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PHL explores paths to modern defense By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

Part One

EFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana has announced late last year that the government will be acquiring drones and small but fast boats from China through a $14-million Chinese grant, in the continuing effort to modernize the Armed Forces. Beijing, to which Manila is pivoting to under the current administration, has also pledged to provide an additional $500 million in soft loans, still for the equipment of Filipino soldiers, should President Duterte beg for more. The acquisition of Chinese drones and fastcraft followed a similar plan by the Department of National Defense (DND) to procure sniper rifles and, possibly, even other assets and equipment from Russia, as the country veers away from the West, its traditional ally. The assets and equipment from Beijing and Moscow were the first planned procurement for the Easternleaning Duterte administration, as it officially gets hold of the huge military modernization money, beginning next year.

Uncertain spending

WHILE it is certain the government will pursue the modernization program, given the assured funding by way of Republic Act 10349, or the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines

This file photo shows armored personnel carriers (APCs) running along Edsa. The previous administration is credited with buying equipment under a P90.86-billion budget, including 114 APCs, in a bid to modernize the Philippines’s defense capability. NONOY LACZA

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Continued on A2

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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Monday, April 24, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 193

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he unclear nontariff measures (NTM) being implemented by Asean countries are more protectionist in nature and hike costs for exporters in the region, according to a study released by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS).

The study titled “Review of IntraAsean Nontariff Measures on Trade in Goods,” noted that while tariffs have been near zero in Asean, a rising trend has been noted in the use of NTMs. “To be sure, a majority of these

NTMs are intended for justified reasons, such as sanitation and health, environment, security and consumer protection,” the study read. “However, there are also legitimate concerns that these NTMs are effectively mainly nontariff barriers

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Fuzzy nontariff measures harm Asean firms–PIDS By Cai U. Ordinario

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PPP Conversations: No. 1 with PPP Center PPP Lead

There are also legitimate concerns that these NTMs are effectively mainly nontariff barriers (NTBs), which are more protectionist in nature.

Alberto C. Agra

[NTBs], which are more protectionist in nature,” it added. The authors of the study, PIDS senior research fellow Erlinda M.

hat do stakeholders have to say about public-private partnerships (PPPs)? What are their PPP stories? What are their roles and perceptions? Starting today PPP Lead will feature PPP Conversations. This columnist will propound frequently asked questions to be answered by PPP stakeholders. Our first conversation will be with the PPP Center (PPPC), which will share with us its reason for being and its view on this developmental strategy. Agra: What is your concept of PPP? PPPC: PPPs are contractual arrangements between the government and the private sector, intended to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects or services. Republic Act (RA) 7718, or the Amended BOT law and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), generally govern PPPs in the Philippines, supplemented by other relevant policies that make up the country’s legal and institutional framework for PPPs.

See “Asean firms,” A2

Continued on A15

INFLATION TO ACCELERATE Senate bill eyes creation of new agency ON HIGHER OIL PRICES to implement national housing program By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

erceived elevated prices and wages, also called inflation expectations, persisted in the first three months and has even pushed closer to the top end of the anticipated range by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the period. The BSP said inflation expectations have not waned because of the perceived weakness of the local currency, as well as the rising price of oil the rest of the year. A recent survey of 30 private bank economists nationwide conducted by the BSP in the first quarter showed an elevated mean inflation forecast for both 2017 and 2018, compared to forecasts done in the final quarter last year. In particular, analysts and economists forecast inflation this year ramping up to 3.4 percent, from only

3.4 percent The inflation rate projected by analysts for 2017

3 percent when projected last December. The outlook for 2018 also consequently rose from 3.1 percent originally to 3.5 percent. The analysts attributed higher inflation expectations to a weaker peso, persistently high global oil prices, the pursuit of tax reform, the rise in electricity rates due to higher oil prices and maintenance shutdowns of some power plants, as well as higher government spending on infrastructure. The BSP also said economists worry over possible El Niño in the coming months, as well as transportfare adjustment as a result of higher oil prices. See “Inflation,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 49.8120

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

he Senate is set to work on a measure seeking to create a new executive agency consolidating the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board under one roof, to be known as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD). Allaying concerns the proposal would only result in a bloated bureaucracy, Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, the bill’s principal author, said the DHUD envisioned in Senate Bill (SB) 952 will not create another government layer in the civil service. Angara cited the recent unauthorized occupation by an urbanpoor group of state-built housing units for soldiers and policemen in

Pandi, Bulacan, as yet another compelling reason for the creation of a housing “super body”. The senator said the main objective of creating the DHUD, which shall take on the task to operationalize the constitutional mandate of implementing a continuing urban land reform and housing program in cooperation with the private sector, is to deliver an affordable, decent housing for Filipinos. In pressing Congress to frontload passage of SB 952 establishing a new housing department, Angara recalled that when he filed the bill last year, the housing backlog “stood at 3.9 million, and the country’s housing need was approximated to hit more than 6 million by 2030”. Angara said, “It is proper that an integrated approach is executed by all key shelter agencies of the government [led by the DHUD] to ef-

The proposed Department of Housing and Urban Development will be tasked to deliver affordable and decent housing for Filipinos. fectively create and to seamlessly implement a national housing program, considering the total need for new houses is 6.2 million by 2030, with 345,941 housing units needed to be constructed every year.” Saying the DHUD is envisioned to be the primary body of the national government responsible for the management of housing and urban development, the senator said it shall be “the sole and main planning and policy-making, regulatory, program coordination, and performance monitoring entity for

all housing and urban development concerns, primarily focusing on the access to and affordability of basic human needs,” quoting a portion of Section 4 of the bill. But Angara also hastened to clarify that the new housing body “will not be a ‘do-it-all’ agency”, as it will be formulating policies for national housing and urban development consistent with the Philippine Development Plan, “in coordination and consultation with local government units and other stakeholders”.

n japan 0.4557 n UK 63.8490 n HK 6.4069 n CHINA 7.2359 n singapore 35.6437 n australia 37.4885 n EU 53.3985 n SAUDI arabia 13.2839

Source: BSP (21 April 2017 )

A2 Monday, April 24, 2017

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PHL explores paths to modern defense Continued from A1

Modernization Act, how and where this money would be spent remains a question. Except for the Chinese and Russian equipment, the current administration is yet to craft its whole acquisition program, mainly by identifying the pieces of assets, equipment and armaments that it will acquire for the Armed Forces up to the end of Duterte’s term. The absence of a projected acquisition package has negated the defense and military establishments from drawing their lists of priority procurements, although National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. already said last year the Armed Forces would go for smaller assets over bigger ones. The seeming laxity of a procurement plan, along with a dedicated office and highly competent people, despite the nearly one year in office of the Duterte administration, may have been exacerbated by the fact that the military has yet to decide whether it should prioritize territorial defense over internal operations, given the “friendly” stance of the Commander in Chief with China. While Lorenzana has already inked two deals—the lease of five Japanese TC-90 aircraft, two of which have been delivered, and the procurement of two brandnew South Korean frigates worth P15,744,571,584—they still fall under the previous administration’s spending.

Asean firms. . . Continued from A1

Medalla and PIDS Project Development Officer Melalyn C. Mantaring, said the perceived costs of the NTMs vary across Asean. “ T hey are minima l for

Just a week before transferring the baton of leadership to Lorenzana last year, former Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin closed the DND’s Philippine Defense Reform (PDR) Program, the visionary track that he crafted and implemented to rebuild and strengthen the capabilities of the DND and the Armed Forces. Gazmin also shut down the subprograms under the defensereform initiatives that covered developments and improvements in the areas of personnel management system; logistics and acquisition capacity; and education and training of soldiers, reservists and reserve force and civilians.

Billions worth

AT the end of the Aquino administration in June last year, and with territorial defense as the foremost priority, the military has been equipped with at least P65.9 billion worth of assets and equipment under its modernization program. The funds did not beef up, but put in its inventory various types of flying, floating and moving air, sea and land assets; armaments and equipment that boosted its operational readiness and defense capabilities. From 2013 up to the end of this year, the previous administration has lined up 33 projects, with the projects and procurement totaling for over P90.86 billion. Among the equipment that were acquired were three Hamilton-class cutters; six multipurpose assault craft; 114 armored personnel carriers; three brandnew C-295 medium lift aircraft; Singapore, moderate for the Philippines, and very high for Myanmar. In addition, not all Asean member-states have clear and transparent rules on NTBs/ NTMs,” the report read. “Singapore is perceived as clear and transparent. The Philippines is in the midrange,” it added. According to the study, most of the NTMs being implemented by the Philippines are sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and techical barriers to trade (TBT). The authors said there is some negative perception of stability and risks to profitability from changes in regulations in Asean. Citing previous studies, they noted that while the reduction in tariffs has created “positive and significant” trade creation effects in Asean, the reduction of the NTMs with NTB effects would further enhance these positive impact. “Hence, the challenge for Asean countries, including the Philippines, is how to incorporate efficiency and facilitative measures in the implementation and ad-

Inflation. . . Continued from A1

Forecast inflation could have been higher, however, if not for so-called downside risks attributed to a possible return to low global oil prices, the slowdown of the Chinese economy, a yuan devaluation, as well as the likelihood of recession and deflation in Japan and the euro zone. The central bank has targeted inflation ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent for the year. Last year inflation proved lower than the bottom forecast when it fell to 1.8 percent instead. This year inflation averaged 3.2 percent in the first three months. Broken down, the survey of 23 bank economists showed an 88.6-percent change that inflation for 2017 should range within the BSP’s 2- to 4-percent target range. For 2018, the respondents assigned an 84.9-percent probability that inflation will fall within the 2- to 4-percent target range

three C-130 heavy transports and a squadron of FA-50 fighter jets, eight of which have been delivered. It also included 13 AgustaWestland AW-109 helicopters, five landing craft heavies, three multipurpose attack craft and two strategic sealift vessels, one of which is yet to be delivered by the contractor, PT PAL of Indonesia. Since the assumption of the Aquino administration in July 2010 and up to October 2014, at least 91 modernization projects were also completed. The overall procurement was afforded by RA 10349, or the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act, which was passed in December 2012, and which the Aquino administration allotted with a budget of P75 billion for its five years. The law extended the life for another 15 years of the expired RA 7898, or the original modernization law of the Armed Forces. The RA 7898, which was passed during the term of former President Fidel V. Ramos in 1995, and has a life span of 15 years with a mandated initial budget of P50 billion, was supposed to have modernized the military. It did not. The RA 7898, which spanned three administrations and ate up to the first two years of the former Aquino administration, was supposed to have given the military P331 billion in modernization funds. Only a total of P58.4 billion was released. Out of the P58.4 billion, P31.6 billion was provided during the 18 months of the Aquino administration. To be continued

ministration of NTMs,” the study read. “In this regard, improvements are needed to address at least two issues: transparency and regulatory reforms—both for removing unnecessary restrictions for streamlining procedures for NTMs,” it added. To promote transparency in NTMs, the authors recommended the creation of a comprehensive and updated database of the NTMs in the region and to establish a “robust mechanism” that will address the NTM issues, including harmonization of standards. They also said there is a need for capacity-building to help firms, especially small and medium enterprises to comply with SPS and TBT measures. For exporters, they said the first step is awareness of the applicable SPS and TBTs. “The next is understanding how to comply with these requirements and the third is where and how to proceed to comply. Capacity-building should thus include improvements interesting laboratories and facilities, accreditation and certification,” the study read. set for next year. The results of the first-quarter private economists survey mirrors the view of the majority of businesses in the country expecting inflation to increase. This was, however, in contrast to moderating inflation expected by the policymaking Monetary Board of the BSP. At their latest monetary policy meeting, the BSP revised forecast inflation averaging only 3.4 percent this year, down from February forecast of 3.5 percent. The forecast for 2018 was also revised from 3.1 percent to 3 percent. The BSP said the balance of risks influencing the inflation outlook remains tilted to the upside. The upside factors include the transitory impact of the proposed tax-reform program, as well as possible adjustments in transportation fares and electricity rates. The Monetary Board also noted the “beneficial effects” on inflation of the removal of quantitative restrictions on rice importation.

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Monday, April 24, 2017 A3

Army’s ‘Tabak’ Division troops attack terrorist lair in Lanao del Sur

ROOPS from the Army’s First Infantry “Tabak” Division (1ID) launched operations against terrorists who have sought sanctuary at the Piagapo Complex in Lanao del Sur, starting midnight on Friday.

Brig. Gen. Rolando Joselito D. Bautista, 1ID commander, said the operations has resulted in a series of gun battles between troops from the 103rd Infantry Division-Joint Task Force Zampelan and the terrorists belonging to the Maute Group. Bautista said the 1ID launched the operations following President Duterte’s order to destroy local terrorist groups that threaten the peace and security of the people. Bautista said the troops relied on the information provided by the townfolk and the local governments, that pinpoint the whereabouts of the bandits operating in Lanao del Sur. At around 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, an intense firefight broke

‘Regularize 24.4M contractuals, not only 45,605 govt personnel’ By Marvyn N. Benaning | Correspondent

HE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) should not brag about regularizing 45,605 government personnel since the entire country has 24.4 million contractual workers. Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMO) Chairman Elmer Labog said before the Dole crows about its “success”, it must also “ponder just how iniquitous its latest department order on scrubbing labor-only contractualization really is”. Labog noted that it was Duterte’s campaign promise to wipe out contractualization once he wins. “To turn Duterte’s promise to reality, the government should aim to regularize all contractual workers hired under all forms of contractualization and not just a small fraction,” he added. “Workers cannot be expected to instantly rejoice over the Dole’s claim, since 45,605 is just a small fraction of the estimated 24.4 million contractual Filipino workers. Worse, the Dole’s drive only aims to regularize those hired under labor-only contracting scheme while neglecting the fact that the majority of contractual workers are employed under agencies through job contracting schemes,” Labog added. “There is also a question on how the DOLE regularized these 45,000 workers. It would be grossly condemnable if they were regularized under labor-contracting agencies and not through absorption by their principal employers, which is the drive of the recently implemented Department Order 174. Regularization through agencies is still contractualization. If such were the case, then the DOLE did not regularize workers but merely facilitated a legalized modern-day slave trade,” Labog said. “Filipino workers remain steadfast and assertive of our position that all forms of contractualization must stop. Both the illegal laboronly contracting and the legal job contracting violate our rights and dignity and should, therefore, be banned,” he added. “We challenge President Duterte to fulfill his commitment to heed our emand to end contractualization. If Duterte wants his promise to become a reality, he should junk the Dole’s Department Order 174 and work toward the ending all forms of contractualization and regularize all 24.4 million contractual workers in the country,” Labog also said.

MWSS chief elected to AWC board

DMINISTRATOR Reynaldo V. Velasco of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) was been elected as director of the Asia Water Council (AWC) during the recent Fourth AWC meeting in Beijing, China. AWC President Hak Soo-lee formally welcomed Velasco who briefly addressed the delegates to the AWC meeting, saying, “It is my honor to represent the Philippines and the MWSS as a member of the Asia Water Council and I thank everyone for this warm welcome.” The AWC is a global network focused in providing tangible solutions on Asian Water Challenges and facilitating multilateral discussions among stakeholders. The AWC coordinates with stakeholders during identification and implementation of tangible solutions. AWC Executive Director Yongdeok Cho said the AWC was organized in June 2014, when the Asian Water High Level Round Table was held in Korea, wherein a majority consensus was arrived at that Asia needed to tackle its collective water problems. Likewise, Velasco has also been invited as one of the resource speakers of the forthcoming Asia International Water Week (AIWW), a forum for sharing AWC’s professional achievements, as well as knowledge sharing with other professionals’ experience and networks. The MWSS chief is expected to lecture on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the waterworks industry in the first AIWW and Korea International Water Week (KIWW) to be held from September 20 to 23 in Gyeongju, South Korea. “As part of my presentation, I will present and highlight the successful public-private partnership among MWSS and the three concessionaires—Manila Water, Maynilad and Bulacan Bulk Water—as an effective Legal Framework for SDGs on water-supply development, operations and management,” Velasco said. Velasco, a retired three-star police officer and professional manager, was appointed as MWSS administrator on February 20. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

out between the operating troops and the local terrorist groups. There were reports that the bandits sustained heavy casualties but these have yet to be verified, Bautista said. No casualty has been reported on the government side. The fighting was still going on as of Sunday afternoon.

