Businessmirror december 05, 2016

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Monday, December 5, 2016 Vol. 12 No. 54

S. Korea retains rules on PHL banana exports

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

ilipino banana growers and exporters can now heave a sigh of relief after South Korea has decided not to push through with its plan of imposing stringent residue limits on some pesticides used in growing bananas.

inside

bata: shoemaker to the world D

The infinite goodness of God

EAR Jesus, we know that during the season of Advent, we try to humble ourselves even more than usual, as we consider the infinite goodness of God, who wanted to become so little with a human nature like ours. He hid Himself in the womb of the Immaculate Virgin. We do love this infinite good with the most gentle heart of that great Lady, Mary Most Holy. God will teach us how. O, Jesus, You were so little and wanted to be little. You loved children and associated with those who were little in the eyes of others. Let us rejoice in being little like You. Amen.

LIVING WISDOM FOR EVERY DAY, REV. B. KELLY, C.P. SHARED BY LUISA M. LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

AMBASSADOR

Life

Monday, December 5, 2016

D1

VALTINA Prima Ballerina

Bata: Shoemaker to the world TOTA PULCHRA @misscharlize

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T’S inevitable that the world’s first family in footwear, Bata, would partner with the Philippines’s premier retail family, the Sys of the SM Group.

“First of all, their whole philosophy is business, their heritage coming from footwear. It’s particularly strong. Also, we have a friendship with the SM Group and the Sy family [going on] for some time. All these

[make them great partners], and we never hesitated.

They were the only partner we were interested to work with in the Philippines,” Thomas Archer Bata said at the launch of the first Bata store in the Philippines, which can be found at the third floor of SM Megamall Building B. The Bata Shoe Co., which is the biggest in the world, originated in Zlin, in what is now the Czech Republic, on September 21, 1894. It was founded

by Tomás Bat’a. His son, Thomas J., propelled the company to greater profitability after suffering losses in World War II. The grandson, Thomas George, is currently in the management board with his sisters Christine, Monica and Rosemarie. Thomas Archer (who will be referred to as Mr. Bata from hereon in the article), the chief marketing officer, belongs to the fourth generation of cousins who add vigor and vitality to the company.

Bata has 5,000 retail outlets in 70 countries. In Senegal, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, Bata became the

local name for shoes when in the 1950s, the company conquered the African continent. “Opportunities abound, everyone barefoot,” came one cable from a salesman to headquarters.

It has a strong presence in Asia, particularly India.

It also opened a factory in Thailand in the 1970s. But Bata’s entry into the Philippines came only recently.

“To be completely honest, it’s because of legal reasons and legal complications related to our trademark here,” Mr. Bata bared. “It took many, many years to resolve. Fortunately, with the help of SM, we managed to resolve it and we’re back.”

Mr. Bata, who strikes me as a mix of actors Chris O’Dowd and Aidan Quinn, is quite optimistic about his family’s prospects in the country. “We think our model and our proposal is very interesting. We think it’s fairly unique in the market today. We’re going to tread cautiously. We’re opening [between eight and 15 Bata stores in SM malls in Metro Manila], communicate and try to build our consumer base, teach people about our products. From there, we’ll see where we’re going to go.”

The Bata business of “responsible capitalism” is guided by a “Moral Testament” left behind by its founder: The company should not be treated as a source of private wealth but, rather, as a public trust, a means of improving living standards within the community and providing customers with good value for their money.

Bata prices curiously end in the digit 9. “Back over a hundred years ago, it was partially a marketing tactic to make the prices look even more affordable.

It has been in our heritage and our blood ever since we started, and it’s just to emphasize the value [of our product],” Mr. Bata explained.

The company has an “insistence on focusing on the local market not only as a matter of structure and strategy but, rather, as an essential aspect of the Bata brand and philosophy. Shoes always followed culture and climate.” Thus, the Weinbrenner sandals will be a hit for their tropical, outdoorsy appeal, in tune with the penchant of Filipinos who love flip-flops.

By some quirk, towns with the company’s factories have the Bata name: Batanagar in India, Bataville in France, Bata-Kolonie in Switzerland, Batadorp in the Netherlands, Batapur in Pakistan, Borovo-Bata in Croatia and Batawa in Canada, a play on the capital Ottawa. If a factory were to be built here, it would most likely be in Batangas.

“Never say never. You know, we have to see what opportunities come up. If we see the opportunity to produce shoes in the Philippines, it could happen,” Mr. Bata said of the possibility of Filipinos becoming “Batamen”, who are of every race, creed and nationality. A lot of the materials to produce the shoes come from Brazil. Italy is the source for premium products. Raw materials also come a little bit from China and India. These are the four main areas where Bata gets its materials from, depending on the shoes that you’re looking for.

“We are very environment-friendly. Our factories on a yearly basis are audited for their sustainability.

We manufacture our own shoes. We actually issue a Sustainability Report every year about the progress we’re making on reducing waste. We’re very lucky in so much, as our founder over a hundred years ago believed in sustainability, in producing as little waste as possible, and that exists till today.

We always use environment-friendly materials, suppliers, recyclable papers in our boxes, to make as little negative impact on the environment as we can,” Mr. Bata assured.

Bata has three creative teams, with the biggest one based in Italy. One is in Toronto, Canada and another in Singapore. “In the Philippines 50 percent of the products come from Italy, 30 percent from Singapore, 20 percent from Canada. Not all brands are here,” Mr. Bata said. “We’re bringing primarily Bata and a little bit of our other brands for the moment. We’re still very much in the learning stage for us, to see what the Filipino consumer likes the most before we commit to

The final maximum residue limit set by the MFDS for chlorpyrifos and buprofecin

Alberto C. Agra

Continued on A16

Life

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and the sun has come out for brighter tomorrow E4

Perspective BusinessMirror

Monday, December 5, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

AND THE SUN HAS COME OUT FOR BRIGHTER TOMORROW

By Leony R. Garcia

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016 has brought a bumper crop of wins, from Pia Wurztbach taking the Miss Universe Crown, Kylie Versoza being crowned as Miss International, Hidilyn Diaz taking home a silver medal from Rio Olympics, and Manny Pacquaio winning the WBO welter weight belt, among others.

Adding to this harvest of wins is Resorts World Manila’s #BrighterTomorrow video, which won the top prize for Social Media Strategy Category in the recent Asia Pacific Communications Awards.

Facebook users wouldn’t surely miss one of this year’s most viewed, liked and shared video (and counting!) -- the kids of the musical Annie singing the iconic song ‘Tomorrow.’

Using the hashtag #BrighterTomorrow as handle, the video opened with a quote from the song: ‘We’re only a day away,’ and closed with a message: Wishing our country a brighter tomorrow.

Giving deeper meaning to the song’s lyrics, it was posted on June 29, one day before the inauguration of President Rodrigo Duterte, thus turning it into a message of hope for our country as we undergo a historic change. The video garnered a reach of over 10 million, over 1 million views, over 28, 000 reactions and comments and over 7,000 shares within the first 24 hours.

As of this writing, data from RWM shows it already has over 2.3 million views, over 13 million total reach, over 54,000 reactions and comments and over 14,000 shares.

The RWM management is elated that the social media activity has translated to a significant increase in traffic to the Annie webpage and helped turn the musical into RWM’s most profitable production in its seven-year history.

But more than the financial gain, RWM is proud to have contributed to the winning streak of the country this year – by winning the Social Media Strategy prize at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Communications Awards (APCA) during the 2016 Asia-Pacific Communications Summit held in October in Singapore. “#BrighterTomorrow is RWM’s in-house production, and we’re very happy that it has added to our country’s top recognitions this year,” said Martin Paz, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer for Resorts World Manila (RWM).

“We are beyond happy to get this award. It is not just a win for our team, but also a win for the Philippines. The message of Annie and #BrighterTomorrow is as relevant today as it was back in June and will be relevant for all tomorrows to come. Hope keeps humanity going, after all,” Paz continued.

What makes the victory the sweetest is the fact that RWM’s campaign was notified by the award-giving body to be among the only three entries short listed in the

PINOY PRIDE. Team Resorts World Manila wore the colors of the Philippine Flag to the live defense of their #BrighterTomorrow campaign, which was shortlisted in the social media strategy category at the Asia Pacific Communications Awards held in Singapore.

to be different so we thought of wearing something to recognize us as Filipinos,” Paz recounted.

On the second day for the gala and awarding ceremony night, the group stood out in among the crowd wearing the Philippine barong.

“The funny thing was, the servers at Novotel Clarke Quay were wearing their uniform of camisa de chino-looking polos which resembled the color of our barongs! Nevertheless, we are proud of our Philippinemade barongs.

At the end of the night, the #BrighterTomorrow campaign was announced as the winner in its category. “When we accepted the award, we were challenged by the audience if we really can sing. We accepted the challenge, and we sang the chorus of ‘Tomorrow,’ and that brought the house down.”

Several factors during the two-day summit may have contributed for RWM’s win but for Paz it’s mainly because of the spirit of optimism which was vividly captured through #BrighterTomorrow.

“We wanted to share our message of hope and positivity through the children of Annie as the country looks forward to a brighter tomorrow with the new administration. We wanted to come up with something to counter act the noise of the highly divisive political activity. Initially, we toyed on an idea of having kids from the country’s major regions and strategic places singing ‘Tomorrow’ simultaneously a day before the inaugural of the new president. We wanted to tie up with a telco for broadband use on this. It was a great idea but we didn’t have enough time to do it. So instead we came up with a video of the kids of Annie singing the iconic song and in the process turning it into a unifying video for all Filipinos wishing for hope for the new leadership,” Paz stressed.

What was the team’s important learnings from their Singapore foray? “Come up with the best idea and campaign. Be prepared for your defense through practice and more practice. Give your all—and your best—leave no room for reservations. And be prepared to give some bonus or freebies to your defense like making use of your talents such as singing just like what we did,” Paz said.

Paz has joined RWM in 2011 bringing with him 18 years of extensive experience in advertising as well as digital, events, and public relations in a wide range of industries. Prior to joining Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., owner and operator of RWM, he also previously worked in advertising agency giants which past accounts have given him valuable insight in quick service restaurant operations, food and beverage, and telecommunications among others making him well prepared for his current RWM post.

Based on the popular comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray, Annie opened as a musical in 1977 and ran for a record-setting six years at the former Alvin Theater in midtown Manhattan, New York. Its popular musical numbers, aside from ‘Tomorrow’, also include ‘Maybe’ and ‘Hard Knock Life.’ The musical came to Manila in 1980 with now internationally acclaimed performer lea Salonga in the title role. More than 30 years later, with two girls—Isabeli Araneta Elizalde and Krystal Brimner—alternately donning Annie’s iconic red dress, ‘Tomorrow’ still reverberates the same message of hope and positivism in this time of the country’s divisiveness caused by politics and personal affiliations and preferences, among others.

Catch Annie until December 10 and 11 at RWM’s Newport Performing Arts Theater.

perspective

E4

Exceeding expectations WINNING IDEA. Chief Integrated Marketing Officer Martin Paz, receiving the award for best social media strategy category in the region, got the opportunity to explain the idea behind the company’s winning #BrighterTomorrow campaign before the audience at the Asia Pacific Communications Awards in Singapore.

Social Media strategy category according to Paz. But unlike other industry awards recognizing achievement in advertising and business communications, the APCA required the shortlisted participants to defend their work in a live presentation before a panel of jurors.

The international summit is one of the most prestigious gatherings of communications experts and professionals in the Asia Pacific region. An annual event, it is held for industry leaders to share best practices, discuss the latest trends and develop-

ments in communications. The summit hosts the APCA to recognize outstanding achievements, rewards innovative communication strategies and exemplary works.

Thus the RWM team presented their campaign to a jury of top communications experts from the region on October 26 in Singapore. “It was a tough defense all for 10 minutes. We were given two minutes to setup—that was once you enter the defense room of four people you meet for the first time. Then we presented for 10 minutes followed

A WIN FOR THE PHILIPPINES. Head Copywriter Jeff Daroy, Director for Marketing Communications Gerald Magtoto, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer Martin Paz and Assistant Director for PR Archie Nicasio of Resorts World Manila pose with the trophy for social media strategy category won by the company's #BrighterTomorrow campaign.

by five minutes of question and answer,” Paz fondly reminisced.

The experience felt like college days once again defending a thesis according to Paz. It was a teamwork with himself as main presenter. Together with his team, Marketing Communications Director Gerald Magtoto, Public Relations Assistant Director Archie Nicasio, and Head Copy Writer Jeff Daroy, Paz relentlessly practiced his presentation in the Philippines and a day before the judgement day in Singapore.

“Instead of going out and enjoy-

ing Singapore, we stayed in our room the whole day revising and fitting in the speech for 10 minutes. I kept on rehearsing while my team listened, critiqued, and punched in their ideas until we came up with the best presentation. I think it paid off, practice makes perfect after all,” he said.

“Somehow we felt that we already scored some victory when the jury lightened up to our comment that we are not a boy band with our uniform of Philippine flag-looking polo-shirt on during the defense.

We wanted to stand out, we wanted

This file photo shows the façade of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas building in Pasay City. Nearly a year after a transaction orchestrated by hackers was traced to the Philippines, the country is still playing a cat-and-mouse game with players in financial crimes. Nonoy Lacza

Sports

Kerr’s pot admission could spark dialogue

BusinessMirror

By Janie Mccauley The Associated Press

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AKLAND, California—David West has undergone four surgeries in his long National Basketball Association (NBA) career: left knee, right elbow and right foot twice to fix a couple of toes.

“I don’t even like saying all that,” he said.

So, yes, just like his coach who tried medicinal marijuana to get some relief, West knows real pain. Draymond Green has never needed an operation—he knocks on a table not once but twice as to not jinx himself—yet he considers that the option of using marijuana “makes a lot of sense.”

“I’m always struck every time I’m home on the couch watching a sporting event, some drug commercial comes on, they show these happy people jumping in a lake, rowing a boat, then you just wait for the qualifier,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said a day after revealing he tried marijuana for severe back pain. “Side effects include suicidal thoughts and possible death. And you’re like, this is insane. Insane.”

Kerr’s players believe his voice can go far in starting a serious, thoughtful dialogue in professional sports regarding pot use for pain relief.

“You look at something that comes from gOLDEN State the Earth. Any Warriors head vegetable that Coach Steve Kerr’s comes from admission of using the Earth, they marijuana for pain encourage you to relief could start eat it,” Green said a serious dialogue at a shootaround on in professional Saturday. “It does make sports. AP a little sense as

| Monday, deCeMber 5, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

TIgER WOODS reacts after hitting on the 11th fairway during the third round at the hero World Challenge. (below) Leader hideki Matsuyama of Japan watches his tee shot on the first hole. AP

Part One

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EXCEEDING A bRIEf RUN bY TIgER, AND NOW EVERYONE’S ChASINg MATSUYAMA

opposed to giving someone a manufactured pill. If something takes your pain away like some of these pills do, it can’t be all good for you.... He talked about Vicodin. Toradal, you can be completely hurting and then take a Toradal shot and go through a game and feel nothing. Is that really good for you over the course of time? I doubt it.”

The reigning NBA Coach of the Year acknowledged he tried marijuana twice in the past 18 months while dealing with debilitating back pain that still affects him this season.

“First, I’m disappointed it didn’t work. I really wanted some relief and I didn’t get it. Having done the research it was well worth a try,” Kerr said on Saturday.

“You can see it with our country, our country is starting to wisen up on the medicinal marijuana side. I hope we can wisen up on the prescription drug side. That’s scary stuff and it’s really not talked about often enough.”

Kerr told Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s Warriors Insider Podcast with Monte Poole on Friday that he used medicinal marijuana but it didn’t help—and painkillers have often been worse.

On Saturday Kerr said he was surprised how a serious conversation about pain relief “turns into the headline ‘Kerr smokes pot.’”

“I’m actually kind of glad it became an issue because I think it’s a very important issue to talk about, having gone through a tough spell over the last year with my own recovery back surgery, a lot of pain, chronic pain,” he said. “...The issue that’s really important is how do we do what’s best for the players? But I understand that it’s a perception issue around the country and the National Football League, NBA, it’s a business, so you don’t want your customers thinking, ‘These guys are a bunch of pot heads.’

That’s what it is. But to me it’s only a matter of time before medicinal marijuana is allowed in sports leagues because the education will overwhelm the perception.”

Green said he hasn’t needed painkillers nor has he tried marijuana, never having a serious injury or requiring surgery. Guard Klay Thompson would support drugs for medicinal use only—this after he was arrested on charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession in early March 2011, in Pullman, Washington, during college at Washington State. He was suspended for a game.

“Steve’s open-minded, and obviously with the way the world’s going, if there’s anything you can do that’s medicinal, people are all for it, especially when there’s stuff like Crohn’s disease out there, glaucoma, a bunch of stuff, cancer,” Thompson said. “But not recreationally, that should not be of its use ever. There’s a medicinal side to it that people are finding out have benefits, especially people with really high pain.”

California was the first state to embrace legal, medicinal marijuana two decades ago. Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., now allow marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.

The 51-year-old Kerr missed the first 43 games last season and the team’s record 24-0 start while on a leave of absence following complications from two back surgeries. A spinal fluid leak led to terrible headaches, nausea and neck pain among other symptoms that left him feeling frustrated and down.

Kerr noted, “athletes everywhere are prescribed Vicodin like it’s vitamin C, like it’s no big deal.”

“I think the league should look into medicinal marijuana for pain relief...that’s what should be in the CBA [collective bargaining agreement],” Kerr said.

Green and West believe change can happen, that over time people might become more open-minded when the person speaking up is someone like Kerr, who was selected the Western Conference Coach of the Month for November.

“He’s a public figure with some notoriety making a statement,” West said. “It brings more attention to a cause for something that people feel like there needs to be a shift in the way we monitor it and change things. Obviously somebody of his stature can give a little weight to the argument.”

EXPECTATIONS

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By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press

ASSAU, Bahamas—Tiger Woods raised his right index finger in the air when he holed a long bunker shot, his fourth birdie in five holes that put him within two shots of the lead early in the third round on Saturday of the Hero World Challenge.

He couldn’t sustain it, missing too many fairways and too many putts inside 10 feet. He didn’t get to the number under par that he thought would give

him a chance to contend in his first tournament in 15 months.

Turns out even a good finish wouldn’t have mattered—not the way Hideki Matsuyama is playing.

Matsuyama, coming off seven-shot victories in his last two tournaments, holed out for eagle with a wedge and kept his mistakes to a minimum for a seven-under 65 to build a seven-shot lead over British Open champion Henrik Stenson (66) and US Open champion Dustin Johnson (72).

Woods missed three straight putts inside 10 feet and hit into the water on the 18th for a double bogey that gave him a 70, leaving him 11 shots behind. Still, the opening hour was filled with big excitement and higher expectations when he pulled to within two shots of the lead.

Jordan Spieth was playing in the group behind, heard the cheer of the holed bunker shot and saw the board with Woods four under through five.

“It’s hard to say he’s exceeded any expectations because it’s Tiger,” Jordan Spieth said. “But I think he’s very pleasantly surprised. I’m not sure how he’s feeling. But taking off that amount of time, you can’t expect to get right into it.

“I’m pumped to see what he’s doing this week.”

Woods has made 19 birdies in three rounds of his first tournament since August 2015. Asked what he would have said at the start of the week to hear that he was eight-under par through three rounds, Woods replied, “I’d have said I’d be pretty far behind. And I’m right.”

Matsuyama was at 19-under 197, matching the 54-hole score by Bubba Watson last year at Albany. A year ago Watson had a two-shot lead. No one is close to Matsuyama, the hottest player in golf over the last two months.

“I knew somebody was going to go low, but I thought it was going to be probably three, four guys that would post this kind of a score,” Woods said. “But Hideki is just playing unbelievable golf.”

Johnson tried to stay with him, but had a hard time keeping it out of the sandy areas off the tee. Matsuyama was two shots ahead when he laid up on the short seventh hole, which played downwind, and then one-hopped his wedge into the cup for an eagle. Just like that, the lead was up to four. And when Johnson kept making mistakes,

ending with a double bogey on the 18th, the margin only got wider.

Brandt Snedeker (69) and Matt Kuchar (71) were at 11-under 205.

