Businessmirror april 05, 2015

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

U.N. Media Award 2008

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business

n Sunday, April 5, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 178

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 24 pages | 7 days a week

PHL likely to hit 7% growth target this year–Maybank T

By Bianca Cuaresma

HE Philippine economy can still reach the bottom end of the government’s ambitious growth target for the year, if it will be diligent enough in disbursing funds programmed for spending this year.

In an interview, Maybank Kim Eng economist Luz L. Lorenzo said that the international banking giant’s outlook for the country remains at 7 percent for this year.

Lorenzo told the BusinessMirror at the sidelines of Maybank’s annual Invest Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) conference in Singapore that the expected strength of the local economy will likely come from the robust government spending this year—contrasting to the sluggish spending seen in the previous year.

At present, Maybank’s fore-

week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW Foreign currency

n Previous week: The country’s local currency slightly appreciated in its three-day shortened trading week due to the observance of the Holy Week in the Philippines. The peso opened the trading week with a 4-centavo depreciation on Monday to close at 44.8 to a dollar, from the 44.76 to a dollar value on Friday.

This appreciated to 44.7 to a dollar on Tuesday and further to 44.58 to a dollar on Wednesday. The total traded volume is half of the previous week, from $3.177 billion down to $1.577 billion. The average value of the peso in the three-day trading week is at 44.69 to a dollar, from the 44.76 to a dollar average value in the previous week.

cast is one of the highest growth forecasts for the Philippines this year—higher than the recently upgraded forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the country’s growth prospect, at 6.7 percent.

The government currently targets the Philippine growth to hit at around 7 percent to 8 percent this year.

Lorenzo further said that, aside from the pickup in government spending, the country will also See “Growth,” A2

economists: prices unchanged in march

T

HE increase in consumer prices in March this year is likely to be broadly unchanged from the growth rate seen in February, economists said.

Security Bank economist Patrick M. Ella said that the country’s inflation rate in March will most likely be at about 2.57 percent, slightly higher than February’s 2.47 percent.

“This reflects weaker energy and food prices over the month, as well as weaker peso impact,” Ella said.

Also, Maybank Kim Eng economist Luz L. Lorenzo said inflation will likely fall at 2.5 percent, as food and fuel prices will still be subdued during the month.

Likewise, Bank of the Philippine Islands economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said they are looking at 2.5-percent inflation for March this year.

“Inflation pressure remains generally benign, with only marginal increases in food prices.

The disinflation pressure from the drop in crude oil is dissipating, and this may continue until

base effects are washed away by midyear,” Mapa said.

Mapa added that inflation is expected to remain within target for the remaining part of the year, given current conditions and trends.

“This is hoping that we do not experience any shock to our supply chain, like we did last year [lack of timely importation and Manila port congestion],” he added.

All forecasts are within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr.’s outlook for the month— which was earlier announced to fall within 2.1 percent to 2.9 percent in March. The actual inflation for the month will be announced by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday.

The country’s inflation rate average for the first two months of the year is at 2.45 percent— significantly lower than the average in the same two-month period last year, at 4.15 percent, due largely to the steep decline of oil prices and select food items during the period. Bianca Cuaresma

PESO exchange rates n US 44.7250

See “Outlook,” A2

‘Massive flood’ of Iranian oil seen after nuclear pact

By Sean Cockerham McClatchy

W

RESURRECTED CHRIST Germain Pilon’s Jesus Christ, part of the Resurrection group. Marble, before 1572, Louvre, France.

Christians celebrate today the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Christian theology, the resurrection of Jesus is a foundation of the Christian faith. As Paul the Apostle stated: “If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless.” PIXABAY.COM/ alexandria

A S H I N G T O N —T h e frame­work agreement over Iran’s nuclear program could lead to a deluge of Iranian oil on the global market, with the potential to drive oil prices down further than they’ve already plummeted. But it won’t happen soon. Even if the deal outlined on Thursday doesn’t fall apart before the details are worked out, it’s likely to be at least a year before international sanctions against Iran are lifted to allow its oil to be shipped, according to energy experts (See related stories on C1).

“I am not very optimistic that we’ll see this massive flood of Iranian oil on the market anytime soon,” said Phil Flynn, senior Continued on A2

n japan 0.3726 n UK 66.3182 n HK 5.7687 n CHINA 7.2142 n singapore 32.6055 n australia 34.1256 n EU 48.0570 n SAUDI arabia 11.9238 Source: BSP (1 April 2015)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, April 5, 2015

Outlook...

Growth...

continued from A1

continued from A1

Week ahead

sustain its robust private consumption rate, which will push the economy to grow at a higher rate than the previous year.

Thus, Maybank sees the Philippines to be the fourth fastest-growing economy among the nine countries in Southeast Asia that the bank assesses.

In particular, Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR will likely overtake the Philippines in terms of growth this year at 8.5 percent, 7.3 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

Also, according to the Maybank’s forecast, inflation is likely to hit 3.5 percent on average for the entire 2015, well within the Bangko Sentral’s 2-percent to 4-percent target range for this year.

This is the third lowest inflation rate in the region, following Singapore and Thailand with 1-percent and 2.3-percent inflation rate forecasts, respectively.

Cambodia is also forecast to have a 3.5-percent average annual inflation rate this year.

The peso is still expected to rally in the upper band of the 44 territory and is not expected to breach the 45-to-a-dollar value this week. Markets will continue to look for fresher leads in both the local and international scene, after the nontrading days this week.

Inflation (Tuesday, March 7)

n Previous month: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation hit 2.5 percent in February this year. The 2.5-percent rate is a slight uptick from the previous month’s inflation of 2.4 percent, breaking the five-month declining trend of inflation. Meanwhile, compared to its year-ago level, the February 2015 inflation is a deceleration from the 4.1-percent inflation seen in the previous year. The PSA attributed the slight uptick of the figure to the higher prices of certain food items in February 2015, compared to those in 2014.

This development offset the still significant decline of oil prices during the period. The February inflation print is within the central bank governor’s forecast range for the month, which is earlier announced at 2.2 percent to 3 percent. It is also within the government’s overall target for the year at 2 percent to 4 percent, and, likewise, within market expectations.

n March inflation: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the country’s March inflation rate could settle within 2.1 percent to 2.9 percent—not far from the Philippines’s actual inflation rate of 2.5 percent in February this year, due to lower power rates, oil prices and rice prices. If the March actual inflation hits the floor of Tetangco’s forecast, inflation will hit an average of 2.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, while, if actual inflation hits the ceiling of the government’s target, the inflation average for the first three months of the year will hit 2.6 percent. Both scenarios are well within the government’s lower target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for inflation this year. Bianca Cuaresma

‘Massive flood’ of Iranian oil seen after nuclear pact

Ayala...

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The battle between the two conglomerates outside the realm of infrastructure deals, however, continues to heat up. For one, Metro Pacific’s sister, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Ayala Corp.’s Globe Telecom Inc. are battling for mobile supremacy in a cellular phone-saturated Filipino market. The two holding companies are also rivals in the energy and water sectors.

The two, however, are partners in developing the P1.72-billion Automated Fare Collection System and the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension. The unlikely comrades have also set their eyes on other infrastructure deals, such as the LRT Line 2’s operations and maintenance.

continued from A1

energy analyst for the Price Futures Group.

The eventual impact of letting Iranian oil on the market would be huge. Iran holds the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, but its production has dropped because of the sanctions, especially a European Union ban on importing Iranian oil.