NPA rebs attack Davao tourist spot

Meanwhile, communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels attacked facilities at the Aliwagwag Falls, one

of the main tourist destinations in Davao Oriental, at around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, an official said. “No tourist was injured in the attack,” Capt. Rhyan Batchar, chief information officer of the 10th Infantry “Agila” Division, said in a telephone interview. Aliwagwag Falls is in Cateel town. Batchar said a team of the Army’s 67th Infantry Battalion was assigned to the tourist spot to secure visitors, as the place is frequented by tourists during summer. He said around 40 members the NPA’s Southern

Mindanao Regional Command staged the attack. A member of the 67IB was wounded during the attack, but his name was withheld pending the notification of his next of kin. Batchar said the 67IB team was able to defend its position while the NPAs withdrew northwest of Aliwagwag Falls. The gun battle lasted for almost an hour, he added. “The place is secured right now. Pursuit operation is ongoing against the fleeing rebels,” he said. Nonie Reyes with Philippines News Agency

Economy

A4 Monday, April 24, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

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PHL banking on RE to hike power supply

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Telcos must cooperate with competition body—PIDS study By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

Windmills generate electricity at Burgos Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte. FILE PHOTO

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

he Department of Energy (DOE) said it wants the share of renewable energy (RE) to increase by at least 20,000 megawatts (MW) by 2040.

“It is vital in our vision toward attaining 20,000 megawatts of renewable-energy capacities by 2040,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said during the launch of the Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) for the country. RRA is a collaboration among the DOE, International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and other RE stakeholders from both the public and private sectors. The DOE chief said that with the Philippine governments’ aggressive stance towards building RE capacities, there is a “need to identify and analyze key challeng-

es to further guide our stakeholders in our policies, regulatory and institutional framework”. He said formulating RRA involved research, interviews, focus group discussions and several multistakeholder consultations. The goal, he added, is to provide a comprehensive and detailed analyses of the country’s RE profile in order to recommend measures to deal with the pertinent issues in the industry. Cusi said the Philippine RRA will also contribute to a database of the status of renewables readiness across member-countries of Irena. The RRA is also meant to serve

as a forum with industry stakeholders to inform them on its results, solicit their views in carrying out the recommendations and discuss opportunities and challenges of the RE sector. Irena is an intergovernmental organization that supports countries in transitioning into a sustainable energy future. It serves as the principal platform for international cooperation and an avenue to explore other values of RE as it promotes widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms in the pursuit of sustainable development. “The DOE is committed to provide a level of playing field among RE developers to assure the country of its indigenous and sustainable energy for the consuming public,” Cusi said. Meanwhile the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) authorized two RE applicants to develop and own their respective point-to-point limited facilities to connect to the Visayas grid in line with the government’s drive to encourage gen-

Alabang transmission lines affected by fire reenergized—NGCP

he National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has reenergized lines 1 and 2 of its Biñan-Muntinlupa 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line, following a fire incident that damaged its transmission tower in Alabang last week. “We were able to re-energize Biñan-Muntinlupa 230 kV lines 1 and 2 just a few hours after we set Tower 34 to its temporary location at the rightmost lane of the Alabang exit. The energization entails full utility of the line and easing the loads of the same facility’s lines 3 and 4,” NGCP said. Tower 34 of the said line leaned on April 19 due to a fire caused by informal settlers living underneath the tower. Although the legs of the tower were extensively damaged due to the fire, the pylon did not topple and did not cause any interruption of transmission services. As a redundancy measure, NGCP transferred the power carried by lines 1 and 2 to lines 3 and 4, ensuring that power service delivery to its customers continues. Once the fire was extinguished, NGCP immediately mobilized its personnel to assess the extent of the damage and, at the same time, prepared all necessary machinery and resources to expedite the restoration of the tower and reenergization of the line. NGCP mobilized cranes to lift the leaning tower and prepared it to be set to its temporary position. The setting of the tower was completed with minimal disruption to traffic passing through the Alabang viaduct. NGCP was also in full coordination with the Manila Toll Expressway System and local traffic management offices to make sure that effects to motorists and the public will be minimized while

‘No truth to NFA claim of high palay-buying price’ By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

non-governmental organization said the National Food Authority (NFA) lied when it said it was unable to buy paddy rice from local farmers because private traders bought their crop at a higher price. Arze G. Glipo, executive director of Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF), said the NFA “deliberately rejected” the option of buying palay from local farmers as it was purportedly decided on importing rice to fill up the country’s buffer stock. “The government can actually raise the buffer stock to 15 days, but it opted not to,” Glipo told the BusinessMirror. She said farm-gate prices were relatively high when local farmers have not yet fully harvested all their crops. “At first, it was really beyond the NFA’s price

cap of P17,” she noted, “but now, it is reasonably lower.” Citing the Bicol region, Glipo said farmers there were selling their palay at P14 per kilogram, which was almost P5 lower than the P18.60 per kilo farm-gate price the NFA declared last Tuesday. “Our member-farmers in Central Luzon told us they were selling their palay at P15 to P16 per kilo,” the IRDF chief added. Glipo said the NFA is defying President Duterte as it continues to insist on importing rice to beef up its buffer stock. Earlier the NFA said it could not purchase paddy rice from farmers as private traders were buying their crop for P18 to P20 per kg, higher than its support price of P17 per kg. The NFA cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. The NFA had warned that sans importation, it would be hard-pressed to meet the 30-day buffer stock requirement of the Interagency Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council during the lean months, which would kick off in July.

PHL logistics sector needs ‘reinventing’ to raise appeal as a business destination

restoration works are in progress. “We are very relieved that the repair works have gone smoothly and we have minimized the impact of this accident to our customers, the nearby community, and the public. NGCP wants to make sure that we deliver on our commitment and in three days, we have,” NGCP stated. According to the company, repairs will still continue to construct the permanent structure at the original position. The company, once again, appealed to local government units and the public to help protect its transmission facilities by respecting right-ofway and safety clearances. “They also pose a hazard to the transmission facilities and to the public. We are asking those who are living under our transmission facilities to move to a safer location, away from our lines and towers to ensure that delivery of power to communities remain stable and uninterrupted,” NGCP said. Lenie Lectura

eration companies for alternative sources of electricity. The ERC authorized First Toledo Solar Energy Corp. (FTSEC) and Negros Island Solar Power Inc. (Islasol) to connect its solar power plants, each generating 60 MW and 40.5 MW, respectively. Islasol will link its solar power plant to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) Cadiz Substation, while FTSEC will be connecting directly to the NGCP CalungCalung Substation. Islasol and FTSEC were authorized by virtue of Section 9 of Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act [Epira] of 2001, which provides that “a generation company may develop and own or operate dedicated pointto-point limited transmission facilities that are consistent with the Transmission Development Plan [TDP], Provided, that such facilities are required only for the purpose of connecting to the transmission system, and are used solely by the generating facility, subject to prior authorization by the ERC.”

he Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) urged the country’s telecommunication giants to work with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to ensure their acquisition of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) telecommunication assets will benefit consumers. In a study, PIDS senior research fellow Erlinda M. Medalla said it was not too late for PLDT and Globe to work with the PCC. This will also ensure that their acquisition of SMC assets will not violate the PCC Act. This cooperation could entail agreeing on conditions, such as platform sharing and interconnectivity, as well as increased services and greater utilization of the newly acquired assets. “It is not too late for PLDT and Globe to work with the PCC [and National Telecommunications Commission] to ensure that there is [and will be] no violation of the Act and that the M&As [mergers and acquisitions] would, indeed, produce benefits. This can be done during the transition period, where the firms can ‘cure’ any violation if any, or may request for binding ruling from the PCC,” Medalla said. The author said the “timing and haste” by which the PLDT and Globe acquisitions of SMC’s telecommuni-

cation assets were “arguably suspect”. However, “a technica l loop hole” in the memorandum circulars issued by the PCC in lieu of a completed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) allowed the “transactions to proceed ”. Medalla explained that, in the case of mergers and acquisitions, the review process started upon the effectivity of the IRR of the Philippine Competition Act. With the IRR still being completed, the PCC issued Memorandum Circulars (MC) 16-001 and 16-002 to “require only authentic and proper notification of covered M&As executed after the effectivity of the Act but before the effectivity of the IRR to be deemed approved”. “There is added concern that the transactions have not been fully transparent about the terms in the cosharing agreement and the conditions set by the National Telecommunications Commission. Nonetheless, the MC provided a technical loophole for the transactions to proceed,” Medalla said. The PCC was created in February 2016 as provided for under Republic Act 10667, otherwise known as the Philippine Competition Act, passed in July 2015. Part of its mandate is to review M&As that may impede competition to the detriment of the consumers.

he Philippines has to “reinvent its logistics sector” to raise its visibility as a favored business destination in Asia, or increasingly lose out to neighboring countries, according to industry analysts. Owing to regulatory burdens, the country’s logistics industry is faring poorly compared to its peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Aida Velasco and Salie Siao said in an industry situationer recently. Moreover, logistics performance surveys indicate that the Philippines has been slowly backsliding, they added, speaking during a public consultation on regulatory burdens on industry organized by the Development Academy of the Philippines. “Given the low competitiveness standing of the country in comparison with its Asean neighbors with regard to logistics, the country has to reinvent its logistics sector to have a better chance in its bid to be a choice business destination in the Asia-Pacific region,” they said. “Given that the transportation sector and infrastructure that supports it are highly regulated by the government, a review of regulations that burden the players in the logistics industry should be reviewed to better support the ease of doing business in the country,” they further stated. In terms of global ranking, the Philippines’s standing has been fluctuating, they noted. In the World Bank’s Logistics

Performance Index (LPI), the Philippines placed 65th out of 160 countries in 2007. In 2010 the rank improved to 44th place, only to go down to 52nd in 2012. And in 2016 the Philippines’s ranking has worsened at 71st. The overall score of the Philippines’s logistics industry is further subdivided into six key dimensions, ranging from efficiency of the clearance process by customs and quality of trade- and transport-related infrastructure to ease of arranging competitively priced shipments. “From 2007 to 2016, the country’s LPI has shown a decreasing trend in these six dimensions,” Velasco and Siao said. Meanwhile, compared to its Asean neighbors, the Philippines is ranked sixth next to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. “It is notable that in 2010, our country has improved its overall ranking, where we came in fourth (Vietnam came in as fifth and Indonesia came in as sixth) but in 2012, our performance slowly regressed to seventh place after Brunei which recently joined the LPI ranking.” The presenters cited the challenges industry stakeholders said they are up against, which include red tape, unclear and poorly thought-out government regulations, informal payments, poor infrastructure, noncompliance with international agreements, such as the Asean Framework Agreement on Multimodal Transport, and lack of

skills development. Velasco and Siao enumerated a number of recommendations designed to invigorate the logistics sector. On policy-making, they cited the need to develop an integrated and long-term national master plan for supply chain and logistics; create an administrative agency for supply chain and logistics; and review, streamline and standardize logistics-related policies to promote efficiency and eliminate corruption. To improve efficiency, they pushed for automation of relevant government agencies. They also called for the implementation of the Asean Framework Agreement on Multimodal Transport. For infrastructure, it is crucial to promote the following: continuous development of transport infrastructure, capacity expansion of air and sea gateways, and improved efficiency of road freight transport. Also suggested is the use of rail for freight transport. And to professionalize the industry, “institutionalize a national skills development program for the manpower in supply chain and logistics industry”, they said. “The role of logistics in supporting the economic development of the country cannot be overlooked,” they added, naming it as one of the basic pillars of competitiveness as indicated in the Global Competitiveness Report 2016 of the World Economic Forum. Philexport News & Features

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RPOC-7 to assess peace-and-order situation after Asean meetings By Charles R. Pepito Correspondent

HE Central Visayas Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), headed by Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, will assess the peace-and-order situation of the region next week after the trade minister’s meeting of the Asean that started last Wednesday in Bohol. Davide set the tentative date on Thursday next week to ensure the attendance of other governors and top police and military officials of the region. Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto has his hands full with the hosting of the Asean Meetings by his province. Top officials of the Police Regional Office-7 and Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command are, likewise, fully occupied overseeing the security of Asean delegates in Bohol. Chatto’s presence is expected to provide important insights in dealing with terror threats following the siege by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) of Inabanga town, Bohol, on April 11. RPOC is composed of chief executives of local government units (LGUs), line agencies, the police and the military in Central Visayas. Expected to be at the top of RPOC7 agenda is the possible spillover of

the ASG’s presence in Bohol into its neighboring provinces. After a running gun battle with government troops in Barangay Napo, at least eight members of the bandits who survived the fierce firefight eluded arrest and are being pursued by the police and military forces up to now. The encounter left 10 people dead, including four members of the terror group, one of whom authorities believed to be their leader, Moumar “Abu Rami” Askali. The incident also prompted Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale to urge all barangay captains in the province to activate their Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN), especially in coastal villages, to help thwart the entry of the remnants of the ASG who are still on the run. “Residents could easily identify new faces who will enter their barangays. If they are the ones reporting to us through the BIN, chances are high their information can be reliable. They are the best source of information,” Magpale said. Magpale advised village officials to immediately contact the nearest authorities or the Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office if they notice suspicious individuals arriving in their areas so they could swiftly act on the information.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Monday, April 24, 2017 A5

Greenpeace to visit embassies to warn vs world’s biggest plastic polluters of oceans

By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The global environmentalist organization Greenpeace on Tuesday plans to go around the embassies of the world’s five leading plastic polluters of oceans to warn their governments to act on the companies’ massive littering of the environment.

The Greenpeace Southeast AsiaPhilippines announced on Sunday they would visit the embassies of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines on April 25 to appeal to their ambassadors to call on their governments to act on the wanton throwing of plastics that end up in the oceans. The group said it was doing the activity “on the urgency of the plastics pollution problem in

the region and with the upcoming Asean Summit commencing in Manila”. “Greenpeace Southeast Asia is bringing its message to the Asean community by delivering a letter of appeal by a giant animated Plastic Bag Man and Woman to the respective embassies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, and to the Philippines’s Department of Foreign Affairs,” it said.

“ The rate of plastics being dumped in the oceans annually is alarming, with the five memberstates of the Asean being named among the biggest sources of plastics pollution in the world’s oceans,” Greenpeace said. It cited a study conducted by the British-registered charity organization Ellen Macarthur Foundation, which projected the volume of plastics in the ocean to outweigh fish stocks by the year 2050. “Every year 8 million metric tons of plastic currently arrive in our oceans equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world,” the group said. A 2014 posting at the Internet web site of National Geographic Society described the convergence of waste flotsam in the Pacific Ocean as the Great Pacitic Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash Vortex. “ The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific Trash Vortex, spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan. The patch is actually

comprised of the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between the US states of Hawaii and California,” it said, adding the other oceans have developed their own trash vortexes. The size of the garbage in the Pacific has not been estimated yet, as scattered reports said it could be not less than 270,000 square kilometers, or the size of one state in the US, or even as big as the entire US itself. Earlier in February this year, Greenpeace and its allied environmentalist groups in the country warned on the proposed adaption by the Philippines of reducing plastic wastes through a method called gasification. Greenpeace said the technology would subject the plastic waste to high heat “in a starved-oxygen environment [and] it is classified as a form of incineration by the European Union and the US Environmental Protection Agency.” It said incineration has been banned in the Philippines since 1999.

