coming years, Khanna said the Philippines could capture $48 billion in revenues from the global industry’s estimated value of $250 billion by 2020.

The Philippines’s $48-billion revenue projection by 2020 represents 20 percent of the global industry value.

The information technology and business-process management(IT-BPM)roadmap,craftedbytheDepartment of Science and Technology with Ibpap, envisions revenues at $25 billion by 2016, with employment at 1.3 million.

The $25-billion revenues by 2016 will only represent 12 percent of the global industry.

he government’s debt servicing from January to August declined by 29 percent, according to figures released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The BTr data showed total debt servicing made by the government in the first eight months of the year amounted to P303.23 billion. In August the amount paid for debts was P25.29 billion.

These figures are lower than the debt servicing made by the government in January to August 2013, at P425.08 billion.

Just like in the previous years, the bulk of the government’s debt payments was allocated to pay off interest.

For the Januar y-to-August period, the interest payments amounted to P228.56 billion. This is already 75 percent of the total disbursements made for debt servicing for the said eight-month period.

The remaining 25 percent, or P74.67 billion, was used to pay the principal debt. In terms of amortization on the principal debt, the payments had decreased in January to August 2014, compared to figures for the same period last year, which stood at P196.21 billion.

As a percentage of expenditures, interest payments made from January to August declined to 17.6 percent. The interest payments amounted to P228.56 billion for the

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BoLIvIa’S President evo Morales is greeted by supporters upon his arrival to vote at a polling station in villa 14 de Septiembre, in the Chapare region, Bolivia, on Sunday. AP/JuAn kARitA

dents to two 5-year terms, so he can run again. He has not said whether he would seek a fourth term, only that he would “respect the Constitution.” He did say in a TV interview last week, however, that he didn’t believe people over the age of 60 should be president.

A court ruled last year that Morales could run for a third term because his first preceded a constitutional rewrite. All seats are up for grabs in the 36-member Senate and 130-member lower house.

Morales’s critics say he spent tens of millions in government money on his campaign, giving him an unfair advantage.

And press-freedom advocates accuse him of gradually silencing critical media by letting government allies buy them out, a formula also employed by the ruling socialist heirs in Venezuela of the late Hugo Chavez. Morales didn’t attend the campaign’s lone presidential debate and state TV didn’t broadcast it.

“There is no functional opposition, left, right or otherwise,” said Jim Shultz, executive director of

By David Cagahastian

SHORTAGE OF‘NOCHE BUENA’GOODS FEARED DUE TO PORT LOGJAM

news@businessmirror.com.ph

In this June 2, 2013, photo, members of Mormons Building Bridges march during the Utah Gay Pride Parade in Salt Lake City. AP/Rick BowmeR

ALT LAKE CITY—Court decisions this week paving the way for same-sex marriage to become legal in dozens of US states, including Mormon strongholds like Utah, Idaho and Nevada, have emboldened a growing group of Latter-day Saints who are pushing the conservative church to become more accepting of gay members.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has struck down Alaska’s first-in-thenation ban on gay marriages.

US District Judge Timothy Burgess on Sunday said the ban violates the US constitutional guarantee of due process and equal protection.

The state intends to appeal the ruling, Sharon Leighow, a spokeswoman for Gov. Sean Parnell said in an e-mail to the Associated Press.

However, chances of it winning in the 9th Circuit Court are slim since the federal appeals court already has ruled against Idaho and Nevada, which made similar arguments.

The Mormon church’s stance toward gays has softened considerably since it was one of the leading forces behind the successful California referendum initiative to ban gay marriage in 2008, which later was overturned by federal courts.

But high-ranking Mormon leaders have reiterated time and again the faith’s opposition to same-sex unions.

Some Mormons hope to change that, or at least work to make congregations more welcoming places for gays and lesbians.

Erika Munson, co-founder of a group that is neutral on gay marriage but is trying to work within church doctrine and policy to make congregations more accepting of gays, said she worries about losing younger Mormons because of the church’s stance.

One of her five children, an adult son, has chosen to not to practice Mormonism, in part because of the way lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are treated at churches.

SERVICING

C1

m a s s i v e shor tage of prime consumer commodities, among them Noche Buena items, is now on the horizon due to the bottleneck at the country’s main sea gateway that is hindering efficient delivery of goods.

The Aduana Business Club (ABC), a member of the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines, through its president, Mary Zapata, revealed that more than 30 ships, carrying hundreds of containers of imported meat, infant needs, beauty products and even hardware supplies like cement and nails, have been piling up at the Manila International Container Port (MICT).

“This has an adverse, domino-like effect. The delay in delivering these goods, from the port to the suppliers then to retailers, like supermarkets, puts ordinary consumers at the raw end of the deal,” Zapata said.

“They either pay high prices or, worse, buy nothing at all because there is no supply,” she added.

The Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association (Pasa) backed ABC’s warning.

Stephen Cua, Pasa president, said, “The scenario [of consumer-goods shortage before Christmas] is bound to happen if they keep tightening up on the supplies waiting at the port. What do we, as retailers, sell to consumers?”

Zapata said that, on top of the stringent requirements of Customs authorities, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is also allowing empty containers to be returned

PESO exchange rates n US 44.7470

See “Noche buena,” A8

ANOTHER SLOW DAY IN HK People walk through a tunnel on the main road in the occupied areas in Central Hong Kong on Thursday. Talks between the Hong Kong government and student leaders of a democracy protest, which has blocked main roads in the Asian financial hub for nearly two weeks, are canceled because they’re unlikely to be constructive, a senior government official said. See related story on B3-1. AP

See “BTr,” A2

China relies on exports amid property slump

C

BIN: “The US economy is trending better, and that improves external demand.”

hina’s exports rose more than estimated in September and imports rebounded, helping underpin growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

Overseas shipments increased 15.3 percent from a year earlier, the biggest increase since February 2013 and faster than the 12-percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. Imports rose 7 percent, against projections for a 2-percent decline, leaving a trade surplus of about $31 billion, data from the Beijing-based customs administration on Monday showed.

“The numbers show continued competitiveness of China’s exports and signs of life in the domestic economy,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based strategist at Credit Agricole CIB. Improved trade is helping China weather a property slump that’s dragging on expansion. Globally, the outlook is becoming more clouded, with stocks declining and Federal Reserve officials highlighting mounting concern about the improving US economy’s ability to withstand foreign weakness.

Exports to Hong Kong surged 34

percent from a year earlier, with the territory overtaking the US in the month to be the top destination for Chinese shipments.

Chinese stocks maintained declines after the data. The Shanghai Composite Index was 1.2 percent lower at 10:44 a.m., local time, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.8 percent. The increase in exports follows a previously reported 9.4-percent jump in August and compares with analysts’ estimates for gains, ranging from 7.7 percent to 16.6 percent. Imports declined See “China,” A2

n japan 0.4156 n UK 71.9129 n HK 5.7672 n CHINA 7.2986 n singapore 35.0929 n australia 39.0088 n EU 56.4752 n SAUDI arabia 11.9300 Source: BSP (13 October 2014)

A2

News BusinessMirror

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

news@businessmirror.com.ph

BPO revenues at $48B by 2020 Continued from A1

According to Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo, the targets by 2016 are “easily achievable” and may be doubled by 2020. Ibpap, on the other hand, expressed confidence in reaching the road map’s goals by 2016.

Ibpap President Jose Mari Mercado clarified that the 9-percentto-12-percent CAGR is the global outsourcing market projection of the Philippines’s CAGR across all sectors of the BPO industry.

The global outsourcing advisory firm added that in the surveyed period of 2004 to 2014, the Philippines had a twelve-fold growth in revenues and 10 times in terms of employment.

The consultancy company added that given the CAGR of the Philippines for the past decade, revenues

this year would amount to $18.4 billion, coinciding with the target of the Ibpap for 2014.

Given the projection of Tholons for 2020, Mercado stressed the need to start building the IT-BPM Roadmap for 2020, with the view to disaggregate goals and targets per sector.

“The $48 billion is not my projection; it is Tholons’s. But the opportunity is there. Our capability to grab that opportunity and bring [revenues] to $48 billion is why we want to start working on a new revised road map with the government. Our current road map is at 2016, we want to update that to a road map 2020 with our own projections there,” Mercado said.

“When we complete the sectoral road maps such as the one for health

care, for voice, for nonvoice, for example, when we total that, that’ll be the industry road map,” Mercado added.

A generic road map that is essentially a “one-size-fits-all” arrangement will not work because of specific requirements and changes per sector.

“The success we have achieved so far is because of the road map and we have the whole industry rallying behind a single road map that will get us to where we want to go,” Mercado said.

Employee count in the BPO industry has already breached the 1-million mark as of September 2014, and according to the Ibpap president, the industry is upbeat on hitting the target of $18 billion by end-2014, a 16-percent rise from 2013’s revenue tally of $15.5 billion.

Aquino begins busy week at WHO meet Continued from A8

Speaking before hundreds of international health officials at the Philippine International Convention Center, Mr. Aquino admitted that “outbreaks of illnesses and diseases like the MERS-CoV and Ebola are among the greatest challenges the world faces today.”

“For the Philippines, specifically, the fact that we have 10 million of

BTr. . . continued from a1

said period, while expenditures were recorded at P1.296 trillion.

In January to July 2014, interest payments made up 17.9 percent

our countrymen living and working abroad, makes these kinds of outbreaks a paramount concern,” he said.

