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Friday, February 3, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 114

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MINERS QUESTION ‘IMPARTIALITY’ OF GOVT AUDIT

motoring

DENR to padlock 23 large-scale mines 12 T By Jonathan L. Mayuga & Cai U. Ordinario

2016 ejap JOURNALISM awards

Ferrari-Maserati service center inaugurated »E1

@jonlmayuga @cuo_bm

he Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Thursday ordered the closure of 23 large-scale mining operations, a move which could cut GDP by 0.5 percentage point, according to an economist.

The number of big mines that passed the audit

An L.U.V. for the Month of love »E2-E3

Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez told reporters in a news briefing on Thursday that the DENR’s decision is final. Continued on A5

Isuzu starts 2017 with a bang! »E3

BARBECUE SELLER TURNS TYCOON WITH 2,500% STOCK SURGE I

DIE LAUGHING Photo shows the people behind the comedy show Extra Judicial Kidding!, (from left) Director Jon Santos and actors Joaquin Pedro, Rex Navarrete and Kakai Bautista, during a news conference on February 2. With the title, the show is expected to rib at current events high on minds of Filipinos. To be held on February 15 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, the show is expected to bring laughter to guests. NONIE REYES

DOT to run new PHL pitch in emerging markets By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Department of Tourism’s (DOT) new TV commercial (TVC) featuring the “family” values of the Filipinos “will run for a year” in a number of so-called emerging markets of the Philippines. In a text message to the BusinessM irror, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said: “The TVC is for our emerging markets. We would focus on the United States, Indonesia, Russia, India, Germany, France and the United Arab Emirates.”

In the new 60-second TVC, entitled “Anak”, model Jack Ellis is seen interacting with a host Filipino family against the backdrop of a pristine blue lagoon in Surigao del Sur. It ends with the line, purportedly written by Ellis, that says: “When you’re with Filipinos, you’re with family.” It also carries the hashtag #WhenWithFilipinos, which is hoped to go viral the way #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines brand campaign did when it was launched in 2012. The ad was premiered during the worldwide telecast of the Miss Universe pageant on January 30. “Our unique, genuine Filipino hospitality is the country’s greatest strength, as far

PESO exchange rates n US 49.7830

as tourism is concerned. Our friendliness and kindness make strangers feel at home. This often develops to lasting friendships and makes for memorable experiences that make them want to come back,” Teo said in a separate news statement. The DOT is targeting to attract some 6.5-million-visitor arrivals for 2017. This developed as visitor arrivals in the Philippines leaped by 12.12 percent, hitting some 5.4 million from January to November 2016. The head count for the 11-month period exceeded the total visitor arrivals of 5.36 million in 2015. In a report posted on its web

DE CASTRO: “They don’t have the warmth and hospitalitty of the Filipinos. This is something that Secretary Teo wanted to focus on.” site, the DOT noted that “consistent growth” was observed each month in 2016, with double-digit gains recorded from January to July, except for the month of May and November. See “DOT,” A2

t’s been a fast ascent for college dropout Edgar J. Sia II, who, less than a decade ago was selling chicken barbecue in the Philippines. He now leads the real-estate developer that has the best stock gains in Asia. His company, DoubleDragon Properties Corp., went public in the Philippines in 2014, and has surged 2,500 percent since it began trading in April that year through January 31, beating 460 other Asian developers worth at least $500 million. That surge has inflated DoubleDragon’s market value to P115.1 billion ($2.3 billion), propelling it to the nation’s top 5 developers, even though it owns and manages a fraction of the real estate held by its rivals. Sia was study ing architecture when he dropped out at 19 to start a business venture with classmates. Now 40, Sia ranks among the youngest tycoons in the Philippines. In 2003 he started a chicken shop in Iloilo City before turning it into a nationwide chain that overtook McDonald’s Corp. in-store count in 2010. That year he sold his Mang Inasal chicken chain to Jollibee Foods Corp., and later partnered with its founder, Tony Tan Caktiong, and with SM Investments Corp., owner of the

SIA: “Once you spot a gap that big players missed or nobody has paid attention to in a transition, you will own that space for many decades.”

nation’s largest retailer, to venture into property and malls. With the same lofty ambitions he used to expand his chicken empire, Sia aims to operate 100 CityMall outlets by 2020 to help meet the basic needs of shoppers in smaller provinces. DoubleDragon is a minnow among Asian developers—it had $844.5 million worth of assets in the third quarter of 2016, just about 0.6 percent of the assets of Asia’s largest real-estate company, China Evergrande Group. “The stock has outperformed, because many investors believe in its business model, which is geared toward addressing geographical gaps in retail,” said Cristina S. Ulang, head of research at Manilabased First Metro Investment Corp. “DoubleDragon is very focused Continued on A2

n japan 0.4398 n UK 63.0253 n HK 6.4160 n CHINA 7.2340 n singapore 35.2596 n australia 37.7355 n EU 53.6312 n SAUDI arabia 13.2783

Source: BSP (2 February 2017 )

News

A2 Friday, February 3, 2017

BusinessMirror

COA clears ERC chairman

he Commission on Audit (COA) recently brought to an end the controversies hounding the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), after it released its investigation report clearing the ERC head of allegations concerning a P300,000 audio-visual project (AVP).

Barbecue seller turns tycoon with 2,500% stock surge Continued from A1

on penetrating smaller cities that are growth areas of the future. It’s already positioned ahead of the others when growth filters into these smaller cities.” Since DoubleDragon’s 2014 initial public offering (IPO), the only developers worldwide to beat its gain have been a Venezuelan realestate investment trust and a US-listed Chinese provider of real-estate services. The stock surge inflated DoubleDragon’s market value to a record last June, which then made it the third-most valuable Philippine builder, dislodging Megaworld Corp., the largest landlord for call centers. While DoubleDragon shares are down 26 percent from their all-time high, the stock may rebound to a new record if the company delivers on mall rollout and earnings growth pledges, Ulang said. The stock rose as much as 5.6 percent to a three-month high, outpacing a 0.2-percent gain in the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.

Fund-raising

Sia is also raising long-term funds to buy and develop property. The builder has raised P30.7 billion from the sale of bonds and preferred shares in the past three years, augmenting the P1.1-billion proceeds from its IPO. The amount is 75 percent of its P40.4billion budget to build a million square me-

ters of malls and offices for lease by 2020. Sia said another P9.7 billion of retail bonds will be sold this year to complete the budget, which also includes the expansion of two hotel brands.DoubleDragon will post a sevenfold gain in recurring revenue to P9.43 billion by 2020 from about P1.35 billion this year, as most of its leaseable portfolio start to contribute from 2018 onward, Sia said. “We have already passed the toughest phase in bridging DoubleDragon’s transition into a business with sustainable recurring revenue,” Sia said in an interview on January 26. “Our leasing revenue has kicked in and will start to surge as we focus on execution.” Sia said the company is on track to meet targets he has set, including a billion-peso profit in 2016, completing the construction of 50 malls this year and operating at least 50 outlets in 2018.

Operational concerns

“Investors bought the stock on what the company would or could do, not on what it had. But I’d be cautious because of operational concerns,” said Rens Cruz, an analyst at Regina Capital Development Corp., who has a hold rating on the stock. The company is “still in a transition phase from one that gets revenue from interim project to one that gets earnings from leasing”. DoubleDragon planned its CityMall complexes to have a uniform format—one level

of no more than 1 hectare (2.5 acres) each, with only one tenant per retail category that includes banking, grocery, pharmaceutical, food and entertainment. It’s meant to provide the basic needs of community dwellers in smaller provincial cities that may not be readily attractive to bigger developers like SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Robinsons Land Corp., Sia said. DoubleDragon builds most of its malls in cities with populations of 100,000 to 150,000, which he said comprise about 80 percent of the nation’s 145 cities. He expects the bigger retailers’ interest in these smaller communities will only rise, as sales growth slows in larger and more populated areas due to saturation and competition. Jollibee, which has more than five restaurant brands, and SM Investments, a partner in DoubleDragon’s shopping mall unit CityMall Commercial Centers Inc., are anticipating the trend. The two groups typically lease two-thirds of a CityMall outlet, Sia said. “When we opened Mang Inasal in 2003, we promised 100 stores in five years, and we opened our 100th outlet four years and a month later,” Sia said. “These smaller provincial cities, starting in the next two to three years, will be the most important areas for modern retail. Once you spot a gap that big players missed or nobody has paid attention to in a transition, you will own that space for many decades.” Bloomberg News

In the report signed by State Auditor Vivencio C. Quiambao Jr. and Supervising Auditor Flovita Felipe, the COA debunked issues raised against ERC Chairman Jose Vicente B. Salazar. The report junked insinuations that the selection of the supplier for the project was “rigged”, as alleged in an apparent suicide note of the late ERC Director Jose Francisco Villa Jr. According to the COA report, the AVP “was not consummated” and that no payments were made in connection with the project. Contrary to allegations made in supposed suicide notes, the COA did not report any “rigging” in the selection process for the supplier for the project. It will be recalled that the COA conducted the audit investigation following the suicide of Villa in November last year. Prior to his death, Villa headed the ERC Bids and Awards Committee, which supervised the procurement of office supplies and professional services. Villa’s suicide notes spurred controversies in the wake of an allegation in his notes that he was under pressure to approve a contract for a certain Jose Morelos for the production of the said AVP. In its findings, the COA said “records would show that no payments were made to Mr. Morelos” in connection with the AVP. It also noted that a memorandum of agreement for the services of Morelos as ERC consultant was terminated by the ERC some two weeks after it was signed. The amount set aside to cover Morelos’s fees for the period was not paid out and “will be reverted [to the ERC] as the transaction did not materialize,” the COA report said. The COA report also confirmed earlier information released by the ERC that no contract was awarded for the AVP. “No prospective bidders submitted their quotation for which it became a failure of bidding for the first posting in the Philippine Government Electron-

DOT. . .

Continued from A1

The biggest volume of tourists was recorded last July, while the highest growth was posted last February. Visitor receipts in the 11-month period in 2016 grew a slight 3.24 percent to P210.76 billion, from P204.14 billion in the same period in 2015. The largest volume of receipts was recorded last February at some P27.5 billion, with the highest growth of 42.09 percent versus February 2015. South Korea continued to be the largest source of visitor arrivals at 1.33 million from January to November 2016. It was followed by the US at 771,849 visitor arrivals; China at 630,327 arrivals; Japan at 491,261; Australia at 218,438 arrivals; Taiwan at 213,522 arrivals; Singapore at 161,194 arrivals; the United Kingdom at 153,709 arrivals; Canada at 151,770 arrivals; and Malaysia at 128,077 arrivals. Among the top 10 markets for visitors to the Philippines, China posted the largest increase at 39.08 percent, followed by Taiwan (+30.25 percent), the UK (+13.62 percent) and Canada (+14.03 percent), data from the DOT indicated. Other countries that showed substantial growth in visitor volume were Saudi Arabia with 53,660 arrivals (+11.75 percent); Germany with 76,282 arrivals (+16.12 percent); France with 49,316 arrivals (+22.05 percent); Spain with 28,623 arrivals (+33.30 percent); the Netherlands with 28,084 arrivals (+11.4 percent); Sweden with 21,521 arrivals (+19.12 percent); Italy with 22,246 arrivals (+18.2 percent); and Denmark with 15,972 arrivals (+21.16 percent). Meanwhile, the new TVC and hashtag/brand campaign was conceptualized by advertising leader McCann Worldgroup Philippines, which won a P650-million bid in May 2016 to create a new ad campaign for the DOT. Tourism Undersecretary Katherine S. de Castro said, in conceptualizing the new TVC for the Philippines, “the question we wanted answered