Agriculture/Commodities

Monday, April 24, 2017 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

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‘Govt help needed to boost mango exports’ By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

he government should help local mango producers ramp up their production and go into value adding if it is keen on increasing their share in export receipts, according to the Philippine Mango Exporters Foundation Inc. (PMEFI). PMEFI President Roberto C. Amores said local mango producers remain uncompetitive as they continue to grapple with high production and freight costs. “We cannot compete with other [Asian] countries due to air freight cost and transit time. And if ever we can export [to Sweden], this will not be something significant,” Amores told the BusinessMirror. The PMEFI chief issued the statement in reaction to the recent pronouncement of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that it is exploring the possibility of shipping fresh mangoes to Sweden. He said if the government is

keen on exporting to European countries, then it should focus on shipping value-added products rather than fresh mangoes. “We should focus on processed mango products as local production is not even enough to supply the requirements of Asian markets like Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China,” said Amores, who is also president of the Philippine Food Exporters Confederation Inc. He urged the government to focus on helping farmers increase production and resolve technical matters, such as sanitary and phytosanitary issues, affecting exporters.

File photo

A g r icu lture Secretar y Emmanuel F. Piñol said he met with Sweden’s Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries recently. The envoy said his country is interested

in importing Philippine mangoes. “It is an exciting prospect to transport our mangoes, particularly those grown in Guimaras, to Sweden,” Piñol said in a statement.

Data obtained by the BusinessMirror from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the last time the Philippines exported fresh mangoes to Sweden was in

2010. Sweden bought 348 kilograms of fresh mangoes valued at $1,539. Pineapple is the top Philippine fruit export to Sweden. It also imports desiccated coconut, butterflies, tuna, biscuits, banana chips, coconut milk and coconut water from the Philippines. In 2016 the Philippines shipped 13,928.714 metric tons (MT) of fresh mangoes worth $12.57 million. Europe accounted for only 0.13 percent, or 6.68 MT, of mangoes exported by the Philippines. Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were the top buyers of Philippine fresh mangoes. The Philippines also exports dried mango and mango purée products to Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Finland, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. Europe accounted for 6.87 percent of the total dried mango exports of the Philippines last year. Local producers shipped 363.28 MT of dried mangoes, valued at $3.731 million, to European countries in 2016. The region also bought 212.559 MT of mango purée from the Philippines last year.

Review log ban to revive ailing Benguet farmers’ cooperatives wood processing industry–report get ₧2.79-M loan from DA

he government is being urged to review Executive Order (EO) 23, which places an indefinite log ban in the Philippines, as the order is seen as a major factor for the stagnation of the wood processing industry, according to a newly released study. “As an important downstream activity of the forestry sector, wood processing adds economic value to log, diversifies the products that can be produced from it, and increases the incomes and employment of involved communities,” said the report Reviving the Wood Processing Industry of the Philippines. “Despite these economic contributions, however, its practice has been in a decline in recent years,” added the report published by the Philippine Institute for Developmental Studies (PIDS). In the Caraga region alone, the number of processing firms had dwindled from 119 in 2010 to only 27 firms in 2015, said study author Danilo Israel. One reason perceived is EO 23, which declares a moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural and residual forests of the country. “The implementation of EO 23 affected not only the supply of wood products to the wood processing industry but also increased unemployment in the rural areas. It also encourages the practice of illegal

PIÑOL BACKS HOG RAISERS

logging,” noted the paper. In addition, “the unstable and inconsistent policies related to the wood processing industry have worsened the situation.” For instance, said the report, frequent policy changes related to the harvesting of logs have discouraged investments in wood processing. “The Philippine government has neglected the industry partly because of the strengthened environmental lobby favoring the log ban. Yet, at no other time in its existence [than now is the industry] in dire need of attention and assistance.” The PIDS policy note said that because of neglect, “the country’s wood processing industry value chain is saddled with numerous issues constraining its development”. Among these is outdated production equipment and technology leading to inefficiencies and low recovery rates that generate a large volume of wastes. Wood processing firms should be encouraged to retool, said the document. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can tap the Department of Science and Technology-Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program for their technological improvement. More importantly, “the industry needs a skills and technology road map, which can establish collaborative arrangements between indus-

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol consults with members of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. on April 17 at his office regarding how they will come up with policies to address the problems in the local poultry and livestock industry. During the meeting Piñol assured raisers that his administration will not protect anybody or any interest. He said there will be no policies implemented that do not undergo consultation with stakeholders. Some of the issues raised were meat shortage, tax incentives, position on offals and motion to increase slaughter weight. DA-AFID

try members to develop new technologies and promote highly skilled human resource”. Lack of collateral and the tedious loan application process is another hindrance. “MSMEs can open up to foreign investors and explore various government incentive programs to modernize. Meanwhile financial institutions should streamline and simplify loan application processes,” the report suggested. In addition, the inconsistent and inadequate supply of logs, both local and imported, prevents some firms from operating at full capacity, increases average costs, and hinders processing firms from benefiting from economies of scale. Moreover, some firms have reduced or stopped exporting due to their failure to compete with the lower-priced products of other Southeast Asian countries. MSMEs also lack the capability to develop new markets due to limited market intelligence. The country’s importation of cheaper yet substandard products, particularly plywood, from China creates an unfair competition for local manufacturers as well. To overcome all of these issues, the policy document recommends that firms promote product quality and work for certification, such as the Forest Stewardship Council-Chain of Custody certification that labels products as supportive of responsible forest management. It also calls on the government and trade associations to aggressively assist firms in marketing. The government can help MSME representatives attend relevant fora and symposiums through financial sponsorship and other means. For its part, the customs administration should strictly implement Philippine standards on imported wood products to prevent the entry of substandard wood into the country. Besides this, the government should actively support non-governmental and private reforestation efforts and consider the wide use of contract farming of trees. “Under contract farming, firms can help farmers secure pasture leases for vacant government lands they can convert into tree plantations,” said the paper. An aggressive research and development program for nonwood raw material inputs, like rattan, bamboo and nipa, should be conducted. Philexport News & Features

he Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Sunday that it has released loans amounting to P2.79 million through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) to two farmers’ cooperatives in Benguet. The DA said its attached agency released the loans to upland vegetable farmers of Lengaoan Indigenous Farmers Credit Cooperative (LIFCC) and the Pakiya MultiPurpose Cooperative (PMPC). The amount is expected to benefit 39 vegetable farmers. “The ACPC released the loans to upland vegetable farmers during the loan disbursement ceremony held recently at the Benguet AgriPinoy Trading Center in La Trinidad, Benguet,” the DA said in a statement. Agriculture Undersecretary for High Value Crops and Rural Credit Evelyn G. Laviña and ACPC Executive Director Jocelyn Alma R. Badiola led the loan disbursement ceremony.

The loan release is the first batch of the P7-million credit fund allocations to LIFCC and P1.5 million to PMPC to support vegetable production activities of their members, according to the DA. “The loan was under the DA’s Program for Unified Lending to Agr iculture (Punla), Agr iculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol’s commitment to provide fast, convenient and af fordable loans to farmers and fishers in priority areas nationwide,” the DA said. In February the ACPC Governing Council, the highest policymaking body of the ACPC, agreed to trim down the seven existing loan programs of the ACPC to two to three credit facilities under Punla. The ACPC Governing Council is comprised of the heads of the DA, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the departments of Finance and Budget and Management and the National Economic and

Development Authority. With an initial funding of P200 million, Piñol said Punla targets to boost the respective agri-fishery industries of the 10 poorest provinces in the country-Apayao, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato, Sarangani, Maguindanao, Eastern Samar, Western Samar and Northern Samar. Badiola said borrowers may avail up to P150,000 loan at a 6-percent interest rate with oneyear maturity. The DA said the individual loans to farmers will be released by the Philippine Veterans Banks (PVB) through automated teller machine (ATM) cards issued by the bank to the farmer-borrowers. The ATM card will also serve as the farmers’ savings account. It has a maintaining balance of only P100 and is offered by the PVB exclusively to Punla borrowers. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Canadian PM responds to Trump’s criticism of dairy industry

ORONTO—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that he plans to be respectful and engage the United States with a fact-based approach to solving problems a day after President Donald J. Trump called Canada a “disgrace” for policies that hurt American farmers. Trudeau said during a news conference alongside visiting Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Parliament Hill that he will stand up for Canada’s interests and people. “The way to do that is to make arguments in a respectful fashion, based on facts, and work constructively and collaboratively with our neighbors,” said the Liberal leader. The US president took aim at Canada’s dairy industry this week for creating a new lower-priced classification of milk product that he argues hurts US producers. Trump said it has put farmers in Wisconsin and New York state out of business.

Canada changed its policy on pricing domestic milk to cover more dairy ingredients, leading to lower prices for Canadian products, including ultra-filtered milk that competes with US milk. Canada’s dairy sector is protected by high tariffs on imported products and controls on domestic production as a means of supporting prices that farmers receive. Trump said on Thursday “what they’ve done to our dairy farm workers is a disgrace”. The US president criticized Canadian policies related to a few industries including lumber, timber and energy, adding that officials will have to get to the negotiating table with Canada very quickly. Trump also said this week he would make “some very big changes” to the Nafta treaty with Canada and Mexico or “we are going to get rid of Nafta once and for all”. The threat to get rid of or alter Nafta is a potential problem for Canada, whose biggest trade part-

ner is the US. Gentiloni and Trudeau on the other hand were keen to display their support for free-trade and open borders, including the Canada-EU free-trade pact, amid growing populist opposition. Gentiloni, who had been in Washington on Thursday, said Canada and Italy share a common, pro-trade world view and that they live in “interesting times”. He also said the antitrade movement is bigger than one single country. “The US president’s opinions are perfectly legitimate,” the Italian leader said through a translator. “But we have to be aware of the fact that this push goes against free trade as a catalyst for world growth...that is why we need to work politically, culturally and economically to fight against this trend.” Italy is to host the G7 leaders’ summit next month, which will be part of Trump’s entry into the world of multilateral summitry. AP

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Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • Monday, April 24, 2017

Trump tax plan seen as temporary without BAT

resident Donald J. Trump has promised a “massive” tax cut for Americans. He may be able to achieve it—but only temporarily, if the changes can’t meet the criteria needed by lawmakers to make permanent changes. News that Trump’s plan isn’t likely to include a border-adjusted tax (BAT) suggests his proposed tax measures won’t meet the standard of revenue neutrality. That’s because the border tax that House Speaker Paul Ryan has proposed would generate more than $1 trillion in revenue over a decade, helping to pay for individual and corporate rate cuts. “BAT is a big number, so it makes you wonder how they get to revenue neutrality without it,” said economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the president of the conservative advocacy group American Action Forum in Washington and a supporter of the borderadjusted tax. “On the campaign, they didn’t mention revenue neutrality, so maybe they don’t care.” Treasur y Secretar y Steven Mnuchin on Saturday repeated the administration’s goal of getting “sustainable” economic growth of 3 percent or higher, and said Trump is

counting on tax reforms to pay for themselves by boosting the economy and tax receipts along with it. Mnuchin, in recent months, has forecast growth as high as 4 percent. “The difference of a little over 1 percent of GDP over a 10-year period of time can generate as much as $2 trillion of revenue in the United States,” Mnuchin said at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington. “There’s no question: we’re looking at reforms that will pay for themselves with growth.” Before Saturday’s remarks, senior administration officials, including National Economic Council Direct Gary Cohn, as well as Mnuchin, signaled at an Institute of International Finance conference on Thursday that the administration is more concerned with growth and job creation than revenue neutrality in crafting its reforms. White House Budget Director

Mick Mulvaney echoed that point in a Bloomberg TV interview on Friday. “Deficits are not driving the discussion,” Mulvaney said. “Deficits are certainly part of the discussion. But we’re not starting off saying, ‘How do we do something that’s deficitneutral?’ We’re starting off saying, ‘How do we get economic growth?’” Revenue neutrality is important to Congress, though. Republicans hold just 52 of the Senate’s 100 seats, and normal Senate rules impose a 60-vote threshold for legislation to avoid potential filibusters from opponents. Senate Republicans could instead use a process known as budget reconciliation, which would allow a tax bill to be passed with a simple majority. But under that process, any legislation that added to the deficit would have to be set to expire after 10 years. Ryan’s BAT proposal, which would replace the 35-percent corporate income tax with a 20 percent tax on US companies’ domestic sales and imports, would have provided some cushion in terms of revenue. But the concept hasn’t gained much support among Republicans. And retailers, carmakers and oil refiners that rely on imported goods have said the tax would raise prices on consumer goods. If Trump doesn’t support the measure, its chances of success will flag, as will the prospects of lasting tax cuts. A corporate tax cut that wasn’t

revenue neutral could expire after just two years under reconciliation rules, George Callas, Ryan’s chief tax counsel, said at the IIF conference. The Associated Press reported on Friday that Trump said his plan will result in “massive” tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. The cuts will be “bigger, I believe, than any tax cut ever”, he said, according to the AP report. Trump touted the coming announcement again on Saturday, telling his 28 million Twitter followers that “Big tax reform and tax reduction will be announced” on April 26. Mnuchin’s comments on Saturday echoed his earlier prediction that most of the funding would come from the administration’s anticipated increase in economic growth, thanks to so-called dynamic budget scoring, and not from such revenue-raising changes to the tax code as the elimination of certain deductions. “Some of the lowering in rates is going to be offset by less deductions and simpler taxes,” Mnuchin said. “But the majority of it will be made up” by dynamic scoring. Under dynamic scoring, a tax plan’s revenue effects are considered in the context of the plan’s impact on economic growth and consumer well-being. The process can be contentious—economists disagree on the best ways to predict such effects—but Mnuchin has repeatedly

emphasized its importance to the Trump plan. The debate over dynamic scoring goes back to at least 1980, when George H.W. Bush accused Ronald Reagan of practicing “voodoo economics” in contending that his proposed tax cuts would pay for themselves as the pair vied for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. While economists generally don’t believe that tax cuts are self-financing, there’s growing agreement that they can lead to faster growth and with it additional tax revenues. The question is how big that effect would be.

50 cents payback

Donald Marron, who served on former President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, said the administration’s apparent estimate of the favorable feedback effects from lower taxes was “surprisingly large”, although he cautioned he hadn’t seen the details of the plan. Holtz-Eakin, who also served in the Bush administration, was skeptical as well. He said he worries that the administration’s projections of the tax cuts’ economic benefits are far larger than it would be reasonable to assume. “If you get 25 cents to 30 cents on the dollar, it would be counted as a quite successful tax reform plan,” Holtz-Eakin said. Mnuchin’s estimates suggest the administration is looking for a 50 cents-plus payback.