The President recalled how the government, through the Department of Health (DOH), managed to contain the MERS-Corona Virus in the Philippines despite more than 1 million Filipinos living and working in the Middle East.

Aquino reported that the DOH

continues to educate the public about the deadly diseases “without causing fear and panic” and still come up with efficient and safe ways to monitor the exposure of people to such diseases.

At the same time, Mr. Aquino assured that the Philippine government would continue to exert efforts to keep Filipinos “safe and healthy” amid global threats of pandemics.

IT-BPM SUMMIT Industry leaders (from left) Mitch Locsin, vice president and head of Corporate Relationship Management of PLDT Alpha Enterprises; Dan Reyes, chairman of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap); Jomari Mercado, president and CEO of Ibpap; and Monchito Ibrahim, deputy executive director of the Information and Communications Technology Office, update the media on the state of the outsourcing business in the country during the Ibpap Summit in Makati City. See story on A1. NONIE REYES

China. . . continued from a1 2.4 percent in August, while the trade surplus was forecast at $41.1 billion for September, following a record $49.8 billion the previous month.

US recovery of the total expenditures for the said period.

The Department of Finance seeks to lower the percentage of interest

payments in relation to the total expenditures to free up cash that the government can use for infrastructure and social services.

“The US economy is trending better and that improves external demand,” Wen Bin, a researcher at China Minsheng Banking Corp. in Beijing, said before today’s data release. “China’s exports are

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST OCTOBER 14, 2014 | TUESDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER The northeasterly surface wind flow is a weak, cold air coming from the Northern Hemisphere.

MODERATE TO STRONG NORTHEASTERLY SURFACE WIND FLOW AFFECTING NORTHERN LUZON. (AS OF OCTOBER 13, 5:00 PM)

SBMA/CLARK 23 – 29°C METRO MANILA 23 – 32°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 21 – 28°C

THURSDAY

24 – 32°C

23 – 32°C

TUGUEGARAO

25 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

23 – 30°C

OCT 17

FRIDAY

24 – 31°C

24 – 30°C

TACLOBAN

25 – 30°C

24 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

23 – 30°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO

25 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

25 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

25 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

SBMA/ CLARK

22 – 29°C

22 – 28°C

23 – 30°C

ZAMBOANGA

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 31°C

TACLOBAN CITY 24 – 31°C

METRO CEBU 24 – 31°C CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 24 – 32°C ZAMBOANGA CITY 25 – 32°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

24 – 31°C

24 – 29°C

SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

5:47 AM

5:36 PM

10:52 AM

23 – 28°C

FULL MOON HALF MOON

24 – 30°C

24 – 29°C

24 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

OCT 16

3:12 PM

CELEBES SEA

HIGH TIDE

9:18 AM

12:54 AM

0.03 METER

Cloudy skies with rainshowers and/or thunderstorms

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

www.panahon.tv

SABAH

LOW TIDE

1.03 METER

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and/or thunderstorms

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

METRO DAVAO 25 – 32°C

10:37 PM

MANILA BAY

OCT 08

25 – 31°C

MOONRISE

21 – 26°C

6:51 PM

24 – 32°C

FRIDAY

24 – 32°C

14 – 22°C

LEGAZPI

THURSDAY

OCT 17

25 – 30°C

15 – 22°C

20 – 27°C

OCT 16

24 – 31°C

14 – 23°C

20 – 27°C

OCT 15

WEDNESDAY

METRO CEBU

LEGAZPI CITY 24 – 30°C

ILOILO/ BACOLOD 25 – 31°C

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

BAGUIO

TAGAYTAY

and to 7 percent in 2015. Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said over the weekend that the economy “will continue to expand at a steady pace.”

While expediting spending, boosting infrastructure building and relaxing property curbs, Premier Li Keqiang has refrained from broad-based stimulus, saying China prefers reform to boost the economy. Bloomberg News

The economy probably grew 7.2 percent last quarter, the slowest in more than five years, based on the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg in September. Gross domestic product data are scheduled to be released on October 21.

Analysts forecast China’s expansion this year will moderate to 7.3 percent, the slowest since 1990,

METRO DAVAO

TUGUEGARAO CITY 25 – 32°C BAGUIO CITY 15 – 23°C

OCT 16

METRO MANILA

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 23 – 30°C

OCT 15

WEDNESDAY

expected to stay healthy.”

@PanahonTV

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Farmers out to prove Luisita abuses real

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

F

ARMERS belonging to the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita are out to prove that the alleged human-rights abuses committed against farmers in the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac are real.

Ranmil Echanis, deputy secretary-general of UMA and convenor of Luisita Watch, said farmers themselves will prove the abuses to get back at Malacañang’s “cruel and insensitive” statements against the victims of human-rights violations at the former Cojuangco-Aquino sugar estate.

Echanis also dared the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act on the farmers’ complaints. He said that, likewise, the Ombudsman, National Police, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the Commission on Human Rights should conduct separate and parallel investigation on the alleged human-rights abuses.

In a complaint filed by farmers on Friday before the DOJ, alleged “hired thugs,” private security personnel and state forces were identified as the perpetrators, with the Tarlac Development Corp., a company owned by the CojuangcoAquino family, as alleged masterminds.

“These abuses cannot be possibly ‘recycled from 2010’ as Malacañang foolishly suggests, for they were committed only since last year, 2013, when the DAR commenced the implementation of the government’s bogus land distribution in Hacienda Luisita,” he said.

He said the disturbing situation in Hacienda Luisita also led to the establishment of Luisita Watch, a network of advocates for the land and justice campaign of Luisita farmers.

WHO holds Moscow meet to tackle liability of tobacco manufacturers

By Marvyn N. Benaning

The Nation BusinessMirror

Political feud among Cojuangcos brewing

C

By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

LARK FREEPORT—With the presidential elections in 2016 fast-approaching, cracks in the influential Cojuangco clan of Tarlac are starting to show after clan member Mayor Miguel “Dors” Cojuangco Rivilla complained of political persecution by the family’s senior members.

The Cojuangcos are the acknowledged political kingpins of the home province of President Aquino.

The Cojuangco clan squabble was made apparent after Rivilla of Paniqui town aired his lament to the members of the Capampangan in Media Inc. (Cami) during the media forum “Balitaan” at the Bale Balita here organized by Cami in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. and the Social Security System (SSS).

Preventive suspension

RIVILLA, who ran as an independent candidate in the last elections, said he has to go public on his plight after a preventive suspension order, signed by Tarlac Gov. Victor Yap dated October 3, ordered him to vacate his post.

He described the suspension order as part of a series of moves obviously designed to unseat him and drive him out of the province’s political scene.

On July 3 Paniqui Councilor Evelyn David filed a case before the Paniqui municipal board against Rivilla for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, misconduct and abuse of authority, which stemmed from Rivilla’s decision ordering

Correspondent

T

HE Philippines is pushing for the imposition of penalties on cigarette manufacturers for the ailments directly caused by smoking, anti-tobacco advocates said on Monday.

They said a delegation has joined the Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP6) to be held simultaneously with the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Moscow from October 13 to 18.

The delegation is expected to push for a definitive policy on the implementation of Article 19 of the FCTC, a global treaty that promotes public health through tobacco control and encourages parties to consider actions to deal with tobacco firms’ “criminal and civil liability, including compensation, where appropriate.”

Ulysses Dorotheo, chairman of the Framework Convention Alliance and project director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, said the conference will discuss the report of an expert group on Article 19 on taking legal action against the tobacco industry.

“As the tobacco industry uses different tactics at circumventing and undermining laws, it is important to see the potential of implementing Article 19 because of its various benefits like compensation for victims, forcing the industry to disclose internal information, and preventing further abuses in the future,” Dorotheo said.

Around 1,500 representatives from 195 countries will gather during the conference amid calls for stronger tobacco control measures, especially in Southeast Asia, now considered as the tobacco industry’s “milking cow.”

The industry has been slapped with a slew of suits from victims in countries, like the US, Canada, Italy, Australia and Brazil.

Emer Rojas, president of the New Vois Association of the Philippines, said it is high time to make the industry accountable for the harmful effects of smoking on public health and for its continued wanton disregard of tobaccocontrol laws.

Before the enactment in July of a law on graphic health warnings, tobacco companies challenged the Department of Health (DOH) on the constitutionality of an executive order issued in 2010 that mandated cigarette manufacturers to print such graphic warnings on cigarette packs, arguing that it mocks the clause on equal protection of the law.

“It is ironic that, when the DOH issued an executive order in 2010 mandating tobacco companies to place graphic health warnings on cigarette packages, the industry was quick to sue the government in five separate courts, alleging that the DOH had no jurisdiction to do so. If there is anyone who should go and seek redress from the courts, it is the victims of smoking and their families, not the tobacco industry that is earning billions of pesos at the expense of making our people sick from nicotine addiction,” Rojas said.

Considered as one of the biggest public health threats in the world, tobacco use kills an estimated six million people globally per year.

In the Philippines, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest tobacco users, 10 Filipinos die every hour because of smokingrelated diseases.

The Philippine delegation to the COP6 is headed by lawyer Alexander Padilla, president and CEO of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A3

DOTC, Australian govt sponsor forum on airport design, security

T

HE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Australian government will launch this week a forum on airport design and security.

The Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development is hosting the forum in Manila to provide information to airport operators and Philippine authorities about the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) design requirements and how they can be applied in an airport environment.

