Businessmirror august 07, 2016

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Sunday, August 7, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 302

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REFRESHING DIP A catch basin of Didipio River upstream, the Addalam

Irrigation Dam in San Leonardo Aglipay, Quirino, provides refreshing dips to two local boys with its crystal-clear water. On a corporate level, OceanaGold (Philippines) partnered with the International River Foundation to promote the sustainable management of river basins and waterways downstream. LEONARDO PERANTE II

Dollar climbs as job gains bolster case for Fed rate increase

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HE dollar rose, touching its strongest in more than a week against the euro, after a report on US job growth for July bolstered bets the Federal Reserve (the Fed) will raise interest rates as soon as this year.

The greenback climbed versus major currencies, posting its biggest weekly gain since June versus the euro, as the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls climbed 255,000 in July, compared with the 180,000 median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

See “Dollar,” A2

YOU ARE OUR REFUGE

DEAR Lord, with all our voices, we cry to You; with all our voices, we entreat the Lord. We pour out our troubles before You; we tell You all our distress, while our spirit faints within us. But You, O Lord, know our path.

To You we cry, O Lord, we have said, “You are our refuge, our portion in the land of the living.” Listen then to our cry, for we are brought down very low.

Rescue us from those who pursue us, for they are stronger than us. Bring our soul out of prison, and we shall give thanks to Your name. Around us the just will assemble because of Your goodness to us. We continue to say, “You are our refuge all the days of our lives.” Amen!

Give Us This Day, Committee on Divine Worship, Shared by Louie M. Lacson

Peso to end 2016 weaker than expected vs dollar

By Bianca Cuaresma

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@BcuaresmaBM

HE local currency may end the year weaker than expected, as the US shows stronger economic indicators, pushing the dollar to a stronger position, a bank economist said.

In his most recent views on the local economy, ING Bank Manila economist Joey Cuyegkeng said they have reverted their forecast of the peso back to 47.50 to a dollar, from the earlier 46.6 to a dollar.

This is in line with their view the foreign-exchange market players would expect in an interest-rate hike in the first quarter of 2017 from the US Federal Reserve.

See “Peso,” A2

Poor students go to school on boats provided by LGU

By Joey Pavia Correspondent

PESO exchange rates n US 47.0140

An “Out of Order” sign is posted on the elevator of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Buendia station in Makati City, in this July 4, 2016, file photo. Ed Davad

By Krysten Mariann Boado

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AC ABEBE, Pampanga— At least 700 elementary- and high-school students, most of them poor and living in coastal villages here, are able to go to school, thanks to the free boat-ride project of Mayor Annette Flores-Balgan.

Balgan, a three-term mayor who prioritized education and livelihood, started the free transportation for students shortly after she assumed her post in 2010. This was “to limit the number of early marriages and teenage pregnancies, and allow young people living in far areas access to public education.”

“When I was visiting the coastal villages a long time ago, I spoke to young people carrying children. I thought the babies were either their younger brothers or sisters tagging along with them. I was surprised to learn the babies were their children,” Balgan said.

MRT 3 is not PWD friendly

Special to the BusinessMirror

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STUDENTS living along the coastal villages of Macabebe, Pampanga, go to school and are ferried home after on free boat rides, courtesy of Mayor Annette Flores-Balgan. LEO VILLACARLOS

“They seek partners even before reaching the age of 18, because they don’t go to school anymore. The fee for a boat ride was

expensive for them, or there was no boat ride at all in some areas of the town’s coastal villages,” she said.

ATALINA Magsucang is no stranger to the struggles of commuting.

To get to her workplace in Ayala, the 49-year-old data processor takes a cab from Crossing, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, and braves the infamous Edsa traffic, which costs both her patience and her money.

Magsucang considers herself luckier than most to afford a cab to work and acknowledges that not everyone can spend the same amount she does.

On good days, she pays P120 for her taxi fare. On bad days, where the road rages with bumper-to-bumper busses and cars and the heavens look down on weary commuters with its crying eyes, getting to the office costs her P200, a

large amount compared to the P16 she could have paid if she had taken the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3).

Unfortunately for Magsucang, she is left without a choice, but to take a taxi and sacrifice a chunk of her income in exchange for convenience, as the MRT 3 remains both inaccessible and dangerous for persons with disabilities (PWDs) like her.

“The first time I rode the MRT, I had to walk very far and climb up the stairs because the elevator was broken,” Magsucang said, recalling her experience in 2006. “Until now, the elevator is still out of order, which is why I no longer ride the MRT. I don’t want to ride the MRT.”

Having been inflicted with polio when she was only a year old, Magsucang admits that Continued on A2

See “Boat,” A2

n japan 0.4645 n UK 61.6448 n HK 6.0616 n CHINA 7.0776 n singapore 35.0432 n australia 35.8576 n EU 52.3360 n SAUDI arabia 12.5371

Source: BSP (5 August 2016 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, August 7, 2016

Peso…

Continued from a1

“Our previous year-end forecast of P46.60 assumed the next Fed rate hike would be late in the second quarter, which would allow the Philippines’s favorable external payments position to become dominant in periods of stable US Fed policy outlook,” Cuyegkeng said. “We have accelerated the timing of the rate hike to the first quarter of 2017, which implies that such outlook could be reflected earlier—by year-end.”

Another factor that could add to the peso’s weakness against the dollar toward the end of 2016, Cuyegkeng said, is the weaker balance of payments (BOP) position of the country for this year.

“The external payments position may not be as rosy as in the past,” Cuyegkeng said, citing a potentially larger trade deficit this year, as exports are still on the weaker side coupled with stronger imports due to a robust domestic demand.

In the central bank’s most recent report on the country’s BOP— or the summary of the country’s transactions with the rest of the world—the total first-half BOP position for 2016 is 62 percent lower than the BOP surplus of the country in the same period last year.

While it remains in surplus for January to June 2016, the BOP hit $634 million lower than the $1.68-billion surplus in the same six-month period in 2015.

The country’s BOP is usually an economic indicator, as it totals the exchange of transactions between the Philippines and the rest of the world. A surplus in the economy’s BOP means there were more dollar inflows during the period compared to the outflows.

Although a weaker peso may be a loss of value of the local currency against the dollar, this is positive news for the inflow of remittances in the country—which has been registering a shaky growth since the start of the year.

A weaker local currency will increase the peso value of remittances sent by Filipino migrant workers to the Philippines—which is expressed in dollars in the banks’ reportage to the central bank.

As such, a larger peso value of remittances will push sustained stronger domestic demand even if dollars sent are slightly lower than earlier months.

Cash sent home by Filipino migrant workers slipped anew in May, registering the second-lowest monthly expansion for the year, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas report showed.

In particular, cash remittances in the country saw a 1.9-percent growth for May—from a month’s inflow of $2.126 billion in May 2015 to $2.188 billion in May 2016.

This is one of the slowest monthly growth rates of the country’s cash remittances, second only to the 1.2-percent contraction in March.

Latest data from the PDS Group showed the peso appreciated before ending the week’s trade at a close of 46.90 to a dollar on Friday.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MRT 3 is not PWD friendly Continued from A1

This December 20, 2015, file photo shows the waiting line to the train platforms snaking its way down the stairs and into the streets, at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 North Avenue station in Quezon City. ed davad

traveling for PWDs can be quite a challenge.

True to her experience, commuting for PWDs via the MRT 3 presents a different level of difficulty, danger and discomfort, as not all MRT 3 stations have fully operating elevators that give PWDs access to the platforms to ride the trains. This forces them either to climb up the stations’ steep stairways or to take the escalators.

National Council for Disability Affairs Executive Director Carmen Zubiaga said PWDs need operating elevators in the MRT 3 system, a persisting problem, which has been neglected by the Department of Transportation for a very long time.

“Even before the Aquino administration, we have already given a failing mark to the MRT 3 for PWD accessibility,” Zubiaga said.

“They are not compliant with making facilities available for PWDs to use the MRT.”

Zubiaga also said most nonfunctioning elevators in the train line are those located at the nonpaid areas of the stations, making it difficult for PWDs to enter past the point of the ticketing system where the platforms to get aboard the trains are located.

The transport department declared a 54.19-percent elevator efficiency in its annual equipment monitoring report for 2015. As for the first half of 2016, the department has stated 33.54 percent.

The same report also classified five MRT 3 elevators as idle during the entire year with all these nonoperating elevators located in unpaid areas of the train system. Cumulatively, 29 out of 34 elevators were nonfunctioning for more than a month, while 23 elevators remained out of order for more than 100 days during the same year.

Of the 24 elevators located in the train system’s unpaid areas, only 11 of them managed to operate for more than half a year in 2015, while only three elevators in these areas were functioning for more than three months between January and June 2016.

The BusinessMirror also conducted an ocular visit on June 29 to the train line’s 13 stations and observed that nearly half of the train system’s elevators are

out of order. The results of the ocular visit also supported Zubiaga’s claim that most of the nonoperating elevators were located at the stations’ nonpaid areas.

Besides the nonfunctioning elevators in the MRT 3’s stations, there are not enough coaches to carry the 350,000 passengers riding the MRT daily. This has led to overcrowded trains, which means less space for wheelchairs, crutches and canes used by PWDs.

Despite the allocation of a special coach for PWDs, pregnant women and senior citizens, other passengers who do not qualify as any of the aforementioned three categories tend to cross over and ride in these special coaches.

Magsucang said this is another reason she does not want to ride the MRT.

“It’s really crowded; that’s why I’m left without a choice, especially since the guards can’t notice and prioritize us because there are a lot of passengers,” she said.

Aside from crossing over to the special coach, passengers have the habit of pushing past people either to enter or exit the train. For Magsucang, this day-to-day and widely publicized phenomenon puts her safety and well-being at risk.

The transport department said the MRT 3 was designed to carry a maximum of 350,000 passengers daily. Initially, the train system began with 72 coaches. Through the years, the number has dwindled to a low of 34 coaches.

Today, 20 train sets are operational, according to an advisory by the train line’s management.

In a phone interview with the BusinessMirror, newly appointed Transportation Undersecretary Noel Kintanar said eight of the 48 trains ordered from China have been delivered to the department and are currently undergoing the testing and commissioning process to improve the railway line’s level of service.

As for the nonfunctioning elevators, Kintanar said, since the contract for their maintenance has been awarded, he hopes they will soon be up and running.

Aside from the nonoperating elevators and crowded trains, the train system also poses a risk of

danger for its commuters.