Matsuyama took notice early when he saw Woods made a brief run up the leaderboard.

“Only Tiger could take a year-and-a-half off and put up the numbers he’s putting up this week,” Matsuyama said. “I don’t care how many strokes I’m leading over him, I still worry about him, fear him.”

That was more respect than reality. The winners of golf’s two oldest major championships this year don’t sound like they have much of a chance from seven back.

“Anything’s possible, but I’m going to have to shoot a really special round,” Johnson said.

Matsuyama won his first World Golf Championships title last month in Shanghai at the HSBC Champions, winning by seven shot over Stenson and Daniel Berger. He won the Taiheiyo Masters in Japan two weeks later, again by seven shots. He has won three times in his last four events. The only player to beat him in the last two months was Justin Thomas in Malaysia.

Thomas was in the Bahamas, but only for a birthday party.

“That’s exactly what he did at HSBC Champions, and it was not much to do at that time,” Stenson said. “And possibly, that could be the same tomorrow. I’ll just try to focus on my game and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Woods still captivated the small island crowd, at least with his start.

He three-putted for bogey to slow his momentum, and he missed a pair of 6-footers for par early on the back nine. Still, most players said his score was above their expectations given the injuries he had and the rust he accumulated.

Woods said he had no expectations at all, though he was surprised about his start. Typically after a long layoff, Woods said he struggles to get going. Now it’s about finishing a round.

“That’s the most concerning part of the game, is getting off to I guess halfway decent starts,” Woods said. “But I’ve been into the round early, and I’ve been able to build a significant amount of positive shots and go under par early. And unfortunately, I haven’t been able to keep it going, except for yesterday. I didn’t hit the ball that poorly today, but hit bad putts in the middle part of the round.”

Sports

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CURRY LEADS WARRIORS VS SUNS

AKLAND, California—Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 31 points in the third quarter and the Golden State Warriors ran their National Basketball Association-record streak of regular-season games without consecutive losses to 106 by beating the Phoenix Suns, 138-109, on Saturday night.

“It’s an incredible mark of consistency,” said Coach Steve Kerr, who spoke in depth before the game about his admission to using marijuana for chronic back pain.

Curry hit five three-pointers and Klay Thompson added 26 points and a season-high six threes. Kevin Durant had 20 points and eight assists, and Draymond Green a season-best 13 assists to go with nine points.

While Curry and Green could not remember their last regular-

season back-to-back losses, they came in April 2015 to San Antonio and New Orleans during its championship season, the Warriors realize how remarkable it is, that brilliant, NBA-best ability to bounce back. You bet this bunch gets mad about losing.

“We’re a bunch of real pros. We don’t have letups that often, but when we do, we respond the best we can,” Klay Thompson said. “I thought tonight was a perfect example of that. I don’t know how long we can keep that streak alive.

It’s really impressive, I’m not going to lie. It’s something we’re really proud of because it shows the world that we respond when we have an off night. The other night was one of those and tonight we made up for it.”

The Warriors beat Phoenix for the 10th straight time, the longest winning streak by either team in the series, and 11th in a row at home.

In Memphis Troy Daniels scored a career-high 31 points as the Grizzlies hung on for a 103-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night after Julius Randle missed three free throws with 5.9 seconds left.

Lou Williams converted a three-point play with 51 seconds remaining to pull the Lakers within one possession, and they had a chance to tie when Gasol fouled Randle on a three-point attempt.

Daniels shot 12-of-23 from the field, including six-of-12 from three-point range. Marc Gasol had 19 points, and JaMychal Green added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Williams scored a season-best 40 points for the Lakers.

In Charlotte Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 27 points and 15 rebounds as Minnesota erased a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Charlotte 125-120 in overtime. AP

Collins and Poras in Built to Last describe a BHAG as a “commitment to challenging, audacious—and often risky—goals and projects toward which a visionary company channels its efforts” to stimulate progress. This small municipality wants to do big and high-impact projects, and innovate and engage the market.

Continued on A15

THOMAS ARCHER BATA, the chief marketing officer of the Bata Shoe Co., is all smiles at the opening of the brand’s first store in the Philippines at SM Megamall.

specific product ranges.”

Are they open to designer collaborations? “Yes, absolutely. We’re interested to do that. We’re actually talking to potential partners in the Philippines to work on some collaborative projects.”

What about celebrity endorsers? “It’s a possibility.

We’ll see. We believe the best kind of endorsement is user experience and word-of-mouth. So we tend to focus on ‘loyalizing’ people who come to buy with us more than anything else. I won’t rule it out but for the time being, it’s not on the agenda.”

Has the company learned that “bata” here means “child”? “Yes, I’ve heard that.” So is there a possibility to have a Bata Children’s Program here? “Very high probability. We actually intend to do that. It’s a big part of our legacy and it’s very important for our family. We have our own schools and, specifically, we focus on the education of young girls. So we’re actually planning and discussing this with SM, how we can roll this, especially in the rural communities in the Philippines.”

Thomas J. Bata would often wear a different type of shoe on each foot as a way of constantly testing their products. At the launch, his grandson Thomas Archer wore a pair of leather brogues. “These are Bata shoes from our factory in India, in Calcutta. Very comfortable. It’s from the Ambassador line but not yet available in the Philippines, but they will be in a few weeks’ time,” Mr. Bata said with delight.

Did you also learn how to make shoes? “Yes, I did.

My holidays as a child were going to factories, making shoes and visiting stores. I’m lucky I grew up with shoes. I like shoes. Not everybody who grew up in the shoe business actually likes them!” ■

W

hat are the three big-hairyaudacious-goals (BHAGs) of Cordova, Cebu? How can public-private partnerships (PPPs) achieve these BHAGs?

buys Mexico’s Regulators and bank scams: Emperador Pernod Ricard, wine biz A game of cat and mouse E

THE BEST HAIR STYLING PRODUCTS, ACCORDING TO MODELS D2

BusinessMirror

Go Cordova! Go BHAGs via PPP! PPP Lead

Maria Alilia G. Maghirang, head of the Philippine Agriculture Office in Seoul, said South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drugs Safety (MFDS) favorably considered Manila’s requested pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) for bananas.

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ENATORS stung by the $81-million Bangladesh Bank cyber heist that dragged Philippine banks and casinos into the fray are close to wrapping up plenary deliberations to fast-track passage of a law plugging loopholes in the Anti-Money

PESO exchange rates n US 49.7740

Laundering Act (Amla) to shield the banking system from potential sanctions by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The Paris-based FATF is set to review in June next year the Philippines’s compliance with international safeguards against money launderers.

Sen. Francis G. Escudero confirmed that Congress is committed to frontload early approval of the re-

medial legislation that would finally include casinos in the list of covered institutions to make the Philippines compliant with the prescribed regulatory framework, in time for the upcoming assessment by the FATF. The international watchdog earlier raised concern on the exclusion of casinos from the coverage of the existing law.

MPERADOR Inc., the liquor unit of businessman Andrew L. Tan, said it is buying the Domecq brandy and wine business of Mexico’s Pernod Ricard.

Emperador said its Spanish joint-venture unit Bodegas Las Copas will be used for the acquisition of Pernod Ricard, which makes brands including Absolut Vodka and Chivas Regal. Both brands, however, are not part of the deal. Tan’s liquor unit is only buying the brandy and wines of Pernod Ricard, as the Mexican company said it wants to simplify its portfolio for growth and focus on its priority spirits and wine brands. It reinforces the presence of Bodega Las Copas in the global brandy category, Emperador said.

The transaction includes the brand portfolio of Mexican brandies Don Pedro, Presidente and Azteca de Oro, as well as the winery related to the production of Mexican wines in Ensenada, together with the relevant inventories related to the Domecq brands in several markets, including Spain, the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands, among others.

This gives Emperador access to the brandy market in Latin America, particularly Mexico, where the Domecq brandies take half of the entire brandy market, the company said. Latin American countries have a combined population of over 600 million.

“This recent acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to fortify Emperador’s status as the No. 1 brandy company in the world,” Emperador President Winston Co said in a statement.

The deal was announced last Friday. The company did not disclose the amount of the deal. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including its clearance by the Mexican Anti-Trust authorities.

Pernod Ricard was advised in this transaction by BBVA bank and Cuatrecasas Spanish law firm. Bodega Las Copas, a 50-50 joint venture between Tan and Gonzalez Byass, was advised by Uría Menéndez, a Spanish law firm, and Galicia Abogados, a Mexican law firm.

Early this year Emperador acquired Fundador brandy maker Beam Spain SL. The company also operates a global Scotch whisky business of Whyte & Mackay, which Tan bought in 2014.

This recent acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to fortify Emperador’s status as the No. 1 brandy company in the world.”—Co

Continued on A2

n japan 0.4366 n UK 62.6356 n HK 6.4175 n CHINA 7.2278 n singapore 34.9095 n australia 36.9224 n EU 53.0840 n SAUDI arabia 13.2752

Source: BSP (2 December 2016 )

A2 Monday, December 5, 2016

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Regulators and bank scams: A game of cat and mouse Continued from A1

The subject has been a contentious issue. But it appears the inclusion of casinos in the law received an unintended boost earlier this year when the $81-million cyber loot stolen by hackers from a Bank of Bangladesh account in the New York Federal Reserve ended up in bogus bank accounts in Manila and were ultimately laundered in Philippine casinos and a local remittance center.

Expanding coverage

ESCUDERO acknowledged that another key consideration for ensuring the country does not run afoul of global regulators is the possible impact on millions of overseas Filipinos. He said these Filipinos may face difficulty transacting, especially when they remit earnings to their families back home.

Filipinos abroad remitted over $25 billion last year, government data show. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data also showed that about $0.254 million was remitted from

Bangladesh last year.

T he Senate Committee on Banks and Financial Institutions, chaired by Escudero, has completed public hearings on proposed amendments to the Amla. The committee expanded the coverage of Republic Act 9160 to include remittance centers, as well as dealers of precious stones, jewels and metals and other high-value items or goods. The coverage would also include real-estate developers, brokers and sales agents.

Escudero indicated Congress is sure to approve inclusion of casinos among covered institutions required to report to the Anti-Money Laundering Council, under pain of sanctions for noncompliance.

In addition, the proposed Amla amendments he will ask Congress to adopt when he submits the Banks Committee report to the plenary on December 5 is the upward adjustment of the cash threshold for any covered transactions at “anything in excess of P500,000, or $10,000, or other equivalent monetary instrument.”

High value

ESCUDERO said the Banks Committee is, in effect, moving for the inclusion of “dealers or those entities, like lawyers and accountants, acting in behalf of clients whenever they receive cash for profit or gains, exceeding P500,000.” In an interview, the senators suggested that “if they don’t want to be covered by the antimoney-laundering law, then they should transact or act in behalf of their clients with checks, not cash.”

But he quickly clarified that “checks are already covered by the reportorial requirements of banks under Amla.”

Considered high-value items under the measure are the following goods or items, which value exceeds P1 million: motor vehicles, including land, air and water vehicles; art and antiques; and other luxury items, such as jewelry, watches and bags.

Escudero explains that in tightening the net, the committee opted to use “generic and catch all terms.”

He said this was intended to

correct “ambiguous and evasive” terms used in the existing law.

“In the original act, it simply states jewelry, with 50 percent of its value coming from the precious stone used. But this is ambiguous and evasive,” Escudero said. “What if you are paying for the luxury brand itself and not the stones?

Then that’s already left out.”

The senator disclosed there were also “strong calls to include luxury car dealers, but those who deal choppers and planes and yachts will also be left out, so we phrased the inclusion as high-value goods to cover all.”

Confidence

ESCUDERO assured that the committee also moved to endorse another key provision empowering the antimoney-laundering regulators to “investigate motu propio or upon the request of appropriate departments or agencies transactions deemed suspicious for possible money-laundering activities.”

He acknowledged that the AMLC is already empowered to directly file

through the Office of the Solicitor General a petition before the Court of Appeals for immediate issuance of “a freeze order against any monetary instrument or property deemed laundered.”

The senator conceded, however, that the remedial legislation is not likely to be passed into law before lawmakers adjourn for the yearend Christmas recess. However, he expressed confidence the awaited bill will be enacted into law shortly after Congress resumes sessions in January.

“I am sure we will meet the June deadline [to pass the amending law],” he said adding they are targeting final passage of the remedial legislation in both chambers “in the first quarter of next year.”

Sanctions

IT was in August that regulators revealed that steps were undertaken to probe what the BSP called the “Bangladesh Bank cyber heist.”

In a statement, the Monetary Board said it “approved the imposition of supervisory enforcement

action on RCBC [Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.] to pay the amount of P1 billion, in connection with the special examination conducted” by the BSP relating to the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist.

“This is the largest amount ever approved as part of its supervisory enforcement actions on a BSP supervised financial institution [BSFI],” the BSP said in a statement dated August 5.

“This affirms the BSP’s strong commitment to ensure the stability of the country’s financial system through strong and effective regulation of BSFIs.” Available records revealed that the bank heist occurred in February, wherein instructions to steal about $951 million from the central bank of Bangladesh—Bangladesh Bank—were issued via the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or Swift, network.

Of the $101 million worth of transactions orchestrated by hackers, about $81 million was traced to the Philippines.

Trump takes his ‘thank-you tour’ to wealthy donor’s costume ball

P

resident-elect Donald J. Trump took a break from the blue-collar Midwestern rallies of his “thank-you tour” of the US to pay his respects to a different demographic: the family of a wealthy donor who spent millions supporting his campaign.

Trump on Saturday attended a

lavish costume party on the North Shore of Long Island hosted by hedge-fund manager Robert Mercer, the co-CEO of Renaissance Technologies. In August Mercer’s daughter and political adviser Rebekah Mercer helped install her aides at the top of the Trump campaign, and her influence within has

grown since then. Politico recently dubbed her “the most powerful woman in GOP politics.”

The occasion was an annual costume party thrown by the Mercer family that’s become legendary in political circles. Trump’s presence promises to cement the family’s role at the center of a

new, anti-establishment brand of conservatism taking power in Washington. This year’s theme was “Villains and Heroes.” Many of the guests were intellectuals, activists and politicians in the Mercers’ orbit, and their costumes ran the gamut from Tonya Harding, the disgraced figure skater,

to Cruella de Vil. At least three women dressed as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal Supreme Court justice.

Trump strode into the party wearing a dark suit and a blue and white tie. Asked what his costume was, he pointed at himself and mouthed “me”. Nearby was a

faux-marble entryway with the Latin phrase “bono malum superate”—overcome evil with good.

Trump briefly addressed the partygoers. Reporters traveling with the president-elect weren’t allowed to hear his remarks, which elicited cheers.

Continued on A16

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Peza eyes ‘special wage package’ for ecozones

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By Catherine N. Pillas

@c_pillas29

he Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said it will push for a number of legislative proposals in the 17th Congress, including a special wage package for workers in economic zones, to attract more investors.

Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said wage rates in ecozones are still higher than other, more successful manufacturing-intensive countries like Vietnam.

Plaza added that Peza is planning to come up with a wage pack age for ecozone workers that would include benefits, like housing and education.

“I cannot say anything yet if we will maintain the same rate,

but we will be providing more benefits, like providing low-cost housing for workers, prov ide scholarships for children and be in the courses or skills training needed by the industries. So there is livelihood support as additional support,” Plaza said.

“If you’re an employer with 10,000 people, we will give you additional support benefits for your workers so you can give a

75 years The maximum period allowed for foreigners who want to lease private lands in the Philippines

counterpart through corporate social responsibility projects,” she added.

A technical working group will be created with membership from both the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to study the proposal.

Labor Secretary Silvestro H. Bello III, however, shot down the proposal when asked if Peza can give lower salaries to ecozone workers. “ That’s not allowed, that’s against the minimum-wage law, but we’ll see how we can make Peza attractive to foreign investors. Maybe it can be toward other economic benefits,” Bello said.

Aside from a “special wage package,” Peza said it is also keen

on extending the 75-year maximum lease period for foreigners to 99 years.

Plaza said this is provided for in the Investors’ Lease Act, which provides that foreign nationals may lease land for a period of 50 years, with an option for a 25-year extension.

“No one has complained about the 75-year period, but we want it [extended] because we’re competing w ith other ecozones,” Plaza added.

Monday, December 5, 2016 A3

Officials to finalize tax reform measure

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

G

OVERNMENT officials are set to meet this week seeking to finalize their joint version of the comprehensive taxreform package, which seeks to lower personal income tax (PIT) rates.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua of Quirino said the lower chamber and officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) will determine during their meeting whether the ways and means panel will pass the measure before Congress goes on break on December 14.

According to Cua, there is still a need to settle contentious provisions in the DOF’s version of the bill it submitted to Congress.

Cua told the BusinessMirror in a text message the approval of the DOF version.

Lawmakers are opposing some of the offsetting measures being pushed by the DOF to make up the revenue lost from lowering personal income tax. Among the DOF’s offsetting measures are the imposition of excise tax on petroleum and the removal of valueadded tax (VAT) exemptions for senior citizens and person with disabilities (PWDs).

Cua said instead of removing the VAT exemptions for senior citizens and PWDs, the lower chamber’s predilection is more on including a provision on more

efficient tax-revenue collection.

“Hopefully they will adopt our tax administration efficiency recommendations,” he added.

P200-B revenue

CUA said the government could collect an additional P200 billion in revenues if tax-collection efficiency measures are included in the Comprehensive Tax Reform Package (CTRP). He said the additional income may be used to cover up for the estimated P159 billion in foregone earnings as the CTRP seeks to lower PIT rates and impose additional taxes on certain commodities.

“This will happen if we address the loopholes and lessen the corruption due to real time [tax] collection and right implementation of our IT system,” Cua said. “One of the taxcollection efficiency measures we are proposing is the improvement of our point-of-sale system. We want large retail establishments to directly connect to the revenue-collection agencies to address loopholes in the tax administration.”

The lower chamber and President Duterte seek to exempt workers earning P25,000 monthly, or P300,000 annually and below, from PIT. But this runs counter to the proposal of the DOF to exempt from PIT only workers with a monthly salary of P20,833, or P250,000 annually.

Currently, those earning P10,000 or less a month pay a 5-percent income tax, while those with yearly earnings of P500,000 and above pay a 32-percent income tax.

Economy

A4 Monday, December 5, 2016 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

‘ISFs in relocation sites don’t have access to potable water’

By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

O

ver 50 percent of all informal-settler families (ISFs) in relocation sites do not have water and electricity, according to the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

Vice President and HUDCC Chairman Maria Leonor G. Robredo recently told reporters that among the utilities, access to potable water is the “most problematic.”

Robredo said residents are often forced to buy expensive water from nearby businesses. This places an additional strain on the finances of the poor.

“There are so many, more than 50 percent.

[But] I haven’t visited all the relocation sites so it's difficult to say,” Robredo said.

“But if I will base it on the sites I have visited and the reports we received, the No. 1 problem is water. There are many relocation sites that do not have potable water,” she added.

Apart from the lack of access to potable water, Robredo said families in relocation sites also struggle to find sources of livelihood.

She said when household families do not find sources of livelihood, they leave the relocation site and go back to Metro Manila and resort to becoming ISFs again.

“These relocation sites failed to solve the housing problem. This is the reason why we want to ensure that we prioritize on-site or incity relocation,” Robredo said.

Solving the housing problem is a herculean task for HUDCC and the six Key Shelter Agencies (KSAs), many of which did not receive budgets for 2017.

The lack of budget, Robredo admitted, will make it difficult for the HUDCC and the

KSAs to solve the housing problem.

While Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Robredo said, indicated his support for HUDCC and the KSAs, she is still looking for ways to finance Filipino’s housing needs.

Robredo said HUDCC is open to undertaking private-public partnerships to address the 5.6 million housing backlog.

She said there are successful examples, such as in the Quezon City government. The local government has partnered with realestate firms, such as Phinma and Ayala.

“We are just talking about how to divide government properties. I think we have to be aggressive about this. We want to resolve the housing backlog,” Robredo said.

Earlier, the National Housing Authority (NHA) stressed the importance of privatesector firms in addressing the relocation woes of ISFs. In a recent committee hearing at the House of Representatives, NHA Corporate Planning Office Division Manager Visitacion M. Alobba said the authority of the NHA only extends within the relocation site.