Jonathan Lee, deputy director of Incheon International Airport Corp.’s Security Screening Team will lead the workshop.

Lee is an expert in security design, an Icao universal security program auditor and a member of the Airport Council International Security Committee member.

Topics that he will cover include Icao design requirements for passenger screening, bag screening, security areas, access control and curbside security.

“Australia and the Philippines share a commonality of approach toward the application of Icao conventions across our economies,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell said.

“Improving airport design not only helps to improve the safety and security of passengers and staff, it boosts efficiency and makes the process of traveling by air more enjoyable. This will be particularly beneficial as the Philippines prepares for the projected influx of around 10 million foreign visitors each year by 2016,” he added.

The work done by Icao and other convention signatories provides examples of best practice to ensure a consistent approach to security measures can be implemented across the aviation transport network.

Recently the national government allocated significant funding for the upgrade of a number of airports and the refurbishment of several international terminals across the country.

These works are required to incorporate new aviation security standards and infrastructure. Lorenz S. Marasigan

the payment of the delayed salaries of the municipal hospital’s “job order” for nurses and “contract of service” for doctors. The amount for their salaries was P2.9 million, covering the period of three months (January to March).

Rivilla said this was needed since the municipal hospital staff delivers primary health care to his constituents, as well as eight other neighboring towns of Paniqui.

The case was elevated to the Tarlac Sangguniang Panlalawigan, of whichmembers are mostly from Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr.’s Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Party. They quickly endorsed his suspension to Yap. Rivilla said there is no need to preventively suspend him because he already admitted paying the nurses and doctors even without a resolution from the Sangguiang Bayan (SB).

“What evidence would I suppress to justify the preventive suspension?” he asked.

Benguet judge intervenes

AS if to compound his dilemma, an assisting judge from Benguet province reversed the orders dismissing the electoral

protests filed against him by his rival in the 2013 elections.

Rivilla said that, on September 24, the assisting judge of Branch 67 of the Regional Trial Court in Tarlac, Agapito K. Laoagan Jr., issued a special order directing him to immediately vacate his office and turn it over to his rival, Rommel David of the NPC, whom Rivilla defeated in the 2013 polls.

David is the wife of Councilor Evelyn David, who filed a case against him in the SB. He said Laoagan, who was imported from Benguet province as an assisting judge, heard the case and came up with a decision despite a temporary restraining order from the Commission on Elections.

The first electoral protest filed by David was dismissed for lack of merit, but David filed a second protest, which was similarly thrown out.

Dav id , howe ver, f i led a t h i rd protest. This time Laoagan took over and proceeded to order a revision of the ballots.

Manual recount found double shading

RIVILLA said Laoagan ordered a manual recount of votes, the results of which favored David because Rivilla’s votes were considered “stray votes” owing to “double shading.” Rivilla’s lead of more than 3,000 votes in an election, where some 42,000 votes were cast, vanished in the courtsupervised recount, and his opponent, David, emerged winner.

The manual revision of the ballots was conducted only by David’s people, while Rivilla, relegated by the judge to being a mere observer, watched helplessly. The 4,238 votes credited to Rivilla by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (Pcos) machines in 15 clustered

precincts were chopped down by the revisors to only 554, or by 86 percent.

Root of feud

WHENasked what he thought was the main root of his problems, Rivilla admitted he may have offended wellconnected political leaders and political operators for various reasons, foremost of which was his decision to bolt the NPC, founded and controlled by his uncle Danding Cojuangco when he sought reelection last year.

Another was his decision to proceed with the construction of a 24bed municipal hospital in Barangay Samput and to name it after his late father, Luis Tirso Rivilla, way ahead of the planned 10-bed hospital project of another uncle, NPC Rep. Enrique “Henr y” Cojuangco Sr. of Tarlac, younger brother of Danding.

Family ties

RIVILLA’S mother is Lourdes Cojuangco, a sister of Ramon, whose son Tonyboy is the former owner of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and partly owns AirAsia Zest.

Rivilla’s mother is also a first-degree cousin of Danding and Henry. He is the grandson of the late Dr. Antonio Cojuangco, married to Victoria. Rivilla is the second cousin of Tarlac Vice Gov. Enrique “Kit” Cojuangco Jr. who is the son of Henry.

Rivilla, now on this third term, hinted that he is now seriously considering seeking a congressional seat in 2016 in what he described as his “response to the clamor of his constituents.”

Should he pursue this plan, Rivilla and his uncle Henry would surely be on a collision course, a pattern of political rivalry now prevalent among political family dynasties in the country.

Economy

A4 Tuesday, October 14, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

Expatriates seen to boost demand for high-end condos in Cebu

T

he market for high-end condominiums in Cebu will continue to pick up with the increasing demand of expatriates running the offices of foreign firms in Cebu, a top official of a homegrown property developer said.

“The high-end condo market will continue to pick up due to increasing demand from expatriates who have turned from renters to buyers,” said Ramiro Espina, Primary Homes Inc. (PHI) vice president for sales and marketing.

While the condominium market in Cebu is dominated by studio units, Ramiro noted that there is also an emerging demand for bigger spaces.

“Lately, with the coming of foreign executives working here, the demand for high-end condo units has picked up and will continue, so long as more of these foreign investors will continue to set up or expand businesses in Cebu,” Ramiro said.

He referred to an industry report that highlighted the increase in foreign companies putting up businesses in Cebu.

“Their coming to Cebu promises an upswing in the high-end residential developments,” he said.

Foreigners are not allowed to own land, but can buy condominium units.

PHI is relaunching The Penthouses at Woodcrest Residences on Don Quijada Street, Guadalupe, Cebu City.

Michelle Cutang, the company’s marketing manager, said The Penthouses only has a total of 20 loft units, of which three units were already sold to foreign buyers.

These high-end condominium units, which are all ready for occupancy, are categorized into premium, deluxe and regular loft, whose prices range from P9.5 million to P11 million.

The regular loft has 122 square meters (sq m), while the deluxe loft spans 138 sq m and premium lofts are 153 sq m.

Each loft unit has two private balconies; but only the deluxe and premium types have a spacious terrace on the second level. PNA

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

CIL capacity for 2015 summer power shortage reaches 149.5 MW–Meralco

T

By Lenie Lectura

HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has signed up a total of 149.5 megawatts (MW) of committed interruptible load (CIL) capacity from various Interruptible Load Program (ILP) participants.

“With the signing up of Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. and Trafalgar Plaza Condo, the total CIL is now at 149.5 MW, from 146 MW last Thursday,” said Meralco Head for Utility Economics Lawrence Fernandez on Monday.

The growing number of CIL capacity would help the government address the power shortage anticipated next year. The Luzon grid is facing a shortage of 900MW next year, higher than the previous estimate of 800 MW owing to the delay of the 150-MW coal power-plant expansion project of DMCI Holdings.

On a list provided, SM Prime Holdings Inc. committed 57.96 MW, the highest among the ILP participants; Robinsons Land Corp., 23.15 MW; Waltermart malls, 14.30 MW; Ayala Land Inc., 9 MW; Rustans Supercenters Inc., 8.66 MW; Shangri-La Plaza Corp., 7 MW; Alphaland Development Inc., 4.5 MW; Megaworld Corp., 4 MW; and Ortigas & Company, 4 MW. The utility firm continues to approach customers to invite additional participants and are currently in discussions for 69.9 MW in new participants. “Negotiations for participation have also began with the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Guadalupe Commercial Complex.

Talks are now ongoing, with potential ILP participants equivalent to 69.9 MW of de-loading capacity,” Fernandez said.

Under the ILP, customers with large loads, like commercial establishments, will be asked to operate their own generator sets if the grid operator projects a need to augment generation capacity in the Luzon

grid. Through this, the aggregate demand for power from the system will be reduced to a more manageable level, helping ensure the availability of supply during the season.

With the ILP, power supply from the grid that will not be consumed by participating customers will be available for use by other customers within the franchise area.

Targeted ILP participants are those with large embedded generation capacities, such as malls, large business establishments and factories.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a circular enjoining all residential and commercial establishments, including public facilities, to implement demand-side management programs and other energy-conservation measures to reduce the country’s demand for supply of electricity.

“When adequate ventilation is available, all government agencies and offices shall discontinue the use of their air-conditioning units when weather permits, provided that in cases where air-conditioned units are to be used, the thermostat shall be set to not lower than 25 degrees,” stated the agency’s circular.

The DOE is, likewise, enjoining all distribution utilities, such as Meralco, to implement demand—side management and shall, likewise, undertake intensive information and education campaign to its consumers.

Limit Aquino’s emergency power–lawmaker

A member of the House Committee on Energy on Monday said that President Aquino does not need all

encompassing emergency powers with the government’s plan to tap a portion of the multibillion-peso Malampaya fund to stave off the looming power shortage in summer of next year.

Nationalist People's Coalition Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela said the emergency powers being sought by Mr. Aquino from Congress to respond to the expected power shortage in 2015 can be limited to the legal and constitutional use of Malampaya gas funds.

Citing government-supplied data, Albano said the government’s share in the Malampaya gas proceeds amounts to P148.8 billion balance as of December 2013.