ic Procurement System site,” the COA report said. The second posting was also a failure because “it was alleged that the preparation of the second Terms of Reference failed to indicate the passing rate, which was a vital information to determine the most responsive quotation,” the COA report pointed out. “There were no further actions taken by the ERC after the two failed biddings,” the COA attested in its report. According to the COA report, the AVP was a project of the Public Information Division, which is under the Planning Information Ser vice that Villa concurrently headed. The project, initiated as early as 2010 by then-ERC Chairman Zenaida C. Ducut, was intended to educate the public on the mission and role of the ERC. In a statement, Salazar said he thanked the COA for the completion and submission of its report following its investigation of “the issues raised by the late Director Jose Francisco Villa”. “We are pleased to note that the report compiled by the COA following its investigation is consistent with the earlier information the ERC released concerning the audio-visual project in question. It is significant that the COA report has confirmed the fact that no contract has been awarded for the project in view of the successive failed biddings, and that no funds were expended in connection with it.” “With the issues now clarified, the ERC is set to pursue the industry and institutional reforms we have initiated with added vigor and determination.” “We went through a difficult period which put to the test our commitment both to the institution we serve and to reforms we are mandated to put in place. With the conclusion of the investigation by the COA, we can now put this period behind us and face the future with greater confidence in our ability to transform the vision of the ERC into reality.” was, ‘Why is it more fun in the Philippines?’” She told the BusinessMirror in an e-mail: “Family, being the center of every Filipino’s life, inevitably became the theme for our first DOT ad. We cannot take away the basic element of ‘fun’, as in the usual fare of sun and beach, in any travel and tour. But, it is the family that we gravitate to in everything we do. That includes hosting of visitors, be it from afar or balikbayan relatives from abroad. When with Filipinos, guests are not treated as strangers but as family.” De Castro pointed out that other countries almost have the same tourist attractions as the Philippines, “but they don’t have the warmth and hospitality of the Filipinos. This is something that Secretary Teo wanted to focus on after Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, told her in one of her trips abroad that the Filipino hospitality is unique and cannot be found elsewhere.” She said Teo then instructed her “to make sure that the new campaign will focus on that. I asked McCann to come up with concepts.” Among the three concepts submitted by McCann, “Anak” was approved by Teo, de Castro added. The DOT official intimated that there will be other iterations of the TVC, which will focus on other Filipino values, such as “the gestures of friendliness, especially when we go out of our way to accommodate and attend to our visitors,” which make the tourists’ stay memorable. Also, the other ads will show the “welcoming smiles of the people, despite any language barrier, [which] instantly show our guests that we are happy to have them visit the Philippines,” as well as the Filipinos’ “[love for peace], humility, industriousness, resiliency and willingness to help others,” she explained. The previous tagline “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”, was conceptualized by BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines under the DOT administration led by then-Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. That brand campaign attracted rave reviews from local and foreign tourism industry practitioners, advertising experts, media and netizens, and won local and international advertising awards.

Economy

A4 Friday, February 3, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

PSA reports inflation respite for ‘poor’ Filipinos in 2016 By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

oor Filipinos experienced some respite from high commodity prices in 2016, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday showed.

Data showed that average inflation for the bottom 30 percent of the population, or the poorest Filipinos, slowed to 1.4 percent in 2016, from 1.6 percent in 2015. The PSA said this could be due to the slowdown in the food alone index to 1.7 percent in 2016, from 2.4 percent in 2015. Poor Filipinos are sensitive to the prices of food. This is because the weight of food in the basket of goods used for the computation of the inflation experienced by the poorest 30 percent is 70 percent against 39 percent for all the households.

Average

The annual average inflation in

National Capital Region for the year 2016 advanced by 1.3 percent, after it registered an annual average decline of 0.3 percent in 2015. Areas outside the National Capital Region (AONCR) slowed down to 1.4 percent in 2016, after a 1.6percent rise in 2015. Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter, the poor saw higher inflation at 2 percent, from the 1.4 percent posted in the third quarter of 2016 and 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. “This was due to higher annual markups in the indices of food, beverages and tobacco [FBT] and fuel, light and water [FLW],” the PSA said. The country’s annual change in the food alone index jumped by 2.2 percent

1.4% The average inflation for the so-called bottom 30 percent of the population, or poorest Filipinos, from 1.6 percent in 2016

during the fourth quarter of 2016. Its annual growth in the previous quarter was registered at 1.6 percent. Commodity prices increased 3.6 percent in Metro Manila, higher than the 1.6 percent posted in the third quarter of 2016 and the contraction of 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. In AONCR, prices inched up by 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. In the previous quarter, its growth was recorded at 1.4 percent and, in same quarter in 2015, 0.8 percent. On a quarterly basis, inflation experienced by the poor increased 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of

Quimbo to DOF, House colleagues: Prioritize PIT bill over ‘radical’ tax-overhaul proposal By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

leader of the House of Representatives on Thursday said forcing the “radical” overhaul on the country’s tax system may not only prove to be imprudent, timewasting and fiscally unhealthy, but will also bring about more harm than good in the long run. Deputy Speaker and Liberal Party Rep. Romero S. Quimbo of Marikina issued the statement following the second deliberation of the House Committee on Ways and Means on the Department of Finance (DOF)backed Comprehensive Tax Reform Package (CTRP) on Wednesday. According to Quimbo, the lower chamber and the DOF should prioritize the passage of the long-sought for personal income tax-reform bill, which has been effectively held hostage by the contentious tax package of the DOF.

Sidetracked

“What started out as our clamor for immediate income-tax relief for the salary worker has been sidetracked and waylaid by the DOF’s push for the imposition of massive and substantial new taxes solely for the purpose of raising more revenue,” he said. “What is happening now is that the personal income-tax reform we have been asking for is being held hostage by the DOF, who has promised to ‘release’ it only if Congress gives a ransom in the form of additional excise taxes on fuel and other additional new taxes,” Quimbo said. While not entirely disagreeing with the concept of imposing excise taxes on gasoline and even new taxes,

What started out as our clamor for immediate income-tax relief for the salary worker has been sidetracked and waylaid by the DOF’s push for the imposition of massive and substantial new taxes solely for the purpose of raising more revenue.” —Quimbo

the lawmaker added a more exhaustive study needs to be undertaken to ensure that the poor will not be the hit by the new taxes. “Let us not rush the imposition of these new taxes, some of which we have already seen as failures in the Philippine setting today. The process will obviously take time. Meanwhile, the long-suffering income-tax earners are caught in the crossfire,” said Quimbo, a former chairman of the ways and means committee.

Phases

HE also called for more consultations with affected sectors whose tax privileges will be withdrawn, including the business-process outsourcing (BPO) companies, cooperatives, socialized housing and the automobile industry. “It is becoming increasingly clear that we have to do tax reform in phases so as not to delay the much-needed inflation-adjustment of individual income tax,” he said. “Adjusting the tax brackets to inflation is an instant tool for social justice, as it seeks to immediately rectify the basic inequity of our system while we give time for the more comprehensive reforms to be fine-tuned and polished,” Quimbo added. Quimbo also pointed out the need for a better tax administration. He said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) loses an estimated amount of P200 billion a year, or P547 million a day, in revenue due to smuggling while the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) loses P66 billion in foregone revenue due to low tax compliance of professionals and entrepreneurs. “Currently, there are a lot of leakages in the BOC and the BIR. Unless we improve tax administration first, new taxes will not be effective. The BIR has been failing in its collection of the current taxes

we have now, what more if they are tasked to collect additional and more complicated ones?” Quimbo said.

Poor vs rich

For his part, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the tax-reform package of the DOF will hits more on the poor rather than the rich. “Aside from adding more excise taxes and expanding the value-added tax [VAT] base among others, the DOF is also planning to tax moneyremittance centers, which OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and the common folk often use to send money to their poor family members and relatives,” he said. “What is more appalling is the proposal to expand the VAT base instead of doing away with antipoor taxes, like VAT on systems loss on electricity,” Zarate added.

Blackmail

HE added the DOF has not only taken hostage the lowering of income taxes by tying it up with increase in excise taxes and VAT, “it seems that they are also blackmailing Filipinos with this tax-reform package.” The DOF’s CTRP was principally authored by House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman and PDP-Laban Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua of Quirino. Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said only with this sizable increase in revenues through tax can the government meet its goal of drastically reducing poverty and transforming the country into an upper middle-income economy in 2022 by spending big on infrastructure, human capital—education, health, lifelong training and research and development—and social protection for the poor and other vulnerable sectors. The tax package restructures the tax rates and exempts individuals earning a gross income of P250,000 and below.

2016, from 0.6 percent in the third quarter last year.

Spike

“UPWARD price adjustments in the heavily weighted food items, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and fish, primarily pushed up the quarter-on-quarter inflation of the CPI [consumer price index] for bottom 30-percent income households in the Philippines by 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. Prices of LPG and kerosene also went up during the quarter,” the PSA said. Monitoring the movement of prices, particularly for the bottom 30 percent, addresses indicators under Global or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2, which the Philippines adopted this year. The United Nations said Goal 1 aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, while Goal 2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The SDGs are composed of 17 goals and 169 targets, which need to be achieved by 2030. The set of goals were adopted by 189 countries in September 2015.

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Taxpayers extended P6-B subsidy to finance, insurance sector in 2014

ilipino taxpayers extended P6 billion worth of subsidies to the finance and insurance sector in 2014, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). On Thursday preliminary estimates released by the PSA showed that subsidies received by the sector was lower than the P6.4 billion it received in 2013. “ Su b s id ies a re a l l s p e c i a l grants in the form of financial assistance or tax exemption or tax privilege given by the government to aid and develop an industry,” the PSA said. PSA data showed three industry groups received subsidies from the government—auxiliary insurance, pension fund and fund management-related firms; insurance; and other financial services. Subsid ies e x tended to t he combined activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding and fund management reached P4.1 billion in 2014. This was followed by insurance which received subsidies worth P1.3 billion and other financial service activities, except insurance and pension-funding activities, granted a share of P525.7 million in 2014. In terms of regions, only four of the regions reported subsidies received from the government—the National Capital Region (NCR),

Caraga, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Northern Mindanao. NCR received the highest subsidy of P6 billion. Ranked a far second was Caraga, combined with ARMM with P4.8 million. Nor t her n Mind a nao c a me in third slot with subsidies of P500,000 of the total subsidies received by the sector. Data showed there were a total of 1,059 establishments, with total employment of 20 and over in the formal sector of the economy were engaged in financial and insurance activities. Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding comprised 465, or 43.9 percent of the total number of establishments. This was followed by establishments engaged in monetary intermediation with 300, or 28.3 percent. Ranked third were establishments engaged in insurance activities with 100, or 9.4 percent. At the regional level Metro Manila had the most number of establishments with 46.9 percent, or 497 firms. Calabarzon and Central Luzon placed far second and third with 9.9 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. Cordillera Administrative Region had the least with only 10 establishments. Cai U. Ordinario

NTC surpasses 2016 administrative fees collection target by ₧312.9M

he National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), an agency under the Department of Information and Communications Technology, surpassed its P4.835-billion collection target for 2016, as it remitted a total of P5.148 billion to the Bureau of Treasury. The target was set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) composed of the Department of Budget Management (DBM), the Department of Finance (DOF) and the National

Economic and Development Authority (Neda). The achievement came from the NTC employees’ concerted efforts to strictly enforce stakeholders’ compliance in paying administrative, spectrum and penalty fees. Stakeholders regulated by the NTC include cable and commercial television operators, broadcast radio stations, telecommunications companies and twoway radio operators. NTC Commissioner Gamaliel

LRMC to inaugurate new LRT 1 Doroteo Jose station on Monday

ight Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) is set to inaugurate on Monday the improved Doroteo Jose station, which will serve a daily average of 27,000 passengers interconnecting with the LRT 2. Doroteo Jose station is the pilot for the company’s P500-million Station Improvement Project, which will include the enhancement of passenger exchange and the advertising environment. LRMC President and CEO Rogelio L. Singson said “with the increased number of light rail vehicles and additional commercial trips, the Station Improvement Project is another significant component to improve the efficiency of the LRT 1 system for the safety, comfort and convenience of around 450,000 passengers daily across all 20 stations.” The Station Improvement Project covers the redesign, structural repair, replacement of lighting fixtures, repainting, restoration of elevators and escalators, and general cleaning of LRT 1 stations. Refurbishment of Doroteo Jose began in December 2015. Other stations have since followed, including Edsa, Central, Gil Puyat, Pedro Gil, United Nations, R. Papa and Abad Santos. According to Singson, the stations need to be able to handle the current demand, resulting from operational and engineering efficiencies in progress since the company assumed operations and maintenance of the system in September 2015. Along with the inauguration of the new Doroteo Jose station, LRMC is also set to open the LRT 1 exhibit that pays tribute to National Artist for Architecture Arch. Francisco Mañosa. Mañosa designed the LRT 1 stations in the early-1980s, during the time of the train line’s construction. The exhibit is LRMC’s way of honoring LRT 1’s design legacy, as well as educating the public on LRT 1’s roots. It will feature the design sketches of Mañosa, a scale model of the train, and news clippings and other information that were culled from the collection of the National Artist himself.