In 2015 Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (Agham) said the MRT is five times more dangerous than other trains in the world due to the “lack of proper maintenance” and “management failure.” Agham also recorded a total of 3.48 injuries for every 100 million passenger-miles of the MRT, while trains in the US only get 0.7 injury.

These injuries stem from incidents ranging from defective doors to brake failures to derailing trains to power disruption.

Train expert Rene Santiago echoes Agham’s sentiments, saying the government has yet to fix the MRT’s signaling system, which has been responsible for these tallied injuries and accidents.

The signaling system, Santiago said, is responsible for the mobility of the MRT 3’s trains. It controls their speeds and provides “stop” and “go” commands to the light-rail vehicles.

“Right from the very beginning, the facilities of the MRT 3 have already been inefficient, not just for PWDs, but also for the elderly,” Santiago said. “The problem is you might be sincere in fixing the MRT’s problems, but do you know how to do it?”

Santiago said that, aside from the signaling system, the train system also has problems with its power supply, especially when there are instances of overloading, where the power supply fails to provide sufficient energy to the trains, causing them to come to a halt.

Between January 2015 and June 2016, the transport department has tallied a total of 45 incidents of MRT 3 service interruptions due to system failure. These interruptions, which disrupt the revenue operations for more than 10 minutes, are caused by problems in the train system’s signaling, tracks and power supply, among others.

The department has also recorded 40 incidents of MRT 3 service interruption due to train failure during the same period.

With regard to these safety issues, Kintanar said his office’s project management department is currently looking at systems to improve and upgrade the MRT 3’s

Dollar…

signaling system.

He said the transport department’s top priority is to increase the power supply’s capacity, addressing the problem as soon as possible despite the fact that such improvements might take some time.

“The safety of the passengers is always paramount, and in rail, we have to underscore that safety is a very long and stringent process,” he said.

Santiago proposes that, in order for the transport agency to become efficient in managing the train line, it must bid out the train system’s maintenance to one private company rather than relying on five to six proponents.

He said the company must also be chosen because of its qualification in handling the transport system, not because of its relations to those in power.

Zubiaga believes President Duterte can usher improvements the PWD sector needs, especially since the president has made Davao one of the most PWD-friendly cities in the Philippines under his leadership.

“We hope he will really support the inclusion of PWDs in terms of environment, transportation and the full implementation of laws,” she said. “In turn, we will come up with some dialogues with PWDs so we can present our agenda to the President.”

For now, Magsucang can only hope for improvements on the MRT 3’s facilities when it comes to its safety and accessibility.

“It’s not that I want special treatment, but as a PWD, it should be a priority,” Magsucang said. “I only want the administration to improve land transportation or provide us with a special lane enclosing and prioritizing PWDs.”

Kintanar assured PWDs like Magsucang that the Duterte administration will do its best to make the system PWD friendly in the shortest possible time.

“The commitment would be to get the whole system PWD accessible as soon as possible,” Kintanar said. “Rest assured, we are doing our best in the fastest possible time to address what we can fix in order to provide train access to PWDs.”

Boat…

Continued from a1

The Macabebe local government is spending at least P164,000 monthly to pay the owners of the 23 motorized boats, which provides transportation services to the students from seven villages, municipal administrator Jomel Cruz said. He showed the latest payment vouchers for the project.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported in early July the Philippines is the only Asia-Pacific country where the rate of teen pregnancies rose over the last two decades. It said girls aged 15 to 19 make up 10 percent of the country’s population of 100 million and one out of 10 has already given birth, UNFPA country representative Klaus Beck said in an Associated Press report.

Residents and village officials said some of the people in the seven villages got married or became pregnant when they were between “11 and 17 years old.”

The students fetched from their villages, brought to schools and returned to their homes are from Barangays Caduang Tete, Mataguiti, Castuli, Saplad David, Santa Maria, Dalayap and San Esteban. Santa Maria has 233 students relying on the project of the mayor, the highest number compared to the six other barangays.

Barangay Captains Newton San Angel of Caduang Tete, Alfredo Mallari Jr. of Mataguiti, Domingo Gamboa of Castuli and Ruben Garcia of Saplad David were all praises for the longtime project of Balgan.

They said “no other mayor has done a project truly beneficial to their constituents, especially the poor ones.”

Garcia said a student spends at least P40 for a ride from their village to the school. Then they need another P40 for a return trip home, he said.

Balgan urged the students to attend classes on a regular basis “even if they only have a boiled egg with rice or bread for lunch.”

Gamboa said most of the parents of the students are working as caretakers and security personnel of fish ponds.

“They only earn enough and they could not afford to spend so much for the education of their children. The free boat ride helps them send their kids to school,” he added.

“They will have a bright future once they finish their education.

You can’t go to college if you don’t get over high school. Education is always the best weapon against poverty,” said Balgan, who also helps poor but deserving people get college education.

Most of those given free boat rides are studying at the public high school in Caduang Tete, which has more than 7,000 students.

It’s the most populated public high school in Macabebe. Caduang Tete could be reached by Castuli residents after a 45-minute boat ride.

Continued from a1

Evidence of strength in the world’s biggest economy may help the dollar rebound from a slump of almost 4 percent this year by reviving expectations US monetary policy will further diverge from that of the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, which are adding stimulus to spur growth.

“We’ve been long-term bullish on the dollar and we continue to be,” said Kathy Jones, New Yorkbased chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab & Co. “This number should push us more toward a rate hike and more divergence.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the currency against 10 major peers, rose 0.3 percent as of 5 p.m. in New York.

The greenback gained 0.4 percent to $1.1086 per euro, and 0.6 percent to ¥101.82. Its 0.8-percent weekly gain versus the euro is tied for the steepest rally since the week of the UK vote to leave the European Union.

The Fed kept rates unchanged at its meeting last week, while say-

ing “near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished.” Officials also underscored a plan to stick to a gradual pace of policy tightening.

The payrolls data, which included signs of rising wages, may allay concern fueled by a muchweaker-than-projected report on second-quarter economic growth last week.

“It’s very positive data for the US dollar,” said Shaun Osborne, chief foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto. “The data will support the impression that, after a soft first half, economic prospects are picking up again.”

The market-implied probability of a rate increase this year rose to 48 percent, from about 36 percent in the minutes before the release of the labor figures, futures data show.

“The US dollar should be bid here,” said Bipan Rai, senior foreign-exchange and macro strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto. “Taken with the firmer wages number, the pain from last week’s growth number

has been eased.”

The labor report is welcome news for hedge funds and other large speculators in the futures market, who grew more bullish on the dollar in recent weeks, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. Bloomberg News

NewsSunday

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday, August 7, 2016 A3

Abus kidnap 3 as Duterte orders their elimination ‘to the last man’

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RESIDENT Duterte on Friday night ordered soldiers to intensify the campaign against terrorism, including the immediate elimination of the Abu Sayyaf.

Dedication to duty Former Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pays tribute to hundreds of barangay nutrition scholars of Quezon province during their Second Annual Convention at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City, “for their selfless act of serving the health needs of the people in their barangays.” Quezon province officials, led by Gov. David Suarez, and members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (Quezon Chapter) warmly welcomed Marcos, who also thanked the people of Quezon province for their support to his vice-presidential bid.

DOTr hopes Metro road network can handle Miss Universe traffic

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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HE transportation department is optimistic that at the rate the administration is implementing reforms in the industry, the country’s roads and airports will be able to provide the mobility requirements of participants and guests of the Miss Universe Pageant in 2017.

Transportation Spokesman Cherie Mercado-Santos said the agency is closely coordinating with the Department of Tourism in planning for the transportation requirements of the foreign visitors who will attend the pageant.

“We are confident with the logistics and security planning of the Department of Tourism and [we] are willing to work hand in hand with them for the smooth flow of traffic during Miss Universe events in Metro Manila,” Santos told the BusinessMirror.

In terms of road usage, the two departments will map out routes to minimize the possible increase in congestion related to the event.

“The Department of Tourism is heeding the call of President Duterte to consider traffic situation in Metro Manila in staging the event,” Santos said.

W hile the coronation night will be held in Manila, preliminary events will be staged in different parts of the country. This is to limit the actual impact of the event in Metro Manila’s already clogged roads, while promoting the beauty of the country’s tourist spots.

Tou r i sm Sec ret a r y Wa nd a Corazon T. Teo said the Miss Universe precoronation events will be held in Davao, Cebu, Boracay, Palawan and Ilocos.

In relation to the aviation requirements of the contingent, the government plans to use Clark International Airport to lessen the effect on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

“I understand that the f lights of the Miss Universe contingent will be spread out from the start until the second week of January 2017, with most of the contingent—including the production crew—arriving at the Clark air-

port,” Santos said.

The contest is expected to bring in foreign tourists to the Philippines, hence Tourism Undersecretary for Media Affairs Katherine de Castro said, in principle, President Duterte has already approved the holding of the Miss Universe 2017 contest in Manila.

Hosting the Miss Universe in the Philippines is estimated to cost about $10 million to $12 million, aside from the franchise fee that the host country has to pay the United States organizers.

Duterte has said the government will not invest in the said activity, but the private sector has already expressed willingness to help fund the costs of the Miss Universe beauty pageant, if and when Duterte approves the holding of the event in Manila next year.

If Duterte approves, it will be the third time the Miss Universe contest will be held in the Philippines. The first was in 1974, at the Folk Arts Theater, and the second was in 1994, at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Govt agencies, civic group renew tie-up for Marikina watershed rehabilitation

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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HE Department of Environment and Natural R esou rces ( DEN R ) h a s renewed its partnership with the Rotary Club of Makati-Rockwell (RCMR) and the Career Executive Service Board (CESB) to rehabilitate a 30-hectare portion of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL).

The partnership is expected to go beyond the UMRBPL, as leaders of the two civic-oriented groups vowed to strengthen environmental protection programs in partnership with the DENR. Under the tie-up, the RCMR and CESB agreed to plant trees on an additional 30 hectares of forestland within the UMRBPL, a major source of water supply for Metro Manila and nearby areas.

T he DENR-RCMR- CESB partnership originally covers only 7 hectares at Sitio San Ysidro in barangay San Jose, Antipolo City, under the National Greening

Program (NGP), the government’s flagship reforestation initiative.

RCMR has been funding the planting and maintenance of some 3,000 tree seedlings planted by its volunteers since last year under its Preventing Disasters, Providing Livelihood Project, which received technical support from the DENR’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) in Rizal.

