Businessmirror august 23, 2015

ANTISMUGGLING CAMPAIGN? Piles of container vans fill the

Manila International Container Terminal in Manila, where most of the shipments of balikbayan boxes come in. Customs Commissioner Alberto D. Lina warned traders on Monday from using balikbayan boxes to bring into the country high-value goods in commercial quantities without having to pay the right amount of taxes. But Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. scored the bureau on Saturday for allegedly using its bureaucratic might against overseas Filipino workers. He said the proposed inspection is but a guise of an antismuggling campaign. Story on A3. ALYSA SALEN

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

U.N. Media Award 2008

BusinessMirror

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A broader look at today’s business

n Sunday, August 23, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 318

P25.00 nationwide | 6 sections 28 pages | 7 days a week

Analytics is PHL’s next ‘bright future’ after BPO success story

week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW

n Previous week: The peso stayed on the low 46 territory during the week, as general weakness was still seen among emergingmarket economies during the period. The peso started the week on flat trade, barely moving but took further beating from the strength of the dollar in the last trading day of the week on Thursday, after the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes of the meeting.

The peso closed the shortened trading week at 46.5 to a dollar, hitting a new five-year low.

n Week ahead: Market players still show bias toward the dollar, as the weakness in regional currencies linger. Fresh leads are up for traders in the coming week, as most will be looking at the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) of the country set for release on Thursday.

GDP

n Q1 GDP: The market was disappointed following the release of the first-quarter GDP months ago, hitting a 5.2-percent growth. This is the slowest growth of the country in three years, as government agencies took to weak exports and slow government spending as the main reasons behind the growth slump.

n Q2 GDP: Economist are expecting an uptick in the expansion rate of the country in the months of

See “Outlook,” A2

T

By Roderick L. Abad

HE future looks brighter for the Philippines when it comes to analytics that it needs to further develop deeper skills beyond business-process outsourcing (BPO), according to a global company’s top executive.

While the country continues to become the destination of choice for the BPO globally, its growth is deemed not sustainable over time.

“We’re going beyond that. We’re going to HR [human-resource] processing, finance outsourcing and things like that. And we go from there to having more added value in the way we do service to the world.

World’s Richest People Lose $182 Billion as Market Rout Deepens

So we’ll put some analytics in HR processing; we’ll put some analytics in finance outsourcing,” IBM Philippines President and Country General Manager Luis Pineda told the BusinessMirror.

“Hopefully, we can do more and more analytics work there, and beyond that we can really do Continued on A2

BSP may let peso fall to prop up inflation numbers–DBS

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

he Bangko Sen­ tral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may let the peso fall for a few more week to prop up local inflation numbers, a regional banking giant said.

In a recent research note, the DBS Bank said the central bank is looking to be “more tolerant of a weaker peso,” with the belief that the local currency played a part in the fall of inflation in recent months.

“One possible reason for the sustained fall in inflation numbers is currency strength. Since end-

PESO exchange rates n US 46.3060

2013, the peso is the best-performing Asian currency against the US dollars, and this has kept imported inflation low. Strong foreign-remittance flows have been supporting the peso amid the recent bouts of financial-market volatilities,” the DBS Bank said.

Latest data from the central bank showed that remittances sent

by Filipino migrant workers hit $12.08 billion in the first half of the year.

The DBS Bank added that the falling inflation in the country is something that should not be ignored.

“It is not just about oil prices, though, as core inflation has also See “BSP,” A2

T

he world’s 400 richest people lost $182 billion this week from their collective fortunes, as weak manufacturing data from China and a rout in commodities sent global markets plunging. See “Richest,” A2

n japan 0.3739 n UK 72.6124 n HK 5.9727 n CHINA 7.2404 n singapore 33.0073 n australia 33.9512 n EU 51.5201 n SAUDI arabia 12.3456 Source: BSP (20 August 2015)

NewsSunday A2 Sunday, August 23, 2015

Analytics...

BusinessMirror

Richest...

continued from A1

deeper work like research and development here in the Philippines. That’s how we see the future of analytics here,” he added.

Compared to BPO that is projected to generate $21.8 billion in revenue and 1.23 million jobs in 2015, this country, being considered a potential major player in the data-science field, could benefit more in analytics, whose global-market value is estimated to be around $232 billion this year.

Approximately, 4.4 million high-value jobs are expected to be created worldwide this year, of which 30 percent will be initially fulfilled.

“And that’s the reason we help the Philippines develop a curriculum for analytics because the jobs that will be required not only here, but globally is seen increasing. That’s what we predict,” Pineda said.

In today’s digital era, more and more information are produced that, eventually, become so complex to process using on-hand database management tools or traditional data-processing applications.

With the emergence of the so-called big data, analytics, as a multidimensional discipline, come into place to interpret raw data.

The insights produced in the process are then used to recommend action or to guide decision making rooted in the business context.

“That’s how companies now are realizing that they can get a lot better insight and guidance by analyzing not only their client’s behavior, but the data that’s out

there so that they can make better business decisions,” he said.

Seeing analytics as a “fast-growing” industry, he encouraged more initiatives from both the public and private sectors to ensure that the country is well-positioned to seize growth opportunity from this, a precedent of which is Analitika—a social and professional organization of private, public and academic institutions and individuals who are interested in the sciences and practice of analytics.

This industry-led consortium defines the new professions that will be required by the transformed industries and guarantee the availability of the required talent.

IBM worked in 2012 with the Commission on Higher Education in developing the curriculum, which so far has been adopted by 45 universities and produced around 500 graduates.

Also, the company is helping the academic sector train the teachers or professors themselves to effectively teach analytics-related courses.

“We’re also working with the private sector to make sure that the people who take up these classes will have a job when they get out from these schools. That’s not only in IBM, but jobs in other industries here in the Philippines because most of these companies, if not all, are actually doing some sort of analytics projects, big or small. And that will continue to be so in the foreseeable future,” Pineda said.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

continued from A1

The weekly drop for the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a group that includes Warren Buffett and Glencore Plc.’s Ivan Glasenberg, was the biggest, since tracking of the expanded list began in September 2014. The combined net worth of the index members fell by $76 billion on Friday alone, when the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of US stocks ended its worst week since 2011.

“For them that’s a fractional percentage, even though $182 billion is a big number,” said John Collins, director of investment advisory at Aspiriant, which oversees more than $8 billion for high-net-worth clients. “A week like this feels really bad, but when you take a step back, in a big picture view it’s not a disaster by any means.”

Friday’s losses put the world’s richest 400 into the red for the year-to-date. They’re now down $74 billion in 2015, with a collective net worth of $3.98 trillion.

The week’s largest setback in dollar terms was experienced by Buffett, who saw his fortune drop by $3.6 billion, as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slipped more than 5 percent. The investor is the world’s third-wealthiest person, with a fortune of $63.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The slump in oil, which had its longest weekly losing streak since 1986 amid signs of an extended supply glut, contributed to $15.2 billion in losses for the world’s wealthiest energy billionaires. Continental Resources Inc. Chairman Harold Hamm saw $895 million, or 9 percent of his net worth, vanish this week.

Bloomberg News

BSP...

continued from A1

slipped below 2 percent, the first time since August 13. Yet, underlying demand stays fairly strong. Private consumption and investment have driven overall growth in recent years and not much has changed on this front,” the DBS Bank said.