During the hearing, concerns regarding the absence of water and electricity in many relocation sites make it difficult for ISFs to transfer and stay in their new homes.

During the hearing, representatives from ISFs stressed the deplorable conditions by which many are forced to live in in these relocation sites.

They said that at times, relocatees, armed with what little they had, were forced to spend for the provision of utilities that they need to survive.

This involves the connection to the electricity and waterlines of distributors, which often entail significant cost.

Don’t abolish PNOC unit—Cusi

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

E

nergy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi defended Philippine National Oil Co. Renewables Corp. (PNOC-RC) amid calls to abolish the fully owned subsidiary of state-owned PNOC. “PNOC-RC still has a role. It is still responsible from processing all RE [renewable-energy] developments, including hydro, waste to energy, and it is also looking at ocean energy,” Cusi said.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy earlier proposed to abolish PNOC-RC, saying it is just “another layer of inefficiency.”

“I was questioning the intention of PNOC-RC to go into renewables because without them, the renewable sector is already flourishing.

“If you ask me, there’s no need for the government to go into the renewables sector. I think the private sector is doing fine without the government intervention. In fact, there are many projects awaiting FiT [feed-in-tariff].

So, I don’t see any rationale,” Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian said.

Cusi said he is willing to discuss this matter with Gatchalian. “We’re willing to listen. Gatchalian sees merit in pursuing the matter. So it’s best to discuss this with him,” the energy chief added.

PNOC-RC is the primary vehicle of PNOC in promoting, developing and implementing new and RE sources in the country.

Its mandate is to promote and undertake research, development, utilization, manufacture, sale, marketing,

CUSI: “PNOC-RC still has a role. It is still responsible from processing all RE (renewable energy) developments, including hydro, waste to energy, and it is also looking at ocean energy.”

distribution and commercial application of new, renewable, nonconventional and environment-friendly energy sources and systems, including, but not limited to, solar, wind, water heat, steam, ocean, tidal, biomass, biogas, chemical, mechanical, electrical, synthetic, agricultural and other natural, fossil, or nonfossil fuel based, artificial, organic or otherwise, and of energy systems that use new, renewable and any energy sources applying new and efficient energy conversion and/or utilization technologies for commercial application and promote their efficient utilization.

Gatchalian questioned PNOCRC’s role in the RE space. According to PNOC-RC, Gatchalian was told that PNOC-RC is mainly focus on providing services to missionary areas.

“But you already have Napocor [National Power Corp.] in those areas. So, show me the missionary areas you are telling me about. In fact, the missionary areas, there are no investors there because they are losing money. So if the government goes in, the losses will be bigger,” Gatchalian said.

BusinessMirror

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Senate eyes ₧3-B savings for Meralco customers

A Manila Electric Co. lineman conducts a routine inspection of power cables that supply electricity in Manila neighborhood. FILE PHOTO

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

he Senate Committee on Energy is bearing down on Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and other power distributors to further reduce multibillion pesos in “systems loss” blamed on pilferage and technical causes, the cost of which is being passed on to consumers.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, committee chairman, estimated this could run up to P3 billion in Meralco’s franchise area, suggesting a

possible refund mechanism.

Gatchalian confirmed over the weekend the panel had already asked the officers of power firms in a recent

public hearing to further cut down systems loss to 5 percent, from 6.5 percent in 2015.

“In the span of 30 years they managed to reduce systems loss.

They started with 21 percent, now 6.4 percent, but in other advance countries, like Korea and Thailand, 6 percent,” he says, adding “Singapore is close to 0, but if we look at the same geographical and customer profile, I think Thailand can be a comparative country, because they are hovering at 6 percent.”

The senator is convinced the power companies can actually still reduce it further, citing reports that in some of the electric cooperatives in other jurisdictions in the country, “their systems loss hover at 4 percent or 3 percent so it’s possible.”

“Our proposal is 5 percent, which

can translate to savings of P3 billion just in the Meralco franchise area alone and that P3 billion will benefit their customers,” the senator added.

He said the committee is also open to the idea of allowing foreignowned firms to invest in the power industry. “Actually, with generation companies, foreign companies can now own 100 percent, except renewable energy.”

The senator said if power firms succeed in reducing their systems losses from 6.5 percent to 5 percent, the consumers will save about P3 billion a year.

But to further reduce Meralco's systems loss being passed on to its customers, Gatchalian was told that it would have to “invest around P2 billion worth” to improve their system.

He reported that a Meralco official clarified they still need to verify the initial estimate and will “do some more pencil pushing” and submit whatever findings they have to the committee.

“We want to see Meralco’s proposal on their new investment... their internal cost benefit analysis, investment versus how much systems loss that we can reduce and the impact to the consumers,” Gatchalian said.

As for the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, Gatchalian said the Energy Committee is also keen to get their perspective on “how much they will spend for capital expenditures and its impact to their customers.”

“That is what we want to understand. How do they plan to further reduce systems loss? What’s the impact on the consumers if they invest?” Gatchalian asked, adding that he expects to get further clarifications from the power firms at the next committee hearing.

Lawmaker bats for creation of special office for OFWs

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

A

leader of the House of Representatives has asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and local government units (LGUs) to create a special office that would cater to start-up entrepreneurs and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced from the Middle East.

Nacionalista Party Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, in a statement, also urged local chief executives to initiate ordinances that would provide incentives to start-up enterprises.

Through these proposals, Villafuerte said the government would be able to kick start the government’s stalled Philippine Roadmap for Digital Start-ups, which is supposed to come up with at least 500 start-ups in the country, with total funding of

$200 million and a valuation of $2 billion by 2020.

“My proposal will not only benefit our returning OFWs, but also other budding entrepreneurs who have come up with innovative products, ideas or business models that need adequate funding to take off,” Villafuerte said.

“Many of our OFWs, who have accumulated a vast amount of experience and knowledge from working overseas, have a lot of potential to become successful entrepreneurs,” added Villafuerte, who is also vice chairman of the House committee on local government.

Meanwhile, Villafuerte said OFWs would find it “easier” to hurdle challenges to their star-tups if a bill he had filed in Congress were to become a law.

Under his House Bill (HB) 2882, the DTI is mandated to create a special start-up office, with an initial allocation of P100 million from the department’s funds,

and is allowed to accept privatesector contributions and donations subject to certain implementing rules and regulations that would be promulgated once the measure is enacted into law.

The bill aims to provide tax incentives, streamlined business procedures and easier immigration for start-up entrepreneurs and their investors.

The measure also adopts the best practices in start-up communities and tailors them to fit the Philippine start-up ecosystem.

HB 2882 said the registered start-up enterprises should first apply for a “Startup Pilipinas” Certificate with the DTI to avail themselves of the series of incentives outlined in the measure.

Start-ups cover enterprises operating for no longer than 60 months and whose core business function involves product, process or business model

innovations with a gross annual revenue not exceeding P250 million, the bill said.

The measure added start-ups should also ensure that their product, process or business is their primary source of revenue; they are not mere end-users of the innovative product, process or business model; and the cost of their enterprise for research and development is at least 15 percent of its total operational cost, or is a licensee or owner of a patent or registered software.

HB 2882 said the holders of startup certificates will be exempted from the following: 1) income tax arising from the operation of the enterprise; 2) value-added tax for the sale and lease of goods, properties or services arising in the course of trade of the enterprise or percentage tax; 3) creditable withholding tax on income; and 4) expanded withholding tax on its income payment.

Top business leaders to lead conference on key national issues

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op business and government leaders will lead a conference on December 8 in Makati City to share their insights on the most important national and economic policies.

Leading the list of speakers from the business sector during the First Pilipinas Conference are Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman of Ayala Corp.; Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.; Enrique Razon Jr., chairman and CEO of International Container Terminal

Services Inc.; and Joey Concepcion, chairman and CEO of RFM Corp.

Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) President Hans Sicat and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George Barcelon will also join the list of speakers in the First Pilipinas Conference, which is organized by private think-tank Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi).

“As the institute’s culminating activity for 2016, we are privileged to organize the First Pilipinas Conference

to gather our country’s thought leaders in a forward looking perspective in rare forum for strategic thinking and constructive discussions in the Philippine policy space,” said Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADRi. Speakers from the government side include Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Bases Conversion Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon.

Among the key topics to be discussed are pursuing a federal government structure for the Philip-

pines; the Philippines and Asean’s role in the South China Sea; promotion of foreign investments and enhancements of small and medium enterprises; and the Philippine footprint in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Representing the academe during the conference are Dr. Ronald Mendoza of the Ateneo School of Government, Dr. Julio Teehankee of the De La Salle University and Dr. Paul Hutchcraft of the Australian National University.

Other conference speakers are Dr. Amy Searight, director of Cent-

er for Strategic and International Studies; Laurence Cua of Uber; Dr. Astrid Turninez of Microsoft Corp.; Shingo Yamagami of Japan Institute for International Affairs; and Aaron Connelly of Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Former Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario will deliver the keynote address.

Manhit said the conference is an initiative of the institute to contribute to national discussion of the most important economic

issues and developments.

Since its inception in 2014, ADRi has published policy reports and outlooks covering topics in foreign policy and defense, trade and investment, energy and the environment and governance.

“Throughout this year, we have held discussions with audiences of different sizes, with the objective of engaging policymakers, subject matter experts, stakeholders, students and others in topics of national importance.”

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, December 5, 2016 A5

PHL’s abaca output in Jan-Sept up 2.5% Farmers reject bill seeking to increase tobacco tax

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A farmer strips abaca manually in a remote town in Catanduanes. After stripping, abaca is dried and sold to traders in various municipalities in the province. Catanduanes is the Philippines’s top producer of manually stripped abaca. CAI U. ORDINARIO/File photo

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

he country’s total abaca output in January to September rose by 2.5 percent to 45,632.11 metric tons (MT), from 44,516.77 MT recorded a year ago, according to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida).

PhilFida data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that the Bicol region remained the top producer of abaca, accounting for 38 percent of the total output in the nine-month period.

The Bicol region’s output grew by 8 percent to 17,613.01 MT, from 16,319.35 MT recorded a year ago.

The Davao region also retained its rank as the second top abaca producer, accounting for 16.9 percent of total output. Davao produced 7,809.77 MT, 2.9 percent higher than the 7,591.11 MT recorded a year ago.

The Western Visayas region posted the fastest growth in out-

Bfar seizes Cebu boat caught fishing in marine protected area in Biliran

By Elmer V. Recuerdo Correspondent

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ACLOBAN CITY—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) in Eastern Visayas seized a 34.34-ton Cebu-based commercial fishing vessel that was encroaching on a marine protected area in Biliran province.

A joint seaborne operation of the Bfar in Region 8, together with Bantay Dagat, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Coast Guard intercepted F/B Leonida Tres in the municipal waters off Maripipi, an area that is off limits to commercial fishermen.

The vessel was found to have caught blue mackerel scad, locally known as galunggong, trapped in an estimated 1.5-kilometer long purse seine.

According to a report of the local PNP, the medium-scale fishing vessel had also encroached on Sambawan Island, a declared marine protected area of Maripipi.

Bfar-8 Director Juan D. Albaladejo inspected the commercial fishing vessel and spoke to the owners and crew.

“The Bfar is serious in its campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We will do what is right and in accordance with the law. Violations will be served with appropriate actions,” Albaladejo said.

He also met with Maripipi Municipal Mayor Uldarico Macorol to further discuss the apprehension of the fishing vessel.

Albaladejo said the vessel was brought to the capital town of Naval, where the confiscated fishing gear was unloaded.

Municipal Agriculture Officer Limuel Antonio said fishermen are in favor of apprehending the fishing vessel. According to Antonio, they have been complaining about the intrusion of the commercial fishing vessels in the municipal fishing grounds, resulting in lower catch and even the destruction of payaos (fish aggregating device) and other municipal fishing gear.

The officers and crew of the fishing vessel will be charged for violating sections 95 and 101 of Republic Act (RA) 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, as amended

by RA 10654.

put at 77.4 percent in January to September. The region’s abaca production went up to 1,571.61 MT, from 886.06 MT last year.

PhilFida data also showed that Soccsksargen’s abaca output grew by half from the 2015 record of 923.25 MT to 1,380.5 MT this year.

According to PhilFida, export receipts from abaca in January to July reached $77.47 million, 22.95 percent higher than the $63.01 million recorded a year ago.

Abaca pulp accounted for the lion’s share of the earnings during the period at 67.6 percent. Exports receipt from abaca pulp grew 29 percent to $52.38 million, from $40.59 million earned a year ago.

The United Kingdom and Germany were the top 2 importers of local abaca pulp, accounting for 38.7 percent and 29.9 percent of share, respectively. Abaca pulp exports to the UK grew by 58.4 per-

cent to 4,980.053 MT, compared to 3,143.908 MT recorded in the same period last year.

Local abaca pulp bought by the US in the seven-month period expanded to 1,446.82 MT, from 177.046 MT recorded a year ago.

The UK was also the top importer of local abaca fiber, accounting for 49.7-percent share of total exports. Local abaca fiber exports to the UK reached 3,669.25 MT, 2.6 percent higher than the 3,577.5 MT posted last year.

Japan was the second top importer of abaca fiber accounting for 38.2 percent of the total exports. However, exports of local abaca fiber to Japan declined by 4.9 percent to 2,821.75 MT, from 2,965.75 MT recorded a year ago.

The Philippines produces 85 percent of the world abaca supply, which is globally known as Manila hemp.

obacco farmers belonging to the Phil Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA) and the Philippine Aromatic Tobacco Development Association have expressed their opposition to a measure that plans to introduce a big increase in tobacco tax.

The two groups, which represent 50,000 tobacco farmers in the Philippines, thumbed down House Bill (HB) 4144 authored by Party-list Rep. Eugene Michael B. de Vera of ABS. PTGA noted that HB 4144 would introduce new tax tiers, one at P32 per pack, and the other at P36 per pack. Also included is an annual increase of 5 percent on these rates.

The current “sin” tax on tobacco as indicated in Republic Act 10351 sees a unitary rate of P30 per pack in 2017, with an annual 4-percent adjustment thereafter.

“Why are they proposing to hit tobacco again, even before another big 20-percent excise tax increase in January next year, and we don’t even know what the impact of that will be,” Saturnino Distor, PTGA leader, said in a statement.

“Tobacco farmers are struggling with the decline in demand for tobacco because of the huge 340-percent excise tax increases introduced in 2013, with annual increases of 20 percent or more,” Distor added.

He said tobacco farmers have been giving more than their “fair share” of contribution to the national coffers as excise taxes contributed around P100 billion in 2015, up from P32 billion in 2012 and are now more than two-thirds of the sin-tax take.

Distor said the measure is being “rammed down the throats” of Congress and that they have never been consulted about it.

“The whole process is a sham and we call on the leadership of the House to seek proper consultation and a complete impact assessment before proceeding with it,” he said.

The House Ways and Means committee is scheduling another hearing on the measure on Monday. The first hearing on HB 4144 was held on November 28. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

In remote Indian village, cannabis is its only livelihood

In this October 5 photo, a government forest worker destroys fully grown marijuana plants in Malana village in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Nestled deep in the higher reaches of the Indian Himalayas, Malana has become one of the world’s top stoner destinations, and a symbolical battleground for India’s fight against charas, the black and sticky hashish that has made the village famous. AP Photo/Rishabh R. Jain

M

ALANA, India—For hundreds of years, the tiny village was just a speck lost amid the grandiose mountains of the Indian Himalayas.

Nestled at 2,700 meters (8,859 feet) between the higher reaches of the lush Kullu Valley, Malana used to be a four-day hike from the nearest road. Its laws, tradition says, were laid down by the village god Jamlu.

People elected their own parliament and disputes were settled in their own court. Villagers would run in terror if an outsider showed up.

But Malana is hidden no more.

For centuries, the villagers have been growing the plant that has made Malana one of the world’s top stoner destinations, and a battleground—at least symbolically— for India’s haphazard fight against charas, the black and sticky hashish that has made the village famous.

In 1985 the Indian government gave in to international pressure and banned the production and consumption of cannabis. Possession of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of charas—a THC-rich extract de-

rived from rubbing out the resin from freshly cut marijuana buds— is punishable by a minimum 10 years’ imprisonment.

In the sleepy mountainous states of North India, marijuana has grown indigenously for hundreds of years. Local lawmakers and officials say the plant is part of their tradition and empathize with people in steep, remote villages who consider cannabis the only cash crop they can grow in harsh weather and geographic conditions.

Maheshwar Singh, a local lawmaker and the descendent head of the royal family of Kullu, said a look at the old tax books shows that the plant was legally cultivated and sold for decades before India’s drug law.

“It was a multipurpose plant for these people,” said the burly, cheerful 67-year-old, pointing out the local usage of hemp fibers in making ropes and traditional pula slippers that continue to be the only footwear allowed for pilgrimages.

The people of Malana have to haul rations and wood for kilometers to get it into the village. Though a shabby road has cut the arduous trek to only an hour and a ropeway is being used to transport heavy cargo, the villagers still spend half the year collecting essentials from nature. The other half is spent in hibernation as the bitter winter buries the village under snow.

Every morning, Gori Massi slowly starts the trek to her field, sometimes singing to herself as she walks up a rocky trail. Walking at a pace of a 20-year-old, the wrinkles on her face and hands are the only indication of her age; she is 80.

It will take her an hour to get to her plants that are hidden far away from the village near the forest line. She will sit there all day, curing high-potency marijuana buds and rubbing them between her palms to juice out the resin that smears her hands black.

After collecting about 20 grams (0.71 ounces) of gooey hashish that would fetch her anywhere between $50 to $150, she decides to call it a day. And prays the police spare her fields this year.

“Wheat and other grains don’t grow on this land,” Massi said.

“Nothing else grows here. We have to live like that, and whatever plants we do have are cut down by the police. What can we do?”

The aromatic Malana Cream— a variety of oily hash produced in the village from higher-potency plants with hybrid seeds—has earned legendary status among pot smokers around the world.

Consumed mostly with tobacco, in a joint or a chillum, the pungent hash has found its way into coffee shops in Amsterdam and won the High Times Cannabis Cup at least twice. AP

The Nation BusinessMirror

A6 Monday, December 5, 2016 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Cops launch nationwide manhunt for Jack Lam

By Perfecto T. Raymundo | Philippines News Agency

D

IRECTOR General Ronald M. dela Rosa, National Police chief, has ordered a nationwide manhunt against businessman Jack Lam who was ordered arrested by President Duterte over allegations of bribery and economic sabotage.

Lam was earlier accused by Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II of attempted bribery to release the 1,316 Chinese who were arrested for working without permit at the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark Field, Pampanga.

Dela Rosa said that, owing to alleged bribery and economic sabotage, the President ordered the arrest of the businessman who is

an operator of online gaming in Fontana, Clark, Pampanga.

Likewise, dela Rosa urged the public to immediately report to the nearest police station any information that would lead to the arrest of Lam. “Kung sino nakakaalam kung nasaan si Jack Lam ngayon, ito ay isang Chinese national na nag-o-operate ng online gaming sa Fontana, Clark,

Atienza slams railroading of death penalty measure

H

OUSE Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza has equated the death penalty “to a Band-Aid solution being applied to a gravely ill patient in the emergency room.”

“Our criminal justice system is like a very sick patient that needs immediate surgical treatment. If we are to save the patient, we have to cut off the rampant tumor of corruption. A simple Band-Aid solution, such as the death penalty, won’t work,” Atienza said.

“Both the Senate inquiry into extrajudicial killings, and the House probe on the illegal-drug trade in the New Bilibid Prisons have clearly demonstrated that the pillars of our criminal justice system—from law enforcement to corrections—have been overwhelmed by corruption,” Atienza said.

“The real problem is clearly corruption. The problem is not with the penalty, or the severity of the punishment for crime,” Atienza added.

He made the statement shortly after the House Committee on Justice’s judicial reforms subcommittee approved a bill reviving the death penalty for heinous crimes.

Atienza accused the House majority bloc of laying the groundwork for the “railroading” of the bill’s passage.

“They are trying to bulldoze the passage of the bill because the Speaker already assured President Duterte that the House will send the bill to the Senate before the Christmas break,” Atienza said.

