Businessmirror december 13, 2017

BMReports Shorter working hours seen to boost Pinoys’ productivity

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

Conclusion

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arty-list Rep. Ariel B. Casilao of Anakpawis has claimed the compressed workweek bill “is a step back to the dark ages of working conditions, akin to the 19th-century European exploitation of labor.”

Casilao added, “Extended daily work hours threaten the internationally accepted 11-hour uninterrupted rest and will certainly lead to health problems, overfatigue and occupational accidents.”

“While in world history, where the labor movement

A man checks a light post on a street in Manila. Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Philippines provides that the normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight hours a day. NONIE REYES

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2015 environmental Media Award leadership award 2008

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BusinessMirror

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A broader look at today’s business

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Wednesday, December 13, 2017 Vol. 13 No. 63

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

anila has rejected efforts of rich countries to implement deeper tariff cuts on farm products because they were lukewarm to a proposed scheme that will allow developing countries, such as the Philippines, to protect their domestic industries from harmful import surges.

@joveemarie

& Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

oth houses of Cong ress worked extra hours on Tuesday to ratify the proposed P3.7-trillion national budget for 2018.

House and Senate separately gave their final nod to the proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA) on Tuesday night.

Hou se A ppropr i at ion s Committee Chairman Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City, in a statement, said the proposed P3.767trillion GAA for 2018 will be ready for P resident ’s Duterte’s signature before Christmas, following its ratification by Congress.

Nograles said both Houses of Congress quickly ratified the proposed GAA on the same day it was approved by the bicameral conference committee. “This was achieved after two weeks of painstaking deliberations by congressmen and senators who sought to harmonize the differing provisions of their respective versions of the proposed national budget for next year,” he said.

Nograles added the proposed national budget will be signed into law on or before December 19. “President Rodrigo Duterte can proudly affix his signature to this measure on December 19 following its ratification,” he said.

Nograles added the education sector is set to receive big bulk of the 2018 national budget.

These are the provision of an additional P1,000 cash allowance for public-school teachers from the current P2,500 to P3,500 (budget allocation: P770 million) and the increase of at least P10 million each for all state universities and colleges (SUCs) across the board for capital outlays to be used in the repair, rehabilitation, construction of academic buildings and the purchase of equipment, among others (P3.7 billion).

Also, for the education sector are the rollout of the free college education program under Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (P40 billion) to cover the free tuition and miscellaneous fees for college students in all SUCs nationwide.

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PESO exchange rates n US 50.3430

business news source of the year

In PHL difference sparks interest, never hostility

SSM

Teddy Locsin Jr.

free fire An expanded version of a Philippine statement delivered by Ambassador Teddy Locsin Jr. on November 30, 2017, during the high-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The so-called special safeguard mechanism espoused in the Doha Round of talks on agriculture that will allow developing countries to raise tariffs temporarily to deal with import surges or price falls.

W

e, the Non-Aligned Movement, are gathered here today as an excellent example of a culturally diverse community able to work together; if not always in harmony, with unflagging dedication to attaining common goals.

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Continued on A10

DOT says 6.5-M arrivals target for 2017 will be met as 10-mo haul rises 11.5%

No losses,HOUSE but a lotCLEAR of gain SENATE, ALL HURDLES FOR 2018 NATIONAL BUDGET BILL

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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PHL plays hardball at WTO in pushing safeguard deal

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wagered sweat and blood to shorten the daily working hours, in our country, we are facing a legislative measure that aims to throw away these victories,” Casilao was quoted in the Anakpawis party-list blog post as saying.

He recalled that, during the 18th-century industrial revolution, workers were coerced to work for 10 to 16 hours daily and six days a week, which was faced by the mounting labor movement struggles that it was shortened to 10, and then to eight hours for a working day in the 19th century. It was adopted by the Treaty of Versailles on its labor provisions, which served

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

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MERRIMENT MARKET The Christmas market in the old town square of Prague, the Czech Republic, is said to be the best and oldest in Europe. In the middle of square stands a 24-meter spruce tree adorned with festive lights and Christmas ornaments. Around the square are stalls selling arts and crafts such as porcelain Christmas balls, handmade place mats and runners and traditional Czech food like baked ham. STELLA ARNALDO VIA PICSTITCH

HE Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday ex pressed confidence that it would be able to meet its 6.5-million visitor-arrivals target for the year.

This developed as the agency reported an 11.54-percent increase in foreign tourists, to 5.47 million, from January to October 2017. In a news statement, the DOT attributed the higher visitor arrivals to the influx of Chinese and Indian tourists.

Data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed South Koreans continuing to top the number of foreign visitors to the Philippines, rising by 10.63 percent to 1.33 million. China edged out the United States as the second top source-market for tourists, rising

5.47M The estimated number of tourists that visited the country from January to October

by 39.28 percent to 810,807 visitors for the 10-month period in review. In third place was the US, with 785,269 tourists, increasing by 11.54 percent from the same period in 2016. In fourth place was Japan at 490,857, up 9.38 percent. In fifth place was Australia with 206,443 visitors, an increase of 3.83 percent.

Other source markets, which posted significant growths in visitor arrivals, were India at 20.28 percent to hit 88,832 tourists, and Canada at 15.72 percent Continued on A12

Asean’s online economy seen reaching $50 billion this year

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outheast Asia’s Internet economy, spanning online travel to ride hailing, will reach $50 billion this year, putting it on a solid trajectory to grow fourfold by 2025, according to a joint research report by Google and Temasek Holdings Pte. As more consumers buy airline tickets and book hotels through

smartphones, the region’s online travel market ex panded from $19.1 billion in 2015 to $26.6 billion in 2017, according to a report the two companies released on Tuesday. The research covered four key sectors of the Internet economy: travel, media, ride hailing and e-commerce. Online shopping and ride-hailing have come into focus

as Grab, Uber Technologies Inc. and Go-Jek capture consumer preferences with evolving business models. Of the $12 billion of capital invested in Southeast Asian Internet companies since 2016, $9 billion was raised by its unicorns, or start-ups with more t h a n $1- bi l l ion v a lu a tions. The region, which includes

Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, raised just $1 billion in 2015.

“This shows how global and regional investors have favored the largest and most established Internet companies,” the report said.

The growth is being driven by a surging number of new smartphone users. Southeast Asia will See “Asean’s,” A2

n japan 0.4434 n UK 67.1576 n HK 6.4497 n CHINA 7.6064 n singapore 37.2690 n australia 37.8932 n EU 59.2738 n SAUDI arabia 13.4245

Source: BSP (12 December 2017 )

A2 Wednesday, December 13, 2017

BMReports BusinessMirror

Shorter working hours seen to boost Pinoys’ productivity Continued from A1

as the precursor for the International Labour Organization (ILO) Hours of Work (Industry) Convention of 1919.

The Philippines, to note, did not ratify that convention, which was entered into force on June 13, 1921, according to the ILO web site.

Advocacy

IF there is one labor group actively campaigning to trim the total number of working hours in the country, it is the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).

KMU is part of an international movement to reduce working hours to 40 hours a week from the mandated 48 hours a week.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, KMU Chairman Elmer C. Labog said their campaign to shorten working hours is rooted in the initiative of the International Trade Union Congress (Ituc).

“Such a campaign is being initiated by the Ituc and is being practiced or implemented in several countries in Europe, as well as in the Oceania region,” he said.

Labog argued a well-rested and well-paid worker will have a higher productive capacit y and efficiency than that of an overworked, underpaid.

“Obviously, workers who are happy with their work would definitely have a higher productive capacity,” he said. “In the Philippines, however, such a situation is far from reality. Here, wages, especially of rank-and-file workers, are generally low. This is so primarily due to regionalized wage policy and various government policies that generally maintains a wage freeze.”

Worse

ACCORDING to Labog, the underpaid and overworked Filipino’s lives will worsen under a compressed workweek arrangement, filed under House Bill (HB) 6152. HB 6152 aims to compress the workweek by allowing workers to labor more than the international standard of eight hours a day.

“Such a move by the government would mean the forced implementation of longer working hours in

a shorter number of days, say, four to five days a week. That would amount to working 12 to 14 hours a day,” Labog said.

“Such a situation is very dangerous on the health and safety of workers. It is essentially making workers work longer but being paid much lower as overtime work beyond eight hours would be considered as normal working hours,” he added. For Labog, the government should reduce, not compress, working hours.

“International conventions provides that workers on a 24hour life activity should do eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours on his free will for family and orher activities,” the labor leader said. “To induce a compressed workweek would destroy such a work equilibrium.”

Savings

LABOG has found an agreeing voice in Maria Ella C. Oplas, economics professor at the De La Salle University. Oplas said the government must take into consideration the

health of workers before making adjustments with the workweek.

She said compressing the workweek will lead to efficient usage of resources, as employers are given the capacity to make do with a flexible working time.

“Savings can be incurred from utility, [such as] electricity,” Oplas said. However, she pointed out that compressing the workweek will have implications on a worker’s health. This, for her, is a serious consideration the government should take into account before moving on to pass HB 6152.

In the end, Oplas said she believes much is to be discussed whether workweek should be compressed or working hours must be reduced. “But, in general, the arrangement should be left to employees and employers to talk about a better arrangement,” she said.

She also said discussions must begin in the hazardous industries, particularly in the manufacturing sector, as work here is health sensitive. As for the services sector, Oplas said the industry can make

use of the usual shifting of hours.

Haymarket

ACCORDING to Labog, their allies in Congress, the militant Makabayan coalition, are taking steps in promoting the reduction of working hours. However, he said KMU is focused on opposing HB 6152 for now.

“Such a proposition is a blatant violation of the international convention on the eight-hour labor law and a blatant disregard to the workers struggles that made possible the institution of an eight-hour law,” Labog said. “Most prominent of [that] is the Haymarket Square massacre, which eventually led to the commemoration of International Labor Day.” He was referring to the labor protest rally on May 4, 1886, near Chicago’s Haymarket Square that turned into a riot. The mass-up of protesters began as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day and in reaction to the killing of several workers the previous day.

PHL plays hardball at WTO in pushing safeguard deal Continued from A1

In his speech before fellow farm ministers at the 11th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC11) in Argentina, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol emphasized that the Philippines will not agree to a new farm deal sans a concrete special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs).

“The Philippines, once more, wants to reiterate its firm decision that none of the priority of the WTO members provide sufficient political basis for us to support any concrete substantive outcome in this conference in the absence of a specific solution on SSM,” Piñol said during the first day of

MC11 in Buenos Aires on December 12 (Philippine time).

A negative opinion from the Philippines is enough to block any new WTO deal because members of the multilateral trading body decide as a whole on a consensus basis.

“This minimum requirement is even critical for the Philippines, as members continue to evade the needed reforms in domestic support, especially phasing out trade-distorting support, including an interim commitment to limit supports at the product-specific level,” he added.

Pi ñ o l u rg e d W TO m e m b e rcountries to act upon the Philippines’s proposal on establishing SSM if they want to get Manila’s nod for any agricultural deal in the ongoing MC11.

“I therefore call on members with extreme urgency to act now and engage us on our proposal to have a specific and targeted solution on SSG for some members on the basis of our proposal,” he added.

During his speech at the plenary session, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said inequities in agricultural trade continue to exist, as a few WTO member-countries have maintained their large subsidies for farm products.

“It is high time that members made bold contributions today, once and for all, to address these gross imbalances and inequities in agriculture,” said Lopez, who heads the Philippine delegation to MC11.

“I therefore call on members to substantially reduce, toward elimi-

nation, trade-distorting subsidies by phasing out AMS [aggregate measurement of support] and limit supports at the product-specific level,” Lopez added.

The trade chief said an “effective SSM” must be created at the WTO, as the farm sectors of developing countries and LDCs have been harmed by heavily subsidized exports.

“After more than a decade of negotiations for SSM and ministers’ reaffirmation of our political commitment, developing countries and LDCs cannot get back home empty-handed once more,” he added.

SSM is a trade measure that will allow developing countries to raise tariffs temporarily to deal with import surges or price falls, according to the

WTO. It has become one of the most contentious trade issues within the WTO, especially between developed and developing countries.

In 2004 WTO member-countries agreed that SSM will be established for use by developing countries, as indicated in the so-called July Framework. In the 2005 Hong Kong Declaration, WTO developing country members will have the right to recourse to SSM based on import quantity and price triggers.

However, 13 years after the SSM was first floated within the WTO, a concrete framework on it has yet to be crafted. Among the most contentious issues concerning SSM are the “trigger level” and the rate of tariffs that will be imposed.

Senate, House clear all hurdles for 2018 national budget bill Continued from A1

The 2018 budget will also ensure the implementation of free

Wi-fi for all SUCs amounting to P327 million.