Other hurdles

Besides revenue neutrality, the White House faces other roadblocks to a tax overhaul. The administration still has to get the tax-writing committees in the House and Senate on board with whatever it proposes. Additionally, legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act— which includes almost $1 trillion in potential tax cuts of its own— remains an uncertain prospect. The Senate Finance Committee was unaware of what the White House tax plan would entail and hasn’t seen a rough draft, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. The committee has been having regular discussions with Treasury and White House officials on a tax overhaul, but was surprised by Trump’s statement that a tax plan would be coming on Wednesday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because deliberations are private. And if Trump backs away from the controversial border-adjusted tax proposal, he risks damaging relations with Ryan, who’s staked considerable political capital on the measure. Beyond that, if his plan truly doesn’t pay for itself, Trump may find it hard to find broad support in Congress. “A plan that has no offsets is not a thing,” Callas said. “It can’t begin to move through Congress. Members wouldn’t vote for it.” Bloomberg News

A10 Monday, April 24, 2017

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French vote after tight, grueling campaign

rench voters begin voting on Sunday to select two presidential candidates for the runoff round of the 2017 election, whose results have the potential to determine how far the populist wave in Europe will go. In a campaign that has remade the nation’s political landscape, four candidates with radically different visions are in a position to qualify for the next round, according to dozens of public opinion surveys. They are Marine Le Pen, who wants to pull France out of Europe’s single currency; Jean-Luc Melenchon, who wants to remake the rules that govern that monetary union; François Fillon, a former prime minister who wants tough economic reforms; and Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old centrist pro-European who has held a narrow but expanding lead for the past week. “For weeks the French have been stating their frustration with an unsatisfactory campaign,” wrote pollster Bruno Jeanbart in a note for the Fondation Jean Jaures. “Ultimately they have to chose between four drastically different candidates with

almost identical chances of success.” The campaign has been long by French standards, kicking off in earnest last September as the Republicans held their first-ever primary contest, and it has overturned traditional French politics. Of the two parties that have run France for the past half-century, the governing Socialists have been reduced to an also-ran; their candidate, Benoit Hamon, is running in the single digits. The Republicans, led by Fillon, also may fail to make the runoff vote. Polls opened at 8 a.m. Paris time and will close at 7 p.m. in rural areas and 8 p.m. in big cities. Results will be released starting at 8 p.m. on Sunday and the top two finishers of the 11 candidates will go into a runoff that will be decided on May 7. Macron became the front-runner even though the party he founded is

At least 100 casualties in Afghanistan attack

A BU L , A fg h a n i st a n— Authorities on Saturday raised the casualty toll to 100 in an attack on a military compound in northern Afghanistan a day earlier by gunmen and suicide bombers wearing army uniforms. Gen. Daulat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense, said the attack last Friday on a compound of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army left dozens of soldiers and other personnel dead or wounded. Reports conflicted on the death toll, but at least two sources within the army corps and a provincial security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media, confirmed that more than 130 people were killed and at least 80 others were wounded. The Defense Ministry had said last Friday night that eight soldiers were killed and 11 others were wounded in its initial reports. Gen. Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said the militants entered the base in Balkh province using two military vehicles and attacked army personnel inside the compound’s mosque. “Two suicide bombers detonated their vests full of explosive inside the mosque of the army corps while everyone was busy with Friday prayers,” he said. Waziri said there were 10 attackers, including the two who carried out the suicide attacks. Eight others were killed in a gun battle with soldiers. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in an e-mail sent to media. President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday traveled to the base and strongly condemned the attack, according to a tweet from the official Twitter account of the presidential palace. “The attackers are infidels,” Ghani was quoted as saying in the tweet. Ghani announced that Sunday would be a day of national mourning, with memorial services across the country’s mosques and the Afghan flag flying at half-mast, in a statement issued by the Presidential Palace.

Afzel Hadid, head of provincial council in Balkh told The Associated Press that more than 100 people, both army personnel and others present at the time inside the army crops, were killed in the attack. “The exact number is still not verified, but for sure we know more than 100 were killed in the attack,” said Hadid. One of the attack survivors, an Afghan army soldier, Mohammad Hussain who was wounded and transported to a hospital in Mazare-Sharif said “Three people in an Afghan National Army vehicle started shooting at us when we finished Friday prayers, they are the enemies of the country.” “I don’t know maybe they had someone inside to help them to bring the vehicle inside. There are seven to eight checkpoints from the main gate and without inside help this vehicle cannot enter the compound and get to the mosque.” In the Taliban’s detailed statement on the attack posted on its official web site, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said four of the 10 attackers were disguised as soldiers at the time of the attack. The Taliban statement said the attack was retaliation for the killing of the Taliban governor of Kunduz province, Mullah Abdul Salam Akhund, and threatened more violence against the army and police, saying “this year’s operations will be painful”. Local TV footage showed hundreds of people gathered outside the army crops waiting to find out if their relatives had been killed or wounded. In March an attack on a military hospital in the capital Kabul killed 50 people. Responsibility for that attack was claimed by the Islamic State group. According to officials, five attackers were involved, including one suicide bomber who detonated an explosives belt and four gunmen who stormed the building. The 209th corps is located in the Dihdadi district of Balkh. It is one of seven corps of the country’s Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for providing security for Afghanistan’s northern and northeastern provinces. AP

France’s top presidential candidates (from left) Macron, Le Pen, Fillon and Melenchon. Bloomberg

24.5% & 22.5% The percentage of voters’ support for Emmanuel Macron and and Marine Le Pen, respectively, based on Bloomberg composite polls barely over a year old and he has never before held elected office. Jostling with him for first place is Le Pen, 48, who moved her father’s National Front party from unacceptable in polite society to the center of the conversation—if still holding anti-immigration and anti-euro positions. Fillon, 63, lost his lead in the polls after a legal tussle over whether he hired his wife for a parliamentary staff job for which she did no work. And Melenchon, 65, and

from the extreme left, unexpectedly moved up to fourth place in part because his campaign featured extensive use of social media, not to mention appearances by hologram and a video game. Before polling was suspended by law on Friday, Bloomberg’s composite of French polls showed Macron had 24.5 percent support and Le Pen was in second place with 22.5 percent. While Fillon and Melenchon have the backing of 19.5 percent and 18.5 percent of the electorate, respectively, the margins of error leave room for an upset, pollsters say. Hamon is at 7 percent. An extra element of uncertainty entered the campaign late on Thursday when a man shot dead one policeman and injured two others in the center of Paris. The assailant was shot and killed as he tried to escape. US President Donald J. Trump

said on Friday in an interview with the Associated Press that the incident will “probably help” Le Pen because she is “strongest on borders and she’s the strongest on what’s been going on in France.” The nation has under a state of emergency since terror attacks in November 2015. The French election comes as Frauke Petry’s Alternative for Germany party is riven by internal dissent five months before German elections and after Dutch voters gave Geert Wilders’s anti-EU Freedom Party 20 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament. He is not included in ongoing coalition talks. Before that, Iceland’s populist Pirate Party finished worse than expected in national elections. The French election results could be so close that it may not be immediately clear which two candidates qualify for the May 7 runoff,

campaign officials for Le Pen and Fillon said, with the assumption being that Macron would qualify. Surveys show Le Pen would eventually lose to any rival in the second round. A late surge in support for Melenchon, who is backed by the Communist Party, has pushed French bond yields close to a four-year high. Melenchon would lose to Macron but would beat Fillon in the runoff, polls show. Here’s a brief rundown of what happens when, in Paris’s time zone: 8 a.m. Sunday: polls open in mainland France; 12 p.m. Sunday: Interior Ministry releases first details of turnout; 5 p.m. Sunday: Interior Ministry updates turnout figures; 7 p.m. Sunday: polls close outside major cities, counting begins 8 p.m. Sunday: Final polls close. Both the Interior Ministry and pollsters who participate in counts publish preliminary results. Historically these numbers have immediately showed who the finalists were, though races have rarely been this close, with this many candidates. Pollsters, among others, have struggled to cope with the tightness of the race and the high proportion of undecideds. Results will roll in throughout the evening, but how long is anyone’s guess. Pollsters say Sunday’s final result may take hours after polling places shut their doors. Bloomberg News

Chinese jihadis’ rise in Syria raises concerns at home

EIRUT—Many don’t speak Arabic and their role in Syria is little known to the outside world, but the Chinese fighters of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Syria are organized, battled-hardened and have been instrumental in ground offensives against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the country’s northern regions. Thousands of Chinese jihadis have come to Syria since the country’s civil war began in March 2011, to fight against government forces and their allies. Some have joined the al-Qaeda’s branch in the country previously known as Nusra Front. Others paid allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group and a smaller number joined factions such as the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham. But the majority of Chinese jihadis are with the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria, whose vast majority are Chinese Muslims, particularly those from the Turkic-speaking Uighur majority native to Xinjiang in China. Their growing role in Syria has resulted in increased cooperation between Syrian and Chinese intelligence agencies who fear those same jihadis could one day return home and cause trouble there. The TIP is the other name for the East Turkistan Islamic Movement that considers China’s Xinjiang to

This frame grab from video provided in August 6, 2016, by Turkistan Islamic Party, a militant web site outlet that is consistent with independent Associated Press reporting, shows an Asian fighter from the Turkistan Islamic Party reads a statement, in Aleppo, Syria. Militant Website Turkistan Islamic Party via AP

be East Turkistan. Like most jihadi groups in Syria, their aim is to remove Assad’s secular government from power and replace it with strict Islamic rule. Their participation in the war, which has left nearly 400,000 people dead, comes at a time when the Chinese government is one of Assad’s strongest international backers. Along with Russia, China has used its veto power at the UN Security Council on several occasions to prevent the imposition of international sanctions against its Arab ally. Beijing has blamed violence back at home and against Chinese targets

around the world on Islamic militants with foreign connections seeking an independent state in Xinjiang. The government says some of them are fleeing the country to join the Jihad, although critics say the Uighurs are discriminated against and economically marginalized in their homeland and are merely seeking to escape repressive rule by the majority Han Chinese. Abu Dardaa al-Shami, a member of the now-defunct extremist Jund al-Aqsa group, said the TIP has the best Inghemasiyoun, Arabic for “those who immerse themselves”. The Inghemasiyoun have been

used by extremist groups, such as IS and al-Qaeda’s affiliate now known as Fatah al-Sham Front. Their role is to infiltrate their targets, unleash mayhem and fight to the death before a major ground offensive begins. “They are the lions of ground offensives,” said al-Shami, who fought on several occasions alongside TIP fighters in northern Syria. Xie Xiaoyuan, China’s envoy to Syria, told reporters last November that the two countries have had normal military exchanges focused on humanitarian issues, although Chinese officials have repeatedly rejected the possibility of sending troops or weapons. In the last year, however, Chinese and Syrian officials have begun holding regular, once-a-month high-level meetings to share intelligence o militant movements in Syria, according to a person familiar with the matter. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to reveal military secrets. “These people not only fight alongside international terrorist forces in Syria, but also they will possibly return to China posing threat to China’s national security,” said Li Wei, terrorism expert at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations and Director of the CICIR Institute of Security and Arms Control Studies. AP

Plight of Palestinian refugees now spans 5 generations

ERASH CAMP, Jordan—As a boy, Palestinian Abdullah Abu Massoud fled the war over the birth of Israel in 1948 and sought refuge in the nearby Gaza Strip. As an adult, Abu Massoud was displaced again when Israeli forces captured Gaza, along with the West Bank and east Jerusalem, in 1967. He escaped to Jordan, where he has been living in a refugee camp for 50 years. Now 77, Abu Massoud is the whitehaired patriarch of a refugee family spanning five generations, including a great-great-granddaughter. The future looks bleak. “Fifty years have passed without a step forward,” Abu Massoud said. “We don’t belong here.” The plight of Palestinians uprooted by Israeli-Arab wars is one of the world’s longest-running refugee crises, and a solution would likely require setting

up a state of Palestine that would take in large numbers of them. Such a solution appears distant, even as President Donald J. Trump says he wants to try to broker an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are being displaced again by regional conflicts, including civil war in Syria. The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which helps displaced Palestinians, said they are no longer the world’s focus. “We are dealing here with a community that has essentially reached a crisis of existential nature,” Pierre Kraehenbuehl said. Abdullah Abu Massoud was born in a Bedouin encampment in what is now Israel. His family fled Israeli forces during the war over Israel’s creation, walking to Egyptian-run Gaza. More than 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted at the time. In his 20s, Abu Massoud married

Bassama, an Egyptian, and settled in Gaza. Bassama, 72, said that after Israel’s capture of the territory in 1967, Gaza residents began talking of leaving, fearful of what Israeli rule might bring. Israel was offering transportation to Jordan, Bassama said. In April 1968 the Abu Massouds and other displaced Palestinians from Gaza boarded a truck to Jordan’s border. From there, they took buses to an area near the town of Jerash where UNRWA was setting up a tent camp. Bassama remembers her feet sticking out of the tiny tent while she slept. Under US proposals in previous Israeli-Palestinian talks, a Palestinian state created from lands Israel captured in 1967 would welcome families like the Abu Massouds. In addition, an agreed upon number of refugees would be allowed to return to Israel and others could opt to stay in their host countries.

But disagreements remained, and talks failed. Palestinians wanted Israel to accept moral responsibility for the plight of refugees. Israel feared this would lead to a large-scale return to Israel and dilute its Jewish majority. There have been no serious negotiations since gaps widened with the 2009 election of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister. Continued Israeli settlement expansion made a partition deal more difficult. Today, 5.3 million Palestinians and their descendants are registered with UNRWA in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, making them eligible for health and education services. Some in Netanyahu’s government allege UNRWA and others perpetuate the refugee problem artificially. UN officials say refugee status is typically handed down through the generations in protracted conflicts. AP

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Scientists worldwide march vs Trump policies

ASHINGTON—Thousands of scientists and their supporters, feeling increasingly threatened by the policies of President Donald J. Trump, gathered in Washington on Saturday under rainy skies for what they called the March for Science, abandoning a tradition of keeping the sciences out of politics and calling on the public to stand up for scientific enterprise. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician who helped expose lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan, and who addressed a rally before the march, called the protest the beginning of a movement to ensure that governments do not dismiss or deny science. “If we want to prevent future Flints, we need to embrace what we’ve learned and how far we’ve come in terms of science and technology,” Hanna-Attisha said in an interview. The demonstration in Washington was echoed by protests in hundreds of other cities across the United States and around the world, including marches in Europe and the Asia Pacific. The Washington rally started on Saturday morning, with thousands of people packing into the National Mall, some wearing white lab coats and ponchos on a day that got only rainier as speakers motivated participants to march. Protesters carried signs calling for funding for scientific research—“science is not an alternative fact”, some said. Others noted pointedly that Albert Einstein was a refugee. The March for Science evolved from a social-media campaign into an effort to get people onto the streets for the cause of science. Its organizers were motivated by

Trump, who as a presidential candidate disparaged climate change as a hoax and cast suspicions on the safety of vaccines. Their resolve deepened, they said, when the president appointed Cabinet members who seemed hostile to the sciences. He also proposed a budget with severe cuts for agencies like the National Institutes of Health—which would lose 18 percent of its funding in his blueprint—and the Environmental Protection Agency, which faces a 31-percent budget cut and the elimination of a quarter of the agency’s 15,000 employees. While traveling by motorcade to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday, Trump passed dozens of demonstrators from the march holding signs, including one that said, “Stop denying the earth is dying”, according to a pool report. After the motorcade had left the White House, the administration released a statement from Trump for Earth Day that did not mention the March for Science by name, but appeared directed at its participants. Calling science critical to economic growth and environmental protection, he said, “My administration is committed to advancing scientific research that leads to a better understanding of our environment

People participate in the March for Science in Washington on April 22. Scientists, students and research advocates rallied from the Brandenburg Gate to the Washington Monument on Earth Day, conveying a global message of scientific freedom without political interference and spending necessary to make future breakthroughs possible. AP/Sait Serkan Gurbuz

31% The percentage of budget cut that the Environmental Protection Agency faces under the Trump administration, which could result in the elimination of a quarter of the agency’s 15,000 employees

and of environmental risks.” “As we do so, we should remember that rigorous science depends not on ideology, but on a spirit of honest inquiry and robust debate,” he added. Organizers said they hoped the day’s demonstrations result

in sustained, coordinated action aimed at persuading elected officials to adopt policies consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change, vaccines and other issues. “This has been a living laboratory as scientists and science institutions are willing to take a step outside their comfort zone, outside of the labs and into the public spheres,” said Beka Economopoulos, cofounder of the popup Natural History Museum and an organizer of the march. What began as a movement by scientists for scientists has drawn in many science enthusiasts who have joined efforts to organize the marches. Luis Fabish, 11, who traveled from Chicago with his father for the march in Washington, wore a white lab coat, a green bow tie and a hat with a pink, hand-knit brain. “I want to keep people interested