Rizal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Isidro Mercado said the expansion is expected to benefit residents of San Ysidro, both in terms of economic and environmental opportunities.

Mercado said residents in the area were hired to conduct maintenance and protection activities on the planted areas, including the right to harvest the fruits from the grown trees, like guyabano, mabolo, laputi and bunga.

The additional 30 hectares cover steep hillsides that have been plagued by severe erosion, affecting the agricultural activities of families trying to establish small, intensive household farm

lots in the area.

Meanwhile, Mercado endorsed the plan of RCMR to bring the DENR’s partnership with RCMR and CESB to other provinces.

He said former RCMR President Rolando Metin plans to include coastal planting somewhere along the coasta l areas of Quezon province and do the planting activity twice instead of once a year.

The tripartite partnership began in 2010 when Metin, a former DENR undersecretary and CESB member, engaged the DENR for a tree-planting activity along the South Luzon Expressway (Slex).

The Slex Tree-Planting Project was aimed at improving road safety and comfort for motorists by planting and growing trees along the 45-kilometer expressway.

By 2014, the project planted some 18,423 indigenous and ornamental tree seedlings, which included golden showers and fire trees, with a 50- percent to 70-percent survival rate based on the assessment done by the DENR-Region 4A office in Calamba City, Laguna.

“There will be no peace agreement [with the Abu Sayyaf]. Tapusin na ninyo [Finish them] to the last man,” Duterte said.

The President issued the marching order during a talk with some 200 soldiers at the Bondad Hall of the Armed Forces Central Command headquarters at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, here shortly before 10 p.m. on Friday.

In the talk, which lasted 45 minutes, the President also reiterated his stand that there will be no coalition government with communist rebels.

“I will never agree to a coalition government [with communist rebels],” he said.

Duterte also vowed to increase the strength of the Armed Forces by 10,000 soldiers next year and give the military and the police the best equipment.

He said he prefers a negotiated contract in the purchase of military equipment to choosing the “ lowest bidder, which results in the lowest quality.”

The President also said the “lowest bidder process [has] turned out to be the biggest source of corruption.”

While Duterte, however, is ordering the troops to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf to the last man, armed men believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits seized three people in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Senior Supt. Romulo Cleve Taboso, Zamboanga Sibugay police commander, said on Saturday his personnel are working with military forces to track down the gunmen and their victims.

“Nasa laot pa sila [They are still in the high seas],” Taboso said.

The other troops are scouring the coastal areas.

Taboso identified the victims as Elmer Romoc, an employee of the Payao town treasurer’s office; his wife Nora; and son Ricson.

He said the gunmen took the victims from their residence in Barangay Kulisap in Payao at about 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

The victims, Taboso said, do not belong to a wealthy family since the husband is “only an employee and not the municipal treasurer” of Payao.

He said although the family owns a store in Barangay Kulisap, it is only a typical sari-sari store. PNA

Ombudsman suspends 2 Tesda execs

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HE Ombudsman has ordered the one-year suspension of two officials of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) who were found guilty of “conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.”

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales found that Director Zeus Ampuyas of the Tesda office in Central Mindanao and Provincial Director Florante Leona Herrera of North Cotabato awarded a training service contract to the Kidapawan Assessment and Training Center (KATC) despite the suspension of its accreditation.

As a result of the award, the K ATC was guaranteed payment of service fees amounting to P750,000.

Records show that in April 2009, the Tesda granted KATC a Certificate of Program Registration for the conduct of a technicaleducation program.

In September 2009 the KATC was suspended for 30 days after accreditation deficiencies were uncovered. Despite KATC’s suspension, Ampuyas and Herrera granted the firm another training batch on heavy-equipment operation. PNA

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, August 7, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Just in time: A distraction of Olympic proportion

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By Dick Meyer | Scripps Washington Bureau/TNS Forum

HANK God for the Summer Olympics. They have never come at a better time.

What could possibly be a better prescription for our tired, election-fried nation than spending a couple weeks obsessed with beach volleyball, badminton, pole vaulting and the modern pentathlon? Absolutely nothing.

If I could spend all two weeks doing nothing but watching Olympic sports, I would. The Olympics this year are a heaven-sent opportunity to indulge in distraction and moral uplift, both of which we desperately need. So go ahead and indulge. In this modern age, we are a media-soaked people, with big screens on ours wall and tiny screens in our paws.

Personally, I think this will drive our species to robotic despondence in a few short decades, but that’s another story. Right now, we are drowning from a multimedia hose-spraying constant updates of this dreadful, demoralizing and infinite election. We deserve a break today, and the easiest way to get it is to massively change the channel. What would happen if we, the voters, took our eyes off this two-year marketing marathon for two weeks? Nothing. If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, it still falls. Or something like that. Whatever.

Maybe Donald Trump will do something way crazier or offensive than he’s ever done before. That’s very possible, but so what? It’s hard to imagine what’s left for him to do that would convince his opponents that he’s sane, decent and fit for office or convince his ardent backers that he’s insane, indecent and unfit for office. And if he does pull off something so mega-yuuuge, we’ll have plenty time to ponder it after the last gold medal is awarded.

Maybe Trump will drop out—take his toys and go back to his tower. Then the 168 members of the Republican National Committee will meet somewhere and pick a new nominee. Maybe it will be Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney or even Vladimir Putin, Trump’s choice. Whatever. You can read about it during breaks in women’s gymnastics and still have more than two months to ponder your vote. Maybe Trump’s opposition research team or Russian hackers will unearth some angle to a Hillary Clinton scandal that 25 years of digging has missed.

Maybe her untrustworthy rating will actually exceed 100 percent. Maybe she’ll crash in the polls and retreat to a spa for a month. Whatever.

We, the voters, will still have weeks and weeks and tweets and tweets to sort it all out, after the Olympic closing ceremony. But most likely, nothing truly consequential will happen, the whole political-warming climate will cool down and the air will freshen a tad, and this whole calamity will feel less calamitous—for a blessed while, at least.

I know there are some people who are truly excited and inspired by Clinton and her quest, people who are loving this campaign. And I know there are people who truly think Trump is a gutsy maverick and not another political BS-artist and they are loving this campaign. But I haven’t met very many. Even fans of the two candidates are grossed out by the big picture.

Since 2005

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N the 475 days since the late President Corazon C. Aquino created the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) on February 28, 1986, up to July 26, 1987, the last day of her revolutionary government, the PCGG sequestered more than 800 corporations, subsidiaries and other suspected ill-gotten wealth worth billions of pesos.

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos

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PCGG should not escape President Duterte’s attention

Database

By Cecilio T. Arillo

More assets, including cash, jewelry, treasury bills, shares of stocks, trust funds, bearer certificates, real-estate properties, aircraft, vessels, buildings, condominiums, apartments, houses, newspapers, radio and TV stations, were quietly sequestered, confiscated and been surrendered.

Subsequently, many of these assets either mysteriously disappeared or taken over by Mrs. Aquino’s own relatives, friends and cronies.

One “miracle” quickly followed after another in the 18 months of the Aquino administration, whose regime was known for numerous “miracles.”

For instance, it took the Aquino administration one day, just one day, to investigate and settle the assets of billionaire and confessed then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos crony and front man Jose Yao Campos.

The hasty and injudicious settlement of the 99 corporations and subsidiaries worth billions of pesos in Vancouver, Canada, saw the PCGG acting as investigator, prosecutor and judge, all at the same time.

Even more reprehensible, as detailed in my book Greed & Betrayal (published by Amazon), was the wholesale granting by the Aquino regime of immunity from civil and criminal prosecutions to scores of Marcos friends and cronies, who should, otherwise, have been thoroughly investigated and put in jail.

Because of this, the PCGG earned the sobriquet “pestilential combination of graft and greed” as some of those empowered by the Aquino administration to sequester the

The hasty and injudicious settlement of the 99 corporations and subsidiaries worth billions of pesos in Vancouver, Canada, saw the PCGG acting as investigator, prosecutor and judge, all at the same time. Even more reprehensible, as detailed in my book Greed & Betrayal (published by Amazon), was the wholesale granting by the Aquino regime of immunity from civil and criminal prosecutions to scores of Marcos friends and cronies, who should, otherwise, have been thoroughly investigated and put in jail.

ill-gotten wealth of Marcos, and his cronies transformed themselves, in just a few years, from virtual paupers, after emerging from their hideouts with empty suitcases, to veritable taipans, oligarchs and arrogant politicians, complete with mansions, expensive cars and millions of pesos in bank accounts.

And while the number of poverty-stricken people increased by the day, their proud and bejeweled wives shamelessly flaunted their newly acquired wealth and often graced the front and society pages of the country’s newspapers and TV channels.

The chairmanship of the PCGG in Aquino’s time had changed hands five times—from former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga, to Ramon A. Diaz, to Adolf S. Azcuna, to Mateo T. Caparas and to David M. Castro.

And yet, not one of them and Aquino had rendered to the nation a complete individual accounting of the purloined assets despite the constitutional mandate in Section 1, Article XI, that: “Public officers and employees must, at all times,

be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice and lead modest lives.”

On March 3, 1999, the PCGG, exactly 17 years today after its creation, is still enmeshed in a web of legal controversies, onerous compromise deals and accusations of graft and corruption.

The quasi-judicial body, with vast powers to sequester, issue summonses and grant immunity from prosecution, was also mandated to prevent concealment, destruction and dissipation of assets; investigate cases of corruption; and adopt safeguards to ensure the plunder shall not be repeated in succeeding administrations.

To ensure success, the Aquino regime allotted P649 million for its recovery efforts, set up offices here and abroad, employed more than 1,500 foreign and local lawyers, accountants, intelligence agents, fiscal agents and asset monitors, and gave the PCGG unhampered access to all branches of government.

But what happened?

In six years ending June 30, 1992, the PCGG recovered only P4,216,654,434.09 in cash, less than P10 billion in kind and $356 million in Swiss bank pledges out of the $15 billion the Aquino administration claimed Marcos, his relatives, friends and cronies had plundered in 20 years. Some estimates even placed the purloined assets at between P25 billion and $250 billion, including gold hordes.

But how could this be possible when Marcos’s official accumulated budget in 20 years was only P486.42 billion?

This is a highly controversial government agency that should not escape President Duterte’s attention.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, August 7, 2016 A5

Force with force R

EPORTING on the recent failed coup attempt in Turkey, Al Jazeera observed that in 1960 the military staged the first coup in the Turkish republic.