An additional P62 billion was set aside for the increase of military

and uniformed personnel’s base pay beginning January 1, 2018.

House Joint Resolution 18, which bears this effect, was approved on

third and final reading on Monday, December 11. “ This will double the basic pay of both the Police Officer 1

and Private from P14,834 per month to P29,668 per month.

The funding requirement for this is already included in the 2018 genera l appropr i at ions bi l l,” Nograles said.

For the other ranks, the raise in base pay will be calibrated resulting to an average increase of 58.70 percent.

Also, provided under the 2018 budget is the purchase of body cameras for Philippine National Police (PNP) members amounting to P334 million (up from the initial allocation of P100 million); acquisition of two single-engine helicopters with a funding of P451 million; housing for PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines members worth P952 million (up from the realigned P900-million Oplan Double Barrel fund); and the increase of police stations’ funds by adding P850 million to their Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses.

According to Nogra les, inc luded i n t he bud get i s t he P3.5 -billion subsidization under the Philippine Hea lth Insurance Cor p. budget for the cost of healthcare benefits of gover nment employees in the Executive branch.

The other agencies with the highest budgetary allocations are: the Department of Public Works and Highways; the Department of Interior and Local Government; the Department of Health; the Department of National Defense; the Department of Social Welfare and Development; the Department of Transportation; the Department of Agriculture; Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Jobless. . .

Continued from A12

workers increased to 62.3 percent in October, from 60.6 percent in 2016. The largest increase came from those that worked for private establishments to 48.6 percent in October from 47.6 percent in 2016.

Data also showed that those who worked without pay in their own family-operated farm or business decreased to 6 percent in October from 8.6 percent.

Meanwhile, underemployment in Areas outside the NCR was registered at 17 percent, lower by 2.6 points, from the 19.6 percent in 2016.

However, total employment decreased to 41.6 million in October 2017, lower by 0.3 points from a year ago. Employment rate also fell to 95 percent, from 95.3 percent in 2016.

Agriculture, accounting for 25 percent of the country’s total employment, shed around 1.4 million jobs (-12.1 percent). The said sector contributed to the setback in the overall employment rate in October 2017.

Pernia emphasized the need to closely monitor the farm sector to ensure that those engaged in agriculture are highly productive and resilient and are increasingly linked to the industry and services sectors.

“Agriculture sector is very vulnerable to risks, including natural and man-made hazards. The government should strengthen early-warning systems and socialprotection programs for the sector to ensure resiliency of agricultural communities,” he said.

He added that the sector requires sustainable productivity improvements by promoting value addition, product diversification and accelerating local infrastructure provision like irrigation systems and farm-to-market roads.

On the other hand, industry and services, which accounted for 75.1 percent of the total employment, grew by 5.2 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

The Neda also emphasized the need to pursue policies to increase labor-force participation of women, including: (a) the full implementation of the responsible parenthood and reproductive health law; (b) improved access and affordability of child-care services; (c) policies that promote work-life balance, including a regulatory framework to allow part-time work and work-fromhome even in the formal sector; (d) the provision of retraining services for women returning to the work force; (e) enhancing maternal and paternal benefits; and (f) improved access of women to entrepreneurial opportunities.

T he L FS i s a n at ionw id e q u a r t e r l y s u r v e y of hou s e holds to gather data on the d e mo g r a ph i c a nd s o c io e c o nomic characteristics of the population and provide statistics on levels and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment in the country.

Asean’s. . .

Continued from A1

have 330 million monthly active Internet users by the end of 2017—equivalent to the size of the US population—after adding more than 70 million users since 2015. E-commerce sales of new goods will reach $10.9 billion in gross merchandise value in 2017, almost double their level in 2015, according to the report.

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing market, which is fiercely contested by Grab, Uber and Go-Jek, is expected to double from 2015 to $5.1 billion in 2017, before reaching $20.1 billion in 2025.

“Millions of users transact and play on their platforms on a daily basis, giving them a head start as they aim to build digital payment services accepted by online and offline merchants,” the report said.

Economy

A4 Wednesday, December 13, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

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Duterte fires urban-poor executives over ‘junket’

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

resident Duterte axed on Tuesday all five commissioners of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) for allegedly not meeting as a collegial body and going on “unnecessary” trips abroad.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. broke the news on Tuesday in fulfillment of the President’s recent pronouncement he will “fire about one commission” this week. Roque said Duterte has decided to sack all five commissioners of the PCUP for not performing their duty as heads of the agency and going on lavish trips abroad.

“According to him, [the PCUP is] a collegial body and they have not met as a collegial body. And No. 2, that the commissioners are notorious for junkets abroad,” he said at a news briefing. “[T h i s] k i nd of work per formance has no place in the Duterte administration. We reiterate we are serious about the drive against corruption in [the] government and this latest decision of the President to [axe] the PCUP [commissioners], among others, for unnecessary junkets of its officials prove beyond doubt

that the President is very serious in his anticorruption campaign,” the Palace official added.

The PCUP is headed by commissioners Terry L. Ridon, Melissa A. Aradanas, Noe B. Indonto, Joan A. Lagunda and Manuel L. Serra Jr. Ridon, a former leftist lawmaker, sits as chairman of the agency.

Before the PCUP commissioners, Duterte in November axed former Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Chairman Dionisio L. Santiago for reported collaboration with drug lords and going on unnecessary trips abroad. Santiago was alleged of traveling to Austria and the United States with a delegation composed of his favorite DDB employees using taxpayers’ money.

However, Roque said he has yet to see the details of the alleged junkets of the PCUP commissioners. “I do not know personally. He [the President] just asked me to make the announcement that it

is in line with the government’s drive against graft and corruption,” he said.

Roque also said Ridon’s leftleaning politics was not the reason behind his removal as head of the PCUP. “Alam mo, maski leftleaning naman si Terry Ridon, alam kong hiwalay naman siya doon sa grupo ng makakaliwa dahil hindi na nga siya kinuha bilang nominado ng party-list na Kabataan nang pangalawang beses [Even though Terry Ridon is left-leaning, he is already separated with the Left and proof to this was that he was not selected for the second time by his former party-list group],” he said.

For his part, Ridon said all their trips were covered by travel authorities issued by the Office of the President, and are, thus, legitimate and lawful. However, he said he will no longer contest the Chief Executive’s decision to axe him and his fellow commissioners in the PCUP. “All trips were covered by travel authorities issued by the Office of the President and recommended by the Office of the Cabinet Secretary involving international conferences relevant to the urban poor: poverty alleviation, public housing and climate change. Further, these conferences involved a multiagency delegation, of which our agency was only among its members,” Ridon said.

“We thank the President for the opportunity to ser ve the nation. The public record of the

agency can speak for itself: We had implemented with full integrity the presidential promise of no demolition without relocation,” he said.

With Ridon’s looming exit as chairman of the PCUP, two leftleaning leaders remain in the government. They were National AntiPoverty Commission Lead Convener Liza L. Maza and Labor Undersecretary Joel B. Maglunsod.

Meanwhile, Roque said he is certain the President will look into the complaint of the employees of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP). DAP workers are urging Duterte to sack their principal, Elba S. Cruz, for allegations of corruption.

“Well, it was made in a very public manner, and I’m sure the

President will investigate this particular complaint. As you can see, the President does not take issues of corruption sitting down,” Roque said.

DAP employees are holding Cruz accountable for restructuring and creating offices at the agency, resulting in additional costs and displacement of civil-service eligibles.

On top of this, they are accusing Cruz of threatening to remove employees and personnel who oppose her policies and actions.

Like Santiago and the PCUP commissioners, Cruz is also alleged of going on lavish trips abroad.

DAP employees claimed she have had gone on travels abroad every month that has apparently prevented her from physically managing the agency.

[This] kind of work performance has no place in the Duterte administration. We reiterate we are serious about the drive against corruption in [the] government and this latest decision of the President to [axe] the PCUP [commissioners], among others, for unnecessary junkets of its officials prove beyond doubt that the President is very serious in his anticorruption campaign.”—Roque Green groups criticize House panel OK of bill to repeal waste-incineration ban

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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nvironmental groups belonging to the No Burn Pilipinas alliance on Tuesday slammed members of the ecology committee of the House of Representatives for its approval of a bill repealing the waste-incineration ban under Republic Act (RA) 8749, or the Clean Air Act of 1999.

No Burn Pilipinas is composed of Bangon Kalikasan Movement, EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Health Care Without Harm and the Mother Earth Foundation.

They criticized the committee for allegedly hastily giving in to the Regulation of Thermal Treatment Technology Act proposed mainly by Rep. Carlito S. Marquez of the Lone District of Aklan, which consequently revokes Section 20 of RA 8749. The incineration ban essentially disallows “the burning of municipal, biomedical and hazardous waste…[that] emit poisonous and toxic fumes.”

RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, reinforced the ban by requiring the adoption of the best practice in ecological waste management, excluding incineration.

The group said there was no serious effort by the House panel to conduct balanced and comprehensive studies on the issue.

They also slammed the haste and lack of transparency of the panel, “especially given the serious health, socioeconomic and public-health implications of the proposed measure.”

Marketed by the industry as so-called waste-to-energy plants, incineration facilities, aside from increasing cancer risks, are more expensive than coal and nuclear plants; more harmful to the climate than coal, and generate very little electricity while burning up resources that may still be recovered, reused or recycled, the alliance added.

“The pro-incineration bill is unconstitutional and threatens to create massive disaster to the environment and irreversible damage to the health of all people, especially children for generations to come,” Joey Papa, president of the Bangon Kalikasan Movement said in a news statement.

Papa pointed out that incinera-

tion violates existing laws, including Section 16 of the Philippine Constitution of 1987, which states that “The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature, Section 20 of RA 8749, which defines incineration and prohibits the burning of municipal, biomedical and hazardous waste and emits poisonous and toxic fumes.

The groups said the panel also failed to consider Section 3 of RA 9003, which promotes resource recovery shall refer to the collection, extraction or recovery of recyclable materials from the waste stream for the purpose of recycling, generating energy or producing a product suitable for beneficial use.

“Far from solving our garbage woes, the lifting of the incineration ban as proposed by some lawmakers will only compound our problems as incinerators can inflict harm to human health and the ecosystems, contribute significantly to environmental pollution and global warming, and fuel an unsustainable system of unbridled production, crass consumerism and throw-away culture,” said Aileen Lucero, the national coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition, for her part.

“Burning trash is a regressive approach to waste management that is being phased out in other parts of the world, which are now pursuing a more sustainable circular economy,” said Lea Guerrero, climate and clean energy campaigner of Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.

“Our lawmakers must reject this bill. We are also calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to seriously reconsider his plans to pursue incineration, which puts the Filipino people’s welfare and the environment at risk,” she added.

Ramon San Pascual, executive director of Health Care Without Harm, said the issue of lifting the ban on incinerator use deserves more deliberation and public discussion.

According to Sonia Mendoza, chairman of Mother Earth Foundation, the push to repeal the incineration ban will undermine source segregation, recycling and other zero-waste strategies that conserve precious resources, avoid toxic pollution and generate livelihoods and jobs.

Neda to govt, manufacturers: Shift to biz automation

By Cai U. Ordinario

I

@cuo_bm

F the Philippines aims to improve its manufacturing sector’s performance, the country must undertake efforts to automate its business processes, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said reducing face-to-face interaction in doing business will make it easier for businessmen to operate in the Philippines.

Pernia said issues surrounding the ease of doing business was the main culprit for the decline in businessmen’s confidence in the country, and consequently, the poor performance of the manufacturing sector.

“Efficiency in delivering business-related government services or ease of doing business still needs to be improved. Ideally, business procedures across all national agencies and local government units must be automated,” Pernia said in a news statement released on Tuesday.

T he Neda chief issued his statement after the Philippine St at i st ic s A ut hor it y ’s ( P S A ) released data, which showed manufacturing output declined in October.

Based on the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries, the Volume of Production Index contracted 6.5 percent and the Value of Production Index also declined 6.3 percent in October.

Pernia said the continued decline of production at the onset of the fourth quarter mirrored the less optimistic business sentiment of firms in the manufacturing sector.

He added that a predictable and consistent policy environment should be maintained to attract investments and reinvestments in the country. “ The Business Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported expectations of seasonal slack in demand for some products and stiffer competition due to business expansion of some firms as reasons for their less favorable outlook,” he said.

The Neda said there was a need to improve the delivery of business-related government services, as well as introduce innovation across all firm sizes to aid manufacturing output.

Pernia also said the government also needs to create an enabling environment that will foster collaboration between industry and the academe, adding that marketoriented research will facilitate the development of innovative products and processes.