Inflation has been continuously falling down since March this year, from 2.4 percent now down to 08 percent in July—latest data showed. The average inflation in the first seven months of the year is at 1.9 percent—a tad bit lower than the government’s target range of 2-percent to 4-percent annual inflation for 2015.

Despite the projection of a below target inflation in this year, the DBS Bank still sees the central bank holding its rates to current levels.

“With GDP [gross domestic product] growth still looking fairly strong, the BSP is not under any kind of pressure to tweak its policy right now,” the DBS Bank said.

The local currency hit 46.5 to a dollar on Thursday, the last trading day of the week. The volume of trade hit $699.7 during the day.

Outlook...

continued from A1

April to June this year although they are still divided on as to what magnitude will the acceleration be. Moody’s Analytics said that growth likely hit 6.8 percent in the second quarter of the year, while a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official earlier said that second-quarter growth accelerated, but only “slightly.” DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said just recently that public spending is still the most crucial card for the upcoming GDP numbers. Bianca Cuaresma

EconomySunday BusinessMirror

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

Sunday, August 23, 2015 A3

Marcos slams BOC’s new policy on ‘balikbayan’ boxes

S

By Recto Mercene

en. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. scored the Bureau of Customs on Saturday for allegedly using its bureaucratic might against overseas Filipino workers (OFW), sending personal effects to their families through balikbayan boxes.

Marcos said the proposed inspection is a but a guise of an antismuggling campaign.

He is the second lawmaker to take the cudgels for the country’s “modern day heroes,” coming in the wake of Sen. Ralph G. Recto’s proposal to video-tape every balikbayan box undergoing inspection by means of closedcircuit television (CCTV).

Marcos said that the origin of the balikbayan box can be traced to the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos, when Section 105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines was amended to provide duty and tax-free privileges to OFWs so they can send personal effects, including gift items to their families.

“To the BoC, I ask: Have you no shame? For

every OFW, a balikbayan box is the equivalent of his or her love letter to a spouse and the rest of the family. Every item inside that box was bought with a specific person and purpose in mind, bought for with the hardearned money of our modern-day heroes. So if a single item there gets lost, can you imagine how that feels to an Ofw who invested so much emotion and money just to get those goods home?” Marcos said.

The legislator from Ilocos Norte and Leyte warned Customs Commissioner Albert D. Lina against carrying out further restrictions on the use of balikbayan boxes, including a plan to impose taxes or additional fees on forwarding costs for OFW boxes.

“Mr. Lina, you are a public servant. It is

your duty to consult with stakeholders first, before embarking on any draconian measure that would turn their lives upside-down,” Marcos said.

“You seem bent on bullying our OFWs while turning a blind eye on the large-scale smuggling that goes on in nearly all ports across the archipelago,” he added.

The lawmaker also challenged the BOC to justify its move to open balikbayan boxes at random before the Senate during its forthcoming budget hearings. “Let them defend themselves during the budget deliberations.

Specifically, I would like to know how many bigtime smugglers have they managed to put behind bars during the five years under this administration.”

Marcos also cited the need to investigate the perennial shortfall in the collections of the BOC. “Are they planning to impose taxes on balikbayan boxes to make up for their annual collection deficit? he asked.

“In bullying our OFWs, they managed to expose their own internal deficiencies. Ayusin muna nila ang bakuran nila dahil mas nakakapinsala ang korapsyon sa loob ng BOC kesa sa mga balikbayan boxes na pinapadala ng mga lehitimong OFW’s,” Marcos added.

Asean Economic Two lawmakers seek JCPC backing for MPC creation Ministers’ Meeting kicks off for final push on integration

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

K

UALA LUMPUR—Economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) kicked off meetings on Saturday to put the finishing touches for the establishment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by year-end, while pushing closer ties with its leading trading partners including China.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 47th Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting, Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed, who chairs the meetings, said Asean is determined to push forward the economic integration despite challenging political and economic environment.

The 47th Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings, held in the Malaysian capital from August 22 to 25, are expected to deliberate on the implementation of the AEC measures, especially the completion of commitments agreed to under the AEC 2015 Blueprint, the work on developing the Asean Post-2015 Economic Vision 2025 and strategic action plans for the next 10 years, among others.

Asean’s dialogue partners, including China, will join the meetings to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties in such fields as trade and investment.

The 10-nation bloc is set to announce the establishment of Asean community by the end of this year, based on three pillars: political-security community, economic community and sociocultural community. PNA

T

wo lawmakers are urging the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) to ask the Department of Energy to conduct a feasibility study that will pave the way for the creation of the Mindanao Power Corp. (MPC).

In House Resolution (HR) 2243, Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Imelda Quibranza Dimaporo and Rep. Abdullah D. Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte First and Second Districts, respectively, said that the proposed MPC will manage the Agus-Pulangui Hydroelectric Power complexes (APHC).

HR 2243 was referred to the House Committee on Energy for its consideration and action.

The lawmakers also urged the

Department of Budget and Management to allocate funds for the purpose in the proposed 2016 General appropriations Act. “The challenges facing the country’s power industry must be addressed to avoid any power crisis in the future and derail the nation’s development efforts,” the lawmakers said.

“It is now necessary for the government, through the Department of Energy, to seriously study its options on the future of the APHC, including the creation of the MPC for the greater benefit of Mindanao and the nation in general,” the Dimaporos added.

The Regional Development Council of Region 10 has endorsed a Legislative proposal for the creation of a government-owned and -controlled corporation to be known as the MPC that will

Power climb

Manila Electric Co. linemen rush the repair of high-voltage power lines along East Avenue in Quezon City. PNA

manage the APHC, the lawmakers said.

They said the combined installed capacity of the APHC is about 55 percent of the total capacity of the Mindanao Grid.

“Republic Act 9133, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act [Epira] of 2001, was enacted to institute reforms in the electric power industry of the country and ensure reliable and affordable electric power for all Filipinos in a regime of free and fair competition,” they added.

The lawmakers said that “paragraph [f], Section 47 of RA 9136 provides that the APHC may be privatized not earlier than 10 years from the effectivity of Epira, subject to the discretion of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management,

in consultation with Congress.”

Emirates renews bid to restore 3rd Dubai-Manila daily flights

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

he restoration of Emirates’s third daily flight from Dubai to Manila will address the current dearth in seat capacity for the said route, the gulf carrier’s general manager for its Philippine operations said over the weekend.

Emirates Philippines Country Manager Abdalla Al Zamani said that there is a “significant gap between the supply and demand for seats” in the Manila-Dubai route.

In fact, the carrier’s two daily flights are currently operating at full capacity in the economy class, leaving no seats for international tourists and overseas Filipino workers, he said.

Given this, more flights should be mounted in order to address this supply-demand discrepancy, Al Zamani added.

The Philippine air panel will meet with its Arab counterparts this week to flesh out the details of the proposed expansion of bilateral rights between the two nations.

Emirates asked no less than President Aquino to launch air-services talks to expand the capacity and meet the demand.

It lost its third daily flight earlier this year due to the nonrenewal of its code-share agreement with Philippine Airlines (PAL).

“We are confident that the restoration of Emirates’s third daily flight to Manila will ensure widespread and sustained benefits to all stakeholders,” Al Zamani said.

