Businessmirror august 29, 2016

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Monday, August 29, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 324

Congress eyes experts to help amend Charter 30 A By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

INSIDE

executive views: RWM COO Stephen reilly

The maximum number of legal experts the President can appoint to a Constitutional Commission that will help lawmakers tackle the job of amending the Charter

Alvarez, who was tasked by the Palace to draft an executive order (EO) creating the Con-com, recently said the commission will help Congress, acting as a constitu-

of amending the Charter. Hopefully, the Palace will release the EO this month and [President Duterte] will appoint the members by September Continued on A2

Editor: Max V. de Leon | Monday, August 29, 2016 E4

MADE IN SEVEN

Public-health sector, families bear brunt of Duterte’s war on drugs

RESORTS WORLD MANILA COO REFLECTS AND LOOKS AHEAD ON 7TH ANNIVERSARY

R

ESORTS World Manila (RWM) Chief Operating Officer Stephen Reilly has been behind the reins of the country’s first integrated resort since opening its doors in 2009. Ever since, RWM has been the leading purveyor of thrills, providing Filipinos with a taste of world-class entertainment, accommodations and gaming, the likes of which were once only seen in London, New York, and Las Vegas. On August 28, RWM marked its seventh anniversary in the business with Reilly leading the celebrations, beaming with pride. “My career in the gaming industry started while I was in the UK,” says the British native. “After that, I came to Asia and joined Genting Hong Kong’s cruise-ship operation predominately based in Malaysia. In 2009 I came to the Philippines initially as the country head of Genting Hong Kong. My job was to set up the support services and operations of Genting Hong Kong here in the Philippines. Genting Hong Kong partly owns RWM, so while I was heading the Genting project, I was already working on many aspects of the RWM development.” As RWM continues to grow and expand, so too does its portfolio of offerings and attractions. The imminent completion of the Marriott West Wing will add 228 hotel rooms and is on track to open in the second half of 2016. Also noteworthy is the additional entertainment areas in Remington Hotel. And, if that was not enough, three more hotels— the Hilton Hotel Manila, the Sheraton Manila Hotel, and Maxims Hotel new wing—are scheduled to open starting end of 2017 till first half 2018. “The best part for me is the growth of the industry, especially here in the Philippines,” Reilly says. “If there’s one thing I enjoy about my work, its building. Seeing things build from the ground up from nothing. I enjoy following it from the conception of an idea, to fulfillment, to operation. I also enjoy seeing how people develop, showing people their potential or actually increasing their potential.” On the entertainment front, RWM brings to the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) stage on September 30 its seventh major production, the award-winning family musical Annie with Krystal Brimner and Isabeli Araneta Elizalde alternating the role of the optimistic orphan, and Michael de Mesa playing the role of Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks. This latest theater offering further cements RWM’s commitment to champion the Filipino, supported by the inception of the Original Pilipino Performing Arts Foundation last year with an initial fund of up to P100 million. “I have always been drawn to the bright lights and glitz of the entertainment industry and there’s a lot of it running an integrated resort like Resorts World Manila,” Reilly shares. “Come September 30, we would have mounted seven all-Filipino theater productions since we began operations. We’ve truly captured the richness of world-class talent and the spirit of fun right in one thrilling place—all in just seven years.” For more information on RWM attractions, visit www.rwmanila.com or call the tourist/visitor hotline at (02) 908-8833.

executive views

ent assembly (Con-ass), in drafting the proposed Charter changes. “The commission will be composed of 25 to 30 legal experts. They would help lawmakers tackle the job

BMReports

BusinessMirror

Depersonalizing and ‘anti-epalizing’ PPP projects

@joveemarie

Constitutional Commission (Con-com) sought to help Congress amend the Constitution is seen drafting the proposed amendments by September, according to Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez.

ExecutiveViews

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 36 pages | 7 days a week

PPP Lead Alberto C. Agra

H

ave you seen government and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects that bear the name of the highest government official who signed the contract? What is your impression or reaction to this? If you were the successor chief executive, would you be tempted to discontinue this project or drop the name of the predecessor?

Every time a government or PPP project bears the picture, name, emblem, initials, logo, color or insignia of a politician or elective official, a disturbing message is communicated to the public and political opponents. Intentionally or unintentionally, consciously or unconsciously, the President, legislator, governor, mayor, punong barangay, head of agency is telling us that he or she “owns” the project, and that without him or her, there would not be any such project. Continued on A14

e4

Depersonalizing PPPs

managing customer relationships

Anti-Epal Signages

monday morning

Public Involvement

e1

flawless fowler

Approval in a Plebiscite Authorities conduct fingerprint verification and identification of alleged drug dependents who surrendered voluntarily in Quezon City. NONOY LACZA

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Part 1

T sports

c1

HE government’s Nixon-like war-on-drugs stance has prompted users and sellers of narcotics to surrender. The influx of the number has equally prompted public-health officials and executives from other concerned agencies to perform

PESO exchange rates n US 46.4890

their mandate to provide treatment and rehabilitation to help drug users recover from the devastation of drug addiction. According to physician Alfonso Villaroman, the Department of Health (DOH) has launched a series of community-based training programs for those who surrendered after Mr. Duterte declared his own version of the war on drugs. To note, the “War on Drugs”

was first used by US President Richard Nixon in 1971, who declared illegal drugs as “America’s public enemy No. 1.” Villaroman, chief program officer of the DOH in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, said in a news briefing the agency’s role in this war began after thousands of Filipinos, mostly poor, surrendered to police and local officials. Continued on A2

Learning Ecology

Sustainable Project Author: Alberto C. Agra

n japan 0.4625 n UK 61.3329 n HK 5.9948 n CHINA 6.9794 n singapore 34.3625 n australia 35.4014 n EU 52.4721 n SAUDI arabia 12.4007

bm Graphics: Job Ruzgal

Source: BSP (26 August 2016 )

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A2 Monday, August 29, 2016

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Congress eyes experts to help amend Charter continued from A1

so they can start drafting the proposed changes,” he said. “The proposal is for them to draft the amendments within six months and for the constituent assembly after [the given period] to do its own job,” Alvarez said. Alvarez said the commission will include constitutional law experts, like former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, former Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr., lawyer Reuben Canoy and Dean of San Beda Law School Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations, academe and other sectors of society. “We have many experts to do that [drafting]. We may also include as members of the commission constitutional law Prof. Jack Jimenez and Father Joaquin Bernas,” he added. Bernas was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution.

Timeline

Meanwhile, during the recent BusinessMirror and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines forum on federalism, Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez said the proposed amendments to the Constitution will be presented to the public through a referendum. “The plan is for Congress to constitute itself, through a vote of three-fourths of all its members, into a Con-ass. Given budgetary and time constraints, this is the best option. With the assistance of the Constitutional Commission formed by President Duterte and consisting of experts, a new Constitution will be drafted and presented for the approval of the people, hopefully by 2019,” Hernandez said. “An interim government will then be in place in 2022, which shall serve as the year when the first-ever federal elections for the Philippines will take place,” he added.

12 states

Also, Hernandez said Congress is eyeing to create 12 states under the federal form of government. “The plan is to create 12 states, namely, States of Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, MinPaRom [Mindoro, Palawan and Romblon], Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Eastern Mindanao, Western Mindanao, SuBaTawi [Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi], Maguindano and the State of the Indigenous People Territory,” he said. Hernandez said the basis for the creation of the 12 states will be the regions’ shared cultural and linguistic history, geographic contiguity and economic viability. “For the less prosperous localities, they will be clustered with richer provinces,” he said. The lawmaker said states composing the Philippine Federal Union will have sufficient powers over revenue creation, infrastructure, agriculture, education, public health and local economy.

“They can capitalize on their own competitive advantages and chart their own destiny. They can freely engage in interstate commerce that will increase business opportunities for all, create jobs, improve standards of living and finally decongest Metro Manila,” he added. Besides creating 12 states that will serve as economic engines, he said the federal setup will prevent bad policies from having an immediate national reach and effect. “Errors as to policies will be confined in the state that implemented it. Correct policy choices, on the other hand, can easily be copied by neighboring states. The framework will create a virtuous competitive cycle that leads to continued improvement,” he said. Politically, Hernandez said a federal form of government will also bring genuine and proportionate representation to the national legislature. “Currently, the majority of our 24 senators were born and raised

in the National Capital Region. With the federal setup, each state will have guaranteed seats in the national legislature, thus securing fair representation for the entire Federal Union,” he said.

Safeguard vs dynasty, dictator

Hernandez said the shift also serves as a safeguard against the worries of the people that another dictator will reenter politics. “This apprehension becomes a reality only when powers are concentrated. The best shield, and as preventive countermeasure, is devolution of powers. Further, whatever is left to the national executive will be divided between the prime minister and the president,” he said. Another fear borne by some is the belief that federalism will strengthen political dynasties, Hernandez added. “The highly centralized unitary system, to a reasonable degree, is responsible for the preser-

vation of political dynasties. The national government has an inherent disadvantage, yet it keeps trying to micromanage the country. It was, thus, constrained to form alliances with local political dynasties. In exchange for their assistance, local bosses were awarded with public funds,” he said. By shifting to federalism, the deputy speaker said the national government’s authority to interfere with local politics will be drastically limited. “The funds it can grant to a favored group will be greatly diminished. The clout of local bosses and their families, and dynasties they’ve built, will fade away eventually. There will be a natural leveling of the playing field. As an added measure, a definition of what constitutes a political dynasty should be included in the Constitution. It will serve as a ground for disqualification from public service, appointive or elective, without need for an enabling law,” the solon said.

Public-health sector, families bear brunt of Duterte’s war on drugs continued from A1

He said in a forum, spearheaded by the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), public-health officials held a series of meetings, led by Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubia, to strategize plans. The result of those meetings led to the identification of three pillars, Villaroman said at a restaurant in Quezon City. He cited these pillars as assessment, diagnosis and referral; treatment and rehabilitation, whether it be residence-based or nonresidence-based; and, after care and follow up. The key here, Villaroman said, is the handling and management of “patients” in their respective community setting. We need the participation of the community if we want this program to succeed, Villaroman said.

Treatment centers

VILLAROMAN said there are 44 rehabilitation centers, both private and government, nationwide. He added that there are only 14 treatment centers that are under the DOH. Of the centers under the DOH, three provided only out-patient services “and the rest are both in-patient and out-patient.” Data from the Dangerous Drugs Board

(DDB) revealed there were 5,402 reported admitted to drug rehabilitation and treatment facilities last year. Of this number, 4,325, or about 80 percent, were new admissions, while 1,077, or nearly 20 percent, were readmitted to residential facilities. The majority of the total reported cases from residential facilities were males: there is only one female for every 14 male cases, the DDB statistics revealed. According to the DDB, the mean age of these “patients” is 31 years old and nearly half (49.13 percent) declared their civil status as single. Only 28.34 percent reached college-level education, while the majority (53.20 percent) said they were unemployed. Nearly half of these cases (43.89 percent) reported their place of residence within the National Capital Region “prior to their rehabilitation,” the DDB said. Nearly 19 percent (18.59 percent) and 17.27 percent of the centers’ clients came from Region 4A and Region 4B, respectively. Around 49 percent (48.85 percent) of the reported cases belong to the 15 to 19 age group. Almost 59 percent (58.52 percent) have taken drugs two to five times a week, while nearly 21 percent (20.64 per-

(shabu) remains to be the primary drug of abuse among center clients, with 96.74 percent of the total admission, followed by cannabis (marijuana) at 24.94 percent and cocaine with 1.11 percent, according to the DDB. “The nature of drug taking remained to be poly-drug user [abuse of more than one drug],” the DDB said. “The routes of administration are inhalation/sniffing and oral ingestion.”

Training trainers

A resident waves his stained hands after being fingerprinted, as he undergoes processing by the authorities allegedly for being a drug user on July 18, 2016, at Tanauan City, Batangas. AP/Bullit Marquez

cent) said they take it on a daily basis. The average monthly family income was pegged at P10,172 ($219). Methamphetamine hydrochloride

VILLAROMAN said it was in 2015 when the DOH began formulating an intervention program for illegal-drug dependents. He said the formulation of the program was in coordination with different stakeholders and government agencies, as mandated in Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Villaroman said the first step the DOH took to address the influx of potential patients from the thousands who surrendered was to train the physicians who would handle the cases. He said the first batch of participants in the training were doctors from local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region, and which was held on August 2. The four-day training sought to strengthen the knowledge of doctors in making an assessment of the drug dependent, he explained. Besides doctors, the training program will also cover social workers so they can determine the type of assistance and referrals that should be provided among drug-abuse patients belonging to the indigent sector. However, he said only a fraction of the 160,000 who surrendered will be covered by the rehabilitation program. “Because if you will take probably a hundred patients, not all of them will need to be entered into rehabilitation or residential rehabilitation program for that matter,” Villaroman said. What happens is, the “bulk of these patients will not need to undergo residential treatment,” because they are either motivated or their case would not require intense rehabilitation, he added. “These provide the rationale for the community-based training,” he said.

Identifying, intervening

ACCORDING to Villaroman, once the doctor determines the level of addiction, the physician will immediately classify what type of intervention is needed. The assessment will also determine if the patient needs to be treated as out-patient, provided with counseling by a psychiatrist, or is required to be referred to a mental-health institution or facility, wherein his or her condition can be managed. “It depends on the program that the treatment center implements,” he explained. “In our setup, we use the modality called therapeutic community. It is a structured type of modality using peer pressure—a way for them to mitigate [the

impact of] change.” Villaroman explained the principle behind this is to put a person in an environment that will enable him or her to act out behaviors that are socially acceptable. “And what are socially acceptable behaviors? Waking up early, cleaning after yourself, cleaning yourself, exercising, doing job functions, working, cleaning your house and everything like that,” he said. “Kakasunod mo nang kakasunod nito, nagi­ ging part ng iyong pagkatao [Every time you do this and becomes a routine, these things become part of your personality].”

Brain disease

VILLAROMAN said physicians and social workers would try to change drug dependents “by changing their behavior, their actions.” “Addiction is a disease. It’s a brain disease,” he explained. “It is brought about by imbalance of chemicals in the brain because of chemicals that you put in your body. Nagkakaroon ng [There occurs a] longlasting effect.” Villaroman explained addiction “is not curable because once na gumamit ka, naroon na sa memory mo [Once you use it, the drug becomes part of your memory]. The chance of you using again is always there.” He said the health workers’ purpose “is for you to be sober and for you to avoid using again.” “When you use dangerous drugs and you became an addict, [it] does not mean you become an addict forever. You can become a normal person again,” Villaroman said. “But the chance of you being an addict again is always possible.”

Admit everyone

Ubial has said she is keen to the idea of Philippine National Police Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa to use governmentowned islands for hosting victims of drug abuse. “Madali iyong gawin ng mga military kung kailangan [The military can easily establish one if needed],” Ubial said. She added that the centers could have makeshift tents and put cot beds inside these. These centers could also be more secure and we can focus on the patients, Ubial said. “But whether they are on an island, we will still do our job,” she emphasized. “We will teach those persons who will be assigned in the area.” Ubial clarified the DOH would only provide technical assistance in the centers on these islands. “We will not be there for operations.” She added that the DOH is prepared to accommodate surrendering drug users in the government’s drug-rehabilitation facilities. “We will not refuse any ‘surrenderee,’” Ubial said. “We [will] admit everyone and provide them with the necessary medical attention.”