Meanwhile, the production volume of major export-oriented products continued to increase, owing to the ongoing recovery of global trade, with Asian trade volume growing by 7.4 percent in the first half of 2017.

“The weakening of the peso and a slightly higher global commodity prices can further sustain the growth of export-oriented firms,” the Cabinet official said.

Production volume and va lue of manufactured food grew at a slower pace in the same month, while production volu me of const r uc t ion-re l ated manufactures remained robust in October.

The latter is attributed to the higher demand for nonresidential buildings, particularly industrial and commercial buildings. The growth was also complemented by higher government infrastructure spending and capital outlays, which grew by 15.4 percent in the third quarter of 2017.

FULLERTON HEALTH ANNOUNCES PHILIPPINES MARKET ENTRY THROUGH THE ACQUISITION OF INTELLICARE GROUP Singapore – Fullerton Healthcare Corporation Limited (Fullerton Health) have announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire a 60% stake in the Intellicare Group, one of the leading managed care providers in the Philippines.

The Philippines is an important market in Asia Pacific for Fullerton Health, underpinned by attractive underlying growth drivers. Completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions and is expected to complete in early 2018.

The Intellicare Group was founded in 1995 and is strategically aligned with Fullerton Health’s vision of being Asia Pacific’s preeminent total healthcare solution provider. The Intellicare Group comprises three companies: Asalus, a health maintenance organisation (“HMO”) engaged in the delivery of managed healthcare services via comprehensive, systematic and preventionoriented health maintenance programmes; Avega, a provider of third party administration services to corporates as well as small and medium enterprises; and Aventus, a chain of nine outpatient multi-speciality clinics.

Dr Michael Tan, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Fullerton Health, commented: “Today is an important milestone for Fullerton Health and takes us into our eighth country in Asia Pacific. With a population of over 100 million people, the Philippines offers great growth potential for the company, and the potential synergies between our two businesses, together with our operational and technological capabilities, will allow us to deliver increased benefits and services to even more corporates and patients across the country. This acquisition reinforces our strategy of developing a strong presence in markets across the region, and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Intellicare Group to the Fullerton Health family.”

Mario M. Silos, Chairman and President of Intellicare Group, said: “The investment by Fullerton Health, establishing them as our majority shareholder, is an exciting development for the Intellicare Group. It will enable us to tap into their expansive network and wealth of experience across Asia Pacific to ensure that we are delivering the most sophisticated care possible to corporates and patients throughout the Philippines. As the country’s preeminent HMO, we are committed to leading the managed healthcare space. Fullerton Health shares our values of ensuring that healthcare is efficient, accessible, affordable and compassionate, and the synergies created through this acquisition will enable us to uphold each of these and enhance our innovative and holistic approach to managed healthcare.”

A6

The World BusinessMirror

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

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After NYC subway bombing, Trump slams ‘chain migration’

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EW YORK—A would-be suicide bomber’s rush-hour blast in the heart of the New York City subway system failed to cause the bloodshed he intended, authorities said, but it gave new fuel to President Donald J. Trump’s push to limit immigration.

Hours after Monday’s explosion in an underground passageway connecting two of Manhattan’s busiest stations, Trump cited the background of the alleged bomber in renewing his call for closer scrutiny of foreigners who come to the country and less immigration based on family ties.

The man arrested in the bombing, Akayed Ullah—who told investigators he wanted to retaliate for American action against Islamic State (IS) extremists—came to the United States from Bangladesh in 2011 on a visa available to certain relatives of US citizens.

“Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extendedfamily chain migration, which is incompatible with national security,” Trump said in a statement that called for various changes to the immigration system.

Earlier, White House Spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump’s proposed policies “could have prevented this.”

In a scenario New York had dreaded for years, Ullah strapped on a crude pipe bomb with Velcro and plastic ties, slipped unnoticed into the nation’s busiest subway

system and set off the device, authorities said.

The device didn’t work as intended; authorities added Ullah, 27, was the only person seriously wounded.

But the attack sent frightened commuters fleeing through a smoky passageway, and three people suffered headaches and ringing ears from the first bomb blast in the subway in more than two decades.

“This is one of my nightmares...a terrorist attack in the subway system,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told cable channel NY1. “The good news is: We were on top of it.”

Ullah was being treated for burns to his hands and abdomen but spoke to investigators from his hospital bed, law-enforcement officials said.

He was “all over the place” about his motive but indicated he wanted to avenge what he portrayed as US aggression against the IS group, a lawenforcement official said.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the blast.

Ullah’s low-tech bomb used explosive powder, a 9-volt battery, a Christmas light and matches, the officials said. Investigators said the

suspect was seen on surveillance footage igniting the bomb.

In the end, it wasn’t powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel, the officials added.

Law-enforcement officials said Ullah looked at IS propaganda online but is not known to have any direct contact with the militants and probably acted alone.

Cuomo said there was no evidence, so far, of other bombs or a larger plot. The Democrat said officials were exploring whether Ullah had been on authorities’ radar, but there was no indication yet that he was.

The attack came less than two months after eight people died near the World Trade Center in a truck attack that, authorities said, was carried out by an Uzbek immigrant who admired the IS group.

Since 1965 America’s immigration policy has centered on giving preference to people with advanced education or skills, or people with family ties to US citizens and, in some cases, legal permanent residents.

Citizens have been able to apply for spouses, parents, children, siblings and the siblings’ spouses and minor children; the would-be immigrants are then screened by United States officials to determine whether they can come.

Trump’s administration has called for a “merit-based” immigration system that would limit familybased green cards to spouses and minor children.

Ullah lived with his father, mother and brother in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Bangladeshi community, residents said.

He was licensed to drive a livery cab between 2012 and 2015, but the license was allowed to lapse, according to law-enforcement officials and

Police secure Eighth Avenue outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal following an explosion near New York’s Times Square on Monday. Police said a man with a pipe bomb strapped to him set off the crude device in an underground passageway under 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. AP/Chuck Zoeller

New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.

His family was “deeply saddened” by the attack but also “outraged by the way we have been targeted by law enforcement,” the family said in a statement sent by the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. A teenage relative was pulled out of class

and questioned in school without a parent, guardian or lawyer, the statement added.

Security cameras captured the attacker walking casually through a crowded passageway when the bomb went off around 7:20 a.m. A plume of white smoke cleared to show the man sprawled on the ground and commuters scattering.

Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security.”–Trump

Port Authority police said officers found the man injured on the ground, with wires protruding from his jacket and the device strapped to his torso.

They said he was reaching for a cell phone, and they grabbed his hands.

The last bomb blast in the subway system was believed to be in December 1994, when an explosive made from mayonnaise jars and batteries wounded 48 people in a car in lower Manhattan.

Prosecutors said unemployed computer programmer Edward Leary set off the explosion to try to extort $2 million from the city’s transit agency; he claimed insanity. He was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 94 years in prison. AP

Ash falls like snow as celebs flee California community US-based climate

scientists to take research to France

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OS ANGELES—Ash fell like snow and heavy smoke had residents gasping for air on Monday as a huge Southern California wildfire exploded in size again, becoming the fifth largest in state history and driving celebrities from a wealthy hillside enclave.

Tens of thousands have fled their homes as flames churn through foothill towns near Santa Barbara, the latest flare-up after a week of wind-fanned wildfires throughout the region.

With acrid smoke thick in the air, even residents not under evacuation orders were leaving, fearing another shutdown of a key coastal highway that was closed intermittently last week.

Officials handed out masks to those who stayed behind in Montecito, an exclusive community about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles that’s home to stars, such as Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bridges and Drew Barrymore.

Actor Rob Lowe wore a mask as he live-streamed his family evacuating last Sunday from their smokeshrouded home.

“Praying for the people in my area,” he said to his Instagram followers. “Hope everybody’s getting out safe like we are, and thanks for the prayers and thoughts. And good luck to the firefighters, we need you!”

Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that neighbors were helping each other and their animals get to safety.

“I’m sending lots of love and gratitude to the fire department and sheriffs. Thank you all,” she wrote.

The blaze—known as the Thomas fire—has destroyed 683 homes, officials said. It was partially contained after burning 362 square miles (937 square kilometers) of dry brush and timber.

Customers coming into Jeannine’s American Bakery in Montecito brushed ash from their clothes and marveled at smoke so heavy that visibility was down to just a few feet.

“There’s so much ash it’s unbelievable,” manager Richard Sanchez said. “Everything is white. The streets are covered, cars are covered, our parking lot is covered.”

Amtrak canceled service through the city of Santa Barbara, and its nearly 200-year-old mission church was closed because of smoke and ash. Authorities issued repeated alerts about unhealthy air and warned people to stay indoors, avoid vigorous outdoor activities and not do anything to stir up ash.

Dr. Helene Gardner, an expert in air quality at University of California, Santa Barbara, watched ash fall “like a fine snow” from her home after the school postponed final exams until January. She

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Firefighters knock down flames as they advance on homes atop Shepherd Mesa Road in Carpinteria, California. A flare-up on the western edge of Southern California’s largest and most destructive wildfire sent residents fleeing last Sunday, as wind-fanned flames churned through canyons and down hillsides toward coastal towns. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP

said her environmental sciences students got a kick from the fact that the delay was directly related to their field of study.

Gardner warned that the air alerts should be taken seriously because of airborne particulates— ”nasty buggers” that can lodge in lungs and cause respiratory problems.

She added the levels of particulates from a wildfire can approach those seen near coal-burning plants in pollution-heavy China and are especially problematic for people exerting themselves.

“When I look out my window and see someone bicycling I think, ‘No, no, no, get off your bike and walk!’” she said.

Forecasters initially predicted that dry winds, which spread fires throughout the region last week, would begin to lose their power on Monday, but now say they’ll extend further into the week.

Santa Ana winds have long contributed to some

of the region’s most disastrous wildfires. They blow from the inland toward the Pacific Ocean, speeding up as they squeeze through mountain passes and canyons.

“I’m not fr ightened yet,” Car pinter ia resident Roberta Lehtinen told K ABC-TV. “I don’t think it’s going to come roaring down unless the winds kick up.”

Firefighters gained more control over other major blazes in Southern California, and diverted resources to the Santa Barbara foothills to combat the enormous fire that started December 4.

Fires are not typical in Southern California this time of year, but can break out when dry vegetation and too little rain combine with the winds. Though the state emerged this spring from a years-long drought, hardly any measurable rain has fallen in the region over the past six months.

High fire risk is expected to last into January. AP

ARIS—It is a dream come true for United States-based climate scientists—the offer of all-expenses-paid life in France to advance their research in Europe, instead of in the US, under climate skeptic President Donald J. Trump, two of the winners say.

American scientist Camille Parmesan and British scientist Benjamin Sanderson are among the 18 initial winners, including 13 based in the US, who were named recipients of French President Emmanuel Macron’s “Make Our Planet Great Again” climate grants.

Macron congratulated the winners during a brief ceremony in Paris on Monday evening, ahead of a climate summit that gathers more than 50 world leaders in the French capital on Tuesday.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Parmesan expressed elation at the prospect of spending the next five years doing her research in France instead of the United States.

A scientist from the University of Texas at Austin, she is a leader in the field on how climate affects wildlife. She lived for a few years in the United Kingdom for family reasons and was considering returning to the US until Trump’s election.

“He very, very rapidly has been actively trying to erode science in the USA and, in particular, climate science,” she said. “And it’s hard for two reasons: Funding is becoming almost impossible, and in a psychological sense.”

Parmesan answered with enthusiasm Macron’s appeal for climate researchers to come work in France, minutes after Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate accord.

“It gave me such a psychological boost, it was so good to have that kind of support, to have the head of state saying I value what you do,” she added.

Parmesan, who said she is looking forward to improving her French, will be working at an experimental ecology station in the Pyrenees mountains.

Sanderson, who also worked in the US, told the AP that he found it “very reassuring” that France is “openly encouraging climate research.”

He said his application was motivated by “the fact that France is making a stand on prioritizing climatechange research, but also it’s increasingly hard to get research funding in the US.” Sanderson used to work at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, on risks and uncertainties under climate change. For the next few years, he will be living in Toulouse, in southern France, where the country’s national meteorological service is based. AP

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How China’s debt curbs could start weighing on the economy

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hina’s sweeping deleveraging push is poised to inflict more pain next year.

Authorities tightening funding in financial markets and reining in excessive borrowing will likely deal a blow to investment in infrastructure and property, while soaring corporate funding costs may damp business expansion.

That could add to headwinds facing an economy expected to grow at the slowest pace in more than a quarter century next year, complicating the balancing act for policymakers who want to defuse the country’s debt bomb without derailing the expansion.