A. Cordoba said, “The NTC management sincerely thanks its entire work force for going the extra mile in ensuring that the agency surpassed P5 billion as 2016 ended.” “The collection effort of everyone in the agency signified NTC’s sincere desire to humbly contribute to President Duterte’s public service programs, priorities of which are on peace and order, agriculture and rural development and infrastructure,” he added. PNA

briefs energy dept closely monitoring lpg prices The Department of Energy (DOE) has assured the public that it is keeping a close watch on the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the local market. “Our Oil Industry Management Bureau [OIMB] is closely assessing the global trend of supply and demand, while also taking into consideration other factors affecting the prices of LPG,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said in a news statement released on Wednesday. Citing an OIMB report, Cusi attributed the recent spike in LPG prices to the increased demand in cold weather continents, such as North America, Europe and northern Asia, where LPG products are used mostly for heating. The rise in demand could continue due to the extended winter attributed to La Niña. He further pointed out that these regions are having a difficult time getting their supplies because even the transport of LPG products, mostly through railway, has been affected by the cold weather. ”This curbs supply, then affects the demand, and ultimately the prices,” he said. The energy chief also noted the rising global crude-oil prices and outages of oil refineries in some oil-producing countries. He explained that because LPG is a by-product of crude oil and natural-gas production, its price would climb as global crude-oil prices surge due to the higher demand and curbed supply production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. PNA

Tarlac city implements cash-for-work program TARLAC CITY—The city government of Tarlac, through the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), will implement the cash-for-work program that would provide additional source of income to Tarlaqueños. The program will start on February 5, following an orientation held on Wednesday as attended by the barangay secretaries of the 76 city villages. Under the program, some 1,750 beneficiaries selected from all the barangays will work eight hours for 10 days. Each beneficiary will be paid P278 per day. CSWDO Officer in Charge Jimbo Soriano said the beneficiaries will be tasked to clean canals in their respective barangays, and desilt and declog waterways. PNA

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, February 3, 2017

Solon wants higher tariffs on agri imports

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

he vice chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs is keen on filing a bill to increase tariffs on imported agricultural products, particularly rice, to protect Filipino farmers. I n a st atement , R e p. Jose ph i ne Ramirez-Sato of Occidental Mindoro said the measure is aimed at protecting farmers from a “rice crisis” after the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice is lifted on July 1. The QR on rice or quotas on rice import will expire on June 30, 2017. Sato’s office, however, told the BusinessMirror that the lawmaker is still working out the details of the bill with the Department of Agriculture (DA), say-

ing the measure will be filed “as soon as possible” or before Congress goes on break on March 17. She added that she would consult various stakeholders and review existing laws to come up with a proposed measure imposing higher tariffs on agricultural imports. Sato said a measure is needed to protect farmers from “liberal trade policies”, including that imposed by the World Trade Organization.

She added that her agricultural tariff bill will help shield farmers from the “excessive” purchase of imported rice. Sato said she is wary of the possibility of cheap, imported rice flooding the Philippine market once the rice-import quota is removed. She added that rice farmers, particularly those with small landholdings and no capital, will be the first to take the “fatal blow”. According to Sato, Republic Act 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, needs to be amended, otherwise, the Philippines may not even be able to impose duties or tariffs on rice once the rice QR is lifted. Meanwhile, Sato asked Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol to take up the cudgels for rice farmers. She said she moved for the committee confirmation of Piñol after he submitted a letter outlining his response to the issues raised during his first confirmation hearing held by the Commission on Ap-

Typhoon-hit farmers in Bicol receive P72-M aid

he Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has provided palay, corn, vegetable seeds seedlings of various fruit trees and drugs and biologics for animals worth P72 million to farmers in three typhoon-affected provinces in Bicol. Dr. Elena B. de los Santos, regional executive director of the DA in Bicol, said the rehabilitation of farmers hit by Supertyphoon Nina (international code name Nock-Ten) is already under way. For Camarines Sur, de los Santos said the DA has turned over to the provincial government over 5,000 bags of certified palay seeds; 4,226 packs (20 kilograms) of hybrid palay seeds; 19,770 packets of assorted vegetable seeds; 250 kg mungbean seeds; 1,500 bags of yellow and white corn hybrid seeds; 1,085 cacao, lemon and pili seedlings; and 13,942 doses of drugs and biologics for animals. “The DA has turned over to the provincial government of Albay 5,000 bags of certified

palay seeds; 5,000 packs hybrid palay seeds; 1,000 bags yellow and white corn seeds; 10,600 grafted cacao and pili seedlings; 12,500 packets of assorted vegetable seeds; 2,500 assorted garden tools,” she said in a statement. Farmers in Catanduanes, where Niña made landfall, received 3,000 bags of certified palay seeds; 12,500 packs of assorted vegetable seeds; 17 bottles/boxes of various drugs and biologics for the treatment of affected animals. De los Santos said she has endorsed to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol the proposal of the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority for the rehabilitation of typhoon-damaged abaca cares in Catanduanes. She added that the government is looking at tapping funds from the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), as abaca is among the identified priority of Catanduanes in its Priority Commodity Investment Plan,

which will be bankrolled by the PDRP. “Funds for the provision of seeds and other farm inputs were taken from the savings generated by the regional office from previous calamity funds, which were recently released by the Department of Budget and Management,” de los Santos said. Farmers and fishermen in the typhoonaffected areas are set to receive more assistance, with the expected release of the P500 million committed by President Duterte to them when he visited Catanduanes and Camarines Sur a few days after the typhoon hit Bicol. De los Santos said the regional office of the DA in Bicol has submitted to Piñol its rehabilitation plan for the farming sector in the region, which will require over P1.4 billion. Niña damaged P5.1 billion worth of crops and affected 86,735 farmers in the province, according to the latest report from the DA. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

DENR to padlock 23 large-scale mines Continued from A1

“They [mining firms] can appeal their case to President Duterte. He has the final say,” Lopez said. She warned mining firms to comply with the closure order of the DENR. “Unless they appealed to the President, they should immediately stop their operation.” “I have reported to the President about what is going to happen. And I know for a fact that he loves the people,” Lopez said, adding that the decision to close the mines is anchored on her belief that mining has caused “massive environmental damage”. During the news briefing, the DENR chief presented photos and showed a video of the adverse environmental impact of the mines in Zambales, Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar, Dinagat Island and Surigao del Norte. The photos and video showed the discoloration of water in heavily silted rivers and seas near the mines. Ordered closed were the iron ore mine of Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp. in Bulacan; gold and nickel mine of Benguet Corp. in Benguet; and the nickel mine of BenguetCorp. Nickel Mines Inc., Eramen Minerals Inc., Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. and LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. in Zambales. On Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar three mining companies were issued closure orders—Mt. Sinai Mining Exploration and Development Corp. and Techlron Mineral Resources, Inc. On Dinagat Islands an island-province in Mindanao, seven of the nine mines were covered by the closure order. They are AAMPHIL Natural Resources Exploration, Kromico Inc., SinoSteel Philippines H.Y. Mining Corp., Oriental Syneregy Mining Corp., Wellex Mining Corp., Libjo Mining Corp. and Oriental Vision Mining Philippines Corp. In Surigao del Norte the DENR ordered the closure of seven operating mines. They are the Adnama Mining Resources Corp., Claver Mineral Development Corp., Platinum Development Corp., CTP Construction and Mining Corp., Carrascal Nickel Corp., Marcventures Mining and Development Corp. and Hinatuan Mining Corp. The DENR also issued suspension orders against five mining firms—Berong Nickel Corp., Citinickel Mines and Development Corp., Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corp., OceanaGold Phils., and Strong Built Mining Development Corp. Of the 41 large-scale mines, only 12 passed the mine audit based on Lopez’s set of criteria, which is anchored on social justice. The audit criteria included the environmental, biodiversity and social aspects of mining.

‘Compromised audit’

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) decried the announcement made by Lopez that she wants to close 23 mines and suspend an additional five operations. “Mining companies were invited by the government to invest in the Philippines and signed contracts with them as partners in mineral-resource development. By entering into these contracts, the government is bound to observe due process. The DENR secretary cannot just shut down mines without due process,” COMP Chairman Artemio F. Disini said in a statement. The COMP said it stands by its members and questioned the manner by which the DENR mine audit was conducted, particularly the inclusion of antimining activists. “We are not against a strict implementation of the law. In

fact, we have often called for stricter monitoring of all mining operations in the country. What we question is the bias and partiality of the audit from the very start with Secretary Lopez’s early statements that she does not like mining and would like to see mines closed,” said Nelia C. Halcon, COMP executive vice president. “With the inclusion of antimining groups in the audit teams, you can see that the audit was compromised. The participation of these antimining activists immediately raises the question of whether the results are impartial,” Halcon added. The COMP also said it laments how the audit review findings were first made known through a press conference. “If the audit found violations, the law provides for a procedure. She should have filed the appropriate cases or invoked the arbitration clause of the mining agreements. Our members have not received any formal decision but have already been subjected to trial by publicity,” Halcon said. “Unfortunately, it seems that her decision to close these mines was based merely on a quick fly-by over Surigao del Sur last week in a chopper during the height of the rainy season. It may not have been based on the review conducted by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau,” she added. Lopez, however, claimed to have visited all the mines and her decision were based on documentary evidences she and other DENR officials gathered during the audit and evaluation process. She also said she flew over the mines via helicopter and took aerial footages and photographs herself using her cellular phone during the process. She said COMP’s members, the majority of them now ISO 14001 certified, with several undergoing the accreditation process, have not been “remiss on their duties.” “Even as we faced challenges in 2016, we paid our taxes faithfully, contributed to the betterment of our host communities, and did our part in caring for the environment,” Halcon said. “But the DENR secretary does not seem to see the mining industry as the government’s partner in growing the economy. She sees miners as villains, even when mining companies have always been a consistent partner of their host communities,” she added. COMP called on the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), co-chaired by the Department of Finance, to convene and review the policies and “arbitrary actions” of Lopez.