Iran exported 2.5 million barrels of oil a day before the sanctions were imposed.

It’s now down to 1.1 million. Iran is desperate to ease the sanctions, as crude-oil exports account for 85 percent of its government revenue, according to a report from Roubini Global Economics, an analysis firm. It’s storing millions of barrels of oil on supertankers in the Persian Gulf, just waiting for permission to sell. “If the sanctions were lifted today it would have a major impact,” Flynn said.

Rate hike...

time, “the broader economy is not as weak as the recent numbers have suggested, and we expect wage pickup going forward. We think there’s going to be enough improvement that the Fed can tick the wage box, tick the labor market box and raise rates sometime later in the year.”

Mulraine of TD Securities maintained his projection for an increase in September, though he said the “balance of risks” is shifting to a later start. Policy-makers will get two more employment reports before their meeting on June 16 and 17, when they will also release new economic and interest-rate forecasts.

Fed officials in March lowered their median estimate for the main rate at the end of

APRIL 5, 2015 | SUNDAY TROPICAL STROM “CHEDENG” (MAYSAK) 365 KM SOUTHEAST OF CASIGURAN, AURORA MAX. WINDS: 115 KPH GUSTINESS: 145 KPH MOVEMENT: WEST NORTHWEST WIND SPEED: 20 KPH (AS OF APRIL 4, 3:00 PM)

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

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The jobless rate held at a six-year low of 5.5 percent in March, near the level policymakers estimate for what constitutes full employment. Most project it is equivalent to a 5-percent to 5.2-percent unemployment rate, down in March from the 5.2-percent to 5.5-percent range they had last December.

The weaker payrolls reading doesn’t alter the outlook for the economy, according to Karen Dynan, the Treasury Department’s chief economist and a former top researcher at the Fed board during a 17-year career there.

“Domestic fundamentals look strong” and the US is poised for above-trend growth in 2015, Dynan said in an interview in Washington, following remarks at a Fed conference. Bloomberg News

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The toughest requirement for Iran to meet might be clarifying past research it’s suspected of conducting on missile-borne nuclear warheads, ClearView Energy Partners said in a research note. The energy research firm doesn’t expect Iranian oil to hit the world market before next year. There’s already a global oil glut, which has led prices to plummet by more than half since last summer. The unleashing of Iranian oil would send them tumbling further, which is good for drivers but bad for the energy industry and governments that rely on oil revenue. The international benchmark price of oil fell nearly 4 percent after news of the Iran framework agreement. Flynn, of the Price Futures Group, said the energy market could be different by the time the sanctions were lifted, and it’s not guaranteed that introducing Iranian oil is going to send prices on a nosedive. TNS

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2015 to 0.625 percent, compared with 1.125 percent in December forecasts. The estimate for the end of 2016 fell to 1.875 percent from 2.5 percent, according to the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) quarterly Summary of Economic Projections.

The weak payrolls number could cause FOMC members to turn increased attention to jobs data and away from inflation “at the margin,” said Ray Stone, managing director at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in Princeton, New Jersey.

He said they’ll have to see if the US returns to its strong job-adding streak. “Even though we had a downshifting here, I think the FOMC has to be pretty satisfied with the broader trends in employment.”

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“They have miles of tankers filled with oil. It would be like a fire sale into a global market already oversupplied with oil.” The nuclear agreement with Iran, though, is just a framework, with the specifics to be negotiated by June 30. The unresolved details include the exact process for lifting sanctions and, given earlier delays in the talks, the negotiations might drag beyond the deadline.

Analysts said the deal also appears to demand that before the sanctions are lifted the International Atomic Energy Agency must certify that Iran is complying, including allowing inspections and removing centrifuges used for nuclear enrichment. It’s not clear how long that would take. “There were some expectations that Iranian oil could come back to the market very quickly, and this is clearly not going to happen,” said Raymond James energy analyst Pavel Molchanov.

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www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

Sunday, April 5, 2015 A3

Electronics industry sees $6-B to $7-B export revenue in Q1

T

he country’s electronics industry projects exports revenue for the first quarter of 2015 at $6 billion to $7 billion, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (Seipi) President Dan Lachica said.

This, after electronics exports in January 2015 increased by 15 percent to $2.0 billion from January 2014’s figure of $1.78 billion.

The projected figure for first quarter 2015 is also in line with the industry’s target growth of 5.0 percent to 7.0 percent for the full-year 2015 or reaching some $27.61 billion

in export revenues from last year’s receipt of $25.8 billion, according to Lachica.

The Seipi president said the industry will stick to its conservative 5.0- percent to 7.0-percent growth target even if the sector surpassed the growth projection last year.

“We want to be realistic with our

projections,” he said.

He added that the falling oil prices also benefits the industry as it should translate to lower logistics cost, power and raw materials.

Moreover, the country’s electronics exports revenue target for this year has yet to match the revenue level during its preslowdown performance, a World Bank study released in January said.

“Prior to the slowdown, electronics exports reached a peak of $32 billion....

However, five years after the slowdown, electronics exports have yet to match its pre-slowdown performance. In 2008 and 2009, electronics exports fell by 7.0 percent and 21 percent, respectively. Nascent recovery of the global economy led to a jump in electronics exports by 38 percent in 2010. However, this rate of growth was not sustained in succeeding years as exports contracted yet again by 23 percent and 0.3 percent in 2011 and 2012, respectively,” the

World Bank stated.

It added that compared to the electronics exports of neighboring countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam which already surpassed the pre-slowdown export performance, and Malaysia which is close to recovering its losses, the Philippines electronics exports have not fully recovered since the 2009 global slowdown which led to a decline in electronics export.

Lachica, on the other hand, noted that the aforementioned Asian neighbors had aggressive public and private investments compared to the country, thus recovering from the decline.

He added that although the global demand has recovered, there are factors locally that temper the growth of the industry.

“Investments develop revenue,” said Lachica citing public investments, particularly in infrastructure, are needed by the industry aside from firms’ investments. PNA

briefs dpwh 11 confident of meeting 2015 accomplishment target

DAVAO CITY—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) here in Region 11 remains confident of meeting its 2015 accomplishment target despite a slow start in the first quarter.

DPWH 11 Regional Director Mariano Alquiza said the DPWH 11, which has a P15-billion budget allocation for infrastructure projects for Davao region this year, has accomplished 2.5 percent of the lined-up infra projects.

“This year DPWH 11 has 723 big infrastructure projects, of which 183 projects have been already been started, while 534 infrastructure projects have yet to start construction,” he said in an interview. PNA

p.a.f. to overhaul propeller assemblies of t-41d trainer aircraft

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is allocating P3 million for the overhaul of the propeller assemblies of five of its Cessna T-41D “Mescalero” trainer aircraft.

Submission and opening of bids is on April 14 at the PAF Procurement Center Conference Room, Villamor Air Base, Pasay City.

As a requisite, prospective bidders should have an experience in undertaking a similar project within the last five years.

The PAF is known to operate between 20 and 30 units of the T-41D for pilot training mission.

The T-41 is a military version of the popular Cessna 172, operated by the United States Air Force and Army, as well as the armed forces of various other countries as a pilot training aircraft. PNA

Thailand solar developer seeks local partner for 100-MW power project

T

hai solar developer SPCG Plc. is seeking a partner for its 100-megawatt (MW) project in the country, estimated to cost Thai baht 7 billion or $216.65 million.