This, however, is being blocked by PAL and Cebu Pacific. PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said the Philippine government should learn from the bitter experience of the US airline industry, which is currently facing an uphill battle against the Middle Eastern carriers over the latter’s alleged unfair practices.

He cautioned the Philippine air panel before it pursues the scheduled air-services talks with the United Arab Emirates, citing the current headwinds that US carriers are going through for opening up the western skies for more air traffic.

The chief operating officer of the legacy carrier is echoing the sentiments of the US airline industry against the tactics of the Middle Eastern carriers who are currently being investigated for unfair competition.

Washington is looking into the allegations of unfair practices of carriers from the Middle East, which are currently being subsidized by the governments. Estimates show that the subsidy that Arab carriers get is now at about $42 billion.

This is being belied by Al Zamani, who noted that his company has been open with regard to its financial performance over the years.

“Emirates has been and continues to be consistently transparent and open about our financials. The allegations of subsidy and unfair competition leveled by the ‘big three’ US legacy carriers—Delta, United and American Airlines is completely false and we have recently released a point-by-point, fact-based response that systematically disproves these allegations,” he said.

Ma. Cecilia Pelayo, 60

MA. CECILIA “Cecille” PEREZ POBLETE PELAYO joined the Creator on August 21, 2015, after a lingering illness. She was 60.

She is survived by her husband Nonnie; children JoAnne and Ricky Robledo, and Leo and Agnes Pelayo; and grandchildren Patricia and Dennis Pelayo, and Veronica, Ethan and Hannah Robledo.

Her remains lie at the Saint Peter’s Memorial Chapels on Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

Cremation will be at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

The family requests the readers to pray for the eternal repose of her soul.

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, August 23, 2015

editorial

Metro Manila’s traffic woes: Anything being done about them?

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T was the most insensitive statement any public official could make—that the traffic problem of Metro Manila was not all that bad, as it was “not fatal” anyway.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, who made the statement, immediately apologized for it, saying: “I extend my deepest apologies to the public for an off-the-cuff statement made earlier in the week, which understandably came across as reckless and insensitive.... I am profoundly sorry for this.... Please be assured that we are doing everything in our power...to ease traffic in Metro Manila and the surrounding areas. Some of these solutions will take time.”

The secretary followed this up with a call to commuters and motorists “to bear with the temporary inconvenience brought about by ongoing infrastructure projects intended to ease traffic congestion.”

Malacañang gave a hand in the damage control. Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. assured the public that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), and the local government units (LGUs) were working hand-in-hand to find solutions to the traffic problem. Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda and Deputy Spokesman Abigail Valte joined in the call for more patience and understanding on the part of motorists and commuters.

We accept the apologies and calls for understanding by the Palace officials. At the same time, we want to know: What exactly are the authorities doing about the traffic mess that is making life in Metro Manila unbearable? What are the triumvirate of MMDA, PNP-HPG and the LGUs concerned, doing handin-hand, to use Coloma’s words, to deal with the problem? For that matter, what is the Departnment of Transportation and Communications doing about it?

We are not referring to the skyways and expressways that have been auctioned off for construction under the Public-Private Partnership Program; these will not come into being until only heaven knows when. In fact, for various reasons, none of them has been started yet. We are referring rather to emergency-type solutions, like roads being widened or added; new bus routes being opened; an identification system for buses being instituted; additional stations being built; or simply that traffic regulations are being more systematically enforced—measures that can be implemented immediately to save the hapless riding public from the sub-human problems that hound daily travel in the metropolitan area.

Our national and local officials travel to foreign countries and cities frequently to observe practices and trends in, among other concerns, traffic management. Have they learned nothing from these trips?

Surely there are places on this planet that have traffic systems that are more efficient than ours. If Tokyo’s extremely efficient public-bus system is too perfect for us to emulate, why not, say, the more easily replicable public-transportation systems of Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur?

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We can pick up from foreign countries and cities replicable ideas on successful traffic management, if we have run out of ideas ourselves. Let’s solve this traffic mess before the entirety of Metro Manila’s population gets uncontrollably enraged.

Corporate Japan gets a jolt from an outsider T

Bloomberg View

By William Pesek

Gospel

Sunday, August 23, 2015

he word gaijin is used in Japan, both to describe foreigners and to suggest their inability to truly understand Japanese culture.

The term, no doubt, came to mind on Thursday when the non-Japanese president of the giant Internet firm SoftBank used his own money to place a big bet on the company.

Japanese business executives might be tempted to dismiss the news as a typically superfluous gaijin flourish. They would be far better off if they simply followed SoftBank’s lead.

Nikesh Arora joined SoftBank in late 2014 after stints at Google and an eclectic mix of tech and finance jobs from Deutsche Telecom to Putnam Investments. The promotion last month of the 47-year-old Indian-born outsider to president confirmed founder Masayoshi Son’s desire to expand beyond Japan’s aging, shrinking market—and to flout the prevailing norms of corporate Japan.

That became clearer than ever this week, when Arora pledged to buy $483 million of SoftBank shares in a “personal bet” on his ability to generate growth and profits. In taking a page from Tesla’s Elon Musk, Arora single-handedly boosted SoftBank shares 2.2 percent on Thursday. (He also managed to make a mockery of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s comparatively piddling $875,000 binge on his own company’s stock.)

Arora’s purchase sends an important message to corporate Japan.

For decades, Japanese CEOs have considered corporate governance a contradiction in terms, a vague western construct that had little bearing on their leadership. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried prodding executives to embrace global-business practices by urging shareholders

to speak out, highlighting well-run companies, and asking boards to add more outside directors. But, as recent scandals at Toshiba and airbagmaker Takata have shown, those efforts have been no match for a culture of corporate insularity that is centuries in the making.

Part of the problem is that Japan’s chieftains tend to view themselves as caretakers with a mandate to avoid unnecessary risks. Accordingly, they err on the side of avoiding conflict rather than making big interventions, whether in the form of public shows of confidence or headlinemaking deals.

As Arora’s gesture shows, however, investors often react positively when corporate executives take personal and public risks. Will anyone in Japan follow suit?

It’s an interesting question for other Japanese startup successes, including e-retailer Rakuten and clothier Fast Retailing (which sells the Uniqlo brand). At both of those companies, the founder owns an outsized stake and needs to soon groom a successor. Will they look globally for a replacement of the highest caliber, or will they promote from within, in typical Japanese fashion?

In the context of corporate Japan, Rakuten’s Hiroshi Mikitani and Tadashi Yanai of Fast Retailing are both considered mavericks. Mikitani has backed smaller start-ups and urged Abe’s government to follow his lead; Yanai has expanded aggressively overseas, made English the company’s official language and scrapped seniority-based promotions.

Corporate reforms of this sort —especially labor reforms—have consequences for the entire Japanese economy, including its battle with deflation. Although Japan is

MANY of His disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where He was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

For Jesus knew from the first who those were that

technically short of workers, practices like lifetime employment and promotions tied to tenure mean few leave their jobs. Why? Because they don’t want to work their way up the ranks again. But, by the same token, employers don’t feel pressure to boost their salaries. And because it’s hard to be promoted out of turn or fire anyone, Japanese workers have zero incentive to think big or take risks, which hampers innovation and productivity.