Albano said that if funding can solve the looming power crisis, there is no need therefore to grant Mr. Aquino vast powers that can be used and abused by power industry players in connivance with Department of Energy and other government officials to push for controversial, environmentally hazardous power projects that will be against national and consumer interest. “ T he looming power cr isis and the emergency powers being sought by the President from Congress should not used as an excuse or hijacked by unscrupulous groups and interests to allow power industry players to build controversial power projects or environmentally hazardous power plants,” he said.

Albano, member of the minority bloc, said that the use of Malampaya funds must be legally and constitutionally tenable in the light of the November 2013 decision of the Supreme Court which declared that the "use of the Malampaya gas proceeds for ‘non-energy related purposes’ was illegal and unconstitutional.”

“It is patently clear that the solution to the expected power shortages in 2015 is primarily financial because [Energy Secretary Jericho] Petilla and other energy officials want to lease or buy power generators at a cost ranging from P6 to 10 billion. And this is where the use of Malampaya gas proceeds

had come about," Albano, former executive director of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC), said.

“By all means, let us use the Malampaya gas funds but it must be in accordance with the legal and constitutional requirements of the Presidential Decree 910 which, among others, provides that Congress should be able to identify the use of fund for ‘energy related’ projects,” he added.

A lbano also proposed that Congress must limit the emergency power or authority to be granted Mr. Aquino on the use of Malampaya gas proceeds only and must contain a provision that would categorically declare that the estimated P6 billion to 10 billion costs for emergency power generation to be covered

by Malampaya funds must not be passed to consumers at all.

The lawmaker said the use of Malampaya gas funds through the exercise of emergency powers authorized by Congress should absolve the Filipino people from paying the extra cost for the contracted emergency power supply.

“Filipino consumers and business and industry are already suffering the burden of paying for one of the most expensive electricity in Asia. The Filipino consumers should not be the ones to suffer because of the incompetence and lack of foresight and strategic planning of energy and other government officials,” Albano said.

Earlier, Liberal Party Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, the co-chairman of the JCPC and the House Committee on Energy, said that the lower chamber is still undecided on how best to solve the next year's projected 800 MW supply deficit.

Umali said that they are still considering all of their options such as the interruptible load program, purchasing of generators sets at P9 billion and rental of generating sets at P6 billion with the use of the Malampaya fund.

With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

CCT budget to go down after Aquino’s Palace term ends in 2016

A

fter a consistent increase over the past few years, the budget for the government’s centerpiece anti-poverty measure will begin to decrease in 2017, or a year after President Aquino’s term ends.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman told the Senate finance committee that by that time, most of the 5.3 million households currently enrolled in the Conditional-Cash Transfer (CCT) program will have “graduated.”

“May projection na kaming ginawa. Pababa na po ’yan,” she said at her agency’s budget hearing on Monday.

The CCT, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, has a proposed budget of P64.7 billion for 2015.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development, which implements the program, has a total proposed budget of P109 billion.

Under the program, poor households receive a monthly amount on the

condition that children attend classes and mothers get medical checkups regularly, among others.

At the hearing, Sen. Ralph G. Recto asked Soliman why poverty incidence

Horseman’s seat

in the country has been virtually unchanged in recent years despite the CCT and the country’s steady economic growth.

Soliman said the program was not

designed to directly reduce poverty.

“It is an investment in human capital for the children of the poor to have a fighting chance to be part of the inclusive growth,” she said. ABS-CBNnews.com

Reynaldo Calub crafts a saddle in his shop at Wright Park in Baguio City. Calub and his staff make saddles based on exact measurements to fit both the horse and the rider. A classic Western-style horse saddle carries a price tag of not less than P10,000. Mau Victa

briefs private sector vows to create 500k jobs for youth through ‘dualized’ training system IN an effort to reduce youth unemployment, the private sector, led by the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), has committed the creation of 500,000 jobs for the youth in the course of five years through the government’s “dualized” training system (DTS).

Under the DTS, a student trainee is subject to both in-plant training and in-school training that is based on the plan designed by an accredited dual-system educational/ training center and accredited dualsystem establishment.

According to Vicky Garchitorena of PBEd, around 100,000 jobs a year for five years will be created and such system will be undertaken next year through a five-year public-private partnership program called the Philippine Social Pact (PSP).

An industry-led DTS will serve as an alternative education-employment path, she added.

The following are the industries with high demand for workers until 2020 based on PBEd: hotel and tourism, electronics, construction and development, and agro-industry/ agribusiness sectors.

Garchitorena also said that beyond 2020, the following sectors would be the priority: automotive, businessprocess outsourcing, retail and fast food, and manufacturing.

“Sectors were selected based on the government’s priority economic sectors and recommendation from industry,” she said.

As stated in the DST law, the training establishment should pay the trainees through the training institutions an amount of no less than 75 percent of the prevailing minimum wage during the period of training.

Likewise, under the PSP, the said 75 percent will be shouldered by the company, while the other 25 percent by the government through trainingallowance subsidy. PNA

christmas fair in greenhills open from oct. 10 to nov. 3 THE scent of Yuletide is drifting in the air at the Greenhills Shopping Center on Ortigas Avenue, San Juan City, with the staging of the 21st Philippine Toys, Gifts, Housewares & Christmas Décor Fair from October 10 to November 3. The fair precedes the start of the country’s more than twoweek-long celebration of the merriest event of the year, considered the world’s longest fete of its kind.

Organized by Prime Asia Trade Planners and Convention Organizers (Patepco), the fair is yet the country’s biggest assemblage of manufacturers, mall suppliers, importers, wholesalers and retailers spread across 1,400 stalls selling the widest array of products—Christmas décors and lights, novelty items and giveaways, RTWs, jewelry, footwear, leather goods, undergarments, local arts and crafts, furniture, food and cell-phone units and accessories. To add flavor to the Christmas spirit, there will be kiosks selling piping-hot bibingka, puto bungbong, salabat and other delicacies.

The fair is in keeping with Patepco’s advocacy of helping local entrepreneurs sustain and grow their business and in support of the government’s “Buy Filipino Movement.” Patepco, headed

by President and CEO Henry G. Babiera, has formed a team of consultants to enlighten green horn stallholderentrepreneurs on the nitty-gritty of running the stalls, like the proper arrangement of displays, sourcing of their products, pricing, sales talks and other marketing strategies.

Like the previous flea markets, the fair promises to be another bargain hunters’ haven in the tradition of Divisoria. Running for over two decades now, the fair has become almost an institution and has never failed to entice hundreds of shoppers from all walks of life, including residents from nearby upscale enclaves who want value for their money and a place where they can shop conveniently and safely.

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A5

Malaya plant’s capacity, reliability to deliver power in 2015 uncertain

T

By Lenie Lectura

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) is uncertain if the 40-year-old Malaya Thermal Power Plant can run at full capacity during the summer months of next year.

Cabbage price spike A group of vegetable dealers in La Trinidad, Benguet, removes the outer scrap leaf of cabbages prior to

packaging and shipment to retail stores. The dealers said periodic afternoon rains could have damaged some cabbage crops, which may explain the recent spike in the market price of cabbage by as much as P30 per kilo. Mau Victa

Envoy invites Cebu traders to invest in Vietnam

T

he Vietnamese government is inviting Cebuano businessmen to invest in their country should they plan to expand their businesses within Southeast Asia.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Truong Trieu Duong met with top officials of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry to inform them of the various opportunities Cebu and Vietnam can explore in areas like education, tourism, trade and investment.

Duong said Vietnam is a “good choice for investment” because of its stable political system and investor-friendly policies. “We hope to increase our bilateral trade with the Philippines by tapping other key cities like Cebu, whose tourism industry is one of the strongest,” he said.

Vietnam hopes to collaborate with Cebu in boosting tourism arrivals. Although both have similar tourism products and services, Vu Viet Nga,commercialcounselorofVietnam, saidCebuandVietnamstillcancomplement each other’s product offerings.

“It may look like we have similar tourism products and services in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [Asean], but the truth is, we are still different in unique ways because of each country’s history and culture, which make the tourism experience unique,” Nga said.

In 2013 Vietnam, with an estimated population of 90 million, welcomed 7 million tourists, of whom 100,000 are Filipinos.

Nga also noted only a few Vietnamese come to the Philippines.

“We need to facilitate travel exchange between Cebu and Vietnam to boost each other’s destinations. We are open to collaborate with travel agencies to come up with tour packages that complement Vietnam and Cebu’s tourism strengths,” Duong said.

“We can encourage Vietnamese to try your adventure facilities because we lack adventure sites in Vietnam.

We can also highlight shopping tourism in your country. On the other hand, Vietnam is also famous for food. Perhaps, we can create a tour package that highlights this strength for Filipino tourists,” Nga said. Vietnam is famous for its attractions like Ha Long Bay, Thien Mu Pagoda (Hue), Hoan Kiem Lake (Hanoi) and Sa Pa Terraces, among others. PNA

“The technical difficulties encountered make its [Malaya Thermal Plant’s] availability and dependability during the Malampaya shutdown from March to June 2015 uncertain,” PSALM President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said on Monday.

The power facility is composed of two units with a dependable capacity of 290 megawatts (MW) and 340 MW each.

Malaya Unit 1 has been nonoperational since March 21 due to a material loss of HP turbine rotating parts that lead to the high turbine vibration. Ideally, Malaya Unit 1’s overhauling will be completed before year-end assuming a 90-day completion period.

The PSALM Bids and Awards Committee will be conducting the post-qualification of the negotiated

procurement based on emergency cases this month. However, it is very likely that upon actual opening of the unit by the contractor, a more extensive damage would be discovered. This contingency would result in an extended completion period.