Economic impact

Former Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Leo Jasareno, who acts as consultant to Lopez said the closure order will affect the country’s annual metals output. Nickel production alone, he said, will go down by 50 percent, considering that most of those ordered close are nickel producers. The Philippines is the world’s top nickel producer and China’s single major source of raw materials for the production of various steel products, such as stainless steel. Jasareno added that around 20,000 workers stand to lose their jobs because of the closure order. Lopez said the DENR will pursue area development in the area, instead of ordering the company to implement their final mine rehab and closure plans. She added that once closed, the DENR will have access to funds intended for the rehabilitation of inactive mines. “We have funds but the problem is we cannot use this fund unless we close the mines. I don’t care about the taxes. About

82 percent of the income from mining goes to mining companies. The people are suffering as they rake in profit,” Lopez said. According to Lopez, majority of the mines that were ordered closed are operating within critical watersheds. She has earlier declared watersheds as “off-limits” to destructive development projects and wants mining out of watersheds. “Water is life. Water is more important than money or gold,” Lopez said. She blamed the government and the DENR for allowing mining to happen within watershed, which she said compromises the integrity of the country’s freshwater resources. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and local economists, however, threw their support behind the DENR’s decision to close 23 mines. Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror that the impact on the economy in general will be “minimal”, but could be significant on the regional or community level. Edillon said the key is to provide safety nets for those that will be affected by the DENR’s decision. “They key is to provide safety nets to those who will be adversely affected. For the industry, it’s really about making sure that only responsible firms operate. It’s about compliance to the law; no new laws are being enacted,” she said. However, University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics Dean Cid L. Terosa projected that the country’s GDP will be cut due to the possible reduction in household consumption. Terosa estimated that GDP growth could decline by 0.5 percentage point if household consumption slows due to the job losses in the mining sector. “Although mining is capital intensive, the direct and indirect jobs that will be lost will reach thousands,” Terosa said. “For every peso lost in mining, 0.5 to 0.9 centavos can be lost elsewhere in the economy.” Former Labor Secretary Rene E. Ofreneo said while there could be losses, the creation of safety nets could cushion the impact on the economy. He said these could include efforts of the DENR to “clean up” areas that were heavily damaged by irresponsible mining practices. By conducting this program, those who lost their jobs in mining could shift to these initiatives. Ofreneo said clean up initiatives could also inclde tree planting in affected areas and mangrove planting in mining areas. He said “irresponsible mining practices” in the country leads to greater losses in terms of the livelihoods affected by mining. “The kind of mining we have here is a job killer. I am 100 percent in support of the closure.” Ofreneo noted that mine tailings could contaminate municipal fishing grounds and affect the livelihood of fishermen. He said what is needed is for mining companies to have value-adding activities. Ofreneo said these can be similar to what is being done in Indonesia, where mining companies are forbidden from shipping out raw ore. Ofreneo added that mining firms in Indonesia process whatever they mine in the country before selling to the international market. Based on the October 2016 Labor Force Survey, there are 41.66 million employed persons nationwide working in various sectors and industries. Of this figure, around 7.17 million, or 17.2 percent, are working in the industry sector. The PSA said 222,152 are working in the mining and quarrying sector.

pointments (CA) last December. The CA eventually confirmed Piñol’s appointment during a hearing on Wednesday. She also urged the DA to come up with plans and programs to make rice farming profitable, to encourage more farmers to venture into rice production and increase the countr y’s rice self-sufficiency level.

The government has targeted to increase farm production by 2.5 percent this year. Earlier, economists from the Ateneo de Manila University said the government may not be able to hit its goal. The damages caused by typhoons Lawin and Karen caused the country’s farmsector output to contract by 1.41 percent in 2016.

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Friday, February 3, 2017

As Southeast Asia central banks retreat, focus shifts to budgets

overnments in Southeast Asia are ramping up spending just as central banks are putting away their policy-easing tools. From Thailand to Malaysia, states are boosting budgets for railways, roads and other infrastructure projects to help bolster growth in a region facing uncertain global markets and the threat of a pullback in trade under United States President Donald J. Trump. “Fiscal is going to be the main story this year,” said Selena Ling, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “All of these countries don’t really have much room for cutting rates further. Their currencies may weaken more if rates are lower.” A f ter yea rs of pol ic y eas ing, central banks in Southeast A sia are tur ning their focus to reducing currency volatility and warding off inf lation risks. Econom ists su r veyed by Bloomberg pred ict t he Ph i l ip pines may be a mong t he f irst cent ra l ba n k s in A si a to ra ise interest rates t h is yea r, wh i le I ndonesi a a nd T h a i l a nd a re set to keep pol ic y u nc ha nged. Gover nments in Southeast Asia have room to spend. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines collectively had a budget surplus as recently as in 2014, and a deficit of just 0.8 percent of total GDP in 2016, according to Tamara Henderson, an economist with Bloomberg Intelligence in Singapore. Philippine President Duterte is seeking to widen the budget deficit to 3 percent of GDP this year—from a goal of 2 percent under the prev ious administration—as he embarks on an ambitious $160 -billion infrastructure program. In Thailand’s underperforming economy, the government may boost its deficit for the fiscal year 2017 to as much as 4 percent of GDP, after accounting for a supplementary budget, according to Nalin Chutchotitham, an HSBC Holdings Plc. economist in

Emirati foreign minister defends Trump visa ban

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) top diplomat on Wednesday came out in defense of President Donald J. Trump’s order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The comments by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Gulf federation’s foreign minister, could help bolster the administration’s assertion that the directive was not intended as a ban against Muslims. The UAE minister said the US was within its rights to take what he said was a “sovereign decision” concerning immigration—the first such remarks in support of Trump’s move from the Gulf Arab region—and he voiced faith in the American administration’s assurances that the move was not based on religion. Sheikh Abdullah also noted that most of the world’s Muslim-majority countries were not covered by the order, which halts entry for 90 days to citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. “This is a temporary ban and it will be revised in three months, so it is important that we put into consideration this point,” he said, following talks with his Russian counterpart in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi. “Some of these countries that were on this list are countries that face structural problems,” he continued. “These countries should try to solve these issues...and these circumstances before trying to solve this issue with the United States.” AP

Bangkok. The finance ministry estimates growth reached 3.2 percent last year, well below its regional peers.

Election budget

“It ma kes sense for a bit of a bolder spend i ng pl a n, wh i le funding costs are still relatively low and economic stabilit y is wel l maintained,” Chutchot it ha m sa id by e -m a i l. “ T he economy had str ug gled a bit in the past t wo years for a more stable grow th momentum, given subdued far m income and ex por t wea kness.” Malaysia is likely to maintain its deficit above 3 percent of GDP ahead of a general election that must be held by mid2018. In a recent note, Morgan Stanley analysts said the most recent budget passed last October features “ feel-good measures” ranging from tax incentives to purchase smartphones to soft loans for civil servants to get new motorbikes, all of which should be supportive for growth. Even f isca l ly conser vat ive Singapore, which rarely runs budget deficits, may be forced to announce stimulus measures for key industries later this month, said Vaninder Singh, an economist at Natwest Markets in Singapore. The city state’s economy grew 1.8 percent last year, the slowest pace since 2009.

Fiscal rules

Possible targets for increased spend ing inc lude the Nor thSout h Cor r idor, a n e x press way t hat crosses t he island, a nd a n en l a rged commerc ia l port Jurong, west of the downtown, Singh said. W hile both projects have already been budgeted for, additional money may be made available to speed up construction and create extra economic activity, he said. “Singapore definitely has to spend more to stimulate the economy,” Singh said. “I would expect that to be ref lected in this budget.” Bloomberg News

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

Tillerson confirmed as secretary of state amid record opposition

ASHINGTON—Rex W. Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday in a 56-43 vote to become the nation’s 69th secretary of state just as serious strains have emerged with important international allies.

The votes against Tillerson’s confirmation were the most in Senate history for a secretary of state, a reflection of Democratic unease with President Donald J. Trump’s early foreign-policy pronouncements that threaten to upend a multilateral approach that has guided United States presidents since World War II. Thirteen senators voted in 2005 against Condoleezza Rice in the midst of a deteriorating Iraq War, and in 1825, Henry Clay was confirmed 27-14, the record for votes against until Wednesday, according to a tally provided by the Senate Historical Office. In a brief swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, Trump said Tillerson understood “the importance of strengthening our alliances and forming new alliances to enhance our strategic interests and the safety of our people.” Trump added, “It’s time to bring a clear-eyed focus on foreign affairs, to take a fresh look at the world around us, and to seek new solutions grounded in very ancient truths.” Tillerson thanked him and promised to “represent the interests all of the American people at all times.” Tillerson is expected to appear at the State Department’s Foggy Bottom headquarters on Thurs-

day morning, when he will address department employees. Trump’s unapologetically nationalistic approach has put into question the value of many of the alliances and multilateral institutions. How Tillerson’s translates Trump’s vow of “America First” into the kind of polite diplomatic parlance that will maintain vital ties will be a significant test. Among his other challenges are dealing with Trump’s promises to recast relations with China and Russia, move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and reexamine an international nuclear deal with Iran. In a White House briefing on Wednesday, Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, issued a stern warning to Iran. “The Obama administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran’s malign actions,” he said. A Texan, Tillerson, 64, earned an engineering degree from the University of Texas at Austin, got a job at Ex xon in 1975 and c l imbed h is way to t he top, leaving only last year. Neither a diplomat, soldier nor politician, he is an unconventional choice for the job, but has vast international experience. With operations on six continents, Exxon Mobil is in some ways a state within a state. As its chief

executive, Tillerson struck deals with repressive governments—in at least one case, against the advice of the State Department. Environmentalists largely opposed his nomination. But his views on international affairs are in many ways more conventional than those of Trump, which is why even Democratic-leaning foreign-affairs experts said they welcomed his selection in hopes he would bring ballast to a turbulent administration. “Rex Tillerson will have the most demanding and complex agenda to face a secretary of state in a very long time,” said R. Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and career foreign service officer. Another crucial question will be how much influence Tillerson has on Trump. All Cabinet secretaries must compete for power with White House aides who have long personal relationships with and frequent access to the president. But Trump’s reliance on a close circle of advisers to write and vet executive orders while keeping departments that must implement them largely in the dark is without precedent. Trump invited Tillerson for a private lunch at the White House on Wednesday, the first time Tillerson has appeared on the president’s official schedule. Mollifying vital allies infuriated by Trump’s orders could be a full-time job. A ban on refugee arrivals and entries from seven Muslim countries, for instance, has enraged Iraqi officials whose cooperation is vital in the fight against the Islamic State—a top administration priority. It has also infuriated many European leaders crucial to efforts not only in Syria, but Afghanistan and Libya, as well, and it has tarnished what had been viewed as a successful trip by Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, who on Monday said she opposed the ban.

Relations with Mexico have plunged to their lowest level in decades after Trump insisted he would build a border wall regardless of Mexican opposition. The relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany threatened to become toxic after Peter Navarro, the director of Trump’s new National Trade Council, denounced the relatively low value of the euro as an unfair currency advantage for Germany. “Tillerson faces the most difficult task of any secretary of state in the postwar era in trying to reconcile President Trump’s intention to make a radical break from decades of bipartisan consensus US foreign-policy leadership with the reality that, if he succeeds, such a break could lead to global chaos,” said Ryan C. Crocker, who served as the US ambassador to five Muslim countries. Tillerson may also face difficult internal hurdles. Much of his department’s top leadership has departed—many because t h e Tr u m p a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , like others before it, refused to keep politica l appointees. But the Trump transition team has been so short-handed and the pickings among Republican foreign-policy veterans who had not criticized Trump so slim that dozens of positions are likely to remain empty for some time. More wor r isome, mora le among the department’s ranka nd - f i le c a re e r of f ice r s h a s plunged, with a dissent memo aga inst t he ad m in ist rat ion’s refugee and entr y bans being submitted on Tuesday garnering more than 900 signatures, an extraordinar y number. Whether Tillerson meets these challenges with defiance or moderation will be a telling indication of his leadership. New York Times News Service

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

US-Australia rift possible after Trump ends call

A S H I N G TO N — A p h o n e c a l l between President Donald J. Trump and the Australian prime minister is threatening to develop into a diplomatic rift between two stalwart allies after the two men exchanged harsh words over refugee policy and Trump abruptly ended the call. The phone call last Saturday bet ween Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull turned contentious after the Australian leader pressed the president to honor an agreement t o a c c e p t 1 , 2 5 0 re f u g e e s f ro m a n Australian detention center. L a t e We d n e s d a y n i g h t , Tr u m p reiterated his anger over the agreement on Twitter. He called the agreement a “dumb deal” and blamed the Obama administration for accepting it but then said that he would “study” it. The tweet was posted after The Washington Post reported details of the phone call. A senior Trump administration official said the president had told Turnbull last Saturday that the refugees could include the “next Boston bombers”. He also said he was “going to get killed” politically by the deal, given that the day before he had signed an executive order to stem the refugee flow into the United States and refuse visas for all citizens from seven Muslim countries. The Trump administration official said the call was shorter than planned and ended abruptly after Turnbull told the president it was necessary for the refuges to be accepted. The details of the call were confirmed by a senior administration official with direct knowledge of the exchange who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the diplomatic talks. New York Time News Service

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Friday, February 3, 2017

Trump’s travel ban draws growing opposition from tourism executives

he travel industry responded by turns critically and cautiously to President Donald J. Trump’s executive order issued last week that bans travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days.

