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Friday, February 16, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 128

OFW remittances hit $28.1 billion in 2017 $2.74B C

By Bianca Cuaresma

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 30 pages | 7 days a week

How the diesel price increase can be cushioned

lion. December’s remittance inflow was the largest on record, and was buoyed by cash remittances from the United States, the United Arab

The amount of cash remitted

by OFWs in December 2017

Emirates (UAE) and Singapore.

This brings full-year cash remittances to $28.1 billion, 4.3 percent higher than the $26.9 billion in 2016, and faster than the pace earlier expected by the government at 4 percent.

Cash remittances were supported by the increase in transfers

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

Make Sense

T

he rising cost of fuel, particularly diesel, which is the commercial transport, business and industry sectors’ primary fuel source, is already raising anxiety in the country. With the price movement of this vital oil commodity directly affecting transportation fares and cost of goods in the market, the nation is sensitive to every price movement of this oil commodity.

Continued on A11

See “Remittances,” A2

‘FENG SHUI’ READINGS FOR BUSINESSMEN, OFFICIALS IN YEAR OF THE EARTH DOG

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

T

HE Year of the Earth Dog, which starts today, will generally be an auspicious period for the Philippine economy.

But in business, friends need to be kept at arm’s length. It will also be an opportune time to go “back to basics” and self-discovery, according to popular feng shui expert Marites Allen.

“Dogs have a well-developed intuition, a strong mind and imagination. It is also a peaceful animal, which strives to bypass any conflict. However, it can also be quick-tempered,” she said. Dog years are 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006.

People born particularly in the Year of the Earth Dog (1958, 2018), like Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr., are “strong, tough and never give in unless they give it a good fight. They have strong determination and stick to their principles,” she added.

Dogs in general are favored this year with new beginnings in store and income growth very possible. But they are also advised to “spend within reason.” Also, they have to be extra careful in their workplace because “politicking and jealousy are likely.”

Those born in the Year of the Rabbit will be especially lucky this

Duterte listens to biz sector’s plea for higher MSME funding

Dogs have a welldeveloped intuition, a strong mind and imagination. It is also a peaceful animal, which strives to bypass any conflict. However, it can also be quicktempered.”—allen year, especially in terms of wealth and career. “Monetary gains from last year may be extended to this year.... Opportunities for a valuable business break and in the romance department are present.” Megawide Chairman Edgar Saavedra, who has been keen on President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” program, is a Rabbit (1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011).

It will be a challenging year, however, for those born in the Year of the Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012), like Kenneth Yang, president of McDonald’s Philippines, and the Rooster (1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017), like Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, who still has a few Continued on A12

PESO exchange rates n US 52.0240

business news source of the year

@BcuaresmaBM

ash sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) surged to an all-time high last December, and pushed the overall growth of remittances for the whole of 2017 above the government’s projection.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday reported that remittances last December alone rose by 7.1 percent to $2.74 bil-

2016 ejap journalism awards

LOPEZ: “The President also confirmed support because he wants to help the small and micro enterprises, especially on training, mentoring, production equipment, product-development advice, market access and support during trade fairs and microfinancing, like our P3 [program].”

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

talks,” Arcilla told the BusinessMirror.

Under the existing air-services agreement with Canada, Philippine carriers are allowed to operate 14 weekly flights to any point in Canada.

The same goes with any Canadian carrier that wants to fly to the Philippines.

The last time that the agreement was updated was in May 2014.

For India, Filipino carriers are allowed to fly to New Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata and Chenai for seven days a Continued on A12

See “Duterte,” A2

Maldives seeking air-transport deal with PHL @lorenzmarasigan

T

he government hopes to expand existing bilateral air agreements with at least six countries and sign a new air-transport deal with the Maldives this year, in response to the request of local airlines for more entitlements to support their ongoing expansion initiatives, according to the chief of the air-services regulator.

Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Execu-

tive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla said his group is looking to expand the Philippines’s air-services agreements with Canada, India, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Japan and Australia.

The Maldives would also like to craft an agreement with the Philippines, so its carriers may launch flights to the Southeast Asian nation.

“We need more traffic rights to these countries because of the expansion of our airlines. The Maldives, on the other hand, is reaching out to us for bilateral

P

resident Duter te has committed to increase the budget of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) next year to enable the agency to beef up programs for the development of the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.

This was after business leaders urged the government to allocate hefty funding to the DTI to ensure its efficient delivery of programs for MSMEs, considered the backbone of the Philippine economy.

Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, for one, told the BusinessMirror in an earlier interview that he cannot understand why the DTI was only provided P5.18 billion this year. “Yes, we support that statement,” Lopez told the BusinessMirror.

doggone year A series of dog images plastered on the post of a mall in Pasay City reminds shoppers that today marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year. In the Chinese zodiac, this year is the Year of the Dog, which is an animal best known for its loyalty, bravery and caring for others. ALYSA sALEN

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@alyasjah

n japan 0.4866 n UK 72.9272 n HK 6.6508 n CHINA 8.2057 n singapore 39.5921 n australia 41.2550 n EU 64.8479 n SAUDI arabia 13.8727

Source: BSP (15 February 2018 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, February 16, 2018

Duterte tells govt officials to protect other top tourist destinations in PHL Continued from A12

for ensuring that all laws, environmental or otherwise, are executed and followed,” Cimatu said.

The DENR chief issued the statement on Wednesday afternoon a day after issuing a strong statement that he will not hesitate to issue closure orders to those found violating environmental laws, particularly the Clean Water Act. Cimatu has been tasked by President Duterte to address the environmental problems besetting Boracay in six months. As such, the environment chief said he expects the local government, which has jurisdiction over Boracay Island, “to give its all-out support for the DENR and other concerned agencies for them to meet the deadline set by the President.”