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Monday, August 29, 2016 A3

DA to roll out 2 new farm apps to ‘revolutionize’ PHL agriculture T By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

he Department of Agriculture (DA) said over the weekend that it is currently developing two mobile applications to help increase the production and income of Filipino farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol also said he is planning to distribute 10,000 smartphones to farmers’ groups to make it easier for farmers to go online. “I believe that the two mobile applications could revolutionize Philippine agriculture,” Piñol told the BusinessMirror. Piñol said one of the apps being developed would be dubbed “FarmHelp,” a 24/7 online-assistance desk that would attend to farmers’ needs and complaints, such as those related to managing plant and animal diseases. “Imagine, a few months from now, a farmer who cannot diagnose the disease of his chicken could just

10,000

The number of smartphones that the DA is planning to distribute to farmers’ groups take a picture of it or its manure to get a diagnosis from a veterinarian who could recommend the appropriate medication,” he said. The DA chief said a group of young Filipino game developers who developed “PureForce”—an emergency response and rescue

app—proposed the FarmHelp application last week. FarmHelp is currently being finalized and will include key features, such as a geo-tagging mechanism to easily detect the complainant’s location, Piñol said. The DA is targeting to launch it next month. The other app, dubbed as “Krops,” is patterned after Grab and Uber. Piñol said Krops will help potential buyers find sources

of farm products within their locale. “You just open the app if you’re looking for poultries selling eggs within your vicinity,” he said. The DA chief said the Krops application was proposed to him also last week by Joseph Calata, president of listed agriculture conglomerate Calata Corp. Piñol said the DA is currently finalizing the directory of Krops.

“We have to gather all the data and information about farm suppliers.” He said the government will launch a massive information-dissemination campaign next month to encourage producers to become part of the Krops directory. Piñol also said Krops is the “answer to the problem bedeviling the Filipino agricultural producer who has always been at the mercy of the middlemen and the traders.”

“The farmers’ lack of access to information regarding the buyers and the price of their products has made Philippine agriculture a onesided affair where traders dictate the price,” Piñol said. “With Krops, traders will no longer be able to jack up or depress prices at will, because buyers will now have access to comparative figures. All they have to do is open the app,” he added. Piñol said having access to the “cybermarket” will allow farmers to become more competitive. “There’s no intervention from the government or traders anymore. Farmers could sell directly to consumers.” He said Krops will also promote transparency in the DA, especially in procurement. The DA is targeting to launch the app by the end of the year. The DA chief said the government will acquire the FarmHelp and Krops for a “modest fee.” To help farmers gain access to the two apps, Piñol said the DA is planning to set aside P30 million to purchase 10,000 smartphones, which will be distributed to farmers’ groups all over the country.

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Malaysian students rally to demand Najib’s arrest

M

alaysian student activists led a rally on Saturday to demand the arrest of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has been implicated in a US government probe into massive fraud in a Malaysian investment fund. More than 1,000 people defied a police ban as they congregated at two locations in Kuala Lumpur and marched to historic Independence Square. They held posters and caricatures of Najib, with some chanting “Catch, catch Najib.” The US Justice Department said last month that at least $3.5 billion had been stolen from 1MDB, a Malaysian fund founded by Najib. It has initiated action to seize $1.3 billion it said was used to buy assets in the US. It said in court filings that more than $700 million had landed in the accounts of “Malaysian Official 1.” It didn’t name the official, but appeared to be referring to Najib. Allegations against 1MDB have gained steam, but Najib has steadfastly denied any involvement or wrongdoing. “Can we send MO1 to jail and bring that person to face justice?” student leader Anis Syafiqah Mohamad Yusof said at the rally. Police put barricades around the square, forcing protesters to gather around the perimeter. It was a rare protest led by student-

$3.5B

The funds reportedly stolen from 1MDB, with $700 million allegedly landing in the account of Najib

activists in the country, and backed by opposition parties and civil groups. The rally ended peacefully after nearly three hours, with student leaders placing the effigies of Najib, his wife, Rosmah Mansor, his stepson Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz and businessman Low Taek Jho into a mock prison. Riza, who co-founded the movie production studio Red Granite Pictures, and Low, who is close to Najib’s family, were named in the Department of Justice filings.

The state fund was created in 2009 by Najib shortly after he took office to promote economic development projects. Instead, US prosecutors said, fund officials diverted more than $3.5 billion through a web of shell companies and bank accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United States. The Justice Department says the forfeiture demand, for some $1.3 billion of that money that officials were able to trace through the US financial system, is the largest single action it’s taken. The money was used to pay for luxury properties in New York and California, a $35 million jet, and art by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, according to the Justice Department complaints. It also allegedly helped finance the Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street, made by Red Granite Pictures. Najib remains firmly in political control of the country, thanks largely to the apparently unwavering support of ruling party members despite a few voices of dissent. The opposition is too weak in Malaysia to dislodge him. However, the US complaints are by far the biggest threat to Najib’s credibility that could reinvigorate the opposition. The attorney general has defended Najib, saying he has not been named a defendant in the Justice Department complaints. He had already cleared Najib of criminal wrongdoing in January, saying $681 million found in his bank accounts was a donation from the Saudi royal family and not from 1MDB, with most of it returned. AP

Monday, August 29, 2016 A5

Singapore reports First case of local Zika virus infection S

ingapore reported its first locally transmitted case of Zika virus infection and said there may be more. A Malaysian woman is being treated at a hospital in the city-state after testing positive for Zika, the health ministry and environment agency said in a statement on Saturday. As she hadn’t traveled to Zika-affected areas recently, she was probably infected locally, according to the statement. Singapore said it’s screening the patient’s close contacts and carrying out Zika testing on others living and working in the area who have symptoms of fever and rash. Three other suspected cases had preliminarily tested positive. The country will be inspecting residential premises and spraying insecticide to contain the spread of mosquito-borne pathogens responsible for chikungunya and dengue diseases. “With the presence of Zika in our region and the volume of travel by Singaporeans, as well as tourists, it is inevitable that there will be imported cases of Zika into Singapore,” according to the statement. “We expect that there may be further cases, as most infected persons may display mild or no symptoms.” Meanwhile, Singapore’s air quality

improved, falling to “moderate” levels as haze from Indonesian forest fires eased on Saturday. The three-hourly air pollution index slid to 83 as of 5 p.m., according to the National Environment Agency. Readings up to 100 are classed as “moderate.” The index rose above 100 at noon after it had climbed to 215 on Friday afternoon, a level considered “very unhealthy” by the agency. The haze, caused by forest and land fires, is expected to persist during the day as hot spots remain over central Sumatra, the agency said. Winds are forecast to blow from the southwest in the evening, which could improve the haze situation, it said. There are fewer hot spots in Indonesia this month than a year ago, the Today newspaper reported, citing Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli. Singaporeans shouldn’t be buying and supporting companies that produce products in an unsustainable way, Masagos said. Separately, Malaysia’s Southern Johor state has been affected by haze since on Saturday and some areas have seen declining air quality, according to an e-mailed statement from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Bloomberg News

A6

The World

Monday, August 29, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

BusinessMirror

Clinton backs Internet neutrality

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes photos with patrons outside Hub Coffee Roasters in Reno, Nevada, on Thursday. AP/Carolyn Kaster

W

ASHINGTON—When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to approve Net neutrality rules last year, many people saw it as a done deal. Supporters cheered the decision as a victory for the free and open Internet, where the deep pockets of big companies couldn’t buy faster web speeds over struggling start-ups.

Since then, the issue has largely faded from the spotlight and has rarely come up on the presidential campaign trail. But Internet policy experts say the FCC decision was far from the end of the story— and with just over 10 weeks until the election, time is running out for voters to ask the candidates to clarify their positions. “There are a number of unresolved issues surrounding Net neutrality that are still going to be hot topics to be resolved by the next administration,” said Doug Brake, a telecom policy analyst at the nonprofit Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Net neutrality rules, also known as “open Internet,” prohibit Internet service providers (ISPs) from favoring certain high-traffic web sites, like Netflix and Amazon, by giving them greater bandwidth at the expense of smaller start-up companies.

Advocates argue that it ensures an even playing field. An open Internet also means banning fast lanes, which would allow ISPs like Verizon and AT&T to pay extra to ensure smoother, speedier streaming for their users. Internet companies have vowed to continue the fight against the regulation, pursuing it all the way to the Supreme Court if need be. This June, a divided panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected challenges to the Net neutrality rules. The next president’s administration, and the FCC, will face the colossal task of catching up to technology that evolves beyond its ability to regulate it.

Clinton to follow in Obama’s footsteps on Internet policy

Clinton’s campaign web site says she “strongly supports the FCC decision under the Obama admin-

istration to adopt strong network neutrality rules.” While she would be following in the Obama administration’s footsteps, Clinton has her own decade-long record of supporting Net neutrality. While serving as a New York senator, she cosponsored the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which sought to amend the 1934 Communications Act to ensure Net neutrality. “The Internet as we know it does not discriminate among its users,” she said in 2006. “It does not decide who can enter its marketplace and it does not pick which views can be heard and which ones silenced.” Ten years later, adopting tech sector-friendly policies is proving to be a smart fund raising strategy for the Democratic nominee. This week she wrapped up a fund raising tour that included several Silicon Valley hospots. One of the events was hosted by Apple CEO Tim Cook, with tickets selling for $2,700 to $50,000. Clinton has also worked broadband issues into her infrastructure platform. “By 2020, I want 100 percent of American households to have access to quality, affordable highspeed Internet, no matter where they live,” Clinton told supporters at a dinner in New Hampshire last November.

Trump—no policy yet, except for a tweet

The Republican nominee’s position is unclear, but it’s a reasonable assumption that Trump will line up with his party’s opposition to Net neutrality, which is seen as needless

government regulation. In fact, the only public acknowledgment of the issue from Trump is a 2014 tweet weighing in on Net neutrality when it dominated the headlines. “Obama’s attack on the Internet is another top-down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target the conservative media,” he tweeted. He was referring to the 1940s law requiring newscasters to report the news in a balanced manner, which was repealed in 1987. It’s unclear what it has to do with Net neutrality; open Internet rules don’t give the FCC the power to interfere with any political content, conservative or otherwise. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. His running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, cosponsored the Internet Freedom Act in 2011, which sought to kill Net neutrality by prohibiting the FCC “from further regulating the internet.” The positions of Trump’s opponents for the Republican nomination shed a bit more light on the party’s opposition to open Internet regulation. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz famously called Net neutrality “Obamacare for the Internet.” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said regulation of the Internet was illogical. “While the FCC plan supposedly seeks to prevent ISPs from playing favorites, it does so by giving that power to another entity: government,” Rubio wrote in an opinion piece for Politico in March. “The answer to correcting injustice in an economy is to increase consumer power, not government power.” The details of Internet policy aside, there are other reasons the sector might not support Trump. “The tech community is full of immigrants who started their companies here, so many of them were founded by immigrants,” said Marvin Ammori, a First Amendment lawyer well-known for his work on net neutrality issues who’s general counsel for Hyperloop One, a tech company backed by Elon Musk that’s working on an ultra-fast transit system. “So if you’re anti-immigrant you’re not going to be popular in [Silicon] Valley. If you’re anti-gay you’re not going to be popular in the Valley. .…So it does put Republicans at a disadvantage even if they’re progressive on some tech issues.” How much does it matter to the Internet’s future who becomes president?

“The president does matter,” Ammori said, pointing out that the president’s party gets to pick three of the five FCC commissioners, as well as appoint the solicitor general, who would defend the regulations in front of the Supreme Court—or not. “This [Net neutrality] was a 3-2 vote. If you get another Republican in there they could undermine everything the Obama administration has done,” he said. Despite the FCC decision, some ISPs are finding loopholes to go around Net neutrality rules. For example, they might set monthly data limits for users but exempt certain apps or web sites. This is known as “zero rating,” and some Internet advocates argue it gives certain content preferential treatment. “These policies will have to evolve and change, and as carriers try to introduce new services and ‘innovative pricing models,’ what ends up happening is you always have to make sure it remains an even playing field,” Ammori said. One of the clearest examples is T-Mobile’s unlimited streaming service “Binge On.” While it might seem like a good thing for consumers, some Internet policy experts worry that while it’s technically legal, its model infringes on Net neutrality. Users are allowed to stream video without it counting toward their monthly data cap—but only as long as they stream from a select group of content providers. Smaller, less established video services that aren’t Netflix or HBO Go might never get to consumers, and that could stifle innovation for online start ups. “Right now the FCC is somewhat quiet on this, since within the Net neutrality order itself this is allowed, so the FCC is reviewing them on a case-by-case basis,” said Brake of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. The use of zero rating practices by ISPs will likely become a big tech issue for the next administration. “Binge On undermines the core vision of Net neutrality,” Barbara van Schewick, the director of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, wrote in a report on the T-Mobile service. “Internet service providers that connect us to the Internet should not act as gatekeepers that pick winners and losers online by favoring some applications over others.” TNS

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Hot Chinese ask-a-celebrity mobile app abruptly gone

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t was China’s latest hot socialmedia trend, where anyone could pay hundreds of dollars to fire off questions at celebrities, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon swordswoman Zhang Ziyi. And then, abruptly, it wasn’t. Two weeks ago the vastly popular Fenda went dark. Much of its content was removed and celebs like Zhang and the entrepreneursocialite son of media mogul Wang Jianlin fell silent. Users signing on are greeted with a message explaining that the service is getting an upgrade (before digressing into a discussion about The Scorpions). While the app’s founders aren’t talking, local media, including Sina.com, speculate that Fenda has become the latest victim of a widening crackdown on free-wheeling social media. Chinese censors have become increasingly concerned about the laissez-faire nature of a new crop of services showcasing everything from live streams to lifestyle blogs—and their inability to police the millions of videos and posts uploaded daily. The circumstances surrounding Fenda’s cessation may bear implications for other social-media platforms pushing the boundaries of what’s politically and culturally acceptable. Cui Shuxin, a spokesman for Fenda, said the app will be back online “very soon,” but wouldn’t explain the weekslong downtime. Fenda’s target audience of young urban professionals is a sensitive demographic given their penchant to debate taboo topics from sex to politics. The app, whose name means “a question a minute,” works a little like an audio Quora or Reddit. Users pay varying sums—from a few dollars to hundreds, depending on star-wattage—to pose a single question of celebs like Zhang or rocker Wang Feng, who then reply in a personally recorded sound bite. Onlookers fork over a tiny sum to hear the same message. Anything is fair game: Fenda’s viral allure reportedly soared after Wang Jianlin’s son, Wang Sicong, gamely answered questions about sex positions and unwanted pregnancies. He didn’t respond to requests for comment messaged to his Weibo social-media account. It remains unknown why or how Fenda went off the air, but it’s unusual for technical glitches to tank a well-funded mobile app. It raised $25 million from backers, including Wang Sicong, in a Series A round this year, the South China Morning Post has reported. Bloomberg News/TNS

English proficiency test no longer a must for New York City taxi drivers

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EW YORK—People who hope to drive New York City’s famous yellow cabs must pass tests on such details as driving rules and where they can pick up passengers. But one test they no longer have to take? W hether they have a grasp of English. A new law that streamlines licensing requirements for different kind of drivers has done away with the long-standing English proficiency test for taxi drivers, which supporters say will eliminate a barrier to the profession for immigrants, who make up 96 percent of the 144,000 cabbies in the city. It’s also a recognition of how technology has transformed the business. Many drivers now rely on computer navigation programs, rather than verbal directions, to reach a destination. For-hire drivers for app-based services, such as Uber, for example, never had to take an English test. But critics, including some drivers, are giving a side-eye to the idea

that a good command of English is no longer considered a basic requirement for a job that involves communicating with passengers and reading street signs. “If you’re going to work in this country serving the population which is majority made up of American citizens that speak English, you probably should learn how to speak English,” said Tanya Crespo, who was visiting Manhattan from Newport, North Carolina. Kathy Amato, a tourist from Baltimore, said she wouldn’t ride in a taxi with a driver who couldn’t speak her language. “They should speak English because we’re in New York City,” she said. New York City’s taxi and forhire drivers are already an international bunch, hailing from 167 countries, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which currently offers its licensing tests in English, Spanish, Bengali and Urdu. Hacks formerly went through one of two licensing processes,

Taxi driver Mikhail Yasayev speaks to an Associated Press reporter while stopped in traffic on the West Side highway in New York. A new law has done away with the written English test that used to be required for anyone wanting to drive a yellow cab. AP/Mary Altaffer

depending on what class of car they drove. One was for the yellow cabs that passengers can hail on the street. Drivers of those vehicles, which mostly operate in Manhattan and at the airports, had to take an education course and an English proficiency test.