Foreigners don’t have all the answers, but they are responsible for Japan’s biggest corporate governance successes this year. It was Daniel Loeb, New York-based activist investor, who prodded secretive robotmaker Fanuc to increase dividends and become more transparent. Earlier this month, when Loeb turned his sights on Suzuki, its shares surged $2 billion in one day.

Now it’s Arora’s turn to shake things up. One question, of course, is where Arora (whose own pay package at SoftBank is a record-breaking $135 million) will get the $483 million he has pledged to spend on the company’s stock. If he borrows the money from a Japanese bank —many of which do business with SoftBank or own its shares—it could raise questions about conflicts of interest. That would be doubly true if he borrows from Son, the company’s billionaire founder.

Still, there’s no doubting that Arora plans to put money where his mouth is—and where his talents lie. It would be nice if Abenomics, the government’s economic revival program, could muster more of that risk-taking spirit. But it might not be an accident that Japan needed the audacity of a gaijin to give its economy a jolt.

did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this, many of His disciples drew back and no longer went about with Him. Jesus said to the 12, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.”— John 6:60-69

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, August 23, 2015 A5

Politeness, the first virtue C

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

ONTEMPOR ARY French philosopher André ComteSponville lists politeness as the first among the virtues. True, politeness can be put on. Indeed, in its nature, it doesn’t come naturally; it needs to be put on, but at the very least it is a superficial kindness.

Politeness endeavors to avoid hurt feelings. It is a sign, even if at times insincere, that one accords others an equal respect. Politeness is not the first virtue because the others derive from it, but because it takes practice to be polite. Indeed, the virtue of

politeness lies in its practice, as with other virtues. For example, honesty must be practiced to be a virtue.

The practice of the virtues must begin in childhood when there is no occasion for a child to be honest— indeed he cannot be dishonest because he has only a loose grasp on lying—but there is always reason for it to be polite. A child is thirsty—it must say, “please, may I have water?” or “please, carry me.” And, always, “I am sorry,” say for stomping on your toes, which children are in the habit of doing gratuitously.

Immanuel Kant did not think politeness a virtue, but he believed that early discipline is the school of virtue. Teaching a child to be polite is the first practice of virtue, which, as I said, does not come naturally, but must be taught. And yet, politeness is virtue’s finest example, or at least the most graceful.

There is never a time or a reason to be impolite. One can be firm, but never bastos.

Politeness is essential in political campaigns. Once, Cory Aquino told me: “If you keep waving at people

without looking at them you should step out of the car.” One morning, a reporter who had written naughty things about her, said to Cory, “Good morning, ma’am,” as she stepped out of the Guesthouse to the Cabinet meeting across the lawn. She went past him without a word, then, she turned and said, “Good morning.”

If you are a part of a politician’ s campaign, in the most ordinary or in the most intimate capacity, be polite.

When you come into your room and a stranger is there, don’t say, “Sino

siya?” What an ugly word is siya; say rather, “Hi, can I do something for you?” The visitor is not invisible. Nobody is invisible; even if you felt like that sometime in your life.

You were always vivid in someone’s loving eyes.

If you feel the advent of victory, do not snub anybody. In 2010 someone discovered that, overnight, you can turn from a likely winner into a sure loser. Never be proud because, hakuna matata. Indeed, everything in life comes back—to bite you or to kiss you.

Pope dedicated to defending migrants

By Michael Matza | TNS

P

HILADELPHIA—On his first papal trip outside Rome in 2013, Pope Francis rode a small boat in the Mediterranean to lay a wreath where scores of forlorn migrants had drowned seeking refuge in Europe.

“We have fallen into globalized indifference,” he said above the watery graveyard near the Italian island of Lampedusa. “We have become used to the suffering of others.”

Then, he exhorted the world’s leaders to respond compassionately.

For the man born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, whose grandparents and father emigrated from Italy to Argentina in 1927, defending the human rights of migrants and refugees is at the core of his papacy.

When he speaks next month at Independence Mall, the plight of desperate people on the move is expected to be a chief theme.

Details of his talk are under wraps, but simply the plan for a speech on the topic has energized Catholic immigrants and others— across the region and country— hopeful that the pontiff will use the bully pulpit of his historic visit to even more forcefully advocate on a frontline issue in America and the wider world.

“Francis sees the rise of nativist and antiimmigrant feeling as signs of a dangerous moment in politics, and his mission is to offer an alternative vision,” said Austen Ivereigh, author of The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope.

His passion for immigrants includes a critique of rampant consumerism and concentrated wealth, which drive huge population

movements. The pope’s comments, Ivereigh said, speak to “the temptation for wealthy countries to raise the drawbridge.”

He and other experts noted that Francis’s predecessors in recent decades have spoken up for migrants.

But for this pope, immigration is personal. Francis knows the pain and the hope of leaving one country for another, and the vulnerability of the migrant life.

“When he speaks about their human dignity,” John Allen, associate editor of the Catholic-interest web site Crux, wrote recently, “it’s not just a matter of social justice, [but] an homage to his ancestors.”

As the eldest of five children in a family that was comfortable, but lost most of its wealth in the Great Depression, “Francis grew up on stories about how a family’s stability can be wiped away in an instant by larger economic forces,” Allen wrote.

It’s a narrative that has resonated, including with immigrant communities, such as the one in Avondale.

“He is talking about immigrants and the mission of respecting and caring for those in need,” said Rev. Frank Depman, pastor of Saint Rocco Catholic Church in Avondale. “Our parishioners feel it strongly because many [are immigrants] and sometimes feel forgotten.”

Saint Rocco was created by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to serve the language and cultural needs of its vastly Hispanic flock. It plans to send four busloads of worshipers to the pope’s Sunday mega-Mass next month on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

About 1,000 additional people will watch it live on a giant screen back at the Chester County church.

Another group with a keen

interest will be patrons and supporters of the Aquinas Center, a South Philadelphia conventturned-community center that strives to bridge cultural divides.

Filipinos, Thais, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Congolese, Mexicans, Hondurans and Guatemalans are among the 550 people who use the center weekly, director Bethany Welch said. The Latinos, she said, have “a profound feeling of connectedness” to Francis as the first pope from Latin America.

During the week leading up to the pontiff’s visit here, the center will provide bunk beds for 45 Mexican immigrant “farmworker pilgrims” from Mobile, Alabama, Welch said, and will host hundreds of Vietnamese families for a marriageenrichment course.

Always on message, the pontiff has spotlighted immigration on stages big and small. At the European Parliament in France last year, he said: “We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery.”

A month later in a quieter gesture, he sent Christmas presents to 2,000 immigrants at the Dono di Maria shelter near the Vatican. The gift packages included a card signed by the pope, postage stamps, a prepaid international calling card and a day pass for Rome’s Metro rail system.

On an even smaller scale, also around Christmas, the pope sent a letter to a group of teens at a Catholic immigrant-advocacy group in Arizona.

He praised them for rejecting “stereotypes” propagated “by people who only see in immigration a source of illegality, social conflict, and violence.”

It was signed “Fraternally, Francisco.”

During the week leading up to the pontiff’s visit here, the center will provide bunk beds for 45 Mexican immigrant “farmworker pilgrims” from Mobile, Alabama, Welch said, and will host hundreds of Vietnamese families for a marriage-enrichment course.