Owners of hotels, resorts and other business establishments on Boracay Island

Duterte. . .

Continued from A1

He said he was assured by the President himself “additional budget for MSME support” will be made available next year.

“The President also confirmed support because he wants to help the small and micro enterprises, especially on training, mentoring, production equipment, product-development advice, market access and support during trade

have issued adverse reactions to the plan to shut down the island tourist-destination, saying it will render tens and thousands jobless and basically kill the local economy of Malay, Aklan.

The former Armed Forces chief said that within the next six months, the DENR will lead the “transformation” of Boracay, starting with the removal of illegal structures that largely contributed to environmental problems facing the island paradise.

Cimatu said he favors a moratorium on the construction of new buildings and the opening of new business establishments, especially in the beach area.

“We have to go back to the core of the problem which is the strict enforcement of all existing laws and the protection of the environment,” Cimatu said.

He has already instructed DENR Region 6 Director Jim Sampulna to evaluate the 300

fairs and microfinancing, like our P3 [program],” Lopez added, referring to the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso program.

P3 is the DTI’s moneylending measure to veer MSMEs from onerous loans given mostly by so-called 5-6 (20-percent interest) lenders. Sought how much additional fund he will pitch to the President, Lopez said the “figure is not yet final.”

Lopez wants a big amount because the DTI is targeting to hold more trade exhibits, expand the

establishments and if found violating the laws and regulations, to immediately issue notices of violation (NOV).

Currently, 51 establishments have been issued NOVs for violating Chapter 5, Section 27 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9275, or the Clean Water Act of 2004.

The law requires all commercial and residential establishments to dispose of septic waste through a treatment facility.

“Let this Boracay issue serve notice to local governments, businesses and residents of other tourism destinations to strictly follow all our laws.

Let us not allow the other beautiful and pristine islands in the country to suffer the fate of Boracay,” Cimatu said.

The DENR and the Aklan provincial government also ordered stakeholders in Boracay to fix the resort-island in time for

P3 program and broaden market access for MSMEs. Whatever the amount will be, he vowed bulk of the increase will be diverted to the agency’s programs for small businesses.

Under the 2018 national budget, the DTI was allocated P5.18 billion, which was 28.54 percent higher than its P4.03-billion funding last year. The agency assigned P2.25 billion of its purse this year for the development of MSMEs. Ortiz-Luis lamented this allocation, saying the DTI has a cru-

an annual festival dubbed as LaBoracay on May 1. Sampulna said he will also coordinate with all concerned government agencies to expedite the process of cleaning up the island.

Last week President Duterte threatened to shut down Boracay, which he described as a “cesspool,” following reports that thousands of establishments there have no proper sewage-treatment facilities and are directly discharging their untreated wastewater into the sea.

Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores said the Boracay Island Water Co. has already been told to fix all clogging pipes connected to them.

“The Aklan provincial government is donating P10 million to help them in their endeavor,” Miraflores said.

The donation will also be used to cut off illegal sewage connectors. With Jun N. Aguirre

cial mandate to persistently back small businesses and, therefore, it deserves higher funding. “Obviously, the product development and marketing-promotions budget should be improved because the budget of the DTI, which is tasked to do these, is just too little,” he said.

If the government is sincere in its campaign to promote MSMEs, Ortiz-Luis recommended slashing the P89.41-billion budget for the conditional-cash transfer program, then transfer it to state

agencies involved in developing small businesses.

He added the exports industry will reach new heights if funding is made available for the diversification of the sector.

In 2016 Lopez moved to increase the trade department’s budget up to P6 billion for the following year, citing the same justification of developing and promoting MSMEs. However, the proposal seemed too grand for lawmakers, as the DTI only received P4.03 billion last year.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Remittances. . .

Continued from A1

from both land-based workers by 4 percent and by sea-based workers by 5.4 percent.

In a statement, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. welcomed the development, saying cash remittances in 2017 proved to be resilient, despite “pockets of political uncertainties across the globe.”

By region, money sent from the Middle East increased by 3.4 percent, driven by growth in remittances from the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain. Meanwhile, remittances from Asia rose by 7.3 percent, boosted by transfers originating from Singapore, Japan and Taiwan.

For the Americas, which increased by 5.8 percent, the major contributor was the 5.5-percent growth in remittances from the US. The BSP also said that despite the decrease in remittances coming from the United Kingdom —partly due to the depreciation of the pound sterling vis-a-vis the US dollar— remittances from Europe went up by 1.5 percent.

Personal remittances, meanwhile, also posted a record high of $3 billion during the month, representing an expansion of 7.9 percent relative to the level recorded in the same month last year.

This brings the cumulative personal remittances level in January to December 2017 to $31.3 billion, 5.3 percent higher than the previous year’s $29.7 billion.

Personal remittances are sent

by Filipino migrant workers both in cash and in kind. The personal remittances of OFWs last year accounted for 10 percent of GDP.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Malacañang invokes ‘urgency’ of INC head’s appointment

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

M

al ac a ña ng has ta ken e xceptions to insinuations that the appointment of Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo was done to return the favor given by the sect in support of President Duterte’s winning Palace bid.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said at a briefing that Manalo’s appointment as special envoy of the President for Overseas Filipinos Concerns was made since there is an “urgency” to provide additional assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“The appointment of Mr. Eduardo Manalo was done because of Mr. Manalo’s network, especially with Filipinos working in different countries. They have 6 million members in their congregation and they have long been working with groups of overseas Filipino workers,” Roque said.