Duterte earlier said he wants to put to death at least 50 convicts every month.

Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez himself authored the bill that seeks to mete out death sentences to offenders convicted of drug felonies, murder, rape, robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, bribery, plunder, parricide, infanticide, destructive arson, piracy and treason.

But another adversary of the death penalty, Independent Rep. Ramon V. Rocamora of Siquijor, warned against the wrongful execution of innocent people.

“Speaking from experience as a public prosecutor for 24 years our criminal justice system is incapable of properly carrying out the death penalty,” Rocamora said. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

ipagbigay-alam lang po sa nearest police station, [Whoever knows the whereabouts of Jack Lam now, he is a Chinese national operating an online gaming in Fontana, Clark, please report it to the nearest police station],” dela Rosa said.

He noted that he has issued instruction to all police units nationwide to arrest Lam. Dela Rosa said he has coordinated with Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente about the directive of Duterte.

However, dela Rosa said he has no idea whether a Hold Departure Order (HDO) against Lam has already been issued.

Duterte has directed the National Police and the Bureau of Immigration to make sure that the businessman would not be able to leave the country.

Dela Rosa said the police will do everything so that “technicalities” will not be raised when they arrest Lam such that there is still no case filed against him.

House bill hikes reparations for victims of violent crime, unjust imprisonment

A

BILL has been filed in the House of Representatives seeking to raise to P100,000 the maximum amount of compensation that may be received by victims of violent crime, such as murder and rape, or their heirs.

House Bill 4529, introduced by United Nationalist Alliance (Una) Rep. Luis N. Campos Jr. of Makati City, also proposes to increase to P3,000 the maximum amount of reparation that may be obtained by victims of unlawful imprisonment or arbitrary confinement for every month they were illegally held.

At present, Republic Act 7309, or An Act Creating a Board of Claims under the Department of Justice (DOJ), provides no more than P10,000 to each “victim of violent crime” who files a claim, and only up to P1,000 per month to each “victim of unjust imprisonment or detention” who files a claim.

In pushing for the swift passage of his measure, Campos noted

that the maximum amounts of indemnity that may be paid by the Board of Claims have not been revised upward to account for cumulative inflation since 1992, when Congress first established the Victims Compensation Program under the DOJ. “Congress should now upgrade the ceiling for payable claims, for the benefit of sufferers of violent crime and illicit imprisonment or detention, especially those from poverty-stricken families,” Campos pointed out.

Under the law, all benefits paid by the Board of Claims are “without prejudice to the right of the claimant to seek other remedies under existing laws.”

This means the payments are on top of whatever indemnity that a rape victim, for instance, may be awarded by a court a result of a judgment in a civil or criminal case filed against the offender.

Under the Victims Compensation

Commuter, consumer groups set to launch ‘Oust Tugade Movement’

S

ERV ER A L consumer and commuter groups have joined forces to launch the “Oust Tugade Movement”—a call for the immediate removal of Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade.

Road Users Protection Advocates (Rupa) Chairman Ray Junia said the alliance against Tugade’s continued stay in the Department of Transportation (DOTr), despite allegations of incompetence and conflict of interest with big companies involved in massive infrastructure projects of the government, will be launched officially on Tuesday.

“This is the product of Rupa’s efforts to come up with a solution to our traffic woes, as well as to prevent corruption in the government,” he said.

“We are making a call for a clean government to protect the gains and visions of President Duterte,” Junia added.

He said the pro-Duterte group Kilusang Pagbabago, led by its

national coordinator Bishop Nilo Tayag of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, have committed to join their group to support their efforts to have Tugade replaced.

“We have always suspected that the reason why the Department of Transportation has not acted on the so-called low-lying fruits or solutions that can ease the traffic problem is to force the hand of Congress into approving its proposed emergency powers package,” Junia said.

“Once Tugade gets this special powers, the DOTr can now enter into negotiated contracts, and logic dictates that these will only benefit the former employers and friends of the present transportation officials because they are all conflicted,” he added.

Earlier, Rupa said the resignation of Undersecretary for Rails Noel B. Kintanar was not enough to clean up the DOTr. “We have likened this to a chess game, where you sacrifice the rook to save the king. But it is the mas-

termind who must be removed. If there is anyone who should resign first, that should be Tugade. He is the most conflicted of them all,” Junia said.

He said both the House of Representatives and the Senate have “said in so many words that Tugade is not fit to head the DOTr.” He said the powerful Commission on Appointments must stand firm on its earlier decision not to confirm Tugade as transportation chief despite his reappointment.

Rupa earlier wrote the Commission on Appointments to register their opposition to Tugade’s appointment, scoring the latter for his “incredible and fantastic solutions”, such as his plan to install cable cars over the length of Laguna de Bay, as well as to transform the Metro Rail Transit Line 2 into a Bus Rapid Transit.

Two l aw m a kers have a lso pressed for the resignation of three more undersecretaries of the DOTr owing to conflict of interest.

Liberal Party Rep. Winston Castelo of Quezon City and Party-list Rep. Tom S. Villarin of Akbayan said the officials—Undersecretary for Air Operations Robert Lim, Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs Felipe Judan and Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Raoul Creencia— must resign immediately to spare the administration of President Duterte from accusations of corruption and irregularities.

The two joined several other lawmakers, led by Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, who have sought the ouster of the “conflicted” transportation officials.

Kintanar, who was previously with the Ayala Corp., was instrumental in the company’s acquisition of rail projects under the previous administration. Lim was a former country manager of the International Air Transport Association, while Judan was formerly executive of a shipping business with Ramon Ang’s Petron as customer.

Overseas voting registration resumes in Washington, D.C.

T

HE Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., started accepting applications for registration and certification for overseas voting on December 1.

The registration is related to the resumption of the Continuing Registration and Certification for Overseas Voting for the May 2019 elections.

“I encourage all Filipinos in the United States who are not yet registered overseas voters to avail themselves of this opportunity to be part of the electoral process,” said Minister Patrick A. Chua-

soto, chargé d’affaires, ad interim, of the Embassy.

“Our votes and our voices as Filipinos living abroad count. Let us not pass on the chance to be involved and be partners for change,” Chuasoto added.

To register, all applicants must personally appear at the Consular Section of the embassy for biometrics capturing and bring the following requirements: photocopy of valid passport; if dual citizen, copy of oath of allegiance or proof of Philippine citizenship from the Bureau of Immigration; or for

seamen, copy of seaman’s book.

Eliza Lucido of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office was the first to register on December 1.

On its second day of implementation, 17 applied for registration. The continuing registration for overseas voting will run for two years. The 30-day voting period will be from April 13, 2019 to May 13, 2019 (Philippine time) at the Consular Section of the Philippine Embassy at 1617 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., 20036.

Recto L. Mercene

Program, claims may be filed by:

Any person who is a victim of a violent crime, which includes rape and offenses committed with malice, which resulted in death or serious physical and/or psychological injuries, permanent incapacity or disability, insanity, abortion, serious trauma, or committed with torture, cruelty or barbarity;

Any person unjustly accused, convicted and imprisoned and subsequently released by virtue of a judgment of acquittal;

A ny person unjustly detained and released without being charged; or

A person who is a victim of arbitrary detention by the authorities as defined in the Revised Penal Code under a final judgment of the court.

The payments are meant to help reimburse the ex penses incurred by claimants for hospitalization, medical treatment,

loss of income, loss of support and other costs directly related to injury.

The Victims Compensation Fund administered by the DOJ gets recurring subsidy from 1 percent of the annual net income of the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and 1 percent of the proceeds from the sale of military camps in Metro Manila by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.

The fund is also being supported by a portion of each filing fee in every civil case filed with the courts.

Congress granted the fund P10 million as seed money in 1992.

An average of 27 rape cases and 25 murder cases, among other violent crimes, are being reported every day across the country, based on the latest statistics from the National Police’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Deployment of cops, troops to Butig eyed

T

HE military is mulling over the deployment of Army or police units to strategic areas in Butig, Lanao del Sur, to prevent the Maute Group and other lawless groups from harassing its residents, Armed Forces Spokesman Brig.

Gen. Restituto Padilla said.

“Again there are measures that can be employed to secure their [Butig residents’] safety and security, and these include the deployment of forces [either the police or military] to maintain peace and secure the town’s outskirts,” Padilla said when asked how the government would protect the Lanao del Sur town after it was attacked by the Maute Group on November 26 for the second time.

The first was in February.

While Butig town officials and residents are open to the establishment of a military camp in their locality, Padilla said the proposal is still being considered by the Armed Fores high command and no decision has been made.

As of Sunday, an estimated 62 members of the terrorist group have been killed, while 37 troopers have been wounded in the military operation against the lawless band.

Butig has been cleared of all Maute Group fighters on Wednesday, but military units are still clearing the area of booby traps and other homemade explosives laid by the bandits, before civilians are allowed to return to their homes. PNA ELIZA LUCIDO of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office registers for overseas voting at the Consular Section of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C.

AseanMonday BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Max V. de Leon • Monday, December 5, 2016 A7

‘Myanmar crackdown to radicalize Muslims’

W

ASHINGTON—It’s a scene straight out of Myanmar’s dark past: a military offensive waged beyond world view that forces ethnic minority villagers from the smoldering ruins of their homes.

The US government, a key sponsor of Myanmar’s democratic transition, says a security crackdown that has displaced tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims and left an unknown number dead risks radicalizing a downtrodden people and stoking religious tensions in Southeast Asia.

The military moved in after armed attacks by unknown assailants on police posts along the border with Bangladesh in October.

The attacks in Rakhine State were a possible sign that a small number of Rohingya were starting to fight back against persecution by majority Buddhists who view them as illegal immigrants although many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

The top US diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel, is critical of the military’s heavy-handed approach and says the escalation of violence risks inciting jihadist extremism in the country also known as Burma.

He is also calling on neighboring countries, such as Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia, to resist the urge to stage protests that could further stir religious passions.

Assistant Secretary of State Russel told The Associated Press that, “if

mishandled, Rakhine State could be infected and infested by jihadism, which already plagues neighboring Bangladesh and other countries.”

The plight of the Rohingya, once characterized by the UN as the world’s most friendless people, has attracted the attention of Muslim extremists since a spike in intercommunal violence in Rakhine in 2012 that left hundreds dead and forced more than 100,000 into squalid camps.

The Somali-born student who launched a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University this week reportedly protested on his Facebook page about the killing of minority Muslims in Myanmar. And last weekend, Indonesian authorities arrested two militants who were allegedly planning to attack the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta.

It has also raised hackles in the political mainstream. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak, facing domestic pressure over an investment fund scandal, is reportedly planning to attend a protest in his religiously moderate country this weekend condemning the military operation in Myanmar.

Daniel Sullivan at the advocacy group Refugees International said increasing numbers of Rohingya are fleeing across the land border to Bangladesh, and the spike in violence could set off another exodus by sea.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled by rickety boats in recent years to countries, like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, but those routes have been blocked since a crisis in 2015, when thousands were stranded at sea.

The US and other nations have called for an independent investigation into the latest violence in Rakhine. Estimates of the death toll range between dozens and several hundred. Human Rights Watch said on November 21 that satellite imagery showed at least 1,250 buildings have been destroyed.

With journalists barred from the affected area, it’s been near-impossible to substantiate reports of rapes and killings by Myanmar soldiers— the kind of conduct that has long blighted the military’s reputation in ethnic conflicts.

Adama Dieng, UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, said this week that if reports of excessive use of force in Rakhine were true, “the lives of thousands of people are at risk.”

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was appointed by Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in August to find ways to help resolve the communal tensions. On a fact-finding visit on Friday, he said security operations must not impede humanitarian access.

That’s been a repeated demand

Malaysia PM leads protest vs ‘genocide’ of Rohingya

IN this November 25 file photo, a Muslim woman wears a mask of Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims, outside the Embassy of Myanmar in Jakarta, Indonesia. AP

from the international community, including the US, but it’s made little impact.

The UN World Food Program said on Friday since October 9 it has been able to deliver food or cash to only 20,000 of the 152,000 people who usually receive assistance, and to about 7,000 newlydisplaced people.

The Obama administration has

diminished leverage. It was instrumental in ending the former pariah state’s diplomatic isolation as it shifted from five decades of military rule but the last US sanctions were lifted in October.

The military’s crackdown in Rakhine has also exposed the limits of Suu Kyi’s power. The Nobel laureate’s party won elections a year ago, but the military still controls key levers

of government power, including access to sensitive border regions.

Human-rights activists who once lionized Suu Kyi now criticize her for failing to defend the stateless Rohingya, but Russel defended her.

“We all should have confidence in her judgment and not fall prey to the idea that she does not get it and she does not care. She does get it, and she does care,” he said. AP

Body remains found after Indonesia plane with 13 disappears

J

AKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesian rescuers on Sunday recovered body parts in the sea where a police plane with 13 people aboard is believed to have crashed after takeoff.

The light aircraft lost contact on Saturday on the way to the island of Batam off the southeast

coast of Sumatra island near Singapore. All those aboard, including five crew and eight police passengers, are feared dead, officials said. The M28 Skytruck plane is believed to have plunged into 24-meter (79-feet) deep waters, said National Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang

Soelistyo. He told a news conference that body remains probably of the victims were found in the area where villagers earlier retrieved a seat and a bag containing a cell phone and police documents.

TV footage showed police uniforms and other clothing also were retrieved from the sea.

Search teams involving Indonesia’s navy, customs office and maritime police, as well as aircraft from Singapore, were scouring a 518-square-kilometer (200-square-mile) sea area for the wreckage of the aircraft, Soelistyo said, adding that divers also were deployed. AP

Indonesians rally for tolerance after blasphemy protests

J Thousands of Malaysian Muslims gather to protest against Myanmar government at a stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 4. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak led a protest rally against what he called a genocide of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority and urged the international community to help halt the atrocities. AP

K

UAL A LUMPUR , Malaysia— Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak led a protest rally on Sunday against what he called a “genocide” of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority, as he urged Asian neighbors and the world to step up the pressure to stop the violence.

Najib said the rally at a stadium in suburban Kuala Lumpur will send a strong message to Aung San Suu Kyi’s government that “enough is enough”.

“UN please do something. The world cannot sit by and watch genocide taking place,” Najib said to loud cheers from thousands of Muslims, including Rohingya refugees. “The world cannot say it is not our problem. It is our problem,” he said.

The plight of Rohingya in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar has galvanized Muslims in Southeast Asia and beyond. Denied citizenship although they have lived in Myanmar for generations, Rohingya have faced persecution that exploded in intercommunal violence in Rakhine state in 2012 that left hundreds dead and forced more than 100,000 into squalid camps.

The violence has again flared up as Myanmar’s military launched attacks on Rohingya villages following deadly strikes by unknown assailants on police posts along the border with Bangladesh in October.

The top US diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel, said the escalation of violence risks inciting jihadi extremism in Myanmar and Bangladesh and called on neighboring countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia, to

resist the urge to stage protests that could further stir religious passions.

Najib said the persecution of the Rohingya is an insult on Islam. He said he had asked Indonesian President Joko Widodo to stage a similar rally in Jakarta to put the pressure on Myanmar, because he said the charter of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which all three countries belong, ensures the protection of human rights.

The Malaysian government-led protest marks a departure from the long-standing policy of noninterference by Asean members in each other’s affairs.

“I will not close my eyes and shut my mouth. We must defend them [Rohingya] not just because they are of the same faith, but they are humans, their lives have values,” Najib said.

Some critics accuse Najib, who is grappling with a financial scandal, of using the rally to win the support of his country’s Muslim Malays ahead of general elections due in 2018, which may be called earlier.

In a strongly worded statement on Saturday, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said there were some 56,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. It said it has an obligation to halt the “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya and ensure security and stability in the region.

Malaysia has also summoned the Myanmar ambassador over the issue, and withdrew from two scheduled friendly football matches against Myanmar this month.

Hundreds also protested outside the Myanmar Embassy last week. AP

AKARTA, Indonesia—Tens of thousands of Indonesians rallied in the center of the capital Jakarta on Sunday, calling for tolerance and unity after massive protests by conservative Muslims against the city’s minority Christian governor.

The crowds filled a major traffic circle in the heart of the city and sprawled into its main thoroughfares.

The demonstrators waved “We Are Indonesia” signs and a giant red-and-white national flag was held aloft by hundreds of people.

The capital of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has been rocked in the past month by two major protests against Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is being prosecuted for alleged blasphemy.

The movement against Ahok, who is the first ethnic Chinese to be governor of Jakarta and the first Christian in half a century, has raised communal tensions and challenged Indonesia’s reputation for practicing a moderate brand of Islam.

A demonstration against Ahok on Friday drew at least 200,000 people. An anti-Ahok protest on November 4 attracted at least 100,000 people and turned violent, with one dead and dozens of protesters and police injured.

Hardline Muslim groups are demanding Ahok’s immediate arrest. The police say his detention is not necessary and have called for the legal process to be respected.

Sunday’s rally coincided with a weekly car-free morning in Ja-

Indonesians gather during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, on December 4. Thousands of people staged the rally in attempt to demonstrate national unity as religious and racial tensions divide the world’s most populous Muslim nation. AP

karta when a central artery of the city is handed over to pedestrians for a few hours.

The police estimated 30,000 people turned up, said Jakarta police Spokesman Argo Yuwono.

Organizers called it the “Parade of Indonesian Culture” and it featured traditional dances from Sabang in westernmost Aceh to Merauke in easternmost Papua.

National leaders of political parties under the pro-government coalition behind President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, an ally of Ahok, delivered short speeches on the importance of keeping the ethnically diverse nation united.

“We have to fight to materialize the aims of our independence. That will not happen if we are scattered, blaspheming, humiliating each other and no

longer trust each other,” Surya Paloh, chairman of the National Democratic Party, said from the main stage. “Our main enemies are stupidity and poverty. Therefore, we ask the current government to work harder and always consistently with the people’s aspirations,” Paloh said.

Blasphemy is a criminal offense in Indonesia and punishable by up to five years in prison. AP

A8

The World

Monday, December 5, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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Fidel’s final resting spot shrouded in mystery

S

ANTIAGO, Cuba—About a year ago, trucks full of building materials began arriving at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in the eastern Cuban city of Santiago. On Saturday a white cloth was draped over a new structure near the mausoleum for Cuban independence leader Jose Marti.

All of the revolution’s history is concentrated at that cemetery.”

—Jose Francisco Guillot Castillo

Beyond those few clues, the details of Fidel Castro’s final resting place have been one of the most tightly kept secrets in Cuba. That is expected to end on Sunday morning, when the revolutionary leader’s ashes are interred in a ceremony expected to give the world at least a brief glimpse of a tomb that will immediately become one of the most important sites on the island.

Cuban officials have said nothing about future access to Castro’s tomb, but its apparent location alongside Marti’s, a grand site heavily visited by tourists and Cubans alike, indicates that there will be some form of public access to the grave of the man who led Cuba for nearly 50 years and died on November 25 at 90.

“It’s a privilege to have him here,” said Cruz Maria Pardo, 64, who worked at the cemetery cleaning

half-kilometer from the bay. It was founded in 1868 and is the final resting place of some of the most important figures in Cuban history. Beyond a stately, white building at the entrance lies Marti’s large mausoleum, a tower where there is a changing of the guard every half hour. Nearby stands a memorial to rebels killed in or executed by Batista’s forces after the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, Castro’s initial, failed attempt to foment revolution.

“It’s been a while since they’ve been bringing materials,” said Roberto Lamar Herrera, 73, a retired railroad manager.

“We are going to take care of him,” said his daughter, Ileana Lamar Rodriguez, 50.

Further into the cemetery lies the tomb of Compay Segundo, the singer and guitarist who garnered

the mausoleums for more than 20 years and said she had seen trucks bringing in materials for a little over a year.

Thousands, if not millions, of Cubans have lined the central roadway connecting the island’s two largest cities over the last four days, chanting and waving banners as the cedar coffin carrying his remains drove by.

In the country’s vast, rural stretches, Cubans packed into buses and tractor trailers, many as part of work or school groups, to wait hours under a blistering sun to say good-bye.

On Sunday his remains reached Santiago, the city where Castro launched his revolution and where a final, mass gathering in the city’s Revolution Plaza was held before his ashes are interred at Santa Ifigenia.