Chief Executive Wandee Khun-

chornyakong said, “SPCG would find strategic partners to develop and operate projects in the three countries [Japan, Myanmar and the Philippines] in the second quarter,” according to a report from the Bang-

kok Post. SPCG plans to put up solar farms with a capacity of 150 MW in Japan, 100 MW in the Philippines, while it is still conducting feasibility studies in Myanmar.

Wandee said SPCG aims to spear-

head solar power in the region, citing the trust and awarded projects of the three governments.

The Philippine government had given a letter of intent to the company for the 100-MW solar-panel project.

SPCG has received seven proposals to develop solar projects in the Philippines, having a total capacity of 400 MW. But, it said it intends to develop and operate the 100-MW farm first.

It will have Japanese firm Kyocera—its long-time partner—as the supplier of the solar panels.

However, SPCG did not mention where the solar-farm project in the Philippines will be built. PNA

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, April 5, 2015

editorial

Weakening the yen vital to developing world

E

VERY now and then, you will have a Lee Kuan Yew curbing the uncontrolled tendencies of free enterprise, but for the most part, individuals in capitalism are assumed to be the best judge of what is in their interest. When this idea is subverted, trouble erupts.

Some 30 years ago, Japan was the most dynamic economy in the world. Its gross domestic product was growing at unprecedented rates. Japanese-manufactured products, particularly electronic ones, filled up available spaces in the global markets. Japanese travelers with their cameras were ubiquitous in the tourist spots of the various countries. Japanese corporations bought high-value property on sight, including the great studios of Hollywood and even the Rockefeller Center in New York.

The United States was not too happy about it. It argued that a weak currency gave Japan an undue advantage in export markets; therefore, the currency should be strengthened, in order to “level the playing field.” Japan consented.

The yen-dollar exchange had been set by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, supreme commander of the Allied Powers, at ¥360 to the US dollar in 1945. But under Japan’s sheer industrial might, it had strengthened to ¥260 in the 1970-1980s. From 1985 to 2000, under American pressure, the yen rose to 200 per dollar, to 150, then to 100. By year 2000, it was ¥80 to the dollar.

In the wake of the strengthened yen, Japanese manufacturers began losing their markets, piling up inventories, putting off new orders and postponing wage increases. The result at the national level was reduced domestic-consumption expenditures and investment. The Japanese price level, already low in the 1980s, sunk even lower as time went by. By the early years of 2000, Japan was confronting stagnation.

One can say that China benefited from the Japanese example. Under pressure from the US on the basis of the same reasoning, China refused to strengthen the renminbi. It preferred to sustain domestic prosperity by whatever means. However minuscule in per-capita terms, the Chinese economy is now the second largest in the world.

Any economist worthy of the name will suggest that weakening the yen, raising wages, expanding consumption, and stoking up prices is the way to go. That is exactly what Prime Minister Shinto Abe and Bank of Japan President Haruhiko Kuroda are doing. So far, they have succeeded in temporarily weakening the yen to 125 to the dollar. However, currently, market forces have the yen at about 119. There are some weak indications the Japanese manufacturing industry is working up again.

This anti-stagnation policy has not met with the approval of everyone. Some outside observers are saying that the Japanese program is hurting South Korea, Taiwan, and other similarly situated countries, implying that the program should be modified or abandoned.

Japan should learn its lesson. It listened to the US in the past, doing, like an ever loyal friend, as it was told, but see where it brought it. Japan should now resume thinking for itself, continue pursuing its expansionary policy regardless of what other countries or other people think. Japan must now follow its star or, rather, its rising sun.

Japan’s competitor countries will just have to fend for themselves, bite the bullet so to speak, regardless of what their neighbors are doing. They owe their people decent standards of living under all circumstances.

A strong Japanese economy is vital to the prosperity of the developing world.

Japan’s battery-powered recovery A Bloomberg View William Pesek

Gospel

Sunday, April 5, 2015

S Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks for ways to reboot Abenomics, he could do worse than heed the advice of Kurt Kelty. Delivering a public speech on a recent Friday evening in Osaka, Tesla’s director of battery technology captured all that’s wrong with the Japanese economy.

“We need to take risks; otherwise, there will be no prosperity in business,” Kelty said in fluent Japanese.

“We take risks, but it seems not the case in Japan.”

The Japanese are often sensitive when outsiders (known as gaijin) criticize their country, but Kelty’s criticisms couldn’t be ignored. He’s a 15-year veteran of the revered energy solutions lab at Panasonic, Japan’s iconic electronic companies.

Panasonic, in fact, was an exception to Kelty’s tough-love remarks—which is no accident.

Tesla recently announced that it’s partnering with the company in creating a so-called gigafactory to produce high-tech car batteries.

Panasonic is the rare Japanese company that has taken chances and profited from them. Started in 1918 in a two-story home in Osaka, it eventually became a multinational electronics powerhouse.

After falling behind Apple and Samsung in recent years, it eventually made a decisive pivot—in 2013, it abandoned the plasma-television market and began focusing on batteries and solar panels. That decision paid off massively with the Tesla partnership.

Tesla isn’t alone in tapping Japan’s tech prowess. Apple, for example, is

N

Tesla isn’t alone in tapping Japan’s tech prowess. Apple, for example, is opening a new research and development center in Yokohama. But Tesla is spotlighting Japan’s most lucrative future industry.

Since the late 1970s, when Kyushu University helped develop the dual-carbon battery, Japan has been a leader in the field. opening a new research and development center in Yokohama. But Tesla is spotlighting Japan’s most lucrative future industry. Since the late 1970s, when Kyushu University helped develop the dual-carbon battery, Japan has been a leader in the field. And demand for batteries is expected to soar in the years ahead, with highrange batteries expected to replace fossil fuels in cars, airplanes, ships and even buildings. In addition to helping save the planet, they could also help save Japan’s economy.

Politically, the timing of Tesla’s Japan collaboration couldn’t be better.

With executives of Japan’s biggest companies predicting deteriorating growth and more deflation this year, Abe can evoke the partnership to get his economic program (known as Abenomics) back on track.

Since taking office in December 2012, Abe has increased publicworks spending and engineered a 29-percent drop in the yen. But he’s made scant headway in increasing

OW on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached

Japan’s competitiveness or in cultivating a more entrepreneurial culture that creates wealth and attracts investment. As Kelty pointed out in his speech, Japan has all the ingredients for success—just not the policies to realize it.

Abe should seize the opportunity to announce new tax incentives for start-ups, especially in the renewable-energy (RE) sector—batteries, solar, wind and geothermal power.

The government should also create a series of venture-capital pools and safety nets that support would-be innovators and incentivize them to take risks, and sponsor training programs to inspire more entrepreneurship among young Japanese.

Next, he should then accelerate his government’s timetable for launching so-called special-enterprise zones where businesses wouldn’t be subject to red tape. Better yet, Abe could push to cut red tape from the entire economy.

A RE boom would do for Japan what quantitative easing can’t: Produce a thriving economic ecosystem that creates wealth, jobs and international esteem. And Japan is perfectly suited to profit from the demand for better batteries. Japanese companies have a track record for delivering quality and delivering it on time.

Tesla, after all, could have gone to China for copy-cat technology, but it knew it would be better served in Japan.