He added t he gover nment wants to tap their established network and the projects and services they render as an organization benefiting OFWs around the world, adding that the President’s marching order to Manalo was to “intensify their services to OFWs.” Manalo’s letter of appointment was released on Wednesday following the Philippines’s announcement

of a total ban on new employment in Kuwait over reports of Filipino workers suffering abuse and exploitation.

Manalo’s appointment began on January 30 and will expire on January 29, 2019.

However, Roque said, we have no budgetary allocation for special envoys and that they do not receive salaries. But he is yet to confirm if there is no really budget for travel expenses with regard to OFW concerns since this as a “special appointment for OFWs.” The INC threw its support behind Duterte and former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for vice president in the 2016 elections. It was Manalo who called on the members of the sect to vote as one.

Today, the membership of INC comprises at least 110 nationalities.

It maintains about 104 ecclesiastical districts in the Philippines and in 100 more countries and territories, according to its web site.

Roque also announced in the briefing that Foreign Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano will be meeting with the Kuwaiti ambassador this afternoon to get commitment from Kuwait on protection of Filipinos in the Gulf State.

Kuwait’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid alSabah condemned on Wednesday Duterte’s order to repatriate OFWs, saying Duterte could damage the ties between Kuwait and the Philippines.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, February 16, 2018 A3

Ombudsman to Solgen Calida: You should have known better

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

T

@joveemarie

he Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday confirmed that the fact-finding or field investigation on the complaint filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV against President Duterte has been closed and terminated.

In a news statement, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said the investigation against the President was terminated on November 29, 2017, after the Anti-Money Laundering Council declined to provide a report or confirmation on the requested data.

“By rule, [a] closed and terminated field investigation is without prejudice to the refiling of a complaint with new or additional evidence,” Morales, however, said. In his complaint, Trillanes said Duterte has ill-gotten wealth amounting to millions of pesos.

Morales confirmed the termi-

nation of probe against the Chief Executive, two days after Solicitor General Jose Calida announced the probe closure on Tuesday.

“It has come to [our] knowledge from the press briefing of Solicitor General Jose Calida conducted the other day that he has been informed of the closure and termination of

the investigation, through a February 12, 2018, letter-response to his letter-inquiry dated February 8, 2018 addressed to Overall Deputy Ombudsman [ODO] Melchor Arthur Carandang,” Morales said.

The recommendation to terminate the probe was approved by Deputy Ombudsman Cyril Ramos on November 29, 2017.

Morales, meanwhile, slammed Calida after questioning the Ombudsman’s “silence” on the closure of the investigation.

“He [Calida] asked why the Ombudsman kept quiet about the matter. Oddly, he himself pointed out that the Ombudsman had inhibited herself from the investigation.

The solicitor general might want to consider whether it is proper for an official who inhibited from an investigation to remain involved therein,” Morales’ statement added.

“In fact, t he Ombud sma n learned about such closure and termination only on January 29, 2018, upon an inquiry on the status thereof after learning that ODO Carandang was formally charged and placed under preventive suspension by the Office of the President,” she added.

The Ombudsman also told Calida that her office’s thrust that in the conduct of fact-finding inves-

tigations, efforts are exhausted to gather evidence and to comply with internal rulesthat are generally confidential in nature.

“The office is not obliged to inform the subject of the factfinding investigation about its outcome. T he confidentia lit y of proceedings was, in fact, recognized by the solicitor general when he cited the exception that the Ombudsman has the power to publicize certain matters. The Ombudsman could not have considered exercising such discretionary power relative to the complaints against the President due to her inhibition,” Morales’s office said.

Meanwhile, she said her office observes that the solicitor general effectively recognized Carandang as the ODO. “His official letter-inquiry dated February 8, 2018 addressed to ODO Carandang who, at such date, had been supposedly under preventive suspension. The office sees this as a recognition of the unconstitutionality of the preventive suspension order,” Morales added.

Last month Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea ordered Carandang suspended, but Morales defied the Palace order, saying the Office of the Ombudsman is beyond the Palace’s jurisdiction.

Economy

A4 Friday, February 16, 2018 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

Pathology group vows help to end vaccine ‘hysteria’

A

NOTHER group of Filipino doctors have stepped forward to fight what they described as the scare and hysteria stirred by the Dengvaxia controversy, saying there is no medical evidence to show that the anti-dengue vaccine caused the death of some 14 Filipino children.

The Dengvaxia scare, the group said, has also jeopardized the national immunization program, and has threatened to trigger epidemics in the country.

In a news statement, the Philippine Society of Pathologists (PSP), led by its president, Dr. Bernadette R. Espiritu, called for prudence in the dissemination of information about Dengvaxia.

To recall, the expert panel from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) found that none of the 14 children whose deaths they examined could be directly attributable to Dengvaxia.

Such fact is in stark contrast with the supposed findings of the Public Attorney’s Office’s (PAO) forensics team that linked Dengvaxia to the deaths.

“Paramount here is the welfare of our children. This is not a battle of who is the best specialty group,” Esipiritu said.

The group further said it is committed to support the Philippine Medical Association and the Department of Health in their efforts to reach out to the Dengvaxia vaccinerecipient children and their families, and to help alleviate their plight as a result of the Dengvaxia scare.

“The PSP is always ready, able and willing to serve the Dengvaxia vaccine-recipient children and their families,” the group said.

The group noted that the children who received Dengvaxia vaccination, their families and friends, are now engulfed by the undue scare that death is almost an inevitable consequence of such vaccination.

The scare has been generated by the much-publicized autopsy findings from the supposed forensic consultant of the PAO, unduly and hastily linking Dengvaxia to the death of some 14 children.