The other licensing process covered drivers of for-hire cars, the dominant form of taxi in the “outer boroughs” of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Those rides are dispatched by telephone, or, in recent years, by mobilephone app. For those drivers, an English test wasn’t required.

Drivers for the different types of cars not only took different types of tests, but they also tended to come from different countries. Among yellow cab drivers, 24 percent were born in Bangladesh, 10 percent in Pakistan and 8 percent in India, according to city statistics. English is widely spoken as a second language in all three places, all formerly part of the British Empire. But among the traditional for-hire livery car drivers, 50 percent were born in the Dominican Republic, where people speak Spanish. Some foreignborn taxi drivers said taking, and passing, the English test was once a successful rite of passage. “You had to really learn to get it,” said Michael Osei-Antwi, a driver originally from Ghana, who took the English exam 17 years ago. “If somebody tells you they are going to Gansevoort Hotel and you don’t know English, how are you going to be able to get there?” Back then, the city also required

a geography test, which has also been dropped in recent years. Cab driver Kwaku Atuahene was glad to see the English test go. “A guy might not be able to speak English but he is still a good driver. He could take you where you want to go,” he said. “There are a lot of ways to communicate.” There’s now an education course that both yellow cab and livery drivers will take. Taxi regulators said they are working with other city departments to create an English-language component for that course. New York City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who sponsored the legislation, said the driving jobs are “a step into the middle class for many, and we should be removing barriers to entry, rather than keeping them in place.” In certain ethnic neighborhoods in New York City, he pointed out, not speaking English isn’t a problem since the drivers and those using their services all speak the same language. AP

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Japan’s Abe dangles $30B to Africa leaders in Nairobi

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apan will invest $30 billion to boost Africa’s economic growth and infrastructure over the next three years, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, as he sought to win over national leaders already being wooed by China and the United States.

The Asian economy’s planned investment in the continent of 1.2 billion people shows it has “faith in Africa’s future,” Abe told the heads of states gathered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, for the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development. Thirty-four heads from across the 54-nation continent, including those from South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Uganda, are attending the high-level gathering being held outside Japan for the first time. The amount pledged includes privatesector investment and $11 billion left over from a $32-billion commitment made at the previous meeting in 2013. In pledging more support, Japan is competing for influence in the continent with the US, China and former European colonial powers, such as Britain and France. China, whose investments in sub-Saharan nations have increased fortyfold since 2003, pledged $60 billion for the continent at a similar summit by President Xi Jin in South Africa last year. The money was to be spent on interestfree loans, preferential financing and funding to support development. The US, on the otherhand, said it would give $14 billion at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in 2014.

Free trade

About $10 billion of Japan’s planned investment is earmarked for electricity-

generation projects and upgrading urban transport systems and ports, Abe said. The nation will work with the African Development Bank to boost private-sector investment on the continent struggling with intermittent power outages, dilapidated infrastructure, poor sanitation and grinding poverty. Japan, which invested $47 billion on the continent over the past 23 years, wants to connect Africa and Asia through sea lanes, Abe said. “Let us make this stretch that is from Asia to Africa a main artery for growth and prosperity. Let us advance together, Africa and Japan, sharing a common vision,” Abe said. Africa’s exports to Japan in 2015 were valued at $8.57 billion, according to the Japan External Trade Organization, compared with imports worth $11.6 billion. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta asked rich nations to be more open to trade with developing countries. “The critical ingredients of prosperity in the last half century have been free and fair trade, infrastructure integration of regions, educated and productive citizens who enjoy economic liberty and responsible government,” Kenyatta said. “Yet, there is now a trend among many countries to turn toward more isolationist or grossly unfair positions on trade.” Bloomberg News

Germany warns UK: Brexit talks will be very difficult

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erman Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth warned that the United Kingdom’s negotiations to leave the European Union (EU) “will be very difficult” and that Britain won’t be allowed to “cherry pick” the best that the bloc has to offer. “If the British want full market access but want to limit the access of workers from Germany, France or Poland, they will find there is no a la carte cooperation in this direction,” Roth, the government minister responsible for European affairs, said at a Berlin event on Saturday. “We’ve told the British they can’t expect to pick the best aspects of the EU and leave matters at that.” Germany is taking a leading role, with Chancellor Angela Merkel having spent the week canvassing opinion across Europe ahead of an EU summit without Britain. She cited the twin challenges of security and economic growth, as leaders prepare to meet in the Slovak capital of Bratislava on September 16. Merkel, the leader of Europe’s biggest economy, began the week of shuttle diplomacy by meeting French President François Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. She then headed to the Estonian capital of Tallinn, Prague

and Warsaw before two more rounds of talks with fellow EU leaders in Berlin on Friday and Saturday. “People will accept Europe only if it holds out the promise of prosperity,” Merkel told reporters on Friday in Warsaw. “Britain’s exit isn’t just some event, but rather a deep watershed in the history of EU integration.” During her tour, Merkel faced pressure from eastern European countries to tighten barriers against migration, exposing differing priorities as the EU seeks to map the way forward after Britain’s vote in June to leave the 28-member bloc. Romania and Poland’s leaders said on Saturday at a joint news conference that the countries agreed their priority in negotiations with the UK is to make sure EU citizens, including Poles and Romanians living in UK, keep their jobs and rights after Brexit talks conclude. The EU has said negotiations with the UK won’t start until Britain formally declares its intentions to leave the bloc. Roth said Germany is hopeful that Prime Minister Theresa May’s government will “send us the letter soon” so that Brexit discussions can begin, acknowledging that there is “no blueprint in the drawer” on a way forward. Bloomberg News

Defense witnesses testify in trial of Brazil’s prexy

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ÃO PAULO—Brazilian senators on Saturday questioned the last two witnesses summoned by the defense for President Dilma Rousseff in her impeachment trial for allegedly breaking fiscal rules in the management of the federal budget. In the third day of deliberations, senators questioned former Finance Minister Nelson Henrique Barbosa and Rio de Janeiro State University law professor Ricardo Lodi. Several days of debate, including an address by Rousseff on Monday, will culminate in a vote on whether to permanently remove her from office. The Senate voted in May to impeach and suspend her for up to 180 days while the trial could be prepared. Vice President Michel Temer took over

in May. If Rousseff is removed, Temer will serve the rest of her term through 2018. She and her supporters say the attempts to remove her from office amount to a coup d’état. Rousseff is accused of illegally shifting funds between government budgets. Opposition parties say that was to boost public spending and shore up support, while masking the depths of deficits. They claim that her maneuvers exacerbated a severe recession in Latin America’s largest economy. Rousseff and her supporters claim that corrupt lawmakers want to oust her so they can water down an investigation into billions of dollars in kickbacks at state oil company Petrobras. AP

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U.S. intelligence agencies say

Islamic State diminished by attacks

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ASHINGTON—The Pentagon and US intelligence agencies now view Islamic State (IS) as a shrinking and increasingly demoralized military force, a sharp shift from the seemingly invincible extremist army that declared an Islamist caliphate two years ago. The revised assessment comes after surprisingly swift and relatively bloodless victories this summer near Syria’s border with Turkey and in the Sunni heartland of Iraq, two areas where IS had appeared entrenched. The rapid recapture last week of Jarabulus, the militants’ last garrison by the Turkish border, helped close off a boundary region that was crucial for movement of recruits, supplies and money in and out of the group’s quasi-state. It also was the latest fight to suggest the Sunni militants no longer are willing to fight to hold territory against a sustained assault. Only one fighter was reported killed in the assault led by Turkish tanks. Several hundred others apparently fled. Partly as a result, US officials have hinted that the long-delayed assault on Mosul, IS’s self-declared capital in Iraq, may be launched this fall. The city of 1 million has been increasingly cut off by advancing Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces. Michael Knights, Iraq fellow at the nonpartisan Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said taking back Mosul, along with the Syrian towns of Deir ez Zour and Raqqah, will mark the end of the caliphate. “After the fall of those cities, [Islamic State] will be just another terror group,” he said. “They might be able to throw a couple car bombs in city centers and mount small arms attacks, but they will no longer engage in heavy fighting on a daily basis. In other words, we’ll be back to where we were in 2013.” But most experts, including US

intelligence officials, warn that IS’s ability to inspire or organize terrorist attacks abroad is unimpaired—and may even pose a greater threat as foreign sympathizers are unable to reach the cut-off caliphate. “Despite the progress, it is our judgment that [the group’s] ability to carry out terrorist attacks…has not to date been significantly diminished,” Nicholas Rasmussen, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, told the House Homeland Security Committee recently. Militants still detonate car bombs or launch suicide attacks each night in Baghdad. They could devolve into the kind of sectarian insurgency that turned Iraq into a slaughterhouse after the US-led invasion in 2003, or morph into a stateless global terrorist network like al-Qaeda became after 2001. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get rid of their ability to inspire attacks abroad just because they lose territory,” cautioned a US defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. “They will continue to operate in the shadows and cause problems.” As in other insurgencies, militants may be running from battles now to survive and fight again— at a time and place of their choosing, experts warn. They could be sent to other battles or used as suicide bombers. Moreover, IS still has vast sway. It controls half the area it seized in Iraq in 2014 and 70 percent of its territory in Syria, according to US estimates, and continues to haul in

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The clashes underscore Ankara’s determination to push back Kurdish forces from along its borders, and curb their ambitions to form a contiguous entity in northern Syria. Kurdish groups have already declared a semi-autonomous administration in Syria and control most of the border area. Jarablus, and Manbij to the south liberated from IS fighters by Kurdish-led forces earlier this month, are essential to connecting the western and eastern semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria. Turkish officials said they would continue their offensive in Syria until there is no longer any “terror” threat to Turkey from its war-torn neighbor. Ankara backed Syrian rebels to gain control of Jarablus last week. They are now pushing their way south. On Saturday the Syrian rebels said they have seized a number of villages south of Jarablus from IS militants and Kurdish forces. Clashes were fiercest with the Kurdishallied forces over the village of Amarneh, 8 kilometers south of Jarablus. The media office of the Turkishbacked Nour el-din el-Zinki rebel group said the Syrian rebels were backed by Turkish tanks. A news report on Anha, the news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas, said local fighters destroyed a Turkish tank and killed a number of fighters in an attack by the Turkish military and allied groups on Amnarneh. There was no immediate com-

briefs Hurricane Gaston reforms, moves in the Atlantic

MIAMI—Hurricane Gaston has reformed, gathering strength as it moves northwestward in the Atlantic. The US National Hurricane Center in Miami says Gaston reformed as a hurricane on Saturday night, clocking 140 kph winds. The storm was located about 1,055 kilometers east southeast or Bermuda. Gaston was moving at about 13 kph. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 30 kilometers from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 220 kilometers. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect early on Saturday. Forecasters say Gaston should slow down during the next day or so and turn northward on Monday. AP

8 troops killed in suspected rebel attack in north Paraguay

Syrian civil defense workers (left) gather at a street that was attacked by warplanes, in Aleppo, Syria. Civil Defense Directorate in Liberated Province of Aleppo via AP

millions of dollars from taxes, fees and extortion. Current US intelligence estimates say the group now fields as few as 16,000 fighters—half its army of a year or so ago, but still a potent force. But US officials point to undeniable progress two years and more than 14,000 air strikes after President Barack Obama first ordered a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets. “The number of fighters on the front line has diminished,” Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of US forces against IS until last week, said in a teleconference from Baghdad. “They’ve diminished not only in quantity, but also in quality.” He added, “All I know is when we go someplace, it’s easier to go there now than it was a year ago. And the enemy doesn’t put up as much of a fight.” As an example, he said that after US-backed Iraqi forces recaptured Fallujah, key to the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad, in June, militants fled in a convoy that coalition aircraft quickly destroyed. “They kind of made themselves easy targets for us,” MacFarland said.

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The population of Mosul, Iraq

“I don’t think they would have made that mistake a year or two ago.” Each defeat has added pressure on the militants by cutting off routes used to move arms, supplies and reinforcements. That affects command, unit cohesion and efficiency. “Now they have to go get somebody and bring them all the way across the desert to reconstitute somebody who gets killed fighting near Ramadi or Haditha or someplace like that,” he said. “And there’s a good chance we’ll spot them long before they get there.” In addition to losing the border towns of Jarabulus and Manbij in northern Syria, the militants have been routed this month in Khalidiyah and Qayyarah in western Iraq. They previously were ousted from

Hit, Al Hawl and Rutbah in Iraq. IS’s overseas operations also are under siege. Fighting raged from mid-May until this month in Surt, the group’s stronghold on the coast of Libya. US air strikes and British commando raids helped Libyan government forces finally retake the battered city. Elsewhere, Boko Haram, the group’s affiliate in Nigeria, has lost territory to government troops. IS branches in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and in eastern Afghanistan, also have suffered sharp defeats. “The evidence across the board is the decline of territorial control,” said Seth Jones, a former US counterterrorism official now with Rand Corp., a nonpartisan think tank based in Santa Monica, California. The group “appears to be losing steam on a number of fronts,” he added. “It has impacted recruits, finance and the broader narrative that it is winning.” But he warned that IS could make a vicious resurgence, much as al-Qaeda did in Iraq, especially if the US-led coalition eases pressure. “I take this with a huge grain of salt,” he said. TNS

Kurdish-led Syria forces face off with Turkish-backed militants

EIRUT—Backed by Turkish tanks and reports of air strikes, Turkey-allied Syrian rebels clashed with Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria in a new escalation that further complicates the already protracted Syrian conflict. Turkey’s military didn’t specify what the air strikes hit, saying only that “terror groups” were targeted south of the village of Jarablus, where the clashes later ensued. A Kurdishaffiliated group said their forces were the target and called the attack an “unprecedented and dangerous escalation.” If confirmed, it would be the first Turkish air strikes against Kurdish allied forces on Syrian soil. Late on Saturday night, Turkey’s official news agency reported that one Turkish solider had been killed and three wounded by what it said was a Kurdish rocket attack in Jarablus, near where the fighting has raged. It is the first reported Turkish fatality in Syria. The new escalation highlights concerns that Turkey’s incursion into Syria this week could lead to an allout confrontation between Ankara and Syrian Kurds, both American allies, and hinder the war against the Islamic State (IS) group by diverting resources. Sherwan Darwish, a spokesman for Kurdish-led forces in the village of Manbij, said on Twitter on Saturday night: “While our forces fighting #IS Some #Turkey backed militias r attacking our positions & hampering our & Intl Coalition’s fight against terror.”

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ment from Turkish officials. The clashes were preceded by Turkish air strikes against bases of Kurdish-affiliated forces and residential areas at Amarneh. The Jarablus Military Council, affiliated with the U.S-backed Kurdishled Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), said the Turkish airstrikes marked an “unprecedented and dangerous escalation” that “endangers the future of the region.” It vowed to stand its ground. Other groups which are part of the SDF vowed to support them, calling on the US-led coalition to explain the Turkish attacks on allied forces. Turkey’s state news agency, citing military sources, said the Turkish Military Joint Special Task Forces and coalition airplanes targeted an ammunition depot and a barrack and outpost used as command centers by “terror groups” south of Jarablus on Saturday morning. The Anadolu Agency did not say which group or village was targeted. Turkey has long suspected the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, of being linked to Kurdish insurgents in its own southeast, which it labels as a terror group. It has demanded the YPG, which makes up the bulk of the SDF and has been one of the most effective US ally in the fight against IS, withdraw to the east bank of the Euphrates River. The US supported Turkey’s call for the Kurdish forces to move back, and Kurdish officials said they withdrew the YPG forces from Manbij.