As for Abe, he should be evoking Panasonic at every opportunity; it offers a clear example of how the Japanese economy can recharge its own battery.

the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that He must rise from the dead.— John 20:1-9

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, April 5, 2015 A5

Lee’s legacy M Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

Y producer is going back to Singapore, where she worked 13 years for a news channel. In an e-mail she sent friends (but not me), she explained why she is going back. For one, she said, over here, she takes a taxi to work—and it always takes her for a ride. The taxi driver never gives back her change; no matter how big it is. One day she complained, “You know I work for a living!” The taxi driver answered back, “I also work but you can afford to take a taxi.”

So it is timely that she is going back to Singapore, she says, “so soon after the passing of its great leader, Lee Kuan Yew.” She concedes there are differences of opinion about the Singaporean system. But one thing is clear to her, having lived here and there: “the Singapore that Lee and his team have built is a country that enables rather than obstructs. It enables most people to put a roof over their heads.” (Actually there are no homeless in Singapore.) “It enables most people to get education

for their children.” (Actually education in Singapore is universal and mandatory.) It makes available to everyone “working transport systems” and to be “safe in the streets.”

What Singapore doesn’t have and we do abundantly are public utilities like power and phones and the Internet—none of which work consistently but all of which charge exorbitantly, break down all the time, and move with the celerity of molasses downhill—on a winter’s day. See, Singapore doesn’t have everything we do.

“It enables residents,” she goes on, “including foreigners like myself, to avail of government services without too much hassle….”

And, I might add, without being deported like a young American I met on Twitter who invested his life savings in an educational program for Filipinos only to be deported by the commissioner of Immigration after his Filipina business partner cheated him.

“And to pay reasonable taxes….”

And, I might add again, see where

all the taxes go, which is not to KTVs for GROs. “And to set up businesses,” she goes on, while I add without having to give a commission to the mayor even for a barbecue stand.

And to find employment….” To which I say good luck looking here.

“It enables people to travel in and out freely without the constant fear of being extorted from or held back arbitrarily or kept out.” (Like my poor pedicurist who has paid hundreds of thousands in “facilitation” fees to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration officials under the Noynoy Aquino administration, though things could be worse, like having Gerry Limlingan as governor of the central bank with the key to the mint.)

My producer says in parting, “I dream of the Philippines being such a country; one that by providing the fundamentals enables its people to be the best they can be, to go as far as they want to go.”

I’ll stop there and say that, at the end of the day, which is to say at the

As usual, Cory Aquino said it best when she spoke before the United Nations, “There are many ways to govern a country but only one way to treat people; and that is with decency.” There you have Lee’s legacy. Oh, and by the way, Cory Aquino asked me to correct something that Joe Studwell wrote in his must-read book (which is wrong in this one particular) Asian Godfathers. end of his life, Lee ’s greatest achievement lies in creating a country of infinitely more service and of vastly greater benefit to all of its own people rather than creating a city state whose standing in the world is way out of proportion to its small size. Indeed, Singapore is flat out outstanding under any terms of reference.

As usual, Cory Aquino said it best when she spoke before the United Nations, “There are many

ways to govern a country but only one way to treat people; and that is with decency.”

There you have Lee’s legacy.

Oh, and by the way, Cory Aquino asked me to correct something that Joe Studwell wrote in his must-read book (which is wrong in this one particular) Asian Godfathers. (Also read, How Asia Works, his more recent one.)

Studwell wrote that Cory disliked Lee Kuan Yew, I think he mentioned his abrasiveness; I am not sure.

I couldn’t even make a start contacting him about his mistake because I had never heard of him, his book nor did anyone I knew know any way to get in touch with him or his publisher. However, I was always present when she was with Lee. She opened up to him about her political problems. He was very understanding. He gave her very good advice politely. The one she thoroughly detested was Mahathir, a blowhard at Asean meetings, and all for the reasons that Studwell explains very well in his book; reasons Cory was well aware of.

In fight against Islamic State, US would be better off without its Arab allies

By Emma Ashford Los Angeles Times

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.S. officials continue to insist that our Middle Eastern allies are crucial to the fight against Islamic State (IS) and to other Middle Eastern conflicts.

But are they? To judge by the chaos their help has created in Syria, we’d be better off without them. The extensive and haphazard actions of some Persian Gulf states, notably Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in the Syrian civil war were driven by their desire to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power.

Yet these authoritarian states lacked the foreign policy, military or intelligence tools needed to undertake such ambitious foreign policy. Their involvement in Syria over the last few years has fragmented the Syrian opposition, promoted sectarianism and put money and weapons into the hands of extremist fighters, creating fertile ground for the growth of IS. Tiny Qatar, for example, lacking

any on-the-ground knowledge of Syria, turned to Syrian expatriates in Doha for fighters and organization.

It then funded many small brigades, each headed by a different commander from among these Syrian expats.

This system provided no incentive for rebel groups to work together to overthrow Assad. Instead, it encouraged them to compete against one another for money.

Saudi Arabia initially funneled its financial support to the moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA). Frustrated that Assad wasn’t toppled quickly, it then shuttled money to Islamist groups as well. Even as the Islamists and FSA began to fight each other, the Saudis kept supplying money to both sides. Further, arms deliveries to moderate groups were slow to arrive. This forced them to seek private funding from wealthy citizens of the Persian Gulf states, who tended to support sectarian causes. Donations flowed primarily to Islamists, and encouraged less radical groups to emphasize Islamist credentials.

Saudi Arabia initially funneled its financial support to the moderate Free Syrian Army.

Frustrated that Assad wasn’t toppled quickly, it then shuttled money to Islamist groups as well. Even as the Islamists and FSA began to fight each other, the Saudis kept supplying money to both sides.

America’s Middle Eastern allies also proved unwilling—and later unable—to crack down on their private citizens’ funding of extremists in Syria. Leaders in many Gulf states turned a blind eye to the fact that money collected by Salafi clerics for “humanitarian” relief in Syria was, in fact, going to military purposes.

Only in 2013 did Saudi Arabia finally ban its citizens from funding rebel groups directly, a prohibition that has had little effect.

Worse, these governments often

couldn’t maintain control over the supplies they sent into Syria, meaning arms and cash found their way into the hands of radicals. Qatar, in particular, rarely vetted the recipients of their aid. In the most extreme case, in their zeal to bring down the Assad government, Qatari officials even advocated funding Al Nusra Front, despite that group’s strong ties to alQaeda. Many factors have, of course, contributed to the Syrian disaster and the rise of IS. Still, it’s hard to dispute that the incompetent interference of states, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, made the conflict more extreme. As Vice President Joe Biden noted in an off-the-cuff remark, “Our allies in the region were our biggest problem....

The people who were being supplied were Al Nusra and al-Qaeda.” The White House made Biden apologize to several Middle Eastern leaders for speaking that truth.

Official statements from the White House, in contrast, publicly praised these allies for their help. Secretary of State John F.

Kerry asserted last September that “Arab nations play a critical role in [the] coalition.”

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, asked about Qatari funding for extremists by the House Armed Services Committee just two weeks ago, replied that “not everything our partners do in the region are things that we support or we think are constructive,” but then said, “We can continue to work with them on areas where we disagree.”

His message was clear: The US will not challenge its Middle Eastern allies, even when they purposefully undermine US interests. Yet, as their many failures and fixations in Syria show, states, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are unreliable and capricious allies. We cannot count on them to consider US interests; indeed, their concerns often run counter to our foreign-policy interests. As other regional issues escalate, including the war in Yemen, these are lessons the US must fully absorb. Tribune Content Agency Llc.