“To these helpless Filipino countrymen, their lives have practically come to a halt until they find cer-

tain solution or assurance that their Dengvaxia-vaccinated children will not suffer the same fate as those who were autopsied by those who claim to be a forensics expert,” PSP said.

A member of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), the PSP is the recognized professional medical association that is duly mandated to train and certify physicians in the field of pathology as a medical specialty.

PSP members have undergone residency training in duly accredited hospitals and who successfully hurdled the examinations to qualify as diplomate or fellow pathologist in either anatomic pathology or clinical pathology, or both.

According to PSP, some of its pathologists further obtain trainings and qualifications in different pathology subspecialties, which include forensic pathology that is now at the core of the dengue vaccine scare.

A forensic pathologist is a medical graduate and licensed physician who completed the prescribed residency training in anatomic or anatomic and clinical pathology and passed the diplomate board examinations for anatomic or both anatomic and clinical pathology; and successfully completed the prescribed training in forensic pathology.

At present, the PSP recognizes only two Filipino physicians who have successfully hurdled the stringent trainings and are qualified in the medical subspecialty of forensic pathology and these exclude Dr. Edwin Erfe of PAO. The group does not discount the capabilities of other physicians conducting autopsies without being trained, qualified and certified as diplomate or fellow in anatomic or in anatomic and clinical pathology.

However, it said, the medical profession as a field of science adheres to certain standards and best practices, which are validated and ensured by medical societies of the PMA in their respective fields of medical specialization.

According to PSP, pathologists are trained to conscientiously handle and process tissue samples as specimens, starting with gross examinations thereof that have to be subsequently correlated with microscopic examinations of specimen slides.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOTr aims to increase ‘working’ MRT 3 trains from 8 to 15 by May

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

EFORE the new long-term maintenance provider for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 comes on board, the transportation department targets to mount as much as 15 trains— coming from a seven set-low—through the procurement of new spare parts.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan was quoted in a transcript sent by the agency as saying that his group is working to make more trains work to prepare the system for the new maintenance provider in May. “Our target is to have 15 working trains before the three-year contractor comes in,” he said.

Currently, the average number of trains that operate during revenue hours on the system is just eight— more than half of the rated capacity of the railway line.

These eight trains ferry roughly 300,000 passengers daily, a huge drop from the 550,000 passengers that it used to serve in the last halfdecade. For context, the train system has a rated capacity of 350,000 daily passengers with 21 train sets.

Queues to get inside the station have also reached kilometric rates, not to mention the next line that passengers have to hurdle just to get inside a jam-packed train car.

The Department of Transportation aims to have a new maintenance provider for the railway system in the next three months.

“We lack in spare parts—the very reason why we scrambled to procure more spare parts,” Batan said.

Spare parts for the maintenance of MRT 3 started arriving this month. Others that were procured will arrive in June. The procurement started last November.

These spare parts will be used by the maintenance transition team composed of engineers and employees of the DOTr and the former maintenance provider Busan

Universal Rail Inc. The new maintenance provider, according to a spokesman from the transportation department, will be a Japanese contractor nominated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Most likely, it will be Sumitomo Corp., the builder of the railway system, “for technical continuity.”

“Included in the contract for the three-year maintenance is the overhaul of the old train cars,” Batan said.

Japanese railway engineers and experts from Japan have started the due diligence and system audit of the MRT 3.

The government, including the previous administration, has tried and failed to implement viable solutions to the growing and ever-present woes of the railway system.

Today’s solution now includes the review of an unsolicited proposal from Metro Pacific Investments Corp., an infrastructure holding company led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

The P30-billion proposal involves the expansion of the capacity of the railway system by adding more coaches to each train, allowing it to carry more cars at faster intervals. It will double the capacity of the line to 700,000 passengers a day.

The multimillion-dollar expansion is deemed as an all-encompassing deal, including the improvement of the reliability of rolling stock, the

upgrading of power supply, the upgrading of stations, and the replacement of rails, which will allow the company to operate the new trains purchased by the government from Chinese train manufacturer Dalian.

Unsolicited proposals are required, under law, to go under a Swiss Challenge, wherein other groups can offer a similar proposal, and the original proponent can present a counter offer.

But for MRT Holdings Inc. (MRTH) Chairman Robert John L. Sobrepeña, what needs to be done is for the government to honor the contract that it signed with MRT Corp.

(MRTC) almost two decades ago.

MRTC, which is controlled by MRTH, holds the concession for the build-lease-transfer (BLT) contract for the MRT 3.

“Go back to the contract and follow it—it means negotiating with MRTC and Sumitomo as specified in our contract,” he told the BusinessMirror.

We lack in spare parts— the very reason why we scrambled to procure more spare parts.”—Batan

Teco vows financial help for quake fatality T

HE Taiwan Economic Cooperation Office (Teco) on Thursday assured it would extend financial help to the family of a Filipino fatality of a recent earthquake in Taiwan that killed at least four persons, with 145 missing and 225 injured.

Teco said the family of the late Melody Albano Castro, who perished in the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Hualien, Taiwan, on February 6, will receive a total of NTD$1.79 million, or P2.8 million, from the Taiwan government’s con-

solation, compensation, insurance claims and from Taiwanese voluntary donations.

“Apart from the P2.8 million, the Taiwanese community in the Philippines has also raised donation of about P250,000 for Castro’s family,” Teco said. “The donated funds will be handed over to the bereaved family in due course.”

On Wednesday Taiwan Representative in the Philippines, Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, in conjunction with the representatives of the Manila Economic Cooperation

Office and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), witnessed the return of the remains of Castro at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

From the airport, she will be brought to her hometown in Tuguegarao City on Thursday.

On behalf of the Taiwan Government, Representative Gary Lin also extended his sincere condolences and deep sympathy to Melody’s family.