But following the Turkish offensive, local forces with Kurdish fighters and backed by YPG advisers pushed their way north of Manbij, in a rush for control of Jarablus. Meanwhile, the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, appealed to the opposition to approve plans to deliver aid to rebel-held eastern Aleppo and governmentheld Aleppo through a governmentcontrolled route north of Aleppo during a 48-hour humanitarian pause. Aleppo has been caught in a bloody circle of violence, with rebels and government forces each promising to unite the divided city. The UN said it has pre-positioned aid ready for delivery into Aleppo, to reach 80,000 people on the rebel side and some on the government side. But the opposition, whose fighters have opened another route in the south, were wary of the use of the government-controlled route. “People are suffering and need assistance. Time is of the essence. All must put the civilian population of Aleppo first and exert their influence now,” de Mistura said in a statement, urging an approval by Sunday. But violence raged. Suspected government helicopters dropped two barrel bombs on a wake held for children killed a few days earlier, killing at least 15, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Aleppo Media Center, an activist group in the city, and volunteers on the scene put the death

toll higher at 24. Mohammed Khandakani, a hospital volunteer, said one of the injured told him a barrel bomb was dropped in the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood as people paid their condolences for children killed last Thursday in an air strike that left 11 children dead in the same neighborhood. Minutes later, Khandakani said another barrel bomb was dropped, injuring an ambulance driver, and hampering rescue efforts. The Syrian government and its Russian ally are the only ones operating helicopters over Aleppo. The government denies it uses barrel bombs. Elsewhere, the Syrian government said it now has full control of the Damascus suburb of Daraya, following the completion of a forced evacuation deal struck with the government that emptied the area of its remaining rebels and residents and ended a four-year siege and grueling bombing campaign. The declaration comes a day after the evacuation of nearly 5,000 residents and fighters from the suburb began. The deal followed an extensive government campaign of aerial bombing and shelling of Daraya, the last bastion against President Bashar al-Assad in the western Ghouta region, southwest of Damascus. Some 700 gunmen and 4,000 civilians were evacuated. The gunmen and their families headed to the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province. Other civilians were escorted to shelters in government-controlled suburbs of Damascus. AP

ASUNCION, Paraguay—Suspected members of a little-known rebel group killed eight soldiers in an attack in northern Paraguay on Saturday, just days after guerrillas and officials in Colombia reached a peace deal to end the longest-running insurgency in Latin America. Paraguayan Interior Minister Francisco De Vargas reported the first five deaths from the attack in Arroyito, a town about 490 kilometers from Asuncion. Dr. Bernardo Jacquet, a physician at Hospital Concepcion, located some 90 kilometers from where the attack occurred, later said the death toll had risen to eight. Authorities suspect the attack was carried out by a little-known Paraguayan guerrilla group called the Paraguayan People’s Army. Federico Delfino, the country’s prosecutor for antikidnapping efforts, said the attackers got away with eight M-4 carbines, bulletproof vests and the victims’ personal belongings. AP

Voting closes in Gabon where president vies to extend power

LIBREVILLE, Gabon—Voting closed on Saturday evening in Gabon, where the president is vying for reelection and voters weighed whether to maintain a family dynasty that stretches back to the 1960s. Ali Bongo Ondimba took power in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the oil-producing country of about 1.5 million people for more than 40 years. In his campaign Bongo has touted his efforts to diversify Gabon’s economy and accused the opposition of inciting violence. The most formidable challenge among nine opponents comes from Jean Ping, a former chair of the African Union Commission who managed to get several other aspirants to rally around his candidacy. Bongo’s bid for a second sevenyear term is aided by the fact that Gabon does not have a runoff system, meaning he does not have to receive more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round to win. AP

Fire sweeps through Russian warehouse, kills 17 workers

MOSCOW—A fire swept through a Moscow printing plant warehouse on Saturday, killing 17 migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan, Russia’s emergency services said. A representative of the Kyrgyz community said the victims were all young women trapped in a dressing room while changing into their work clothes. The fire was caused by a faulty lamp on the first floor of the warehouse, where many flammable liquids and paper products were stored, and it spread quickly through an elevator shaft to the room where those who died, said Ilya Denisov, who heads the Moscow branch of the emergency services. He said firefighters found the bodies of 16 workers and sent four injured workers to the hospital, where one later died. AP

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US Army veterans help fill gaps in refugee school projects in Iraq

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ONCOR D, Ne w H a mp shire—A nonprofit group with New Hampshire roots is putting a new spin on back-toschool shopping by helping equip 10 classrooms for refugee children in Iraq. TentED was created in 2014 by three US Army veterans, two of whom met as student at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Rather than starting from scratch, the group works with existing educational aid programs to raise money and deliver what it calls “last mile” essentials, such as school supplies, bus transportation and recreational activities. The group has funded about 15 projects in the past two years in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and is partnering with an organization that is building a new school for more than 250 children. Construction started in May and is expected to be done in the next four weeks in time for the fall term, said Billy Ray, Middle East director for the partner organization, World Orphans. “These kids have got to get back into the routine of school and learning,” he said. “The scarring has to stop, and this is our chance to roll back the years that ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] has stolen from them.” During emergencies—whether natural disasters or man-made conf licts education gets overlooked, TentEd Cofounder Zach Bazzi said. But he argues that approach could result in entire generations of children growing up without basic literacy and critical thinking skills. “You don’t want people starving

or going without water or shelter, but I’d also argue that education needs to be up there,” he said. Bazzi served in the Army and Army National Guard from 1997 to 2008 and later worked as consultant and volunteered in refugee camps in Iraq. When he returned to the US in 2014 for graduate school, he teamed up with Scott Quilty, a fellow UNH graduate and Army veteran who lost his right arm and leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq. TentEd’s third cofounder is Patrick Hu, an Army veteran Bazzi met when both served in Afghanistan. All three have day jobs. Hu is a market researcher at AT&T Mobility in Atlanta; Quilty heads MedScribes, a medical staffing company in Durham and FuquayVarina, North Carolina; and Bazzi is the Middle East manager for a nonprofit called Spirit of America and is based in Washington, D.C. He frequently travels overseas to implement TentEd activities, identifying and responding to specific needs. “We don’t build schools, we don’t design schools. We’re simply a rapid, efficient, responsive funding platform,” he said. For the current project, the group is trying to raise $12,500 to outfit 10 classrooms with desks, whiteboards and other materials. Ray said that amounts to about 5 percent of the overall school construction budget, but he greatly appreciates Bazzi's help. “It feels like he’s one of our cheerleaders, and really an advocate for us,” he said. “He’s basically crowd funding for our projects, and that’s just cool.” AP

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Colombian rebels announce final meet for peace talks

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OGOTA, Colombia—Top commanders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, are preparing to gather one final time in midSeptember to ratify a peace accord reached last week with government negotiators and map out the group’s political strategy without weapons. “The historic importance of this event merits that the people of Colombia and the world see firsthand the development and conclusions of what will be the last conference of our armed organization,” the FARC said in a statement on Saturday, inviting the media to cover the 10th conference. The summit will take place from September 13 to 19 in jungled surroundings of San Vicente del Caguan, an area where the rebels have long been dominant and which was the center of a Switzerland-sized demilitarized zone ceded to the FARC during a previous attempt at peace more than a decade ago. Some 200 delegates are expected to attend, including 29 members of the FARC’s central command, a top decision-making body. Several foreign dignitaries it didn't name are also invited.

297 The number of pages of the peace accord between the rebels and the Colombian government

The 297-page peace accord reached last week in Cuba seeks to bring an end to Latin America’s oldest guerrilla war, which has caused more than 220,000 deaths and driven 5 million people from their homes over five decades. As part of the deal, FARC members must turn over their weapons

Ivan Marquez (right), chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, speaks while Humberto de La Calle (seated, center), head of Colombia’s government peace negotiation team, looks after signing a peace agreement in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Colombia’s government and the country’s biggest rebel group reached a deal for ending a half-century of hostilities in what has been one of the world’s longest-running armed conflicts. AP/Desmond Boylan

within six months after the deal is formally signed and instead seek to persuade skeptical Colombians that it’s ready to play by the rules of democracy. In exchange, the FARC’s stillunnamed future political movement will be granted a minimum 10 congressional seats—five in the lower house, five in the Senate—for two legislative periods. In addition, 16 lower house seats will be created for grassroots activists in rural areas traditionally neglected by the state and in which existing political parties will be banned from running candidates, a move critics of

the peace process say will further boost the rebels’ post-conflict political power. After 2026, both arrangements will end and the former rebels will have to demonstrate their political strength at the ballot box. The FARC last held a major summit in 2007, in the midst of a USbacked military campaign that decimated its ranks and led to the killing of several top commanders. Colombians will also be given a chance to ratify the accord in a national referendum on October 2. Polls say most Colombians loathe the rebel group but will likely endorse the deal anyway. AP

Grief erupts in Italy as nation honors, buries quake dead A SCOLI PICENO, Italy— Mourners in Italy prayed, hugged, wept and even applauded as coffins carrying victims of the country’s devastating earthquake passed by at a state funeral on Saturday, grieving as one nation after three desperate days of trying to save as many people as possible. In the central town of Ascoli Piceno, they gathered to bid farewell to 35 of the 291 people confirmed dead so far after the quake that struck a swath of countryside early on Wednesday at the foothills of the central Apennine mountains. The caskets of 35 people had been brought to a community gym—one of the few structures in the area still intact and large enough to hold hundreds of mourners. The local bishop, Giovanni D’Ercole, celebrated Mass beneath a crucifix he had retrieved from one of the damaged churches in the picturesque area of medieval stone towns and hamlets. Emotions that had been dammed up for days broke in a crescendo of grief. One young man wept over a little girl’s white coffin. Another woman gently stroked another small casket. Many mourners were recovering from injuries themselves, some wrapped in bandages. Everywhere people knelt at coffins, tears running down their cheeks, their arms around loved ones. “It is a great tragedy. There are no words to describe it,” said Gina Razzetti, a resident at the funeral. “Each one of us has our pain inside. We are thinking about the families who lost relatives, who lost their homes, who lost everything.” As all of Italy observed a d ay of n at ion a l mou r n i ng , with flags at half-staff, Bishop D’Ercole urged residents to rebuild their communities. “Don’t be afraid to cry out your suffering—I have seen a lot of this—but please do not lose courage,” D’Ercole said in his homily.

“Only together can we rebuild our houses and our churches. Together, above all, we will be able to restore life to our communities.” President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Matteo Renzi joined grieving family members, stopping to speak to some of them. When the caskets were brought out of the gym, the mourners applauded, a traditional Italian way of honoring people who die in tragedy. The bishop recalled the heartbreaking story of 9-year-old Giulia Rinaldo, whose embrace apparently allowed her younger sister Giorgia to survive. He said 15 hours after the quake struck on Wednesday, he returned to the church in Pescara Del Tronto to recover its crucifix. Close by, firefighters were using their hands to dig out the two sisters. “The older one, Giulia, was sprawled over the smaller one, Giorgia. Giulia, dead, Giorgia, alive. They were in an embrace,” D’Ercole said. Giulia was among those buried on Saturday, while her younger sister had her fourth birthday at a hospital, trying to recover from the traumatizing ordeal. “The melancholy grabs on to your heart. You feel a sense of weakness, of depression,” said Fiore Ciotto, a resident of Ascoli Piceno who attended the funeral. “An event like this weakens you physically and mentally.” Across the area, a cool retreat for those seeking to escape Italy’s hot summers, many of the dead were children and elderly people, some of them visiting grandparents before school resumed. The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3:36 a.m. on Wednesday and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, killing at least 291 people and injuring nearly 400. Nobody has been found alive in the ruins since Wednesday, and hopes have nearly vanished of finding any more survivors.

Firefighters carry the coffin of 9-year-old Giulia Rinaldo outside the gymnasium where the state funeral service for some of the victims of the earthquake—which hit central Italy last Wednesday—took place, in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, on Saturday. Rinaldo’s embrace apparently allowed her younger sister Giorgia to survive. Italians bid farewell to victims of the devastating earthquake that struck a mountainous region of central Italy this week. AP/Gregorio Borgia

Before Saturday’s mass funeral, the president visited Amatrice, which bore the brunt of destruction with 230 fatalities and a town turned to rubble and dust. Eleven others died in nearby Accumoli and 50 more in Arquata del Tronto, 16 kilometers north of Amatrice. Mattarella arrived by helicopter and was shown the extent of the damage in Amatrice by its mayor, Sergio Pirozzi. The president thanked rescue workers who

have been working around the clock, some barely taking breaks for sleeping. Saturday’s funeral involved most of the dead from Arquata del Tronto. As deep as their anguish was, Saturday’s mourners at least had coffins with bodies to honor and bury. Many of the dead from Amatrice are now in a refrigerated morgue in an airport hangar in Rieti, the provincial capital that is 65 kilometers away, awaiting identification.

On Tuesday a memorial service—without the bodies—will be held for the dead of Amatrice on that battered town’s outskirts. Hundreds of people have been left homeless by the quake, with many spending their nights in tent cities and a gym in Amatrice, where volunteers are working to provide basic amenities. With families unable to remain in the houses in Amatrice that were damaged but still standing, two per-

sons were detained on Saturday for suspected looting, the mayor said. Overnight, residents were rattled yet again by a series of aftershocks. The strongest, at 4:50 a.m., had a magnitude of 4.2, according to the US Geological Survey, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4. The Italian institute says the earthquake caused the ground below Accumoli to sink 20 centimeters, according to satellite images. AP

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Monday, August 29, 2016

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Natural landscape and ecolodges Dr. Mina T. Gabor

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THE bm traveler

round 30 percent of the more than 1 billion tourist traffic globally look for nature-themed destinations like parks, ecotourism sites, bike paths, bird-watching areas, coastal water activities, botanical gardens, farm visits and others. One of the most important services attached to infrastructure development, be it residential, commercial, a park or a farm, is landscaping. Just like what cosmetics does to the beauty of women, landscaping enhances our environment. Today, more and more private and government owners spend extra to have a beautifully landscaped property. It increases the value of the property and is a very welcoming feature of a place. One type of landscaping that is becoming popular nowadays is natural landscaping, or also referred to as native gardening. Natural landscaping is the use of native trees, shrubs, groundcover and grasses that are indigenous to the geography of the garden. Native or indigenous plants or trees are those that have existed for hundreds or thousands of years that have already acclimatized itself with the soil, water and air, including pests in the area.

Do you know that non­n ative species of plants and trees are the second most serious threat to global biodiversity after habitat loss? Most at risk are islands, freshwater and coastal waters. In a recent site development charrette that we participated in, the group identified at least 10 destructive species of non­n ative plants, shrubs and trees that were wreaking havoc to the native plants in the area. Some vines were choking some fruit-bearing trees and some shrubs have overtaken certain areas that, even after weeding, the species grows back so fast that they have to employ more people to do this chore. I was told by landscape architects that the reason they import some plant and tree materials is because the native plants are not available in the quantities they need. This is a business opportunity! How many of us have friends that

The mid-autumn tradition at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila

have idle lands and they do not know what to do with it? Plant and propagate native species in demand in the quantity needed by the landscape architects. There are so many construction projects going on now and one may even consider exporting these plants and trees. But what are these plants? The landscape architects should go to the media; radio, print, TV and social-media outlets to inform the public about the type of plants they need for certain designs to get this new industry to grow. The naturally landscaped areas are easier to maintain and provides aesthetics all year round. Those that have been doing natural landscapes have this to say: n it reduces air pollution and uses less or no chemicals for landscape maintenance; ­n it increases regional biodiversity and decreases the amounts of pests and diseases; ­n it improves storm-water management and controls flooding; n­ it conserves water and preserves its quality; and ­n it provides historical and cultural interests by restoring and connecting residents to the original landscapes of the area. The last point reminds me of three places in the Philippines that could further develop their tourist attractions by planting some of the almost, if not totally, extinct species of trees from where the places derive its name. One is Betis in Pampanga. When you visit the place, the residents are so proud to show off their church that is completely covered with beautiful wood carvings out of the betis tree. The same goes with their antique furnitures and chandeliers. But there is not a single betis tree that can be seen in the area. I understand my friend Myrna Bituin is reaching out to UP Los Baños in the hopes of acquiring Betis plantings. Another is Antipolo in Rizal province, from where its name is derived from the tipolo tree. It is told

that when the image of our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, which was then under the care of the Jesuits, would disappear at night, the image will be found the next day on top of the tipolo tree. The natives then would say, “nanduon ang birhen sa ibabaw ng an tipolo.” The Jesuits and the residents eventually realized that they had to build a church in the area for the Virgin. Again, we need tipolo trees to remind us of this story and enhance the visit of tourists. The third is nilad from where Maynilad is named after. Old records and photos show that the area had nilad all over. The shrubs, with its white flowers, were extensively used then as a decoration for special events. Can you imagine if we brought back these plants in abundance in Maynilad? In the recently concluded Farm Tourism Conference in Tagaytay City, it was good that the landscape architects were invited. The participants were enlightened as to the important role of the landscape architects in highlighting the important parts of a farm-tourism site. For example, they discussed where the proper area for the information counter, the children’s activity area, the farm stay area, the kitchen and picnic areas, the souvenir shops, the parking areas, the guard house, etc. Several countries have landscape policies, guidelines, including tools and techniques, and even laws that guide landscape architects. The Philippines has to have one soon before we lose our native plants to new land and property developments. For example, what native trees could be or could not be removed if an area is being readied for development. In Hawaii, if your property has native trees, those can be included in the insurance cover. When one sells that particular property, the number of trees is also included in the valuation. What a wonderful way to preserve and encourage the planting of trees!