Animal experiments are morally ‘unthinkable’

By Justin Goodman

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

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AST month Nobel laureate JM Coetzee and more than 150 other leading thinkers endorsed a comprehensive report on animal experimentation by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics that concludes that the practice is “unthinkable” and that “In terms of harm, pain, suffering and death, this constitutes one of the major moral issues of our time.”

This report should be required reading for the entire scientific community. With a growing majority of the public now opposed to experimentation on animals, mounting evidence that the results from animal experiments rarely help humans, the existence of superior new technologies, such as human-organs-onchips and, perhaps most important, our undeniable awareness of other animals’ striking intelligence and emotional capacity, experimenters must stop viewing animals as mere

tools for human use and embrace nonanimal research methods.

Even though we now know that animals from mice to monkeys experience not just pain, but also fear, distress, loneliness, love and joy—in other words, the same wide range of emotions that humans do—more than 100 million animals continue to be locked alone inside barren laboratory cages, burned in painful tests, force-fed toxic chemicals, subjected to crippling surgeries, infected with viruses, traumatized in psychological experiments and deprived of nearly everything that makes life worth living.

For example, the National Institutes of Health continues to breed baby monkeys to suffer from mental illness, tear them away from their distraught mothers at birth, lock them inside tiny cages all alone and subject them to cruel experiments in which they’re tormented with fake snakes, blasted with loud noises and terrified by masked humans. Extremely social and intelligent beings,

the traumatized monkeys—like human victims of torture—suffer from severe anxiety, depression, hair loss and other physical and mental illnesses and engage in self-destructive behavior, such as biting themselves and pulling out their own hair.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Jane Goodall and countless other experts in primate behavior and human psychology have joined Peta in calling for this to end. The Department of Defense (DOD) still stabs, shoots and blows up thousands of pigs in archaic medical-training exercises, even though its own studies show that modern simulators teach lifesaving battlefield medical skills better than mutilating animals does.

The DOD banned the use of dogs for these violent training drills more than 30 years ago yet continues to maim pigs, even though they suffer just as much and are just as smart, friendly and playful. Cambridge University’s Dr. Donald Broom has stated that “[pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated, even more

The National Institutes of Health continues to breed baby monkeys to suffer from mental illness, tear them away from their distraught mothers at birth, lock them inside tiny cages all alone and subject them to cruel experiments in which they’re tormented with fake snakes, blasted with loud noises and terrified by masked humans. so than dogs and certainly [more so than human] 3-year-olds.”

And countless rats and mice are still being burned and poisoned in unreliable and archaic chemical and personal-product tests, even though modern nonanimal testing methods are more accurate, fast and economical. A big part of the problem is that the interests of these diminutive beings are unfairly written off because of their size, but—like humans— they wince when they’re hurt, giggle

when they’re tickled, care deeply for their young and don’t hesitate to rescue their friends, and even strangers, when they’re in distress.

According to the Oxford Centre report, “The deliberate and routine abuse of innocent, sentient animals involving harm, pain, suffering, stressful confinement, manipulation, trade and death should be unthinkable. Yet, animal experimentation is just that: The ‘normalization of the unthinkable.’”

Indeed, treating other thinking, feeling animals like disposable laboratory equipment is unscientific, ignorant and inexcusable. We can all help science move away from morally “unthinkable” experimentation on animals by refusing to buy cosmetics and household products that were tested on animals, boycotting health charities that fund experiments on animals and urging our lawmakers to redirect the billions of dollars they devote to cruel and ineffective animal studies each year to ethical, cuttingedge non-animal research. TNS

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A6 Sunday, April 5, 2015 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DDR expert: Normalization deterrent to ISIS-like radicalism in Mindanao

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N international expert on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) underscored the importance of ensuring that combatants learn to ease their way out of the culture and context of conflict and for the government to deliver its commitments for normalization so that a conflict-resolution program, such as the ongoing peace process in Mindanao, would be successful.

DDR expert Stavros “Aki” Stavrou, in a forum with actors involved in the Bangsamoro peace process, stressed that a successful normalization process is the best deterrent to radicalization that is now spreading in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) areas in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Stavrou pointed out that “the real question is whether ex-combatants have, indeed, become ex-combatants—that you have taken those people out of the culture and context of conflict.”

Providing stability and sustainability to these ex-combatants are important in ensuring

they would not be enticed to return to armed radicalism.

“If you are able to attract the most number of combatants possible in the process, then you are in a good position to prevent ISIS-like elements from emerging. But if you don’t deliver, you will definitely see resistance,” Stavrou said.

The communities also must be involved in the normalization process by ensuring they are sensitive to acting immediately on, or preventing, a situation that would make excombatants return to their old ways.

“You need to sensitize both the excombatants and the communities properly. You cannot have situations wherein ex-combatants are being taken advantage of again.”

“The normalization phase is the time to plant the seeds of development. However, this can only happen when we treat our partners from across the negotiating table with the same respect we’d afford ourselves,” Stavrou said.

Aside from the political and socioeconomic aspects of normalization, Stavrou maintained that psychosocial interventions were equally

important. “The psychosocial component of conflict lingers the most.

You need to institute programs to address that in order to put an end to the cycle of conflict and violence,” he added.

The Philippine government has been engaged in a peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for more than 17 years. A milestone was reached a year ago with the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro that served as basis in the drafting of the proposed Bangsamoro basic law.

Parallel to the road map toward the establishment of the Bangsamoro government that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is the normalization process that aims, among others, to decommission MILF weapons and allow the group’s combatants to return to peaceful and productive civilian lives.

Stavrou provided a rundown of essentials for the normalization process to succeed, such as guiding principles, core elements, organizational characteristics and implementation

structures, as well as possible funding modalities.

Currently working as a senior social-development specialist at the World Bank, Stavrou has been at the forefront of reintegration programs with ex-combatants for more than 15 years. He oversaw and implemented normalization-like initiatives in Iraq, Eritrea, Sierra Leone and Sudan among other countries.

Earlier, government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said that “by forging a peace agreement with the government, the MILF has committed to renounce violence and terrorism as an ideology and way of life.”

“The full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro will ensure that the leaders and followers of the MILF will desist from going the way of the ISIS,” she added.

The normalization process, includingthedecommissioningofMILF forces and weapons, shall be implemented by the executive branch and will coincide with and shall be commensurate to the implementation of all the agreements of the parties. PNA

Lawmaker urges govt to launch info drive on 2015 AEC

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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HE chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development has filed a resolution urging the government to provide a massive information drive on the coming 2015 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.

House Resolution 1864, filed by Liberal Party Rep. Winston T. Castelo of Quezon City, also seeks to ensure that the country will get the maximum benefits of integration with other Asean members.

“The Philippines should take advantage of the vast opportunities for economic growth that accompany the inevitable Asean integration starting this year,” Castelo said, adding “[but] How prepared is the country? Are the people aware of such development?

The Congress wants these questions answered, the sooner the better.”

Under the one-Asean scheme, the integration will effectively remove all restrictions on trade in the service

sector, such as transport and logistics supply chain, research, information technology, media and arts, healthcare, education, tourism, and human capital management.

“The aggressive and massive information drive to all sectors on the 2015 Asean integration will lay down the groundwork for the nation’s essential role in the Asean regional effort and charting its economic and development road maps,” he said.

The Asean members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“The Asean is consolidating its strength and resources beginning this year and the nation would do well to take advantage of the vast opportunities for economic growth and InterAsean investments, healthy national one-upmanship as well as dynamic supplementation,” he said. “[However] there’s a need for massive and aggressive information drive which to be instituted by all agencies

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water quality improving, denr report says

Water quality in rivers, lakes, coastal and marine areas have improved since the enactment of Republic Act 9275, or the Clean Water Act of 2004, a report released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

However, the same report said that the country still faces major challenges in terms of waterquality management.