The cemetery is in the northwestern part of Santiago, about a

The caravan driving the ashes of Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro arrives at the Cespedes Park in Santiago, Cuba, on December 3. AP

worldwide fame as a member of the Buena Vista Club. His above-ground tomb bears the image of a golden guitar, cloaked in one of his signature Panama hats.

Santa Ifigenia also houses the remains of historic figures whose families fled after the revolution and are seldom mentioned by officials, like Emilio Bacardi Moreau, who managed his family’s rum dynasty and died in 1922. The Bacardi family left Cuba in the early years of the revolu-

tion after their properties were nationalized by the Castro government.

“All of the revolution’s history is concentrated at that cemetery,” said Jose Francisco Guillot Castillo, 59, a cook in an oil refinery who lives in a house with a tin roof on the nearby Raul Perozo Avenue.

Residents along the winding street spent Saturday making signs with revolutionary phrases like “I am Fidel,” and hanging Cuban flags from their doorways. The street is

named after a revolutionary fighter who residents say was dragged through the street and killed by Batista’s forces. Today it is a mix of crumbling brick homes and new cinderblock constructions in bright coats of blue and aqua paint. The residents include a mix of factory workers, retired revolutionary combatants, engineers and students. A few signs for private business, including one specializing in eyeglass repair, line the street. AP

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France pledges $30M for wartime heritage protection

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BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—France committed $30 million toward protecting cultural heritage sites during wartime on Saturday, a first step in the creation of an international fund aimed at preventing destruction like that carried out by Islamic State militants.

French President François Hollande announced the contribution during a conference jointly organized

by France and the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi. Backers of the Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage conference hope to attract an initial $100 million for the fund.

In coordination with Unesco, it aims to prevent or stop destruction of historical sites, fight trafficking of stolen artifacts and pay for the restoration of sites damaged by war.

They also seek to create a network of sites around the world where artifacts endangered by fighting or terrorism could be temporarily stored for safekeeping.

“What we have to do today, and what we have managed to do, is to ensure the future of what is precious to humanity,” Hollande told dignitaries gathered at an ornate beachside hotel in the Emirati capital. “It is already late.”

Islamic State militants have deliberately stolen or destroyed cultural artefacts in areas they’ve seized, including the destruction of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra and the looting of the Mosul museum.

Just last month, Iraqi forces retook the 13th century B.C. Assyrian

$9B

The amount of deal signed by India in September involving the purchase of France’s 36 deltawinged Rafale fighter jets

capital of Nimrud, south of Mosul, from the militant group. They found intricate reliefs smashed into pieces.

The conference was the centerpiece of Hollande’s two-day visit to the Emirates. He arrived on Friday, a day after surprising France by announcing he would not seek a second term as the Socialist candidate in next year’s presidential election.

France has built increasingly strong ties to the seven-state Emirates federation over the years. Cultural outreach is a key pillar of that effort, including the establishment of a satellite campus of the renowned Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi a decade ago.

Workers are still putting the finishing touches on a much-hyped branch of the Louvre art museum, which will be the centerpiece of an ambitious cultural district on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island.

The project has faced repeated delays that have pushed its opening back by years, and it has attracted criticism from human-rights campaigners over the treatment of migrant workers involved in its con-

struction. It is now expected to open sometime next year.

Hollande paid a visit to the Louvre site on Saturday morning before meeting with French expatriates based in the Emirates. He briefly addressed his decision to not seek reelection at the latter stop, saying he would continue to drive France forward “within the framework of its ideals and values” until he steps down in May. Hollande was also meeting with French troops during his trip.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy opened France’s first military base in the Persian Gulf in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, in 2009. The outpost includes facilities for air, naval and ground forces.

France has long seen the Emirates as a key potential customer for its Rafale fighter jet, though negotiations have dragged on for years without a deal being reached. The plane is built by French defense contractor Dassault Aviation. No deal was announced on Saturday.

Qatar, which like the Emirates is part of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, agreed to buy 24 Rafales at a cost of $7 billion last year. And in September, India signed a nearly $9-billion deal to buy 36 of the deltawinged fighters jets, far fewer than the more than 100 earlier envisioned.

A squadron of French Rafales is based at the Al-Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi. They have been taking part in the US-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. AP

Monday, December 5, 2016 A9

Russia warns Japan not to expect quick progress on islands

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OSCOW—Russia’s foreign minister warned Japan on Saturday against expecting a quick breakthrough in the territorial dispute between the two nations ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Japan.

Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida that the settlement would require a painstaking work. He added that its rendering in the media “in either a confrontational spirit or by encouraging excessive expectations of a quick progress” wouldn’t help.

The disagreement over the Pacific islands, seized by the Soviet Union in the final days of World War II, has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their wartime hostilities.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing for progress in the dispute over the islands, called the southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.

The sparsely inhabited islands lie just north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, in an area rich in natural resources, and they also serve as a strategic vantage point for the Russian military. Last month Japan protested after Russia announced the deployment of new antiship missiles on Pacific islands to the Kurils.

Abe’s two visits to Russia this year have led many to believe Tokyo and Moscow are moving toward a breakthrough, Kishida met with Putin Friday to deliver Abe’s message to Putin.

Putin said at the start of his meeting with Kishida that Russia is working on Abe’s proposals to expand ties between the two countries, but he made no mention of the Kuril islands.

Lavrov on Saturday offered a similar indication that Moscow sees a progress in economic ties as key condition for success of talks on the islands. “The more we act together, the more broadly we develop our ties in all spheres without exclusion searching for a balance of interests of Russia and Japan...the easier it will be for us to solve the most difficult problems,” he said.

Russia has pledged adherence to a 1956 declaration in which the Soviet Union said it was ready to hand two of the four Southern Kuril islands to Japan, but Lavrov underlined that it stipulates that the signing of a peace treaty should come first. AP

A10 Monday, December 5, 2016

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Universities, colleges exploring ‘sanctuary’ status for immigrants

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LBUQUERQUE, New Mexico—Universities and colleges in several states are considering labeling themselves “sanctuary campuses”, amid fears from immigrant students and pressure from activists following the election of Donald J. Trump.

College administrators in New Mexico—the state with the highest percentage of Latino residents— are looking into proposals that would grant immigrant students living in the country illegally protections while they pursue their studies.

Meanwhile, advocates in California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota and Texas are pressing their state and private universities to provide sanctuary to these immigrant students, known as DREAMers.

“We urge you to declare the University of San Diego a sanctuary campus for students, faculty, staff and community members now facing, among other things: the threat of deportation under President-elect Donald J. Trump’s policy proposals, and the specter of hate speech and bigoted violence in our campus community,” read a letter from alumni to administrators of the private Roman Catholic university.

Trump’s alma mater—the University of Pennsylvania—even has

renewed its pledge to block federal agents without a warrant from removing students in the country illegally.

“Let us be unequivocally clear: We are and remain resolute in our commitment to Penn’s undocumented students and will do all that we can to ensure their continued safety and success here at Penn,” University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and other administrators wrote in a letter released last Wednesday.

Students and professors at University of Illinois campuses are circulating petitions to make their schools sanctuary campuses. One such group in Chicago gathered more than 1,700 signatures and turned them over to school leaders.

A Nevada education philanthropist also is pushing for UNLV, College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College to declare themselves sanctuary campuses.

The movement comes after Trump promised to end an execu-

tive order that granted temporary status to immigrant students living in the country illegally. During his campaign, he also promised to launch a “deportation force” and withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities.

Trump has not said anything about sanctuary campuses.

Still, New York’s Columbia University recently announced plans to offer sanctuary and financial support to immigrant students.

And last month, Wesleyan University President Michael Roth said the Connecticut school would be a sanctuary campus and would not voluntarily help the federal government deport students. Last Thursday Connecticut College President Katherine Bergeron announced that her institution also would be a sanctuary campus.

The specifics of advocates’ sanctuary demands vary. Some are asking colleges not to cooperate with federal authorities on immigrant issues, while others want administrators to block federal immigration authorities from searching campuses.

University of New Mexico President Bob Frank said university lawyers were looking into sanctuary status after a group of professors came to his office last month to deliver a letter with more than 900 signatures. The Santa Fe Community College board of regents declared itself a “sanctuary campus” this week.

University of Illinois leaders have tackled the issue at the flagship Urbana-Champaign location,

about 150 miles from Chicago, saying a working group will review the legal ramifications of making the roughly 44,000-student campus a sanctuary.

The University of Illinois at Chicago petition, which cites the presidential election, asks university leadership to “ensure the safety and protection of undocumented, Muslim and all students, staff and their families who may be targeted or put under surveillance by formally declaring UIC as a sanctuary campus.”

While on the campaign trail in March, Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled campaign rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago amid spirited student protests.

Not all schools are considering sanctuary campus status despite letters, petitions or even protests.

New Mexico State University President Garrey Carruthers said Friday in a memo to employees and students that NMSU doesn’t discriminate on the basis of immigration status or require proof of citizenship for admission. However, NMSU respects “the diversity of opinion” and won’t declare itself a sanctuary or ban federal agents from campus because that would jeopardize federal funding, he said.

Eastern New Mexico University officials also said they are not considering sanctuary proposals.

The California State University system announced recently it won’t use the “sanctuary” term at any of its 23 campuses, but it won’t cooperate with any

new federal policy that targets immigrant students living in the country illegally.

This week the University of California announced steps to protect students in the country illegally, saying it won’t assist federal immigration agents or turn over confidential records without court orders. It also said it won’t provide information for any national registry based on race, religion or national origin.

If Trump ends the program launched by President Barack Obama called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the status of immigrant students will vary by state. Some states do not allow students living in the country illegally to attend college at in-state tuition rates.

However, state colleges in New Mexico allow immigrants suspected of living in the country illegally to attend at the in-state tuition rate. The state also lets the same students access financial aid if they graduate from a New Mexico school and maintain a high gradepoint average.

Community colleges in Chicago, which offer free tuition to qualifying students regardless of immigration status, beefed up antidiscrimination policies this week to include immigration status. In 2011 Illinois established a privately backed scholarship fund for students living in the country illegally. Pending legislation at Illinois Capitol would let immigrant students get financial aid regardless of their legal status. AP

Emergency officials: We won’t let pipeline protesters freeze

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ARGO, North Dakota—The head of North Dakota’s emergency management services says the state is prepared to respond to Dakota Access pipeline protesters who may need help during a winter storm or some other crisis.

State Homeland Security Director Greg Wilz said it would be a “huge challenge”, especially during a mass evacuation, but his office has winter shelter plans in place and various agencies are ready to respond.

“The bottom line here is, if we are in a situation of life and limb, we are going to be humane in anything and everything we do,” Wilz said. “We aren’t going to let somebody out there freeze. So if they start evacuating en masse looking for shelter—which I highly suspect will happen—we would take care of that.”

The government has ordered hundreds of protesters to leave the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires camp, on federal land in southern North Dakota by Monday, although demonstrators say they’re prepared to stay until changes are made to the route of the four-state, $3.8-billlion pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others say the pipeline north of the reservation could pollute drinking water and threatens sacred sites.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation and Morton County Highway Department will be key players in any evacuation plans, Wilz said, noting that those agencies worked to keep roads clear around the protest site during a recent storm that dumped more than a foot of snow.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement last Friday that the Department of Justice has offered community policing resources to local law enforcement as “winter begins to take hold.” ‘‘Our first concern is the safety of everyone in the area—law-enforcement

A woman watches the sunset at the Oceti Sakowin camp, where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on December 2. AP

officers, residents and protesters alike,” Lynch said.

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said Lynch contacted him by phone last Friday to discuss the situation.

“While I appreciate the Attorney General taking the time to reach out to me, neither assistance for law enforcement nor a timeline for resolution was offered,” Kirchmeier said in a statement. “I hope the dialogue continues, but it’s time for more actions from the federal government, not more words.”

The North Dakota National Guard is prepared to help with any emergencies, said Jeff Zent, spokesman for Gov. Jack Dalrymple. The Republican governor issued a “mandatory evacuation” on Monday for the main encampment, though he said no one would be forcibly removed.

Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney again encouraged protesters to heed both the governor’s order and the federal government’s request to leave the land. But, he said at a news conference last Saturday,

that authorities won’t be “moving on that camp” on Monday or “in the future.”

Officers at the staging area and traffic control points have temporary warming houses, cold-weather gear and other winterization measures, said Rob Keller, spokesman for the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

“All law-enforcement personnel who report for duty to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department are now from North Dakota agencies and they are more than prepared

for our North Dakota winters,” Keller said.

Wilz said his office has received no response from emergency management officials at Standing Rock about whether they have any emergency plans or whether they need support from the state.

Also, the Bismarck Tribune reported that Dalrymple and Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman Dave Archambault have agreed to meet in person to discuss the pipeline protests. The governor’s spokesman says no date has been set for the meeting. AP

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Journalist becomes Netanyahu’s new target

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ERUSALEM—After a series of embar rassing repor ts about Israel’s first family, an investigative journalist has become a particular target of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Raviv Drucker of Channel 10 TV has been a longtime thorn in Netanyahu’s side, exposing several scandals about the Israeli leader. In return, Netanyahu has berated him, sued him and even reportedly tried to get him fired.

But Drucker has kept at it, and two of his recent stories have triggered police investigations.

First, he broke the story that Netanyahu’s personal attorney had represented a German company involved in a $1.5-billion sale of submarines to Israel, raising questions about the prime minister’s possible involvement.

Then, he reported that Australian billionaire James Packer has lavished Netanyahu’s college-aged son, Yair, with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer’s former fiancee, Mariah Carey. Packer, who also owns a home next to Netanyahu in the prosperous coastal community of Caeserea, is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.

Netanyahu did not dispute any of the facts but insists he has done nothing wrong. The reports led the prime minister, who frequently complains about media coverage of him and his family, to accuse Drucker of waging an ideologically driven smear campaign.

“The desperate, pathetic attempt of the politician Raviv Drucker to slander the prime minister with a never-ending drip of lies and brainwashing is aimed toward a character assassination of the prime minister and his family. This is nothing new for Raviv Drucker,” the statement from Netanyahu said. Drucker denies any political motivation and insists he is only doing his job.

Now in his fourth term, Netanyahu has repeatedly tried to curb his many detractors in the media, which he considers biased against him and whose numerous investigations have failed to land him in any significant legal or political peril.

He has forgone press conferences and inter v iews, and has tried to reshape the media landscape in Israel. Like US President-elect Donald Trump, he has taken to social media to lambast the press.

Netanyahu encouraged the establishment in 2007 of Israel Hayom, a free daily financed by billionaire Sheldon Adelson that largely serves as his mouthpiece.

He has appointed himself minister responsible for media regulation and ordered his coalition partners not to float any media-related bills without his approval.

He recently pushed to have the state-run Israel Broadcasting Authority shut down and replaced with a new corporation, only to reverse course once the emerging personnel of the new body did not seem favorable enough.

Netanyahu has lashed out at several reporters. He took one newsman to court for reporting that Sara Netanyahu kicked her husband out of the car on a busy highway in a fit of rage.

Last month, after acclaimed investigative TV journalist Ilana Dayan reported on mistreatment of the prime minister’s staff, she read a six-minute rebuke from Netanyahu on the air in which he called her a “leftwing extremist” and slammed her credentials. AP

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As transit fares soar, NYC advocates push for discounts

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EW YORK—For most New Yorkers, subways and buses are necessities of city living that fall right behind food, clothing and shelter. But with the price of 30-day MetroCard transit pass at $116.50, and possibly primed to rise as high as $121, they’re also on the verge of becoming unaffordable for the 1.7 million city residents living in poverty.

The cost of getting around has gotten so high, some advocates are proposing that New York join a handful of other cities, including Seattle and San Francisco, in offering discounted rides to some low-income residents.

That would be a boon to people like Joshua Mootoo, 29, of Brooklyn, who stopped working as a mechanic a few months ago so he could take classes and get a high-school equivalency degree.

“When you’re not getting that much income, to take out half of it and put it on a MetroCard—I can’t do it,” said Mootoo, who has two small children.

A commuter advocacy group, the Riders Alliance, along with the anti-poverty group Community Service Society of New York, has been calling on Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio to include an estimated $200 million in the city’s preliminary budget plan this January that would help pay for discounted rides.

Even an increase of a few dollars would be an additional hardship, said Samuel Santaella. The 23-year-old, his mother and 10-year-old sister get a couple of hundred dollars a month in public assistance.

“The MetroCard is a must,” Santaella said. And to pay for it, he said, “We have to cut down on food a little bit toward the end of the month.”

If the city implemented a discount, he said, that would help his family free up money they could use for groceries, or maybe to get mobile phone service, which he doesn’t have now. AP

Monday, December 5, 2016 A11

Trump shrugs off fuss over call to Taiwan PM

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EIJING—President-elect Donald J. Trump is unapologetic about roiling diplomatic waters with his decision to speak on the phone with Taiwan’s leader, a breach of longstanding tradition that risks enmity from China.

The US severed diplomatic ties with the self-governing island in 1979, but has maintained close unofficial relations and a commitment to support its defense.

Trump’s conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen drew an irritated, although understated, response from China, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that the contact was “just a small trick by Taiwan” that he believed would not change US policy toward China, according to Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV. “The one-China policy is the cornerstone of the healthy development of China-US relations and we hope this political foundation will not be interfered with or damaged,” Wang was quoted as saying. Chinese officials said they lodged a complaint with the US and reiterated a commitment to seeking “reunification” with the island, which they consider a renegade province.

After the phone conversation on Friday, Trump tweeted that Tsai “called me.” He also groused about the reaction to the call: “Interesting how the US sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment, but I should not accept a congratulatory call.”

The US shifted diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 1979. But the governments in Washington and Taipei have maintained close unofficial ties and deep economic and defense relations. The US is required by law to provide Taiwan with weapons to maintain its defense.

Since 2009, the Obama administration has approved $14 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.

The call was the starkest example yet of how Trump has flouted diplomatic conventions since he won the November 8 election. He has apparently undertaken calls with foreign leaders without guidance customarily given by the State Department, which oversees US diplomacy.

“President-elect Trump is just shooting from the hip, trying to take phone calls of congratulatory messages from leaders around the world without consideration for the implications,” said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Over the decades, the status of Taiwan has been one of the most sensitive issues in US-China relations. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory to be retaken by force, if necessary, if it seeks independence. It would regard any recognition of a Taiwanese leader as a head of state as unacceptable.

Taiwanese newspapers ran banner headlines on Sunday about the call, and two noted on their front pages on Sunday that Trump referred to Tsai as “the president of Taiwan,” a formulation that would be a huge shift in American policy and infuriate China.

But Douglas Paal, a former director of the American Institute in Taiwan, which unofficially represents US interests in Taipei, said it was too soon to judge whether Trump was going to lead that shift, or if the incident

THIS combination of two photos shows US President-elect Donald Trump (left), speaking during a “USA Thank You” tour event in Cincinatti on December 1, and Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen delivering a speech during National Day celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 10. Trump spoke on December 2, with Tsai, a move that will be sure to anger China. AP

was just a “complicated accident.”

“Beijing will watch closely to see which it is,” said Paal, now vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But until someone from Trump Tower explains further, it is unknowable.”

Yang Chih-kai, a 22-year-old university student in New Taipei City, said the call raised Taiwanese hopes for a stronger relationship with the United States.

“People will think that the US will keep on helping Taiwan protect itself against China’s threat,” Yang said.

Taiwan split from the Chinese mainland in 1949. The US policy acknowledges the Chinese view over sovereignty, but considers Taiwan’s status as unsettled.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Trump’s conversa-

tion does not signal any change to long-standing US policy on crossstrait issues.

The Taiwanese presidential office said Trump and Tsai discussed issues affecting Asia and the future of US relations with Taiwan. “The [Taiwanese] president is looking forward to strengthening bilateral interactions and contacts, as well as setting up closer cooperative relations,” the statement said.

Tsai also told Trump that she hoped the US would support Taiwan in its participation in international affairs, the office said, in an apparent reference to China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan from global institutions, such as the United Nations.

Taiwan’s Presidential Office Spokesman Alex Huang said separately that Taiwan’s relations with China and “healthy” Taiwan-US relations can proceed in parallel. “There

is no conflict” in that, he said.