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

In 1971, as the world economy spun in a tailspin, the military stepped in to restore order.

In 1980 left- and right-wing groups clashed. The military stepped in, arrested the opposing parties in the hundreds of thousands and shot dozens on both sides.

In 1997 the military gave the government a list of recommendations on how better to run the country— starting with the resignation of the government.

A few weeks ago in the face of worsening presidential partiality for radical Islam against the historic secularism of the Turkish state since Ataturk refounded it; thereby, creating the possibility of a palace takeover of the Turkish state on behalf

of radical Islam, half of the military staged a putsch—which means a bigger coup like ours in 1989 to quell, which I summoned, US fighters.

But thanks to Facetime, the president was able to summon the other half of the military to suppress it. If Turkey had Filipino telcos, the beleaguered Turkish president would have been talking only to his hand when the putschists shot him. Shooting the president is what Edward Luttwak—who famously wrote the manual Coup d’Etat—said is what a successful coup must first do: Shoot the president.

Now the Turkish president is purging the military of potential enemies—with the help of the military, which may not stay his

A few weeks ago in the face of worsening presidential partiality for radical Islam against the historic secularism of the Turkish state since Ataturk refounded it; thereby, creating the possibility of a palace takeover of the Turkish state on behalf of radical Islam, half of the military staged a putsch—which means a bigger coup like ours in 1989 to quell, which I summoned, US fighters. friend for long.

In 1986, as I predicted early on, martial law would end only when the power that sustained it turned upon itself.

And so it came to pass: A part of

the military revolted and the rest was history.

The inspiration of RAM was not democracy but an earlier putsch in Portugal, when tanks, under a secretly communist commander, turned against the fascist government.

That is why our Constitution wisely provides that the army is the protector of the people and the state.

In the end, only force can beat force, like the Red Army in China and the Vietminh in Vietnam. Or like here, when the military cleaned up its act by “wiping the blood of the people from its blade and turning the sword on its commander in chief,” as I predicted at a dinner with then Prime Minister Cesar Virata—oh, much, much earlier.

Is hypocrisy the silent strategy of Western democracy?

By Dominique Von Rohr | Inter Press Service

R

OME—The official reasons for the United States-led, United Kingdom-backed invasion of Iraq in 2003 were to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, end Saddam Hussein’s support of terrorism and free the Iraqi people.

However, immediately after the US deposed and killed Iraq’s dictator and established a new authority to govern the country, a chaotic postinvasion environment surfaced, militias formed, inter-ethnic violence between Sunnis and Shias increased, and the Abu Ghraib scandal came to light.

In the following years, communities have been displaced, terror attacks have increased and the Islamic State has emerged. Since the beginning of the invasion by the US and its allies until the present day, 180,000 civilians lost their lives in Iraq, according to a database by the Iraq Body Count.

While it is undisputable that Saddam Hussein’s regime was brutal and appalling, the misery brought on by the war and endured by Iraqis until today is incomparable to the former dictator’s reign.

The Iraq war represents a catastrophe that could not have been more

disastrous. It most certainly brought the calamitous failures of western powers to the fore.

On July 6 Sir John Chilcot delivered a crushing 6,000-page verdict on the Iraq war and condemned former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision in backing George Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

In the document, Blair is accused of exaggerating the threat Hussein posed to British interests. The report states that peaceful alternatives to the war were not explored.

It further states that the information regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was presented in the media and named as one of the main causes of the war in spite of there’s being no proof of the existence of such weapons.

Chilcot writes the UK and the US undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council by going ahead with the invasion, and concludes the war in 2003 was, indeed, unnecessary.

Although Blair openly acknowledged parts of the accusations, he also rejected others. Blair believes it was essential to remove Hussein and the war is not the cause for the terrorism of today in the region. In the midst of all these allegations, American officials, so far, have kept quiet.

The families of the 179 Britons killed so unnecessarily during the war will use Chilcot’s report to seek justice. The families of the thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, however, may never receive it.

They never decided to be in a war.

They were no soldiers. Yet, their houses, their streets, their infrastructure, their way of making a living—everything has been destroyed, as life in the UK and America goes on as undisturbed as it has before the Iraqi war.

“Saddam has gone, but in his place, we now have 1,000 Saddams,” Kadhim al-Jabbouri, an Iraqi who used to repair Hussein’s motorcycles, told BBC news.

Blair and Bush have repeatedly insisted that Iraq and the world are better off without Hussein.

However, as the ringleaders behind the mass violence executed in Iraq, who are they to decide who deserves to live and die?

Blair and Bush are responsible for havoc and murder, and the galling question cannot be avoided: In the end, who killed more Iraqis?

The two democratically elected representatives of Western democracies, or the dictator who ruled Iraq before their arrival?

Wanting to bring freedom to the

people in Iraq is an honorable endeavor, however, whether this was the genuine intention of the US and Great Britain remains doubtful.

In many ways, Blair and Bush’s decision to wage war on Iraq represents the notion that Western democracy can easily be turned into western hypocrisy. Broadcasting the inhumane violence conducted in Iraq as a humanitarian intervention and as “war on terror,” the whole invasion really seems to have been engineered as a means of gaining power for the US and the UK. In the end, this power-hungry style of governance has cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

It is, thus, deeply appalling that today the entire Muslim population is held responsible by presidential candidate Donald Trump and other Islamophobes in the US and Europe for the criminal group that calls itself the Islamic State—a group whom no one has elected, and maybe would not even exist if it were not for countless US interventions.

“W hy then should Western liberal democracies not be held accountable for mass murderers, like Tony Blair and George Bush, who were, in fact, fairly and freely elected?” Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian Studies at Colombia

University, argues on Aljazeera.

In the process of writing the Chilcot report, the British government has prevented the release of specific documents. The exposure of extracts of a conversation between Bush and Blair recorded prior to the invasion of Iraq has been blocked.

The publishing of the Chilcot report had been postponed due to difficult negotiations with the United States, and now, certain content has been removed from the media with suspicious haste.

The manner in which the Iraq war is being dealt with thereby gives strength to the allegation that it was nothing less than an illegal war.

If this is truly a democratic world, should the initiators of the war not be prosecuted in the same way as previous African dictators and despots from the Middle East guilty of the same crime?

“I will be with you, whatever,” Blair wrote in one of his secret letters to Bush, written exchanges wherein the two leaders shared the belief that the time had come to define post-cold war world order.

It is this kind of western incompetence and adoption of imperialistic war tendencies that have created a platform for years of strife and conflict in the Middle East.

Can government raise wages? It’s worth a try O

By Noah Smith | Bloomberg View

NE of Hillary Clinton’s economic-policy ideas is that the government should try to push up wages. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also considered such a policy, and it has received enthusiastic support from economists, such as Princeton’s Alan Krueger and Alan Blinder.

But John Cochrane, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a former University of Chicago finance professor, is bitterly opposed: As economists, we are supposed to start with a problem. What is the market failure that stops companies form putting in productivity-enhancing profit-sharing programs? The idea that forcing companies to pay out greater wages is brand-new, made-up-on-the-spot

economics, designed to buttress policies decided on for other reasons.

Is Cochrane right? Certainly, 10 or 15 years ago, the idea that politicians could force up GDP by pressing companies to raise wages or share profits would have been considered a fringe idea. Should society give this idea serious consideration?

It all comes down to the burden of proof. Should we assume that markets work well, and that a special reason is needed in order to try an intervention? Or should we assume that there are all kinds of opportunities out there for tinkering to work, and try them out without first getting a theoretical consensus?

It’s important to see the big picture here. Every economics student learns about the “equity-efficiency trade-off.”

This is the idea that government can redistribute wealth from rich to poor, but only at a cost—the more redistribution gets done, the more overall economic output shrinks. The classic metaphor is that of a leaky bucket: While you’re carrying water from one person to another, some of it leaks through the bottom and gets wasted. But sometimes this analogy doesn’t work. There are cases when government tinkering with the economy can actually increase overall productivity. These are called “market failures,” because they represent situations where the unfettered free market isn’t optimal. Classic examples include pollution, monopolies and scientific research. Strategic interactions, in particular, can lead to a lot of market failures, as in the infamous prisoner’s dilemma. A crucial question

is how common market failures really are. If they’re rare, then only in extreme situations should we have the government intervene to improve the economy. That has been the default assumption of most economists for decades. But some people believe that such circumstances are a lot more ubiquitous. British economist John Kay has proposed that market failure should be seen not as a limited set of special cases, but as the norm. If that’s true, then we shouldn’t need to wait for theoretical justification in order to try out new policies designed to improve productivity. If market failures are everywhere, there’s a decent chance that any given policy intervention will hit one, even if we don’t know what it is in advance.

Let’s take wage policies as a case in point. Some people have suggested

The sobering lesson of a good jobs report

T

HE improvement in the US labor market is certainly good news. It could soon become a headache, however, if it persists alongside disappointing economic growth.

The economy added 255,000 jobs in July, after adding 292,000 in June.

Employment growth was weaker earlier in the year, and two solid months don’t make a trend—but even so, the labor market is in pretty good shape.

The unemployment rate stands at just 4.9 percent, yet, the economy keeps drawing workers back into the labor force and creating new jobs.

The problem is that economic activity, according to the most recent

indications, remains subdued. The implication is that growth in output per worker—productivity—is lagging. Underlining the point, the current recovery has so far relied on consumer spending much more than investment, which remains in the doldrums. Companies that don’t invest don’t get more productive.

High employment is great, but without stronger growth in produc-

tivity, a tight labor market won’t raise living standards as much as it should.

A strong jobs market increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve (the Fed) will resume its effort to normalize monetary policy later this year by raising interest rates. This would be wise, and not just because a tightening labor market will gradually put upward pressure on wages and inflation. More important, the

Fed’s necessary but extraordinary monetary stimulus has created financial stresses and uncertainty about the future, both of which may be weighing on business confidence.

Getting back to normal in monetary policy would help to lift that cloud.

The corollary to this is that fiscal policy has to do more. One area where this is vital is infrastructure spending. Lackluster public investment

government incentives for companies to adopt profit-sharing plans. Evidence shows that when companies do this, their productivity tends to jump up by a modest amount—maybe around 4 percent or 5 percent. Is this causation, or just correlation? Cochrane asks: If profit-sharing makes companies more productive, why don’t all companies do it? It’s a reasonable question. In 1990 economists Martin Weitzman and Douglas Kruse pondered it. They conclude: A society’s labor payment system seems to be one of the more likely candidates for historical inertia, institutional rigidities and imitation effects.