When the Central Bank turns down the credit tap, governments and companies are less keen to build roads, railways and other infrastructure. Often a key prop to the expansion, such construction is expected to decelerate next year, weighing on economic growth.

When banks sneeze, property developers often catch cold first.

Real estate made up 17 percent of all fixed-asset investment last year, and accounts for an even larger share of total economic output if related industries are included. The sector has close interconnections with steel and cement makers, producers of excavators and bulldozers, and of course real-estate agents.

Corporate bond issuance is on pace to drop in 2017 for the first time in four years as surging yields make selling debt more expensive. Banks will also likely charge higher premiums on top of benchmark loan rates, raising the overall financing costs for companies, according to Nathan Chow, an economist at DBS Bank Hong Kong Ltd. That means companies may invest less in business expansion, he said.

It’s getting pricier for banks to get funding, as the seven-day reverse repurchase rate and yields on negotiable certificates of deposit have surged amid tighter liquidity. This means the lenders must charge higher rates for loans, especially those made to smaller private companies, to keep making a profit, Chow said.

That gives another boost to corporate funding costs.

The yield premium for China Development Bank (CDB) bonds over government debt surged past 1 percentage point last month. The debt selloff, triggered by concerns about the deleveraging push and tighter liquidity, poses an increasing challenge to the credit CDB and other policy banks extend because they use market funding rather than deposits. This could be a drag on growth as those funds go to everything from renovating shantytowns to Belt and Road Initiative projects across Asia, Europe and Africa.

The 10-year yield on the policy lender’s bonds climbed four basis points to 4.87 percent as of 12:02 p.m. in Shanghai, extending a threeday advance to 11 basis points. The yield on similar-maturity government debt rose one basis point to 3.96 percent.

The financial services industry accounts for roughly 8 percent of China’s GDP, yet it’s the sector most directly impacted by borrowing curbs, as banks and brokerages charge fees on debts issued and stocks sold.

China’s stocks will trade weaker than current levels for much of next year as deleveraging crimps credit growth and keeps interest rates elevated, according to Bocom International Holdings Co.’s Hao Hong.

That would damp the output from financial services, which is more closely tied to equity markets and can affect overall growth by 0.5 percentage point. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 A7

US and EU team up against China in blasting world trading system

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he United States and Europe argued the world trading system is failing to live up to expectations, even as China defended the existing order and urged countries to forge ahead with globalization.

As trade ministers from around the world gathered for meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the top US trade negotiator said the WTO is focused too much on refereeing legal complaints, which distracts from its core mission of expanding commerce.

“We are concerned that the WTO is losing its essential focus and becoming a litigation-focused organization,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a speech on Monday at the WTO’s biennial meetings taking place in Buenos Aires through Wednesday.

Under President Donald J. Trump, the US has stepped up criticism of the Geneva-based organization, which was founded in 1995 to promote open trade. While the 164 member body is meant to be a forum for countries to negotiate how to reduce trade barriers, talks on a global-trade deal have stalled. The US has been blocking appointments to the WTO’s appeals panel, a move the organization says is undermining its ability to handle disputes.

“Too often members seem to believe they can get concessions through lawsuits that they can never get at the negotiating table,” Lighthizer said.

WTO’s usefulness

With the US questioning the WTO’s usefulness, trade ministers meeting this week in Argentina are expected to make only moderate

We are concerned that the WTO is losing its essential focus and becoming a litigation-focused organization.”

—Lighthizer progress at cutting trade barriers.

European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom reiterated that concern on Monday, adding that the WTO isn’t living up to its potential.

“We need to break down the logjam that’s prevented this organization from playing the part it should in global trade,” she said in a speech “The problems are many, but essentially they boil down to one fundamental issue: an inability to discuss issues of concern to members and to agree on a suitable way forward.

This problem is systemic and it is beginning to jeopardize the whole organization.”

At the same time, Europe’s five biggest economies are also criticizing US proposals to overhaul corporate taxes that they say could flout WTO rules, while harming trade and

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (from left), Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal and Switzerland’s Johann Schneider-Ammann gather before the start of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Monday. AP

investment flows.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the finance ministers from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain said a proposed 20-percent excise tax in the House version of the tax bill “could discriminate in a manner that would be at odds with international rules embodied in the WTO.”

Market economy

Lighthizer has said the WTO isn’t equipped to deal with what his country sees as China’s mercantilist tactics. The US has joined the EU in rejecting China’s claim that, under the terms of its accession to the WTO, it should have graduated last year to market-economy status, which would offer greater protection from antidumping duties.

“It is impossible to negotiate new rules when many of the current rules are not being followed,” Lighthizer said, adding that the US is leading talks on how to improve the “sad performance” of many members.

Lighthizer also questioned why rich countries are claiming developing-country status at the WTO, which gives them special treatment.

“We need to clarify our understanding of development within the WTO,” he said, adding that some members are “intentionally circumventing their obligations.”

Speaking shortly after Lighthizer on Monday, China’s Commerce Minister Zhong Shan defended the WTO’s role in facilitating global trade, which is set to grow faster than the global economy this year for the first time since 2014.

“We don’t believe there’s any other institution that can promote trade like the WTO, so we must push ahead with globalization to make the world open, inclusive, equitable,” he said.

China’s position in the WTO has become awkward as it shares interests with the US and other advanced economies on some issues, but on others is closer to developing nations, making it difficult to take sides, according to Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

“What China could do is to call for other members to stick to the WTO and globalization,” Tu said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

“There’s no better way, at least for now.” Bloomberg News

Europe’s thirst for cheap labor fuels boom in disposable workers

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ARDUBICE, Czech Republic— As dusk settled over the rambling Czech countryside, a group of haggard workers emerged from a dank three-story concrete dormitory and jammed into buses.

The evening shift was about to begin at two nearby factories owned

by Foxconn and Panasonic.

Most of the workers had been recruited from Romania, Bulgaria and other central European countries by a large employment agency.

When their contracts are up, they will be sent home, with another group of migrant workers brought in as required—replaceable cogs in a tireless machine.

Across Europe, nearly 55,000 agencies recruit hundreds of thousands of temporary workers each year for cheap manual labor and service jobs. The agencies allow employers to tap into a more flexible work force—and avoid some of the region’s more onerous labor costs.

Those agencies recruiting manual labor scour the continent for people willing to pick vegetables in Britain, pour concrete in France or work assembly lines in Eastern Europe.

While they receive monthly pay, they often work long days, so their wages can average out to as little as €3.50, or about $4.10, an hour—less than the minimum wage in some of the countries.

Some agencies control entire labor-supply chains, transporting recruits across borders, lodging them, busing them to and from job sites, and then moving them elsewhere when they’re no longer needed.

The practices are legal under rules that allow European citizens to work

anywhere in the 28-nation bloc. But as employers outsource more workers and deepen their reliance on shorter-term contracts to cut costs, European regulators are increasing their scrutiny.

About a third of Europeans are now in some form of atypical employment, ranging from Uber drivers to pilots, and there are concerns that basic labor protections, including social-security benefits and sick leave, are being eroded.

For companies, the challenges of hiring low-cost workers are growing: An economic recovery is shrinking the pool of cheap labor that initially attracted Foxconn and others to Europe. Employment agencies like Xawax, which finds workers for the Foxconn and Panasonic factories, are an important conduit.

For migrant workers, the choice is difficult. Those from poorer European countries are eager to find better paying jobs. But the agencies sometimes operate in a gray area: requiring workers to sign contracts in foreign languages, and saddling them with conditions and pay that few incountry nationals would accept.

Nearly a dozen workers at the Pardubice plants, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs, said they had possessed little understanding that the contracts they had signed would expose them to frequent overtime shifts, including nights and weekends, while leaving them constantly on call. The Czech government is conducting an inquiry into Foxconn’s employment practices.

One Romanian couple were jobless until they saw a Xawax ad on

Migrant workers after a shift near the Foxconn factory in Pardubice, Czech Republic, on November 2.

Employment agencies across the region recruit thousands of migrants for Foxconn and other businesses, with conditions and pay that few in-country nationals would accept.

Milan Bures/The New York Times

Facebook this summer.

The couple, ages 23 and 24, said a recruiter promised free lodging, regular shifts and wages on a par with Czech factory workers—at least €585 a month—better than what they could get in Romania.

They boarded a bus packed with other recruits bound for Pardubice.

There, they signed a six-month employment contract with Xawax that was written in Czech, a language they couldn’t comprehend, without a translator present.

At 5:30 the next morning, they were transported to the Panasonic factory to join more than a hundred laborers in a cavernous hall assembling electronic components. The couple said Xawax had soon told them that they would have to frequently work overtime or receive bonuses just to get their promised wage.

The terms were included in the

contract they could not understand.

After the woman got sick at work and fainted one evening, requiring her to be rushed to a hospital, she received little help from the agency in organizing follow-up treatment, she said.

Katerina Kotrla, director of a non-governmental organization that helps migrants in Pardubice, said such workers tended to be more easily exploited and had little recourse.

Kotrla has handled numerous cases in which agencies, including Xawax, stayed within the law but provided inadequate health-care assistance, cut pay when injuries prevented people from working, or didn’t pay overtime.

“The agencies have a lot of power over these people,” she said.

Jan Hendrych, the chief executive of Wincott People Group, one of Eastern Europe’s largest employment agencies, which acquired

Xawax this year, said his company followed the labor laws of all countries where it hired workers and was unaware of such practices. But if an internal inquiry showed Xawax had engaged in them, he said, “that kind of behavior is obviously unethical at the very least, and must be stopped.”

He added that Wincott had worked with the Czech government on measures to clean up irregular agency practices, which would help attract workers.

In a statement, Foxconn Technology Group said it and the agencies that recruited on its behalf had ensured workers received wages and benefits above the Czech Republic’s basic requirements. Foxconn added that its operations were regularly audited, and that it complied with relevant local laws and regulations.

Panasonic said it relied on agencies like Xawax to recruit workers amid a tight labor market and that both parties complied with Czech labor law.

In a statement, the company added that migrant workers, who hold agency contracts, did not work beyond the legal workweek and were paid above the Czech minimum wage. Pardubice became a low-cost manufacturing hub after the fall of communism. It managed to attract Foxconn in 2000 after the Czech government gave the company a 10year investment tax break. Foxconn quickly energized the region, buying a mothballed electronics factory and hiring thousands of workers. Restaurants, clothing stores and other businesses soon sprang up to cater to the growing population.

New York Times News Service

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Banking&Finance

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 • Editor: Jun B. Vallecera

BusinessMirror

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Underwriting, investments push insurers income higher

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he insurance industry reported net income totaling P27.86 billion in the third quarter and made possible by an underwriting hike and by investment income during the period, according to the Insurance Commission (IC).

Preliminary data from the IC show the insurance industry posting a 21.88-percent increase in net income as at end-September to P27.86 billion compared to only P22.85 billion in the same period last year.

The insurance industry in the Philippines is composed of the life and nonlife players, as well as the mutual benefit association (MBA) sector.

The regulator said all three sectors continued to report good financial performance and remained in sound financial condition.

“While the nonlife-insurance sector experienced a 20.87-percent

decline in its total net income for the third quarter of 2017, from P3.49 billion to P2.76 billion, the lifeinsurance sector showed a strong performance in the penultimate quarter of this year, with a total net income of P21.96 billion up by 31.93 percent compared to the same period last year,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said.

The MBA sector posted an increase of 15.19 percent in net surplus from P2.72 billion to P3.13 billion for the quarter.

Based on unaudited reports submitted to the IC, the total premium collected by insurers dur-

ing the quarter increased by 9.41 percent, from P169.56 billion to P185.51 billion.

The total premium of the lifeinsurance sector grew by 8.08 percent, from P133.85 billion to P144.63 billion.

“The total premiums from variable life-insurance products rose by 8.74 percent, from P96.46 billion to P104.89 billion. Although it experienced a 5.81-percent decrease in premium income from single-premium variable life-insurance products compared to last year, this was offset by the impressive increase in its first year and renewal premium,” he added.

The first year and renewal premium of variable life-insurance products increased by 12.28 percent and 34.43 percent, respectively.

The IC also said premium from traditional life-insurance products showed a significant increase of 29.01 percent in single premium and 23.07 percent in first-year premium compared to the previous year.

According to Funa, the nonlifeinsurance sector also posted an increase of 14 percent in total net

premium written for the quarter.

“The nonlife-insurance sector posted a 14-percent increase in its total net premiums written for the third quarter, which was registered at P34.31 billion from P30.10 billion during the same period last year,” he said.

The increase in the nonlife sector’s total net premium written was attributed to the increased sales of fire-and motor-insurance products for the period.