Malaya Unit 2, on the other hand, is now available after undergoing repair on October 3 due to a leak on its fuel-oil heater. The repair took about 11 days. Malaya Unit 2 is also due for overhauling.

Even assuming that the repair of Malaya Unit 1 shall have been successful, Malaya’s 100-percent reliable operation still cannot be guaranteed, given its age, continuous and longer dispatch at full capacity, and fuel-delivery constraints, said the PSALM official.

Since the Malampaya shutdown

in November 2013, Malaya Unit 1 had been in operation for 208.07 hours until its manual tripping on March 2014. On the other hand, the total number of operating hours for Malaya Unit 2 since November 2013 until its shutdown on September 22 is 2301.38. Malaya has been running as a must-run unit since 2010, and this was officially confirmed by the Department of Energy in its issuance dated January 22.

Assuming that Malaya’s fuel storage tanks are filled to the maximum useable capacity of 68 million liters and with daily fuel replenishment of 750,000 liters per day, it is estimated that Units 1 and 2 shall be able to run continuously only for 22 days at maximum load of 300 MW each, 38 days at average load of 200 MW each, and 70 days at minimum load of 130 MW each. Without fuel replenishment, Units 1 and 2 can only operate continuously for 18, 27 and 40 days at average load each of 300 MW, 200 MW and 130 MW, respectively. The fuel delivery cannot keep up with Malaya’s high fuel- consumption rate.

Malaya runs on Bunker C fuel, and is designed to operate as a base load plant. Located at Pililia, Rizal, Malaya was formerly owned by the Manila Electric Co. until government takeover during martial law.

Bus operators reject proposal to equip PUBs with GPS device

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

HE Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) is opposing the proposed installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device on buses, calling the plan discriminatory and costly.

PBOAP Executive Director Alex Yague said the plan would weigh in on the expenses of bus operators.

He also slammed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for targeting provincial buses when other vehicles are, likewise, at risk in terms of accidents and are exposed to criminal activity.

Bus operators are ready to invest as government requires, but the plan should be part of a strategic plan that

will serve its purpose for more than five years, Yague said.

“We are ready to support the government in its plan. However, before doing so, we need to see a strategic long-term plan, and we need to be assured that this GPS plan is not another shot-gun approach only good for five to six years,” he said. “If the purpose is really to police public transport, then, the order should include all forms of public transport, be it small or big in size, whether air, land or seafaring,“ he stressed.

The franchising board is set to issue a memorandum circular this month, requiring buses to install tracking devices to safeguard and protect commuters, mitigate accidents and discourage the practice of out-of-line operations.

Under existing laws, an LTFRB

memorandum circular is a form of regulation, and not an additional service to the convenience of bus commuters. Yague expressed the view that a regulation such as this would require a legislative fiat, and, therefore, the government should shoulder the expense, not bus operators.

“We will be charged for expenses of monitoring ourselves, free of charge to the government. The government is obligated to regulate the transport industry and, therefore, it should bear the expense of regulation, not us,” he stressed.

LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez earlier expressed confidence that

Bill requires rainwater wells, collectors in subdivision and condominium projects

A

LAWMAKER has recently filed a bill requiring subdivision and condominium owners, and developers to provide rainwater-storage wells and collectors in their subdivision or condominium projects as part of a flood-mitigation measure.

House Bill 5038, authored by Liberal Party Rep. Rosenda Ann Ocampo of Manila, seeks to prevent direct rainwater discharge into drainages or sewers in order to mitigate, if not, prevent, flooding in low-lying areas.

Under the measure, rainwater wells and collectors refer to structures or receptacles that would harvest, collect and store rainwater, and prevent the direct discharge of rainwater into drainages or sewers which cause flooding in low-lying areas.

The bill mandates all subdivision and condominium owners and developers to build rainwater wells and collectors in their subdivision or condominium projects as a requirement before being issued licenses, permits, clearances and other documents by government offices or government regulatory agencies.

The same license and permit shall not be renewed if the subdivision or condominium owners and developers fail to construct the rainwater wells and collectors, it added.

The bill said that in order to ensure that owners or developers of subdivision or condominium projects follow this requirement, violators would be punished with a fine of P2,000 or with imprisonment of not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court.

If the offender is a foreigner, the offender should be deported immediately without further proceedings at the Bureau of Immigration, the measure said.

On the other hand, government officials, employees and agents who should approve the issuance of licenses or permits in violation of the bill should be suspended for not more than 30 days.

Under the measure, the Department of Public Works and Highways, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and the Local Government, and Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board are mandated to promulgate the rules and regulations of the act.

In filing the bill, Ocampo said it is the duty of the government to encourage the participation of the private sector in its effort to implement and find new ways to control floods.

“Natural calamities and freak weather phenomena cannot be prevented. But there are creative and effective ways to minimize the effects caused by typhoons and monsoon rains,” Ocampo said.

She said as a tropical country, the Philippines frequently experiences typhoons and monsoon rains that bring heavy rainfall.

These heavy rainfalls, coupled with the devastating effects of climate change, result in the loss of lives and damage to properties, she said.

“One way is to provide for rainwater wells and collectors that will harvest, collect and store rainwater to prevent flooding,” Ocampo added. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

the tracking devices would help the agency keep track on the movement of buses, especially if these vehicles follow speed limits and are using their approved routes. The regulator hopes to cover all 8,000 provincial buses and 5,000 Metro-based buses

by October 2015.

However, the proposed GPS software, however, is not compatible with what the bus operators are currently using, Yague said.

“Early adopters of the GPS should be rewarded rather than penalized.

We oppose a mandatory policy

on GPS. Bus operators have many things in their hands at the moment, and a new memorandum re the GPS would be an additional burden on their part. It would be very costly to modify our current GPS system, and we have invested heavily on these devices already in the past,” he stressed.

The association, likewise, expressed doubts if the LTFRB server would be able to accommodate the sudden rush of data from GPS tracking devices from an estimated 13,000 buses throughout the country.

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

‘Plague Inc.’

L

AST Friday the Department of Health (DOH), through its National Epidemiology Center (NEC), held the first National Summit on Ebola Virus Disease, which assembled various government agencies and private-sector groups to discuss the growing concern over the dreaded virus. What came out of that summit was not reassuring.

Assistant Health Secretary Enrique “Eric” A. Tayag, who is the head of the DOH-NEC, said that “outbreak countermeasures that exist today are not enough to contain Ebola.” He added that it was “just a matter of time [before] the Philippines reports its first Ebola case.”

Adding to our concern about the government’s response was former Sen. Richard J. Gordon, the chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, who said, “It [Ebola] will reach our shores. We cannot close our gates.”

The alarm that the Ebola outbreak caused worldwide oddly brings to mind “Plague Inc.,” a wildly popular game for smartphones that was released by Londonbased company Ndemic Creations in 2012. This game was built on the 2007 Webbased flash game called “Pandemic,” and was upgraded this year for computers.

In “Plague Inc.,” you, the player, create an infectious disease whose only mission is to wipe out the human race. You choose a country to begin your quest to destroy the world, as humans scramble to find a cure. The disease moves from country to country as people carry it with them on airplanes and ships, as well as across land.

The model that Ndemic Creations used for the transmission and spread of the plague was accurate and realistic enough that the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had used “Plague Inc.” to show the public how an infectious disease first becomes an epidemic and, later, a global pandemic.

In the game, once the disease hits a country, people start to die. The goal of the humans, while waiting for a cure, is to try to stop the disease from spreading. Schools are closed, bottled water may be distributed and corpses are burned.

But the only way a country can ensure that it remains disease-free is to close its land borders, shut down its seaports and stop all international flights.

America’s first Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan—who arrived in the US via a long flight from his native Liberia (an Ebola-hit country) that included a stop in Europe—is now dead. Now a health-care worker who had treated Duncan while he was under quarantine has tested positive for the virus.

Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona’s assurances that the Philippines “is ready for the possible entry of the Ebola virus” are unrealistic. The Department of Foreign Affairs reminding us that “there are no direct flights from West African countries” means little, as Duncan’s case proves.

There is only one solution for the Philippines: Airline passengers who have been in Ebola-affected countries in the last 21 days and have not yet been put under quarantine must not be given access to the country. The risk to the Philippines is far too great for anything less.

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Tourist farms in the Philippines Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur

O

NE of the things that make the long road travel to vacation spots in the provinces bearable, or sometimes enjoyable, is the lush scenery that unfolds before the travelers’ eyes after fighting to get out of city traffic. The fields refresh the eyes with the endless carpet of rice stalks as they wait for the grains to mature. The groves of mango and other trees are more amazing than the man-made towers of concrete, steel and glass in the city.

I never tire of watching such scenery, which, for city dwellers like me, is one of the perks of being able to spend a few days traveling to the provinces. The thirst for rural scenery among people who live and work in urban areas is universal.

In the United States, for example, cherry-picking is a favorite activity for both domestic and foreign tourists. Several farms in Palm Springs in California allow visitors to pick their own fruits, like peaches, grapes and cherries, during the summer, and squash and a species of lemon during the winter. In Napa Valley, also in California, tourists marvel at the huge grape plantations and enjoy touring wineries, some of which set up shops for winetasting (and wineselling) and souvenirs, together with picnic tables under the trees.