The profit-sharing productivity link is obviously complicated and depends on different environmental factors, some of a public-goods nature.

not only depresses productivity, it also adds to the costs of doing business. A shortfall of public investment hobbles private investment, too.

Behind the good news of the latest jobs numbers, then, is a sobering lesson: America’s future prosperity will depend less on the Fed and more on the ability of the next president to work with Congress and the states.

Bloomberg Editorial

A6 Sunday, August 7, 2016

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CHED to consult educators on proposed ROTC revival

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent

T

HE Commission on Higher Education (Ched) has yet to consult the education stakeholders on the planned revival of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) that will cover both male and female college students.

On Monday President Duterte said he will push for the enactment of a law that will make ROTC mandatory again. ROTC was made “optional and voluntary” by Republic Act 9163, or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act, that was enacted in 2002.

CHED Chairman Patricia Licuauan said there is still a need to do the “groundwork” even if Duterte is apparently serious in pushing for the revival of ROTC. “The major point I think [going] for ROTC is the need for a reserve force and that can be called upon

during times of emergencies—not just war, but various types of emergencies—and we do not have that,” Licuanan said.

She also revealed the commission’s list of possible options for strengthening ROTC: Impact study of National Service Training Program (NSTP) and on the decline of reservists; Review proposals on possible restoration of mandatory ROTC; Issuance of CHED memo to state universities and colleges requiring them to offer the ROTC component pursuant to the NSTP law;

Incorporation of ROTC in certain courses (criminology, maritime studies, etc); Basic and advanced ROTC leading to associate degrees; and Additional student financial assistance programs as incentive for students who choose ROTC. Duterte wanted to revive the ROTC, according to his chief legal counsel lawyer Salvador S. Panelo, to be able to “ instill discipline and love of the country [to the youth].”

However, Licuanan expressed strong belief that one can develop love of the country even without

undergoing ROTC. “I fully subscribe to the fact that developing love of country and patriotism can be achieved in many ways, and not just through ROTC,” Licuanan said, as she cited that even the President himself was not able to undergo the said program.

“He was also asked: ‘So how then did you develop your love of country, obviously you didn’t need ROTC for that?’” the CHED chief disclosed.

Earlier, Panelo said he will study the existing law and submit his recommended amendments to the President.

Consortium mulls waste-to-energy Coa against foreign company handling civil-registry system investment to reduce power rates

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

T

HE United Earth Energy Consor tium-Phi lippines (UEE Consortium) is ready to build power-generating plants in the country using its own money and without the government issuing any sovereign guarantee.

UEE Consortium said the crafting of waste-to-energy (WTE) guidelines by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) bodes well for the country, since it would allow various parties to show they can produce electricity without resorting to incineration.

The consortium said the technology it would bring to the country does not require the incineration of waste, which is banned under the Clean Air Act, since it uses pyrolytic techniques.

Moreover, the consortium noted that the electricity produced will cost less than the power generated by coal-fired, geothermal and hydropower plants.

UEE Consortium assured Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez and NSWMC Executive Director Ely Ildefonso that the WTE power-generating plants it contemplates in the Philippines would be on a par with the WTE facilities now operating in the state of Georgia in the United States and in some countries in the Caribbean.

“The guideline adopting any technology that can convert waste to energy will be allowed with certain standards and following existing laws,” Ildefonso said.

The technologies covered by the guidelines are gasification, pyrolysis, bioreactor, biometha-

nation, hydrolysis, pyrolytic gasification, plasma and other thermal processes.

Lopez said she is open to WTE power plants but wants ironclad guarantees that these facilities would not pollute the environment.

The consortium said it will invest in the Philippines and build several power plants with the initial capacity ranging from 20 megawatts (MW) to 30 MW. To keep the power plants humming, they would require all the waste available, including bagasse from sugar production, rice straws, wood shavings and even garbage from markets, supermarkets and homes.

Funding will be sourced 100 percent overseas, the consortium stressed.

In explaining its WTE technology, UEE Consortium said it has patented several technologies, foremost of which is thermal decomposition, which requires a carefully monitored thermal process to cause the decomposition of waste into its component gases.

It can also apply gasification, which calls for the facility to “cook” waste at high temperatures without oxygen, thus releasing the gas and steam that would then generate electricity.

Other patented technologies may also be applied in WTE power plants, UEE Consortium explained, like plasma arc torches, gasplasma, geoplasma and plasma heating.

Consortium officers Bobby Tuason and Chito Dakis said since they will be using a WTE process, they guaranteed Lopez and Ildefonso that the waste they would use as feedstock for their elect r ic it y- generat ing pl a nts would not produce greenhouse gases.

T

HE National Economic and Development Author it y (Neda) should not allow any foreign-owned company to have full control of all the documents in the civil-registry system (CRS) managed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Commission on Audit said.

The Neda is reportedly still vetting the PSA CRS build-operatetransfer (BOT) project, which had been subjected to a thorough audit by the Commission on Audit (COA) in 2005, with former National Statistics Office (NSO) Administrator Carmelita N. Ericta receiving the report on the implementation of the project

by Unisys on October 26, 2005.

The project was then known as the NSO Serbilis Centers.

In the report, the COA said, “The effective implementation of the CRS project was adversely affected by the failure to achieve the acceptable service level in the presence of additional charges imposed to the users in at least three local governments, systems deficiencies, failure to comply with some of the contract requirements and inadequacy of controls to protect the interest of both the government and the public.”

Opposition to any bidding process that would lead to foreign companies, like Unisys and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), getting complete control of the civil

registry is akin to the rejection of the National Broadband NetworkZTE (NBN-ZTE) deal that was eventually scrapped during the Arroyo administration.

PwC is supervising the project as part of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program of the government.

Control of civil-registry documents would permit Unisys and PwC to collate huge troves of information about Filipino citizens and permit them to share the same with their other clients, like the US armed services and, perhaps, US intelligence agencies.

The audit report showed that the seven-member COA team supervised by Michael L. Racelis and Emecita S. Beltran had serious misgivings about the capacity of Unisys to maintain the computerized system.

Two COA directors, Susan P. Garcia and Jose R. Rocha Jr., reviewed the report, which was approved by Iluminada M. V. Fabroa.

Unisys is said to be still gunning after the project now under the PSA. Local companies have balked at joining the bidding for the project owing to the fact that the derogatory report about the conduct of Unisys in 2005 still stands, for which reason it should be disqualified and not allowed to join any bidding for the NSO CRS BOT project.

Moreover, the supervision of the

project, should Unisys win the bidding, would fall on PwC, an auditing company with affiliates worldwide, leading to fears that information about Filipino citizens could be disseminated internationally by both Unisys and PwC, which are both foreign corporations.

Originally intended to serve the needs of the government infrastructure program, the BOT law, or Republic Act 6957, has since been expanded to include information and communications technology (ICT).

Elaborating on the failings of Unisys, the audit report stressed that “under the system, 95 percent of requested documents should be released within 30 minutes in Metro Manila outlets and within two hours in provincial outlets. However, based on the time study report generated by the proponent for the period July 22 to September 3, 2004, only 4 percent to 85 percent of the documents were processed within the prescribed time in six outlets within Metro Manila and 9 percent to 80 percent in four provincial outlets visited by the team. This still excludes the time allocated for processes, such as screening of applications, queuing for payment and postprinting activities until final releasing. These processes, which are included in the prescribed time frame, are not captured by the system.”

W

Socia l med ia has def initely made life easier for the world ’s wired citizens. For example, distance is no longer an issue with video calls. Smart subscribers can chat with anyone anywhere in the world with any messaging app on mobile data.

For bloggers, like Tonyo Cruz, social media is another platform through which he is able to convey information easily to others. Back in the day, Cruz had to e-mail his followers whenever he had a new post on his blog (tonyocruz.com). Now he just tells them via Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram.

“The best is yet to come. I am very excited to hear the voices and read the words of new and young writers and bloggers. I want to see new faces,” said Cruz, founder of @TweetUpMNL. Blogger and communications strategist Vanj Padilla cited how social media has made life more convenient for netizens.

“People living abroad who are hungry for news from home rely on Facebook groups. Online groups serve as lifelines for many Filipinos living abroad,” said Padilla, one of #TayoPH’s organizers.

Marvyn N. Benaning

Asian Eye named Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Eye Center

F

#SmarterChange happening on social media

IRELESS and digital services leader Smart Communications Inc. continues to blaze the digital trail by responding to the need of its customers for faster Internet speeds and improved services.

It has provided the mobile connectivity to help its subscribers reach out and connect to the world through social-media platforms and messaging services.

From Friendster to Facebook to Snapchat, there is no doubt that social media has changed the world and how people interact with each other.

As we transitioned from an analog to a digital world, Smart has provided the digital tools for its customers to lead the social-media revolution with #SmarterChange.

To celebrate the digital revolution, Smart supported the recent celebration of the Fifth Social Media Day in the Philippines that took place at the Beach Hub in San Juan, La Union, and at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura Premier in Taguig City—dubbed #TayoPH in recognition of social media’s impact on people’s daily lives.

Launched by Mashable in 2010, Social Media Day is celebrated annually across the globe.

One serious problem hounding the system was that the NSO Serbilis Centers had set releasing times ranging from four hours to one day for documents that could have been processed within the stipulated time frame.

“While the desired performance level was not being attained, the clients of the outlets in the cities of Muntinlupa, Makati and Pasig are still required to pay the LGUs [local government units] additional amounts ranging from P20 to P50 for each document to cover expenses for providing and maintaining the outlets. Under the project, the proponent is responsible for providing and maintaining offices within Metro Manila,” the report said.

“Likewise, mechanics for revenue sharing on account of the windfall increase in the volume of transactions was not provided for in the contract and NSO has not taken any action yet to ensure that alternative revenue-sharing scheme is in place in case the limit on the rate of return is exceeded. At present, demand for civil-registry documents issuance increased 101 percent and a revenue-sharing scheme remains inoperative,” the report added.

Unisys is a US company majority owned by Borroughs Corp. and is based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

EMERSON CRUZ, Asian Eye Institute lasik surgeon, cataract specialist and comprehensive ophthalmologist, performs a comprehensive eye exam on a patient.