China’s foreign ministry said Beijing lodged “solemn representations” with the US over the call.

“It must be pointed out that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory,” Geng Shuang, a ministry spokesman, said in a statement. “The government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing China.”

China is likely to be trying to identify whether this signals any intent on the part of Trump to alter long-standing US policy toward Taiwan, Glaser said.

“They will hope that this is a misstep, but I think privately, they will definitely seek to educate this incoming president and ensure that he understands the sensitivity of Taiwan,” she said. AP

S. Koreans rally for 6th weekend IS attacks Iraqi forces near dust-filled Mosul calling for President Park’s ouster Q

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EOUL, South Korea—Rallying for the sixth straight weekend in what has become perhaps South Korea’s biggest protest movement ever, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Seoul got the closest yet on Saturday to the president they desperately want removed.

The demonstration came hours after lawmakers formally launched an attempt to impeach President Park Geun-hye and set up a floor vote for as early as next Friday. State prosecutors accuse Park of helping a close confidante extort money and favors from large companies and manipulate state affairs.

The scandal has sparked mass protests each Saturday in downtown Seoul. In the latest demonstration, the protesters advanced to a narrow alley about 100 meters away from the presidential palace grounds, an area police didn’t previously permit them to enter.

Police estimated the turnout at 320,000, making it the biggest anti-Park rally so far, though the crowd appeared to be much larger. Protest organizers estimated the crowd at 1.7 million.

Some of the demonstrators, led by the relatives of a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly teenagers on a school trip, jammed the alley near the presidential office, shouting for hours to demand Park’s arrest, not just her resignation.

Some protesters angrily threw flowers at police who had created tight perimeters around the street, and demanded that the officers get out of the way.

“We not once were allowed on this street...I have long dreamed of the day I stand here with citizens,” said Jeon Myeon-seon, one of the parents of the teenagers who died in the ferry disaster, which was partially blamed on government incompetence and corruption. “We will continue to join this fight with our fellow citizens until the full truth is out on how this government defrauded its people.”

Thousands also rallied near the National Assembly to pressure political parties, including Park’s conservative ruling party, to vote for her

impeachment next week.

Opposition parties controlling South Korea’s parliament had earlier planned to call for a vote this past week, but were thrown off after Park made a conditional offer on Tuesday to leave office, which left them squabbling over timing.

Park’s overture has also caused cracks among dissenters in her conservative ruling party who had earlier backed her impeachment, an alarming development for opposition parties, which don’t have enough votes to push through the impeachment motion themselves.

“I am full of anger, but also worried,” said Ray Kim, an out-of-towner who participated in the Seoul protests for the second consecutive week. “It would leave a terrible historical example if millions protested for weeks against a crime-committing president, but she was able to shake it off.”

Opposition parties waited until after the end of the week’s plenary session to register an impeachment motion at 4:10 a.m. on Saturday. It means the vote will take place as early as next Friday.

The motion, which had the support of 171 opposition and independent lawmakers, accuses Park of violating the constitution and undermining democracy by allowing her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to interfere in state affairs, and letting senior presidential aides help Choi extort from companies.

It also accuses Park of other crimes, including abuse of authority, coercion and bribery, amid allegations that large companies were bullied or offered rewards for giving money and favors to foundations and businesses Choi controlled.

“President Park Geun-hye, in executing her duty, has broadly and seriously violated the constitution and laws,” the impeachment motion says.

Some anti-Park lawmakers in the ruling party have called for Park to announce by Wednesday that she will step down voluntarily in April. It’s uncertain whether they will back the impeachment bill if she does. AP

ABR AL-ABD, Iraq—Under the cover of dust and fog, Islamic State (IS) group fighters launched a series of counterattacks on Iraqi positions to the south and west of the militant-held city of Mosul late Friday night and into Saturday morning, according to Iraqi military commanders and officials.

The massive operation to retake Mosul was officially launched on October 17, but after initially swift battlefield successes, the progress of Iraqi forces later slowed down in the face of fierce IS counterattacks and concerns over the safety of civilians still inside the city.

IS has largely failed to push back Iraqi troops, but its counterattacks have inflicted high casualties on both civilians and security forces alike and, in some cases, shaken morale.

The UN reported this week that nearly 2,000 members of the Iraqi forces were killed last month, but after coming under fire from the media arm of the Iraqi military, it announced on Saturday it would discontinue publishing casualty figures for Iraq’s security forces.

West of Mosul, one Iraqi official said IS militants breached the defenses of Shiite militiamen at a village outside the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, which is west of Mosul. Reached by telephone near Tal Afar, he said the attack on the village of Sharea took place on Friday night.

Fighting continued into Saturday, he added, without providing details.

An IS statement said the attack on the village began with a suicide car bombing that killed and wounded “dozens” of militiamen. A “multipronged” attack on the village followed, forcing the militiamen to flee, it added. IS fighters seized nine all-terrain vehicles fitted with machine guns, two Humvees, weapons and munitions from the militiamen, according to the statement released on Saturday.

South of Mosul, IS launched attacks on the positions of a tribal militia and a

number of Iraqi army positions, according to an Iraqi official and commanders on the ground.

Along the Tigris river valley, IS fighters moved under the cover of heavy mortar fire to attack Iraqi positions outside the villages of al-Qasar and Qabr al-Abd, said Iraqi Army Col. Haider Hatem, explaining that a dust and fog storm in the Mosul area on Friday gave the militants cover to launch the attacks.

“Over four hours, they launched more than 200 mortars,” Hatem said. His men finally suppressed the onslaught in the early hours of Saturday morning, he added.

The two Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.

The attacks are evidence of the slow pace of the Iraqi advance, which, in turn, is allowing the militant group time to regroup after suffering battlefield setbacks, according to Iraqi officials. Despite the fierce attacks, IS was unable to retake any territory southeast of Mosul, Hatem said.

“They are just doing this to create another obstacle to our advances, they don’t want to hold the territory,” said Sgt. Maj. Muhammad Sabah, speaking at a position some 10 kilometers south of Mosul’s airport that his unit has held for nearly two weeks.

“We are just waiting here for the order to advance,” he said, “if we had it, we would already be inside Mosul.”

During a visit to frontline positions, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarellah, the commander of a joint operations center that oversees the Mosul campaign, said the presence of civilians continues to be the biggest factor slowing advances toward Mosul. Rather than just pushing forward, his men are often forced to pause to deal with humanitarian issues, he said.

Other commanders on the ground have said the lack of sufficient numbers of troops needed to hold territory retaken from IS has also contributed to the slow progress.

2,000

The total members of Iraqi forces killed in November, according to a United Nations report “You can’t just liberate land, you need to also take care of the people,” Yarellah said.

During his visit on Saturday, he said he also met with the UN officials to discuss plans to open a hospital in the recently retaken village of Hamam al-Alil.

At the front line just south of the airport, the Iraqi army Sgt. Maj. Sabah said he faces counterattacks every time he pauses.

“Almost every night they shoot at us from those same positions,” he said as he pointed across a valley at a row of houses. At a nearby checkpoint, an injured Iraqi solider holding up his own IV drip could be seen being evacuated from the front.

Iraq’s military does not publicize its casualty figures, but the UN has released monthly casualty figures for both civilians and security forces almost every month for years since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 unleashed a deadly insurgency.

Last week, the UN reported that 1,959 members of Iraq’s security forces were killed and another 450 were wounded in November. Moreover, 926 civilians were killed and another 930 were wounded, it said.

However, after criticism from the Iraqi government, the UN in Iraq acknowledged in a statement Saturday that its figures on military casualties were “largely” unverified and that it would discontinue their publication “unless sound methodology of verification can be found to better substantiate the figures being reported.”

The Iraqi militar y’s media arm called the figures “not accurate and much exaggerated.” AP

Science Monday

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

PHL inventors told: Be more forward-looking, proactive

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ICUTAN, Taguig City— Local inventions that uplift the plight of many of their Filipino countrymen highlighted the 73rd Filipino Inventors Society (FIS) Annual National Inventors Week last month.

With this year’s theme, “Filipino Inventions and Innovations: Strengthen the Nation, Today,” FIS is bullish in outdoing its achievements in the past years and its leadership promises more inventions in the coming years.

The annual inventors week was held in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), DOST-Technology Application and Promotion Institute, Intellectual Property Office-Philippines and the Department of Trade and Industry at the DOST Compound, Bicutan, Taguig City.

FIS was established in 1943 with this slogan on its crest, “There is a better way, find it”—very appropriate for an organization that creates new things that make life better.

During the opening ceremonies, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña urged FIS to be more forward-looking and proactive in its pursuit to produce new products and services.

“Inventions create new products and these help drive our economy with more choices for our consumers, and more jobs are created. I encourage the FIS to invite more to join as members, especially the young inventors and introduce young blood in the organization,” de la Peña said.

He said the membership needs to strengthen the organization and camaraderie by lessening their disagreements to be able to invent more new products that will benefit more people.

De la Peña also highlighted the

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña (left) urges the Filipino Inventors Society to strengthen their organization by inviting more young scientists and inventors to join them and by promoting Filipino innovation in various fields to create more new products that will make life more convenient. S&T Media Service

great potentials of FIS if they will abide by the current world standards so their inventions would be able to compete successfully in the international market.

These pronouncements by the science chief were welcomed by FIS membership, led by president Dr. Benjamin S. Santos, PhD; Rodolfo B. Biescas Sr., VP for Luzon; and Arsenio Navarro, VP for Visayas; and Dante U. Ursua, among others.

De la Peña also led the FIS officers and members in opening the

exhibits at the DOST Compound, where homegrow n companies showcased their latest inventions like energy-saving devices, motor oil, car ionizer, brickscoal, water purifier, rolling dustpan, portable gas lamp, health-care products, portable floor seat and other oneof-a-kind products.

Some of the exhibitors include Mapecon (pest control), Bensan Industries Inc., Econolux Enterprises, Amecos Innovation Inc., Kingflute Philippines and many more. S&T Media Service

Junior students cheer for their senior students’ success in the college entrance exams in front of an exam hall in Seoul, South Korea, on November 17. More than 600,000 high-school seniors and graduates across the country take the national college entrance exam. AP/Lee Jin-man

In math, science, US students lag behind peers in East Asia

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ASHINGTON—Americ a n st udent s h ave strides to make when it comes to math and science, where they lag behind a solid block of East Asian countries, according to results released on Tuesday from an international exam.

Eighth graders in the United States improved their scores in math over the last four years, up nine points. Scores for science, however, were flat. In fourth grade, scores were unchanged in the math and science tests.

“The results do suggest a leveling out in the most recent cycle,” said Ina Mullis, an executive director of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) International Study Center at Boston College, where researchers helped coordinate staff to administer the assessments.

“One always prefers to see improvement, but holding one’s own is preferable to declining.”

10th The rank of the United States in fourth-grade science and in eighth-grade math

Singapore topped the rankings, taking first place in both grades for math and science on the TIMSS tests. The tests are administered every four years to a random sampling of students in dozens of countries.

Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan also dominated the lists for each grade in both subjects.

The United States placed 10th in fourth-grade science, as well as in eighth-grade math. In eighthgrade science, the US tied with Ireland in 10th place. It ranked 14th for fourth-grade math, just

behind Portugal and Kazakhstan.

While the short-term trend for American students overall wasn’t glowing, scores over the last 20 years have improved considerably.

Math and science scores for eighth graders had sharp gains, as did scores for fourth-grade math.

Science scores for fourth graders showed no statistical change over the last two decades.

Matt Larson, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said the results show there’s work to be done, but that he’s encouraged overall by the growth since the mid-1990s.

“This may reflect an increased focus on mathematics in the early grades and could be a longer-term effect of standards reform and the implementation of researchinformed instructional practices in more schools.”

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the steady progress by US students “affirms that when there is an alignment

between teachers and students, instruction and standards, and resources—giving teachers the f lexibility to teach what students need to know and do—we see success.”

Globa l ly, resu lts f rom t he 2015 exams showed achievement trends were up—with more countries registering increases than decreases in math and science for both grades. Gender gaps were another highlight. They have narrowed over the last 20 years, especially in science at the eighth-grade level.

“A lot of countries have been working hard to close that achievement gap, and have promoted girls’ interest and participation in science,” said Michael Martin, who runs the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center with Mullis.

About 600,000 students around the world took part in the 2015 exams. The tests are sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement in Amsterdam. AP

CHED, British Council announces 8 Newton PhD scholars from PHL

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ight candidates from various higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines were accepted to the Newton PhD Scholarships of the Newton Agham Programme of the British Council, in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The program offers full-time PhD scholarships for Filipino researchers at a UK HEI. This fulfills the objective of facilitating the capacity building of individuals and the building of sustainable, long-lasting links between the UK and the Philippines.

The Newton Agham Programme is providing £3 million yearly from 2016, including Newton PhD scholarships, which the CHED will match with a total of about P30 million, to develop science and innovation partnerships that promote the economic development and social welfare of the Philippines.

The candidates are John Dale Dianala of the National Institute of Geological Sciences; Peter Paolo Rivera, Marine Science Institute; Dave Buenavista, Central Mindanao University; Jhud Mikhail Aberilla, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman; Luiza Galarion, UP Diliman; Sheen Mclean Cabañeros, University of Santo

Tomas; Patrick Simon Perillo, Ateneo de Manila University; and Kevin Jace Miranda from Adamson University.

The eight are scheduled to start their PhD study in the next two to three months in the UK and are expected to finish their research on identified Philippine priority areas by early 2020.

Research to be conducted by these qualified students range from remote sensing and field investigations of t h e e a r t h q u a ke c yc l e, m o d e l i n g o f air pollution using ar tificial neural networks; ethnobotanical knowledge and nutraceutical potentials of indigenous p l a n t s f ro m l o c a l c o m m u n i t i e s o f Mindanao; to exploring the responsibility of non-state actors in international and comparative law for environmental degradation. CHED leverages on the K to 12 Transition Period from 2016 to 2021, foremost through investing in the Philippines’s best faculty and staff to gain training in the best institutions abroad, so that they can bring with them specializations to fill gaps in the Philippine sectors and communities.

This will also help build sustainable and long-lasting links between the UK and Philippine institutions.

Lopez moves to mainstream biodiversity in devt projects

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

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nvironment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez has ordered the integration of biodiversity in the planning, implementation and monitoring of development projects and tenurial instruments issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) In Memorandum Circular on November 28, Lopez authorized the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) to create a team composed of biodiversity experts to participate in the mining audits, environmental impact assessment review and per formance evaluation of tenurial instruments.

The circular is pursuant to Section 25 of the General Appropriations Act of 2016, Executive Order 578 on the implementation of the state policy on biological diversity and in support of DENR Administrative Order 2016-12 adopting the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) 2015-2018.

Lopez, an environmental advocate, has declared her passion for biodiversity conservation and her commitment to protect the country’s rich biodiversity.

The DENR chief had earlier said “biodiversity is like gold” and “treasure”, which should be protected and conserved.

After her appointment as chief steward of the environment and natural resources, Lopez had already suspended 10 large-scale metallic mines and threatened to suspend 20 others for failing in environmental standards.

She also included biodiversit y consideration among the mining-audit criteria in tightening the screws on mining.

To protect the country’s rich biodiversity, she declared watersheds and protected areas as “off limits” to mining and other destructive development projects.

Lopez, in an interview with the BusinessMirror, said officials of the DENR are working to use the Total Economic Value in assessing operating mines, underscoring the importance of the aesthetic beauty and economic services the environment provides.

The circular, which takes immediate effect was welcomed by DENR BMB chief, Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim. “It strengthens our efforts in working for the development-, livelihood- and enterpriserelated programs of the department to take into account the contribution of biological diversity in the sustainability of their programs,” Lim said.

Lim added that the order coming from the DENR chief “sends a stronger political signal that the department is serious in protecting the resource base or biodiversity, and the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity to ensure that the development projects and programs translate into sustainable benefits for the communities and the country.”

“We finally can start to harness and mainstream the richness and uniqueness of our biological resources and ecosystems for and into the economic development planning processes,” she added.

According to Lim, with the circular in place, the DENR-BMB is now authorized by highest level in the department to mobilize biodiversity partners and experts to support us in promoting the PBSAP and to work with development sector to build in biodiversity into their plans and programs.

Dismantle illegal structures in Laguna de Bay

Meanwhile, the DENR is scheduled to hold a dialogue with Laguna de Bay fish-cage and fish-pen operators as part of the plan to implement a moratorium on the issuance of business permits beginning January next year.

Environment Undersecretary Arturo Valdez, who also heads the National AntiEnvironmental Crime Task Force that recently held demolition operations in a 13-hectare illegal fish pen in Laguna de Bay within the jurisdiction of Muntinlupa City, said the dialogue aims to reassure the government’s commitment to prioritize resource-poor fishermen’s access to the 90,000-hectare lake.

“The thrust there is to send the message that the DENR, under Secretary Lopez, will rationalize the lake and the bias will be for the fisherfolk to have access to their traditional fishing ground,” Valdez said in a statement.

“Secretary Lopez has made it very clear that the fisherfolk should enjoy the lake,” he said.

The lake’s carrying capacity allows up to only 9,000 hectares for aquaculture.

However, fish pens and cages are occupying 12,375.18 hectares of the surface water, showing a total of 3,375 hectares of excess area for demolition.

Valdez believes, however that the actual area being occupied by fish-cage and fish-pen operators could be bigger.

“I would say it is more than that,” Valdez said. He vowed to intensify the dismantling of illegal structures this month to give enough time for the operators to harvest their bangus and tilapia.

Data from the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) show that there are a total of 1,018 registered or legitimate fish-pen and fish-cage operators in Laguna Lake, covering a total of 9,519 hectares. Of this number, 713 are fish-cage operators, while 305 are fish-pen operators.

Unregistered operators number to 2,261, occupying 2,856 hectares, LLDA said.

A total of 3,246 structures (both registered and unregistered) can be found in the lake area, consisting of 358 fish pens and 2,890 fish cages, which show a mix of corporations and individual owners. The LLDA has developed a map identifying areas for fish pens, fish cages, fish sanctuaries and open fishing, and navigational and barangay access lanes to facilitate the movement of people, goods and services within the lake.

To ensure the maintenance of open fishing ground, the LLDA has designated fish sanctuaries covering around 30,000 hectares in Muntinlupa City, 5,000 hectares in JalaJala and Talim Island in Rizal and Laguna Bay, and 127 hectares in Barangay Tabon, Binangonan, Rizal.

Green Monday BusinessMirror

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

BusinessMirror

Monday, December 5, 2016 A13

28th Philippine Eagle hatched in captivity

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By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) announced another successful breeding in captivity of a Philippine eagle—the 28th since the conservation program was started in 1969.

The still unnamed eaglet was hatched with minimal assistance on November 4, after 56 days of incubation. It was 5 inches tall and weighed 488.3 grams.

T he new eaglet was the third successf u l ly hatched of fspr i ng f rom t he Ph i l ippi ne E a g le pa i r, “ M V P ” (m a le) a nd “G o Pho e n i x ” (f e m a l e). The pair produced earlier the eaglet “Sinag” and “Chick 27”.

Eagles MVP and Go Phoenix were the adopted eagles of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Edisy Trading, respectively.

“The chick showed no signs of deformities. It is active and, in fact, has a big appetite,” PEF Animal keeper Colin Santander said.

56 The number of days of incubation before the eaglet was hatched

“It is just three weeks old but its growth is exceptional,” Santander added. The PEF said the birth of Chick 28 highlights

The 28th Philippine Eagle hatched during breeding in captivity. Philippine Eagle Foundation

the continuing success of what was once thought as a lost cause.”

“In the midst of continued mortality and persecution in the wild, this hatching success underscores the importance of conservation breeding as a way of securing this species’s gene pool,” PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador said.

T heresa Mundita Lim, chief of t he Biod iversit y Ma n age ment Bureau of the Department of Env ironment and Natura l Resources, said she was glad a b out t he h atc h i ng a nd e x-

tended her congratu lations to the PEF for Chick 28.

The PEF said it would “continue to serve its mission in saving the great Philippine Eagle from extinction.”