In Taiwan farmers have turned

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but I am convinced that farm tourism’s potential is so huge that I am planning to put up several tourist farms in some of my properties around Metro Manila. Right now, I’m still considering possible themes, and one of them is developing a bamboo orchard.

I want these tourist farms to serve as pilot projects, which I hope can be replicated by other landowners who are still exploring possible uses for their properties. These projects will show what can be done on a 1-hectare farm or, for that matter, a 1,000-square-meter property.

The best time to go into farm tourism is now because of several factors.

Let me cite two. First, the tourism industry is growing, and the government expects tourist arrivals to reach 10 million in the next two years. That does not include domestic tourists, who represent a big market for farm tourism around Metro Manila.

And second, the continuing increase in remittances from overseas Filipino workers and the growing employment in the business-process outsourcing industry help increase the purchasing power of Filipino consumers, which means that more people can afford to visit tourist farms, which is not as expensive and not as time-consuming as going to vacation spots that require air travel.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail.com or visit www. mannyvillar.com.ph.

Romeo M. del Castillo

Slamming the stock market John Mangun

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the unceasing interest of visitors into a profitable tourism industry.

Based on my observations during a recent trip to Taiwan, I am convinced that the same activity can be replicated in the Philippines, particularly in the areas surrounding Metro Manila.

Taiwan is a small country, with a total area of a little more than 36,000 square kilometers, or just 12 percent of the Philippines’s 300,000 sq km.

Understandably, the limited size encouraged the Taiwanese to maximize the use of their land.

In addition to planting and harvesting different crops, some Taiwanese farmers also use their farms as tourist resorts, where visitors can enjoy living in a farm, which is a world apart from urban living.

According to the Tripod.lycos.com website, this is called recreational

agriculture, which is a recent development in Taiwan. It gives city residents not only relief from their hectic daily routine, but also a taste of rural life, natural ecology, local culture and farm production.

As of 2001, about 2,170 hectares of land were officially designated as tourist farms, where visitors could pick fruits and vegetables themselves. Tripod.lycos.com also said the Taiwan Council of Agriculture had approved, as of July 2002, the establishment of 33 recreational farms, which are similar to tourist farms, but also offer areas for picnicking, bird-watching and other activities.

One reason I believe tourist farms can be established in the Philippines is the small size of the Taiwanese tourist farms; they’re just 1 or 2 hectares each. Actually, Taiwan now allows recreational farms as small as half a hectare to be established.

We have a lot of small parcels of idle land around Metro Manila that can be turned into tourist farms.

The advantage is the close distance between the cities and these sites, so the market for them is both domestic and foreign tourists.

Two or three owners of adjacent properties may also opt to join forces and offer different activities, such as urban fishing, fruit picking and even accommodations for visitors who want to spend a night or two in a rural setting.

I am in the real-estate business,

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OUTSIDE THE BOX

I

F the current trend continues over the next two weeks, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) will post its worst monthly performance for 2014.

To hear most commentators and even local stock-market analysts tell it, the PSE is like a dead leaf blowing in the wind. The stock market goes up or down because of what investors and traders are doing in New York, Hong Kong, Bangkok or Taipei.

The experts are sure that both local and foreign participants in the local market make their buying and selling decisions by looking at the movement of other stock markets. If South Korean investors are buying Samsung Group shares, well, it certainly makes sense to buy SM Investments Corp. shares. They both start with the letter “S”, and if you say their names really fast, they almost sound alike.

But investors in the local market are not always mimicking other markets.

Buying pressure that causes prices to go

higher is due to investors buying stocks at bargain prices. When prices go down, it is because of profit-taking. Obviously, no one with any sense ever loses money on the PSE because he or she is always buying at a bargain and selling at a profit.

Since prices usually go up for a few days, and then down for a few days, all you have to do is catch the flow by reading the commentaries to know when you should start bargain-hunting or taking profits.

Apparently, though, sometimes stock-market movement happens because investors are actually paying attention to something that’s happening in the Philippines and not in Shanghai.

Positive economic news, like inflation going down or exports going up, seems to affect buying and selling. But here, too, local investors are totally unpredictable.

The market can go up or down, depending on whether investors reacted to or unexpectedly ignored the news.

Perhaps, both Filipino and foreign stock-market investors who put their money in the market, whether it’s P10,000 or P10 million, might have other considerations that we don’t know about.

Maybe investors are wise enough to look at the bigger picture and trends, and not just at today’s newspaper.

The PSE index has been down for three of the last four weeks, and may make it four of five by the end of this week. While we have been told that local stocks are too expensive, there is much more to it than that. The ones investing P10 million or P50 million are looking at months and years down the road at corporate value growth, and they have been moving out, just like the short-term speculator.

For the last six weeks, I have been warning subscribers that, at some point, the local political climate might affect the stock market. The PSE does not react to short-term political developments.

Even during the tumultuous times before and after the 2004 elections, which gave us the “Hello, Garci!” scandal, the market continued rising.

Remember that foreign investors do not care about Philippine politics at all. What they do care about, however, is Philippine political stability. Right

now, the country’s political scene does not appear to be very stable.

Philippine politics is always “exciting”, but how much of the current excitement is hurting the country? Is politics keeping infrastructure projects from moving forward? Is the government focusing more on the 2016 presidential elections than the transportation problem in Metro Manila? Are the mining law and investment-incentive changes being held up because of political, and not economic, considerations?

The share price of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. is down more than 13 percent in the last six weeks and, perhaps, the commentators are correct in saying that it is because some stock trader in Tokyo ate some bad sushi for lunch yesterday.

However, there is now a strong negative sentiment that goes beyond corporate developments and economic outlook. Sometimes, the best commentary about the stock market is found on the front page of the newspaper and not in the business section.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

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

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

GenSan land scam

Infrastructure: Why P-Noy can’t soar like an eagle

BusinessMirror

Butch del Castillo

Ernesto M. Hilario

OMERTA

ABOUT TOWN

G

ENERAL Santos City, or GenSan, is now among the most progressive cities in Mindanao, partly because of its reputation as the Philippines’s tuna capital, which underpins its phenomenal economic growth. But the country’s southernmost city is also saddled with a problem that bedevils other places in the archipelago: fake land titles.

In fact, as many as 5,455 fake land titles have been issued in this city, according to those who had invested hard-earned money in real-estate property, only to be left holding the proverbial empty bag.

The affected families in GenSan have recently organized themselves as the Coalition for Reform Against Fake Titles (CRAFT) and urged authorities to go after the perpetrators of the land scam.

The people’s movement in GenSan is gaining ground in other places with the same problem.

Andy Rosales, CRAFT convener for Luzon and the National Capital Region (NCR), told us at the Saturday media forum at Annabel’s two weeks ago that no less than 3,000 of their members had marched on the streets of GenSan to call the attention of city officials, including those in the local land-registration office and the judiciary, to take action against the proliferation of fake land titles, lest others fall for the same scam.

Rosales told the media that Judge Panambulan Mimbisa of Branch 37 of the Regional Trial Court in GenSan is now handling the case.

“All eyes are on him [Mimbisa] as the people of GenSan await his decision on November 24, 2014, in a landmark case involving the Original Certificate of Title of a 973-hectare lot in GenSan that was canceled, albeit fraudulently, and subsequently superseded by a fake Transfer Certificate of Title [TCT],” Rosales said. The fake TCT gave birth to—what else—more than 5,000 bogus certificates of title.

It appears, he added, that even the Department of Public Works and Highways had been duped by the syndicate behind the scam into releasing an initial P135 million for the right-of-way for roads that passed through the contested property.

The land-titling scam is now being investigated by the Senate through Resolution 856, filed on August 19 by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights held a preliminary hearing on October 1, followed by another on October 7. The committee is pushing for the passage of the Land Administration Reform Act (Lara).

To drum up support for their cause, the Ugnayan ng mga Samahan para sa Alternatibong Pagbabago held a symposium on the proposed law in Quezon City in August. This symposium was held in coordination with the office of Commissioner Ric O. Domingo of the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor and the People’s Movement for Democratic Governance.

The 120 symposium participants, most of them urban-poor leaders, decided to constitute themselves as CRAFT’s counterpart in Luzon-NCR to address the problem of fake land titles in this part of the country. They also expressed full support for the passage of the Lara.

I was able to meet Rodrigo “Boy” Olarte Sr., chairman of the National Anti-Poverty Commission’s National Urban Poor Sectoral Council, and others from GenSan who attended the Senate hearing. Olarte is a major figure in this issue, as he is a member of the family that held the original—and, therefore, genuine—title to the 973-hectare property in the heart of GenSan. This large tract of land is now worth billions of pesos.

The land-titling scam is now being investigated by the Senate through Resolution 856, filed on August 19 by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights held a preliminary hearing on October 1, followed by another on October 7. The committee is pushing for the passage of the Land Administration Reform Act, or Lara.

Olarte said he and his family are determined to see this through, as he feels that they have been the victims of a gross injustice orchestrated by powerful families who managed to grab the property from them through subterfuge and deceit since the 1920s up to the present.

First of two parts

I

F you want official data on the infrastructure accomplishments of the Aquino administration, the agency to turn to is, of course, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.

It is a specialized agency created under the PPP program. The center does nothing but keep track of, or monitor, the status of all investment projects—most of them big-ticket infrastructure projects—in the PPP pipeline.