“This pope has political capital.

More important, he has an enormous reservoir of moral capital that he is not afraid to use, because in doing so, he actually replenishes it,” said Demetrios Papademetriou, president emeritus of the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.

Papademetriou is a former adviser to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which in May visited America’s Southern border and issued a report calling for the US immigration detention system to be dismantled.

Some conference members hope the pope will address that issue during his time in America.

Papademetriou thinks the pontiff may also weigh in on the issue of unaccompanied-minor immigrants, and what to do about the 11 to 12 million living here illegally. But, while relentlessly advancing his cause, Francis “also is a pragmatic pope,” Papademetriou said. “At the same time that he says, “Protect them, open your houses to them, we have a moral responsibility,” there is also in his statements a skepticism. He says immigration is the least bad course for people who are poor, marginalized or oppressed.

“The way he handles the moral

responsibility is absolutely stunning,” Papademetriou said, “but there is also a significant dose of realism: What might we do [so that] people who migrate out of extreme need might be able to remain at home?”

Not everyone is charmed by what some pundits have called the “Francis effect.”

After the pope’s visit to Lampedusa (where hundreds more immigrants have since drowned), Fabrizio Cicchitto, then a senior member of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, accused Francis of encouraging illegal immigration and said he should stick to liturgical matters.

Peter Pedemonti hopes he does not. Pedemonti directs the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, an interdenominational, faith-based immigrant-rights organization.

Working with Catholic parishes in Philadelphia, New Sanctuary is generating letters by immigrants that will be mailed to the Vatican next week. The writers will describe their plights with the hope that the pontiff might ask to meet them when he gets here.

“He has a reputation for actually reading and answering his mail,” Pedemonti said. “We want to make sure he is hearing from the people— not just from [Philadelphia] Archbishop Chaput and elected officials.”

Does Pedemonti worry that as a guest whose visit coincides with the collegiality of the World Meeting of Families, the pope might soften his tone?

“If you read the gospel, Jesus wasn’t polite,” Pedemonti said. “He was very challenging, and he called out the rich and the power-holders all the time.”

Scientists suggest a way to lower stroke risk: Shorten your workweek

By Karen Kaplan | TNS

D

O you worry that your workaholic ways are killing you? A new study says you may be right.

In an analysis of more than half a million men and women from around the world, those who put in long hours at the office were 33 percent more likely to suffer a stroke than their colleagues who clocked out earlier. Even those who worked just over 40 hours per week saw a significant increase in stroke risk, according to results published online on Wednesday in the journal Lancet.

An international team of researchers gathered data on hundreds of thousands of workers in the US, Australia, Israel and eight countries in Europe who participated in various long-term studies. The volunteers told researchers

how many hours they worked per week. Then they were tracked for several years.

T he researchers identified 528,908 people who were strokefree when they joined a study. Over the next seven or so years, 1,722 of them suffered a stroke. But the odds weren’t spread equally—the more they worked, the greater the risk.

Compared to people who worked 35 to 40 hours per week, those who logged 41 to 48 hours per week were 10 percent more likely to suffer a stroke, the researchers found. Workers who put in 49 to 54 hours per week were in greater peril—their stroke risk was 27 percent higher than for the baseline group. Worst off were those who worked at least 55 hours per week and saw their stroke risk jump by 33 percent.

This dose-response relationship between working hours and stroke risk was seen in both men

and women, and in workers in all four regions studied, the researchers wrote. The results were adjusted to account for the age, gender and socioeconomic status of each study volunteer, as well as factors such as smoking history, alcohol consumption and body-mass index.

The researchers also looked at 603,838 workers with no history of coronary heart disease and tracked them for an average of 8.5 years.

During that time, 4,768 had a heart attack or another coronary event.

Compared to those with a standard workweek, those who put in at least 55 hours were 13 percent more likely to have a heart-related health problem, according to the study.

The results don’t prove that bigger workloads were responsible for the increased risk of heart disease or stroke, but there are several reasons to think the extra hours were responsible, the researchers wrote.

For starters, people who spend more time behind a desk have less time to be physically active. Even if they do make time for exercise, just sitting for long periods has been shown to increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and early death.

The researchers also speculate that those who work long hours are more likely to unwind with a cocktail, and heavy drinking is a known risk factor for stroke. And the longer one is in the office, the more often they trigger their body’s stress response, which is believed to be a common cause of “sudden death from overwork,” the study authors wrote.

The results “provide the strongest indication of a causal association between long working hours and an aspect of cardiovascular disease—namely, stroke,” Dr. Urban Janlert, a senior professor of

public health at Umea University in Sweden, wrote in an editorial that accompanies the study.

A one-third increase in stroke risk may not sound like much, but it goes a long way when you consider how many people work long hours, Janlert wrote.

Among the 36 nations that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, nearly 13 percent of workers put in at least 50 hours per week.

Turkey had the greatest proportion of these workaholics (41 percent of the workforce), followed by Mexico (29 percent) and Japan (22 percent).

In the US, 11.3 percent of workers log at least 50 hours per week.

The good news about long work hours is that “it should be possible to change them,” Janlert wrote. Some jobs are inherently dangerous, he wrote, “but the length of a working day is a human decision.”

NewsSunday

A6 Sunday, August 23, 2015 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

US eyes bigger military presence in Asia Pacific–Pentagon report

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ASHINGTON—The United States plans to strengthen its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region in the next few years by deploying more of its ships and warplanes, a new Pentagon report said.

The report titled “Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy” said Washington will “maintain the necessary military presence and

capabilities to protect US interests and those of allies and partners against potential threats in maritime Asia.”

Dav id Shear, the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, told a Pentagon news conference on Friday that the US is strengthening its military capacity in the region to deter conf lict and coercion and respond decisively when needed.

“The US maintains 368,000 military personnel in the AsiaPacific region,” the report reads.

“Over the next five years, the US Navy will increase the number of ships assigned to Pacific Fleet outside of US territory by approximately 30 percent, greatly

improving our ability to maintain a more regular and persistent maritime presence in the Pacific. And by 2020, 60 percent of naval and overseas air assets will be home-ported in the Pacific region.”

The report also mentions various territorial and maritime disputes in the South China and East China Seas, involving Brunei Darussalam, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan.

“The US government urges states to not implement unilateral actions that undermine regional stability and trust,” it says. PNA

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Legislators don’t buy Pangilinan’s claim there’s no fake rice being sold in markets

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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espite the recent assurance issued by presidential assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Secretary Francis N. Pangilinan that there is no proliferation of “fake rice” in the country, two party-list lawmakers have filed a resolution to probe the trade of fake or synthetic rice in local markets.

In House Resolution 2209, Party-list Reps.

Carlos Isagani T. Zarate and Neri J. Colmenares of Bayan Muna said that the House Committee on Agriculture and Food and the Special Committee on Food Security should probe the issue in aid of legislation to put an end to the nefarious activity, which is an additional burden both to the rice-producing farmers and the consuming public.

Rice, which is one of the most important commodities in the Philippines, is the staple food of almost 90 percent of the population.

Lawmakers, citing news reports, noted the entry and proliferation of fake rice, particularly in barangays of Matina Aplaya, Mintal, Buhangin,

and Cabiantan in Davao City and in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. They added that the residents in the areas and nearby localities who purchased the suspected fake rice were not able to tell the difference because it has the same texture, color, and shape of regular rice. When the fake rice, which was passed of as regular rice, was cooked, it had the appearance of styrofoam.