T he order applies to citizens of I r a n , I r a q , L i b y a , S om a lia, Sudan, Sy r ia and Yemen, prompting protests at air ports ac ross t he cou nt r y over t he weekend as a irlines and immigration agents scrambled to comply w ith the new directive. The American Airlines chief executive, Doug Parker, called the order “divisive” in an open letter to employees posted on the company’s web site on Monday. Expedia is supporting a lawsuit filed by Washington state against the president’s order. The chief executive of TripAdvisor, Steve Kaufer, published an open letter on LinkedIn that criticized the policy, calling it “not only heartless and discriminatory, but also against the principles that make our country great.” Brian Chesky, the chief executive of Airbnb, went further on Twitter, posting that the company will provide temporary free

housing to refugees. A company spokesman said that Airbnb hosts may offer their rooms without charge or receive a subsidy from Airbnb. He added that the company was working on requests from people affected by the ban but did not provide more information. Of the seven nations singled out by the executive order, only Iran drew significant interest on the part of leisure travelers. Among North American travelers, trips to Iran with Intrepid Travel had grown 35 percent in the past year, on pace with Iceland, Japan and Sri Lanka, three other trending destinations. Cox and Kings said it had doubled its traffic to Iran in the past

12 months. Wilderness Travel went from offering one itinerary in 2016 to three in 2017. The founder of Abercrombie & Kent, Geoffrey Kent, singled out Iran as a top destination in 2017. These and other operators say previously announced trips will run. They have taken a wait-andsee position regarding whether Iran will retaliate with its own travel ban, as its government has suggested. “Our customers are very adventurous and want to travel, so probably there would be a shift in travel rather than canceling and staying home for a year,” said Warren Chan, the COO of Cox and Kings. Getting into Iran requires a visa that travelers can apply for no sooner than 90 days before their trip, said Annie Lucas, vice president of Mir Corp., a tour operator based in Seattle that has been guiding trips in Iran for close to 20 years. “You can’t get one a year in advance,” Lucas said. “There’s a timeline. That’s what calls it all into question. There are a lot of people waiting for approvals.” T he pre s id e nt i a l d i re c t i v e s e t a 9 0 - d ay d e a d l i ne t o re -

v ie w t he U S ’s pro c e du re s for vetting travelers from the s e v e n cou nt r ie s . “I’m hoping if the Iranians retaliate it will be three months on their side,” said Steve Kulay, who runs Iran Luxury Travel in North Carolina. “I’m not optimistic. They don’t like being pushed around.” Sm a rTou rs, ba se d i n Ne w York, had just begun selling its first trips to Iran in January and still plans to run that first group departure in July, with monthly departures thereafter. “There’s an element of Iran as the new Cuba, with a few twists,” said Greg Geronemus, a chief executive of SmarTours. He said the company booked more trips since the president’s order than accepted cancellations. “I get a sense of a spirit of resolve and defiance among those booking these trips,” he said. “I think it’s one of the ways they’re saying they disagree with the policy.” Frank Rosemond, 80, of San Francisco, said he did not plan to a lter his book ing w ith SmarTours to v isit Iran in October. He said he was excited to see the ancient r uins of Persepolis and the beautif u l ly tiled mosques of Isfahan.

“We understand the people are friendly, and once again it’s government to government that’s the problem,” Rosemond said. Whether Americans venture to Iran or elsewhere, some experts think the order will have a chilling effect on travel in general. “It just contributes to a sense of unease,” said Jason Clampet, the editor in chief of the travel news web site Skift.com. “Not knowing what the government m ight do mea ns people w i l l make a safe choice, if they make a decision at all. The f lip side is most Americans with summer vacations do them domestically.” I n b ou nd t ou r i s m , a l re a d y c h a l le n ge d b y we a k e x c h a n ge r at e s a g a i n s t t he d ol l a r, i s a not he r q u e s t io n . B a s e d i n E n g l a nd , t he a ge nc y R e s p on s i bl e Tr av e l s a id it h a d e x p e r ienced a 57- percent dec rea se i n re v e nue f rom t r ip s t o t he U S du r i n g t he p a s t y e a r a nd put t he cou nt r y on it s “not hot ” l i s t for 2017. “The US was already positioned to have a poor year because of the strength of the dollar,” said Clampet, “and this contributes to another reason not to go.” New York Times News Service

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Friday, February 3, 2017

White House steps up Iran criticism in wake of missile test

he White House said it is putting Iran “on notice” for testing ballistic missiles as the Trump administration turned its focus to a key foreign-policy area the new president vowed to address after taking office. United States National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said on Wednesday Iran’s actions showed it to be “in defiance” of the UN Security Council resolution passed after a nuclear deal was reached in 2015 between the Islamic Republic and six nations, including the US and Russia. Flynn’s warning came a day a f ter US A mbassador to t he Un ited Nat ions Ni k k i Ha le y told the Security Council that the missile test on Sunday was “absolutely unacceptable”. Beyond the tougher words, the administration didn’t offer details of what policy or military options it may be considering. An administration official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters afterward that there are a range of options available to counter Tehran’s actions. Oil advanced after Flynn’s comments, with the cost of a barrel rising 1.4 percent to $53.70 at 5:01 p.m. EST. Trump’s election victory appears to be emboldening Republicans who have long criticized the 2015 accord but were stymied in their efforts to undermine it by the Obama administration. “Iran is rapidly taking over more and more of Iraq even after the US has squandered three trillion dollars there. Obvious long ago!” Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday night. Flynn’s comments came on the same day

$370B

The volume of Iran’s economy that Republicans in the House announced plans for legislation targeting Iran’s support for “terrorism, human-rights abuses and ballistic missile program.” Among other steps, the measure would impose new sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolut i o n a r y G u a r d C o r p s a n d against people who “ knowingly aid ” its missile program. Similar legislation was previously introduced in the Senate.

Tempered rhetoric

During the campaign, Trump called the nuclear accord “one of the dumbest deals ever” and said dismantling it would be a top priority. That rhetoric was tempered by James Mattis, the new Pentagon chief, during his confirmation hearing last month. “It’s not a friendship treaty,” Mattis said at the time. “But when America gives her word, we have to live up to it and work with our allies.” Former Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus, testifying to the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, said ending the nuclear deal would

National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Flynn said the US is putting Iran “on notice” after it tested a ballistic missile. AP/Carolyn Kaster

leave the US isolated. He suggested Congress and the White House consider making a statement of national policy that Iran won’t be allowed to enrich uranium to weapons grade instead. After a decade of isolation under US-led international sanctions, Iran last year began seeing greater interest from businesses and banks in its $370-billion economy as the nuclear deal took affect. But the agreement didn’t unw ind a l l US sanctions, and Iranian officia ls have repeate d l y compl a i ne d t h at m a ny foreig n companies and banks rema in reluctant of r unning afoul of those restrictions, limiting new investment. The dispute over the ballistic missile program centers on provisions in UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Iran says it’s in compliance because the missile tested isn’t designed to carry a nuclear weapon and it has already committed to

suspending its nuclear program as part of the 2015 accord. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said on Wednesday the test was par t of Iran’s ongoing defense program, according to the Tasnim news agency. “We have no other aim but to defend our interests and in this path we w ill neither seek permission nor allow anyone to inter fere.” Fly nn said on Sunday’s missile test is “the latest of a series of incidents” in which Iran continues “to threaten US fr iends and a l lies in the reg ion.” He cited attacks on Saudi and Emirati vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi militants trained and suppor ted by Iran. “President Trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama administration, as well as the United Nations, as being weak and ineffective,” Flynn said. “Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened.” Bloomberg News

Clashes as Romanians protest law decriminalizing some graft

UCH A R EST, Romania— Protesters and r iot po lice c lashed sporad ica lly i n R om a n i a’s c apit a l l ate Wednesday, as tens of thousands demonstrated against the gover nment for decr imina l i zing some of f ic i a l m i sconduc t , a move that critics at home and abroad called a major a setback for the anticorruption fight. A handful of protesters threw firecrackers and smoke bombs at police guarding the main government offices, who responded with tear gas. At least one person was detained and a newspaper kiosk was set on fire. Media reported that the violent protesters were football supporters and not antigovernment demonstrators. Emergency situations official Raed Arafat said two police officers and two demonstrators were treated at hospitals for minor injuries. An unspecified number of other officers sustained light injuries. It was the second consecutive night of protests against the gover nment, whose adoption of an emergency ordinance that decriminalizes abuse in office went against widespread protests and warnings from prosecutors and the president. The ordinance was published in the official government monitor at 3 a.m. on Wednesday. T he speed w ith which the center-left government approved the proposal and the hour of its action alarmed critics. The coalition government has been in office for less than a month and the ordinance benefits its allies and Romanian officials facing corruption charges. “It shows that the government is willing

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

Trump to Senate: Scrap rules if needed to confirm Gorsuch

ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump urged the Senate’s Republican leader on Wednesday to resort to the “nuclear option” of scrapping long-standing chamber rules if needed to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, an aggressive opening to what’s shaping up as a ferocious clash over the future of the high court. At the White House a day after nominating Gorsuch, Trump endorsed a scenario that would involve the majority Republicans uni latera l ly chang ing Senate rules over the objections of the Democratic minority. It cou ld come into play if Democrats tr y to block Gorsuch ’s confirmation with a filibuster, as the liberal base is demanding, and would allow the GOP to confirm Gorsuch with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes now needed. Addressing GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell from the White House, Trump said, “If we end up with that gridlock I would say, ‘If you can, Mitch, go nuclear.’” He said of Gorsuch that it “would be a absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web.” Trump made his comments as Gorsuch traversed Capitol Hill, escorted by Vice President Mike Pence and winning extravagant praise from Republican senators. Democratic divisions were on display. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced intense opposition from base voters to Trump’s nominee, while political risks confronted a half-dozen Democratic senators representing red states who are up for reelection next year and may feel pressure to support Gorsuch. “ T he president made a n outstand ing appoint ment; we’re a l l t hr i l led a nd look ing for w a rd to get t i ng t he conf i r m at i o n p r o c e s s s t a r t e d ,” McCon ne l l sa id a s he stood w it h a sm i l ing Gorsuc h in t he senator’s ceremoni a l of f ice in the Capitol. McConnell has not said whether he might invoke

the nuclear option if the minorit y Democrats block Gorsuch ’s confir mation, but the Senate leader has said repeatedly that, one way or another, Gorsuch w il l be confir med. He reiterated that on Wednesday evening in an interview on WHAS radio in Kentucky, saying: “Well, I appreciate the president’s advice. What I would say to him is what I would say to you: We’re going to get this nominee confirmed and this is the beginning of a lengthy process.” Democrats are still smarting over the treatment of Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama’s nominee to the court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a year ago. McConnell never allowed even a hearing on Garland over 10 months, asserting that the decision was up to the next president. Now some on the left are demanding payback. “This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Schumer reiterated on Wednesday that Democrats would insist on a 60-vote threshold for Gorsuch in the 100-member Senate, “not because they did it to us or we did it to them, but because 60 votes produces a mainstream candidate.” But as Schumer and other Democrats made clear, for many the fight was less about the mild-mannered 49-year-old appeals court judge than about Trump himself. Schumer said “this Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic.” Schumer had been invited to meet with Gorsuch on Wednesday but declined so he could learn more about the nominee’s record first. The rules change for Supreme Court nominees would be a momentous departure for the Senate, which traditionally operates day to day via deliberation and bipartisan consent. AP