To preserve our native plants, I suggest we can learn from people like Anthony Arbias, who knows the different types of native species, prevent the spread of non-native species in our gardens, and join the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects (Pala) who, by the way, will be conducting short courses on natural landscaping in partnership with the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST). If you have a big property, please include in your natural landscaping a bike path, storm-water detention areas that could be used for boat rides or fishing, and plant native species that could be used as a shield for strong winds. Before doing so, consult with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or grab a copy of the book they published on the Trees of the Philippines. By the way, congratulations to the newly elected officials of the Pala, lead by Eric Estonido. I attended their last general meeting, where I spoke and where some 50 new landscape architects were inducted into office by the chairman of the Philippine Landscape Architect Regulatory Board, Paolo Alcazaren. The good news is the first Asia Pacific Natural Landscape Conference and Exhibition will be held in the Philippines next April. From September 19 to 23, the guru on Ecolodge Design, Planning and Development will hold a five-­ day training course and workshop on this subject at the ISST in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Hitesh Mehta Designs Inc. is an architecture and landscape architecture firm that started with traditional designs and is now involved in ecodesign practice from project inception to construction supervision. Hitesh Mehta has done projects in more than 55 countries spanning six continents, from ecolodges to housing, community centers, national parks and nature reserve, tourism accommodations, shopping malls,

religious and cultural centers. He is an advocate of metaphysical approach to site development, which he describes as the “Eco before Ego” principle. Mehta is a multiawarded Eco architect and natural landscape artist by the United Nations and many other well-known institutions whose works can be seen in the Galapagos islands, China, South America, Kenya and Costa Rica, to name a few. Do you know that so far only El Nido qualifies to be an authentic ecolodge in the Philippines and, thus, will be included in the next edition of the Authentic Ecolodges in the World book by Mehta? Hopefully, new ones will be established soon and qualify as such. There are only very few ecolodges in the world and to be considered as one, an ecolodge must conform to the three basic principles of ecotourism and at least three of the basic criteria of an authentic ecolodge. To know more, we urge you to join the forthcoming training and workshop on this subject. As I have said many times, if we manage our natural resources well and utilize sustainable materials in places that we need to preserve and protect, the country would have a lot of ecotourism sites to show our visitors. Dr. Mina T. Gabor was the founder and president of the Center for International Trade Exhibitions and Missions Inc. (Citem) of the Department of Trade and Industry, and the secretary of the Department of Tourism from 1996 to 1998. She continues to work on her passion of promoting the Philippines through trade and tourism as the president of the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST), as founder and president of the Philippine Small and Medium Business Development Foundation Inc. (PHILSMED), and the president of the Automobile Association of the Philippines Travel Agency. For any feedback, please contact this writer at minagabor2010@gmail.com.

TPB to host the county’s biggest travel-trade event

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his year Marco Polo Ortigas Manila is joining the festivity with a traditional Chinese style by introducing its Glamorous Mooncake Collection 2016. These stunning treat is available for pre-order until August 30 with a 20-percent discount. Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar and what better way to celebrate it than having a taste of its classic traditional mooncake. This fete is a long-standing Chinese tradition of joy and peace. It is celebrated every 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar and also known as the Mooncake Festival. Flying in from Hong Kong, experience an authentic Osmanthus Gold Mooncake, available in small and large sizes for P888++ with two cakes and P1,888++ with six cakes per box, respectively. These well-refined mooncakes may also please the health-conscious individuals with its flavors available only in Red Bean with Egg Yolk and Lotus Seed Paste. It is set neatly in custom-made gift boxes, designed elegantly to complement a nostalgic taste of the Chinese culture.

Phitex to push Visit Philippines Again 2016 campaign

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Marco Polo

he Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) is set to host the country’s biggest and most significant travel trade event—the Philippine Travel Exchange (Phitex), from September 4 to 6 at the Marriot Grand Ballroom. In line with the Visit the Philippines Again 2016 (VPA) campaign, this year’s Phitex is set to once again promote the country as the premier tourist destination among some of the world’s biggest travel and tour buyers.

With this year’s theme “#PHITEX2016: Bigger Business,” TPB is bringing a larger and improved Phitex with more sessions allocated for business-to-business interactions and better designed pre-tours and post-tours. Kicking off this weeklong event is the 27th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) on September 2 and 3 at the SMX Convention Center. Organized by the Philippine Tour Operators Association, PTM is considered to be one of the major travel-trade exhibitions in the promotion of domestic and inbound tourism. The event attracts buyers from all over the world as it presents the best and most affordable tour packages in the country. Highlighting the event is the Travel

Exchange, which includes exclusive business-to-business appointment meetings between Philippine sellers and foreign buyers. By giving them the chance to personally meet the local sellers, buyers are introduced to the Philippines’s marketing trends and practices. In exchange, sellers are given an edge to offer globally competitive tour packages to the international market. These sessions will also provide foreign buyers the opportunity to experience the fun and exciting post tours to main Philippine attractions and destinations. “Phitex has been instrumental in strengthening the brand image of the Philippines,” shares TPB COO Domingo

Ramon C. Enerio III. “By introducing the best tourism products and services to the international market and bringing together the different stakeholders in the tourism industry, the country has become an important destination, not only for various international and high-level business and economic meetings, but also for travel and trade. In fact, the country has welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors from January to May 2016. This is 13.02 percent higher than the accumulated arrivals in January to May 2015.” Now on its 15th year, Phitex has been continuously sustaining the growth that the Philippines has gained in the global tourism market.

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Monday, August 29, 2016 A11

Interview with a Backpacker: Journeying James Betia

James Betia poses for a selfie in East Timor

In El NIdo, the backpacker rests after kayaking.

Betia takes it slow in a Meditation Center in Thailand.

The temple in Chiang Mai captures the attention of the backpacker.

In Marinduque, Betia tries a carabao ride.

Northern Thailand’s amazing rock formation inside a cave.

By Marky Ramone Go

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Photos James Betia

he backpacking culture in the Philippines has grown significantly in the last few years. Coinciding with this development is the emergence of many travel bloggers who have peppered the social media with inspiring travel narratives and images of picturesque destinations. In this sub-culture of modern day travelers one man has blazed his own trail and has championed the backpacking style of traveling. I first met James Betia, also known as ‘Journeying James,’ during a traveler’s talk event in Manila and has traveled with him a few times, including a couple of outreach programs such as the library project in Gubat, Sorsogon, and an anti-malnutrition drive in the island of Jomalig in Quezon. While he’s currently on his 100-day European backpacking journey, Betia shares his story:

just the next thing to do since I already traveled Visayas in 2010 and Mindanao in 2011. I wanted to revisit my friends and, more importantly, set foot in the provinces I haven’t been to. I think my travels from 2009 to 2011 set the stage for me to launch the #100DaysPH challenge. I have learned about staying with locals through CouchSurfing, volunteering to some places to save on expenses, and even hitchhiking.

What were the fascinating discoveries you had while traveling around the country?

Before you started traveling full time, what was your day job?

That those who doesn’t have that much financially are the ones who help more. Locals opened to travelers like me not only their homes, but their hearts as well. One night I stayed in this farmer’s house in an island in Marinduque where they have to fetch water 30 minutes below the hill, and they don’t even have coffee for breakfast. Since they don’t want to me sleep in my hammock outside, but, they invited me to sleep with them on their “papag.” When I woke up, the housewife was already boiling water for me because they didn’t have anything else to offer. Good thing I had some coffee and biscuits in my bag that I shared with them before I left.

I was a Prefect of Discipline and Physical Education teacher in a private school in Laguna before I started full-time traveling. Like a Guidance Counselor, I was in-charge of erring students. I tried to reform the office where I didn’t wait for students to err before I invite them for a talk. I also went my way and invited all the graduating class in my office just to chat with them about life, their passion and dreams.

How did you prepare for your #100DaysPhilippines? I did the #100DaysPH in 2012. It was

Immerse yourself in the Spanish way of life

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or many, especially the work weary, there comes a timewhenyouarebesetbyadesiretoconsume—art, architecture, culture, history, elegant cityscapes, and exquisite cuisine. If you crave for all these and more, there’s no better time than to plan a trip to Spain, stat! But now comes the age-old question in travel: Madrid or Barcelona? Why not visit both? With Emirates, you can fly to Madrid and then fly out from Barcelona, or vice versa. Emirates flies to both cities daily from its hub in Dubai. From the Philippines, the airline currently operates 25 flights to the global hub (18 weekly flights from Manila and seven from Cebu/Clark), so you don’t have to miss important appointments just to catch your flight. For a premium experience, you can catch Emirates’s A380 flights. Two A380 aircraft fly to and from Barcelona, while Madrid is serviced by one A380 aircraft and another Boeing 777 daily. Aboard Emirates’s flagship A380 aircraft, you can enjoy a variety of premium facilities: from Private Suites and Shower Spas in First Class, to flat-bed seats and Onboard Lounge in Business Class, to extra leg room and custom lighting in Economy Class.You

Aside from finding out how diverse the Philippines is, I personally discovered that Tawi-Tawi is one of the safest place to travel, Muslims and Christians have more meeting points than disagreements, and that, even though I don’t understand Bisaya at that time, I can communicate with a smile while doing karaoke or sitting with the locals who kept offering me home-made lambanog.

Was there ever a time during your travel when you asked yourself “What am I doing here?” It was when there was no space to sleep on during the overnight ferry ride from Jolo, Sulu to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. I didn’t know anyone, I hardly look like them, much less understand their dialect, and it was quite obvious it was my first time to board that kind of ferry. But then, looking back, it was one of those moments that definitely make traveling worth it and, if given a chance, I will do it again. Because it was on that trip that I got to witness some Badjaos kids dancing in the plaza while wearing colorful dresses in Siasi, Sulu.

During the 100 days of travel, what are the places you consider your favorites? There’s a lot but I will limit it to three. I would say Kalinga, the most lush and well-preserved mountains in the whole of Cordillera, with its huge narra trees along the road and pristine rice terraces. Apo Whang-od, the famed mambabatok, offered me to stay at her upper house. Then she sang the Ullalim which is actually performed when someone is about to die. It is like a cry, mantra, or chant that talks about life, victories, struggles, celebrations and pain. I still have it on my hard drive and is just waiting for the perfect time to post online. My guide said it was his first time to listen to Whandod’s Ullalim. Dahican Beach in Mati City, Davao Oriental. There I was welcomed like one of the Amihan Boys, a team of skaters, skimmers and surfers who take care of

can also experience Emirates’s award-winning inflight entertainment system ice where you can enjoy over 2,500 channels of films, TV shows, music and games, inflight Wi-Fi and gourmet cuisine. Madrid, the capital of Spain, is known for its elegance and polish. Although most of its infrastructure are decidedly more modern, the city is designed to hint at its centuries of history. Its intriguing stories are interlaced in the city’s art, atmosphere and food. Emirates flies to Madrid from Dubai twice daily via EK 141, which departs Dubai at 07:35 a.m. and arrives in Madrid at 1:25 p.m .(local time); and EK 143, which departs Dubai at 2:35 p.m. and arrives in Madrid at 8:20 p.m. Take advantage of the limitless art and culture options in Madrid. Spend a day museum-hopping and let the Spanish way of life permeate your being. For art aficionados, don’t miss the art triangle: the Prado Museum, which is home to more than 9,000 pieces; the Reina Sofia; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. Lose yourself in old-world Spanish culture at the Teatro de la Zarzuela. The 19th-century theater, where the Filipino term sarsuwela originated,

the Dahican beach sanctuary for endangered turtles, dugong, whale-sharks and dolphins. One night, while I was in my hammock, this 90-kilo green sea-turtle decided to lay her eggs right below me. It was a crazy experience watching a huge turtle triple my age dig her nest and lay eggs in the middle of the night. Then, after experiencing my first legitimate wave ride, I became a member of Amihan Boys, a first from Manila. El Nido, Palawan. To save on expenses, I rented a kayak and solo-paddled my way to the islands with some food and hammock. I wanted to stay for two to three nights, survivor-style. On my second night, I had a bad case of diarrhea because of the contaminated water I drank. I thought I was going to die of dehydration that night. I have to muster all my strength to paddle back to town before sunrise so that the heat won’t slow me down. I felt I was about to faint, but after two hours of paddling, I finally reached the town with lips turned purple. I downed several liters of water and lots of fruit juices before I went back to Puerto Princesa to fully recover. It was Day 96 of my 100 Days journey.

A few years after you went on another 100-day journey, but this time it was around South East Asia. How did you manage your ‘cheapest way possible’ challenge? I actually find it cheaper to go around Southeast Asia than in the Philippines. In Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, the hostels would charge around P200 to 300 per night. Food in Thailand and Indonesia is cheap. Of all the places I visited, it is only in Bali, Indonesia that I have spent a lot, paying P800 per night in a hostel with free breakfast. I also stayed in Meditation Centers in Thailand that accept donations. One time, I had to sleep in a temple by the beach in Bali because I ran out of budget. Then I slept in a hammock for a week in Lombok island, where a Muslim family running

hosts everything from musical theater to opera and ballet. Art truly runs deep in Madrid even in the nightlife scene. As you check out choices for lounges, cafés or music venues, look for Club Musee, a club that doubles as an art gallery. Eat like a Madrileño as you explore the city’s gastronomicpleasures.Samplelocalcuisineatfoodmarkets Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado de San Anton, or give in to delicious tapas paired with a refreshing glass of beer or good wine at Gran Via. You can also dine in the oldest restaurant in the world, Restaurante Botin, which has been open since 1725. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, you can choose to explore the historical city or lounge on the beach. Or both. Emirates flies twice daily to Barcelona from Dubai. EK 185 departs Dubai at 8:15 a.m. and arrives in Barcelona at 1:25 p.m. Meanwhile, EK 187 departs Dubai at 3:45 p.m. and arrives in Barcelona at 8:55pm. Barcelona will be served twice daily with an Emirates A380 service, in a three-class configuration. If you choose stay on dry land, you’ll never run out of thingstodo.Forhistorybuffs,soakupSpanishartandculture

a small warung (carinderia) took care of me. Fortunately, it was just in front of a beach so I get to surf a lot.

Is it really the ‘same and yet different?’ The skin color and clothing may be similar (in the region), but you would really notice the difference when it comes to food, culture and religion. Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar are just full of temples. In Malaysia, mosques are everywhere. Indonesia would probably be the closest thing to the Philippines since they also have gorgeous beaches with rich marine life. East Timor was the most bizarre of all since they look like small Africans that speak Portuguese, spend American dollars, but act like Asians. For a Westerner, it is easier to travel in the Philippines because most Filipinos understand and speak English. In other Southeast Asian countries, once you leave the tourist areas, you would find it hard to communicate and eventually resort to sign language.