For the MBA sector, the industry reported total contributions of P6.54 billion, or an expansion by 16.59 percent, from the P5.61 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The insurance industry’s total investments aggregated P1.3 trillion, up by 15.10 percent from P1.1 trillion last year, with all the sectors posting significant growth.

Total insurer assets similarly increased to P1.5 trillion, up by 16.28 percent from only P1.3 trillion in 2016. The industry posted an increase of 19.23 percent in terms of net worth, to P320.4 billion from P268.7 billion. Rea Cu

hits back at Dominguez cites Holcim help RCBC Bangladesh Bank in destroying illicit cigarettes R

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he second batch of Mighty Corp. cigarettes with fake tax stamps earlier seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) were destroyed in Bulacan on Tuesday using the environmentally safe Geocycle method of Holcim Philippines.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III led the destruction of some P3.316 billion worth of Mighty and Marvel cigarettes bearing fake tax stamps confiscated in March by teams from the Bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs as part of the joint drive against tax fraud.

A total of 229,428 master cases or 114,714,000 cigarette packs will be destroyed over a period of several days at the compound of Holcim Philippines Geocycle in Norzagaray through a method, called “coprocessing.”

The coprocessing method pioneered by Holcim Geocycle ensures the total thermal destruction of waste materials while reducing toxic gas emissions and land and

groundwater pollution.

“We have chosen to partner with Holcim Geocycle. Holcim pioneered a coprocessing method that ensures total destruction of waste materials with vastly reduced toxic gas emissions and avoids land and groundwater pollution. I want to thank Holcim for helping us out with this task. A few weeks ago the Holcim facility in Davao disposed cigarette stocks also confiscated in Mindanao,” Dominguez said.​ According to the BIR, the P3.316 billion worth of cigarettes to be destroyed comprise the 66,245 master cases valued at P869 million confiscated in Pampanga on March 1 and another 163,183 master cases estimated to cost P2.44 billion seized in Bulacan on March 24.

BIR estimates show excise tax liabilities, including penalties, arising from the use of counterfeit tax stamps on the confiscated cigarettes totaling P9.564 billion from the Pampanga raid alone and

P26.29 billion from the operation in Bulacan.

“We are destroying this stock of tobacco products to ensure none of them leaks back into the open market. More important, we want to deliver the message that evasion does not pay. Our revenue agencies are alert and empowered to ensure that taxes due, especially sin taxes, are properly collected,” he added.

Two weeks ago, representatives from the BIR and other government agencies witnessed the destruction in Davao City of some 5 million packs of cigarettes worth P142.44 million, all bearing the brands sold by Mighty Corp. that were seized earlier this year in Mindanao for having counterfeit tax stamps.

According to the BIR, the estimated deficiency excise tax liability, including penalties, of the seized cigarettes on March 6 in General Santos City totaled P1.39 billion. Rea Cu

BPI Sulong empowers Filipina migrant worker into becoming a girl boss

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PI Foundation, the socialdevelopment arm of Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI), recently launched the second run of BPI Sulong, a learning program on financial management and entrepreneurship targeting overseas Filipino workers. The event was held in Hong Kong, which has a large population of Filipina migrant workers.

“As a leading Filipino financial institution, BPI—through the Foundation—is in a unique position to advance financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills among Filipinos, not just in the Philippines, but around the world,” said Maricris San Diego, executive director, BPI Foundation.

“Migrant workers, specifically domestic workers in Hong Kong, are

among the most financially vulnerable sectors we have identified. Given their above-average salaries and desperation to improve the lives of their families, they are prey to loan sharks both here and abroad. We started BPI Sulong to reach out to these women and empower them with the discipline, perspective and skills to uplift themselves as individuals and their families back home. This way, they can make financially sound decisions, open more job opportunities for themselves, and maybe even start their own ventures here in the country, where they can be together with their loved ones,” San Diego said.

Since it started last year, BPI Foundation has already reached 500 overseas Filipinos in Hong Kong and 150 families in the Phil-

ippines. This year it aims to expand to reach 1,060 overseas Filipinos in Hong Kong and their 250 families back in the Philippines.

Rowena Anggaco is a domestic worker in Hong Kong who, since having graduated from BPI Sulong, has already started her own business venture CROP Marketland Ltd. in her home province Kalinga, Apayao. With the financial management and entrepreneurial skills BPI Sulong has imparted to Anggaco, she is now able to handle the business while working in Hong Kong.

“I had worked in Korea and Hong Kong for several years but have never saved much,” Anggaco confessed.

“Since my participation in the financial-education course, I have improved my financial management and increased my savings.

izal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) released a statement on Tuesday accusing Bangladesh Bank (BB) of a cover-up in the infamous $81-million cross-border bank heist last year.

The lender said Bangladesh Bank is maligning RCBC by refusing to divulge the findings of its own investigations.

“At least from five reports— SWIFT; FireEye, an international cybersecurity outfit; Bangladesh’s own finance minister; its government-appointed panel; and a Bangladeshi expert—point to the conclusion that somebody inside BB would have made the heist possible,” RCBC said.

The bank, which was sanctioned to pay P1 billion in fines, also issued forceful statements against BB, saying instead of presenting the results of the investigation, BB has been coming out with empty sound bites like “wiping out RCBC” which, coming from a Bangladeshi finance minister, it considers “extremely irresponsible.”

“Bangladesh Bank should stop m a k i ng RCBC its sc apegoat.

RCBC has revealed everything it legally could to the Senate and to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Bangladesh Bank, however, has concealed everything it could. The contrast is telling,” the bank said.

RCBC also accused BB of having no firewall to protect its system and used second-hand $10 switches, making itself vulnerable to hackers.

“In January the hackers also did trial runs but apparently Bangladesh Bank did nothing to protect its system,” RCBC claimed.

The large-scale financial fraud prompted local officials to take policy action, including the passage of a law putting gaming houses under the ambit of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The implementing rules and regulations of the amended law was issued last month, where one its most salient points include the requirement for casinos to develop a mechanism to closely monitor customer identification and transactions. Bianca Cuaresma

Sun Life bares findings on disease that kills many Filipinos

F

ilipino knowledge about diabetes was revealed in the latest diabetes awareness study conducted by Sun Life Financial Asia.

For instance, 24 percent think there is only one form of diabetes, while 37 percent believe the disease is curable. Moreover, 7 percent think diabetes can be caught from others, and that those with diabetes should

not be allowed to have children.

On average, Filipinos estimate that 52 percent of the adult population has diabetes and that those with diabetes will live 33 less years than those without.

Interestingly, even diabetic Filipinos themselves are ill informed, where 53 percent think the illness is curable, while 21 percent also believe that it can be caught from others. Sixty-one of

these respondents discovered diabetes in regular checkup, while 29 percent learned about it after a hospital visit for health complications.

Many are also unaware that gestational diabetes, which may develop during a woman’s pregnancy, can affect baby’s health, where the baby may have trouble breathing, experience low blood sugar, or develop a large head.

Twenty-six percent even think children can outgrow diabetes and 19 percent that pregnant women have lower risks of contracting the disease.

In order to get a clearer view of how pregnant women understand gestational diabetes, Sun Life also surveyed a sample of pregnant women, and found that 12 percent of recently pregnant women are diabetic.

Will RP fit in the integrated Asean mold?

T

here have been real triumphs during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Manila. Sometimes, as concerned Filipinos, we ask ourselves if these successes are, indeed, sustainable.

The Asean, with 600 million people and with the highest GDP growth rate, readily attracts many seller-nations and investors. And with the region even now integrating, with tariff barriers falling, would help ensure the Asean should primarily be for Asians first.

We copied that from you, Donald J. Trump.

There are those who maliciously wish the Asean fail for its own selfish reasons. For instance, some say unlike the European Union where membernations are steeped in western liberal democracy and live by the thoughts of Martin Luther King, the Asean, on the other hand, is a rather strange animal.

Some nations in the region are Buddhists, others Muslims and Christians and what not.

Many are democracies but some are militaristic and fascistic. We are diverse.

Culturally, the Asean peoples are ostensibly weak because they seek consensus and are not confrontational in resolving issues.

That is why Asean leaders skirted the issue of China’s imperialism in the China Sea, Myanmar’s oppression of 600,000 Muslims in Rohingya, the military rule in Thailand and if one insists, the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Do you agree?

But let us count our real blessings.

One, from now on, 212,000 overseas Filipino workers in the Asean will have protection from harassment under the Asian Migrant Workers Protection Law. Two, Japan signed a subway project across Manila to be completed in 2027 as solution to the maddening traffic that costs P2 billion a day in productivity losses.

Three, China agreed to sign a Code of Conduct in the disputed China Sea that will govern any and all acts hereafter. It seems Beijing also assured nations of unhampered maritime navigation of the sea corridors for trade and commerce.

Four, Philippine banks are considered the most stable in the region due to the quality of its assets and thanks for the most part to a rather strict Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Although the combined assets of the three largest banks equal only to the No. 1 bank in Singapore, still asset quality, not size, matters, according to BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. But the biggest source of hope for Filipinos was the discussion on inclusive growth in the Asean. Not just of big corporations helping the small and medium industries but also the richer Asean nations pulling the weaker ones to prosperity.

Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion called it the three Ms needed for inclusive growth and development, and relates to mentorship, money and markets. The Asean Mentoring of Entrepreneurs Network was one of the best things that happened at the Asean Meetings.

Super-gurus in entrepreneurship in the Asean will teach 500 or so national mentors to understand the bigger Asean market.

New hybrid cooperatives made up of workers will begin to own

Finex free enterprise Zoilo ‘Bingo’ Dejaresco III a significant number of shares in corporations, the theory being that the newfound prosperity of some is good for the prosperity of all.

On the money side, business leaders were one in saying we must not reward laziness through the P70 billion a year conditional cash-transfer program. Teach-them-to-fish-notgive-them-fish is the theme and where 20 percent of the CCT budget will be converted into livelihood opportunities.

Finally, large corporations were urged to accept small entrepreneurs as part of the supply chain or support their industries and be part of the wholesale supply system, and so on.

Fernando Zobel de Ayala, whose Ayala Corp. has penetrated even the overseas water supply market, believes we cannot always rely on a consumptiondriven growth, otherwise, we will be stuck at the 6-percent output growth level.

He feels a 7-percent or 9-percent growth is what will lift many to middle income stat us as long as t his g row t h wa s invest ment a nd not consumption led.

T he ca l l was for gover nment and the private sector to join hands in the “Build, Build, Build” program to attract foreign investments and create jobs in the next four years.

But we have to do something about the “ease of doing business” here where the country’s standing recently dropped several points down.

Due to the high cost of power, corruption and the general bureaucratic red tape, the Philippines has one of the lowest foreign direct investments in the Asean.

Consider Vietnam, a country torn as under by years of war but is now a more attractive investment haven than the Philippines. There is a place there called “Samsung City” filled with related factories and peopled by 40,000 Vietnamese workers. That’s how big Vietnam has become as a country of choice for investors.

Here in the Philippines town mayors ask the investor to line up his office first and negotiate so-called deals made in hell.

And we have a Bureau of Customs that kills local industries by abetting the smuggling of goods. Stop wondering then why so many of our countrymen still languish in poverty, jobless and underpaid because of the lack of investments.

If the Philippines has to have a country comparative advantage in the Asean, the time to change is now. Doing that when the Asean would have been fully integrated in 2025—would be a too late.

Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner and book author. He is a life member and chairman of the Professional Development and Broadcast Media of Finex.

Hi s v ie ws here, howe ver, are personal and do not necessar ily ref lect those of Finex. dejarescobingo@yahoo.com.

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Wednesday, December 13, 2017 A9

NSW explores stronger trade, cooperation with PHL

T

HE government of New South Wales (NSW) expressed its confidence in the Philippine economy and wants to explore strengthened trade and investment cooperation ties between the two countries.

In a meeting with Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on December 7, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian conveyed her government’s intention to enhance their country’s relationship with the Philippines.

A state located on the east coast of Australia, NSW imports telecommunication equipment and parts, passenger motor vehicles, medicaments, refined petroleum and computers.

“We welcome Australian investors and businesses that will help us uplift the lives of those at bottom of the pyramid and enable the Philippines to contribute in the global value chain. New South Wales has expressed strong confidence in our economy and the business-environment stability under the Duterte administration and wish to partner with us,” Lopez said.

The trade chief highlighted the

growing manufacturing sector and encouraged NSW to partner with the Philippines in research and development. The trade chief also shared the Philippine government’s initiatives in streamlining and automating services to improve doing business in the country.

“We will continue to work on opening areas of investment and increase employment and business opportunities for all Filipinos,” Lopez said.

Meanwhile, Berejiklian said many Austra l ian businesses, especially in the information and communicat ion technology sector, are attracted to the Philippines’s encouraging economic state and enormous potential. Apart from the impressive 6.9-percent GDP growth, the NSW premier highlighted the good traits of Filipino workers and

the work culture they have.