“The PEF firmly believes that, with concerted effort, the critically endangered Philippine Eagle will someday fly freely in the wild,” the center said.

The new hatching success may help boost anew the morale of the breeders for their attempt to send the birds to the wild, after the PEF was informed of the shooting to

3rd intl river summit held in Cagayan de Oro

By Butch D. Enerio Correspondent

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AGAYAN DE ORO CITY— The delegates to the third International River Summit (IRS) held here last weekend have resolved to achieve the common goals set for their respective rivers and watersheds, including that of the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals.

T he IR S took note of t he thematic statements and recommendations generated from the summit and building upon the outcomes of the previous IRS held in Iloilo City in 2012 and in Marikina City in 2014, as well as other water-related initiatives and events.

The third IRS was hosted by the League of Cities of the Philippines, the Cagayan de Oro River Basin Management Council, Cagayan de Oro City and the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources. Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, who delivered the IRS accord in behalf of all the participants and other stakeholders, outlined the summit’s requisite: healthy watersheds to ensure sustainable supply of clean water, support the economies of communities downstream and within its confines, and naturally capture, filter, store and release water that nourishes the quality of life and other ecosystems to include riparian habitats, wetlands, estuaries, corals and mangroves.

It was recognized that water is essential for broad-based agricultural production and rural development in order to improve food security and eradicate poverty, but we are also concerned with the increasing pressure on the limited freshwater resources, and the highly fragile upland environments across the globe that are already affected by a diverse

array of agricultural and land use practices.

The accord is committed to concentrate efforts to combat deforestation, desertification and land degradation through programs that promote massive greening, adoption of sustainable forestmanagement practices, immediate restoration of degraded lands and wetlands, and conservation of biodiversity.

The delegates strongly urged the international community to support regional organizations to take primary responsibility in empowering their local government units and communities to be at the forefront in building the resiliency and integrity of their watersheds to ensure the uninterrupted provision of a wide range of services, which people, companies and societies rely upon for raw-material inputs, production processes and climate stability.

“We are confident that when

society understands and takes responsibility on taking care of their upland ecosystems it is able to mobilize broad alliances of people, governments, civil societies and the private sector, all working together to secure the watershed as a protector of life and a provider of countless vital ecological services,” the accord said.

The accord added that the IRS will vigorously emphasize on good governance in the management of our rivers and watersheds characterized by transparency and accountability, with a stronger focus on enlisting the participation of all stakeholders and engaging upland and indigenous tribal communities, through community-based approaches that put premium to inclusivity and equity in benefit sharing, and encouraged urgent and sustained actions to the recommendations generated under the thematic sessions conducted during the summit.

death of eagle “Pamana” by a local hunter in August last year.

What made it worse was that the incident happened inside Mount Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental, which only that year was granted the status as one of the world’s heritage sites under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

The shooter remained scotfree, despite the bounty put up by government offices, which were apparently pressured by the international community on complying with their commitment to the Unesco. Even the Philippine Eag le Conser vat ion of f ic i a l s turned to the crowdfunding web site Indiegogo to raise funds, which reached $10,000.

Pamana’s death notwithstanding, the conservation program remained esteemed in the global conservation community for its continued successes in breeding the critically endangered eagle.

After several misses, the center eventually came out with “Pagasa,” the first to be bred in 1992.

Another notable success was the PEF’s success in April 2012 in hatching the country’s first Pinsker’s hawk eagle in captivity.

The Pinsker’s hawk eagle (Nisaetus

pinskeri), also endemic to Philippine forests, was hatched in captivity after camp biologists incubated the egg for 48 days.

“The chick is the first bred and hatched in captivity. The chick came from a natural pair, and weighed a mere 57.2 grams when it hatched,” a PEF statement said, after the Pinsker’s hawk eagle came out of its shell.

The Pinsker’s hawk eagle is one of the few species of birds of prey in the Acciptridae family.

“It is considered threatened because of the loss of its natural habitat, the subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest,” the PEF added.

“The PEF’s conservation breeding program has gained significant advancement that will make it possible for us to augment the eagle population. The real challenge, however, is the Pinsker’s hawk eagle’s survival in the wild,” Salvador said.

He said the “fast diminishing forests and destruction of their habitats are still the biggest threats to the survival of the eagles. We need everyone’s contribution to ensure that the eagle population will increase, especially in the wild,” he said.

Manila Water to inaugurate PHL’s largest sewage-treatment plant

M

anila Water is set to inaugurate the Marikina Nor th S ewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Balubad Resettlement, Barangay Nangka, Marikina City, the country’s largest STP to date.

The inauguration is expec ted to be attended by high-ranking national and local government officials, Manila Water executives and construction partners.

The STP is designed to treat 100 million liters per day (MLD) of used water conveyed through a system of 22-kilometer sewer network coming from over 500,000 residents from nine barangays in Marikina City and five barangays in San Mateo, Rizal.

Treated effluent from the STP is categorized as “Class C”, which, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, is safe for recreational water activities and marine life. This will be discharged directly to the adjacent Marikina River. “Built with world-class design and technology, this project is a major milestone in our efforts to improve health and sanitation in the East Zone, as well as aid in the preservation of our rivers by ensuring

domestic used water, from the barangays it will serve, is no longer a pollutant when it is returned to our waterways,” said Geodino Carpio, Manila Water Operations Group director for corporate operations.

The STP, which is built on over a 2-hectare land, with the help of the local government, right at the banks of the Marikina River, is built 26.5 meters above-ground level in anticipation of the frequent flooding in the area. Its construction is marked by 6.5 million safe manhours without lost time for accidents, the best in a Manila Water project to date. The STP is equipped with sequencing batch-reactor technology, a cost-efficient and space-saving innovation, as well as with high-efficiency turbo blowers engineered to lessen the facility’s carbon footprint.

The sewer network was constructed through microtunneling, wherein pipes are jacked across the ground from one entry pit, minimizing impact on traffic and inconvenience to the residents.

Manila Water is the East Zone water and used-water concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

Great Barrier Reef sees record coral deaths this year C

A NBER R A , Austra lia— Warming oceans this year have caused the largest dieoff of corals ever recorded on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists said on Tuesday.

T he worst-affected area is a 700-kilometer swath in the north of the World Heritagelisted 2,300-km chain of reefs off Australia’s northeast coast, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies said.

The center, based at James Cook University in Queensland state, found during dive surveys in October and November that the swath north of Port Douglas had lost an average of 67 percent of its shallow-water corals in the past nine months.

Farther south, over the vast central and southern regions that cover most of the reef, scientists found a much lower death toll.

The central region lost 6 percent of bleached coral and the southern region 1 percent.

“The mortality we’ve measured along the length of the Great Barrier Reef is incredibly patchy,” the center’s director, Terry Hughes,

told reporters. “There’s very severe damage in the northern section of the reef.”

“The good news is that south of Port Douglas, including the major tourist areas around Cairns and the Whitsundays [Whitsunday Islands], have had relatively low levels of mortality,” he added.

The governments of Australia and Queensland will update the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) World Heritage Center this week on progress being made to protect and improve the reef, including their response to coral bleaching.

Providing a status update to the World Heritage Committee was required as part of its decision in June last year not to list the reef as “in danger.”

Federal Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg said on Tuesday the reef’s coral cover had increased by 19 percent in recent years before it suffered a “significant bleaching event” this year, caused by the El Niño weather effect and climate change.

“What that shows is that the Great Barrier Reef is very resilient

Australian Sen. Pauline Hanson listens to marine scientist Alison Jones (left), as she displays a piece of coral on the Great Barrier Reef off Great Keppel Island, Queensland, Australia, in this November 25 photo. Dan Peled, AAP Image via AP

and quite strong,” Frydenberg’s office said in a statement. The government plans to spend A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) over the next decade on improving the reef ’s health.

Hughes said the coral death rates in the north would likely make the task of keeping the reef off the “indanger” list much harder.

“In its ongoing dialogue with Unesco, Australia has said the outstanding universal values of reef are intact because of the pristine condition of the northern reef.

That’s simply no longer the case,” Hughes said.

Researcher Andrew Baird said the 2016 coral die-off was “sub-

stantially worse” than the previous worst-ever event in 1998.

“The proportion of reefs that were severely affected was much, much higher,” Baird said, adding that he did not have precise figures immediately available.

The 1998 event was restricted to in-shore reefs around the

Queensland coastal city of Townsville, while the 2016 destruction affected a much larger area, he said.

Scientists expect that the northern region will take at least 10 years to 15 years to regain the lost corals.

They are concerned that another bleaching event could interrupt that recovery.

There have been three extreme mass bleaching events in 18 years on the reef. In each case, the areas that suffered the worst bleaching were where the water was hottest for the longest period of time.

Reef tourism operator Craig Stephen did not expect the dead coral would diminish visitors’ experience of one of Australia’s biggest tourist drawcards.

“The patchiness of the bleaching means that we can still provide our customers with a world-class coral reef experience by taking them to reefs that are still in top condition,” Stephen said in a statement.

Graeme Kelleher, who headed the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for 16 years, said last week that Australians must not buy the “political lie” that they can have the reef as well as major coal mines nearby. AP

A14 Monday, December 5, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Oil stockpiling or ‘tingi-tingi’?

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he Philippines thinks in terms of days while China plans in terms of years, at least when it comes to supplies of necessary and vital commodities.

The government tries to keep an accumulated stock of rice to feed the nation for two months. However, in the middle of June the rice buffer inventory was 32 days.

Any significant natural or man-made disruption in the supply of rice basically means that the country would be starving in three months. Of course, this is an exaggerated worst-case scenario but that is what we all cautioned to plan for in the event of a supertyphoon or earthquake. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recommends that we “strap or bolt heavy furniture/cabinets to the walls”. What is that other than for worst-case scenarios?

China maintains a three-year supply of rice, two years stored in warehouses and another year growing in rice paddies. When the latter is ready for harvest and being moved into the warehouses, one year of stored rice is released for manufacture into rice wine and vinegar.

Other examples of countries stockpiling rice are India, which has about 17 percent of its annual consumption ready in warehouses, and Indonesia, with about 8 percent. The Philippines tries to keep about 4 percent in reserve but the actual amount has fallen from 1.5 million tons in 2010 to about 500,000 in 2015.

There are advantages and disadvantages to building and maintaining these grain reserves, but there is no question that a nation must have an adequate amount of strategic reserves of vital commodities.

With the potential for a substantial increase in global crude oil prices, the Philippine government announced that it was considering stockpiling oil. That is something the government is very good at—“considering” things. In February the Department of Energy was considering oil stockpiling, as it also did in 2015. Back in 2011, Jorge Montepeque, the former global director for pricing at S&P Global Platts—a provider of energy and commodities information—urged the Philippine government to drop plans to stockpile fuel products as this will not only create market distortions, but also hike global oil prices.

Strange that Montepeque made no mention of the US stored reserves of 700 million barrels of oil or China’s 200 million barrels in storage. In fact, the Czech Republic keeps 100 days of consumption on hand. Denmark has a reserve equal to 81 days of consumption, while Germany must hold 90 days and Ireland has approximately 31 days of oil stocks.

But if the Philippines stockpiles oil, it is going to disrupt the global oil markets. Look how important we are.

The Philippines’s tingi-tingi shopping habit may be borne of necessity in the lower economic classes. However, that is not the way to protect the national interest. There are advantages, disadvantages and challenges with oil stockpiling as with rice.

But with the global geopolitical situation as fragile as it has been anytime since the US/Soviet Union nuclear weapons standoff of the Cold War, the day of “considering” must end. The government needs to conduct a comprehensive and independent study of stockpiling crude oil. Without the necessary and a constant supply of this commodity, the Philippine economy goes back to the Stone Age. Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Pros and cons of a weak peso Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

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T this time the peso-to-dollar exchange rate is 49.76 to one US dollar. It is close to hitting the P50 mark, and we have not seen the Philippine peso perform this way in a long time. The exchange rate around 10 years ago was 53.52 to a dollar, and it would look like things are going in the same direction again.

To those who have overseas Filipino workers family members who remit money to the Philippines, this is good news. For the rest of the country, however, there are other repercussions to consider. It would be better if everyone would have a basic understanding of the effects of a higher exchange rate. Should we be happy or worried? What are its implications?

When the exchange rate is high, there are both advantages and disadvantages. When the peso is weak,

nvestors have consistently underestimated populism. Now, with the election of Donald J. Trump in the United States, there is a sudden reappraisal of what wider populism might mean. It seems likely that populism will play a significant and potentially destabilizing role in global markets in the coming years.

Populism creates market uncertainty—with investors likely to overreact to any signal of the reemergence of a more conventional politics. Populism also adds uncertainty as the direction of international economics of the past quarter century is upended, creating uncertainty about the new direction of international policy and the consequences of that change in direction.

Populism prioritizes the views of a majority of the population. That is not the same as democracy—democracy gives rights to the minority, and creates institutions that protect those rights. With populism the will of the majority is the only legitimizing factor. Populism appeals to the group in society “left behind” by the economic developments of the past quarter century. Rural, older and lower-skilled workers have seen their relative incomes decline. By claiming to give this group “a voice”, populists politicians can win support.

Populism is also helped by social media. Social media encourages the idea of direct democracy—everyone’s opinion should be heard. If you can vote directly on something as important as Pop Idol, then why should you not have a direct vote on negotiations for free trade? However, most constitutions rely on some form of representative democracy—people vote for someone they think is best

would have to vote on the UK’s exit from the European Union, there was a revival of investor interest in the idea that the referendum result might be reversed. When Trump’s scripted victory speech followed the conciliatory norms of more conventional presidential candidates, markets took it as a signal of mainstream politics. Both reactions may tell us more about market desires than political reality.

Populism, therefore, creates more market uncertainty—with investors likely to overreact to any signal of the reemergence of a more conventional politics. Populism also adds uncertainty as the direction of international economics of the past quarter century is upended, creating uncertainty about the new direction of international policy and the consequences of that change in direction.

Finally, populism will remain hard to predict, further fueling uncertainty.

With opinion polls derided for their repeated underestimation of politi-

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all know what happens when prices of oil increase—trade goods become more expensive, too.

So should we be concerned?

Should we start investing now or begin trading our dollars for bigger money? As a matter of fact, the Philippine peso is still a strong currency in Southeast Asia despite its performance of late. So the best economic advice for every Juan would be to keep watching.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas listed the following reasons

we all should pay close attention to the exchange rate: n The exchange rate is the connection between the local and overseas markets for goods, services and financial assets; n It can affect inflation and expectations about price movements in the future; n It can impact foreign trade; and n The exchange rate can also affect our payments of foreign debts.

When we are aware of what is going on in the economy, we are able to make better decisions with regard to investments, trading and other purchases. nnn

On November 19 the Special Maiden Race of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office was held at the Philippine Racing Club Inc. in Naic, Cavite. Emerging as winner was Brilliance (with jockey K.B. Adobo). In second place was Secret Affair (J.B. Guce), and Army of One (P.R. Dilema) came in third. The Breeder’s Prize was awarded to Brilliance. Warm congratulations to all the winners.

The political economics of populist politics

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

for one thing, we sell our products in the international market at a lower price. This, in turn, boosts production and employment. Also, when Filipino families back home are enjoying the increase in remittance value, they get to enjoy higher purchasing power. More consumption is generally better for the economy.

On the other side of the coin, when the peso is weak then basic commodities, like coal and crude oil, become more expensive. And we

When the exchange rate is high, there are both advantages and disadvantages. When the peso is weak, for one thing, we sell our products in the international market at a lower price.

This, in turn, boosts production and employment. Also, when Filipino families back home are enjoying the increase in remittance value, they get to enjoy higher purchasing power.

I

qualified to make decisions on their behalf. When direct democracy and representative democracy collide, the result is populist politicians — representatives who claim they will speak for the voice of the people.

Financial markets do not tend to price the risk of populism very accurately. Investors, fund managers and traders are almost, by definition, not the people who have been left behind over the course of the past quarter century. Their views, and the views of the social circles that surround them, are unlikely to match the views of those supporting populists.

There is also a desire to believe in the status quo. Investors cling to the belief that populists cannot really mean what they say, that markets will force a change of policy, or that the status quo will endure. Any event that suggests the status quo is being reasserted can yield disproportionate market reactions. When the UK High Court ruled that Parliament

cal populism, investors are likely to approach the coming votes in Europe with a heightened degree of uncertainty about the balance of risks.

It is also worth reflecting that populist policies may not solve the problems of the group left behind.

Trump’s tax cuts and infrastructure spending may not offer much direct benefit to lower income, lowerskilled groups (most construction workers are skilled or semiskilled, and any increase in housing costs arising from the stimulus would disproportionately hurt lower income families). The risk is that this simply spurs ever more aggressive populist policies, further fuelling the uncertainty.

Populism is not a temporary phenomenon. Structurally, populism is likely to persist in the near term at least. This suggests more unstable financial markets. The world has become a less certain place.

Paul Donovan’s latest book The Truth About Inflation was published by Routledge in April 2015. Visit www.ubs.com/pauldonovan for more research. Paul’s commentaries in the UBS series of documentaries on Nobel Laureates in economics is available at www.ubs.com/nobel Donovan is the managing director and deputy head of global economics of Zurich-headquartered UBS. He is responsible for formulating and presenting the UBS Investment Research global economic view, drawing on the bank’s worldwide resources.

Donovan took up philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. He holds an MSc in financial economics from the University of London. In the Philippines his column will appear exclusively once a month in the BusinessMirror.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Beyond the call of duty

Go Cordova! Go BHAGs via PPP!

BusinessMirror

By Alberto Agra

Joel L. Tan-Torres

PPP Lead

DEBIT CREDIT

G

overnment officers and employees are oftentimes called public servants. This is an appropriate phrase since these government people continuously provide good service to the public. Just recently, two public servants who are both Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) went beyond the call of duty.

Bureau of Customs (BOC) Deputy Commissioner Arturo Lachica and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Regional Director Jonas Amora were killed in separate ambushes by unidentified murderers.

Lachica was shot on November 17 while on his way home from a conference in the BOC. Amora was killed in the early morning of November 21 while on his way to his BIR office in Makati City.

I would say that both are dedicated public servants. I do not personally know Lachica, other than what I have read from news accounts. Prior his work at the BOC, Lachica served as deputy executive director of the Career Executive Board in 2006 and he also worked at the Civil Service Commission for six years. He hails from Isabela in Basilan.

I personally know BIR Director Jonas. It was in 2009 when I was first introduced to him. I was then recently appointed as the BIR commissioner. On one occasion, the regional director of the BIR in Quezon City introduced his assistant director Jonas to me. His boss was very enthusiastic in praising Jonas as his workhorse, and recommended Jonas to be promoted on the right occasion.

I immediately sensed the validity of the good words about Jonas by his boss, and since that time I have been following the progress of his BIR career. However, due to my short stint as BIR commissioner, I was not able to promote him to regional director, a position he got during the Aquino administration.

Jonas comes from Anda, Bohol, and rose from the ranks, starting as a BIR examiner to become the regional director in Quezon City, then subsequently in Makati. Jonas performed well in these two postings, where he consistently attained his tax goals and interacted well with his personnel and taxpayers. Jonas was also assigned by the BIR leadership several special assignments in

Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner Arturo Lachica and Bureau of Internal Revenue Regional Director Jonas Amora were killed in separate ambushes by unidentified murderers. Deputy Commissioner Lachica was shot on November 17 while on his way home from a conference in the BOC. the area of information technology and ISO standardization.

Over the past recent years, I occasionally would drop by in the BIR Makati office of Director Jonas, even without an appointment. He would gladly welcome me on these visits and we would have long talks of anything under the sun. We frequently talked about how he can improve the services and performance of his office.

He truly was passionate about what he can do as a public servant for the BIR and for the taxpayers. Jonas was that kind of tax collector who believed that treating the taxpayers well and fairly would go a long way in his effort of collecting taxes for the government.

He also was dedicated toward uplifting the state of his subordinates and was always focused on their welfare.

For the first time, I met his wife and children during the wake and I immediately felt their deep love for and painful loss with the passing of Jonas.

To the family of Jonas, I extend my deep-hearted condolence.