The National Water Quality Status Report 2006-2013 released by the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau attributes the improvement in water quality to the various programs implemented by the government in partnership with the private sector.

These programs include the Adopt-an-Estero Program, designation of 17 water-quality management areas and the continuing monitoring and enforcement of water-quality regulations.

The report presented the state of the country’s water quality and highlights the activities and programs of the DENR and the different institutions on water quality management. It aims to inform the various stakeholders of the state of the country’s water bodies. Jonathan L. Mayuga

armm distributes farming equipment in basilan, sulu, tawi-tawi

Boosting cooperative growth

Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Enterprises, calls on cooperatives to strengthen their role in community development to further enhance benefits to their members and the entire community during the recent Simbayanan ni Maria Multipurpose Cooperative 24th Annual General Assembly and Election of Officers in Taguig City. Roy Domingo

educating all stakeholders of the implications and impact of the integration on the Philippine society,” the lawmaker added.

He said an efficient information drive or the lack of it can either make

or break the country against the emerging Asean integration, saying “complacency is a sure formula to failure.”

The Asean Economic Community in 2015 shall be the goal of

regional economic integration by 2015, which envisions “a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region fully integrated into a global community.”

American hotel brand seeks to expand distribution in Asia

By Roderick L. Abad

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Smoke shop

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A worker oversees the traditional Filipino method of making smoked fish (tinapa) in Mercedes, Camarines Norte, with the use of brine and sawdust. The process starts by soaking the fish with brine and placed carefully in bamboo baskets before being smoked for two continuous hours. The finished product is then ready to be delivered to the market. Stephanie Tumampos

LOBAL hospitality chain Best Western is connecting all of its more than 4,000 hotels worldwide to online platform Agoda.com.

Such partnership, according to Best Western International Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Dorothy Dowling, shows their thrust to grow their distribution in the increasingly important and expanding Asian market.

“Agoda.com and Best Western have a shared commitment to providing outstanding service and value to our customers and we are delighted that through our partnership, Agoda.com customers will have direct access to Best Western’s 4,000 plus hotels in more than 100 countries around the world,” she said.

Both companies had tied up to leverage and streamline the capabilities of the Priceline Group distribution, wherein Agoda.com is a member, to

distribute directly Best Western’s hotels to the fastest-growing travel markets, including China, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

The online hotel channel will manage and, at the same time, innovate its front-end customer offerings and connectivity solutions to its hotel partner.

“Our partnership with Best Western International further strengthens this resolve, as we continue to make meaningful advances in growing the Agoda.com international footprint,” Agoda.com COO John Brown said.

For this partnership, the DerbySoft will provide connectivity solution for fast, reliable online distribution of the rates and inventory for Best Western branded hotels worldwide. Best Western is a United States-based hotel brand gives its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, as well as online and mobile booking capabilities.

COTABATO CITY—The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minanao (ARMM), through the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), distributed on Wednesday garden tools and packets of assorted lowland vegetables and onion bulbs to the beneficiaries of its Gulayan sa Paaralan in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, officials said.

These, according to DAF-HVCDP Program Coordinator Jalika D. Mangacop, will have a greater impact on the farmers and growers and the school beneficiaries.

The assistance from the department helped increase their productivity, income and promote a healthy lifestyle in eating and engaging in planting activities.

Albaya Sagad, DAF-ARMM HVCDP Gulayan sa Paaralan focal person, said the provinces through their respective program coordinators Yahya Gani of Basilan, Rose T. Pindua of Sulu and Hermenia Belmonte of Tawi-Tawi, received 100 units of hoes, 100 units of shovels, 100 units of sprinklers, five rolls of HDEP pipe water hose, 100 pieces of rakes, 250 packs of lowland vegetables and 150 packs of onion bulbs.

dole, owwa to extend financial help to family of ofw killed in libya Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz assured the family of Jupiter A. Adrias, who was killed in a rocket attack in Libya, of financial assistance from the government through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The OWWA will provide repatriation assistance to the remains of Adrias, as well as financial support to his beneficiaries.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Leo J. Cacdac has also coordinated with Adrias’ recruitment agency in the Philippine for the said repatriation.

Adrias, of Roxas City in Capiz, turned 31 on March 7. Records show that he was employed at Al Bareeq Cleaning.

Adrias was the lone Filipino fatality in the bombing in Zawiya town in northeastern Libya. He was with three other overseas Filipino workers who suffered wounded in the attack, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. PNA

The Regions www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

BusinessMirror

Zamboanga City police station bombed

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AMBOANGA CITY— The police and military are conducting a thorough investigation to establish the motive, as well as unmask the assailants behind Good Friday’s homemade bomb explosion at a police station in this city.

Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City police chief, said three people were wounded in the explosion of an improvised explosive device around 7:55 p.m. on Friday in front of the Police Station 9 in Barangay Ayala.

One of the three victims was identified as Marvin Esperat, 14, the son of a civilian employee of the police station.

Esperat was seriously wounded and was subjected to emergency surgery to remove the shrapnels in his body.

The other two victims, identified as Magdalena Araneta, 61; and Ofelia Enriquez, 71, were slightly wounded.

They were passing by on their way home when the bomb exploded.

Casimiro said initial investigation showed that the bomb was placed on an impounded pickup truck parked in front of the police station.

Casimiro said the explosive ordnance demolition unit has yet to establish the type of homemade bomb used, although the blast site is positive for ammonium nitrate.

Muslim commission holds conference on Islamic finance

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HE National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) recently held the country’s first international conference on Islamic finance with the theme, “The Way Forward: Bringing the Muslim Filipinos to the Asean and the Muslim World.”

NCMF Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao said the conference was held to encourage Muslim Filipinos to join as partners in economic growth, not only in the nation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, but also across the wider Muslim world amid the perennial challenges caused by conflicts in Muslim Mindanao.

Party-list Rep. Sitti Djaliah T. Hataman of Anak Mindanao and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman were honored to attend the conference, which, they said, was “very crucial in pushing the agenda for the development of Islamic finance in the country.”

The conference focused on opportunities for developing Islamic financing, halal market, Awqaf (endowment), Hajj (pilgrimage), Islamic microfinance, cooperatives, and smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines.

Among those who attended are Islamic finance and industry experts from Zilzar, Tabung Hajj Alam Bhd. University Utara Malaysia (Awqaf) and International Council of Finance Educators (Malaysia); Korea United Muslim (South Korea); Global Market Access Middle East (Dubai), the World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center (Istanbul, Turkey), the World Bank Office Manila, Department of Science and Technology 12 and the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines. Dignitaries and officials are from the national government, international community, private sector, civil society, academe, the Bangsamoro Development Agency, Bangsamoro Business Club, and Federation of United Mindanawan Bangsamoro Women Multi-Purpose Cooperative and ARMM. The main principles of Islamic finance are interest-free financial transactions, risk-and-return sharing, socially responsible investments and prohibition of activities deemed not permissible in Islam. In the Philippines, Islamic finance stands as the way for greater economic participation of Muslim Filipinos. Also, it is expected to spur commercial activities by attracting Islamic funds and investments, particularly from Muslim countries. Sources show that global Islamic financial assets have been growing rapidly and is now estimated at $2 trillion, and that the halal food and beverage market has grown to a $1.1-trillion industry in 2013, which indicate increasing support and awareness worldwide.

briefs zambo norte’s 2 most-wanted persons fall ZAMBOANGA CITY—The police arrested two of the mostwanted persons in Zamboanga del Norte in separate operations on Thursday.