“May Melody’s soul rest in peace and her family will be able

to move on with their normal life,” Lin prayed.

T he power f u l ear thqua ke struck Taiwan just before midnight on February 6, damaging buildings in the city of Hualien, killing four people and leaving an additional 145 missing, according to the authorities.

The 6.4-magnitude quake was recorded at 11:50 p.m. and was centered about 14 miles northeast of Hualien, a city of 110,000 on Taiwan’s east coast, the United States Geological Survey reported. Recto Mercene

23 halal food firms to join Gulfood 2018 in Dubai

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Walk in the clouds Workers fix the equipment installed along a street in Pasay City, which protects motorists from falling debris from a

nearby construction site. ALYSA SALEN

N its effort to fully participate in the global halal market, the Department of Trade and Industry is assisting 23 Philippine companies in showcasing the best of Philippine food products in Dubai from February 18 to 21.

The exhibition will be under the FoodPhilippines country pavilion at the 23rd edition of Gulfood, or the Gulf Food Hotel and Equipment Exhibition and Salon Culinaire, to be held at Sheikh Rashid Hall at the Dubai World Trade Center, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Led by the DTI’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (DTI-Citem), in partnership with Philippine Trade and Investment Center Dubai (PTIC-Dubai), the Philippine delegation is keen to showcase the country’s top halal-certified, healthy and organic products, including fruits and vegetables, seafood and marine products, ethnic and gourmet selections and other functional food-and-beverage products.

Known as the world’s biggest food

and hospitality trade event, Gulfood is a one-stop platform for the latest tastes, trends and innovation in the international food industry.

In 2017 the four-day event was participated in by around 5,000 companies and was attended by 97,000 trade buyers all over the world. With FoodPhilippines’s participation in the Gulfood 2018, the DTI-Citem is looking to rake in at least $110-million export deals.

Locals, visitors and trade buyers from Muslim-dominated nations, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain that are all part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expected to visit the said trade event.

Saudi Arabia remains the largest food-consuming GCC nation due to its large population base.

The fastest growth rate for food consumption, however, is seen in Qatar and the UAE, with an annual growth of about 5.5 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

In addition, the UAE alone has

a market outreach to about 1.5 billion people living in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and other Asian regions, making it the world’s third top reexport center.

Among the participating companies to the said event are Asia Brewery Inc., Brandexports Philippines Inc., Celebes Coconut Corp., Century Pacific Food Inc., Gem Foods International Inc., Krystle Exports Philippine Inc., Magic Melt Foods Inc., Mama Sita’s (Sandpiper Spices and Condiments Corp.), Marikina Food Corp., Market Reach International Resources, Mega Global Corp. and Miesto International Foods Corp.

Other exhibitors include Millennium Specialty Coco Products Inc., Philippine Grocers Food Exports Inc., Pixcel Transglobal Foods Inc., Profood International Corp., QPhil Products International, Roxas Sigma Agriventures Inc., Sagrex Foods Inc., San Miguel Purefoods Inc., Seatrade Canning Corp., SL Agritech Corp. and Super Q. PNA

Final proposal for military pension fund out by year-end, DBM assures

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N actuarial study on the feasibility of a Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)-run pension system for the military, which will have three types, is expected to be completed before end-2018.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, in a briefing on Wednesday, said GSIS officials have finished the

preliminary actuarial study on the proposal, but its results have yet to be presented to economic managers.

He added officials of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), for one, had discussed with their counterparts in the GSIS issues, such as how much a pension system would cost the government and how

much the GSIS needed to assume the responsibility of running the system for the government.

“I can assure you before the end of the year this will be done,” he said.

Diokno said three types of pensioners are being considered for this proposed military pension.

The first type will cover the ex-

isting pensioners, who receive pensions that are indexed to the salary of incumbent personnel.

“We will honor our contract. We’ll continue paying them,” Diokno said.

The second are those who are in current service, who will be asked to pay contribution to make the system sustainable, but will receive the benefit

of the old system.

“They have to understand that they need to contribute, especially now that they have a hefty salary increase,” he said.

The third type is for new entrants, who will be covered by new set of pension rules that has yet to be developed.

Diokno added the proposed mili-

tary pension system would be handled by the GSIS but would be different compared to the system for other state workers. “[It will] be funded by proceeds from land and other assets of the military,” he said, but clarified that the government will not be selling military assets just to fulfill the pension system. PNA

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, Feburary 16, 2018

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House OKs bill penalizing land conversion on 2nd reading

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

he House of Representatives has recently approved on second reading one of its priority measures, which prohibits the conversion of irrigated and irrigable lands to ensure the country’s food security.

T hrough v iva voce voting, lawmakers approved House Bill (HB) 7115, which seeks to address threats to food security in the country by amending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (CARL), or Republic Act (RA) 6657. CARL was enacted to promote social justice, sound rural development and industrialization and encourage land owners to cultivate economic-size

farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.

The lower chamber is expected to approve the measure on third and final reading next week.

HB 7115 calls for penalizing the conversion or causing the conversion of irrigated and irrigable lands. To make the penalties imposable, the bill seeks to amend RA 6657.

The bill defines irrigated lands

as “lands serviced by natural irrigation or irrigation facilities, as delineated by the Department of Agriculture [DA] or the National Irrigation Administration [NIA], which includes lands where water is not readily available as existing irrigation facilities need rehabilitation or upgrading, or where irrigation water is not available year-round.”

Irrigable lands are those “suitable for the conduct of agricultural activities which require irrigation and display physical features justifying the operation of an irrigation system.”