To these two CPA colleagues of ours, we thank you for your services beyond the call of duty.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy. He is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He is concurrently a tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPAs. He was the former cmmissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

Continued from A1

B

Y pursuing PPP projects, Cordova breaks away from smallness to greatness when its three PPP projects come on stream.

From being a third-class town dependent on the internal revenue allotment, Cordova envisions to be a first-class self-reliant city.

This is the “moon” or “big mountain” Cordova has to climb. And it has started its ascent. Under the leadership of its former mayor, now Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs, Atty. Adelino Sitoy, Cordova adopted its PPP Ordinance in April 2014. It was one of the first municipalities to have its PPP framework. Cordova, to date, has awarded two big-ticket PPP projects

and it is planning a third.

(1) Largest LGU-awarded Reclamation Project. With the confirmation from the provincial government of Cebu, Cordova awarded a 1,500-hectare reclamation project. Under a joint-venture (JV) arrangement, there will be land reclamation and horizontal development. The new island will host facilities for mixed-use,

BloombergView

I

F Donald J. Trump was consistent about one thing on the campaign trail, it was his rejection of the prevailing Washington consensus in favor of globalization and free trade. Now, weeks before taking office, he has pledged to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the first day of his presidency and kept Carrier from moving a factory to Mexico. His campaign threats to withdraw from the World Trade Organization and slap high tariffs on China and Mexico are already causing tremors in the global economy, amid fears of a possible trade war.

Free-trade feud

W hile data over whelmingly show that globalization has been a net-plus for the global economy, there is no denying that the domestic costs of the new economy have fallen disproportionately on certain sections of the work force. Manufacturing jobs in the US dropped by almost 6 million jobs between 2000 and 2010, leading to a host of social ills, such as alcohol and opiate dependency, depression and community disintegration. Among the wrenching costs of Rust Belt industrial decline is the revelation that, after rising for decades, the life expectancy of white Americans has

started to fall, driven in no small part by suicide and overdose.

While this helps explain Trump’s victory, it doesn’t offer many clues on rejuvenating the nation’s industrial heartland. In fact, the evidence shows that trade liberalization itself is not primarily responsible for those US job losses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 3 percent of mass layoffs from 1996 to 2006 could be attributed to import competition and overseas plant relocations. Other studies show that only one-eighth to one-third of the recent loss of US manufacturing jobs can be traced to trade liberalization, with the rest due to unstoppable technological innovation.

Turning things around calls not for higher tariffs and tightened borders, but a set of policies that take seriously the concentrated impact that economic change has on displaced workers and their communities.

Since 1947, the US has helped to reduce tariffs on industrial products worldwide from nearly 50 percent on average to less than 5 percent.

But Washington has never built a robust system to aid those adversely affected. It allots far less to retraining, job searches and relocation assistance than other industrialized nations, and US programs are poorly thought out and managed. Fortunately, there are some clear steps that can be taken to remedy the

office, commercial/residential districts, commercial development, institutional centers and public use.

Cordova will not spend a single centavo for this project as the project developer, SM Prime Holdings Inc., will shell out the total project cost, estimated to be close to P140 billion. The benefit, however, will not be confined to the municipality.

Cebu Province and the Philippine Reclamation Authority will have a share in the 765 hectares alloted for the government.

(2) New third bridge in Cebu.

Through another JV agreement, Cordova will be at the other end of the third bridge in Cebu. This 8.25-kilometer bridge will connect Cebu City, a highly urbanized city, with Cordova. Under the JV, at no cost to the two local government units (LGUs), the city and municipality shall each receive a share of 1 percent of the annual toll revenues.

The winning proponent, Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp.,

The rule on non-diminution of benefits Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

legally speaking

T

he Christmas season is fast approaching. While children are often excited for their presents from Santa Claus for being nice the whole year, employees, on the other hand, also look forward to their presents from their own Santa Clauses, i.e. their generous employers. These presents or rewards comprise the gratuitous benefits given by the employers to their employees for the unsurpassed services they rendered. Under our labor laws, it is axiomatic that the practice of providing benefits greater than those which are mandated by law remain valid for being favorable to the employees.

In Arco Metal Products Co. Inc. v. SAMARM-NAFLU (GR 170734, May 14, 2008), the Honorable Supreme Court ruled that “any benefit and supplement being enjoyed by employees cannot be reduced, diminished, discontinued or eliminated by the employer.

The principle of non-diminution of benefits is founded on the Constitutional mandate to “protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare,” and “to afford labor full protection.” Though voluntarily given, these benefits provided by the employers may not be

unilaterally withdrawn even if later on, they could no longer afford providing for such. It must be noted that such incident occurs whenever the giving of benefits ripens into company practice.

To constitute as company practice, it must be shown that the giving of benefits by employers to employees: (1) has been done for a considerable long period of time; (2) has been consistently and intentionally done; and (3) has not been a product of erroneous interpretation or construction of a doubtful or difficult question of law (Vergara

A better way to help US victims of free trade

By Ronald J. Daniels & Michael Trebilcock

Monday, December 5, 2016 A15

initiative that is designed to address this problem: the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

That program, run by the Labor Department, provides $900 million each year in extended income support, skills training, job-search assistance and other resources to workers who have lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade.

It is rife with problems. Those who receive training wait an average of more than seven months from the time they file for unemployment insurance. The overwhelming majority receive their instruction in the classroom, with less than 2 percent in apprenticeships or other on-thejob settings. Traditionally, program rules have discouraged people from working part-time while training for a new career. And although workers can receive allowances to help them relocate to a job, these are capped at $1,250, and less than 1 percent of program participants use them.

No wonder that almost twothirds of participants in the program end up working in a field other than the one in which they received new training. And a recent study commissioned by the Labor Department found that the program has had, at best, a negligible impact on workers’ employment prospects over time, and even a negative impact on their wages.

When the New York Times recently

Since 1947, the US has helped to reduce tariffs on industrial products worldwide from nearly 50 percent on average to less than 5 percent. But Washington has never built a robust system to aid those adversely affected.

It allots far less to retraining, job searches and relocation assistance than other industrialized nations, and US programs are poorly thought out and managed. asked the president of an Illinois steelworkers union about the federal trade-adjustment program, he rolled his eyes.

Now compare this to the experiences of foreign workers. One analysis that looked at the labor-market policies in 20 other countries found that their worker training and job-search programs succeed in reducing unemployment, and did so in a cost-effective manner. The most successful programs, such as in Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, tend to have a number of similar traits: They aggressively press workers into training programs, in some circumstances making it mandatory in order to receive other benefits. They engineer flexible opportunities with industry for workers including apprenticeships and

Employers granting 14th-month pays, emergency allowances, and performance and Christmas bonuses to employees, which has already ripened to a company practice, becomes immediately demandable. Employers, therefore, could not unilaterally withdraw nor reduce these grants without violating the prohibition on non-diminution of benefits.

will spend close to P28 billion.

This project is a BHAG not only because of its impact and magnitude. This is a PPP where there are two government agencies acting as partners with the private-sector proponent.

(3) Bridging four provinces with four bridges. Cordova, together with other LGUs, is dreaming to connect four provinces in the Visayas with four bridges under four JV arrangements not by the national government but by the provinces of Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bohol and Southern Leyte. As drawn, the Cebu-Bohol link shall be connected at Cordova and Jetafe, Bohol. Soon, this dream will become a reality.

All BHAGs start with a vision. Cordova has taken the first step and the challenge of undertaking big, hairy, audacious, even risky projects, all intended to serve the general welfare and for better quality of life of the people. The greater challenge now is doing it.

Go Cordova! Go BHAGs via PPP!

v. Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines, GR 176985, April 1, 2013). Once such giving of benefits attains the status of a company practice, the employees can demand these benefits as a matter of right.

The element of considerable long period of time, however, varies. In Davao Fruits Corp. v. Associated Labor Unions (225 SCRA 562, 1993), the Honorable Supreme Court ruled that the act of including in the employees’ 13th-month pay, items which are expressly excluded by law, for at least six years, was considered considerably long and hence, a company practice. In Sevilla Trading Co. v. Semana (438 SCRA 239, 2004), the Honorable Supreme Court held that the act of giving benefits in addition to the

requirement of the law for at least two years, likewise, constituted a company practice.

Considering the above-mentioned rules, employers granting 14th-month pays, emergency allowances, and performance and Christmas bonuses to employees, which has already ripened to a company practice, becomes immediately demandable. Employers, therefore, could not unilaterally withdraw nor reduce these grants without violating the prohibition on non-diminution of benefits.

Employers are therefore reminded that, before changing your existing company policies and benefits, consider at all times whether such change will lead to reduction, diminution or withdrawal of benefits already enjoyed by the employees, more so if such grants are already considered company practice. This is to ensure that no violation on the rule of non-diminution of benefits will ever take place.

Concomitantly, I end this article by stating that employees should be given the benefits to which they are entitled to, for them to enjoy and cherish the upcoming Christmas season. After all, the constitutional policy to provide full protection to labor is not meant to be a sword to oppress employers.

short-term training opportunities.

And they subsidize part-time opportunities for workers, to keep them in the work force and their skills sharp while they look for new opportunities.

Reforming the trade-assistance program along those lines would only be the first step. Next, it should be expanded to cover all displaced workers, no matter the reason they lost their jobs.

In 2011 the Government Accountability Office identified a crazy quilt of 47 different federal employment and training programs, almost all of them overlapping in one way or another.

But, in general, those who are deemed to have lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade receive a far more extensive and guaranteed bundle of income and training support than those displaced for nontrade reasons.

The result: The system is susceptible to persistent charges of arbitrariness and even political tampering in eligibility decisions, and it helps only a small sliver of those forced out of work.

Yes, expanding the program to all workers will cost money. But the US spends less of its GDP on worker employment and training programs than almost every one of its peers.

In 2014 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries spent about 0.53 percent

of GDP on these active labor-market programs. In the US, the figure was 0.11 percent, a 30-year low. Yet, one recent analysis estimated that the US could reduce the unemployment rate by 1 percent if it invested an additional $43.7 billion each year in training programs each year—a mere fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars that are under consideration in Trump’s new national infrastructure package.

In the long run, of course, even the best worker-retraining programs can only be one plank in a comprehensive program to build the skills and resilience of the American worker for the future. After decades of growth in educational attainment in the US in the first threequarters of the 20th century, highschool and college completion rates have stagnated since, a trend that scholars have tied directly to rising economic inequality in our country.

Restoring our education system to its global pre-eminence, including a new emphasis on vocational and flexible lifelong learning, will be key.

But in the shorter term, if Donald Trump truly intends to make America great again, he should understand that turning back the tide of free trade and technology is not possible. The best way forward is harnessing globalization’s benefits while also addressing the legitimate needs of those who have paid the biggest price.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A16

Monday, December 5, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Cesar Montano to head TPB

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

Y

ES, it’s official. After months of rumors going around the tourism industry on his impending appointment, actor Cesar Montano has been named as COO of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), well-placed sources at the Department of Tourism (DOT) and TPB confirmed to the BusinessMirror.

“Actual appointment papers [of Montano]” were received from Malacañang, the sources said, when asked how the DOT management, led by Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, was informed of the appointment of the multiawarded actor.

Teo failed to respond to text messages about Montano’s appointment, but DOT Spokesman and Assistant Secretary Frederick B. Alegre said: “We will be issuing an official statement once he is sworn into office.”

The TPB, formerly the Philippine Conventions and Visitors Corp., is tasked with formulating and implementing an integrated domestic and international promotions and marketing program for the DOT. It was recently headed by 30-yeartourism-marketing veteran Domingo Ramon Enerio III. Montano’s longtime Manager Shirley Pizarro said she had yet to

confirm with the actor about the appointment, and could not reach him by phone as of press time.

Asked how this would impact on his film career, she said: “He has films in the planning stage. I’m not sure what will be the implication of the new post on his career. But if I know him, he will probably find a way to make his showbiz career work for this new appointment.”

Montano was recently part of President Duterte’s business delegation to Beijing, reportedly looking for Chinese investors for an upcoming movie.

While tourism sources said it has not yet been decided when the 54-year-old Montano would actually assume his post at the TPB, he is supposed to attend the TPB Board of Directors meeting on December 15.

“He will be there to observe and be introduced to the [TPB officers and staff],” the sources revealed.

The TPB board is chaired by the

ROBREDO QUITS AS HOUSING CHIEF

By Cai U. Ordinario

V

@cuo_bm

ice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo has resigned from her position as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) on Sunday.

In a statement, Robredo said she received a text message on Saturday from Cabinet Secretary Leonico B. Evasco Jr. that she has to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings starting December 5.”

This was considered by Robredo as the “last straw” in a long list of efforts to undermine her performance as “housing czar” by the current administration.

“This is the last straw, because it makes it impossible for me to perform my duties. Hence, I am tendering my resignation from the Cabinet on Monday, December 5,” she said.

“With this resignation, you can expect that I will continue to support the positive initiatives of this administration and oppose those that are inimical to the people’s interest,” Robredo added.

Robredo said that, in less than five months, she took charge of the housing portfolio, the current administration slashed the 2017 budget of the Key Shelter Agencies (KSAs) by P19 billion.

She added that her appointment recommendations to the KSAs have not been acted upon and the executive or-

Cesar Montano joined Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director General Charito B. Plaza in the bus that took them to Malacañang, where President Duterte took his oath of office on June 30. Photo taken from the Facebook page of Plaza

tourism secretary, with the TPB COO as vice chair, while members include the COO of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority; the secretaries of the departments of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, and Transportation; and five representatives from industry stakeholders as nominated by the private sectorled Tourism Congress.

Under Republic Act 9353, or the Tourism Act of 2009, the COO of the TPB is supposed to be elected

by its board of directors “from a list of qualified applicants and appointed by the secretary.” The same law requires the COO to be “a Filipino citizen, have a bachelor’s degree in any of the following fields: business, law, tourism, public administration or other relevant fields and have demonstrated expertise therein; and have occupied a managerial position for at least five years.”

Considered a gover nmentowned and –controlled corpora-

tion, the TPB’s board has to nominate/elect its COO annually.

Aside from acting in films, Montano is also a film producer, director and singer. He won awards for acting and directing films, such as Ang Bukas ay Akin, Panaghoy sa Suba (The Call of the River), José Rizal, Muro Ami (Reef Hunters), Bagong Buwan, Ligalig and El Presidente.

According to an entry in Wikipedia, Montano, whose real name is Cesar Manhilot and traces his roots to Baclayon in Bohol, “went

to Santa Ana Elementary School, Mariano Marcos Memorial High School and finished engineering at Lyceum of the Philippines University in Intramuros, Manila.”

He made unsuccessful tries for elective office, starting with the Senatorial elections in 2007, for governor of Bohol in 2010, and as a party-list represantive in 2016.

Montano is estranged from his wife actress Sunshine Cruz, who filed an annulment of their marriage in 2014. They have three daughters.

Trump takes his ‘thank-you tour’ to wealthy donor’s costume ball Continued from A2

1930s gangsters Spotted boarding a hotel shuttle to the party was Scott Garrett, a New Jersey congressman who lost his seat after reports that he wouldn’t support a Republican Party committee because it backed gay candidates. Garrett and his wife, Mary Ellen, were dressed as gangsters from the 1930s.

Joseph Bast, president of the Heartland Institute, an Illinois-based think tank that questions the scientific consensus on climate change, wore pris-

oner’s stripes with the word “DENIER” on his back. His wife, Diane, dressed as a British bobby—a member of the thought police, he said.

Brent Bozell, a longtime conservative activist whose Media Research Center has raised millions of dollars from the Mercers, came as Lionheart, the crusading British monarch, in a blood-red tunic.

“My wife is Joan of Arc —she’s about to go up in flames!” Bozell said as he waited for the shuttle to depart. Earlier, Bozell hugged Alexander Nix, the CEO of Cambridge Analytica, a political-data firm in which the Mercers are investors.

Ghostbuster, Rochambeau

Guests were encouraged to keep details of the party private, and most wouldn’t discuss the gathering or their ties to the Mercers. Not all were political types. Steven Hatfill, the biodefense researcher who was wrongly suspected in the 2001 anthrax attacks, was dressed as a Ghostbuster.

Lawrence Mone, the head of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, was Obi-Wan Kenobi; Roger Kimball, of New Criterion magazine, was the Comte de Rochambeau; William Mumma, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

and a former executive at Mitsubishi Securities, wore a nondescript suit and carried a battle-axe. All of their groups have received the Mercers’ money.

Trump’s aides had said earlier in the week that he didn’t plan to attend, and some guests heard of Trump’s plans only minutes before he arrived. “Honoring the ultimate hero at the Mercer ‘Heroes and Villains’ party on Long Island,” Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway said in a tweet. “Crowd thrilled w/ surprise!” She wore a Superman cape. Bloomberg News

S. Korea retains rules on PHL banana exports ROBREDO

₧19 billion The budget cut suffered

by Key Shelter Agencies for 2017 der designed to make HUDCC effective was not signed by the President.

The Vice President said that, while she and the President did not see eye to eye on issues, such as Marcos’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, extrajudicial killings and sexual attacks on women, among others, she continued to do her best to serve the administration.

“We both had a mandate to serve the people. I had hoped that this shared commitment to the poor and marginalized would transcend the differences between us. So, I took the job of housing secretary when it was offered to me,” Robredo said.

Continued from A1

“The MFDS set the final MRL for chlorpyrifos at 2 parts per million [ppm], same as Food Code,” Maghirang said in a memorandum addressed to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol.

She noted that chlorpyrifos is a critical active ingredient for banana production already deleted in the Korean Food Code, but was applied for import-tolerance (IT) analysis.

“It was supposed to be subjected to the default 0.01 ppm MRL if final IT was not issued this by endDecember,” Maghirang said.

The MFDS, Maghirang added, also set the final MRL for buprofecin at 2 ppm. The chemical is an active ingredient not in the Korean food code.

She said Seoul also assigned a final MRL of 2 ppm for azoxystrobin, 0.1 ppm for bifenthrin and 0.1 ppm for thiophanate methyl.

Seoul is currently in the process of putting in place more stringent IT measures on tropical fruits. South Korea wanted to adopt a positive list system (PLS) starting Janu-

ary next year as an IT measure and to do away with the conventional standards on MRL. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines MRL as the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue legally permitted in food commodities and animal feeds.

Conve nt ion a l ly, cou nt r ies follow or pattern their importation measures after the Codex alimentarius, or more commonly known as the “food code”, which details specific limits for every chemical compounds found in pesticides known and used in the global market.

The transition from Codex to PLS would mean that South Korea will only keep its own MRL standards under the Korean Food Code, while any chemical ingredient that is not registered and recognized by it would automatically be assigned an MRL of 0.01 ppm.

This means that any tropical fruit that has a pesticide residue exceeding 0.01 ppm will not be allowed to enter the Korean market starting January 1, 2017.

The MFDS issued the proposed partial amendments to the standards and specifications for foods of South Korea to solicit comments from the public.

If there would be no further appeals or comments from Korea’s partner trading countries after December 20 regarding the new MRLs, MFDS said it will issue its final notification to the World Trade Organization for the implementation of the importation measures starting January.

Maghirang said Seoul has also granted Manila’s “special request” to prioritize IT analysis for chlorpyrifos and buprofecin.

Piñol expressed his gratitude to the South Korean government for its “kind treatment” of Philippine farm products.

“We would like to thank the government of South Korea for granting the request of Filipino farmers for a kinder and more compassionate treatment of Filipino agricultural products to South Korea,” he told the BusinessMirror.

The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association Inc.

(PBGEA) said Seoul ’s decision to grant Manila’s request will allow the Philippines to secure its share in the South Korean banana market.

“This is very welcome news and we are thankful to the Korean MFDS. This will help us greatly in ensuring the quality of our Philippine banana exports,” PBGEA President Alexander N. Valoria told the BusinessMirror.

In October Valoria said that, if Seoul pushes through with the 0.01 ppm regime on chlorpyrifos and other chemicals widely being used in the Philippines, banana growers and exporters could incur huge losses.

The Philippines accounts for more than 90 percent of bananas being imported by South Korea annually. Exporters shipped a total of 212,083 metric tons of bananas to South Korea valued at $80.99 million in 2015, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA data also showed that South Korea accounted for 12.31 percent of total Philippine banana exports last year.