“The National Food Authority [NFA] in Davao found out that the suspected fake rice came from Bansalan, Davao Del Sur and was stored in unmarked and unlabeled sacks,” the legislators said.

The fake rice, they added, was allegedly manufactured in China and brought into other Asian countries, such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. It was said to be a mixture of potatoes, sweet potatoes and synthetic resin or plastic, which is the same material used to make pipes and cables.

The lawmakers also expressed concern over the proliferation of fake rice, saying the commodity is certain to attract buyers despite its possible health risks because it is sold at cheaper prices.

House TWG OKs draft-substitute bill to reorganize, modernize PNP

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fter 21 meetings, a technical working group (TWG) of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety has recently approved the draft-substitute bill reorganizing and modernizing the Philippine National Police (PNP).

TWG Chairman and Party-list Rep. Samuel D. Pagdilao of ACT-CIS said that the group formally turned over the copy of the draft-substitute bill to United Negros Alliance Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer of Negros Occidental,

committee chairman, last week.

“We have belabored and had 21 TWG proceedings and discussions in order to come up with this consolidated bill. We’ve been delayed by circumstances beyond our control.

There have been changes in the PNP leadership, and every change introduced changes to the bill, as well,” Pagdilao said.

According to Pagdilao, the delay was also partly caused by the varying views of the National Police Commis-

sion and PNP on certain aspects of the draft substitute bill.

“With the appointment of a permanent PNP chief and after having our last TWG meeting, we now have the copy of the consolidated bill for submission to the mother committee which can now start deliberating on it,” said Pagdilao, a retired police general and former director of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Ferrer, for his part, said that his

panel would discuss the bill soon.

“We are now in the position to discuss the substitute bill in the mother committee,” Ferrer said.

The bill outlines the six components of the PNP Reorganization and Modernization namely, organizational development; humanresource development; doctrine development; infrastructure development; equipment acquisition; and financial development.

The organization development

aspect includes powers and functions; rank classification; organizational structure; national support units; other key positions; general qualifications for appointment; and creation of the position of patrol officer.

Whereas, the human-resource development aspect covers manpower build-up and training, transfer of jurisdiction of certain police learning institutions to the PNP and implementation; and doctrine and

operational manual development.

For infrastructure and equipment development and modernization, these include infrastructure development and modernization; equipment acquisition and modernization; and procurement system.

As to the financial development aspect, this includes the PNP Modernization Act Trust Fund; austerity and use of savings; and exemption from value added tax and customs duties. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

RegionsSunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Sunday, August 23, 2015 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo A7

2 more journalists killed this month

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WO more journalists were killed this month, alarming press-freedom advocates belonging to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and AlterMidya.

The NUJP said Gregorio Ybañez, president of the Davao del Norte Press and Radio-TV Club (DNPRC), was on his way home around 10 p.m. on August 18 when he was shot a nd k i l led by st i l l unidentified assailants.

The victim was rushed to a

Tarlac Penro seeks collaboration vs illegal logging

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ARLAC CITY—The need for a “multistakeholder collaboration” in the campaign against illegal logging has been emphasized by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) here.

“We enjoin all concerned agencies and sectors to accept the call in protecting the remaining forest cover of the country,” Penro Chief Emelita Lingat said during the recent meeting of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force (PAILTF) here.

“It is our obligation to protect the ecosystem. It is our goal to preserve biodiversity and protect threatened habitats,” she added.

The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Central Luzon (Region 3) said members of the PAILTF have pledged to strengthen efforts to curb illegal logging in identified hotspots in the towns of Camiling, San Jose and Capas through a 24-hour monitoring and conduct an information, education and communication campaign activities on forestry laws, rules and regulations. The PIA–R3 said the creation of PAILTF is pursuant to President Aquino’s Executive Order 23, which declares a moratorium on cutting and harvesting of timber in natural and residual forests.

PAILTF members include representatives from the provincial offices of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the PIA. Representatives from the Northern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Offices, and local media are also part of TAILTF. Ashley Manabat

₧1 billion sought for water supply in Tacloban

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ACLOBAN CITY—The National Economic Development Authority (Neda) has proposed to the Office of the President a more than P1-billion water supply project for relocation sites in this city.

Neda Eastern Visayas Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said their office came up with a proposal after the low-key visit of Neda Director General Arsenio Balisacan on June 24 and 25 in resettlement areas.

“He saw that in the relocation sites, there is a need for water supply, which was both asked by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Tacloban city government,” Uy said.

Balisacan immediately informed President Aquino about the result of his visit and relayed the water scarcity problem, not only in permanent houses, but also in temporary shelters.

“As a result, the President talked with LWUA [Local Water Utilities Administration] to provide water support project in all resettlement projects, with the recommendation of the Neda for LWUA to be given more than P1 billion for water supply project,” Uy said. PNA

hospital, but was pronounced dead around 6 a.m. the following day.

The NUJP reported that based on conversation with Boy Conejos, vice president of DNPRC, the victim had been receiving threats to his life as early as 2012.

Ybañez, who wrote for the local

newspaper Bagting sa Katilingban, was also a member of the board of directors of the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative.

T he killing of Y bañez was most likely related to his involvement in the electric cooperative, Cornejos said.

The NUJP said Ybañez was the 27th journalist killed under the Aquino administration, which would bring to 167 the number of killed journalists since 1986.

Meanwhile, another media g roup, A lterMidy a , re por ted that Teodoro Escanilla, 63, was gunned down by six unidentified men on August 19 inside his house in Tagdon Village, Barcelona, Sorsogon.

Escanilla, a spokesman of the human-rights group Karapatan, anchored a radio program “Pamanang Lahi” over local radio station dzMS for 10 years. Karapatan said Escanilla criticized the military over his radio program for the rising human-rights abuses in Sorsogon.

Escanilla was the 28th journalist killed under Aquino’s watch.

AlterMidya said in a statement that “the state should be held accountable for the deaths of Escanilla and Ybañez and of all other victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.”

In the infamous Maguindanao Massacre, also known as the Ampatuan Massacre on November 23, 2009, 58 people, including 34

journalists were killed.

Several local officials, led by the incumbent governor, A ndal Ampatuan Sr., and members of his clan lording over Maguindanao, a province under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, were linked to the killings targeting to eliminate political rivals in the 2009 election.

The Committee to Protect Journalist called the Maguindanao Massacre the single-deadliest event for journalists in history and labeled the Philippines as the second most-dangerous country for journalists, next to Iraq.

Most of the killings involving journalists remain unsolved.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

GenSan power situation now stable G ENERAL SANTOS CITY— The long rotating brownouts that plagued this city and its neighboring areas in the past few years is “now a thing of the past.”

Crisanto Sotelo, acting general manager of South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II), said on Saturday that the area’s power supplies have so far stabilized due to their interventions in the last two years.

He s p e c i f ic a l ly c ite d t he operationalization last year of the 15-megawatt (MW) modular generator sets of the SoEnergy International and the 20.9-MW bunker-fired power plant of Peakpower Soccsargen Inc. (PSI).