Global finance leaders grapple with globalization fears

ASHINGTON—Global finance leaders on Saturday dropped a sharp condemnation of trade protectionism and references to climate change from a closing statement that wrapped up the spring meetings of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This year’s meetings were dominated by a debate over how to respond to a rising tide of anti-globalization sentiment evidenced in the United States by the election of President Donald J. Trump, who pledged during last year’s campaign that he would reduce America’s huge trade deficits, which he blamed for the loss of millions of good-paying factory jobs. In its communiqué, the IMF urged nations to avoid “inwardlooking policies”, but it did not include tougher language the IMF had used in an October statement in which it had called on all countries to “resist all forms of protectionism”. The new statement also dropped any mention of the threat of climate change. Trump has threatened to impose punitive tariffs of up to 45 percent against Mexico, China and other nations he believes are competing unfairly with American workers. During his presidential campaign, he called climate change a hoax. At a closing news conference, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Agustin Carstens, head of the Bank of Mexico and chairman of the IMF’s policy committee, sought to downplay the changes. Lagarde noted that strong language condemning protectionism and promoting efforts to com-

bat climate change, while taken out of the communiqué, remained in a separate document setting out the IMF’s policy agenda. Carstens said it was important on the issue of trade to recognize the viewpoints of different countries. “We all want free and fair trade and that is what is reflected in the communiqué,” he told reporters when asked why the language on protectionism had been dropped. A similar change on the issue of protectionism was made in a communiqué that the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies issued last month in Baden-Baden, Germany. Steven Mnuchin, attending his first international gathering as Trump’s Treasury secretary, had defended the change in the G-20 communiqué by saying, “The historical language was not really relevant.” Eswar Prasad, a trade economist at Cornell University, said the changes in the IMF and G-20 communiqués showed the Trump administration’s desire to signal that US. policy will be different under a new president. “The G-20 consensus on issues such as free trade and combating climate change is crumbling in the face of the Trump administration’s hostility to those positions,” Prasad said. “The notion of allowing for freer trade has run up against the Trump administration’s conviction that its major trading partners are manipulating trade and currency policies to their own benefit.” At a joint appearance with Lagade on Saturday, Mnuchin said that the internal debate over the wording of the IMF communiqué

had taken much less time than the debate over the wording of the G-20 communiqué last month. He said the administration’s goal was to make trade more fair and was not aimed at erecting protectionist barriers. “The United States is probably the most open trading market there is,” Mnuchin said. Mnuchin was also asked about the administration’s tax plan, which Trump said on Friday would be unveiled next Wednesday. Mnuchin said the administration’s goal was to simplify the tax system for both individuals and businesses. “We want to create a system where the average American can do their taxes on a postcard, not a book,” Mnuchin said. “Maybe a big postcard, but you can still stick it in the mail.” Mnuchin did not provide details of the tax plan, which Trump has said would provide a “massive” tax cut for Americans. Throughout the presidential campaign last year, Trump pointed to closed factories around America and said they represented a failure of past presidents to be tough enough in negotiating trade agreements to protect US jobs. Since taking office, Trump has pulled the United States out of a 12-nation Pacific trade agreement negotiated by the Obama administration, and just this week ordered the Commerce Department to speed up an investigation into whether steel imports posed a national security threat. His action could lead to higher tariffs on steel imports. The spring IMF and World Bank meetings took place against the

backdrop of an improving global economy, helped by better performances in the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, and in a rise in commodity prices which has helped many developing nations. The IMF’s latest economic forecast projects global growth of 3.5 percent this year, which would be the fastest pace in five years and up from 3.1 percent last year. Despite the brighter outlook, the IMF’s closing communiqué warned of a number of risks ranging from weak productivity growth to high debt levels and “heightened political and policy uncertainties.” The world economy has struggled to regain millions of jobs lost after a devastating financial crisis hit in 2008 and the finance leaders acknowledged the adverse effects the deep-downturn, playing a major role in the rising pressures against free trade and immigration. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that if more was not done to deal with growing income inequality “we will see more protectionism and countries retreating from globalization.” Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso sought to downplay concerns about rising protectionism, saying that he believed free trade, which has fueled global growth since the end of World War II, would be upheld but perhaps with some changes. In his remarks to the IMF’s policy committee, Mnuchin repeated a call for the IMF to police the currency markets and call out countries that undervalue their currencies to gain an unfair price advantage for their exporters. AP

in science,” he said. Many scientists at the marches said they believed now was the appropriate moment to express themselves politically. They said they feared Trump may undermine public support for the sciences. “I can’t think of a time where scientists felt the enterprise of science was being threatened in the way scientists feel now,” Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University, said in an interview this week. She was scheduled to speak at a rally in Boston on Saturday. Oreskes said the closest parallel to Saturday’s protests were the demonstrations for nuclear disarmament in the 1950s and 1960s. But scientists were then marching against the use of science to build weapons of mass destruction. In New York demonstrators stretched for 10 blocks along Central Park West, wedged between

the park and a line of buildings on a gray and dreary day. Underlining the connection in the minds of many marchers between the science march, Earth Day and global warming, one participant, Christine Negra, 49, a chemist who works as a consultant on climate-change issues, said she would attend next week’s People’s Climate March, too. “In the US, we’re lagging in our recognition about how important climate change is,” she said. “These public events are meant to shake people out of their daily lives so that people see how urgent the problem really is.” Many messages at the New York rally took on a political hue. One demonstrator carried a sign with a diagram. “Before you dismiss science, Mr. President,” it said, “here is the molecular formula for hairspray.” Another said, “Fund science, not walls.” And along the marching route, some were heard chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” as they passed the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle. For many marchers, especially those in the sciences who were demonstrating for the first time in their lives, political settings can be a source of discomfort. And critics of the march who are in the sciences expressed concern that such displays could be damaging to the field. “I worry the march would drive the wedge deeper,” said Robert S. Young, a coastal geologist at Western Carolina University who wrote a New York Times Op-Ed article in January expressing misgivings about the march. Although Young planned to support friends at a satellite demonstration, he said it would be easy for conservatives to say the march was really about supporting liberal policies. “Going to a march is easy,” he said. “Spending the next couple of years reinventing how we communicate with Red State America, that’s hard.” New York Times News Service

Saudi king restores state employee bonuses as overhaul broadens

ing Salman restored bonuses and allowances for Saudi state employees, appointed one of his sons as ambassador to the United States and promoted another within the energy ministry, in the latest spate of decrees aiming to bolster economic growth and reorganize the government. The king said the bonuses were restored as revenue increased and the budget deficit declined, according to decrees carried by the official Saudi Press Agency late on Saturday. He replaced the commander of the land forces and ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay a two-month salary bonus to Saudi forces serving on the front lines with Yemen. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a son of the king, was named Minister of State for Energy Affairs, while Prince Khalid bin Salman was appointed ambassador to the US. The broader overhaul to the government comes as Saudi leadership confronts a slowing economy and a prolonged war in Yemen, and seeks to reset ties under President Donald J. Trump after a frosty relationship with the Obama administration. The drop in oil prices, as well as austerity measure,s have caused the worst economic slowdown since the global financial crisis. Better results The decision could help bolster consumer spending and revive growth. The International Monetary Fund expects growth to slow to 0.4 percent this year from 1.4 percent in 2016. The Tadawul Consumer Services Index has dropped 15 percent this year, compared with a 4-percent-decline in the benchmark gauge. “The incremental increase of public-sector workers’ disposable income will help to further boost positive sentiment as domestic demand recov-

ers,” Mohammed Alsheikh, minister of state and a member of the Cabinet, said in a statement to Bloomberg. Spending cuts over the past two years “have resulted in better-thanforecasted revenues and reduction in expenditures for the government budget,” he said. Saturday’s announcement “comes in the wake of the considerably betterthan-anticipated budgetary performance in the first quarter, which is driven by strengthened expenditure management and higher revenue inflows,” he said. “As a result, the actual deficit for 1Q [first quarter of] 2017 is about 50 percent of the projected deficit in the budget due to increases on revenue side and decreases on expense side.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether the decision would affect plans to reduce the budget shortfall by 30 percent to about 200 billion riyals ($53 billion) for the entire year. Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg on Thursday that the government was on track to meet its target. The king last September canceled bonus payments for state employees and cut ministers’ salaries to trim a budget deficit that ballooned to about 15 percent of GDP. The previous decision was made at a time that revenue was severely reduced by the oil price rout, the royal order said. The policies are part of a plan to repair public finances and reduce the economy’s reliance on oil—efforts spearheaded by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king’s son and second-in-line to the throne of the world’s biggest oil exporter. The prince is also the defense minister, making him the top official in charge of the war in Yemen, where the kingdom is seen fighting a proxy confrontation with regional rival Iran. Bloomberg News

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Mount Apo climbers warned against using Davao City trail By Manuel T. Cayon Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The city government here has warned mountaineers not to use the Mount Talomo trail in their summer climb to the country’s highest peak, despite the controversial green light to reopen the mountain to regular climb after last year’s forest fire. In a statement released by the city government and quoting City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, it warned that sanctions await those who would violate the city government’s ban on using the Mount Talomo trail. It said Mount Talomo trail was already excluded from the list of Mount Apo entry points “but we received evidence that mountaineers and tour operators are entering Mount Apo through [it].” “These illegal ac tivities must be stopped and the Davao City government strongly reminds the public of the possible sanctions to be meted out to violators,” Duterte-Carpio said. The city government said it has decided to keep Mount Talomo “one of the mountains and watershed areas that the local government of Davao is keenly protecting because of its important ecological value”. “It is the recharge area of the TalomoLipadas watershed and the home to the endangered Philippine Eagle,” DuterteCarpio said. “However, for those who wish to visit the mountain, the public is informed that a comprehensive ecotourism and cultural plan will soon be rolled out. This will

Mount Apo Nonie Reyes

cover regulations that will ensure that the watershed area is protected from human activities that are injurious and destructive to the environment,” she said. The ecotourism plan was being hatched up by the city government, the Department of Tourism Davao region and the Philippine Eagle Foundation. These agencies have also linked up with the Bagobo community in the area. “We encourage tour operators, tourists and mountaineers to join us in the promotion of environmental protection and become active partners in ensuring that the next generations will still experience healthy, safe and sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem,” she added. The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources took hits from environmentalists after its unit, the Mount Apo Natural Park-Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) announced that it has reopened the mountain to regular climb. The announcement came a year after a forest fire razed 350 hectares of scattered forest areas, from the peak at the Kidapawan City side to the eastern slopes in the Davao del Sur side of the mountain. That year, the PAMB was heavily criticized over its decision to allow mountain climbing at the time of the severe period of El Niño. No one was held responsible for the fire. In both decisions last year and this year, environmentalists said it was the desire to generate profit that drove local governments to insist on allowing the regular mountain climb. The mayors of the seven entry points to Mount Apo comprise the PAMB.

Mountaineers can destroy–or save mountains

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

s tens of thousands are drawn to beautiful beaches to beat the summer heat, a growing number of nature lovers are looking for other adventures, such as climbing some the country’s peaks. The Department of Environment and Natura l Resources (DENR) called on the public to have a worthwhile summer vacation by engaging in activities that promote the environment. In particular, the DENR reminded nature trippers to be vigilant of activities that could cause disastrous forest fires, which could lead to a huge setback in the government’s reforestation efforts, threaten human lives and bring massive damage to forest ecosystems and biodiversity loss.

Tourist spots, biodiversity hot spots

Some of the country’s mountain peaks are frequented by climbers, making them among the country’s tourist spots. However, these tourist spots are also “biodiversity hot spots” found within protected areas (PAs), such as the Mount Apo Natural Park (MANP) in Davao del Sur in Davao region and Mounts Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL) that traverses Quezon and Laguna provinces in Southern Tagalog. Mount Apo is known as home to the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, a national symbol, which is endemic to the Philippines. There are only around 42 pairs of these monkey-eating eagles, mostly occupying forested mountain peaks like Mount Apo. A United Nations World Heritage Site, MANP is a key biodiversity area. It has one of the country’s highest endemism in both flora and fauna. According to the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau

800

The estimated number of vascular and nonvascular plant species on Mount Apo

(BMB), there are 800 estimated vascular and nonvascular plant species in Mount Apo. The DENR’s BMB reported that actual resource inventory on five representative habitats indicated a total of 126 floral species, 50 of which are considered endemic to Mount Apo or the Mindanao Faunal Region. Previous studies have identified 272 species of birds, 40 percent of these, or 111, are endemic to Mount Apo. Besides the Philippine Eagle, Mount Apo is host to another critically endangered species, called abukay (Cacatua heamatopygia), while around 10 are endangered species—the Mindanao scoops owl (Otus mirus), lesser eagle owl (Bobu philippensis), Mindanao lorikeet (Tricoglosus johnstoniae), whritted hornbill (Aceros leucocephalus); 20 vulnerable and 20 near threatened. Ninety-six species were identified to have both cultural and economic importance to communities within MANP or nearby communities. There are also 53 species of mammals recorded in Mount Apo, 49 percent of which are endemic. Mount Banahaw and Mount San Cristobal, meanwhile, are home to several endemic fauna, which in-

cludes the Philippine pygmy fruit bat, Luzon fruit bat, small Luzon forest mouse and the Philippine warty pig. The DENR-BMB said the forests of Mounts Banahaw and San Cristobal are inhabited by amphibians, such as the Banahao forest frog, Japanese bullet frog and Naomi’s forest frog. The MBSCPL is home to a list of threatened and restricted-range bird population, including the Philippine Eagle, Philippine eagle-owls, flame-breasted fruit dove and the Philippine cockatoo. Mount Apo and Mount Banahaw, considered as “sacred mountains” by local communities, were both devastated by forest fires in the past, prompting the DENR and their respective Protected Area Management Boards (PAMBs) to issue an order for their closure to allow faster recovery from environmental degradation and prevent further damage to their unique ecosystems. The forest fire on Mount Banahaw in March 2014 destroyed around 50 hectares of forest, while the fire that hit Mount Apo in March 2016 affected more than 100 hectares. In both fire incidents, fingers were pointed at irresponsible mountaineers. Forests are prone to fire during summer, when the leaves and grasses are dried up, making them easy to catch fire.

Stricter rules and regulation

As portions of these two mountains were reopened to the public recently, park managements are strictly enforcing rules and regulation to prevent a repeat of the disastrous fires. On Mount Apo, the MANPPAMB has limited the number of people at 50 per trail. This means that only 300 people are allowed to trek in a day. It also ordered to ban on camping in the sites. Climbers should leave the camp sites by 2 p.m. They also have to pay higher entrance fees, including fees for tour guides—to discourage climbers from going to Mount Apo, said Franklin Buenaflor, public information officer of the DENR in Digos, Davao del Sur. Meanwhile, as portions of Mount Banahaw, particularly its two popular pilgrim sites on the lower portion of the mountain,

were also opened to pilgrims and tourists, camping is, likewise, prohibited in these areas and in other areas without prior approval by concerned authorities.

General policy

Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the DENR-BMB said there should be stricter rules for mountaineers, especially when climbing within PAs covered by Republic Act 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas (Nipas) Act. In a PA, Lim said the PAMB, the highest environment policymaking body in the area, makes the rules and decides which area should be declared open or off limits for tourism activities. “PAMBs are given the freehand to make their own rules because we believe they know more about the local situation,” Lim said. She added that mountaineering is not per se detrimental to environment or biodiversity conservation. “There are mountaineering organizations that set their own rules against environmental destruction or degradation. There are some that makes it a point not to leave behind wastes,” Lim said. She said there is a policy under the Nipas Act which PAMB should follow in coming up with policies for implementation in a PA. “I am hoping that our mountaineers will be more proactive and responsible. As ecotourists, mountaineers should be able to help the communities in such a way that they will help protect the mountain,” she said.