Officially, the good news is that there are about 55 such projects in the pipeline “in varying stages of the project cycle.” The PPP Center released a document revealing this fact during a Philippine Economic Briefing on September 30. The briefing was a prelude to the 40th Philippine Business Conference, to be held from October 22 to 24 and to be presided over by George T. Barcelon as chairman.

The bad news, however, is that, of those 55 projects, only five of them will see completion by mid-2016, or by the time President Aquino’s term ends. (The implication is that several others may be approved before the May 2016 elections, and it would be up to the proponents to fight for

their implementation when the next administration takes over.)

These five projects, however, would not even begin to ease the ordeals being suffered by residents of Metro Manila on a daily basis in putting up with the horrendous traffic, commuting and flooding problems that have put them, virtually, at the very “gates of hell.”

An Agence France-Presse (AFP) report on the “infrastructure woes” that bedevil Filipinos in Metro Manila describes how a typical commuter, a salesman, in the metropolis’s “creaking train network” has to endure a three-hour work commute every day, with half that time spent on just lining up to buy a train ticket.

“Peak-hour hell comes in many forms in the city of 12 million people, with commuters experiencing a sweaty, stinky crush on dilapidated trains and giant queues to buy tickets,” the AFP dispatch said.

“This is just one example of major

Ebola outbreak

No end in sight to MRT woes

METRO Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) riders are gambling with their lives every time they set foot on any of its stations. So we can readily identify with the opinions expressed in an e-mail sent to us on the congressional hearings on the wretched state of the railway facility: “In inquiries by the Senate that pry into either the nonstop misfortunes of train passengers or the proposed 2015 transport budget of the Department of Transportation and Communications [DOTC], DOTC executives have been caught repeatedly lying through their teeth in a bid to blame everyone—from supposed private partner MRT Corp.

[MRTC] to even the commuters themselves—but [the] government itself for this Edsa [Epifanio de los Santos Avenue] rail fiasco. “[Transporation] Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and his underlings at the DOTC, the Light Rail Transit Authority and MRT have been brazen enough to obfuscate the facts in these public hearings in a shrewd ploy to sucker senators and [House representatives] into thinking that the MRTC and the MRTC-picked original operation and maintenance [O&M] contractor Sumitomo Corp. are to blame for plunging MRT 3 into such a despicable state that nothing could [be undon e] without an immediate 100-percent government takeover.

“In fact, Abaya and his factotums, like Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, have had no qualms about throwing red herrings—such as baring plans to sue the MRTC for an illusory breach of contract or unduly accusing Sumitomo Corp. of cannibalizing train parts prior to its unceremonious replacement by temporary O&M contractors Philippine Trams Rail Management & Services Inc. and, later, Autre Porte Technique Global Inc.—just to take Senate and House probers off the scent of DOTC-style corruption and mismanagement that have put over a half-million MRT 3 passengers in harm’s way on a daily basis.”

What do MRT 3 riders have to say on this matter? It would be very interesting to find out.

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

Edgardo J. Angara

L

AST month Julie Hall, the country representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged the Philippines to send health workers to West Africa to help combat the Ebola-virus outbreak there. At the time, the disease had claimed some 3,000 lives. More than 4,000 have died since then, and the very grave threat Ebola poses has spread to at least four continents.

On October 10, during the National Summit on Ebola Virus Disease, Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona said the United States and the United Kingdom have specifically requested Manila to provide “human resources” to help in the global effort to curb the

outbreak. Ona also said that, should the Philippines decide to send health professionals, it would be on a voluntary basis and undertaken with the assistance of the WHO. Undoubtedly, the spread of Ebola demands a concerted and

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

infrastructure woes that, analysts say, threaten to cool the Philippines’s red-hot economy,” it added. (Except for the part that our economy is red-hot right now, I totally agree with the AFP report. What it should have said is that these infrastructure woes, which worsened over the last four years, have doused cold water on whatever spark of hope for the economy that existed at the beginning of P-Noy’s term.)

‘Deliverable’

THE PPP Center document listed the five infrastructure projects that the Aquino administration is pretty sure would be “deliverable” before its term ends. But, out of the five, only the P15.52-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Expressway; the P2.01-billion Daang Hari South Luzon Expressway link road (a project of the Department of Public Work and Highways); and the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System for the two trains systems in Metro Manila would directly benefit its residents.

The two other “deliverable” projects are two school projects worth P20.14 billion. Details about them have yet to be revealed by the PPP Center, however.

This infrastructure accomplishment record is anemic, to say the least, in comparison with the much more robust record chalked up by the much-maligned administration of former President Gloria MacapagalArroyo (GMA).

Businessmen who were wholeheartedly supportive of P-Noy’s

coordinated global response, as the outbreak has been described as the worst in the four-decade history of tracking diseases.

However, our country would best contribute to the global response and alert system by protecting its borders first, since the potential of our exposure to Ebola is probably higher than average, because of the ubiquity of Filipino health professionals and overseas workers in every corner of the world.

Our hands are already full in simply monitoring every entry in every airport in the archipelago. And with a significant overseas population and up to 8,000 documented Filipino workers in West Africa, we will need every qualified health personnel on deck at home.

Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, a former health secretary, believed that, if the

To get good ideas, pay for them William Pesek

L

BLOOMBERG VIEW

AST week, Japan’s media were exultant over a Nobel Prize in Physics award to three native sons. So it came as a shock when, rather than pop another champagne cork, co-honoree Shuji Nakamura poured cold water on the fete.

From his perch at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the 60-year-old scientist unloaded to a pack of giddy Japanese reporters about how Japan stymies the kind of innovation for which he was honored by the Nobel committee.

In Silicon Valley, where he moved in 1999, “everyone has a chance to dream the American dream,” he said. “Everyone has the chance if you work very hard.”

Not so in Japan, he said, where failures to internationalize, take risks and value employees by merit have led to years of stagnation in the fields of computers, smartphones, semiconductors and solar panels. Oh, and as if to throw off the Japanese conferenced in from Tokyo, Nakamura delivered his verdict in English. “It’s the main reason American and

Chinese producers took over these markets,” Nakamura told Kyodo News after his news conference. “If Japanese companies don’t reform drastically and implement English as their daily business language, the economy will only continue to contract.”

This month, as the current Diet session gets under way in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces an ideal opportunity to catalyze the kind of changes Nakamura is advocating. Abe has pledged to lay out the specifics of his structural reform drive, which relies heavily on corporate tax cuts and reducing red tape. But he’s been quiet on one reform that truly would encourage the risk-taking culture that Japan needs so badly: making sure employees get paid for their inventions.

Nakamura’s experience tells the story. Before heading to the US, where he’s now a citizen, Nakamura spent 20 years at Nichia Corp., a small lighting-product company on the southern island of Shikoku. It was there that he made a major breakthrough in blue-LED technology, for which he shared the Nobel. In 1990 Nichia patented Nakamura’s advances, and the profits rolled in.

For his contribution, the company gave Nakamura a bonus of— get this—$180. In 2001 Nakamura sued over the rights to his discovery, which a Tokyo court ruled in 2004 could be worth, conservatively, $1 billion. In a settlement with the company, Nakamura got $8 million, a pittance by Western standards.

In a 2000 interview with Scientific American, Nakamura described how poorly equipped many Japanese laboratories were at a time when Apple and Microsoft were changing the world. Because his work initially garnered little revenue, he recalled, “gradually my company became mad at me.” Today still, Japanese companies are reluctant to take risks with research and development or to compensate workers’ intellectual property. That reduces incentives to conjure up the next big thing, as the Sonys of

A7

presidency are now saddened by how he squandered his opportunity to build on GMA’s infrastructure legacy. That legacy allowed him to hit the ground running, as far as improving the economy was concerned, when he took over as president, but he blew it.

In an earlier column (“Question for P-Noy: Where’s the infra?”; August 19, 2014, issue of the BusinessMirror), I listed the various infrastructure projects that were completed during GMA’s term, from 2001 to 2009.

The list included new national roads (47,773 kilometers); new bridges (289,944 kms); five new airports, including Naia Terminal 3; the upgrading of airports; 74 airports (upgraded and improved); 584 seaports (new, upgraded and improved, including municipal and roll-on, roll-off ports); 16,567 kms of farm-to-market roads; 1.1 million hectares added to irrigated areas; 102,033 new classrooms; and 9,942 flood-control projects.

(We certainly don’t take pride in pointing out that it was during P-Noy’s term that the Naia earned the dubious honor of being named the worst airport in the world.)

But, as a very supportive business sector would put it, there is still time for the administration to improve on its infrastructure record “to improve the competitiveness of the country’s domestic industries.”

To be concluded on Wednesday E-mail: omerta_bdc@yahoo.com.

country were to send health professionals, they should be sent in limited numbers and deployed mainly to study how the affected countries deal with the disease. He said our country ought to have a core of at least 100 well-trained, fully capacitated medical professionals on heightened alert and deployed throughout the country.

To date, 18 cases of suspected Ebola infections have been investigated. All of them reportedly tested negative by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, which was designated as the national referral center for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases.

That is small cause for relaxing vigilance. And while we should extend whatever help we can, we should not jeopardize ourselves in the process.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.

Japan once did.

Technically, Japanese patent laws hold that in-house inventions belong to employees. In practice, though, that’s rarely the case: Executives use any number of loopholes to deprive workers of proper compensation for their ideas, or just assume a salaryman loyal to the company won’t demand his rights.

Nakamura’s legal victory really panicked the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, which then lobbied Tokyo to clarify that patent r ights belong to companies, period.