What are the favorite places you have visited in South East Asia? I like surfing a lo, so I have to say Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. There I found the most perfect wave I ever surfed in my life. Also, the food is cheap, especially in warungs. Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Everything is cheap from accommodation, food, and partying. Penang island in Malaysia because street art is everywhere. You will find many Filipinos working there so you would feel right at home. Other than the beer, everything is cheap, plus there are a number of Indian restaurants to choose from. I just love Indian food.

Where are you right now? As of this writing, I’m now doing my #100DaysEurope challenge in the most expensive city in the world: Zurich, Swit-

in the Picasso Museum, Museum of History of Barcelona and the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. Leave enough time to marvel at famous architect Antoni Gaudi’s work. First stop, the iconic Sagrada Familia, one of Barcelona’s important structures. Other places you mustn’t miss include the Gaudi-designed Park Güell, and his houses—Casa Batlló and Casa Milà. After a full day of sightseeing, catch your breath at El Raval, which is frequented by the creative types. Here you can browse the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and explore the cozy cafes, restaurants, boutiques and art house cinemas. Stroll along Barcelona’s boulevards in Las Ramblas. Immerse yourself in the Catalan way of life as you explore the cafes, restaurants, shops and watch street performers that populate the famous promenade. But don’t leave Las Ramblas without sampling authentic Catalan cuisine in La Boqueria, the largest food market in Europe. With its more than 4 kilometer of coastline, Barcelona is home to many surfers and sun worshippers alike. Some beaches you can check out during your visit include

zerland. Traveling in Europe is special to me since this is my childhood dream. Plus, I get to travel with my beautiful girlfriend, too.

Lastly, how did travel change you as a person? I would like to quote from the reflections I had during my #100DaysSEA journey in Laos. Don’t you dare travel on your own. I’m telling you, you will get broke, backaches from carrying heavy backpacks, lost and worse meet an accident, robed and cry by yourself in an unfamiliar place, and wrestle with a language you don’t understand and can’t even pronounce. You will meet nice people only to say goodbye the next day. You will miss your cozy home and your family. When you get sick, there’s no one to take care of you. You would hate hostels because the rowdy youngsters are smoking weed and drink so much Beerlao. You will be forced to walk 2 to 3 kilometers to save a dollar and then wonder, why the heck? You will miss your flight or that single sleeper train and have to settle for the local bus and so on. But if you insist, go ahead. I wish you good luck. You might find love but learn how to let go as nothing is constant. You will learn to carry only what is essential and see the beauty in the mundane. Take it slow. You would appreciate the little things in life that you take for granted back home. Slowly you will begin to greet people not with the usual hello, but with Bonjour! Como estas! Annyeonghaseyo! Hallo! Sabai dee mai! Guten tag! Shalom! Namaste! Konnichiwa! Ola! You will enjoy the vistas and learn that it is really about the journey not the destination. You will develop friendships in a short period of time over coffee or beer. You will get to know yourself better; your shortcomings as well as your good side. Once you get home, you have become a changed person and can readily redefine ‘home.’

Barceloneta Beach, Nova Icaria Beach, Bogatell Beach and Ocata Beach, among others. Each of these beaches attract a different crowd so you’re sure to find something you like.

How to get there: To get to Madrid and Barcelona, take any of the 18 nonstop weekly flights from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Dubai International Airport. Flight EK 333 departs Manila at 5:40 p.m. and arrives in Dubai at 11:05 p.m. Flight EK 335 departs Manila at 12:20 a.m. and arrives in Dubai at 5:35 a.m. Flight EK 337 departs Manila at 6:40 a.m. and arrives in Dubai at 11:35 a.m. If you’re coming from the Visayas-Mindanao region and Northern Luzon, you may take Emirates’s daily DubaiCebu-Clark-Dubai circular flight. Flight EK 338 departs Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 5:25 p.m. and arrives at Clark International Airport at 6:45 p.m. It then makes its way to Dubai from Clark at 8:20 p.m., arriving in Dubai at 1:25 a.m. the next day. From Dubai, Emirates offers convenient and seamless connections to your flight to either Madrid or Barcelona.

Science Monday

A12 Monday, August 29, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Your coffee habit may be written in your DNA

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Developers of Jolt, a power hub with dual-mode chargers and solar panels that can be integrated into a home-energy storage, communications and security system, answer the inquiry of one of the attendees of “Leaders in Innovation Fellowship Demo Day” at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City. AIM Facebook Page

DOST pitches innovative products to PHL investors

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omegrown innovators recently pitched innovative products to prospective investors, even as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) gave the biggest push for this convergence.

Dubbed “Leaders in Innovation Fellowship [LIF] Demo Day,” the event was held recently at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City by the Royal Academy of Engineering and AIM, with support from the DOST. The LIF featured 15 selected technology products to exhibit and present their ideas, and to locate possible business investors and customers. Prior to that, the innovators have undergone courses for 10 months at AIM and in the United Kingdom to hone their entrepreneurial skill by teaching them how to develop ideal business plan. DOST Undersecretary Rowena L. Guevara said at the AIM event the science department has spearheaded various programs to encourage and empower many Filipinos in terms of conducting

15 The number of selected technology products featured at “Leaders in Innovation Fellowship Demo Day”

researches, as well as product development, that could offer appropriate and timely solutions to the country’s pressing problems.

She asked the public and stakeholders to look closely at the innovative products and assess how they could help in improving their respective products and services. Guevara said the agenc y spends P3 billion to P5 billion every year to fuel research and development. The last two years made the DOST realize that the technologies they are working on are readily available for technology transfer, inspiring them to spend more on it. “We go as far as formulating guidelines we call ‘Fairness Opinion Report,’ which is necessary for any government-funded R&D [research and development] so they can transfer it to their private partners. We realize that we cannot do it alone; we need partners, like Royal Academy of Engineering and AIM, to make these things happen,” she said. Guevara was proud to announce that the ranking of the Philippines on innovation has climbed to 48 from 11 in 2009. Meanwhile, Executive Director Carlos Primo David of the DOSTPhilippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development agreed with Guevara’s statement about “the DOST’s ultimate goal

of making S&T [science and technology] work for the country.” He said the DOST’s goal is to reach beneficiaries and contribute to the nation’s economy through the growth of technology-based processing. He added that since last year the DOST has developed a system called 6Ps, which stands for products, patterns process, publications, people and powering. David also expressed satisfaction over DOST researchers’ transformation in terms of teaching skills. He asked for the continued support of DOST’s partners, such as the Royal Academy of Engineering, AIM and business sectors; and congratulated their project leaders for a job well done. Moreover, he believes that technology in the Philippines is doing great. “Sa siyensya, may pag-asa [In science there is hope]. We are shaping future leaders of Asia,” he said. Some of the products and services presented during the Demo Day were the DOST’s Food Innovation Center, AgMULA RTA Rice Transplanter Attachment for Hand Tractors, Jolt: A Home Energy System, Smart System, Relief Vent, Pinpoint, Heart Smart, Visser and Guaviderm. Allan Mauro

V. Marfal/S&T Media Service

CdO to host 3rd International River Summit in Nov By Butch D. Enerio Correspondent

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AGAYAN DE ORO CITY— This city will be the host to the third International River Summit (IRS) from November 24 to 26, a biennial multipartner national initiative, which serves as avenue to identify opportunities, problems and best practices. The conference aims to effectively manage rivers across four vital issues on governance, biodiversity conservation and management, climate change and disaster risk-reduction management and water quality. The summit’s organizers expect more than 1,600 participants coming from the different local government units (LGUs) in the country, leading experts, scientists, policy-makers, river administrators,

indigenous communities, support groups, people’s organization and practitioners. About 200 foreign guests and experts are expected to attend. The mayor of the host city, Oscar S. Moreno, said the holding of the summit here is a bold move of the organizers and the LGU to gather the participants to tackle a huge environmental issue and take the challenge to protect river basins in the country. “Mindanao for the last five years has ex perienced severe flooding, including that which devastated this city where more than a thousand died and countless bodies are yet to be found during the flood brought by Typhoon Washi [local name Sendong] thus, the decision to hold this summit,” Moreno said. The third IRS, with the theme “ He a lt hy Watershe d s, C le a n

Rivers Safer Communities,” is a global platform for the exchange of knowledge and ex perience toward the building of an inclusive agenda for sustainable development and resiliency of river-basin ecosystem, said Dr. Hilly Ann Roa-Quiaoit, Summit chairman, 3rd IRS. Quiaoit said the state of Mindanao’s eight river basins, part of the 18 river basins in the entire country, will be highlighted during the summit where eminent leaders and stakeholders would share knowledge and best practices to formulate a blueprint of needed actions to address pressing issues affecting river basins and their communities. Consistent with the initiatives in the first summit held in Iloilo City in 2012 and second summit held in Marikina City in

2014, the Cagayan de Oro summit would foster information and exchanges on the latest technology, research, approaches and best practices on the watershed and river-basin governance. The organizers said the summit is also the venue to build consensus that will address gaps in policy and program implementation of the river-basin management from international down to the local levels, and to expand avenues for greater cooperation in finding sustainable solutions for development and environment a l stewa rd sh ip. Quiaoit said the cross-cutting issues during the summit are gender development; best practices and lessons learned; river laws and policies; sustainable-f und ing mechanism; and youth, women and community empowerment.

hy is it that some people crave several cups of coffee a day while others stop at only one or two? A growing body of evidence suggests that the amount of coffee we consume is determined by our genetic makeup, rather than the amount of sleep we got the night before. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide, second only to tea and water, researchers say. And drinking hefty amounts of coffee has been associated with several health benefits. Recent reports have linked coffee consumption with improvements in short-term memory, as well as a reduced risk of developing multiple sclerosis, melanoma, Type 2 diabetes and liver cancer. It might also be good for your heart. In a new paper published on Thursday in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers describe the discovery of a gene variant that appears to limit coffee drinking. The authors report that among more than 1,200 people living in Italy, those with the genetic variant PDSS2 tend to drink one fewer cup of coffee per day than those without the variation.

Further analysis revealed that expression of the PDSS2 gene appears to inhibit the body’s ability to break down caffeine. If that’s the case, people with this variant would require less coffee to get a strong caffeine jolt, because the caffeine would linger in their system for a longer time. To confirm their findings, the researchers replicated the study in a group of 1,731 people from the Netherlands. Although the results were similar, the effect on the number of cups of coffee people drank was slightly lower. The authors of the paper say they would like to see their findings confirmed with even largerscale studies. For now, however, they feel fairly confident that they have identified a gene that has never before been connected to coffee drinking. “The results of our study add to existing research suggesting that our drive to drink coffee may be embedded in our genes,” first author Nicola Piratsu, a genetics researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said in a statement. And you thought you were just tired. Los Angeles Times/TNS

Octobot, a soft-bodied robot that moves like an octopus

The octobot is controlled via the embedded microfluidic soft controller and powered by a chemical reaction of hydrogen peroxide. Lori Sanders/Harvard University

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ur future robot overlords never looked so squishy. A team of scientists, led out of Harvard University, have managed to build an entirely soft robot—one that’s inspired by an octopus. The octobot, described this week in the journal Nature, could pave the way toward more effective soft robots that could be used in search and rescue, exploration and to more safely interact with humans. “The octobot is a minimal system designed to demonstrate our integrated design and fabrication strategy,” the study authors wrote, “which may serve as a foundation for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous robots.” Traditionally, robots have been seen as stiff, angular entities, made of metal and other rigid materials (think C-3PO in Star Wars). But there’s a good historical reason for that, scientists say. “Robots are typically used in manufacturing contexts that involve well-structured environments,” Barbara Mazzolai and Virgilio Mattoli of the Italian Institute of Technology’s Center for Micro-BioRobotics, who were not involved in the study, wrote in a commentary. “These situations allow them to move following predefined procedures, limiting interactions with human operators for safety reasons.” But if you take these robots out of factories and put them in real world, things start to get dicey. Robots built for precise, repetitive movements in a controlled environment don’t do so well on rough terrain or changing conditions. And they aren’t especially safe around humans, because they’re made

out of hard parts and can’t accurately adjust the force they wield on much-more-pliant people. So researchers have been working on building soft (or at least softer) robots for decades, and they’ve been getting better and better over time. They’ve taken inspiration from nature, looking to animals from jellyfish to cockroaches, which are often made primarily of soft (or very flexible) parts. But building a completely soft robot has remained a challenge, because even if engineers can build a silicone body, they still had trouble building soft versions of certain essential parts, such as the control system and the power source. “Creating a new class of fully soft, autonomous robots is a grand challenge, because it requires soft analogues of the control and power hardware currently used,” the study authors wrote. But for this paper, researchers from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering managed to do just that. Octobot’s eight arms move, thanks to a pneumatic system of inflatable compartments. The moving parts are connected to a network of channels that send liquid fuel (a hydrogen peroxide solution) to mix with a platinum-based catalyst in certain reaction chambers. As the fuel decomposes, it releases pressurized oxygen that inflates the actuators, allowing the octobot to move. These movements are controlled by a series of logic gates—basically a fluid-filled version of a circuit board. The scientists managed to create this complex system using several techniques, including soft-lithography and multimaterial embedded 3D printing. Los Angeles Times/TNS

Green Monday BusinessMirror

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Monday, August 29, 2016 A13

Of honeybees and golden sunflowers

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By Mariou Guieb | Correspondent

surely attacked before the scheduled application of miticides. It also caused the first blooms to wilt with the rains and less honey to harvest. Climate change is also telling on the sunflowers. In a strange phenomenon, the sunflowers bloomed in late November. And even more strange, scattered clusters blossomed in May and June. Bird migration is another problem. When the Siberain winds start to blow, swift birds from China’s wintry weather are seen by the thousands in the Cordillera region. And they love bees that they quickly swallow while on flight.

AGUIO CITY—It was 1992. The Balatoc Mines in Itogon, Benguet, had closed and gold miners were out of work.

On the other side of the mountain, Toby Tamayo, a known environmentalist, already had then a long-running love affair with bees and a gold mine of his own—the mountain sunflowers. From November to February the hills blaze golden yellow with radiant sunflowers springing back to life season after season, through storms and gales and hailstorms, and bees have a feast of a time through these months. The Saint Louis University-Extension Institute for Small Scale Industries Foundation Inc. (SLUEISSIF), with its commitment to community development, turned to Tamayo to train the retrenched miners on cultured beekeeping. T he bu z z of bees qu ic k ly swarmed the region, so to speak, and today many towns have set up either backyard or commercial scale apiaries. After all, gusty winds have blown the seeds of sunflowers from Mexico, perhaps, a century ago to almost every mountain of the Cordillera region assuring the flow of golden honey every sunflower season.

‘Honey thieves’

It was also in 1992 that Romeo Kimbungan arrived home from an overseas job in Taiwan, eager to start a livelihood of his own. He started hanging around with Tamayo and started to learn the rudiments of beekeeping. But his fascination with bees goes a long way back to his childhood in the town of Atok in Benguet. As a child, he ran free with the wind in wide pasturelands and forests surrounding their neighborhood. W hen he would see bees f ly ing , loaded w it h nectar or pollen after the first heat of the morning, he would trail them to their beehives and gather honey. “It’s easy to follow the bees because, by then, they are slow in-flight,” he said. He would then burn leaves at the entrance of the hive—some in rocks, up a tree or gnarled roots of old trees—and take the honey. This is old knowledge among villagers and forest dwellers that bees are alarmed when they sense a threat of forest fire, making them, therefore, flee, leaving the honey to the delight of “honey thieves,” as the villager amusingly termed. Kimbungan knew about the trick because his parents gathered honey regularly using lighted

300 kg The quantity of honey Romeo Kimbungan harvested last year, which was a decrease from an average of 1.8 tons to 2 tons a year, owing to the adverse effects of climate change

Dispelling rumors Giving hands-on training on apiary, Romeo Kimbungan shows a bee frame to trainees in Tuba, Benguet. Jenver Esnara Kimbungan

City and Benguet province wherever he found sunflowers planted in valleys and hills. In 2001 he harvested 2.5 tons of honey from 12 of his apiaries, although between 1998 and 2005 he harvested an average of 1.8 tons to 2 tons a year.

tobacco or burning leaves or palay stalks they called darami to emit smoke where bees are. Kimbungan remembers that his wild stints with bees used to give him swollen eyes and arms from their stings, but he believes that having been stung many times, he has developed an immunity to the allergy, as he no longer reacts to bee stings in his apiaries. Throughout the Cordillera, honey gathering is as ancient and seasonal as the time to hunt or do swidden farming, except that the season depends on the flowering of forest flowers.