Thai media protest proposed bill on licenses for journalists

Romanian riot police protect the government building from crowds before minor clashes erupted during a protest in Bucharest, Romania, on Wednesday. AP/Vadim Ghirda

to use backdoor methods with no scrutiny or checks and balances in order to protect and promote itself,” said Dan Brett, an associate professor at the Open University. There were protests in a half dozen cities around Romania, with people calling for the resignation of the government. President Klaus Iohannis, who has limited powers and doesn’t oversee the government, called the measure’s adoption “a day of mourning for the rule of law”. In recent years, Romania has been touted as a regional leader for targeting the rich and the powerful in a crackdown on corruption. But the drive proved

unpopular with politicians. The leaders of the center-left Social Democratic Party and the junior Alliance of Democratic Liberals, which form the current coalition government, both face corruption charges that bar them from serving as ministers. Social Democrat Chairman Liviu Dragnea was unable to become prime minister because in April 2016 he received a two-year suspended jail sentence for vote rigging. On Tuesday he went on trial for abuse of power while he was president of the Teleorman local council from 2006 to 2012. He denies wrongdoing. Justice Minister Florin Iordache

said the emergency ordinance would decriminalize cases of official misconduct in which the damages are valued at less than 200,000 lei ($47,800). On Wednesday Romania’s Supreme Council of Magistrates unanimously agreed to take the emergency decree to the Constitutional Court, which is the last legal resort to stop the law. The government on Tuesday evening also sent to Parliament a proposal that would pardon thousands of prisoners for nonviolent crimes. It says the measure, which would free about 3,000 convicts, would help reduce overcrowding in prisons. AP

A N G K O K—T h a i m e d i a organizations are protesting a bill that would require journalists to be licensed and would establish a council that can penalize news outlets for violating professional standards. The bill was submitted on Thursday to a military-appointed body tasked with reforming the Thai government. Journalists delivered a protest letter to the body and four former journalists resigned from the group that authored the bill. “It will bring Thailand back to the dark ages, when state power was in control of the media,” says Thepchai Yong, president of the Confederation of Thai Journalists. The government says the legislation is needed to clean up corruption and prevent false reporting. But critics say it is a way for officials to avoid scrutiny. The Thai press is already kept on a leash. Self-censorship is widespread due to Thailand’s draconian lese majeste laws, under which insulting the monarchy can land someone up to 15 years in jail. Last July the r uling junta gave regulators the power to shut down broadcasters deemed a threat to national security, and last December the junta passed a cybercrime act that strengthens online censorship. The bill was given to the National Reform Steering Assembly, the body that

heads various subcommittees that are tasked with enacting political reform by Thailand’s military junta, including the media. Thepchai delivered the protest letter to the steering assembly, while the four former reporters resigned because they said their views were ignored. Journalists said it was unacceptable that the bill would require individual reporters to be vetted and licensed by the government. “This is unprecedented. Journalists don’t need practicing licenses,” Thepchai said. “By licensing the media, it means you have direct control over them.” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha has said all professions need to be trained and standardized, and that journalists were no exception. Coauthors of the bill say licenses are necessar y to deter false reporting and corruption. “Be a good man and good woman, and tell the truth...don’t do this gray business,” said Kanit Suwannate, air chief marshal and chairman of the committee that proposed the bill. “[Misreporting] has occurred, but I cannot tell you the evidence, because they try to hide the way they run the business.” The bill will be debated by the steering assembly. Then it must be approved by the Thai cabinet and parliament before becoming law. AP

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

The World BusinessMirror

Friday, February 3, 2017

Modi tax cut to buoy carmakers as rural push rattles drug firms

ndian makers of consumer goods and vehicles are among companies set to benefit from a tax break offered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a slice of the nation’s middle-class. Modi’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to halve the tax rate for people earning an annual income of between 250,000 r upees ($3,700) and 500,000 rupees to 5 percent in a budget speech on Wednesday. He also cut the cor porate ta x rate for small and medium businesses. About 79 percent of the 37 million people who file ta x returns showed annual income of less than 500,000 rupees, according to the government. Jaitley also pledged higher rural and infrastructure spending in the financial year starting April 1. The outlays may bolster the $2.1-trillion economy after the turbulence caused by Modi’s surprise invalidation of swathes of banknotes earlier this year. Facing elections in five states starting as early as this month, Modi’s government is seeking to raise spending on poverty alleviation and public works without straining public finances. The budget unveiled a record 3.96 trillion rupees in spending to build and modernize railways, airports, roads and ports, while also increasing loans to farmers to an all-time high 10 trillion rupees. Here are the winners and losers from India’s latest budget:

Winners: Consumer goods and automakers Jaitley proposed cutting the tax rate for people with income of between 250,000 rupees and 500,000 rupees to 5 percent from 10 percent, leaving more cash in the hands of consumers to spend on toiletries, household goods, cars and two-wheelers. Shares that may be affected are ITC Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Marico Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

Farmers

The budget pledged a record agricultural credit of 10 trillion rupees in the fiscal year through March 2018, as well as 480 billion rupees for a rural job-guarantee

program and electrification of villages. Companies that may benefit include tractor makers, such as Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., and fertilizer-maker Coromandel International Ltd.

Real estate

The budget proposed an extension of an affordable housing program to five years and gives the sector infrastructure status. Property sales after two years will also now receive more favorable tax treatment, as opposed to a three-year wait before for the lower rate to apply. Shares of DLF Ltd., Godrej Properties Ltd. and Oberoi Realty Ltd. could be affected.

Banks

The government proposed injecting at least 100 billion rupees of capital into state-owned lenders and increasing allowable provisions for bad loans. Stocks involved include State Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda.

Fiber optics

The budget allocated 100 billion rupees to lay fiber-optic network covering 150,000 villages. Stocks benefiting included Sterlite Technologies Ltd.

Infrastructure

The outlays here may aid stocks such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Hindustan Construction Co. and IRB Infrastructure Developers, as well as Electrosteel Steels Ltd. and Aegis Logistics Ltd.

Losers: Drug makers

As part of the rural focus, the government proposed amending rules governing pharmaceuticals to bring down prices, make healthcare affordable and encourage generics. Stocks affected include Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Cigarette makers

An increase in the excise duty on cigarettes by 6 percent, as well as boost in the lev y on cigarettes made with tobacco substitutes, may affect companies including ITC and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. Bloomberg News

“Bomb train” terminal suits seen slowing US oil independence. Bloomberg News

US may export more oil in 2017 than the 4 Opec nations produce

.S. crude exports are poised to surpass production in four Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Country (Opec) nations in 2017 and may grow even more if President Donald J. Trump honors pledges to ease drilling restrictions and maximize output. The world ’s largest oil-consuming countr y could sell as much as 800,000 barrels a day of crude overseas this year, according to four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That’s more than O pec producers —L ib y a , Qatar, Ecuador and Gabon—each pumped last December. The US exported 527,000 barrels a day in the first 11 months of 2016, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show. Chalk it all up to a resurgence in shale oil and gas, which Trump is counting on to create jobs and rebuild roads, schools and bridges. US output will rebound to more than 9 million barrels a day in 2017 after sliding 5.6 percent to 8.87 million in 2016, the EIA estimates. And since restrictions on US crude exports were lifted in

800K The daily number of barrels of crude oil the US could sell overseas this year

late 2015, domestic producers are free to seek buyers in Europe, Asia and Latin America, which are on the lookout for alternate suppliers after Opec and non-Opec producers agreed to trim 2017 output. “Godzilla is even taller in person,” Vikas Dwivedi, senior analyst at Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., said in a telephone interview from Houston. “US production

will be bigger than most people are expecting.” Macquarie sees annual output reaching 9.37 million, while Turner, Mason and Co. and Lipow Oil Associates each put it around 9 million. Wood Mackenzie forecast a more-conservative 8.75 million.

Price pressure

The increased supply is likely to pressure prices of domestic crude, including the benchmark West Texas Intermediate grade, making it more globally competitive, said Afolabi Ogunnaike, Wood Mackenzie’s Houston-based senior research analyst for Americas refining and oil product markets. WTI was $2.89 a barrel cheaper than European benchmark Brent crude on January 31, the widest discount since December 2015. But why seek markets abroad when the US is still one of the world’s biggest crude importers, has abundant and inexpensive oil on the horizon and has inaugurated a new president with the stated goal of weaning the country off crude from Opec? Because it makes business sense. The US imported 7.88 million barrels a day of crude in the first 11 months of 2016, including about 3 million from Opec. And in the first week of January, the country sent a record amount overseas, according to the EIA.

That’s because US refiners were designed to process relatively cheap high-sulfur and high-density crudes produced in Canada and parts of the Middle East and Latin America. They’re not set up to handle the low-sulfur, less dense crude being produced in Texas’ Permian Basin and Eagle Ford regions, where most of the US output growth has occurred. “If the US system can’t take the crude it produces, it will have to export it,” Macquarie’s Dwivedi said. St r ict ad herence to t he output c ut s O pec a nd non- O pec n at ions ag reed to l a st November w i l l a l so prov ide US pro ducers w it h a foot hold i nto i nter n at ion a l m a rket s. O pec me m b e r s cou l d re du c e s up pl ies by 9 0 0,0 0 0 ba r re l s a d ay i n Ja nu a r y, t he f i rst mont h of i mplement at ion of t he accord desig ned to e l i m i n ate a g loba l supply g lut , accord i ng to estimates f rom tankert r a c k e r Pe t r o - L o g i s t i c s S A . T h at ’s about 75 percent of t he a g reed-upon reduc t ion. “If Opec does comply with its cuts, we can expect to see exports rise and that will come from the increased production that we are expecting from the US,” Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, a Houston-based consulting company, said in a telephone interview. Bloomberg News

Trump takes a hair-growth drug, his longtime doctor says W

ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump takes medication for three ailments—including a prostate-related drug to promote hair growth, Trump’s longtime physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, said in a series of recent interviews. The other drugs are antibiotics to control rosacea, a common skin problem, and a statin for elevated blood cholesterol and lipids. Bornstein, who spoke by telephone in four interviews over the past month, also said Trump takes a daily baby aspirin to reduce the risk of a heart attack. Overall, he pronounced Trump healthy and his medical care “as exactly up to date.” Bornstein granted the interviews after The New York Times asked him to discuss his role in Trump’s care and to clarify and expand on earlier statements he made about his patient’s health during the presidential campaign. In recent decades, The Times h a s i nte r v ie we d pre s ide nt s, presidential candidates and their doctors about their health. At 70, Trump is the oldest person to become president. W h ite House of f ic i a ls de clined to comment on Wednesday night on the information pro v ide d b y B or n ste i n , a nd would not say whether he was still Trump’s physician. The disclosure that Trump uses a prostate-related drug to maintain growth of his scalp

hair, which has not been publicly known, appears to solve a riddle of why Trump has a very low level of prostate specific antigen (PSA,) a marker for prostate cancer. Trump takes a small dose of the drug, finasteride, which lowers PSA levels. Finasteride is marketed as Propecia to treat male-pattern baldness. Bornstein said he also took finasteride and credited it for helping maintain his own shoulder-length hair and Trump’s hair. “He has all his hair,” Bornstein said. “I have all my hair.” Bornstein, 69, has a private practice on the Upper East Side of New York, was educated at Tufts University for college and medical school, did his fellowship in gastroenterology at Yale, and was Trump’s personal physician since 1980. He said he had had no contact w ith Tr ump since he became president, and that no one from Trump’s W hite House staff had asked for copies of the medica l records that he has kept for the last 36 years, or ca l led to discuss them. Bornstein added that Trump had gone to his East Side office for annual checkups, colonoscopies and other routine tests every year since 1980. Before that, Trump was a patient of Bornstein’s father, Dr. Jacob Bornstein. At times in the interviews, Bornstein was moody, ranging from saying that Trump’s health

President Donald J. Trump speaks before the swearing-in ceremony for Rex Tillerson as secretary of state in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Al Drago/The New York Times

“is none of your business” to later volunteering facts. He a lso meandered, referring to his longtime study of Italian and stories about medical schools f loating cadavers to an island off the waters of New York. He said he liked the attention he got from friends now that he was publicly known as Trump’s doctor, but disliked “the fun made of me” by the news media and strangers who have thrown objects at his office window and who have yelled at him on Park Avenue. Bornstein’s first brush with t he publ ic was in December 2015, when he released a hyperbolic four-paragraph letter about Trump’s health.