With infrastructure-related construction as one of the priority areas for the expansion of NSW, Berejiklian also opened the discussion on a possible partnership through the sharing of expertise and technological know-how in the industry.

The Philippines has benefited from globalization, in particular from the World Trade Organization (WTO). We have been growing at the fastest rate for the past five years, and globally linked, modern sectors, such as business-process outsourcings and information technology-enabled services, semiconductors and electronics, parts manufacturing for GVCs in auto and aerospace and shipbuilding (among others) have been major contributors.

GLADYS Berejiklian (left), New South Wales premier, greets Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, during her recent visit to the Department of Trade and Industry Office in Makati City.

20 local companies showcase products at DTI-EMB bazaar

By Efleda P. Campos Senior Editor

Photos by Roy Domingo

T

WENTY local companies, some already exporting their products and others still looking at shipping out their first orders, are currently participating in a bazaar in front of the Department of Trade and Industry Building along Gil J. Puyat Avenue in Makati City.

The companies joined the bazaar organized by the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau Employees’ Association (EMB-EA) as a side activity to support this year’s celebration of National Exporters Weeks held from December 4 to 8 at the DTI International offices in Makati.

The bazaar, which started on December 4 and ends on December 15, seeks to give the participants added exposure to the local market, said Franclem Peña, president of the EMB-EA. Participating are Nutratech Biopharma Inc., AFMC Enterprises, Magical Blends, Gloanse Handicrafted Products, Glamorosa, Piastorey, Galo Organics and Naturals, Top Notch Apparel Corp., DTG Pearl Royale Jewelry Shop, Pasciolco Agriventures, Neli + Cole, Lancaster Colors International Inc., All in One Boutique, MH Food Corp., Happy Ice Cream, The Old Zaniga, Casa Classica, RCC Amazing Touch, Terry’s Shoes and MJ Pack Trading.

They are producers and sellers of health products, arts and crafts, Christmas and holiday decorations, garments, fashion accessories, processed food, gifts and houseware, home décors, kitchen and tableware, leather goods, linens and organic and natural products.

Karen Fami, EMB-EA’s vice president for External Affairs, said her group has been organizing trade fairs and exhibitions supporting major DTI activities for the past seven years.

“This is our way of helping local manufacturers make domestic buyers aware of their products.

We also assist them through seminars, workshops and personal advice to help their business take off,” she said.

Pia Galang, an events organizer counting DTI among her clients, just a month ago diversified into bag manufacturing and joined the fair to gain exposure in the domestic market. Along with her mother Theck and sisters Cherry and Charm, she formed Piastorey with the belief that every bag has its story, hence her business theme “Your Bag, Your Story.”

SISTERS Cherry and Pia Galang show visitors the bags and purses they design under the newly formed Piastorey brand.

“My mother, my sisters and I decided to go into the bag-making business for the main reason that we love bags, and not only bags per se, but bags made by Filipinas in the Philippines,” she said.

“We take pride in the fact that our workers are elderly women living in Taguig. We help them earn, and they help us by making quality bags and purses,” she said. “We design our bags using local materials, but we also customize them, according to our customers’ specifications.”

Aside from bags and purses, Pia also creates bracelets that she herself designs.

She said they only planned to exhibit during the first week because they are very new in the business, but Fami, convinced her and her family to return for a second week because of the many inquiries received regarding their products.

Occupying the stall next to Piastorey is the mother-and-daughter team of Nels + Cole. Daughter Coleen de la Cruz designs their one-of-a-kind creations, which mother Neliza sells proudly, always pointing out the styles are made by her daughter. Included in their merchandise are earrings, bags made of twisted t-shirt materials, blouses, gowns and casual dresses.

Situated prominently at the entrance of the DTI International Building is Magical Blends Marketing International, selling healthy and delicious natural juices and coffee. Owned by its president, Tirsa L. Macinas, the company sells herbal coffee and juices, green tea with carnitine, redtea mangosteen wellness juice and guyabano herbal juice with collagen.

It has clients based abroad and has a wellness shop in Taguig.

The exhibitors also include a health-service provider, Amazing

PASCIOLCO Agriventures is an exporter of locally made food prodcuts.

Touch, owned by Filipino inventor Rolando C. de la Cruz.

Reneliza Francisco, a derm technologist, uses a patented natural herbal-cream preparation derived from cashew invented by de la Cruz to remove unwanted warts, moles, syringoma and other skin imperfections. She said many of their clients only require a single treatment to remove unsightly pigmentation, cutaneous growth and the like. While it is true that warts and the like can never be totally removed from one’s system, the treatment is topical and has minimal side effects.

Allan Fami, a grandmaster of local martial arts, also exhibited traditional weaponry through the Kalahi FMA Gear. Filipino martial arts is a combination of boxing, taekwondo, jujitsu, karate, judo and arnis. He showed an assortment of aluminum training knives, bolo, rubber weapons, arnis sticks, dulodulo, kamagong sticks, and polymer training weapons.

NELS + Cole owner Neliza de la Cruz shows visitors earrings, handcrafted bags, blouses, dresses and gowns designed by daughter Coleen.

GALO Organics and Naturals is an exporter of coconut-based food and health and beauty products.

A10 Wednesday, December 13, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Cutting PHL reliance on imports via ‘RiCo’

‘P

oor man’s rice.” That’s how corn is regarded in the Philippines. Despite its affordability and the fact that it is a good source of fiber, many Filipinos do not consider it as part of their daily diet.

Citing the book, True Grit from Corn Grits: Food of the Champions, written by Dr. Serlie Barroga-Jamias, the National Food Authority (NFA) noted that many Filipinos will eat corn as rice only if there is no rice. The NFA noted that it is only in the Visayas where white corn is considered a staple food of 14 million, or 20 percent of the population. Corn was considered as poor man’s rice in the 1960s, when an episode of rice shortage forced many Filipinos to eat inferior rice mixed with rough corn grits.

Despite the rejection of the earlier version of the rice-corn blend, the government is bent on trying to, again, convince Filipinos to consider consuming it. The NFA and corn farmers belonging to the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (Philmaize) conducted a taste survey of a new rice-corn blend, dubbed “RiCo,” last month. The goal, the food agency said, is to determine strategies that would widen the acceptance of corn as an extender.

Some consumers who have tried the rice-corn blend distributed by the NFA said it “tastes even better” than plain rice. The government is crossing its fingers that more Filipinos would develop a taste for RiCo because of its potential to reduce the country’s rice imports. Paddy production of the Philippines, one of the world’s top rice importers, is perennially short of anywhere from 800,000 metric tons (MT) to around 1 million MT (MMT) a year.

Data provided by the NFA showed that, in 2016, domestic consumption of rice was at 12.9 MMT, while production was 11.5 MMT, or a deficit of 1.4 MMT. The highest rice importations were recorded in the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 at 2.570 MMT, 2.6 MMT and 2.2 MMT, respectively.

The Philippines could eliminate the need for rice imports and save dollars by merely substituting rice with 10-percent corn grits, according to the NFA. Apart from doing away with purchasing rice from foreign farmers, the consumption of more corn—a more versatile crop that can be produced year-round—would also boost the incomes of planters.

The NFA is promoting the rice-corn blend as a health food. The food agency said it has lower calorie and carbohydrate content compared to rice. Citing studies, the NFA said corn also contains more vitamins, minerals and proteins than white rice.

President Duterte is taking the first step to “mainstream” the rice-corn blend by endorsing it as the country’s “new staple” on December 22. Government efforts to make it acceptable to consumers should not stop there. Information and a marketing campaigns must be undertaken to promote RiCo and make people aware of the health benefits and affordability of the product. The rice-corn blend could also be used in government feeding programs. These measures would surely be cheaper than importing rice.

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In PHL difference sparks interest, never hostility Teddy Locsin Jr.

Free fire Continued from A1

D

espite our differences—of nationality, race, religion and language—what we all share is the conviction of our shared humanity. A conviction without qualification; a commitment made without purpose of evasion. There are many ways to govern a country, Corazon C. Aquino said; but only one way to treat people: with decency. Never as mere means but each and everyone an end in herself, as Kant argued for all ages and places.

The conviction of our common humanity forms the basis of human rights, which are universal, inalienable, indivisible, never to be compromised or sacrificed for a greater end impossible to conceive without deceiving ourselves. Recognizing that, at the core, we are all the same, fosters solidarity and mutual respect, which leads to a culture of peace on precisely those terms of human equality, rights and dignity.

The Philippines’s strong support for cultural diversity and a culture of peace can be viewed within the context of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, which seeks to lay a stronger foundation for more inclusive growth, a high trust, safe,

diverse and resilient Filipino society and a globally competitive knowledge economy. It springs from the Filipino belief that in diversity lies creativity; that variety is the spice and the enhancement of the flavor of living; and that uniformity leads only to stupidity and stagnation.

My country is made up of more than 7,000 islands with a hundred million Filipinos, comprised of 78 ethnolinguistic groups. Eighty percent are Catholic, 5 percent are Muslim, with the rest practicing indigenous and other religions. We were colonized by the Spanish and the Americans, whose varying values, which inform the culture of a majority naturally inclined to diversity.

The conviction of our common humanity forms the basis of human rights which are universal, inalienable, indivisible, never to be compromised or sacrificed for a greater end impossible to conceive without deceiving ourselves. Recognizing that, at the core, we are all the same, fosters solidarity and mutual respect, which leads to a culture of peace on precisely those terms of human equality, rights and dignity.

We received waves of migrants, such as Chinese and Indians who have formed communities in our land; in the 20th century we readily took in those lucky to escape from half a century of European ideological and racial fury: immigrants fleeing continents of intolerance for the world’s few islands of tolerance. We are as diverse as any country can be, indeed much more. We have no hate, no prejudices; we readily share what we have with those who carry next to nothing because they must run fast.

Under the current government, there are three priority areas in the cultural agenda: safeguarding our cultural heritage; achieving equity and inclusion in accessing cultural resources; and enhancing cultural assets from everywhere to encourage creativity and innovation for the

enrichment of our nation.

The Philippines recognizes the importance of religion and faithbased organizations in creating an enabling environment for the Philippine peace process. Religious and faith-based groups in Mindanao are involved in preventing the escalation of violence in conflict areas, as well as in expanding the constituency for peace. In partnership with Pakistan, for the last 13 years, the Philippines has tabled the General Assembly resolution “Promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace.”

We are here as advocates for cultural diversity. The Philippines, together with other nations, form a collective of societies with a worldview and the value proposition that serious dialogues across cultures can stop conflict and diffuse the tensions sometimes engendered by cultural diversity—though never in the Philippines, where difference sparks interest and never hostility.

Our movement represents an ideal, an identity and a theme that aspires for a world at peace through mutual respect, tolerance, even acceptance and, therefore, reconciliation. As UN and NAM memberstates, there should be no doubt in our solidarity to embrace diversity as a force for good and the generation of infinite possibilities of improvement. Thank you.

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Why your banker plays it safe

By Matt Levine Bloomberg View

H

ere is a fun behavioral economics experiment. Ernst Fehr and Michel Marechal of the University of Zurich and Alain Cohn of the University of Michigan got “128 employees of a large, international bank,” gave them some money, and asked them to make a bet with it: They were given $200 of which they could invest any amount in a risky asset, which (i) paid back 2.5 times the investment with 50-percent probability or (ii) nothing with 50-percent probability. Participants knew these probabilities and were allowed to keep all the money they did not invest. We use the dollar amount invested in the risky asset as a proxy for participants’ willingness to take financial risks.

If you bet it all, you like risk; if you kept it all, you don’t. The trick is that before having them bet, the experimenters asked them some questions. Some of them were just asked random innocuous questions (“such as what is their favorite leisure activity”), while others were asked “seven

questions about their professional background and experience” in order “to increase the saliency of participants’ professional identity.” And: We find that bank employees in the professional identity condition took significantly less risk. They invested about 20-percent less in the risky asset relative to the control group. Thus, the results do not confirm the widespread belief that the professional norms in the financial industry promote risk taking.

That is: If you get some bankers, and remind them that they are bankers, they will take less risk than they will if you don’t remind them that they are bankers. Thinking banky thoughts—about banking, their bank and their banking careers—makes them more conservative than they would otherwise be. The experimenters tried this again with “nonbanking employees recruited from the alumni network of an executive education program” and found no similar effect: “If anything, the professional identity condition tends to increase risk-taking among nonbanking employees,” and the nonbankers took more risk to begin with. But they did successfully replicate the effect

If you get some bankers, and remind them that they are bankers, they will take less risk than they will if you don’t remind them that they are bankers.