Comprehensive eye exam involves a series of tests to assess the overall health of the eye and detect early signs of eye disease.

New cooling system more energy efficient

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GLOBAL specialist in energy management and automation, recently introduced the second generation of the InRow direct expansion (DX) 600 millimeter as the latest addition to the InRow product line, expanding its cooling portfolio to meet the evolving needs of an ever-changing data-center environment.

Providing the high-density cooling data-center managers need to maintain critical facility temperatures, Schneider Electric’s InRow DX features lowered energy costs, enhanced controls and a new user

interface as the most efficient system of its class.

This second-generation product significantly improves cooling efficiency by reducing power consumption while also increasing capacity.

The InRow DX design closely couples cooling with the information-technology (IT) heat load, preventing hot-air recirculation, while improving cooling predictability and allowing for a pay as you grow environment. Available in self-contained, fluid-cooled and air-cooled configurations with or without humidity control, these products meet

the diverse requirements for closet, server room, and data-center cooling.

“Being a tropical country, the sweltering heat during our summers can impose huge temperature stress on our data centers,” said Leonardo Santos, IT business head of Schneider Electric IT Philippines. “It takes more energy than usual to maintain optimal performing temperatures, so the latest generation of InRow direct expansion cooling puts efficiency and cost savings at the forefront for users, delivering the greatest partial-load energy savings available in a small but powerful system,” he added.

OR the fourth time, Asian Eye Institute was hailed as the Most Trusted Eye Center in the recent Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand Awards.

It received the Gold Award in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

“Preserving and restoring vision has always been the core mission of Asian Eye. We are happy to have the trust and confidence of our patients after all these years. In fact, we have been undergoing service and facility expansions to make quality eye care more accessible to all,” said Alwin Santa Rosa, Asian Eye vice president and general manager.

Asian Eye provides specialized medical services that include the treatment and management of cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, uveitis, strabismus, cornea and external diseases; Lasik; eye plastic surgery; pediatric ophthalmology and optometry; low vision and visual rehabilitation; optical dispensary and contact lens services.

To continue the fight against preventable blindness, Asian Eye engages in research to discover new treatments and drugs, or new applications for commercialized drugs to improve vision. It also introduces innovative services like EyeScan, a prescreening service that can detect risks of potentially blinding eye diseases, including cataract, glaucoma and retinal and corneal diseases.

At present, Asian Eye has five clinics in Rockwell Center, Makati; TriNoma, Mall of Asia, Commercenter Alabang and UP Town Center.

Sports BusinessMirror

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | sports@businessmirror.com.ph

Sunday, August 7, 2016 A7

Bayron foils Green, bags Aboitiz crown

Kirstie Elaine Alora subs for Ian Lariba as the Philippines’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AP

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AY Bayron pounced on a crucial two-shot swing on No. 15 to seize control, then held on with clutch putts to edge Malaysian Gavin Green and win the hotly disputed $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational crown by two on a closing two-under 70 at Wack Wack’s East on Saturday.

Bayron, one down behind third-round leader Nicolas Paez of the US and three-up on Green at the start of the round, hit a solid drive and superb approach shot on No. 15, then made a delicate birdie putt from 6 feet before watching Green, who rallied to tie Bayron with four holes left, muff a 4-footer for par to surge ahead.

Not even Green’s pressure-packed birdie feat on the par-3 16th could shake off the veteran Bayron, who parred the last three holes, including a parsave on No. 18, to clinch the victory on a six-under 282 aggregate and keep the Aboitiz crown on home soil for the sixth straight year.

Bayron actually ruled the inaugural staging of the event put up by Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. in Cebu in 2011, but failed to contend in the next four, finishing joint sixth in 2012, winding up tied for 29th in 2013, limping home to a joint 45th finish in 2014, and ending up tied for ninth in last year’s staging of the championship coorganized by Asian Development Tour (ADT) and Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. Though the two-shot swing on No. 15 fueled his title bid, the ace Davaoeño shotmaker said it was his chip-in birdie from 30 yards on the ninth that keyed his victory.

“That was the turning point. In the first few holes, I was looking for something to inspire me and that chip-in birdie was the answer,” said Bayron, who bucked an opening hole bogey with birdies on Nos. 4 and 9, and made up for his other bogey mishap on No. 11 by birdieing Nos. 13 and 15 to pocket the top $17,500 purse (P822,500).

Down by one heading to the 72nd hole, Green, who pulled off a two-shot win over Singapore’s Koh Deng Shan at Manila Southwoods ADT in April, went for broke and ended up shattered—holing out with bogey for a 69 and a 284 worth $11,500.

“I had to hit a birdie. Too bad it did not happen,” rued Green, who drive on No. 18 landed on the fairway bunker on the left, then hit the trees on the right side of the green.

Thai Rattanon Wannasrichan came from behind to snatch solo third at 285 after a 69 and $7,000, as the erstwhile leader and pursuers dropped out of the title chase one after the other with shaky finishes in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.

Tony Lascuña, who pulled within one with a 34 after nine holes, fumbled with three bogeys against two birdies at the back and wound up with a 71 for 286, settling for joint fourth with Indonesian George Gandranata, who also pressed his bid with a three-under card after 10 holes, only to reel back with two bogeys against one bogey in the last eight. He finished with a 70. Each received $5,000.

Paez, who held on to the lead despite a 74 in the third round, succumbed to pressure early, stumbling with a 37 before blowing it all with four bogeys in the last seven holes for a 77. He fell to joint sixth at 288 with Thai Poom Saksansin, who matched par 72,

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LARIBA KICKS OFF PHL CAMPAIGN IN RIO

HUNT IS ON! T

Jay Bayron tips his cap after drilling in a par-saving putt that secured his second Aboitiz Invitational crown. and Swede Malcolm Kokocinski, who also moved in contention with a two-under card after 11 holes but bogeyed three of the last seven, including the last two holes for a 73. Each got $3,133.

Thai Suradit Yongcharoenchai and American Micah Shin tied for ninth at 289 after a pair of 73s worth $2,175 each, while American Blake Snyder, just one behind Paez halfway through the event sponsored by ICTSI, and Swede Oscar Zetterwall, winner of the Eagle Ridge ADT in April, shared 11th place at 291 worth $1,825 apiece.

Bracing for a shootout with Bayron, Paez found the road to Aboitiz glory a lot bumpier, tougher as Green and Lascuña joined the hunt and at least six more stood just three or four behind in the early going.

Green forced a three-way tie for the lead at four-under after seven holes with a three-under card, spiked by opening-hole eagle-2 as Bayron had a one-bogey, one-birdie stint and Paez fumbled with a two-bogey, one birdie start.

Lascuña, winner of four tournaments in this year’s International Container Terminal Services Inc. Philippine Golf Tour, including three straight at Eagle Ridge, Forest Hills and Bacolod, moved to within one with birdies on Nos. 4 and 6.

Cargo Movers in finals

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2 Logistics dethroned defending champion Petron in straight sets, 25-18, 25-15, to book the last finals berth in the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) All Filipino Conference women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. The Cargo Movers flaunted their defensive prowess and displayed their full arsenal to meet Foton in the best-of-three championship series, which fires off on Thursday.

“Hindi naman nagte-training ‘yung team kung ang pinaghahandaan lang third and fourth place. Ang talagang goal namin pumasok sa finals,” F2 Logistics Ramil de Jesus said. “Against Foton, tinalo namin sila, tinalo nila kami magandang laban ito.”

Kim Kianna Dy and Aby Marano led the way with 12 points apiece. Skipper Cha Cruz added 10 markers, while playmaker Kim Fajardo paced the team with 22 excellent sets, including five points.

“Down kami nung first set siguro noong nahabol namin ‘yung score na-down ‘yung morale nila. Second set denominate namin hindi na nakabangon,” de Jesus added.

The Cargo Movers and Tri-Activ Spikers fought toe-to-toe in the first set and with the game tied at 18-all, F2 Logistics unleashed seven straight points to take a 1-0 lead.

F2 was dominant the next two sets to finish off Petron in just 69 minutes.

Nobody scored double figures for Petron as it missed the chance for its fourth straight finals appearance and will be relegated to the battle for third against RC Cola-Army also on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Cignal prevailed over Standard Insurance-Navy in straight sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21, to move closer for a fifth-place finish in the tournament. Lance Agcaoili

San Sebastian shoots down Ateneo

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AN Sebastian College downed the depleted Ateneo de Manila side in straight sets, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23, in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Collegiate Conference on Saturday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Most Valuable Player Grethcel Soltones tallied 12 attacks and four service aces for 16, hits including 16 digs and 10 excellent receptions, to lead the Lady Stags, who bounced back from their loss to National University and reclaimed the solo lead in Group A with a 2-1 win-loss card.

Soltones drew solid support help from Denice Lim, who added 12 markers, and setter Vira Guillema pacing the team with 43 excellent sets.

After a tight first two sets, the Lady Stags crawled from a 13-23 deficit after scoring the next 12 points to steal the win and send Ateneo reeling with

Suarez scouts foe via YouTube

0-2 record at the bottom of Group A. In Spikers’ Turf, reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champion Ateneo de Manila and NCAA titlist University of Perpetual Help notched their second win to lead their respective groups after beating separate foes.

The defending collegiate conference champion Blue Eagles slipped past Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), 25-23, 26-28, 25-20, 25-17, for a 2-0 card in Group B. The Altas also took the lead in Group A after surviving the 27-point explosion of Raymark Woo of De La Salle and pulled off a 25-20, 25-15, 19-25, 14-25, 15-12 escape.

Reigning UAAP and Collegiate Conference MVP Marck Espejo led Ateneo with 16 points, including 14 excellent receptions, while Rex Intal and Josh Villanueva chipped in 14 and 12 markers, respectively. Lance Agcaoili

HE Philippines kicks off its campaign in the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on three fronts on Saturday, with a young table-tennis player, a dedicated swimmer and a seasoned boxer hoping to provide the spark for the 13-strong delegation.

Ian Lariba, who carried the Philippine flag in Friday’s opening ceremony, will be the first Filipino athlete to see action here in Rio when she goes up against Congo’s Han Xing at 9 a.m.

Lariba, who’s ranked 297th in the world, will be the underdog at the Riocentro Convention Center. Her opponent is ranked 125st.

The only thing going for Lariba is her familiarity with Xing’s game. For the past week here, Lariba and Xing have been hitting partners.

“Somehow we’ve gotten used to each other.