Ecotourism sites

PAs, she said, are being promoted as ecotourism sites, because ecotourism per se is not a destructive human activity. In fact, it promotes revenue generation, which can be used to manage the PA. “Protecting the PA should be inherent to any ecotourism policy because if the natural beauty or aesthetic beauty of the PA is destroyed, it will no longer attract tourists,” Lim says. PAMBs, she said, should come up with a comprehensive management plan geared toward protecting the PAs against unregulated tourism.

Under the Nipas Act, hunting, destroying, disturbing or mere possession of any plants or animals or products without a permit from the PAMB is prohibited. Likewise, the law prohibits dumping of any waste products detrimental to the protected area, or to the plants and animals or inhabitants; use of any motorized equipment without a permit; mutilating, defacing or destroying objects of natural beauty, or objects of interest to cultural communities or anything of scenic value; damaging and leaving roads and trails in a damaged condition; leaving in exposed or unsanitary conditions refuse or debris, or depositing in ground or in bodies of water; and altering, removing destroying or defacing boundary marks or signs. The penalty for violating the prohibited acts range from P5,000 to P500,000, and possibly, a jail term of at least six months to one year.

Mountaineers: Nature lovers

Gregg Yan, a mountaineer and environmentalist, said mountaineering could be a potent tool in protecting and conserving the country’s rich biodiversity. With their passion for climbing, mountaineers can be part of t he solut ion, rat her t ha n the problem, in protecting the env ironment and conser v ing the countr y’s rich biodiversity. “Mountaineers are some of the most passionate nature lovers on Earth,” said Yan, member of the Philippine Skyrunning Association and Loyola Mountaineers. However, he said mountaineers should ensure that trekkers do not leave mountains worse-off than when they climbed up. One way of doing this, he said, is by designating a “Green Climber” or environmental officer for each trip. “The Green Climber continuously reminds the group to cleanup trails and bring down what they haul up. He or she should be equipped with an easy-access garbage tote bag where nonbiodegradable litter, like candy wrappers or plastic bags, can be stuffed in. In return, he or she should be spared from carrying bulky items, like tent bodies or ground sheets.”

Yan said that by designating an officer to guide the group, the “leaveno-trace” principle will become second nature for mountaineers.

Climbing tips

A graduate of t he Ju ng le Env ironment Sur v iva l Training (JEST) Camp, Yan, who has climbed over 120 mountains in Asia, has some important tips for mountain climbers. “Never build campfires except in survival situations, for they can be difficult to extinguish. Stoves should also be used with great care, as they have been responsible for scarring many of the Philippines’s top mountains, including Mounts Apo, Kanlaon and Pulag. Hold off smoking for cigarette butts smolder long after being snubbed out. Keep to established trails to limit your group’s impacts,” he said. According to Yan, climbers should always secure food and leftovers. “Wild animals might associate campsites with leftovers, increasing the chance that you’ll run into a ravenous rodent or snake when you want to pee-pee at night. Obviously, don’t feed, catch or kill wildlife,” he said. In helping reforest mountains, Yan said climbers should plant the right kind of trees, quickly adding that it is important to know which trees are native to the area. “Not only will they bring back biodiversity better than invasive trees, like mahogany or paper trees. They are usually tougher and able to survive to maturity,” he said. .Last, Yan said it pays to give back to the local community. “Don’t simply treat them as guides, porters or scouts. We’re their visitors, so please teach them what you know and they’ll likely share important tips, like which plants have medicinal uses and where the best photo-op spots lie,” he said. Yan added that there is more to mountain climbing than conquering mountains and experiencing the thrills of ecotourism mountains offer. “Mountaineers shouldn’t just be tourists. They should be the defenders of Philippine mountains,” he said. “Who better to do this than those who love peaks the most?”

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Shoring up marine restoration By Lorenz S. Marasigan

A PHOTO of the whale shark posted in the Facebook account of Kai Tagaki.

Killer whale sighted in Puerto Galera By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

he sighting of a killer whale in Puerto Galera, a town in Oriental Mindoro and a popular tourist destination in Luzon, has caught the attention of marine wildlifeconservation advocates. The fascinating marine mammal, about 7 meters long, was photographed and posted on Facebook (FB) through the account of Kai Tagaki, who first thought it was a dolphin jumping up and down. Posted on April 18, at 12:38 p.m., the FB post was shared 383 times as of this writing and drew various reactions. One FB comment expressed fear that it might attack humans. Another comment said the sighting is a good sign—and that the health of the marine ecosystem is improving. E xcept for t he photo, not much information was provided in the FB. Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the report needs to be verified, although she said the killer whale could have been following its prey and found itself in that part of the Philippine waters. She sa id it might have ot her c o m p a n i o n s , b e c au s e k i l l e r wha les a re k now n to t ravel in g roups du r ing m ig rat ion a nd wh i le hu nt ing preys. “It may be after a prey and somehow got lost. But they usually hunt in group,” said Lim, who cautioned fishermen against hunting it down. The largest among dolphin species, killer whales feed on almost anything they can find—including tuna, dolphins, sharks and even whale sharks. But it has no record of attack on humans. The Philippines is a member of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild

Animals, which include marine wildlife like sea turtles, dolphins, sharks and whales. The Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines (MWWP), a nongovernmental organization that advocates marine-wildlife conservation and their habitat in the Philippines, shared the post. The group monitors illegal fishing or hunting of threatened marine wildlife, particularly those on the critically endangered list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. AA Yaptinchay, executive director of MWWP, said sightings of orca, or killer whale, is not new in the Philippines. While saying that a killer whale having been photographed is very rare, their sightings is not new. “There are records of sightings of orca before. It is the most cosmopolitan among all whales,” he said. Orcas, or killer whales, belong to the dolphin family, he said. Yaptinchay said unless they are captured or harmed, killer whales do not attack humans. “There is no record of them eating humans,” he said. He said it is not in orca’s nature to feed on human, although it easts large fish species and preys almost on anything it can feed on—including deadly whale sharks. Yaptinchay said the sightings of the killer whale should be a wakeup call to concerned government agencies to intensify monitoring of Philippine seas. “Only 30 percent of our seas have been surveyed so far,” he said. The group said conducting surveys will reveal how rich the Philippine seas is, and what we stand to lose in failing to protect our marine areas against destructive human activities. Hunting of marine wildlife, he said, remains unchecked despite local and international laws prohibiting such acts of terrorism against these amazing creatures of the sea.

@lorenzmarasigan Photos by Penn de los Santos

edina, Misamis Oriental, is a quaint town quite unknown to people from Metro Manila, despite its rich biodiversity and enthralling beauty.

Underwater cleanup at the Japanese Garden

Not much has been written about this gem, tucked in a shoreline in between more famous destinations Cagayan de Oro and Butuan. A half-an-hour ride away from Camiguin, Medina is a fourthclass municipality, whose primary industry is coconut production. A popular coconut drink, an export product, originates from here. Its rich, lush mountains are untainted, almost untouched. Viewed from the sea, the ranges are a various mix of green hues patched with a few brown spots. But what it really offers is a plethora of underwater treasurers: a wide array of healthy corals, both soft and hard; and a diverse population of marine life. There are three known dive sites in Duka Bay, Medina, each offering visitors different underwater experiences. Right in front of Duka Bay Resort and its partner dive shop, the dive sites—Japanese Garden, Paradise and Aquarium—are considered marine-protected areas (MPAs), which are considered priority areas for conservation. T he Japanese Garden is an u nder water forest of d if fer ent species of cora l and mar ine life. A r tificia l str uctures, suc h a s m a ke - sh i f t t r ipod s, were placed to promote cora l

grow th. T hese are now home to a var iet y of fishes. Locals quip that Paradise is divided into three parts: Almost Paradise, Paradise and Beyond Paradise. Almost Paradise is the shallow part of the reef. It features a recently mounted statue of the Virgin Mary that is now attracting coral growth. It is home to an array of colorful soft and hard corals, in between of which fresh spring water spurt out randomly, creating thermoclines. Paradise requires divers to swim through a crevice lined with different families of corals, now home to a variety of critters and marine life. Passing by the swim-through is Beyond Paradise, the deeper part of the reef. Aquarium, as the name suggests, is a natural aquarium for a variety of marine life. During descent, divers are greeted by different fishes on the thick soft corals in the reef. But, despite being MPAs, these reefs are still prone to threats—such as chemical pollution and eutrophication, fisheries operations, habitat alteration, invasion of alien species and global climate change. T he Met ro Pac i f ic Investments Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Metro Pacific Investments

A volunteer diver picking trash underwater.

The Virgin Mary is the marker for Almost Paradise.

Corp., stepped in to help preserve and conserve these reefs. T he found ation conducted Shore It Up activities in Duka Bay recently. It included shore and underwater cleanup, with 2,120 volunteers—almost a hundred are representatives from the MVP Group of Cos. The volunteers were able to collect 787 kilograms of garbage from the three dive sites, and from 7 km of coastline. “Medina is the birthplace of the first batch of Marine Protection and Inspection Custodians,” Metro Pacific Foundation Executive Director Melody M. del Rosario said, referring to the volunteers. Experts, like Jake Miranda, a scuba-diving instructor who specializes in cave diving, shared their knowledge in marine protection to the locals. Miranda led the assembly and deployment of marker buoys to allow boats to dock near the reef without the need for an anchor, which may damage corals. “The fight to preserve the environment is easier said than done. It is a life-long quest. In a small way we started protecting our marine biology in Medina,” Mayor Donato Chan said. During its three-day program, Metro Pacific led the investiture of 200 junior environmental scouts, which are young ambassadors of change in their respective communities. Volunteers from Metro Pacific taught students about the significance of putting prime importance to rescuing, restoring and reviving the country’s bodies of water. Being an archipelago, the Philippines boasts of a rich marine biodiversity. It sits at the apex of

the Coral Triangle, recognized as the global center for marine biodiversity, along with Papua New Guinea, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands. As the apex of such a coral “center”, the Philippines is home to a diverse species of corals, seagrass beds, mangrove and beach forests, fisheries, invertebrates, seaweeds and marine mammals. These are home to at least 2,000 species of fish 5,000 species of clams and other mollusks and crustaceans; 22 species of whales and dolphins; more than 900 species of seaweed; and more than 400 species of corals. For nine years now, Metro Pacific has taken the cudgels to help rehabilitate these precious marine resources, beginning with Shore It Up, the country’s longest-running corporate-backed env ironment program. It has helped remove tons of garbage from Philippine waters—from Batangas to Subic, to Siargao, among others—and set up mangrove centers in the country. It has also ventured in giant-clam rearrangement and seeding and artificial-reef restoration. “Over the years, Shore It Up had 75,000 volunteers, 3,000 junior environmental scouts and two mangrove centers,” del Rosario said. “We made sure that we have a contribution that is lasting—that is sustainable.” Shore It Up’s activities for the year are the construction of a Mangrove Propagation and Information Center in Cordova, Cebu, and the establishment of coralrestoration field laboratory in Mabini, Batangas.

ACB, Hari to promote business, biodiversity cooperation in Asean

he Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and Hari Foundation Inc. (HFI) recently signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) in Manila to pursue joint initiatives that will strengthen business and biodiversity efforts in the Asean region. HFI is the corporate social responsibility arm of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari). “Joi n i ng h a nd s w it h Ha r i Foundation is an important milestone for the center, as the partnership signals the greater involvement of the business sector in global efforts to conserve biodiversity,” said Atty. Roberto V. Oliva, executive director of ACB. “ This partnership will ser ve as a platform to generate awareness on the intricate link among biological resources, the economic well-being of industries, and the people who depend on these businesses for livelihood,” he said. Oliva added that promoting public awareness of biodiversity by partnering with key sectors, such as business, academe and media, is a key mandate of the ACB. “We are supporting the Global

Partnership for Business and Biodiversity, a worldwide campaign to engage the private sector in preserving the natural foundations of life for future generations. We welcome the HFI as a keen supporter of this campaign,” Oliva explained. “At Hyundai, we understand that it is in the best interest of companies to take into account the value of biodiversity in our systems. Promoting the role of business in biodiversity preservation through smart partnerships and supporting activities that seek to mitigate the impact of climate change are part of the HFI’s key advocacies,” said Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, president of HFI and president and CEO of Hari. “This partnership is also in line with the HFI’s vision to build a climate change-adaptive and resilient nation, where every Filipino responsibly protects and preserves the environment,” she added. Under the MOC, the HFI will support the Asean Biodiversity Heroes, a project designed to recognize outstanding individuals from Association of Southeast

THE Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the Hari Foundation Inc. (HFI) ink a partnership agreement to promote business and biodiversity. (From left) Vanessa Carriedo, ACB Communication and Public Affairs head; Dr. Berthold Seibert, ACB partner and program director of the GIZ CARE4BioDiv Programme; Atty. Roberto V. Oliva, ACB executive director; Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, president of HFI and president and CEO of Hari; and Renato Pizarro, HFI executive director.

Asian Nations (Asean) memberstates who have contributed significantly to biodiversity conservation and advocacy efforts in their respective countries and the region. Partners for the Asean Biodiversity Heroes also include the Philippines’s Department of Foreign Affairs, the Asean and the European Union. The HFI will also help build a

Biodiversity Knowledge Hall at the New ACB headquarters. The hall will showcase best practices in biodiversity conservation, covering various thematic areas, such as climate change, business and biodiversity, protected-area management, and biodiversityi n for m at ion m a n agement to mention a few. It will also serve as a venue

for innovations forum, capacitybuilding activities and conferences on biodiversity conservation. In addition, the HFI will also suppor t t he Adopt-a n-A sea n Heritage Park Programme, that seeks to protect areas of highconservation importance that preserve a complete spectrum of representative ecosystems in the Asean region. In the past few years, the HFI has implemented several environment-related initiatives. In 2013 it inaugurated the Hyundai Center for Green Innovation (HCGI) at the GK Enchanted Farm in Barangay Encanto, Angat, Bulacan, in the Philippines. The center is envisioned to be a hub of ideas, talents and resources committed to growing a sustainable green economy and community for the Filipino. HCGI serves as guide for young people to become environmental innovators and stewards in their communities.” Another project is the Hyundai New Thinkers Circuit, which the HFI undertakes with the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute.

Through this program, outstanding high-school students are inspired and trained to become future climate science experts through a scholarship program that covers courses like Geology, Marine Science and Biochemistry, among others. T he HF I a l so orga n i z ed a bu si ness a nd biod iversit y fo r u m t h at foc u sed on wh at t he bu si ness i n nov at ion c a n contr ibute to biod iversit y conserv at ion. Ot her projects inc lude t he Ha r i EcoVa n, a f u l ly c ustomi zed c l assroom- on-wheels bu i lt for t he Ha r ibon Fou nd at ion to promote biod iversit y. “Partnering with like-minded organizations like the HFI brings us a step closer toward achieving Target 1 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, which states that by 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably,” Oliva said. For more information on the ACB and the HFI, log on to www. aseanbiodiversity.org and www. hyundai.ph.