Insp. Dahlan Samuddin, Western Mindanao police command information officer, identified the arrested suspects as Romeo Gando, 39, and Lito Ruiz, 34.

Samuddin said Gando was arrested around 12 noon, Thursday in Barangay Poblacion, Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte.

Gando was listed as the third most-wanted person in Leon Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte, and has a standing warrant of arrest for murder with no bail recommended.

Samuddin said Ruiz was arrested around 9:30 a.m., Thursday in Barangay Balok, Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte. He said Ruiz, who has a standing warrant for murder, is listed as the fourth most-wanted person in Salug, Zamboanga del Norte. PNA

The blast shattered window glasses of the police station and a nearby house.

The police station was said to have received threats after the policemen assigned there had arrested three persons in an antidrug campaign.

Meanwhile, Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has assured that the city government will shoulder the medical expenses of the victims.

Army condemns BIFF attack on DSWD office

DATU SALIBO, Maguindanao—The Army’s Sixth Infantry “Kampilan” Division (6id) on Saturday condemned the rifle grenade attack on a government relief-agency building in a remote village here on Thursday night.

Capt. Joann Petinglay, speaking for the 6ID, said Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) gunmen attacked the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Barangay Pagatin.

The DSWD building houses relief goods for evacuees and was guarded by government forces.

As a result, four soldiers belonging to the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion were wounded.

The assailants used a 40mm rifle grenade fired from about 200 meters away.

Fighting in Maguindanao’s four adjoining towns have slowed down, with the BIFF relegated to conducting hit-and-run attacks against government forces.

While the Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Gregorio Catapang, ordered the termination of massive lawenforcement operations against the BIFF, the Army will continue its “small scale” offensives with the help of local government officials, who vowed to provide information on BIFF’s activities, Army officials here said.

Petinglay said all the BIFF encampments that fell to the government hands are now occupied by government forces.

These encampments are within what the Army called “SPMS box,” which refers to the towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin (Datu Salibo), Mamasapano and Shariff Saydona, all in Maguindanao. PNA

House to resume Mamasapano probe

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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HE leadership of the House of Representatives has vowed to strictly implement the rules when the investigation of the Mamasapano carnage by the the Committees on Public Order and Safety and on Peace, Unity and Reconciliation resumes this week.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II of Mandaluyong has admitted that the lower chamber’s February 11 hearing was marred by chaos as several lawmakers may have failed to control their enthusiasm to take part in the proceedings, that were televised live.

The botched Mamasapano mission on January 25 left 66 dead, including 44 National Police -Special Action Force commandos, 17 Moro gunmen and five noncombatants.

The Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by United Negros Alliance Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer of Negros Occidental and the Committee on Peace, Unity and Reconciliation chaired by Liberal Party Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman of Basilan are set to resume their joint investigation on April 7 and 8.

The police commandos were in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, to serve warrants of arrest on Basit Usman and Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, both with alleged links to the terrorist group Jema’ah Islamiyah.

“The committee will not entertain parliamentary inquiries or manifestations from noncommittee members who would like to speak when it is not yet their turn,” Gonzales said.

He said among the rules to be strictly implemented by the joint panel is that only the committee members will be prioritized and given the chance to ask questions tao resource persons.

Gonzales, however, said the non-members of the joint panel would still be given the chance to speak during the hearing.

According to the committee chairmen, each member will be given five minutes to ask questions during the whole day hearing.

Netizens had earlier criticized the first Congressional hearing on Mamasapano incident into a circus-like event.

imported cigarettes seized in zambo city

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Joint police and military personnel confiscated 92 boxes of imported cigarettes in this city, an official said.

Supt. Ariel Huesca, Zamboanga City police spokesman, said the cigarettes were confiscated around 8:50 a.m., Friday, at the local port.

Huesca, who is also the Zamboanga City Public Safety Co. (ZCPSC) commander, said the joint ZCPSC and Marines personnel were on security patrol when they chanced upon a drop-side pick-up truck loaded with boxes of cigarettes.

Huesca said the pick-up vehicle and the boxes of cigarettes was impounded at the police headquarters after the driver failed to present pertinent documents on the cargo.

He said the confiscated cigarettes will be turned over to the Bureau of Customs if the owner fails to present original and valid documents that prove that the cigarettes were brought into the country legally.

He said they have yet to determine the value of the confiscated imported cigarettes. PNA

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Church group urges govt, NDF to restart peace talks

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

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HE Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) has asked the government to resume peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF).

The talks were suspended in June 2011.

PEPP also lauded the call of Party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III of 1-BAP and other lawmakers for the government not to be too preoccupied with the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and proceed with the discussions with the NDF. “God blesses those who work for peace… [Matthew 5:9] and we laud our lawmakers who are peacemakers as well,” PEPP said.

In a statement signed by PEPP cochairman Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro and Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdez, as well as PEPP secretariat head Bishop Deogracias S. Iniguez Jr. of the Diocese of Caloocan, the group said it has been calling for a resumption of the talks since 2011 but no formal meetings have been held.

PEPP welcomed Bello’s call, saying “the efforts of our lawmakers to be peacemakers in

helping to break this impasse are very welcome, indeed.”

“The PEPP reiterates its call to both the government and the NDF to return to the negotiating table to address the substantive issues that remain as the root cause of armed conflict in our country,” the group said.

“Amid the Mamasapano debacle that has gripped the nation in recent months and its impacts on the peace process with the MILF, it is also a time to reflect on its implications to the government-NDF peace process,” PEPP added.

“The Mamasapano incident shows how fragile peace agreements are and the need for the people’s vigilance to see to it that accords are followed to the letter by the parties involved,” it also said.

“The whole Christian world is also observing the season of Lent when Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, triumphed over death so that God’s love could rule over darkness and hate.

Peace may seem elusive, but like Jesus’ victory over death, it can be achieved especially if the parties to the conflict engage in principled negotiations to address the roots of the armed conflict and mutually respect the agreements that have already been reached,” PEPP said.

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Fed has one more reason to delay rate hike amid March hiring slump

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hiccup in the jobs data may give Federal Reserve (the Fed) officials pause as they ponder the right time for a liftoff.

Employers in the US added 126,000 workers in March, the fewest since December 2013, Labor Department data showed on Friday. Revisions to prior months disappointed as well, subtracting 69,000 jobs from the previous counts for January and February.

The Fed is watching for the economy to reach or approach full employment and generate higher inflation before raising interest rates from near zero. Fed Chairman Janet Yellen and her colleagues last month opened the door to an increase as soon as June, while also suggesting in forecasts that September may be a more likely time.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Friday in a news statement to Bloomberg that the report doesn’t alter his view on policy. Lacker, who votes on policy this year, said in a March 31 speech that the case for raising rates will remain “strong” at the June meeting unless economic reports diverge “substantially” from projections.

“The payroll report was a bit disappointing, but this followed a fairly long run of strong reports,” Lacker said. “By itself, this doesn’t meaningfully change my economic outlook or my policy assessment.”

Winter weather

The jobs figures followed a spate of data showing the economy cooled in the first quarter as the oil patch weakened, bad winter weather limited consumer spending and the strong dollar hurt the nation’s manufacturers. The gain in March payrolls snapped 12 straight months of 200,000-plus monthly gains, the longest such stretch since 1995.