But it will all change in the match,” said Lariba, the first table-tennis player from the Philippines to get

CRAY VOWS GOOD SHOW IN BRAZIL

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to the Olympics.

Lariba has trained hard under a South Korean coach. But since this is her first Olympics, all she needs for now is to prove that she deserves to be here.

During the opening ceremony, Lariba was cautious to strain her left hand while carrying the flag, and heeded the advice to pass it on as the delegation marched away from the spotlight.

“It was quite heavy, so I gave it more effort with my right hand. We thought there would be a harness. But there was none. You have to carry the weight all the way through,” she said.

Taekwondo’s Kirstie Elaine Alora, who is not seeing action until August 20, ended up bearing the Philippine flag the rest of the way.

By noontime, Jessie Khing Lacuna, who’s in his second straight Olympics, competes in the 400-meter freestyle at the Olympic Aquatic Center.

Lacuna, being coached by Archie Lim, will race his own race, and hope for the best that his time of 3:55:34 or anything better than that will get him far.

ILIPINO-AMERICAN Eric Cray vowed to put on a good show in Rio and hoped to make it to the finals of the men’s 400-meter hurdles in his first Olympics.

Cray arrived from El Paso, Texas, via Houston on Friday morning, and rested just a few hours before joining the Philippine delegation to the opening ceremony.

The 27-year-old runner, who was born in Olongapo but grew up in the United States, is the back-to-back champion and record holder in the Southeast Asian Games.

His time of 49.40 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles stands as the Southeast Asian Games record.

However, Cray said it’s in the Olympics where he wants to leave a mark or at least make an impression. He races on

The 22-year-old student of Ateneo said he’s better prepared now than when he was four years ago in London.

“I’m more mentally prepared now, because in London I think I got too excited,” he said.

At 6 p.m., boxer Charly Suarez climbs the ring against Great Britain’s Joseph Cordina in the preliminary rounds of the lightweight class. He’s eyeing a win that will push him two more shy of the semis and a medal finish.

“They have not fought each other,” boxing Coach Boy Velasco said.

“The plan is for Charly to be the one to establish his distance and not the other way around. We’ve seen Cordina fight in Doha. He’s good. But Charly is stronger than him,” Velasco in Filipino said.

While the other Pinoy athletes prepare for their own battles up ahead, Lariba, Lacuna and Suarez will carry the fight on Friday.

Weightlifters Nestor Colonia (56 kilograms) and Hidilyn Diaz (53 kg) compete on Sunday.

August 15, hoping to reach the finals on August 18.

“Hopefully, I get a good Rio showing so I can make it to the finals. I feel real good,” said Cray, just moments after he arrived at the Athletes Village.

He said the Olympics hasn’t kicked in yet, but said joining the opening ceremony at the historic Maracana Stadium helped him get into groove.

“I wanted to let it sink it. It still hasn’t hit me,” he said.

Cray traveled 17 hours from El Paso, and should have not much problem with jetlag, because there’s just a threehour difference between Texas and Rio. He said it was funny he traveled 17 hours for a race that wouldn’t last 50 seconds.

“The trip was pretty long, and I’d be racing like 50 or 49 seconds,” he said in an interview, just as he was checking in.

The fastest man in Southeast Asia was glad that races here will be held in the morning, because he’s used to train at the same time in Houston.

“It’s a morning race and it’s pretty good, because I’ve been practicing in the morning,” he said.

“I feel great coming here,” added Cray, who looked good wearing his barong for the opening ceremony that took place at the packed stadium.

Cray said he was excited about a couple other things and they don’t include seeing the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt.

Baniqued, Borlain rule IronKids race

Wilfred Uytengsu (back row, second from right), founder of the organizing Sunrise Events, Inc., discusses the mechanics of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship presented by Ford during the press launch at Shangri-La Mactan’s The Marquee in Cebu.

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REED, STEFFEN SEEK REPEAT IN IRONMAN 70.3

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USSIE Tim Reed and Swiss Caroline Steffen declared readiness to take on the challenge of determined rivals in the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship presented

by Ford, firing off on Sunday at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.

Reed braces for a tough battle, with challengers led by two podium finishers last time, runner-up Tim Van Berkel and Brent McMahon of Canada, as well as legendary two-time Ironman 70.3 kingpin Craig Alexander and Sam Betten.

Steffen defends the women’s plum against a tough cast, led by Aussies Dimity Lee-Duke and Kathryn Haesner, Russian Radka Vodickova, Kiwi Amelia Watkinson and Aussie Sarah Crowley.

Produced by Sunrise Events Inc., the event marks the first time the Asia Pacific meet is held outside Australia and New Zealand. Close to 3,000 triathletes from 43 countries are answering the starting gun highlighted by a stellar cast of more than 30 pros.

“I’ve trained really hard for this, so I feel I’m ready. But, you know, probably the biggest problem out there would be heat and humidity, so you also got to get it right within yourself and not worry about what everyone else is doing,” Reed

ILIPINO boxer Charly Suarez relied on YouTube to get to know more of his opponent on opening day of the boxing competitions in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Filipino lightweight, who’s in his first Olympics, faces Great Britain’s Joseph Cordina in the preliminary round of the lightweight division at the Riocentro Convention Center here.

The match takes place at 6 p.m. (5 a.m. in Manila).

Most Filipinos will still be asleep when the 27-year-old Suarez kicks off his campaign to give the Philippines its first Olympic medal in 20 years.

Suarez, a devout Christian who has biblical passages printed on his bandanna, said he hasn’t seen the 24-year-old Cordina fight in person.

“But I’ve seen him fight on YouTube. He’s a good boxer. He fights right and left. And he’s tall,” the cocky Filipino boxer said.

Cordina stands 3 inches taller than the 5-foot-6 Suarez, and is also three years younger. He is the reigning European champion at 60 kilograms.

Because Suarez is not taking Cordina lightly, he decided to skip the opening ceremony, which is always a memorable evening of songs and dances for athletes.

Filipino light-flyweight Rogen Ladon, who drew a bye in the first round and will not see action until August 8, also decided to stay and give up the opening rites.

Ladon only needs to win two matches to assure himself of a bronze medal. He fights either a Brazilian or Colombian on Monday.

Suarez needs three wins to assure himself of a bronze medal.

The two boxers headed to the training venue with Coach Boy Velasco, as the rest of the Philippine delegation donned their native barong and headed to the Maracana Stadium for the anticipated opening ceremony.

“Rest is more important to us,” Suarez said.

“The first fight in boxing is always the most important,” he said.

“It’s more important that the opening ceremony.”

said. “So I’m just gonna go out there and give it my absolute best.”

Steffen banks on her familiarity with Cebu—she won the last four IM 70.3 races here—to survive the plotters who are out to dethrone her in the $75,000, 1.9-kilometer swim, 90-km bike, 21-km run race backed by Cobra Energy Drink as title sponsor, with Ford as presenting sponsor and Globe Telecom as official wireless and broadband services partner, and produced and organized by Sunrise Events Inc. “I was here the last four years, and five’s my lucky number,” Steffen said. “I’m feeling pretty good, my training went well, no injuries I can’t wait to go out there and give it a good shot.”

Action kicks off at Lapu-Lapu City’s pristine beach, followed by in virtual tour of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Talisay on bike, before culminating in a run on the hot and undulating roads of Lapu-Lapu City.

Twenty-eight local aces, meanwhile, battle it out in the Filipino elite races, led by last year’s winners August Benedicto and Monica Torres.

Meanwhile, for the first time, the Ironman 70.3 As-Pac can be viewed live via streaming on go.globe. com.ph and www.ironman.com through Globe Telecom’s new original productions arm, Globe Studio, which will handle the live broadcast of the

event, giving triathlon fans and enthusiasts outside of Cebu the rare chance to experience the action in the keenly awaited swim-bike-run. Sunrise Events Inc. is targeting 2 million viewership worldwide.

With its strong support for the multisport community, Globe Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Dan Horan said, “This live stream service allows us to provide a one-of-a-kind experience to our customers. This gives sports fans a chance to watch their favorite athletes or teams conquer the competition, staying up-to-date on the championships right on their mobile devices.”

Other backers of the event are Philippine Airlines, Summit Water, Department of Tourism, Tourism Promotions Board, 2Go Express, Asics, Gatorade, Prudential Guarantee, Oakley, Timex, Alaska, David’s Salon, Intercare, Gu gel, Kenneth Cobonpue, Megaworld Mactan Newtown, Sun Life Financial and TYR; media partners The Philippine Star, ABS-CBN Sports+Action, TriLife Magazine, AsiaTri and Finisher Pix; technology partner Xurpas, official hotels Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa, Be Resorts Mactan, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Waterfront Hotel and Casino Mactan, Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu, and official registration partner Active Network.

ACKY Baniqued and Tara Borlain lived up to expectations and romped off with the top plums in the 13-14 category in the Alaska IronKids Triathlon II on Saturday at Shangri-La’s Mactan and Resort in Lapu-Lapu City.

Fresh from his silver-medal output in the Super Sprint division of the Singapore International Triathlon, Baniqued showed his fine form and finished the race in 44:49 to bag his third crown in this year’s Alaska IronKids season.

Joe Bernard Sarmiento (45:42) and Jose Mauel Arao (45:49) settled for runner-up honors in the culminating race of the series sponsored by Alaska Milk.

Borlain covered the course in 46:57 to beat elder sister Samantha for the tiara by 26 seconds in the distaff side. Karen Andreas Manayon (47:14) took third, while Everlie Janarie Macalalad, who was coming off a bronze in Singapore, missed a podium finish with 48:18.

The youngest of the Borlian sisters, Franchezka, reigned in the girls’ 6-8 with 15:34. Joining the honor roll were Matthew Justine Hermosa (26:27) and Kira Ellis (29:36) in the 9-10; Hyonde Keum (35:45) and Catherine Angeli Yu (36:14) in the 11-12, and Connor Hodges (15:39) in the boys’ 6-8.

“It’s probably my greatest race. For the first time, I was able to break away from my rivals in the bike phase,” Baniqued said.

Tara, 13, pulled away from ate Sam, 14, in the run stage en route to the triumph.

“It was fun, I enjoyed it a lot,” said Tara, who shrugged off a perceived sibling rivalry. “There’s no sibling rivalry really, because we know each other and we accept whoever wins.”