Thinking banky thought—about banking, and their bank, and their banking careers—makes them more conservative than they would otherwise be. with a sample of “142 employees from many different smaller and larger banks,” who also took less risk after thinking banky thoughts.

One way to think about this might be that the risk in banking doesn’t come from culture but from structure. The salient fact about banks, as banks, is that they fund themselves with a lot of very short-term debt; that’s what being a bank means. If you have $5 of equity and borrow $95 overnight to buy $100 of assets, and those assets go down to $98, then those lenders might not want to roll over their loans, and you’ll have to sell the assets to pay off the lenders, and you’ll sell them in a fire sale at $94 and eat through your equity and

impose losses on the lenders and be a “systemic bank failure.” And everyone will talk about how risky your business was, and they’ll be right, but, on the other hand, your subjective experience was that you bought some safe-looking assets that only lost 6 percent of their value even when you sold them in a fire sale, which is like a typical morning for Bitcoin.

And in fact this description does kind of fit the financial crisis, where a lot of banks blew themselves up on “AAA”-rated securities. Other businesses—unicorn start-ups, neighborhood restaurants, whatever —tend to take more business risk, but they don’t fund themselves with tons of short-term debt, so those risks aren’t as scary to the broader economy.

But obviously the control experiment that you’d really want to see is: bankers, but 10 years ago. Is there something about the culture and professional identity of banks as banks that makes their employees particularly risk-averse? Or is it something about their culture as banks in 2017, after a long decade of crisis and scandal and regulation? Is banking culture cyclical, and are we just at a risk-averse time right now?

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Jeepney modernization slows down amid policy hurdles?

Michael Makabenta Alunan

on the contrary

T

he ambitious jeepney modernization program has slowed down amid mounting opposition and prevailing policy bottlenecks, but a hearing conducted by Sen. Grace Poe partly cleared the highly heated and muddled issues, as stakeholders with varying interests presented their positions and suggestions that could help put it back on the road and accelerate in the interest of the broader riding public. n Grace under pressure? Transport Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and his team, led by Undersecretary Tim M. Orbos and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Martin B. Delgra III, were barraged with complaints and other verbal barbs, some bordering on being unreasonable, like demands for a 50-percent subsidy on the cost of jeepney replacements.

One transport leader even accused Delgra as incompetent deserving to be replaced, but could not offer alternative solutions to the problems. Delgra kept his cool under pressure and stressed the higher principle of serving the general welfare, or the riding public, and implicitly hinted that a public transport franchise is not a right but a privilege granted by the government.

Many complained there were not enough consultations done in the formulation of the program. As the salvos and criticisms were hurled, Tugade also kept his cool and grace under pressure, or was it pressure under Senator Poe’s request that dialogues be held every two months to iron out remaining problems. “Everything is fluid…as nothing is written in stone, so I’m open to discussions,” he said. n One-size-fits-all formula doesn’t work? The manifestations of the lack of substantive consultations are the remaining policy gaps, bureaucratic hurdles, constricting bottlenecks and the neglect of optimizing resources available that were raised at the hearing.

A transport leader servicing resettlement areas in Pampanga, with only a few trips a day, claims their operators earn “boundary incomes” of only P400 a day. Obviously, the “one-size-fits-all” formula requiring standard amortizations of P850 a day are totally untenable for them.

This one-size-fits-all design is manifested in Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) guidelines, with Assistant Secretary Ernestor V. Perez admitting jeepney designs were limited to singleset “dimensions,” but had no minimum standards on structural strength of materials nor varying sizes depending on specific route characteristics. By market forces, jeepneys evolved into different sizes depending on demand and route conditions (i.e., longer jeepneys for longer distances, shorter jeepneys for narrow roads and short trips.) n Longer financing open, but not tapped. What was also raised was the potential of lengthening the seven-year financing to 10 years through the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP), which has virtually unlimited funds with deep pockets and the authority to print money.

Moreover, CSF offers concessional rates and matches 10 times a transport sector’s equity investment. If the Department of Transportation (DOTr) can subsidize 5 percent, jeepney groups can easily raise their counterpart 5 percent. The combined 10 percent can now be matched 10 times by BSP funds.

By lengthening payment periods, amortizations can be reduced to affordable levels. Perhaps, there must be different packages for specific routes like electric vehicles enjoying premium fare for high-end business centers; Euro 4 and LPG engines for other routes, rebuild engines with supplemental technological interventions for others and a package retaining same engines, but

replacing their bodies to conform to standards and correcting emissions. n Jeepneys’ dilemma over koops? Before jeepnney groups can swarm the BSP for applications, they must realize the caveat, or warning.

They must be marginalized and organized first into cooperatives, a requirement with valid reasons from experience.

For one, government financing to non-koop transport groups suffered low repayment rates of 30 percent, but high 97-percent rates for transport cooperatives. Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) Chairman Emmanuel C. Virtucio argues this is so because “responsibility is shared collectively in cooperatives.” In fact, repayments could have been 100 percent, had it not been because of cancer and mortalities, a problem that could be avoided with built-in mortgage insurances.

In short, transport groups can only avail themselves of financing if they organize into cooperatives, which will put many in a dilemma, as some oppose the transformation into cooperatives for reasons we can only surmise.

Delgra emphasized that one cannot modernize without industrial consolidation and the choices are either cooperatives, corporations or consortiums.

But all benefits lead to cooperatives, which will empower everyone, including drivers. Given the cooperativism thrust, the Cooperative Development Authority and DOTr’s OTC must simplify procedures to relax barriers to entry. n Maintenance, missing key to modernization? Another issue raised, but not fully discussed, is the gap between the two-year warranties of vehicles and the seven-year financing period.

As jeepneys undergo average operating time of 14 hours and high passenger loads, breakdowns are likely, which brings us to the importance of “preventive maintenance” that could keep engines, where friction zones are located in top condition all the way beyond the amortization period, otherwise, amortizations and the overall modernization program will be affected.

Section 21 of the Clean Air Act mandates the DOTr to implement emission standards through inspection and maintenance. It already has the Motor Vehicle Inspection Service, but has no policy or program yet on maintenance.

Maintenance service centers can be set up as part of clean fleet management to address warranty gaps, but this is only possible through consolidation through cooperatives. They will also serve as alternative livelihood to ease the burden of financing. Perhaps, maintenance can be incorporated in the modernization financing equation. n Give to gab for a win-win. Senator Poe opened the hearing stressing “many came here raring to argue your case passionately, but this hearing is not in aid of publicity, but in search for solutions we all need.”

She stressed that the hearing brought “the issue from the streets to the negotiating table,” and closed with the message for every one to give in to the higher interests of the public for a win-win solution, which can only be done by continuous dialogues and meetings.

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 A11

Revolutionary change in law curriculum Edgardo J. Angara

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n 2015 the University of Maryland Carey School of Law and the University of Baltimore School of Law partnered to launch the “Legal Entrepreneurs for Access Program” (LEAP). This is a start-up incubator scheme aimed at recent law-school graduates who want to start their own firms.

Participants receive a year’s worth of advanced legal and entrepreneurial training through mentorship with established lawyers. They’re also provided an office space, Internet connectivity, free malpractice insurance and bar association membership. In exchange, the participants are required to devote some of their billable hours to providing pro bono, or low-cost legal services for indigent clients in the Baltimore area.

LEAP was among the programs cited in a recent Financial Times article on how law schools in the United States are modernizing their curriculums to remain attractive and competitive.

Other schools in the US, in fact, have long been offering courses beyond the basic or traditional Juris Doctor (JD) curriculum. For instance, the Leonard N. Stern School of Business of New York University

has been running a joint JD-MBA program since the 1970s, while the joint degree program in law and business of Harvard is the ivy league school’s oldest double-degree offering.

Amid dropping law student admissions rates since 2010 and intense competition among law-school graduates for entry-level jobs, US law schools are innovating toward better preparing their students for the world of work—and doing so, in shorter time.

For example, the joint JD-MBA program between the Northwestern School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management confers two degrees in three years, instead of five, if pursued separately.

The Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law is another example. The MLS program enables JD students to add a few courses to their law curriculum so that they will receive upon graduation their diploma and a certification in a chosen field

American International Group Inc. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

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merican International Group Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance company with more than 88 million customers in over 100 countries around the globe. It is also a holding company with various subsidiaries engaged in insurance and insurance-related businesses. In terms of net worth, it ranked sixth out of 70 licensed nonlife insurance companies in the Philippines with P1.8 billion.

It provides a wide range of nonlife insurance products from property and casualty insurance, retirement products and other financial services. It offers a wide range of property insurance, including energy insurance, construction insurance, property terrorism insurance, marine insurance and aviation insurance.

It also offers liability and financial lines, such as casualty/liability insurance, financial-lines insurance, and environmental insurance. Its financial lines include directors and officers, professional liability, prospectus liability and investment management insurance.

AIG’s corporate headquarters is in New York, its British headquarters is in London, while its Asian headquarters is in Hong Kong. Currently, the company serves 98 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, and insures 40 percent of Forbes 400 richest Americans. According to the 2016 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG is the 87th-largest public company in the world.

AIG common stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1984 and later, in 1987, it became the first foreign insurance company to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In 1988 it was listed on the London International Stock Exchange and

in 1990 it was listed in Paris and Switzerland. It was once the world’s largest insurance company.

AIG shares a common history with AIA and Starr International.

AIG was founded in 1919 by 27-year-old American Cornelius Vander Starr (October 15, 1892-December 20, 1968) when he established a general insurance agency, the American Asiatic Underwriters (AAU), in Shanghai, China. It was a two-room, two-clerk insurance agency. Starr was, at that time, in Shanghai working for several insurance businesses. AAU was an underwriter for insurance companies operating in Shanghai. In the succeeding years, Starr expanded the insurance companies that he represented, adding Globe & Rutgers Company and the National Union Fire Insurance.

AAU later established a branch in the Philippines, the American International Underwriters for the Philippines (AIUPI) in May 1932.

As it celebrated its 30th anniversary in the Philippine archipelago, AIUPI shortened its company name to American International Underwriters (Philippines) Inc. (AIUP).

AIUP was incorporated on May 3, 1928, as a managing agent for several American insurance companies.

Eventually, with the advent of the

Japanese invasion, Starr moved his headquarters from Shanghai, China, to New York City in 1939. The Shanghai office would reopen after the war, but would later close again in 1950 following the Chinese revolution. In 1992 AIG’s Asia-Pacific division, under Evan Greenberg, Hank’s son, would reenter China making it the first insurer to receive a license since the Communist revolution in 1949.

Starr would form a succession of insurance-related companies. In 1921 Starr formed the Asia Life Insurance Co. also in Shanghai. Later in 1926 Starr opened his first office in the United States called the American International Underwriters (AIU) Corp. AIU served as an underwriter for US-owned risks outside of North America and also served as a general agent. By the end of the 1950s, AIU would be operating in 75 countries.

In 1931 Starr established a partnership with British and Chinese businessmen and established the International Assurance Co., a life company. In 1948 after acquiring complete control, he reorganized the company and the word “American” would be added to the company name, thus establishing “AIA”—the life insurance company.

In 1947 Starr would incorporate the Philippine American Life Insurance Co. (Philam Life) with Earl Carroll being named the CEO. By 1949 Philam Life would be the number one life-insurance company in the Philippines.

By 1962 Starr would hand-pick Maurice “Hank” R. Greenberg to become president of American Home Assurance Co., one of AAU’s subsidiaries. Greenberg is today (as of December 2017) the chairman of Hong Kong-based Starr International Insurance (Asia) Ltd., a subsidiary of Starr International Co. Inc. Starr has been granted authority in 2013 to establish a branch office in the

of application, such as health-care regulation, law enforcement or global compliance and contracts, as well.

Another Financial Times article, by columnist Andrew Hill, argues that even deeper changes to the law profession are necessary. Hill suggests that while “problem-solving, creativity, intellectual curiosity, energy and passion” are among the qualities sought by prestigious law firms, an unspoken truth is “insecure overachievement” is another. One head of a prestigious consultancy firm interviewed for the column said, “The best client relationship builders in our firm are insecure. They are so hell-bent on making their clients feel good about them that they work overtime.”

There are reform proposals pending motion in the Supreme Court initiated by the Legal Education Council and the Bar. The time for action is now.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com, Facebook and Twitter: @edangara

Philippines to provide general or nonlife insurance. Starr International was formed in September 1943 in Panama. C.V. Starr was incorporated in 1950 as a parent company for various Starr insurance enterprises.