“This single report will not necessarily result in the Fed changing tack on its view of policy tightening this year,” Millan Mulraine, a research strategist at TD Securities USA Llc. in New York, wrote in a note after the report.

“What it will do is weaken the argument for a mid-year hike” and raise the stakes riding on the next few reports, he said.

The odds of a June liftoff implied by federal funds futures fell to 11 percent after the report from 18 percent on Thursday.

The implied probability of a September rate rise also slumped after the release, dropping to 35 percent from 39 percent as of 12:15 p.m. New York time on Friday.

Options on euro-dollar futures imply traders see only a 47-percent chance the Fed will raise rates this year and just a 55-percent chance of an increase by March 2016. The central bank has kept its main rate near zero since December 2008.

Upbeat outlook

Even with the softer jobs numbers, employment opportunities are keeping Americans upbeat, laying the ground for a rebound in spending. The unemployment rate held at 5.5 percent, the lowest level since May 2008, and worker earnings improved, the report also showed.

Hourly pay was a silver lining, rising by 0.3 percent from the prior month and 2.1 percent from a year earlier and in line with the average since the expansion began in June 2009.

Goods producers, including factories, builders and oil and gas support companies, cut jobs last month. Manufacturing payrolls dropped for the first time since July 2013 and the employment gain in the restaurant industry was the weakest since June 2012.

Payrolls in mining and logging, which include oilfield services, declined by 11,000 after a similar drop in February. Over the past three months, employment has fallen by 29,000 in those fields, the worst since a similar period ended in July 2009. Crude prices have slumped 54 percent since a June 2014 high.

Recovery dented

“We’ve taken a bit of a dent in the recovery,” said Ethan Harris, co-head of global economics research at Bank of America Corp. in New York, and a former Fed analyst. At the same See “Rate hike,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Ayala group leaves Metro Pacific alone in connector-road deal

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

he country’s oldest conglomerate is choosing its battles wisely, or at least it won’t stand against its comrades’ way in pursuing their own business agenda.

Ayala Corp., according to its top officials, is a good investment partner to Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—and so to its other business peers—so much so that it is choosing not to participate in the competitive challenge for the multibillionpeso road-development contract that aims to link the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and South Luzon Expressway.

John Eric T. Francia, who sits as one of the managing directors at Ayala Corp., said his company has no interest in the P14-billion road-link contract, which has been in limbo for five years now.

“In general, we are not that interested in price or Swiss challenges, unless it is critical or highly strategic to us,” he explained, quipping that the two groups, whose subsidiaries are rivals in the water infrastructure, energy and telecommunications industries, have fostered quite a good relationship in the Public-Private Partnership Program of the government.

The government has placed the multibillion-peso connector road under a Swiss Challenge, which essentially gives other partners the chance to submit a better offer than the proposal of the original proponent. The original proponent, meanwhile, has the right to match the offer. In this

case, Metro Pacific, the proponent of the 8-kilometer road network which will run from C-3 Road in Caloocan to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila, offered to do the project under a P14-billion multiyear-investment plan.

The initial proposal, submitted in 2010 as an unsolicited offer, carried a P22.95billion ticket cost, which will be used to construct a 13.4-km, four-lane elevated expressway that will extend all the way to Buendia in Makati City. It, however, reached an agreement with San Miguel Corp., which is currently building its own P26.5-billion Connector Road or the Skyway Stage 3, for the latter to construct the 5-km common alignment, cutting Metro Pacific’s proposal to P18 billion.

The technical components of the road were changed for another round, Manila North Tollways Corp. President Rodrigo E. Franco explained, hence its project cost was further reduced to P11 billion.

However, in order to accommodate the construction of the P287-billion NorthSouth Rail Project, the terms of the connector road were once again subject to revision. It now has a total cost of P14 billion, higher on a per-kilometer basis, than the original proposal.

It took the government half a decade to finally decide on the fate of the project.

Supposed to be completed before President Aquino bows out of office in 2016, the infrastructure’s completion was pushed by more than a year, partly due to the conflicting ideas of government officials as to how to fast-track the project’s implementation.

Cabinet officials were at odds as to how to implement the multibillion-peso transportation infrastructure project.

One sought the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board to implement the project under a joint-venture agreement with state-run Philippine National Construction Corp., hence the need to amend the existing supplemental toll-operations agreement of the Nlex.

Another high-ranking government official, who was compelled by a complaint submitted by a lawyer, said the project should undergo a Swiss Challenge, thereby stalling the implementation once more.

And yet, another Cabinet official, whose agency is the main implementing body for the project, said it can work both ways.

Finally, the government decided to roll out a Swiss Challenge, but a definitive date for the process has yet to be released. It takes at least three months for the state to complete the whole process. But, in reality, it takes governments about a year to finalize everything.

The process is expected to take center stage in June.

But, for now, Ayala Corp. will remain a steadfast partner of Metro Pacific, with its eyes away from what others look at as a prize.

“You choose your battle,” AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. Executive Vice President Noel Eli B. Kintanar said.

See “Ayala,” A2

HEALING MASS Devotees lift their hands in prayer, as they attend

the Black Saturday healing Mass at the Saint Padre Pio Parish and Shrine Church in San Pedro, Santo Tomas, Batangas. Holy Saturday is the final day of Lent, of Holy Week and of the Easter Triduum, the three days (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) immediately preceding Easter, during which Christians commemorate the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ and prepare for His resurrection. ROY DOMINGO

DBM, Aussie govt roll out reform measure on spending

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he Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has rolled out a reform measure that aims to enhance the skills of government budget and finance management officers in effective public financial-management systems to address corruption and prevent fund misuse.

The DBM’s Public Financial Management Program (PFMP) has partnered with the Australian government to implement the program, starting with the Department of Education (DepEd), the country’s largest bureaucracy and highest in terms of budgetary allocation and spending.

Paul Seeds, PFMP adviser, said the program aims to enhance data quality through incorporating data analysis and improving current business process. The reform measures also include change in management and communication to ensure that all key stakeholders are kept informed of activities and progress.

The program has initiated the training of 5,000 DepEd bookkeepers and disbursing/accounting officers on the Unified Account Code Structure, or UACS; implementation of the Treasury Single Account, or TSA; and bank reconciliation. The initial training also includes mapping of DepEd processes to meet the DBM’s functional requirements, as well as inventory and management of information technology and communications.

“We need to break the current cycle of constant arrears and deal with backlogs on a daily basis,” Seeds explained. “We are helping the DepEd move and streamline their financial management systems toward full automation.”

The DBM said the DepEd and other government agencies are still using manual spreadsheets, which can be both time-consuming and inefficient.

“Furthermore, where the systems are being used, in their current state, consolidation of data is under-

taken using labor-intensive ‘cut and paste’ methods in manual spreadsheets, and combined reports, such as the Budget and Financial Accountability Reports, have to be produced manually, as there are no system linkages currently,” he said.

Among the proposed reform measures in the public-management system include integration; harmonization; robust architecture; improved controls; streamlined consolidation with full audit trails; robust multiyear, multiuser functionality; and strengthened reporting and query capabilities.

“These developments will make transaction processing more efficient, through elimination of redundancy, simplifying and automating data consolidation, fully automating report production,” the DBM said in a news statement. “The systems will then be an enabler for placing greater focus on financial management and analysis as opposed to merely transaction processing.” Estrella Torres