A8 | S

Sports

unday, August 7, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

BusinessMirror

Italian PM: 2024 bid key moment

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Rio delivers a simple, but spirited, Olympic welcome

CELEBRATION of HUMANITY

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Below) Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima holds the torch aloft before lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremony. AP

By Mauricio Savarese & John Leicester

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The Associated Press

IO DE JANEIRO—What it lacked in flash, Rio made up for with feeling.

With a limited budget, the consequence of a biting recession that roiled preparations for South America’s first Olympics, Brazil laced its high-energy opening party for the Games of the 31st Olympiad with a sobering message of the dangers of global warming.

Graphic projections of world cities being swamped by rising seas set Rio de Janeiro’s, otherwise, fun and festive gala apart from the more self-congratulatory and lavish celebrations that Beijing and London wowed with in 2008 and 2012.

“The heat is melting the icecap,” a voice intoned in the Maracana Stadium. “It’s disappearing very quickly.”

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. After all, nowhere parties quite like Rio. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen shimmered to the tune of “The Girl from Ipanema.” Fireworks formed the word “Rio” in the skies. The colossal Christ the Redeemer statue was bathed in Brazilian yellow and green. Dancers, all hips and wobble, grooved to thumping funk and sultry samba.

After one of the roughest-ever rides from vote to Games by an Olympic host, the city of beaches, carnival, grinding poverty and sun-kissed wealth celebrated Brazil’s can-do spirit, biodiversity and melting pot history.

The crowd roared when Bundchen sashayed from one side of the 78,000-seat arena to the other, as Tom Jobim’s grandson, Daniel, played his grandfather’s famous song about the Ipanema girl “tall and tan and young and lovely.”

In a video preceding the show, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the games “celebrate the best of humanity” and appealed for an Olympic truce, calling on “all warring parties

to lay down their weapons” during the two weeks of sporting achievement.

There were times after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected Rio ahead of Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid in 2009 when it seemed that the city of 6.5 million people might not get its act together for the world’s greatest sporting mega-event. The spreading health crisis of the mosquito-born Zika virus kept some athletes away.

Promises to clean up Rio’s filthy waters remained unfulfilled. The heavy bill for the Games, at least $12 billion, made them unpopular with many. Heavily armed security stopped a small group of protesters from getting close to the stadium ahead of the ceremony.

But with more than a dash of “gambiarra,” the Brazilian art of quick-fixes and making do, Rio is ready.

Just.

“Our admiration is even greater because you managed this at a very difficult time in Brazilian history. We have always believed in you,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.

The honor of officially declaring the Games open fell to Michel Temer, Brazil’s unpopular interim president, who was loudly jeered and faced shouts of “out with Temer.” He was standing in for suspended President Dilma Rousseff. Her ouster less than four months ahead of the Games for alleged budget violations was one of many spanners in the works of Brazil’s Olympic preparations and impacted the opening ceremony itself. Fewer than 25 foreign heads of state were listed as attending, with others seemingly staying away to avoid giving the impression of taking sides amid Brazil’s leadership uncertainty.

The cannonball-shaped cauldron was lit by Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima. At the 2004 games, an Irish spectator wearing a kilt, knee-socks and a beret tackled de Lima while he was leading the Olympic marathon. Instead of gold, he fell back to take bronze.

Another cauldron was lit in the city’s port area early on Saturday that will be displayed for Rio residents to enjoy.

Greece, the historical and spiritual home of the Games, led the march by athletes into the stadium. They were joined by a firstever Refugee Olympic Team of 10 athletes, displaced from Syria,

South Sudan, Congo and Ethiopia. Their flag-bearer, Rose Nathike Lokonyen, fled war in South Sudan and ran her first race in a refugee camp in northern Kenya. Only Brazil’s team, which marched last, drew a louder roar from the crowd than the refugees.

The athletes were given tree seeds, plus cartridges of soil.

When the seeds sprout, they will be planted in a Rio park.

With “USA” emblazoned on the back of his jacket, Michael Phelps carried the flag for the US team, the largest with 549 competitors.

At his fifth and last Olympics, it was the first time the record holder of 22 medals had marched in an opening ceremony, having skipped previous ones to save energy for competition.

On behalf of all 11,288 competitors (6,182 men; 5,106 women), Brazilian two-time Olympic champion sailor Robert Scheidt pledged that they won’t take banned drugs” an oath likely to ring false to fans after the scandal of government-orchestrated cheating in Russia. As a consequence, Russia’s team was whittled down from a hoped-for 389 athletes to around 270.

Iran picked a woman, archer Zahra Nemati, as flag-bearer for its team made up overwhelmingly of men. Another woman pushed Nemati’s wheelchair. She was paralyzed in a car accident as a teenager.

Shoals of samba dancers flowed in a rainbow of colors, but many showed less flesh than normal for Brazil, seemingly mindful of their global TV audience.

After the grandeur of Beijing’s opening ceremony and the hightech, cheeky inventiveness of London’s, Rio’s was earthier and less swish but more sobering with its gloomy environmental look at the future and deliberate penny-pinching. Creative Director Fernando Meirelles said their budget, slashed by half as Brazil’s economic recession bit ever harder, “is 12 times less than London, 20 times less than Beijing.”

“It is pretty tacky to be overspending,” he said. “It is not a good message for the world. When 40 percent of the homes in Brazil have no sanitation, you can’t really be spending a billion reals for a show.”

“In the end I feel good that I am not spending money that Brazil hasn’t got.”

‘FULLY DIVERSE COURSE’ R

IO DE JANEIRO—Olympic road cycling races promise to be a grueling, six-hour showcase featuring everything from the sun-splashed beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to the squalor of the nearby slums.

There’s the backdrop of historic Fort Copacabana, and the long, fast flats along the brilliant blue waters of the Atlantic. There are the harrowing climbs and brutal descents on slick roads twisting through jungle, and the jarring cobblestone sections that add a little spice and a lot of bumps.

Yes, the route itself could be the star of these Summer Games.

“It’s the hardest course I’ve seen in a single-day race,” said American rider Megan Guarnier, who made a special trip to Brazil just to scout the course. “It has everything in it.”

Even stray dogs, which have scampered out of the favelas during training, rides and led US rider Brent Bookwalter to

describe his first Olympic experience as “wild.”

“It’s legit. It’s a fully diverse course,” he said.

“The route is spectacular.”

Which is precisely the point. The road race has always been a showpiece of cycling, positioned first in the program and rolling off the morning after the opening ceremony.

The race at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 sent riders past the iconic Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and portions of the Great Wall of China. Like the course in Rio, it then sent riders off into the countryside, though the elevation changes were nothing like they will face in Brazil.

Four years ago, the London Olympics course started and ended with the spectacular setting of Buckingham Palace. More than a million people lined the route, packing the climb of Box Hill in the green Surrey countryside, in a nod to cycling fever that gripped the country in the days after Bradley Wiggins won Britain its first Tour de France.

Now it is Rio de Janeiro’s opportunity to shine.

“I’m surprised someone signed off on a course this hard,” New Zealand’s George Bennett said. “It’s

Athletes of the France cycling team talk with Brazilian security forces as they arrive at the Olympic Park ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics. AP hectic, it’s dangerous. There are slippery roads, patches of oil, difficult corners. It could send you home early. But it’s the kind of racing I like. I like the chaos.”

The chaos begins when the men roll off from

the century-old fort on Saturday morning. They will cover 236 kilometers (146 miles), more than any single stage of the Tour, and climb 3,600 meters (11,800 feet), on a par with hard one-day races, such as Liege-Bastogne-Liege. AP

IO DE JANEIRO—Holding the Olympics in Rome in 2024 would send a message of defiance to terrorists trying to cower people into a “life of fear” and rob them of their sporting and cultural identity, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said on Friday.

Renzi came to Brazil to attend the opening of the Rio de Janeiro Games and promote Rome’s bid for the 2024 Olympics.

Citing the recent deadly attacks by extremists in European cities, Renzi said the Olympics in Rome would answer those using violence to achieve their political aims.

“This is a crucial moment,” Renzi said in an interview with two international news agencies, including The Associated Press.

“Terrorist attacks on the world, particularly in Europe, are focused to destroy the life of the people.

If they don’t achieve the result of killing the people, the second best goal for these crazy men, women, terrorists [is to] give us a life of fear, force us into the homes without possibility to live.”

Renzi said the Olympics would reject the “fundamentalists [who] forbid soccer, music, sport.”

“If they hate music, we will invest more money in music,” he said. “If they hate soccer or other sports, we believe this is our identity. This is the problem of Europe today, searching for a new identity. This is the time sport could be the answer.”

Rome is competing against Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest, Hungary.

All four cities have leaders in Rio to observe the Games and pitch their bid to Olympic officials. The International Olympic Committee will select the host city in September 2017.

“I think our dossier is the best,” Renzi said. “It is better than our friends of Paris and other cities. I don’t know if it’s correct to say that, but it’s my view.”

Renzi has thrown his full support behind the bid, only a few years after Rome was forced to drop its candidacy for the 2020 Olympics when the government of Mario Monti refused to provide financial backing for the Games during the economic downturn.

The 41-year-old Renzi, a former mayor of Florence who became premier in 2014, said the economy has improved and nearly 600,000 jobs have been created under his administration.

“The situation is better than four years ago, but I think the decision of Mario Monti four years ago was a mistake,” he said. “One year ago nobody thought Rome could be in the best position for a candidature. One year ago, 12 months ago, nobody in Italy believed it possible to create a very good dossier. Now the feeling in Italy about the Olympic Games is totally different.”

The latest bid, however, faces opposition from Rome’s new mayor, Virginia Raggi. The capital’s first female mayor has repeatedly said the city has bigger social and economic priorities to deal with at the moment.

Without the city’s support, it’s difficult to see the bid going the distance. It’s uncertain whether Raggi will push for a referendum.

“I think the new mayor has just arrived,” Renzi said. “We respect the decision the new government will bring in the next few weeks. We are ready to work with the new mayor, not only for the Olympic Games. We are not worried.”

Renzi said Italy enjoys more cross-party cooperation than during the days of political infighting under former Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

“If you think back four years ago, nobody could imagine an under 40 becoming prime minister of Italy or a woman under 40 becoming mayor of Rome,” he said. “This is a new page in the political history of Italy.”

Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malago said he spoke with the Raggi’s office before coming to Rio and both sides agreed to meet again after the games to discuss the bid.

The bid race comes during a turbulent political period, with the US presidential election in November and French elections next year. AP