A14 Monday, April 24, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Colonies: A bad investment

he Age of Exploration by the European countries from the end of the 15th century to the 18th century certainly seemed like a good idea at the time. Travelers and traders had since the 8th century been moving goods and ideas all across Asia and into Europe. Everyone made a few bucks and some friends and alliances along the way. If running caravans from Constantinople to Beijing was profitable, how much more would big sailing ships to places where glass beads were considered a wonder of modern science? But too often the locals were not that happy to have “white guys” tell them what god to worship, clothes to wear, and how to sell their native handicrafts and raw materials. Unfortunately, a good idea at the time easily leads to “Unintended Consequences”. In the interest of furthering “globalization” and “international cooperation”, it was necessary to take over these places to make sure there were enough spices, precious metals and other goodies available in Europe. Trading posts became trading fortresses and then wholly owned colonies. Of course, the colonizers all agreed that the indigenous people had no say about their lands. Look at the Philippines, for example. Even before the Americans got here, the Spanish, British and the Dutch all fought over who gets Manila. Now, several centuries later, you probably could not give the city of Manila away for free to any of them. And that is the point. Certainly, the United States made a big financial profit from owning the Philippines. But how much blood and treasure did they spend defending their colony from the Japanese? Having its air force and navy at the Clark and Subic bases was the only way the US was able to sustain its Vietnam War. The 50,000 Americans killed in that war might have preferred that the Philippines did not exist. With a “British Commonwealth” passport, people from Jamaica, South Africa and Malaysia all moved to the United Kingdom. Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent could not get away from each other fast enough, killing a few hundred thousand in the process. Yet, Pakistanis and Indians live side by side today as “Brits”...sort of. While much is their own fault, India is an absolute disaster area since its independence in 1947. The war with Pakistan has run hot and hotter every day since the partition. India’s social structure and civilization that lasted for at least 2,000 years, collapsed under colonization and subsequent independence. Should India have stayed a colony or never been one? More than 12,600 farmers and agricultural laborers committed suicide in 2015 in what is one of the world’s poorest countries. On average, life is worse for Indians than it is for Africans. On the World Happiness Report, India is ranked in the 122nd position. While other nations improve, India has fallen from 35th place to 80th place on the corruption index. And India is where the Taj Mahal was built in 1648. Buddhism, influencing billions of Asians, developed there 2,500 years ago. Today India is in many ways the embodiment of a “third-world hellhole”. Is European colonialism to blame? We will never know, will we? However, it might be a fair assumption that former colonies that gained independence in the 20th century are successes despite being a colony and not because of all the supposed benefits of colonization. What might have the Philippines accomplished if not for American hotdogs and spaghetti?

Eradicating poverty through Dutertenomics Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

F we were to ask President Duterte and his economic managers, the solution to poverty would be to build and build some more. In a recent forum, our top infrastructure officials joined some Cabinet economic managers to pitch what they call “Dutertenomics”, which is seen to usher in a “golden age of infrastructure” to counter poverty in the country.

The administration is ready to commit 5.7 percent of our GDP to infrastructure. This figure is more than twice the 2.6 percent, which the Aquino administration allotted for infrastructure. The economists defended the decision by highlighting the fact that poor infrastructure leads to higher transportation costs, which translates to higher food prices. With better

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DIPLOMASIA

O what? That’s what skeptics of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may say as Asean holds the first summit of its 50th year this week.

Jun B. Vallecera Max V. de Leon Jennifer A. Ng Dionisio L. Pelayo Vittorio V. Vitug

nnn

Although April is about to come to a close, it is still Earth Month and we all need to be reminded of the

Who cares about Asean at 50?

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infrastructure, the Duterte administration sees more investors coming in. It will also address the traffic situation as it is seen as one in “a basket of [many] solutions” to this difficult problem. One of the more ambitious infrastructure projects lined up would be the Quezon City-Ninoy Aquino International Airport Mega Manila Subway system. There will also be

a railway project from Manila to Clark Freeport, and also from Manila to the Bicol region. A third major project would be the rail trunk that will connect Davao del Norte to Davao del Sur. It is apparent that the Philippines could use advances as far as infrastructure is concerned, so these projects by the administration are a welcome breath of fresh air for regular citizens and those who are engaged in business. It will help drive economic growth, but the agencies concerned have to be careful that it does not burden the end-users and taxpayers but really serve the people for whom these structures are being built. Communities, farmers, urbanpoor residents may have to be relocated or displaced to make way for these developments, so hopefully the government will also prioritize their interests and needs.

After all, half a century on, the grouping only began the road to market integration last year. Hardly impressive for an entity that prefers to be seen primarily as economic, not military or geopolitical. As for advancing harmony, another goal of regional groupings, no member-state has fought with another, though conflicts erupted between some nations, like Vietnam and Cambodia, before joining Asean. Yet, in today’s paramount security issue in Southeast Asia—territorial disputes in the South China Sea—Asean has yet to make significant headway toward resolving it or even just avoiding potentially violent confrontation. Still, it is something that Asean has started on the long road to economic integration. And after several years of talks, there awards to be a draft Code of Conduct among states in the South China Sea acceptable to Asean, as well as Beijing.

Ten rice stalks bound tight and strong

More than what it was up to over the past months, however, Asean

deserves to be evaluated by the stature it has achieved not just for itself, but more so for its individual members. For without the grouping, all 10 states, from tiny Brunei Darussalam, to giant Indonesia, would command far less respect and attention in the world, just as separate rice stalks in the Asean logo would break easily if they weren’t bound tight and strong. Moreover, Asean harmony and solidarity have helped diminish disputes and tensions among members, so that even former conflict adversaries are now united for regional peace and development. This enhanced influence and lasting peace also confer gains for Asia. Asean’s centrality, with no alliance with any major power, makes it an ideal convenor and fulcrum for deliberations and collaborations on regional concerns, including fractious security problems. For sure, the big powers try to swing Asean to their respective positions, and some members have shown leanings. But the group itself has remained unaligned, true to its original status as an alternative to the United States-led Southeast

Asian Treaty Organization alliance against communism in the region. Especially with Indonesia’s leadership, which championed the Non-Aligned Movement during the US-Soviet Cold War, Asean’s overarching centrality has made it a kind of honest broker among contending giants in Asia. Promoting peace and harmony in Southeast Asia and providing a central meeting point for global powers, contribute to global stability and understanding, as well. And Asean’s approach to extremism, including moderate Islam, also offers lessons for the world in this escalating threat.

A new force for global growth and commerce

AS Asean continues its world-pacing economic growth, now further fueled by integration, the grouping is rising as a major force in global expansion and trade. Five years ago, Asean was already the world’s third most populous market and the fifth-largest economic entity after the European Union, the US, China and Japan. And there’s more expansion ahead, with a burgeoning affluent, interconnected population, and a hefty chunk of the $8 trillion in infrastructure investment projected for Asia. Even with the Trans-Pacific Partnership derailing, Asean forges ahead with trade enhancement, not only within Asia through the Beijingbacked Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership. It’s also in talks with the Pacific Alliance, formed by Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru. More than ever, Asean is showing how developing nations working together can be a force for peace,

importance of taking care of our environment. In the face of declarations by the Trump administration, in particular, that climate change is not real, scientific evidence that it is, indeed, happening continue to mount. Sea levels are rising in many places around the world, including the Philippines. Through an Earth Day rally on April 22, local scientists joined the international scientists community to call on the governments to “give more importance to science as an essential tool in crafting public policies”. As ordinary citizens, we also have a responsibility to protect our environment. Plant a tree, save energy every day, teach your children the ways to take care of nature, use energy-saving light fixtures and appliances, reduce/reuse/recycle, and become a mindful consumer. These are just some of the many things we can do to put in our bit of effort toward saving the planet. Celebrate Earth Month by committing to become an earth defender.

understanding, cooperation and development in the world. These twin roles of Asean— growth sparkplug and geopolitical bridge-builder—now gets a further boost with the Philippines’s chairmanship in the grouping’s golden year. With his foreign policy rebalancing between Beijing and Washington, President Duterte as Asean chair will restore the centrality and consensus-building crucial to its unique status as regional forum among the region’s power blocs. This contrasts with the past tussle within Asean among members backing rival powers. Moreover, the Philippines’s rapid growth and trebling infrastructure drive will give impetus to economic initiatives. This can propel Asean further up the global ladder at this time of continuing uncertainty in the giant economies of Europe, America and China. What about the South China Sea? Will Asean and the Chinese finally sign the Code? Duterte’s restoration of warm relations with Beijing and his limits on military cooperation with Washington, has hopefully convinced China to accept limits on its maritime activities without fearing a massive US buildup in the Philippines threatening vital sealanes. Last month China announced that a draft code of conduct—presumably acceptable to Beijing—is ready. What all sides must now do is to continue the atmosphere of cooperation and confidence building, and not stumble into past confrontational stances, like planting flags in disputed areas. That is the road to peace and prosperity for all.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Immunity from suit

Rising to greater heights

BusinessMirror

Joel L. Tan-Torres

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

legally speaking

DEBIT CREDIT

he principle enshrined in Section 3, Article XVI of the Constitution that the “State may not be sued without its consent” reflects nothing less than a recognition of the sovereign character of the State and an express affirmation of the unwritten rule effectively insulating it from the jurisdiction of courts. It is based on the very essence of sovereignty. A sovereign is exempt from suit, not because of any formal conception or obsolete theory, but on the logical and practical ground that there can be no legal right as against the authority that makes the law on which the right depends (Department of Agriculture v. NLRC, 227 SCRA 693[1993]).

he resurrection and rising of our Lord Jesus Christ is the highlight of the Holy Easter celebration just passed. For those accountants involved in the small- and mediumsized practices (SMP), this can be the inspiration for them to rise to greater heights.

The principle of state immunity from suit also rests on reasons of public policy—that public service would be hindered, and the public endangered, if the sovereign authority could be subjected to lawsuits at the instance of every citizen and consequently controlled in the uses and dispositions of the means required for the proper administration of the government (Republic v. Sandoval, 220 SCRA 124 [1993]). The doctrine of sovereign immunity from suit may be invoked by any foreign state when it is sued in the country just as the Philippines may invoke sovereign immunity from suit filed in a foreign country, and except when it waives it, the suit will fail (The Holy See v. Rosario Jr., 228 SCRA 524 [1994]). The doctrine, which says, “the state may not be sued without its consent” is clear that the State may be sued, with its consent, either expressly or impliedly. Express consent may be made through a general law or a special law. The Philippine government consents, through Republic Act (RA) 3083, to be sued upon any money claim involving liability arising from contract, expressly or implied, which could serve as a basis of civil action between private parties. Implied consent, on the other hand, arises when the State itself commences litigation, thus opening itself to a counterclaim, or when it enters into a contract in its proprietary capacity but not in its sovereign or governmental capacity. In this situation, the government is deemed to have descended to the level of the other contracting party and to have divested itself of its sovereign immunity. When the state itself commences litigation, irrespective of whether or not it is in its proprietary or non-governmental capacity, it waives its immunity from suit (Republic v. Sandiganbayan, 204 SCRA 212 [1991]). A State may be said to have descended to the level of an individual and can thus be deemed to have tacitly given its consent only when it enters into a business contract. It does not apply where the contract relates to the exercise of its sovereign functions. In other words, the test is not the conclusion of a contract by the state but by the legal nature of the act. Thus, it has been held that there is no waiver of state immunity where the contract is a necessary incident of its prime government function (Traders Royal Bank v. IAC, 192 SCRA 305 [1990]). By engaging in a particular business through a governmental agency or corporation, the state divests itself of its sovereign character and makes itself amenable to suit, for in the conduct of such business, there can be no one law for the sovereign and another for the subject, and both should stand upon equally before the law (Philippine National Railways v. IAC, 217 SCRA 401 [1993]). The doctrine of state immunity from suit is also applicable to complaints filed against officials of the state for acts performed by them in the discharge of their duties. A public officer who is sued in connection with the performance of his duties may properly invoke the doctrine, when the suit is on its face against a government officer but the case is such that ultimate liability will belong not to the officer but to the government. The rule is that if the judgment against such official will require the state itself to perform an affirmative act to satisfy the same, such as the appropriation of the amount needed to pay the damages awarded against him, the suit must be regarded as against the state itself although it has not been formally impleaded (United States of America v. Reyes, 219 SCRA 192 [1993]). In short,

there can be no execution of judgment against government funds or properties. The claim should be presented for payment with the Commission on Audit. This rule is, however, subject to exception, such as when the official is sued in his personal or private capacity for acts done with malice or in bad faith, or when the official does unauthorized or illegal acts or goes beyond the scope of his authority, or commits a crime, in which case, the principle of state immunity from suit does not apply and the official concerned may be held personally liable therefor. The rule does not apply where the public official is charged in his official capacity for acts that are unlawful and injurious to the rights of others. Public officials are not exempt, in their personal capacity, from liability arising from acts committed in bad faith (Lansang v. CA, 326 SCRA 259 [2000]). For the doctrine of state immunity cannot be used as an instrument for perpetrating an injustice. High position in the government does not confer a license to persecute or recklessly injure another (Shauf v. Court of Appeals, 191 SCRA 713 [1990]). For a public official may be made to account in his personal capacity for acts contrary to law and injurious to the rights of the complainant, because illegal or unauthorized acts of officers are not acts of the state (Begosa v. Phil. Veterans Adm, 32 SCRA 466 [1970]). Under the foregoing principles and doctrines laid down by law and our Supreme Court, does an aggrieved victim have any legal remedy for the redress of his grievances? Can the family of the victim of a tokhang extrajudicial killing file a case against the police scalawag who pulled the trigger? Can a homeowners association complain against a city mayor for arbitrarily hiking up, without public hearing, property tax by 500 percent? Can a commuter sue the responsible government officials who approved the deal with private parties who provided a malfunctioning and defective MRT system? Can beneficiaries of government low-cost housing sue government officials who approved and accepted substandard and indecent kalapati units unfit for human occupancy? Can the families of victims of the recent tragic accident that claimed the lives of 34 people sue the responsible government officials who failed to repair the gap in the railing of a public highway causing their bus to fall into a ditch? Can we sue erring government officials who approve increases in gasoline prices, electricity, water and other public utilities to the detriment of the public and in favor of private vested interests? Can we send to jail corrupt elective and appointive public officials who steal, cheat, abscond, misappropriate, swindle public funds and divert them for private gain instead of for public good? Can we sue public officials who neglect their duty to protect and defend our territory against usurpation by foreign interests? The answer, of course, is YES. In so doing, we are not suing the State—we will be redressing the wrongs and injustices done to us by corrupt, inept and negligent public officials in their personal and private capacity. Indeed, state immunity is not a shield for acts done in bad faith and with malice. Nor is state immunity a defense against unauthorized and illegal acts and crime. What about idiots in government? My view is that no penalty is severe enough for the wrong they do to the Filipino people. There ought to be a law perpetually disqualifying them from public office!