Climate change

Kerobee farm

What used to be a home treat is now quite a trade in an age where organic and natural foods are a health trend. Raw honey from the forest is brought to the city for as much as P400 or more in so-called cuatro cantos (four-by-four) gin bottles. Inspired by the success of Tamayo’s Tobee apiaries, Kimbungan bought two boxes or colonies of bees from Plan International, a development and humanitarian organization, at P1,800 each. A colony consists of a laying queen, several adult workers and worker brood. But seeing that he needed a bigger capital, Kimbungan returned to Taiwan in December 1993 to raise enough capital to get into the serious business of beekeeping. By 1995 he sent P25,000 to his wife for the purchase of five boxes of Apis millefera, or European bees, from Plan International based in Baguio City, and came home shortly after. The small European bees are considered best for commercial propagation because they keep a prolific queen, swarms less frequently and produce honey efficiently. Soon the couple registered the now well-known Kerobee brand of

An apiary in Tuba, Benguet Marilou Guieb

honey, the name being a combination of his name Kimbungan, his wife Evelyn and his first name Romeo—then a play on the name of his son, Kerovyn, and the word bee. The first boxes of honeybees were placed just in his backyard. When the sunflowers started to bloom, each box gave some 5 kilograms of honey around the third week of November. But by the third week of December, after days of sunflowers blooming at their peak, the same boxes would yield about 20 kg to 25 kg each and on to February, when the sunflowers begin to fade away. “I was very much encouraged with about 150 kg of honey gathered from that first season,” Kimbungan said. Back then, he said, a kilogram was selling from P130

to P180. Today he sells that for P600 a kilogram. Kimbungan, a civil engineer who designs his own farm implements and is a multiawarded farmer, never had any formal training in beekeeping, but his passion exceeded what can be gathered in a few-days seminar. He pored over bee journals he subscribed from the Unites States, New Zealand, Canada and as far as Scotland, and learned from hands-on management of his hives. After the first season, Kimbungan invested in new queens, and by the second year his apiary had 60 colonies. From his backyard at Home Sweet Home Barangay, his apiaries spread to some five or six sites in Baguio

Then trouble started with climate change. And Kimbungan was not alone. All sunflower beekeepers shared the same problem. From tons of honey f low, the volume slowly declined to an average of about 800 kg. Last year Kimbungan said he harvested only about 300 kg. His colonies also declined, from 250 at its peak to about 150 at present. Kimbungan, who also grows herbs and citrus fruits, said the bees are also useful for pollinating his crops. The SLU-EISSIF keeps an apiary of about 80 to 100 colonies at the outskirts of the city and has been a popular and steady source of sunflower honey, branded as Goldwell Sunflower Honey. However, Amelia Gas-ib, marketing officer of SLU-EISSIF, said they limit to only two bottles each buyer can purchase this year owing to sparse supply. “Typhoon Lando last year struck at the height of sunflower blossoming,” Gas-ib explained. Rains also brought the dearth period when there is no honey flow. “The rain calendar is all in shambles,” Kimbungan said in the vernacular. It was one reason that many bee colonies collapsed last year due to varroosis, a disease caused by the Varroa mites. Kimbungan himself lost 40 colonies. Kimbungan said applying miticides is a must, as the Varroa mites are notorious in wiping out whole honeybee colonies. But applications are scheduled, and can be dependent on weather patterns. In October last year, just when the sunflowers were about to bloom, a typhoon came. With the rains, bees become vulnerable to mites that

Kimbungan dispels the rumor that cultured honey is sugar, because beekeepers carefully calculate the period of sugar feeding as technically equivalent to the bees’ having taken the honey stored for food during the rainy months. Gas-ib also belied talks that honey that granulates is not pure honey. Based on studies, sunflower honey has a high dextrose content that granulates at temperatures between 14 degrees Celsius to 22°C.

Trainer

Kimbungan is a sought-after trainer in beekeeping, what with his farm being well-known abroad and his certificates practically are ticket to employment. He trains where his honeybees are—a quiet sanctuary of herbal gardens surrounded by misty mountains and a panoramic view of Baguio City below. Christopher Sonabul, 25, has been working in Saudi Arabia as a barrister for two years. Some of his friends have left last December for Australia, carrying a certificate from Kimbungan. They were easily hired with a starting salary of P125,000. It was enough for him to exit his Middle East job and start a beekeeping venture. Brian Balangitan, 25, tells of a similar story. He worked as a sushi chef in Eastern Europe but is undergoing training with 11 others at the moment with the same aspiration. In Canada the earnings go higher because of overtime pay. “Our 5 p.m. here is 10 o’clock in the evening there, so they have longer working hours,” Kimbungan said. The training is mostly hands-on, but the lectures bring one to the delightful world of insects and outdoor creatures. Kimbungan, telling his trainees why they have to outsmart the predators, shared an anecdote from Pangasinan province. “Bullfrogs attacked the bees at night with just a hollow block elevation from the ground. The following night the beekeeper placed the boxes several feet higher, but the bullfrogs still won. They formed a kind of totem pole to reach the box opening and took turns on who would be on top.”

A14 Monday, August 29, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The police are protecting the poor

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itting in the safety and comfort of their middleclass lifestyles, too many people are now experts about illegal drugs. There are only two groups that understand that business well—law enforcers and the producers and suppliers of the drugs.

The first idea that there is little difference between legal alcohol and illegal methamphetamine (shabu) is ignorant, naïve and dangerous. Often, if not regularly, most people do not drink to get drunk. When using illegal drugs, the only purpose is to get “high” and most regularly, as high as possible. No one ever said, “It was a busy day at work. I’ll inhale a little shabu to relax before I eat dinner.” The idea that the police are specifically and maliciously targeting areas where the lower economic groups live in the antidrug campaign is also wrong. There is nothing malicious about it. Drug dealers and law enforcement know that is where the best market for mass-produced illegal drugs happens to be. It has always been that way. In the novel The Godfather, crime boss Joe Zaluchi has this to say about the drug business, “In my city, we would keep the traffic in the dark people—the colored. They’re animals anyway, so let them lose their souls.” The middle and upper classes really do not care about mass-produced illegal drugs that their children will probably not use, except that they do not want the poor people stealing from them to buy those drugs. Notice the outrage about drugs only after the Ecstasy deaths at a P2,000-per-ticket concert. Not many tricycle drivers attended. Several decades ago, a US radio personality asked listeners to each send him one US dollar by mail. He received millions. He said of the experience, “It’s easier to get a million people to give you one dollar than to get one person to give you a million dollars.” So it is with the drug business. We see drug busts of P5 million of the high-end illegal Ecstasy drug. We see the police take down P50 million of the low-end shabu. Notice also, shabu is called “the poor man’s cocaine” not that “cocaine is the rich man’s shabu.” Shabu is cheap to produce in massive quantities and as Sen. Edgardo S. Angara recently pointed out, “Hard for us to fathom a business with a markup of 650 percent.” A small purchase of P50 can give the buyer a good “high”. There is nothing fancy about shabu; it just does its job well at a price that everyone can afford. Being so concerned about the “human rights” of the poor, maybe it is time to consider that also a human right is to be able to live in an environment that is free from the predators that supply killer drugs. If the drug business “experts” want to protect the “poor” people, then begin by protecting them from the evil drug suppliers that take their money, their future and the lives of the poor.

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RISING SUN

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ast week the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Games and Amusements Committee (GAC) summoned the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on separate occasions to their respective venues for public hearings on the charity agency. In the instance of the House, we were invited by the committee chairman, Rep. Karlo Nograles of Davao City, to give an overview about what PCSO is and what it does for the people. The Committee on Appropriations is concerned with many matters, including those related to the national budget and expenditures of the national government. PCSO is an agency under the Office of the President and is a government-owned and –controlled corporation (GOCC). As a GOCC, PCSO receives no money for its operations and programs from the national government. Under its charter, Republic Act (R A) 1169, as amended, it raises its own operating funds and funds for it charity programs through the operation of lottery and other games.

In addition to finding out its recent accomplishments and plans and programs for the present and future, the purpose of the House Committee on Appropriation’s meeting with PCSO was also to give first-termer representatives direct interaction with PCSO officials to get to know them and the agency that has served millions of beneficiaries through its 81 years of existence. Similarly, the Senate GAC, under its chairman, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, requested PCSO for information that would enable committee members to create legislation of national impact for the benefit of Filipino citizens. At both meetings, PCSO reported that its revenues from 2010 to the first quarter of 2016 amounted to P191.5 billion, with P32.47 billion generated in 2015

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and P7.99 billion in 1Q-2016. PCSO’s revenues are, as per RA 1169, allocated as follows: 55 percent to the prize fund (for PCSO Lotto and other game prizes), 30 percent to the charity fund (for mandator y contributions and PCSO’s social-welfare programs)

and 15 percent for operating expenses (such as personnel salaries and equipment, upkeep for the head office and 53 branches nationwide, and the like). Today, PCSO allots around P18.5 million daily nationwide for individual beneficiaries’ requests for medical- and health care-related assistance, from P4 million daily in 2010 and before. This program directly benefits around 120,000 persons each year, not counting those helped by PCSO’s other programs, such as endowment funds to public hospitals for patient care, grants to institutions, such as orphanages and homes for the elderly, ambulance donations and more. The PCSO family looks forward to working closely with the members of the House and the Senate to bring its services and products closer to the people, and exploring with them different strategies and options that can streamline service delivery and maximize accessibility. By these means, PCSO can continue being the government’s conduit for medical- and health carerelated services, shared, as always, with compassion and charity. n n n Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Depersonalizing and ‘anti-epalizing’ PPP projects

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

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At both meetings, PCSO reported that its revenues from 2010 to the first quarter of 2016 amounted to P191.5 billion, with P32.47 billion generated in 2015 and P7.99 billion in Q1-2016. PCSO’s revenues are, as per RA 1169, allocated as follows: 55 percent to the prize fund (for PCSO Lotto and other game prizes), 30 percent to the charity fund (for mandatory contributions and PCSO’s social-welfare programs), and 15 percent for operating expenses (such as personnel salaries and equipment, upkeep for the head office and 53 branches nationwide and the like).

Continued from A1 This public-relation scheme, while beneficial for the incumbent, may not augur well for the PPP project, which may last up to 50 years. In 50 years, there could be eight presidents, 16 governors or mayors and 50 heads of state corporations. If the successor is vindictive, has no respect for the sanctity of contracts, feels that s/he has a monopoly over righteousness and noble intentions, then long-term PPP contracts, policies and rules, may be susceptible to unilateral amendments, even rescissions. This “successor, political or regulatory risk” becomes more real if the projects are “personalized.”

One way, therefore, of “futureproof i ng” PPP a r ra ngements wou ld be to “ depersona l i ze” PPP projects. Government projects must be divested of human characteristics or individuality. To make PPP projects sustainable—assuming, of course, that the project ser ves the people and promotes better quality of life—the project must be detached from the person of the public official. The only gratification of such official is knowing that he or she is serving the public, not himself. or herself. Public officials are public servants who serve the public, and not the other way around, where patronage is the core. A PPP, after all, is PPP for the

This public-relation scheme, while beneficial for the incumbent, may not augur well for the PPP project, which may last up to 50 years. In 50 years, there could be eight presidents, 16 governors or mayors and 50 heads of state corporations. If the successor is vindictive, has no respect for the sanctity of contracts, feels that s/ he has a monopoly over righteousness and noble intentions, then long-term PPP contracts, policies and rules, may be susceptible to unilateral amendments, even rescissions.

people, not PPP for the person. Any badge of ownership or self must be removed. This columnist hopes that, if

and when the Anti-Signage of Public Works, or Anti-Epal bill, becomes a law, it will contain a prov ision that w ill include PPPs within the scope of the prohibition on public officials from affixing their names or photos on signage announcing a planned, ongoing or finished public-works project. However, future-proofing and sustainability strategies should go beyond signages. The people, the beneficiaries of any PPP project, must be part of the end-to-end process. Another way of guarding against successor risk is subjecting the PPP contract to a plebiscite where registered voters approve a PPP project or set of PPP arrangements. The people must, likewise, be empowered through learning and being part of the PPP learning ecology. The project itself must be sustainable and environmentally feasible. So, to our public officials, please use the name of the agency or the people in PPP projects. They are ours.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Implementing a drug free workplace policy

Three reasons to fire your accountant–immediately, please Filbert Tsai

DEBIT CREDIT

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

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legally speaking

llegal drugs are known to be a menace to society. Its effects to humanity indubitably create a hostile atmosphere, to the prejudice of the public. As we repeatedly hear from the news nowadays, there are lots of innocent people victimized by the atrocious effects of illegal drugs.

It cannot be denied that there is a firm commitment by our government to suppress illegal drugs. We, the private sector, can also have our fair share of contributing to the betterment of society, starting in our respective workplace. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued Department Order 53-03, Series of 2003 (the “department order”), otherwise known as Guidelines for the Implementation of a Drug-free Workplace Policies and Programs for the Private Sector, to assist both the employers and employees in the formulation of company policies and programs to achieve a drug-free workplace. The department order was issued in compliance with Article V of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The department order mandates all private establishments employing 10 or more workers to formulate and implement drug-abuse prevention and control programs in the workplace, including the formulation and adoption of company policies against dangerous drug use. In the same manner, establishments employing less than 10 employees are, likewise, encouraged to formulate and adopt the same policies. The department order directs the employers to increase the awareness and education of company officers and employees on the adverse effects of dangerous drugs through continuous advocacy, education and training programs/activities. It also provides for a treatment, rehabilitation and referral program for employees found to be positive for drug use. In implementing this program, the employers are mandatorily required to conduct random drug testing. Random drug testing is done when officers and employers are tested at random intervals without prior notice. Similarly, employers may also require drug testing as a condition for pre-employment. Two testing methods are required to be observed by the employees, namely, the screening test and the confirmatory test. The screening

test determines the positive result, as well as the type of the drug used. This is the first test to ascertain whether an employee is under the influence of drugs. On the other hand, the confirmatory test is a measure employed to affirm a positive screening test. An employee initially found to be negative in the screening tests need not undergo confirmatory test. In other words, a confirmatory test applies only to those employees found to be initially positive during the screening test. The conduct of drug testing, however, should only be performed by duly accredited centers of the Department of Health (DOH). It is worth stressing that failure to follow the proper drug-testing method cannot be given credence and will result in illegal dismissal (Nacague v Sulpicio Lines, GR 172598, 08 August 2010). Employees found to be positive for drug use constitutes serious misconduct and may even be a ground for termination of employment (Bughaw Jr. v Treasure Island Industrial Corp., GR 173151, 28 March 2008). In the same manner, an employee who refuses to undergo random drug testing may be guilty of insubordination for refusal to follow company rules and regulations. Under the law, these instances constitute just causes for dismissal. In order to validly dismiss an employee, the employer is still required to observe both substantive and procedural due process. Hence, termination must only be made after the employee is accorded due notice and hearing. Otherwise, the dismissal shall be rendered illegal. This drug-free policy has long been issued by the DOLE. It now comes to the strict adherence and implementation by employers in the private sector to ensure a safe working environment for their respective constituents. Indeed, change starts within us. To spearhead change, we can do so by adopting a drug-free policy in our own workplace. For comments, you may e-mail me at lpkapunan@kapunanlaw.com.