The American International Group would be formally formed in 1967. Greenberg was elected president and CEO of AIG in 1967. Starr would pass away in 1968. In 1970 AIU would become a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG. When Martin J. Sullivan became CEO of AIG in 2005, AIG insured billions of dollars in derivatives against default without reinsuring to hedge the risk. It was hit very hard during the 2007-2008 mortgage/financial crisis. By June 15, 2008, with financial losses and falling stock prices, Sullivan was forced to resign. AIG was bailed out by the US government for $180 billion with the government taking over the company.

In 2008 Philam Life, together with other AIG subsidiaries, such as AIA and Alico, were placed under the administration of a special purpose vehicle as part of a bail-out agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. On November 3, 2009, AIA bought 99.78 percent of Philam Life—thus, placing it under its umbrella. On September 6, 2012, AIG sold for $2 billion its investment in AIA to repay government loans.

Thus, the entire AIA (together with Philam Life) would be carved out of the AIG Group.

On November 27, 2009, Philam Life bought 51 percent of Ayala Life and formed a joint venture with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), and renamed BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp. in 2010.

Lawyer Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Higher pay for teachers and regular salary for day-care workers

By Ivon A. Addatu

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illions of public-school teachers all over the country are pinning their hope for the immediate passage of two House bills that seek to improve the salaries of government educators, as well as day-care teachers in the country.

House Bill (HB) 56 of The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party- list and the “Magna Carta of Day Care Workers,” or HB 6550 of Rep. Strike B. Revilla of the Second District of Cavite seek to increase the salaries of public-school teachers and the long-awaited salary of the almost-forgotten day-care center teachers of the government.

Under these measures, the entry salary of teachers will increase to P25,000 from the current P19,000, while their personnel economic relief allowance will go up to P5,000 from the current P2,000.

“It has been a longtime clamor of teachers to have a salary increase,” ACT Philippines Deputy Secretary Mabelle Caboboy said.

If the said bill passes into law, the salary of nonteaching personnel will also increase to P16,000.

ACT is also calling for the increase in teachers’ supplies allowance. In line with the call for a salary hike, the group also expressed opposition to the tax-reform package the government is pushing for.

HB 6550 of Revilla, meanwhile, was recently approved on third and final reading. More than 200 representatives voted for its approval, which showed that most of our congressmen are also concerned about the sad financial condition of the country’s public-school teachers.

The bill, coauthored by more than 30 representatives, mandates the creation of plantilla positions in all daycare centers nationwide, which would

grant day-care workers with security of tenure and other rights and benefits provided under civil-service rules and regulations.

Moreover, the bill seeks to professionalize the ranks of day-care workers by setting qualifications and standards, and mandates the establishment of personnel selection boards to ensure systematic and merit-based screening, shortlisting and hiring of applicants.

Likewise, it prescribes the compensation, additional allowances, such as overtime pay, hazard allowance, subsistence allowance, and other benefits and privileges, such as free medical examination and treatment in government hospitals for work-related ailments, access to livelihood programs, continuing education and skills training, same-area assignment for married couples who are both day-care workers, and other benefits, such as automatic membership in the

Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Pag-IBIG and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Revilla said that the country’s daycare workers are currently not receiving any salary. Instead, they only get a minimum allowance of P1,500 to P2,000. If passed into law, the measure will ensure that all day-care teachers will soon get a salary of P14,000 but not more than P16,000, apart from other benefits equal to what our public-school teachers currently receive.

Indeed, millions of public-school teachers and day care workers are hoping that these bills will be signed into law.

They are hoping that Congress will do the right thing by giving priority to these measures, which will benefit millions of public educators and day-care workers.

The author is a Teacher 3 at Tuao Vocational and Technical School in Cagayan.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Underemployment rate improves, but number of jobless Pinoys higher

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

early a million underemployed workers were able to get decent work as of October, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Based on the October Labor Force Survey (LFS), underemployment rate, or the proportion of employed wanting additional work hours, declined to—or was recorded at—15.9 percent in October, around 2.1 percentage points lower than the 18 percent posted in 2016.

Underemployed persons who work for less than 40 hours in a week called “visibly underemployed persons” accounted for 53.9 percent of the total underemployed in October 2017 and 54.1 percent in October 2016.

“The lower underemployment rate and the higher pro-

portion of wage and salary workers indicate improvement in the quality of employment in the country,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

“Regular conduct of job fairs and provision of livelihood assistance have contributed to the improvement of underemployment, especially in areas outside of the National Capital Region (NCR). This is a good indicator that our efforts in the lagging regions are starting to take effect,” he added.

However, the decline in the number of underemployed workers was accompanied by an increase in the country’s jobless rate to 5 percent, from 4.7 percent. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra said these contrary results were possible, given that the number of underemployed

Filipinos is a mere subset of the employed workers.

This means, Esguerra explained, that even if there was a decrease in underemployment, employment could increase or decrease, a movement that is separate from the movement of the underemployment rate.

“What is important is we take a look at where those reductions came from,” Esguerra told the BusinessMirror.

“All we can say is fewer of the employed say they want more hours of work.”

Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror that most of the underemployed workers are unpaid family workers. This could be explained by the increase in wage and salary workers.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that wage and salary See “Jobless,” A2

DOT says 6.5-M arrivals target for 2017 will be met as 10-mo haul rises 11.5% Continued from A1

to 158,225 tourists. Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said: “With the surge in Chinese and Indian arrivals, we are optimistic to hit the target of at least 6.5 million foreign visitors as set by the National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022.”

The Beijing government committed to send 1 million tourists to the Philippines this year, as its diplomatic relations with the Philippines thawed.

The Philippines has also eased visa requirements for Indian tourists, although the DOT is also appealing to the Department of Justice to give said market the visa-on-arrival privilege. China was earlier accorded the visa-on-arrival

privilege, although the Philippines was not granted the same by Beijing.

Other top source markets for tourists were Taiwan, with 205,814 arrivals (up 4.68 percent); the United Kingdom at 148,563 (up 6.18 percent); and Malaysia at 119,115 visitors (up 2.51 percent). Other major markets, however, registered decreases in arrivals, such as Singapore, which dipped by some 5 percent to 139,039, and Hong Kong, which dropped 5.98 percent to 92,902.

In terms of visitor receipts, or the amount of revenues earned by the tourism industr y, the DOT recorded P242.23 billion from January to September 2017, up 36.28 percent from the same period in 2016. No visitor-receipts

data were made available for October 2017.

Teo said the DOT “will continue its aggressive marketing efforts, including through social media. We will promote emerging or developing destinations to entice more visitors from across the globe.”

The DOT has just launched the “It’s More Fun on Philippine Farms” project and revived the “Bring Home a Friend” (BHAF) program as part of its strategy to reach its target of 12 million tourist arrivals by 2022.

Recently, it hosted a bevy of beauties from the Miss Universe pageants, including Miss Universe 2017 DemiLeigh Nel-Peters of South Africa and her court, who went island hopping in Batanes, Camiguin and Bohol. Aside from

Nel-Peters, others in the party were Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2017 Rachel Peters and 13 other women from different countries.

Teo said the trips to the island destinations will surely turn the Miss Universe represent at ives i nto “tou r ist ambassadors” for the Philippines. “More than anything else, they will never forget the unique and genuine Filipino hospitality accorded to them,” she stressed.

In a bid to get President Duterte to approve the hosting of the Miss Universe beauty pageant in 2018, the Miss Universe Organization has offered to help promote the Philippines and its BHAF program, by sending its titleholders on a Philippine road show, according to DOT sources.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PALACE TO ADDRESS SECURITY CONCERNS BEFORE IT ALLOWS ENTRY OF CHINA TELECOM

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

roque: “There will be legal challenges, but we are confident we can overcome all these challenges, because, after all, it is our commitment to provide viable public service in the telecom industry to the Filipino people.”

@alyasjah

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alacañang on Tuesday vowed to look into security concerns raised over the entry of a Chinese telecommunications company intended to challenge the duopoly of local players Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc. Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. admitted there are security issues that must be addressed in allowing Beijing-based China Telecommunications Corp. to operate the third telecom carrier in the country. “Well, as far as security considerations are concerned, we will look into that because there are really concerns overall on cybersecurity, in general,” he said in a news briefing.

Beijing selected China Telecom to challenge the PLDT-Globe duopoly, according to Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar. He said China Telecom has to find a local partner to be able to operate in the country.

President Duterte in November offered to China the privilege to field the third telecom carrier in the country. The offer was made to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during their bilateral meeting a day after the Southeast Asian summit.

Although the entry of a third telecom carrier from China was lauded by the competition body, it earned backlash from a number of former security officials and research groups. IBON Foundation, for one, said the entry of a Chinese telco might compromise national security.

Citing a 2006 study on the United States telco industry by the US National Academy of Sciences, telecom service is crucial to national security, as it covers natural disaster, homeland security and transmission of vital intelligence. As a result, potential risks arise from being too dependent on overseas sources for innovation, technologies, applications and services.

Asked why the offer was limited to China, Roque said: “Well, I guess...it was brought up in bilateral negotiations between the Philippines and China. And the eventual player that was chosen by China, China Telecom, without

a doubt, is one of the biggest in the world, and, of course, we want to avail the fact that we’re very proximate to China.”

He also admitted the President’s close relations with China played a crucial role in his decision to offer to Beijing the privilege to operate the third telecom carrier in the country. “It was a political decision of the President to offer it to a Chinese company intended, I guess, also to strengthen our bilateral ties, with the fact that given the huge telecom market in China, Chinese companies ought to have already technical know-how in providing competent and reliable telecom services,” he said.

The Palace official added that opening the telecom industry to foreign investors is not a simple task, as it will not only require the further liberalization of the sector, but also overcoming domestic challenges.

“Take note that we are still in the process of hearing a case involving the frequencies that were awarded to what should have been the third player, and the buyers of that frequency are still challenging before the Supreme Court now whether the [Philippine] Competition Commission [PCC] can even look into the merger,” Roque said.

He was referring to the ongoing court battle between the PCC and Globe and PLDT. The PCC asked the High Court to stop Globe and PLDT from completing its purchase of San Miguel Corp.’s telecom assets until the competition body has finished reviewing the P69.1-billion transaction.

“It would not be as simple as it seems.

There will be legal challenges, but we are confident we can overcome all these challenges, because, after all, it is our commitment to provide viable public service in the telecom industry to the Filipino people,” Roque said.

briefs ➜SERENO DENIES DISCLOSING CLASSIFIED WPS INFO THE camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno on Tuesday denied the accusation made by a fellow magistrate that she committed treason and disloyalty to the country by disclosing classified information on the Philippines’s recent arbitration case against China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Sereno’s Spokesman Carlo Cruz said that contrary to the claim of Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza, it was not the Chief Justice who disclosed the memorandum filed by him for the Philippine government before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, where the then-solicitor general omitted Itu Aba on the list of the government’s claims against China.

During the hearing of the House Justice Committee on the impeachment case against Sereno on Monday, Jardeleza alleged that Sereno committed treason when she disclosed a highly confidential memorandum in the WPS arbitration case in objecting to his earlier nomination for a post in the High Court and excluding him from the shortlist of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for alleged question on integrity.

Itu Aba is the biggest feature in the Spratly group of islands and is being disputed by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Taiwan.

In the leaked memorandum, Jardeleza submitted the position that Itu Aba is only a rock, but Sereno thinks otherwise, referring to it as an island.

Cruz said Sereno was just airing the concern raised by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio during the JBC proceedings. Joel R. San Juan

➜BILL GIVING POLITICAL ADS 50-percent DISCOUNT OKAYED The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a measure regulating the rates for political propaganda on television, radio and print during a campaign period.

House Bill 6604 seeks to provide equal opportunity among qualified candidates to avail themselves of affordable political propaganda through trimedia by regulating the rates and increasing the discounts charged by media outlets to political parties and bona fide candidates for political posts during the election period.

The bill mandates that during the campaign period, media outlets shall provide registered political parties and bona fide candidates a discount of 50 percent for television, radio and print.

The measure, which was principally authored by Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez and Majority Leader Rep. Rodolfo C. Fariñas of the First District of Ilocos Norte, seeks to amend Republic Act 9006, or the Fair Election Act. The bill provide that the Commission on Elections shall have the power to regulate the rates of political propaganda and prevent media outlets from increasing the rates to more than the average rates charged to regular advertisers one year prior to the start of the election period. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

➜POLICE CHIEF TO HEAD ‘CORRUPT’ AGENCY AFTER RETIREMENT More than a month before his retirement, National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa has been assured of a post in the government by President Duterte.

Dela Rosa, however, refused to disclose the position or what agency in the government he would be joining, but claimed the post and the agency are both equally challenging.

The PNP chief is scheduled to retire from the service next month.

While dela Rosa refused to identify the agency that he would be heading, he described it as an office where bribery is rampant. Rene Acosta