Under the bill, actual physical or legal conversion or causing the physical or legal conversion of irrigated and irrigable lands are committed by the following: 1) any person who directly and indirectly participates in the conversion of irrigated and irrigable land; 2) any person who directly or indirectly induces the landowner

or farmworker in the conversion of irrigated and irrigable land; 3) any person who applies for and facilitates the application for conversion; 4) any person who facilitates the application and issuance of clearances and other documents necessary for conversion; 5) any person who approves and cause for the approval of the application for conversion; and 6) any person who directly and indirectly benefited from the conversion.

The bill amends Section 74 of RA 6657 so that any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of the Act shall be punished by imprisonment of one month to three years or a fine of P1,000 to P15,000, or both, at the discretion of the court.

Meanwhile, imprisonment of six years and one day to 12 years, or fine of not less than P200,000 to P1 million or both, at the discretion of the court shall be

imposed upon violators.

The bill also provides that if the offender is a public officer, he shall suffer the additional penalties of removal from office and perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office.

In 1996, Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, one of the authors of the bill, said the World Food Summit defined food security as the state, “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietar y needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle.”

To achieve this goal, Alvarez said it is “indispensable” that sufficient land resources are protected and available in order to produce sufficient food for the nation. One of the legal instruments designed to achieve food security is Republic Act 6675, or the CARL, Alvarez added.

W it h C A R L , A lv a re z s a id farmers are expected to own land which they can till to uplift their socioeconomic status, while providing adequate food for Filipinos.

However, the Speaker noted that the same law allows for the reclassification or conversion of agricultural land and its disposition should the land cease to be economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes after the lapse of five years, or if the same has become more urbanized and will be more economically valuable for residential, commercial and industrial purposes.

“As a result, prime agricultural lands, as well as irrigated or irrigable lands, have been adversely affected by rampant and unchecked conversions. This has led to a distributing threat not only against our country’s food security, but to the whole agrarian-reform program, as well,” Alvarez said.

113 landless farmers from Tarlac receive CLOAs from govt

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he Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) announced on Thursday the distribution of certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) to 113 farmers from Tarlac province.

The distribution of 153 CLOAs held at the Bella Plaza in San Sebastian in Tarlac City was led by Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones on January 31. The

CLOAs covered a total of 135 hectares of agricultural lands.

Among the recipients are farmer, beneficiaries from the municipalities of Anao, Moncada, San Manuel, Victoria, San Jose, Tarlac City, Capas and Concepcion, all in the province of Tarlac.

The activity was also in time with the holding of the first Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations

Summit in the province. Castriciones was joined during the event by Undersecretary for Support Services Rosalina L. Bistoyong, OIC-Regional Director Atty. Judita Tungol, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Ileona B. Pangilinan, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I Geraldine B. Yumul and Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I for Hacienda

Luisita Marcelino S. Marata.

“The process of distributing lands to the landless farmers is just the first step toward attaining a real change in the lives of the beneficiaries,” Castriciones said in a statement.

The DAR chief added that “binding together to build strong, vibrant and self-reliant organizations with the assistance of the DAR and introducing more innovative ways

of increasing the farmer’s income by empowering every member of the household through various off-farm and nonfarm projects will spell out the big difference.”

He also emphasized the thrust of the Duterte administration is to liberate the poor farmers in the country from the bondage of tenancy and poverty.

At present, the province of Tar-

lac has a total of 124 DAR-assisted farmers’ organizations. Castriciones hopes to institutionalize housing, livelihood and scholarship programs for the farmers’ wives or husbands and their children so that Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program beneficiaries will no longer have to pawn their CLOAs to fund the basic needs of their family. Jonathan L. Mayuga

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The World BusinessMirror

Friday, February 16, 2018

Technology is modernizing China’s Lunar New Year holiday

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n many ways, China’s Lunar New Year holiday is America’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and Independence Day all rolled into one.

Millions of Chinese take planes and trains to make the journey home (or abroad) to visit family and friends. Copious amounts of food are shared, and gifts are exchanged as people ring in the first days of the moon’s new cycle with fireworks to ward off bad spirits.

But while it’s been celebrated for thousands of years, the festival isn’t immune to the rise of technology and the impact it’s having on China’s fast-changing society and economy.

Red packets go mobile

Nowhere is that shift more evident than in the evolution of the hong bao. Traditionally, the red envelopes stuffed with cash are given out to children, the doorman, the housekeeper. But China’s electronic-payment revolution has transported the practice online.

Tech giants Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. started offering “virtual ” red envelopes a few years ago, and it’s caught on.

During last year’s New Year break, 46 billion e-hong baos were sent via Tencent’s ubiquitous WeChat messaging and payment platform—that’s the equivalent of 33 cash envelopes for every person in China. Two years earlier, the ratio was just 2-to-1.

A libaba, China’s biggest ecommerce provider, also offers electronic hong bao via its Alipay platform. It’s a quicker way of fulfilling the holiday giving obligation for a country that had almost 530 million mobile-payment users at the end of 2017, more than the population of the United States.

Getting home faster

T he hol id ay, a lso k now n as Spring Festival, unleashes the

46B The number of electronic hong baos sent in last year’s New Year break via Tencent’s WeChat messaging and payment platform, the equivalent of 33 cash envelopes for every person in China

world’s biggest migration, with more than 3 billion passenger trips expected over the period.

Rail travel is synonymous with the New Year journey, but can be a cramped and exhausting affair with some trips home taking days on conventional trains.

C h i n a ’s p u s h i n t o h i g h speed ra i l is rapid ly chang ing that, w ith plans to develop the network into the countr y’s less developed west.

Bullet trains became the most popular form of New Year rail travel for the first time last year, with some journeys cut to a quarter of the time taken on a regular train.