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ole proprietors (SPs) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) typically hire accountants to help them handle all the clerical stuffs ranging from tax filings, payroll processing, payroll tax filings and bookkeeping—these are the traditional jobs that SPs and MSMEs “outsource” to their old trusty bookkeepers or “accountants”. However, it is time, perhaps, that SPs and MSMEs begin to question if these are what they want.

Admittedly, the accounting profession has proliferated (not boomed) and almost one of two accou nt ing g radu ates t a k ing the board examination gets to qualify as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). It is alarming that in my more than three years’ stay and work in the Philippines, I see the quality of new CPAs is deteriorating. Further, there is a rampant growth in lightly experienced accounting professionals jumping ship to start their own accounting practice without much exposure to the c-suite level of accounting practice (which is more focused on advisory). It is difficult to judge whether you, as SP or owner of an MSME, has the right accountant for the job. However, there are three things for you to note to decide

if your accountant is worth your time. I won’t be saying what they should be doing. For now, let’s focus on what’s to avoid. 1. Tax evasion is their expertise, internal connections are their key. The small practice firms in the country are dominated by accountants who have a bunch of connections within the local Revenue District Office and who can get you out of any tax trouble as long as your money can hit the bull’s eye. Then, happy are they who help you, for they share the proceeds from their help. They’ll teach you to buy receipts for a percent of the receipt to save you 11 percent from value added tax (12-percent VAT less 1-percent cash purchase pr ice). T hey’ l l teach you how to maintain two sets of books —  f antastic ! — G od

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et’s talk today about compliance in the financial industry. This topic seems to come up a lot lately. I hear complaints from brokers on the sell side, most of whom don’t have kind words to say about their main regulatory overseer, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority—even though it’s supposedly in the pocket of the financial industry. I got an earful the other night from some folks I met near the New York Stock Exchange after the close. I hear about it, as well, from institutional investors on the buy side—as well as almost every guest I’ve had on the Masters in Business podcast series.

Their complaints are often very specific—there’s this rule and that rule and it’s almost impossible to figure out exactly what it is the regulators want us to do and not do. But there’s also a bigger and more overarching complaint: The regulatory pendulum after the credit crisis has swung too far, in part as a result of the broad lack of trust in Wall Street among both the public and policy-makers. This is stifling the creativity and initiative essential for the vibrant financial industry needed in a modern economy. If that’s the case, we should not only be wor-

ried, but pay attention to what people who work in the business are saying about this. Conversations w ith people throughout the industry reveal several consistent themes: The new compliance regimes consume an ever larger share of t he resou rces i n ba n k i ng and finance. Compliance and legal departments have grown much more than other revenue-producing parts of financial companies; in some cases, these parts of financial firms have doubled or tripled in size, while other divisions have been cut or eliminated.

Have you ever wondered what your accountant is actually doing? You only hear from them once a year, when you have to renegotiate your retainer fee. Ah, I forgot —you also hear from them first when you get your letter of authority from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (seems creepy at times that they knew it before you do—oh, well, surprise! Surprise!). You don’t really get much, if any, insight from them at all. You just talk money, money and money!

3. Negotiation is the time to talk. Have you ever wondered what your accountant is actually doing? You only hear from them once a year, when you have to renegotiate your retainer fee. Ah, I forgot —  y ou also hear from them first when you get your letter of authority from the BIR (seems creepy at times that they knew it before you do—oh, well, surprise! Surprise!). You don’t really get much, if any, insight from them at all. You just talk money, money and money! Next time, try to ask them a bright question such as how the economy is doing —  a nd you’ll be surprised once again! These are anecdotal tales from my experience back in the Philippines, they’re fun but, at the same time, they’re shameful.

knows that they also will whistle blow you to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to get some share from the bribe. 2. Send t hem e ver y t h i ng , they’ll do the magic. I always wonder how the fixedasset account of our business was determined by the accountant when I was young. Until now it is a wonder. Every month, your accountant’s clerk (not your accountant) will come to pick up all the documents they need to file for tax return—oh yes, just for tax return—who cares about financials anyway?! That’s the end of your communication. Quick, fast, reliable.

Filbert Tsai is a Filipino financial accounting advisory services executive in the United Kingdom with specialization in transaction accounting in the power and utilities sector. He had provided accounting advice to a significant number of government and financial institutions investing or providing financing structures in the renewables sector in Europe and in developing countries. This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

Making our schools safe for everybody

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By Maricel Ladia

choolchildren should feel safe from bullying or violence in their school. Current reality, however, point to the fact that there are many students who feel unsafe and vulnerable to bullying even inside the classroom. Bullying, teasing and other forms of unacceptable behavior usually take place in schools when the teacher is around. Students who are bullied can experience negative physical and mental health issues. They are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and even loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. To prevent bullying in our schools, all necessary steps and precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of all students. Zero-tolerance policies and violence-prevention programs must be instituted in all schools.

Parents, educators and community leaders need to work together to adopt measures to make their schools a safe place for everyone. Early intervention and effective discipline obviously are the best ways to stop bullying. Because school officials and teachers cannot control the home environment of the bully, certain things can be done at school. They can help mold the bully through counseling, either by a school counselor, a teacher, or the principal.

Maybe we clamped down too hard on finance By Barry Ritholtz | Bloomberg View

Monday, August 29, 2016 A15

Organizational risk aversion has risen to the point where it is now counterproductive. If you are reading this, then it is likely that the business you are in includes the rational assumption of risk in order to obtain a proportional reward. That is the essence of finance, be it investing, trading, investment banking or underwriting. Capital is deployed with expectations of some anticipated rate of return and some possible risk of loss. This balance between risk and reward is crucial to the proper functioning of the financial system. Ever since the financial crisis, all interested actors—investors, regulators, policy-makers, corporate executives, bankers and brokers—have taken steps to avoid a repeat. It is parallel to Homeland Security’s attempt to prevent another huge terrorist attack on a par with 9/11. This maximalist posture solves some problems, but in the process it creates others. Recall the 2003 global analyst research settlement, which firmly established (among other things) a so-called Chinese wall

But there’s also a bigger and more overarching complaint: The regulatory pendulum after the credit crisis has swung too far, in part as a result of the broad lack of trust in Wall Street among both the public and policymakers. This is stifling the creativity and initiative essential for the vibrant financial industry needed in a modern economy. If that’s the case, we should not only be worried, but pay attention to what people who work in the business are saying about this. between research and banking. The idea was that analysts were supposed to write research reports that weren’t designed to woo companies seeking investment-banking services. Today, though, we have some version of that on steroids; risk aversion is what everyone thinks about first,

To prevent bullying in our schools, all necessary steps and precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of all students. Zero-tolerance policies and violence prevention programs must be instituted in all schools. Parents, educators and community leaders need to work together to adopt measures to make their schools a safe place for everyone.

To solve bullying in school takes teamwork and concentrated efforts by everyone. Bullying also should be discussed during parent-teacher conferences and meetings. Other measures, like installing close-circuit televisions around the campus will help prevent bullies from attacking their class-

and getting the lawyers involved is what everyone thinks about second. Consider the decision-making process on matters of compliance, policy and potential litigation, then ask yourself what incentive legal counsel has approve any form of risk-taking? I say this in the context of statistical probability, where it is inevitable that some unknown percentage of decisions will eventually become problematic. An appropriate balance between approval and denial of compliance reviews should let businesses take suitable risks in a measured and rational way, while staying on the right side of the regulation. It is a huge challenge to get the balance right, and an even bigger challenge to have staff execute on that sense of balance. When regulation tips this balance too far in one direction, as it seems to be doing now, you know there’s an issue. I supported the Dodd-Frank Act, the Volcker rule and other new regulations of the financial industry because the credit crisis posed such a grave threat

mates, and this is also a proven deterrent to other crimes, like drug peddling, and other petty violations. Accord ing to the Nationa l Center for Education Statistics, nearly a third of all students aged 12 to 18 reported having been bullied at school. Bullying comes in many forms—physical, emotional or cyber bullying. It should be stopped at an early phase and school administrators should act immediately whenever there are complaints by students. Our schools should be a place where young minds bloom and develop and not an environment to be feared or all together avoided. Everybody must get involved so we can have safe, happy and peaceful schools for our children. (The author is Teacher 3 at Cullit Elementary School in Gattaran, Cagayan)

to the well-being of the United State and much of the rest of the world. Something clearly had to be done. But based on many of the complaints I’ve heard about regulation, I wonder if we fully understand the consequences of those reforms. We wanted a smaller, less-dynamic financial sector that took fewer risks, and it looks like we’re getting it. But there’s a price for that and we should be asking if it’s worth it. Just as every general fights the last war, regulators are always addressing the problem that just occurred. But just as the next terrorist attack is unlikely to involve hijacked planes being crashed into buildings, the next financial crisis is unlikely to be caused by derivatives of securitized subprime mortgages. We need to learn broader lessons from experiences. History teaches us that much of the time we draw the wrong conclusions from what just happened. We are a myopic species, and place too much emphasis on the most recent events. This cycle seems to be no different.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror BusinessMirror

A16 Monday, August 29, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Cut expenses, red tape before imposing new taxes–Recto

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

he Duterte administration’s multiyear tax-hike plan could cost taxpayers P566.4 billion a year, or almost three times the P193.8 billion in revenues that the government could lose due to cuts in income and corporate taxes, according to Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto. Taking up the cudgels for overburdened taxpayers, Recto said the Duterte administration should first remove “unnecessary expenses” and cut red tape before imposing new taxes. In a statement, Recto said President Duterte’s finance officials, for a start, could “save and simplify” government spending before imposing new tax schemes targeted to bring in “two-thirds of a trillion pesos in fresh revenues annually.” For instance, the senator suggested that the Duterte administration “scout for frivolous and unnecessary expenses, which can be cut or totally done away with, before jacking up tax rates.” To encourage more people to pay taxes, Recto said the government needs to “simplify, shorten and streamline” procedures in revenue offices. “Cutting red tape is an effective tax-administration measure,” he said, adding that the Duterte administration’s tax program “must be predicated on eliminating red tape first.” “Many taxpayers are willing to pay their dues if only revenue processes are not cumbersome and complicated,” he said. To drive home his point, Recto cited as example the 11-pages-long income-tax return forms. In addition, he said, “a small business has to undertake 36 taxrelated transactions annually, [and] because of complicated tax rules, a small trader has to put in

₧566.4B The additional revenues that may be raked in by the Duterte administration from its proposed tax package

RECTO: “Many taxpayers are willing to pay their dues if only revenue processes are not cumbersome and complicated.”

his payroll an employee whose sole job is to liaise with government offices full time.” The senator suggested that “steep penalties, high fines, short compliance period and arbitrary levying of surcharges should be reviewed and tempered,” saying such impositions “prevent individuals from coming forward to comply.” Acknowledging that tax payment “is always by confession,” Recto surmised some taxpayers are daunted by automatic imposition of huge penalties. “They want to do the right thing and pay correct taxes, but they are daunted by

Twin awards Jonathan L. Mayuga (second from left), the BusinessMirror’s environment reporter, bags two awards during the Second Sarihay Media Awards ceremonies at a hotel in Quezon City on Friday. The awards are Best News Story for print (national) for his story “Ugly Scars Left Behind by Miners Overshadow Development” and Best Features Story for print (national) for “Saving Danjugan Island.” With him are (from left) Dr. Paciencia P. Milan, chairman and CEO, Foundation of Philippine Environment, and Louie Parungao and Dr. Donna Reyes from the Mirriam-Enviromental Science Institute. NONOY LACZA extremely harsh fines automatically imposed on them.” Citing a World Bank report released in October 2015, Recto said red tape costs the country P140 billion in opportunity losses annually, adding that the same report ranked the Philippines at a low 95th among 189 economies in overall ease of doing business. According to him, such savings, on the expenditure side, and simplifying tax-paying rules will “combine to raise money that will lessen the pain of the new taxes the Duterte administration is mulling over.” He added: “Let us first con-

duct an inventory of our expenses. Where can we cut expenses? In short, savings, not of the brutal austerity kind, but operating overhead.” Recto urged the Duterte administration to consider other options. “If we cut utilities and communications expenses, meaning power and cell-phone use, by just 10 percent, we will save P2.3 billion annually.” He said officials should also target the reduction of the rent fees of government offices by 15 percent, which could translate into savings of up to P2 billion a year.

Canada remains keen on forging free-trade pact with PHL–Payne By Catherine N. Pillas @c_pillas29

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anada will continue to pursue negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines, according to the head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CCCP). The prospect of forging a freetrade pact has been placed on the backburner following leadership changes in Canada and the Philippines. But now that the dust has settled, CCCP President Julian Payne said there could be hope that FTA talks could be revived. “[The FTA] is still being discussed; it’s certainly being discussed in Canada, where they’re consulting stakeholders internally,” Payne said. “I think the new government in the Philippines has its preoccupations at the moment, and the Canadian government is talking

PAYNE: “[The FTA] is still being discussed; it’s certainly being discussed in Canada, where they’re consulting stakeholders internally.”

about the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement]. It’s still alive, but I don’t think it’s progressing at the moment,” he added. Even with the TPP now being scrutinized by the Canadian government, Payne said negotiations for an FTA with developing countries like the Philippines could

still continue. “They could both proceed. I believe personally in free trade, so both could continue,” he said. While FTA negotiations remain stalled, Manila and Ottawa continue to hold discussions to renew and update the Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (Fipa). Canada forges a Fipa with various countries to protect and promote foreign investments through legally binding rights and obligations. It lays down the rights and obligations of signatories with respect to the treatment of foreign investments. The Fipa is aimed at protecting trade and investments from domestic policies that may “endanger” foreign investments. Under the Fipa between the Philippines and Canada, for instance, neither country can impose a local-content level as a requirement to the establishment or acquisition of an investment.

Fipa

Stands for Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, which Canada forges with other countries to protect and promote foreign investments Canada has already tagged the Philippines as a “priority market” in its Global Markets Action Plan— Ottawa’s global strategy to expand trade and investment relations. Last year the Department of Trade and Industry said it has set its sights on renewing the Fipa with Canada, which has not been updated since it came into force in 1996.

HEADHUNTERS BLAMED FOR WAGE INEQUALITY IN STUDY OF TOP EARNERS

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ere’s something to talk about the next time a headhunter calls you. The share that the top 1 percent of earners in the US take from total wages has almost doubled since the 1970s, and Alexey Gorn, a researcher at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, suggests it may have something to do with the simultaneous rise of professional recruitment firms. In a paper, presented at last week’s European Economic Association conference in Geneva, he argues that at least 40 percent of top earners’ wage growth can be traced back to headhunters offering exclusive opportunities to high-skilled workers at the best firms—along with a paycheck that less welltrained people won’t ever see. “Headhunters are better at screening because they collect huge databases of candidates, and so they can pick already knowing the person’s skills and experience levels,” Gorn said in a telephone interview. The fact that they are able to approach workers who are usually not actively seeking a job reduces labor-market frictions and allows for more efficient matching, which also leads to proportionally higher wages, he said. The top 1 percent of earners in the US made 11 percent of the nation’s wages in 2010, compared with 6 percent in 1978, according to economist Thomas Piketty, author of the 2013 bestseller Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Gorn’s research finds that countries in Europe that have become more exposed to the work of recruitment firms show similar patterns. To determine the impact headhunters might have on wage inequality, Gorn developed a model based on US labor-market features in the 1970s and 2010s. According to his calculations, the introduction of headhunters leads to a significant shift of highskilled personnel toward the most productive firms. Likewise, less-productive firms have lost top workers, and less-skilled laborers have forgone a shot at the best-paying jobs. Gorn suggests that finding a way to channel a part of those high incomes back to low-skilled workers may be one solution to address the inequality. The higher earnings brought by the greater efficiencies allow for a higher top rate of income tax, he said. “Those additional taxes could then be redistributed to lower-income workers who aren’t offered those opportunities.” Bloomberg News