Last year Abe hinted he might do just that. But if he really wants to fuel innovation, Abe should do the opposite: change Japan’s patent law to ensure workers get a fair share of their contributions. Why not spell out a 50-50 or 60-40 split between the visionary who dreams up the next big thing and the company that commercializes it? If a new generation of researchers like Nakamura were motivated by the almighty yen sign, Japan’s entire economy would benefit.

When Abe talks about Japan’s technological potential, he rarely misses a chance to mention robots.

Yet far greater prosperity and economic growth would come from encouraging workers not to act like automatons. Abe should do so.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Entry of foreign banks to strengthen local banking system–Fitch Ratings

F

By Bianca Cuaresma

oreign participation in local banks should help strengthen the local banking system in terms of their operating efficiency and align the local lenders’ disclosure standards with international best practice, an international ratings agency said.

In a statement only recently released, Fitch Ratings, one of three major credit-rating agencies, welcomed the interest of foreign investors in Philippine banks, whose entry was seen to further strengthen local lenders.

Fitch said foreign investors buying stakes in Philippine banks should help local lenders improve their operating efficiency in the face of greater competition and boost their governance or disclosure practices, as these align with global standards.

“Corporate governance has been

an issue for Philippine banks, as many of them…are owned by large local conglomerates that are controlled by families,” Fitch Ratings said.

“Increased foreign ownership and subsequent sharing of expertise are likely to improve the Philippine banks’ risk-management processes, which, in turn can support improvement in their credit profiles,” Fitch added.

In July the unrestricted entry of foreign interests in Philippine banks was signed into law.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. wel-

TETANGCO: The reform measure should help spur foreign direct investments and merger and acquisition activities in the country.

comed this development, saying the law has “clear economic benefits” to the country.

He also said the reform measure should help spur foreign direct investments and merger and acquisition activities in the country.

Only recently, local lender Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. sold 20 percent of its equity to Taiwanese financial institution Cathay Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a decision cited by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings as a boost to its standing as one of the best lenders in the country.

Local bank are also expected to be exposed to players within the region following the plans for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Banking Interation Framework, which is likely to push through about four to six years from now.

BENCHMARK INDEX FALLS 2.7% ON GLOBAL JITTERS

By Vg Cabuag

S

hare prices went down during Monday’s trade, with the main index falling below the 7,000 level on continued global market jitters over the world’s economic growth.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 199.26 points, or 2.7 percent, to close at 6,968.09 points; while other subindices closed lower by at least 1 percent.

“The beginning of this week’s trades carries over from the global slump sustained last week. It would seem at this point that the default mode is pessimism, and only a fresh whiff of a positive news cycle can overturn sentiments and encourage the bulls to lay the foundations for a year-end push,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., trader at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

The main index opened weak and went on to lose as much as 200 points, before slightly recovering to pare its

losses at the close of the trade.

There were only a handful of gainers for the day, as losers edged gainers 174 to 26, with 26 shares unchanged.

Total volume of trade was at 9.84 billion shares worth P8.76 billion. Foreign investors were again net sellers at P1.1 billion.

Other subindices were also down, led by the Industrial index that shed 3 percent, or 344.18, to 11,128.04. The All Shares index lost 98.05 to 4,146.24; the Mining and Oil index dropped 309.67 to 16,101.09; the Financials index fell 41.82 to 1,647.81; and the Property index plunged 82.63 to 2,709.05.

Ayala Land Inc. was the day’s most traded, but lost P1.55, or 4.6 percent, to P32. The Alliance Global Group Inc. shed P1.30 to P24.90; GT Capital Holdings Inc. was down P30 to P1,050; Ayala Corp. fell P22 to P687; SM Prime Holdings Inc. dropped P0.16 to P17.24; SM Investments Corp. tumbled P32 to P762; and Universal Robina Corp. was down P7.60 to P171.

Aquino begins busy week at WHO meet

By Butch Fernandez

P

resident Aquino on Monday formally opened the 65th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific amid the global concerns over recent outbreaks of the deadly Ebola and the Mid-East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV).

The WHO forum is being held this week in Manila, 25 years after the Philippines last hosted the session.

President Aquino, in a speech delivered at the opening rites, affirmed that the Philippines, being a founding member of the WHO, is committed to strengthening health services and upholding international health standards.

In his address, Mr. Aquino outlined the “advancements we have made in the health sector, such as the expansion of PhilHealth coverage and the passage of our ‘sin’ tax and reproductivehealth bills.”

President Aquino also asserted “the importance of global cooperation in surmounting the new challenges of our times, including the MERS-CoV and Ebola outbreaks.”

On Tuesday the President will speak at the closing ceremonies of the International Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) Summit 2014.

Pa lace Spokesman Edw in Lacierda noted that the IT-BPM industry, currently employing over 1 million Filipinos, is projected to continue its growth in the coming years.

“It has played a key role in our country’s economic resurgence, and is expected to further solidify our reputation as a competitive business-processing destination,” Lacierda added.

Later in the week Lacierda con-

firmed that President Aquino, in observance of Eid’l Adha, will be hosting a kanduri, or dinner gathering, at Malacañan Palace.

He noted that the five-day celebration for Eid’l Adha—also known as Feast of the Sacrifice— honors the day when Ibrahim willingly offered to sacrifice his own son Ismail upon Allah’s orders, and is accordingly marked by activities that emphasize the Muslim spirit of caring and sharing.

“This year’s celebration takes on particular significance as it occurs amid the ongoing preparations for the establishment of the Bangsamoro region, and the achievement of lasting peace and unity in Mindanao,” the secretary pointed out.

Also this week, President Aquino will lead government officials in marking the 113th anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Lacierda confirmed that Mr. Aquino will be attending the PCG rites set on Thursday, during which he will deliver a speech and present awards to its outstanding personnel.

The Palace official, in a statement, acknowledged that the PCG, established in 1901, is “responsible for ensuring the safety of naval vessels, as well as enforcing all maritime security and marine environmental protection laws,” in the country.

According to Lacierda, President Aquino’s activities this week will range across a variety of concerns. “From strengthening our health and business partnerships, to observing an important Muslim celebration, and commemorating the service of our PCG personnel, the President shows our firm commitment to upholding the welfare of the Filipino people in all aspects of governance,” he added.

Continued on A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PRODUCERS VOW TO ADD 2,942 MW TO LUZON GRID

By Lenie Lectura

P

OWER producers have committed to supply the Luzon grid of a total of 2,942.03 megawatts (MW) of rated capacity between now and up to 2017.

A list of private sector-initiated committed power projects in Luzon showed the coal projects amount to 1,372 MW; natural gas, 1,150 MW; hydro, 34.3 MW; solar, 50 MW; wind, 254.40 MW; and biomass, 81.33 MW. The coal projects include the 135MW Puting Bato Phase 1 of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTC), with target commercial operation within the month 300-MW the Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp., with the first 150 MW ready by March 2015 and the second unit by June 2015; the 135-MW Puting Bato Phase 2, which will be ready

by November 2015; the Anda Power Corp.’s 82 MW, ready by October 2015; the 300-MW Limay Power Plant Phase 1 of SMC Consolidated Power Corp., the first unit ready by March 2016 and the second unit by September 2016; and the Pagbilao Energy Corp.’s 420 MW, ready by November 2017.

For the natural-gas power projects, Energy World Corp.’s 600-MW facility will be ready by March 2015 for the first 200 MW, by December 2015 for the second 200 MW and by December 2016 for the last 200 MW; the 100-MW San Gabriel Avion of Prime Meridian PowerGen Corp., October 2015; and the 450-MW San Gabriel of First NatGas Power Corp., March 2016.

For hydro power plants, the 13.2MW project of Hedcor Sabangan Inc. will be ready by June 2015; 10 MW of Ormin Power Inc., December 2015; 8 MW of Sta. Clara Power Corp., March 2016; 2.1 MW of Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc., March 2016; and the 1-MW power project of DPJ Engineers and Consultants.

For solar-power projects, the 40MW power facility of Majestic Energy Corp. will be ready within the month, while the 10-MW project of Rasiag Corp. will come on stream by December this year.

For wind power, Northwind Power Development Corp. has committed its 18.9-MW facility; EDC Burgos Wind Power Corp., 87 MW; Northern UPC Asia Corp., 81MW; and Alterenergy Wind One Corp., 67.5 MW. The Department of Energy, in separate data submitted before the Senate last week, said it was looking at adding 156 MW of additional capacity for Luzon in time for the summer months of 2015.

These will come from the 100-MW power project of First Gen Corp.’s Avion power plant, which is expected to come on line by April; 36 MW from Millennium Energy’s Limay plant by March; and 20 MW from the rehabilitated Bauang plant

by March.

The Luzon grid is anticipated to be in need of 900 MW next year.

‘Noche Buena’. . . continued from a1

to the container terminal, leaving less space for newly landed cargo containers. “There are two glaring problems here: first, the people at the Customs are imposing measures that are way too strict; and second, the congestion happens because the PPA allows empty containers to go back, taking the space of newly landed cargo containers,” she said.

Zapata added that her group has yet to get a response from Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion Head Secretary Jose Rene Almendra, whom the group tried to contact to discuss the matter face to face.

“We’ve tried to talk to Secretary Almendras many times; he is still mum on this. Meantime, the problem and the cargoes are all piling up,” Zapata lamented. Catherine N. Pillas