“ I f e le c te d , Tr u mp, I c a n state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” Bornstein wrote. He offered scant medical evidence for his prediction beyond saying Trump had no significant illness and nothing that required treatment outside of his office. Eight months later Bornstein stirred controversy by saying he wrote the letter in five minutes while a limousine sent by Trump waited outside. A second letter in September 2016 was more sober, although it omitted a number of details that would be part of a customary summary of a patient’s health. The letter did say that Trump is 6-foot-3, weighs 236 pounds, has a normal blood pressure of 116/70 and takes a drug called rosuvastatin (marketed as Crestor) to lower cholesterol and other lipids. Bornstein did not say how high the lipids were before the statin therapy, but he reported that the levels were in the normal range in recent tests: cholesterol, 169; HDL cholesterol, 63; LDL cholesterol, 94; triglycerides, 61. In bot h letters, Bor nstein wrote that Trump’s PSA level was 0.15. The low number led urologists not connected with Trump to say that he must have been treated for an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer. But Bornstein said in the inter-

views that Trump had had neither ailment and that his PSA level is low because of propecia. In the interviews, Bornstein said he refilled Trump’s prescriptions for a long-acting tetracycline, a common antibiotic, to control rosacea. The skin ailment can cause easy blushing or flushing with visible blood vessels. It also can spread over the face, and sometimes the chest and back. In different forms it can resemble acne and cause bumps. B or n s t e i n a l s o a d d re s s e d questions about Trump’s recent description of himself as a “germophobe”. Bornstein said he had never discussed that phenomenon with Trump, but “we are very careful to keep the examining rooms spotlessly clean, which we do anyway.” He added, “He always stands there and changes the paper on the table himself ” after an examination. “Other than that, nothing.” Bornstein said that he was sure that Trump was up to date on an HIV test, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults get at least once. He said if he became the White House doctor he doubted that he would include in Trump’s annual checkup any psychometric tests as a base line for potential dementia. Trump’s father, Fred, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in his 80s and a number of experts have urged that older political leaders

undergo such tests. Bornstein also said he had cared for Trump’s first and third wives, and occasionally for the second. “I am probably the only person in the world who has every phone number for him and all the wives,” Bornstein said. About a month ago Bornstein said he told Trump’s secretary, Rhona Graff, “You know, I should be the White House physician.” Pa st preside nt s l i k e R on a ld Reagan and George H.W. Bush brought their own doctors to the White House, but others have used a White House physician. B or n ste i n w a s i nv ited to Trump’s inaugural, although he said it was not as pleasant an experience as he expected. He had to walk a long way to a spot where he thought there would be a chair—he said he has a painful back ailment and nerve damage to a leg—but when he got there, there was no chair. He stood behind a tree and “never heard anyone speak because I was so uncomfortable from my back and being cold.” He felt, he said, “absolutely miserable”. It seemed to take forever to leave because of the heavy security, he said. The situation was the same at an inaugural ball where there were no tables and chairs. So, he said, unable to chat comfortably with others, he and his wife, Melania, returned to their hotel early. New York Times News Service

A10 Friday, February 3, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Peso-dollar exchange rate? Ask Trump

emember that old saying, “If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself”? That may be too difficult. Explain this, instead, to a 12-year-old.

If you go to your bank, you can buy $1 for approximately P49.80. That seems simple enough. But it will cost you P53.70 to purchase €1. And if it is Japanese yen that you want to buy, put P50 on the counter, and the teller will give you ¥113. Why the big difference? Don’t even ask. However, to purchase goods or service from another country requires exchanging local currency into the currency of the seller. That, we all know and can explain. Of course, there was a time when all currencies had a fixed value against an ounce of gold, and what currency you made your purchase in did not matter. In 1901 1 ounce of gold cost about $20 and about £4. A properly dressed gentleman in 1900 would have spent around $10 on his suit, $1 on each of his dress shirts, around $7 on his topcoat and 48 cents for a fine felt hat. A man in New York or London could have looked his finest by paying approximately $20, £5, or 1 ounce of gold, and the merchant would have been happy with any method of payment. Back then, the exchange rate between currencies was determined in relation to gold. Theoretically, a nation could not have any more currency in circulation than the amount of gold in the value. If the US wanted more physical cash and printed twice as much, then the value to gold would have been $10, and the suit of clothes in New York would cost $40 and only £2.50. But now, currencies “float” and like beauty, the value is in the eye of the beholder or, more specifically, in the eye of the central banks and governments. The Economist magazine developed the “Big Mac Index” to determine if a country was keeping its currency artificially “cheap”—to help their economy and trade—in relation to other nations. A Big Mac in New York costs $5.06. But that exact same sandwich costs the equivalent of $6.35 in Switzerland. In the rest of the euro-currency region, the price equivalent is $4.06 and only $3.26 in Japan. It is $2.68 in the Philippines, by the way. International travelers and businesspeople understand how prices vary from place to place based on currency and not intrinsic “value”—especially US President Donald J. Trump. The other day, Peter Navarro, the head of Trump’s new National Trade Council, charged Germany of using a “grossly undervalued” euro to “exploit the US and its EU partners”. On Tuesday morning Trump said, “You look at what China’s doing, you look at what Japan has done over the years. They play the money market, they play the devaluation market, and we sit there like a bunch of dummies”. The US dollar index fell 1 percent on those comments, which for the currency markets is a relatively large move. The reason is that traders know that the power of the US government to put currency-exchange rates at any number they desire is almost unlimited. So, where is the peso-dollar exchange rate headed? It will depend on what actions Trump intends to take against those nations he perceives as unfairly manipulating their currencies. Since 2005

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Critical thinking James Jimenez

spox

while back, at a congressional committee hearing, my jaw hit the floor, as I listened to an elected official pontificate about how voter education was relevant only during election season. I would have argued against, but I got gaveled into silence. Out of respect for that august chamber, I stayed quiet, hoping that whoever had the floor next would challenge the notion that voter education was a “seasonal” pursuit at best. Only no one did. And as a result, the measure being proposed soon got tabled—politesse for tucked away in a paper limbo, there to lie forgotten for good. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have acquiesced so easily. An essential part of a voter’s education is the lesson that the electorate should not stop participating in democracy once the elections are over. Having installed a person into power, voters must fully recognize the ramifications of their choice, and assume a measure of personal and moral responsibility for what happens next. An elected official no longer speaks or works only for his or her faithful supporters, but for everyone he or she

is mandated to govern. As a result, the people who voted him into office have an interest in seeing him or her do well, not just for their benefit, but for the good of all. Critical thinking—commonly defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment—is indispensable. It is, in fact, the hallmark of an educated voter. When a policy is still being formulated, for instance, critical thinking demands the suppression of the

When a policy is still being formulated, for instance, critical thinking demands the suppression of the urge to simply go along. The underlying assumptions and the overt mechanisms of the proposed policy must be questioned, with the goal of clearly defining what the policy intends to accomplish, how it intends to achieve those objectives, and to determine whether or not the policy will be beneficial to the greatest number, at the least possible cost. urge to simply go along. The underlying assumptions and the overt mechanisms of the proposed policy must be questioned, with the goal of clearly defining what the policy intends to accomplish; how it intends to achieve those objectives; and to determine whether the policy will be beneficial to the greatest number, at the least possible cost. At the best of times, even just asking these questions can strain loyalty. Nevertheless, these questions need to be asked if an impartial judgment on the merits of the proposed policy is to be reached; and, yes, the voter needs to be the one asking them.

The same can be said of policies already in effect. When a critical analysis of policies and actions set in motion by elected officials reveal them to be detrimental to society as a whole, or that they result in disproportionate injury to some, voters must stand ready to object as loudly as possible, and to resist with vigor. This should not be seen as an act of betrayal or gratuitous obstruction—or, in the context of my experience, disrespect—but as the responsible course of action taken by sovereign citizens who understand that supporting an elected official doesn’t mean surrendering all judgment and reason. nnn

The Commission on Elections Education and Information Department (Comelec-EID) conducts free votereducation lectures at the Comelec offices in Intramuros, Manila. Interested students, schools and organizations can contact the ComelecEID through for inquiries and scheduling via e-mail at comelectv@gmail. com, via landline at (02) 525-9294, or through Facebook and Twitter. James Arthur B. Jimenez is director of the Commission on Elections’s Education and Information Department.

Guiding our senior high-school students on their career path

By Wynxzylden Malabag Villena

etting our senior high-school (SHS) students prepared to enter the work world or college is now easier than it was in the past. Thanks to the Department of Education (DepEd) for rolling out its K to 12 Program, which comes with a Career Guidance Program (CGP) to help SHS students in making informed choices regarding their future career path.

What exactly is CGP, and how can it assist our high-school students choose a career path? According to Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones, the CGP will assist Grade 10 students make unique choices regarding their preferred SHS track. Each SHS student must choose one track to master, and base his or her choice on how he or she wants to advance after completing high school, or Grade 12. Career-assessment and aptitude tests and an occupational-interest inventory, on the other hand, will show the student’s strengths and interests. Career-advocacy programs will also help and guide students in choosing the right track for themselves. The four major tracks in the SHS program are 1) academic, 2) technical-vocational livelihood, 3) sports and 4) arts and design. Since the contents of the subjects

that the students will take in Grades 11 and 12 depend on their chosen career track, they must take extra care in making their choice. n Academic track—The academic track prepares students who plan to pursue college education, and this comprises four strands. a) ABM—Accountancy, business and management b) STEM—Science, technology, engineering and mathematics c) HUMSS—Humanities and social science d) General academic The next three tracks equip students with the skills needed to secure jobs in the field they want: n Arts and design—This track covers nine subjects, eight of which require 80 hours each per semester. n Sports—This track has nine subjects, which include safety and first aid, human movement, coaching, sports officiating and

Being world-class high-school graduates means having a tremendous opportunity to bolster the students’ creativity, considering how they can innovate with today’s advanced technology. With the proper guidance and support, the next batches of college graduates in the country can very well compete with graduates from any university in the world. sports leadership. n TVL—This track contains nine subjects (known as the TVL track subjects) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority- specialized subjects. a) Home economics b) Agri-fishery c) Industrial arts d) Information and communications technology, or ICT As specified in Department Order 41, series of 2015, one of the activities of the CGP is the discussion of the Career Guidance Manual containing three modules to be conducted by the class adviser during their homeroom guidance class. n Module 1: “Embarking on a

Journey of Self-Discovery” is about the learners’ discovery of who they are in terms of likes, values, skills and interests. n Module 2: “Examining the Destinations” informs the learners of the possible resources they may use in realizing their dreams through the different SHS tracks. n Module 3: “Charting Your Own Course” focuses on improving the decision-making skills of the learners and integrates their selfawareness in choosing the SHS track that suits them. With the K to 12 career program, educators and parents are optimistic that the country’s future high-school graduates will be able to maximize their talents and potentials, and take their careers into the next level. Being world-class high-school graduates means having a tremendous opportunity to bolster the students’ creativity, considering how they can innovate with today’s advanced technology. With the proper guidance and support, the next batches of college graduates in the country can very well compete with graduates from any university in the world. The author is senior high-school adviser in Aparri East National High School.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Waiting is a good and a God thing

Friday, February 3, 2017 A11

Graded recitation for the universe Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

O be productive, we are inclined to do something. To be successful, we have to be, or appear to be, busy and have a full schedule of things to do, and show others that we are important.