Hotels lose out to mom

But mass movement doesn’t mean more guests for China’s hotels. Because people typically stay with family and friends over the break—which runs from February 15 to 21 on the mainland this year—hotel occupancy slides.

The occupancy rate during the New Year month has averaged 51.5 percent since 2007, compared

A man puts up decorations ahead of Lunar New Year in Singapore. Bloomberg

with a nonholiday average of 64.3 percent, data from travel research firm STR Inc. show.

Ka-ching time for casinos

China only allows formal gambling in the southern territory of Macau. New Year visits to the Vegas-like resorts in the enclave a short ferry ride from Hong Kong are becoming more popular as Chinese spending power climbs.

MGM Resor ts Inter nationa l opened a new $3.3 -bi l lion re sor t on Macau’s Cota i Str ip on Febr uar y 13, just in time for t he holid ay. Rooms at a l l t he major hotels are f u l ly booked for t he per iod, accord ing to a sur vey f rom Morgan Stan ley.

Gold gets a gift boost

Lunar New Year is not just a time for giving cash. Gold prices get a bounce from the holiday too, with the metal turning in its best per for ma nce du r ing January and February over the past decade, the months when Spring Festival usually falls.

Gold rose 3.3 percent in Janu-

ary, just below the average for the month the previous 10 years.

Jewelry and other ornaments comprised about 60 percent of the 1,090 tons of gold consumed in China in 2017.

BBQ-pork prices skyrocket

Feasting is integral to Spring Festival, known as Chun jie in Mandarin. While many families will stay up on the New Year’s eve making dumplings and other goodies, in Singapore the Chinese community f locks to their version of the Christmas turkey: barbecue pork.

Average prices for the traditional caramelized pork slices k now n as Ba k-Kwa t y pica l ly surge ahead of the holiday, and have edged higher over the past 10 years.

Similar to jerky, Bak-Kwa is given as gifts or eaten as a snack over the holiday. Other traditional New Year foods include fish, noodles, rice cakes and spring rolls.

Fireworks fuel air pollution

It wouldn’t be Spring Festival in

China if it wasn’t greeted with a bang. Fireworks are let off to scare away evil spirits and bring good luck.

Despite curbs on their use in some parts of China in recent years—fireworks retailers in Beijing are forecast to sell 83-percent fewer pyrotechnics this year—the tradition lives on.

That’s good news for kids and fireworks lovers, but bad news for the environment.

New Year’s Day, which falls on February16 in 2018, is usually the most polluted day of the year, according to BerkleyEarth. org, as explosives emit smoke and chemicals into China’s skies.

Levels of PM 2.5—tiny particles in the air that pose the greatest risk to people’s health— soa re d l a st Spr i ng Fest iv a l , which may give the authorities in Beijing further impetus to crack down on fireworks.

The city has seen markedly bluer skies this winter as a campaign against coal-fired heating and smog shifted into a higher gear. Bloomberg News

Indonesia’s Jokowi cements ties with military in political shift

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tanding before thousands of soldiers, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto delivered a blunt message intended to resonate far beyond the army’s strategic command headquarters in East Java. The Indonesian military’s neutrality in upcoming elections is “nonnegotiable,” he told 1,500 troops late last month at an army base in Malang. “The politics of the TNI [Indonesian National Armed Forces] is the politics of the state.”

Where his predecessor Gatot Nurmantyo was perceived as harboring political ambitions and courted controversy with notions of a resurgent communist threat, the new chief has signaled the military is set to fall in behind President Joko Widodo at a critical juncture for Indonesia.

As the first president to come from outside the military and political elite, Widodo last month moved to further shore up links with Indonesia’s armed forces, appointing former TNI chief General Moeldoko as his chief of staff and former special forces commander General Agum Gumelar as an adviser.

“President Joko Widodo’s recent appointments—during last mont h ’s m i n i-reshu f f le —a re clearly aimed at strengthening his ties with the military,” said Peter Mumford, Southeast Asia director

at Eurasia Group. “Surrounding himself with more generals is part of the president’s shift to a more conservative stance and image as he tries to widen his support base ahead of regional and local elections this year and the presidential vote in 2019.”

Growing Islamization

For Widodo, known as Jokowi, the appointment of Tjahjanto also provides a bulwark against the Islamic groups that last year lead a bitter campaign against Jakarta’s thengovernor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or “Ahok,” a Christian, and threatened to engulf the president. Sectarian unrest is not only a risk for Indonesia’s reform process but to Widodo himself as he prepares for a long presidential campaign and seeks to woo hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment.

And while the world ’s biggest Muslim countr y faces a growing inf luence from radical Islam at home, Indonesia is a lso seen as cr ucia l in effor ts to contain reg iona l secur it y r isks.

“Indonesia is hugely important in terms of countering the threat of terrorism, both because of the security risks within the country itself but also the potential for extremists in Indonesia to travel overseas, as has already occurred, to become foreign fighters, drawn

Widodo Bloomberg

into conflicts the insurgency in Marawi, Philippines, last year,” Mumford said.

Power play

Within weeks of his appointment last December, Tjahjanto moved swiftly to assert his authority over the ranks, purging dozens of senior officers who’d been recently appointed to high-ranking positions by his predecessor.

He also made a fresh appeal for the military to be given a greater role in the fight against terrorism. In a letter to the parliamentary committee examining Indonesia’s terrorism laws, he wrote that the current bill limits Indonesia’s efforts.

“Although ties between the

government and militar y are stable, this is essential but not sufficient to tackle terrorism and other threats,” Mumford said.

“The growing Islamization of the political environment could make it harder to tackle terrorism if it prevents the parliament passing tough new anti-terror laws.”