SMPs in the Philippines consist of around 6,300 practices of the more than 6,700 Board of Accountancy accredited Certified Public accountant (CPAs), firms and partnerships. They number over 95 percent of the total number of those engaged in public practice of accounting and auditing. The SMPs service most of the more than 900,000 micro-small- and medium-sized enterprises doing business in the Philippines. Definitely, these numbers indicate the role and value of the SMPs in the accountancy profession and in the country’s economy. But similar to any small enterprise, the SMPs face a lot of constraints and shortcomings. They have to contend with the various myriad of government regulatory requirements, including accreditation

with various government offices, tax compliance impositions, labor rules and regulations and many others. The SMPs have to bear the high cost of doing business and incur a financial burden for renting their office, hiring professional staff, complying with their Continuing Professional Development obligations, etc. They have to compete to provide the best services at sometimes unreasonably low fees to their clients. The SMPs are oftentimes at a disadvantage in attracting CPAs to work for them, as they have to compete with the bigger practices and firms, which offer more in terms of benefits and stature. They have to contend with the ever-changing developments and changes in the international and local accounting rules and standards. The SMPs should also antici-

Monday, April 24, 2017 A15

pate the demands that a disruptive technology will bring in the future. At the same time, the SMPs can and should take advantage of the opportunities in their field. The positive business and investment climate in the Philippines will always require the services of accountants to the various stakeholders and business enterprises. Likewise, with the continued demand for professional accountancy services in other countries, it is high time that Filipino SMPs consider the possibility of expanding their practice and services to the global community. The various Mutual Recognition Arrangements for accountancy services and liberalization initiatives will push further the overseas opportunities. However, for the SMPs to gain headway in all of these opportunities, they should be ready to change mindsets and practices. They should start preparing and investing to be the best in their league. While there are so many potential clients out there that may tap the SMPs for their services, it is also true that an SMP will have to outshine many other professionals focused on getting a targeted engagement. The process to improving your SMP is a long and difficult one. But it is doable for as long as one is disciplined and focused. The Board of Accountancy (BOA) is focused on assisting the SMP that

has the vision to excel. In the SixPoint Expanding Horizons Strategic Plan, it has key strategies and approaches in empowering the SMPs, to include, instituting quality and governance measures, enhancing the image and reputation of the professional accountant, instituting structural changes and providing communicating and assistance mechanisms. With the BOA focused towards uplifting the profession, SMPs can expect that their time to rise to greater heights is in the horizon. (Note: The BOA will hold an “Expanding the Horizons of SMPs” Summit on May 9 and 10. Announcements on this will be posted in this column next week and in the Facebook Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and the boa.com.ph web site) To be continued Chairman Joel L. Tan-Torres is the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy. He is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He is concurrently a tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPAs. He was the former Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010. This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

PPP conversations: No. 1 with PPP Center By Alberto Agra

PPP Lead Continued from A1

S PPP critical for development? Why? PPP is critical input to growth and development being a funding resource for selected infrastructure and development projects and a mechanism to free up government’s fiscal space for other development requirements. At the same time, it harnesses private sector efficiencies and innovation in the critical aspects of project design construction, operations, maintenance and actual service delivery. The Duterte administration’s

10-point economic agenda looks at PPPs playing a critical role in its infrastructure spending and development targets. It will reinforce and augment the government’s resources and development options such as Official Development Assistance and internal government budget. What are the essential elements and ingredients for success? The success of PPPs is anchored on the Implementing Agency’s (IA) commitment to pursue projects such as PPPs. Such commitment should be enabled by the IA’s solid institutional competencies and capability to plan out, prioritize, develop

Chump change Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

ulture will dictate how far an organization will progress or digress as former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said, “Culture is destiny”. Changing a culture seems a daunting task since mindsets of those within the organization have been likely set, fixed and established by factors outside the organization, such as family, religion and school. Of the many core beliefs that Filipinos need to do to make the Philippines great again as suggested by lawyer and author Alexander Lacson, I think the most important belief is that we Filipinos should consider that “unity is higher and more important than individuality, without choking anyone’s creativity”. We should stand united, for, in the words of former United States President John F. Kennedy, “united, there is little we cannot do; divided, there is little we can do”. World observers said our leaders and our people ought to have started and sustained the gradual change process after People Power in 1986 toppled a dictatorship. However, a year after that event, American writer James Fallows called the Filipinos as a people with a damaged culture, because, according to him, we do not have a sense of community as a people. We do not care for one another. In American slang, the phrase “chump change” means a small or trivial amount of money. Someone surmised that “chump” in English was probably a combination of the two words “chunk” and “lump”, as chump originally meant

a “lump of wood” in the 18th century. Chump eventually took a second meaning, such as a fool or gullible person. Thus, the phrase “chump change” can technically mean an amount of money only a fool would think as many. While kings, presidents and leaders can change things instantly by a stroke of a pen or by a strike of a sword, ordinary people can sustain such changes by way of chump change, or better yet, with “little things”. However, whether an act is chump change is a matter of perspective. For instance, during a visit to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration space center in 1962, then-US President John

and structure a PPP project; secure mandated approvals and pursue a transparent and competitive selection process toward choosing the best private partner. Focused PPP project implementation monitoring is another key success factor. Continued PPP policy and process improvements are also critical to a successful PPP Program. What is the role of the PPP Center? As the mandated agency to facilitate and coordinate the PPP Program, its provision of capacity building and technical support to implementing agencies in all aspects of project development and procurement, policy and processes, as well as implementation monitoring, have been regarded as critical inputs to a successful PPP program. The PPP Center’s Project Development and Monitoring, Facility has specifically been instrumental in affording implementing agencies the needed due diligence in PPP project development and structuring, as

well as transaction advisory guidance during procurement stages. What are the obstacles and risks in PPP? What will make PPPs not viable? What should be avoided? Like any other infrastructure or development undertaking, PPPs have inherent viability considerations and risks best defined and carefully structured at project development stages. The build-operate-transfer law and its implementing rules and regulations, the PPP policy issuances and PPPC’s technical support interventions have established mechanisms through which implementing agencies are enabled, and their PPP projects afforded the needed due diligence at project decision stages where said risks and considerations are crucial. Watch out for more conversations in the future. Let me know who you want to hear from.

F. Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He walked over to the man and asked what he was doing. “Well, Mr. President,” the janitor responded, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” Day i n a nd d ay out, R e y or “Toto” happily performed his job of sending and receiving mail in the Bureau of Immigration. For some people, Toto’s job as a messenger is as menial as delivering documents to our internal offices. But for me, Toto’s role is as critical as any other job, as he insures that everyone in the Bureau is equipped with all relevant information, myself in particular. Without all the relevant information, a leader will likely make mistakes. Perhaps Toto was not consciously aware that his acts served a higher purpose, but the little things he did, the chump change so to speak, helped me, in my capacity as the leader of that agency, to make fewer mistakes. Every time I report to our office in Philippine Airlines (PAL), I meet Ely and Leni, two people who never fail to greet me, help me, make me smile, or otherwise make my workday as comfortable as possible. Ely makes sure no unauthorized persons enter our office, and even helps me in and out of the door, especially when my hands are full. Leni, meanwhile, gives me enough water, coffee or snacks to keep me nourished all throughout the day. For some, the roles of Ely and Leni may be insignificant in relation to roles of the executives in PAL. But for me, the simple gestures of Ely and Leni of insuring that PAL executives are secure and comfortable is as important as any other worker’s function in PAL. In an online article on

May 2016, Sarah Griffiths said people should not make any important decisions while feeling hungry. Produced by the stomach in anticipation of a meal, too much ghrelin has a negative effect on decision-making. As cited by Griffiths in her article, Karolina Skibicka of the University of Gothenburg said that increasing ghrelin levels due to hunger, “causes the brain to act impulsively and also affects the ability to make rational decisions”. Perhaps Ely and Leni are not consciously aware that their small acts of service serve a higher purpose, but the little things they have been doing have helped PAL executives make rational decisions. Simply put, Ely and Leni are there to make sure ghrelin hormones of key decision makers in PAL are kept in check! The little things courier Toto, guard Ely and utility worker Leni perform, when taken together, contribute to a better culture in their organization. The messengers, the guards, the janitors and the clerks, all help out in the spirit of bayanihan. And that culture, contrary to what Fallows says, is the Filipino culture of caring for one another. In our country, our gestures of caring, while chump change for some, define who we are as a people. In the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” So I say to Mr. Wallace and other disbelievers, we Filipinos have a caring culture—it is just a matter of perspective.

E-mail me at alberto.c.agra@gmail.com.

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A16 Monday, April 24, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

D.O.T. SEES 91-PERCENT HIKE IN VISITORS WITH ‘REVIVED’ INTRAMUROS By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE The top sales executives at Eternal Gardens, lead preneed company in the country, were treated to a fun-filled weekend in Hong Kong by management, led by D. Edgard A. Cabangon, chairman and CEO; Benjamin V. Ramos, vice chairman; Numeriano B. Rodrin, president and COO; Jose Antonio V. Rivera, vice president for sales and marketing; Marvin C. Timbol, vice president for finance; and T. Anthony C. Cabangon, director. Also with them were the different branch managers who did well in hitting the sales goals they set out to do at the beginning of the sales period.

‘PHL should take charge of fisheries in the South China Sea’–research

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Philippines may be enjoying close relations with China, but the country must now advance its own fisheriesmanagement policies in the disputed South China Sea (SCS), a research recommended.

In a study by the Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute, Maria Carmen A. Lagman said the Philippines must reinforce the ruling of the arbitral tribunal on the country’s case against China. Lagman, who is also biology professor at the De La Salle University, said the Philippines must insist on a national and regional fisheries-management agenda in the SCS. T he a d vo c a c y, w h ic h w a s aimed at addressing the challenges of food security, environment protec t ion a nd c l imate change, would require the Philippines and other countries encircling the SCS to establish transboundary marine parks or areas of joint protection, Lagman wrote in the study, titled “Converging on the Fisheries in the South China Sea”. She added the Philippines and other countries should also bring into discussions other international policy instruments and develop regional-level policies targeted toward small-scale fisheries. Lagman said these options are becoming more than ever urgent because failure to manage the fisheries in the SCS could lead to exploitation of marine life in the area. Citing data from another research, Lagman reported fisheries landing in the SCS in 2015 amounted to 10 million tons (MT),

17 MT The amount contributed every year by the South China Sea to total global traded fisheries catch

which was 12 percent of the total global catch.

Likely underestimated

LAGMAN said “this data is likely to be underestimated” and it might even increase to 16.6 MT if catch from subsistence, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing are included. Fisheries-trade figures said the SCS contribute 11 MT to 17 MT in traded fisheries catch annually, with a landed value of no less than $12 billion. This translates to over 3 million jobs associated with fishing activities. “With so much at stake,” Lagman said, “it is no wonder that control of the fisheries [in the SCS] will definitely be a source of economic and political tension.” However, she argued that other countries with claims over the SCS should also come up with a focused set of policy instruments on smallscale fisheries, which was seen to

be the practical alternative to industrial fishing. Lagman said small-scale fishers lose income when commercial vessels intrude their fishing areas, as these boats make use of abusive catching tools—trawls, ring nets and purse seines—that virtually harvest all organisms. The unregulated business of industrial fishing in the SCS led to the collapse in a number of large predatory fish, according to the study. The latter, which include tunas and groupers, are now slowly replaced by smaller fish highly reliant on zooplankton, like the tilapia and crawfish.

Spatially explicit

LAGMAN said overfished stocks would result to the phenomenon known as “fishing down the food web”, highlighted by a reduction in the quality and size of catch. Lagman surmised the reduction in catch quality and size were already factored in by countries surrounding the SCS, as they have seen a decrease in demersal and pelagic fish stocks over the past decades. The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of the Philippines, Vietnam, east Malaysia and southern China has long been exceeded since the late-1980s, the study said. The MSY is seen as the threshold, and hence, immediate and substantial action must be taken to secure the harvested stock. The study said exhaustion of the MSY is reason enough for countries contending over the SCS to discuss the convergence of the fisheries in the area. “The fish are a common resource for the countries in the SCS,” Lagman said. “Unless effort is taken to accommodate the transboundary nature of the resources, managing them would not be effective.” She noted that fisheries policies in many of the disputing countries were almost, if not fully, spatiallyexplicit.

Citing the Philippines, the country declared some of its key fishing grounds closed seasons for commercial fishing. These included the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay to sardine fishing, selected areas of the Visayan Sea to sardines, herring and mackerels and the West Philippine Sea to Northern Sulu Sea to round scad fishing.

Strategy focus

JUDGING by the oceanographic features of the SCS, Lagman pinpointed the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal as the sources of the area’s propagules and, therefore, should be the focus of management strategies. Lagman also raised concern over the effects of pollution, siltation, destructive fishing and eutrophication resulting from human activities on the coastline, as this would contaminate the mangroves, sea grass meadows and coral reefs in the SCS. Already threatened by coastal activities that deposit sediments, nutrients and effluents, the SCS is further jeopardized by destructive fishing practices that make use of trawls, push nets, dynamite and poison. In addition, about $5.3 trillion of trade courses through the SCS every year, with the aspiration that no accident will occur, such as the Guimaras oil spill in 2006, when a tanker carrying 2 million liters of bunker fuel sank at the Guimaras Strait, damaging biodiversity-rich areas in the Philippines. This is why the aggression of China on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands is a cause of concern for biologists, as Beijing was seen building seven new islands in the area by moving sediment from the seafloor to the reef. “Reefs have been destroyed outright to serve as foundations for these new islands, causing longterm extensive damage to the environment,” Lagman added.

HE Depa r t ment of Tourism (DOT) is targeting a rise in visitors to the walled city of Intramuros to 954,000 this year, up a whopping 91 percent from the 500,000 visitors in 2016. The higher number of visitors is expected as the “Intramuros Revival Project” initiated by the DOT last year yielded a newly renovated Paseo Soledad and Plaza Moriones in Fort Santiago. The renovated areas were formally launched on April 17, with the Intramuros Administration (IA) also announcing an extension of the park’s operation hours to 9 p.m., yet maintaining the same entrance fees at P75 for adults and P50 for students. Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, who led the launch of the newly renovated areas, said the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) has allotted P230 million for the renovation of Fort Santiago, which is part of a larger plan to redevelop Intramuros. Tieza is an attached agency of the DOT tasked to fund and construct infrastructure in tourism destinations, as well as operate and manage tourism enterprise zones. “This is part of the continuing efforts to preserve and revive the glory days of Intramuros as the nation’s foremost bastion of culture, history and faith,” said the DOT chief. “Having been at the helm of one of the country’s destination management companies [DMC], I know very well the importance of having good attractions, facilities and services”. “Our Manila DMCs will always have Intramuros as the highlight of city tours and thus, welcome continued physical enhancement and more exciting ways to retell history. The rest is up to them to liven up the conversation,” Teo added. The newly appointed IA administrator, lawyer Guiller Asido, disclosed that more areas, such as the Rajah Soliman Theater, reception venues and the dungeons, will be opened to the public once the rehabilitation is completed by the end of the year. “We are looking at the completion of the first phase of the Intramuros Museum and the

Maestranza Chambers this year,” he said. The renovated Plaza Moriones, which is the area leading to the iconic Fort Santiago, has been refreshed with flowering trees and a colorful fountain at the center. Paseo de Soledad, a portion of the linear park built along the banks of Pasig River, is now accessible through the river gate called Postigo Nuestra Señora de Soledad. Meanwhile, Teo also announced the opening of a three-month photo exhibition of masterpieces from Spain’s Museo del Prado in Intramuros. She said the exhibit of 53 life-size, high-definition photo reproductions of the paintings will transform Intramuros streets into “public art spaces”. The exhibit is a joint project of the IA and Spain’s embassy in Manila and will run from June to August. “It’s a laudable undertaking between the Embassy of Spain and our own Intramuros Administration in that it accentuates the grandeur of our culture’s Spanish heritage,” Teo said in a news statement. Dubbed El Museo del Prado en Filipinas, the exhibit will include a photo replica of Juan Luna’s “La Muerte de Cleopatra”, Teo revealed. The famous painting won for Luna a silver medal at the National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid in 1881. “The exhibition becomes more relevant to us Filipinos with the inclusion of the great work of Juan Luna, a fitting tribute to one of the most revered Filipino artist of the 19th century who marks his 160th birth anniversary this year,” Teo said. A separate exhibit of the Spanish artworks opened on Saturday at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City, coinciding w it h t he ce lebrat ion of “Dia del Libro” (World Book Day), organized annually by the Instituto Cervantes, t he c u lt u ra l a r m of t he Spanish government. The exhibit in Makati will run for five weeks before moving to Intramuros in June, when the Spanish Embassy donates the photographic replicas to IA, Asido said. “While the historic fortress is in itself a living museum, seeing realistic photos of works of the great masters in its streets will be an added bonus,” he said.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo and Intramuros Administration head Atty. Guiller Asido lead the opening of the newly renovated Postigo Nuestra Señora de Soledad.