In his book Today Counts, Harold Sala said most of us think that doing something is better than the inactivity of waiting. Sounds counterintuitive, but, as Sala said, waiting can actually be more productive. In Psalms 40:1, David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry”. Sometimes, waiting gives us the opportunity to appreciate the things we often neglect and learn the lessons we take for granted. As he patiently waited for many years with threats to his life, David received the gift of heart, praise and thanksgiving on his way to becoming one of the best rulers in Israel. Nowadays, my friends often tell me that they now aspire for a happy life, instead of a long life. Thus, some of them have started to appreciate the little things in life to make them live “wider”, instead of “longer”. Living long may entail happily reaching a certain age or retire with enough property to live a comfortable life. On the other hand, living wide entails smelling the roses, taking a whiff of fresh air, gazing at the sunrise and the sunset, and, most of all, doing the things that feed the spirit. Roman philosopher Seneca said, “So you must not think a man has lived long because he has white hair and wrinkles: He has not lived long, just existed long”. A long and prosperous life, therefore, is not about longevity in age or prosperity in material things, but is about the fullness of the soul. When we engage in wasteful activities, we eventually realize in our deathbeds that life has passed away without knowing what we did with our lives. Is life really that short? For some, they have been oriented to be busy. They say that being busy is way better than doing nothing. But busy nowadays is the new stupid, according to HR strategist Ed Baldwin. He says being busy creates shortsightedness, increases careless mistakes and allows us to miss opportunities. US journalist Sidney Harris once said, “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable”. Going back to Seneca, he said life is long enough if we know how to use it. Let me tell you the story of Michelle Chan, our guest in our Mabuhay Evenings show a few months ago. I never see her hustling and bustling in her productive years as if troubled to have a better future. A gifted athlete with a charismatic personality, a supermodel with looks and physique that can compete in any beauty pageant, and a Filipino patriot with a big heart for the country and our people,

Michelle neither longs for nor fears the next day. She is happy with the present and accepts each day, however it turns out to be, with so much gratitude and humility as the will of God. Her heart for the poor, the sick and the homeless makes her soul search for better ways to help them. After her stint with the Heroes Foundation Inc., she spends most of her time discerning ways and means on how to make our country better while waiting for her next venture. Her recent social-media posts during a trip in Bicol after it was devastated by Typhoon Nina demonstrate how beautiful the country can be, and how resilient the ordinary Filipino can be. Her philosophy in life is that God is always with us in good times and in bad times. A disaster like a typhoon may befall us, but it was probably meant to prevent a bigger disaster or to teach us a valuable lesson or bring out the hero that lies in every one of us. In her own soulful ways, she promotes the beauty of the Philippines and the strength of the Filipino in #PilipinasKayGanda and #LetTheBeautyOfWhatYouLoveBeWhatYouDo. Currently in between jobs, she patiently waits for the next opportunity to help others and our country. Living wide is about making our souls satisfied by engaging in activities to our heart’s content. Just by talking to Michelle, I can see the richness of her soul. We control what we do in this world, not the other way around. In the case of Michelle, her heart controls her attitude in life. Life is not wasted, even when we pause and wait for the soul to perhaps reminisce the happy moments in our past, recover from temporary setbacks of the present, and regroup for bigger things in the future. There is always time for everything, and that includes waiting. While waiting for 40 years to cross the river Jordan, servant leader Joshua managed to somehow consecrate himself by “doing spiritual reflection, inward purification and moral house cleaning”. Sala continued that “consecration still precedes the awesome, wonderful things that God intended for your tomorrow”. Life is never short even if there will be times when we appear to be doing nothing. Waiting is a good and a God thing. While we all have heard that good things come to those who wait, I still say that God’s timing has been, and will always be, perfect. For questions and comments, e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

he issue has been talked about—masticated, digested and, when disgusted, thrown up, but it has taken a life of its own. We are talking here about the final gasping breath of, perhaps, the biggest beauty pageant by tradition and legacy, as well as by hyperbole. There is a site on the Internet, which shows posts that have gone viral. I surf the Internet for the gruesome case of the Korean businessman kidnapped, killed, the remains taken by a woman who assumed the role of a kin, the corpse given another name and nationality, the body cremated, and the ashes flushed into a toilet. The last act has been described as “accidentally done”. Another post competes with this virus, and it is the last few minutes of the Miss Universe. We know this part of the competition very well: the Q&A portion. This is the moment where all are wittier, sharper and more intelligent than the contestants. Or, so we feel. That is why the audience love this aspect of the competition.

I am not a beauty-contest aficionado; thus, the passion here for how our Miss Philippines fared will be a bit diluted. I will not die for her, and I don’t feel it was my duty to support her in her endeavor. I do not understand how the back-toback victory for the Philippines can solve the socioeconomic problems of the country. We have to remind ourselves it is a pageant that cost a fortune to stage. The sponsors that come with the glitter assure whoever foots the bill of a profit. So, let us go back to that contentious moment. After the question in English was read, a disembodied voice translated the question in garbled and nervous Filipino/Pilipino/ Tagalog. The answer came back: it was in English. Now what is wrong with that.

Potus, immigration and the PPF Patrick Gerard C. Simon-King

EAGLE WATCH

oes anyone else feel like the world is on the cusp of a monumental shift, and that it’s going to be quite scary? The first month of the year 2017 is marked with uncertainty—the shock and awe of each new United States policy announcement by President Trump; the probable shifting of geopolitical alliances; the rise of populism globally; and the seemingly unending issues with law-enforcement officials both here in the Philippines and abroad. These issues and others make for an interesting and ominous start to the year. One of these issues is the executive order (EO) on immigration signed on January 27 by Trump. A direct quote from an article in USA Today explains that in the executive order, “Trump suspended all refugee resettlement into the US for four months and refugee resettlement from Syria indefinitely. He also suspended for three months entry by citizens of seven majority Muslim nations—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—on immigrant or nonimmigrant visas, including apparently people holding dual citizenship with other nations (http://www. usatoday.com/story/news/nationnow/2017/01/30/trumps-immigration-order-explained/97270650/).” The rationale for Trump’s latest action is, of course, linked to the threat of terrorism, and the need to secure and safeguard the people of the US. That is an important and valid consideration given the state of our world nowadays—the war in Syria and Iraq, the refugee crisis

impacting Europe, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and other domestic terrorist groups and ISISinspired lone wolf terrorist acts. The threat is there, and the world knows it and is trying to deal with it. Yet, is solving problems by building walls, both real (the border wall with Mexico) and virtual (Trump’s EO) to keep out immigrants the best way forward? Whether they’re illegal immigrants allegedly taking jobs, or immigrants from the seven countries listed in Trump’s ban that could be potential terrorist threats, the target of Trump’s policies (from his presidential campaign pronouncements to his first few days in office as the Potus) are immigrants. Is immigration the bane of the economy? Is it all negative? What impact does immigration have on an economy? Let us view this immigration issue from an economic perspective. Basic economics teaches the production possibilities frontier, or the PPF. The PPF is a graph that

Sangguniang Laiko to organize ‘Walk for Life’ Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

he Catholic Church in the Philippines is calling the Filipino people to take part in the “Walk for Life”, and stand against all threats to the dignity and sanctity of human life.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’s (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on the Laity, through its lay arm the Sangguniang Laiko

ng Pilipinas, will organize a Walk for Life on February 18 at the Quirino Parade Grounds to reiterate the laypeople’s stand against the proposed

Listen to the experts. One observer notes how the word “change” was not translated. The point is, even if it was underscored, the answer seems to be taken from a list of would-be answers. There was nothing wrong with the response, but there was nothing right about it. Weird. And yet, this girl named Maxine looked lovely, even in that moment of blissful ignorance. It is a beauty contest and she remained beautiful even in that “unforgiving” moment. That, I think, is the essence of the competition. Now, I am sounding like a beauty contestant. More analysis: Two members of the jury noted how charming and spontaneous the winner was. That

reimposition of death penalty and the continuous extrajudicial killings that are happening in the name of war against drugs in the Philippines. The Catholic Church has long opposed the reinstatement of death penalty, for instance, CBCP President and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas recently expressed his opposition against death penalty through a pastoral letter. “We regret that there are strident efforts to restore the death penalty. Though the crime be heinous, no person is ever beyond redemption, and we have no right ever giving up on any person,” Villegas said. It was in 2006 when the death

penalty was abolished in the Philippines, during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. However, the Duterte administration has sought to reinstate the punishment to deter the rising crime and drug use in the country. The House of Representatives aimed to pass the bill on third and final reading before Christmas last year, but deferred this to early this year to pave the way for a full debate. Meanwhile, CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity Chairman and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo also said the event will be an expression of the public’s

shows the various combinations of goods or output that an economy can possibly produce given its available resources, available level of technology and its efficient use of resources. One of the concepts the PPF highlights is economic growth. It shows that the economy can produce more goods (i.e., economic growth) by either having more resources to utilize in production or by improving and advancing its level of technology. Thus, let us look at the impact of immigration on the economy from these two angles: more resources and better technology.

More resources

More immigrants mean more laborers. More laborers mean more inputs that can be used for producing goods and services. These new laborers will then spend their incomes on goods and services. This increase in demand will help foster economic growth. Counterarguments to immigrant laborers are 1) that there will be slower growth in wages for native-born workers; and 2) that immigrants are taking away jobs from native-born workers. A study, “The Effects of Immigration on the United States’ Economy,” from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, states that “…evidence suggests that when immigration increases the supply of labor, firms increase investment to offset any reduction in capital per worker, thereby keeping average wages from falling over the long term. Moreover, immigrants are often imperfect substitutes for native-born workers in US labor markets. That means they do not compete for the same jobs and put minimal downward pressure

opposition against other problems in the society that threatens the dignity and sanctity of life, including abortion, the proposed laws on divorce and same-sex unions and planned distribution of condoms in school. On her part, Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas National President Zenaida Capistrano said Walk for Life is not a protest. Rather, it is an expression of the gratitude for the gift of life that is given by God. The event will begin at 4:30 a.m. and will end at 8 a.m., with a final blessing on February 18. Special recognition will be given, including the early bird (individual and group), big-

is the essence of wit. You are not in a classroom where you are asked to differentiate between Hobbes and Locke, or the utilitarianism of Bentham and John Stuart Mills. We want to find out only if there is something like a brain, not a genius, behind that beautiful face. When has this Q&A become a graded recitation? If we are to believe the posting in the social media, comedienne Ethel Booba proposed her answer to that question about change, and her answer was: “I have now an interpreter.” Indeed, when did we have interpreters when it comes to speaking English? This is change. E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

on natives’ wages.” T he article further states, “Despite these increases in labor supply, in many cases, immigrants appear to complement Americanborn workers rather than replacing them…. Even for low-skilled native-born workers in these industries, the effects of increased competition from immigrants are ambiguous, as many take advantage of their superior communication abilities and shift into occupations where these skills are more valuable, such as personal services and sales.”

Better technology

Innovation and technological advancements are pathways to economic growth and development. According to the same study from the Wharton School, immigrants are at the forefront of innovation. It cites that from a 2011 survey of the top 50 venture capital-funded companies, half had at least one immigrant founder and threefourths had immigrants in top management and research positions. Another statistic mentioned was that, in 2011, 76 percent of patents from the top 10 US patentproducing universities had at least one foreign-born author. Immigration provides a skilled and innovative work force and this can lead to economic growth (http://www. budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/ issues/2016/1/27/the-effects-ofimmigration-on-the-united-stateseconomy). Immigration can be a positive force for the benefit of any economy. Immigrants, in their desire to better their situation, can result in the betterment for all.

gest delegation/family and youngest and oldest participants. Participants may register at the Laiko Office in Intramuros, Manila, until February 10. Registration fee of P250 will be applied, inclusive of the event shirt. For inquiries, call 527-5388 or 527-3124, and look for Joseph Jesalva. To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www. caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@ gmail.com.