Socoteco I I ’s ser v ice a rea

experienced severe brownouts from 2012 and a portion of 2013 that lasted to as long as eight hours a day, affecting businesses and local-government operations.

The electric cooperative serves this city, the entire Sarangani province and the municipalities of Tupi and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

During the 2012 and 2013 power crisis, he said the area’s supplies were short by as much as 30 MW based on its peak demand of 120 MW. As of this month, he said the area’s peak demand has increased to an average of 130 MW as a result of the entry of new industries and business establishments.

“Even w it h t he increa sed demand, our power supplies remain

Typhoon Ineng leaves 7 dead, 2 missing in PHL

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YPHOON Goni (local name Ineng ) slight ly wea kened on Saturday as it lashed the northern part of the Philippines with strong rain and wind that set off landslides and flooded low-lying villages, leaving at least seven people dead and two others missing, officials said.

The government’s weather agency said the typhoon was at sea about 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of northern Calayan Island on the northern tip of the archipelago and is not expected to make landfall. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 160 km (100 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 195 kph (121 mph). The slowmoving typhoon is forecast to start blowing away from the country on Sunday, passing east of Taiwan and heading toward Okinawa, Japan, early next week.

A mong t he dead were t wo brothers who died when a landslide buried a temporary shelter where they took cover in Bakun town in the mountain province of Benguet.

Two other men were killed in

separate landslides and a man was pinned to death by a fallen tree, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan reported two other deaths in his province on Saturday, adding that rescuers were scrambling to dig up two villagers who were buried in a landslide. Other casualties were swept by rampaging rivers, landslides and a tornado, officials said.

Several flights and ferry trips have been canceled. Hundreds of families were moved to storm shelters in the north and authorities scrapped classes in several towns in metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces due to flooding and danger from the howling wind.

Goni, a Korean word for “swan,” is the ninth of about 20 storms and typhoons expected to batter the Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, this year. Supertyphoon Haiyan, one of the most ferocious storms on record to hit land, devastated large areas of the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving more than 7,300 dead and missing. AP

stable and we expect that situation to continue in the coming months,” Sotelo said in an interview.

Aside from SoEnergy and PSI, Socoteco II receives power supplies from the Mount Apo geothermal plant, Mapalad Power Corp., Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) and the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

Mapalad and TMI supply 30 MW each, while the Mount Apo plant provides an additional 10 MW. The remaining requirement is supplied by Napocor.

Sotelo said the approval of the city government to the entry of the independent-power producers SoEnergy and PSI are among the biggest reasons for the stabilization of the area’s power situation.

“The biggest help from our local

government is the issuance of the permits for construction of these plants. The barangay, where these plants were constructed, also gave endorsements until it reached the city-level,” he said.

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera reiterated that the city government is always ready to help Socoteco II in providing better power supply to the city.

“It is one of my top priorities to ensure that GenSan has a stable power supply so that businesses can operate smoothly here.

We cannot attract investors here if we can’t assure them that we can support their establishments, and that is the reason we work together with Socoteco II,” the mayor said. PNA

Capas 2nd most progressive town in Tarlac

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LARK FREEPORT—The town of Capas in Tarlac has been named the second most economically progressive municipality in the entire province and number five in Central Luzon, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Capas Mayor Antonio Rodriguez said that in the entire country, Capas was ranked 40th most economically progressive out of the 1,490 municipalities in the Philippines.

The mayor said the DTI assessment has put into consideration his town’s efficient local-government management, as well as infrastructure projects costing P400 million.

This is on top of Capas’s being consistently the top real-property tax (RPT) collector in Tarlac, Rodriguez said.

The mayor said RPT collection rose from P10.1 million in 2010 to P15.6 million as of last year.

“Progress in our town has become well known, especially after we have constructed the new, big and modern municipal building which is now reputed to be the most in Central Luzon,” the mayor said. It cost about P18 million.

Rodriguez noted that economic progress has also led to the rise of the local-government budget from P156 million in 2009 to P278 million this year.

“This is an increase of 80 percent,” he noted. “The municipal income from local sources increased by 164 percent since 2008, amounting to about P63.7 million so far from only

P24 million in 2009,” he added.

Rodriguez said the collections from business permits have also risen significantly from P44 million in 2009 to P35.4 million so far.

“These have enabled us to pursue more programs and projects, including provision of ambulances, motorcycles, bicycles, tractors, fire trucks, uniforms and two-way radios to our barangays,” he reported.

Rodriguez cited various infrastructure projects, either finished in the last four years or are still being completed, including the P100-million Cutcut Bridge; the P67-million Bangut Bridge; the P26.1-million Susuba Bridge; the P23-million Estrada and Dolores bridges; the P8.5-million police building; and P60 million for 100 new classrooms.

The two-term mayor also noted the completion of the P10-million Ospital ning Capas Extension building; the P12-million small water impounding project in Sitio Malutu in Barangay Santa Lucia; the P10 million for three new birthing stations, the P2.5-million organic trading post building, and P10 million worth more of other locally funded projects.

Rodriguez said local farmers have been provided not only with tractors, but also with other farm inputs that have made Capas a top producer of root crops in the region.

The local government also spent P45 million for health benefits to indigents, on top of P12 million to provide housing to some 1,200 illegal settlers in the town. Ashley J. Manabat

SM Foundation, PNP donate books, toys, supplies to Leyte public schools

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M Foundation, in partnership with the 19th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, visited the municipalities of Jaro, Carigara and Tunga in Leyte to distribute school supplies, shoes and toys.

Books were also donated to elementary and high-school public schools.

Rubas Elementary School in Jaro were recipients of school supplies, shoes and toys, while in Carigara, the schoolchildren in Barangay Tinaguban Elementary School were the chosen beneficiaries.

A total of 5,000 assorted books were turned over to elementary and high schools in Tunga, with Mayor Catalina Agda and Councilor Ma. Evelyn Avila witnessing the turnover. Recipients of the donated books were Barangay Balire Elementary School, Tunga Central School and Gregorio Catenza National High School, whose Principal Patricia Tanala accepted the donation.

SM Foundation also supports college scholars from Tunga, Carigara and Jaro who are taking four-year to five-year college courses in universities and colleges in Tacloban.

PRESENT during the turnover of books, toys and school supplies in Tunga, Leyte, are (from left) Councilor Maribel Avila, Principal Patricia Tanala, Mayor Catalina Agda and SM Foundation Inc.’s Rolando Sagun.

NGCP launches tree-planting program

By Lenie Lectura

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OW ER- GR ID operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has launched a tree-replacement program for the construction of the Santa Rita-Quinapondan 69-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line project, which will provide better powerdelivery services and address future load growth in Western and Eastern Samar.

Thirty percent of the project cost was released as mobilization fund to Samarsur Upland Farmers Association (Sufa) and the San Antonio, Tinaogan, Cambayan Farmers Association (Santicamfa) from Eastern Samar, which were selected by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The people’s organizations received checks amounting to P2,724,700 and P581,390, respectively.

The program is in compliance with DENR’s Memorandum 201202, which requires NGCP to replace trees that will be cut with 100 seedlings for every naturally growing tree and 50 seedlings for every planted tree.

Under the terms and conditions of the memorandum of agreement entered by and among the DENR, Sufa and Santicamfa, and NGCP, the farmers associations will undertake the production, planting and maintenance, and protection of forest and fruit-tree seedlings over a three-year period on behalf of NGCP. Monitoring of the progress of the reforestation activities shall be undertaken.

The project is at the initial phase consisting of the production of tree seedlings. Sufa has already produced the required 16,600 seedlings, including the 3,320 seedlings for the 20-percent mortality allowance. The seedlings are composed of patsaragon (8,000); hagakhak (8,000); wakatan (1,420); and coffee (2,500).

Santicamfa in Basey, Samar, has produced 130,000 seedlings of assorted forest-tree species and fruit trees.

Preparat ions are a lready underway for the start of the planting of the tree seedlings at the 80-hectare and 10-hectare reforestation sites in Basey, Samar and Giporlos, Easter n Samar, respectively.

Apart from the usual foresttree seedlings required for the project, NGCP also included the planting of fruit-tree seedlings to provide an extra source of income for the farmers who are still trying to get back on their feet after the devastation brought on by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan).

T he Santa R ita- Quinapond a n 69 -kV project, e x pected to be energ ized in 2016, spans 97 circuit-k ilometers and w il l traverse the municipa lities of Santa R ita, Basey and Marabut in Wester n Samar, and the municipa lities of Lawaan, Ba lang iga, Giporlos, and Quinapondan in Easter n Samar.

The NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related assets.

The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power transmission network, is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., led by Henry Sy Jr.; Calaca High Power Corp., led by Robert Coyiuto Jr.; and the State Grid Corp. of China as technical partner.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Sunday, August 23, 2015

Thrift banks posted strong double-digit growth in H1

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By Genivi Factao

HE Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) said the thrift-banking industry continues to perform well, as consumer lending and deposittaking posted strong double-digit growth in the first half of the year.

The industry sustained credit growth, as core lending rose by 17.28 percent to P616.026 billion, higher than last year’s P525.25 billion. This reflected sustained lending activity in its niche markets, mainly micro, small and medium enterprises, housing and consumers.

CTB President and Rizal Commercian Banking Corp. Savings Bank President Rommel S. Lati­ nazo earlier said the outlook of the thrift-bank sector is that “it will continue to grow in terms of loan portfolio and profits.”

He said, “There’s some pressure on profit, but I think the industry will remain profitable.”

Thrift banks maintained their stability, marked by sustained growth in resources, lending and profitability, and supported by increased deposit mobilization, adequate capitalization, as well as enhanced asset quality.

Confidence in the industry remained high, as deposit liabilities reached P742.04 billion—higher by 11.24 percent year-on-year from the same period last year, which registered P667.085 billion.

The total capital of thrift banks reached P120.858 billion, higher by 30 percent than 2014’s P92.6 billion.

The industry showed a marked

improvement in its loan and asset quality, as measured by both nonperforming loans (NPLs) and nonperforming assets (NPAs).

As of end-June 2015 the industry’s NPL ratio stood at 4.69 percent, down from 4.86 percent a year ago. Likewise, the NPA ra-

tio improved to 5.37 percent, from last year’s 5.59-percent level. Past due ratio stood at 4.98 percent, from 5.16 percent a year ago.

Total assets stood at P925.083 billion as of June 30, 2015, higher by 12.94 percent from last year’s P819.103 billion.

RAGING BULL Tourists have their picture taken with the Charging Bull, sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, at the Bowling Green Park in the Financial District in Manhattan, New York City. On Friday the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of US stocks ended its worst week since 2011. stephanie tumampos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Ombudsman, c.o.a.

Sandiganbayan get budget boost in 2016–lawmaker A

LAWMAKER over the weekend backed the 2016 budget increase of the Office of the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan and the Commission on Audit (COA).

Liberal Party Rep. Roman Romulo of Pasig City said the increased funding of these agencies will help them fight corruption, as well as promote clean governance.

“The struggle for reforms is never done, because the temptation to commit fraud and abuse is always there. This is why we have to invest constantly in fighting corruption and promoting clean governance,” Romulo said.

In the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2016, which are under committee deliberations at the House of Representatives, the Ombudsman is getting P1.78 billion, a cumulative 68-percent increase from its P1.06-billion budget in 2010, or the start of the Aquino administration.

“This should enable the Ombudsman, which receives around 10,600 new complaints every year, to aggressively investigate and prosecute officials accused of graft and corruption,” Romulo said.

The Sandiganbayan is getting P505.9 million next year, 51 percent bigger than its allocation in 2010.

“The fresh funding will cover the creation of two new divisions of the special antigraft court, and speed up the resolution of cases filed by the Ombudsman,” Romulo said.

A total of 3,105 cases were pending before the antigraft tribunal as of June 30, 2015.

The Sandiganbayan hears and decides criminal and civil cases involving graft-and-corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public officers and employees, including those in state-owned corporations.

Meanwhile, the COA is receiving P9.13 billion next year—an increase of nearly 140 percent from its allotment in 2010—to build up its audit services via the hiring of additional staff and the adoption of new technologies.

“We have very high hopes that these incremental investments in the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan and the COA will help suppress malfeasance and generate new savings for taxpayers,” Romulo said. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Shell PHL expected to resort to importing lubricants when Pandacan depot closes

By Lenie Lectura

A

TOP official of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said the oil firm would have to resort to importation of lubricant products, following a Supreme Court (SC) order mandating the imminent closure of its oil depot in Pandacan, Manila.

In an interview, Shell country chairman Edgar O. Chua said the oil firm’s petroleum products are not the only ones affected by the SC’s ruling, which mandates it to vacate the facility.

“The SC has spoken. We will export our lubricants,” said Chua, who added that Shell would probably import from nearby countries.

Shell’s Pandacan depot houses its fuel tanks and lube-blending plant. Of the 14 tanks located inside the Pandacan depot, three so far have been dismantled. Chua said the company would be able to fully comply with the SC order. “We started to dismantle the tanks last

month, and we will be out of here in November.”

Chua said the lubricants account for about 20 percent of the company’s revenues.

Separately, Shell Manufacturing Communications and Social Performance Manager Cesar Abaricia said importing lubricants would not result in higher prices, saying that it could be cheaper to import lubricants. For now, Abaricia said, inventory of Shell lubricant products would last until November this year.

The lube oil-blending plant in Pandacan is designed to manufacture products with more stringent specifications. It uses an automatic batch-blending system to produce a variety of lubricants.

The plant, estimated to cost around P450 million when it was constructed, has a rated capacity of 60,000 metric tons per year.

The closure of its oil depot in Pandacan will result in job losses.

“We will try to absorb as many

as we can. We are still finalizing the details,” Chua added.

The official, however, clarified that prices of petroleum products would not go up as a result of the Pandacan oil-depot closure. Rather, he said, it’s the distribution cost that will go up due to difficulty in logistics, since the facility would be relocated to Batangas City.

“Market forces will still dictate the pump prices. Our cost will be affected, because it will now come from Batangas. It would be difficult, because there’s a truck ban in every city. But when you talk about pricing, this will all depend on competition,” Chua explained.

Shell has about 1,000 service stations nationwide.

“To start with, the facility is not unsafe. If it is unsafe, we would be the first one to close it down.

But we should not dwell on it anymore. Hopefully, this won’t happen again. This does not define our relationship with the government,” Chua added.