Muhammad Syafi, a Gerindra lawmaker and the chairman of the committee, said the letter was “ just a proposal” that can be accepted or rejected. “But the TNI will not be involved in law enforcement because that is the responsibility of the police,” he said in an interview.

While the military’s influence in politics has waned since Suharto’s 32 years in power ended in 1998, it remains a prominent fixture in Indonesian society— many former generals enjoy powerful roles in the country’s political arena, including holding key positions in Widodo’s Cabinet. Twenty years since Suharto’s fall, its push for more power is raising concerns the TNI wants to expand its presence in civilian life.

The Indonesian military has not responded to requests for comment. But a senior official from the Security Ministry said that terrorism “continues to pose a serious threat” that no single law enforcement could deal with alone.

Critical support

Indonesia is set to hold simu ltaneous elect ions in 171 regions, including 17 provinces across the countr y in June, followed by a long presidential campaign that starts in September and could take almost a year to conclude.

The potential for these polls “to inflame religious and ethnic tensions” means the loyalty of the TNI commander and his ability to work closely with other key security agencies “will be critical,” Greta Nabbs-Keller, a senior research associate at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Policy Futures said.

The former TNI commander was accused by some of tr ying to push his own political agenda. “ T he combination of Nurmantyo’s political proximity to hard-line Islamic groups, most obvious during the late 2016 anti-Ahok protests, and his xenophobic and proxy war discourse revealed a readiness to exploit social cleavages for persona l pol itica l ambition,” Nabbs-Keller said.

“Tjahjanto will be a very different TNI commander and one Jokowi can rely on as he wards off powerful opponents in his bid for a second presidential term,” she said. Bloomberg News

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European doctors giving up on UK as a place to work

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ndrea Pevere had a great job offer: a permanent position as an anesthesiologist in the United Kingdom, where she had previously worked and lived. But she worried about what would happen to her immigration status—she is Italian—once Britain formally leaves the European Union (EU) in 2019.

Instead, like an increasing number of European doctors, she decided against the move, accepting a limited-term contract in France.

“If you want to build a future,” said Pevere, 35, “you just think twice about choosing the UK for a long-term job.”

The number of doctors coming to the United Kingdom from the EU fell 9 percent i n 2017 to an eight-year low, according to new figures from the UK’s General Medical Council obtained by Bloomberg through a freedom of information request.

There were 3,458 new doctors from European Union countries who registered to work in 2017, down 26 percent from a peak of 4,644 in 2014, the council’s data show.

Doctors who have considered working in the UK say it will only get worse, thanks to Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the EU. Non-Brits haven’t had a clear answer on whether they’ll be able to live and work in an independent United Kingdom, despite attempts at reassurance from Theresa May’s government.

The figures come at a time of intense soul-searching for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), whose mission to provide government-funded health care to all is deeply linked with the British identity.

The campaign to leave the EU— p ro m i n e n t l y s u p p o r t e d b y B r i t i s h politicians Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage—promised that £350 million ($487 million) per week would be redirected to the NHS by freeing up cash used for EU membership. The UK Statistics Authority called that claim “potentially misleading,” and the reallocation never had the backing of the government.

Earlier this month, thousands demonstrated in London to demand more funding for the health service. US President Donald J. Trump tweeted about the apparent state of distress, calling the NHS “broke” and prompting rebuttals from British politicians.

The NHS needs more doctors and has relied heavily on overseas migrants in recent years to fill gaps in staffing, with almost 10 percent of its doctors in England hailing from Europe alone. A study last year said 190,000 new positions were needed by 2027 to meet demand. Brexit could make those shortages more acute.

A spokesman for the Department of Health—which oversees health care in England, but not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland—called the registration data “misleading” and pointed to data showing that 212 more doctors from Europe were working in the NHS in England in September 2017 from a year earlier.

However, a parliamentary report on that data released earlier this month cautioned against making comparisons over time because of gaps.

“Some apparent increases in staff numbers for particular nationalities and nationality groups is likely to be due to improved data coverage rather than genuine increases,” the report said. “To present this as the full story would be misleading.”

A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on whether the government had plans to address the decline and directed questions to the Department of Health.

“Tying myself hand and foot to a country that does not want to stay in the EU seemed unwise” High-quality scientific research, the ability to work and live without a visa and widespread knowledge of English have made it easy and appealing for European doctors to relocate to the UK, despite some downsides, said Elias Mossialos, professor of health policy at the London School of Economics.

“Pay is not necessarily the best, and living standards elsewhere are not as expensive,” Mossialos said. European doctors often find Scandinavian countries or Germany more attractive than the UK,” he added.

Competition to attract doctors will only heat up, globally. By 2020, the EU alone will need 230,000 more practitioners than are available, according to estimates by the European Commission.

Worldwide, that shortage is about 2.6 million, the World Health Organization says.

Bloomberg News

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The World BusinessMirror

Friday, February 16, 2018

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Florida school shooting: 17 die in barrage of bullets

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A R K L A ND, Flor ida—A heavily armed young man barged into his former high school about an hour northwest of Miami on Wednesday, opening fire on terrified students and teachers and leaving a death toll of 17 that could rise even higher, authorities said.

Students huddled in horror in their classrooms, with some of them training their cell phones on the carnage, capturing sprawled bodies, screams and gunfire that began with a few shots and then continued with more and more. The dead included students and adults, some of whom were shot outside the school and others inside the sprawling three-story building.

The gunman, armed with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle, was identified as Nikolas Cruz, 19, who had been expelled from the school, authorities said. He began his shooting rampage outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in this suburban neighborhood shortly before dismissal time around 2:40 p.m. He then made his way inside and proceeded down hallways he knew well, firing at students and teachers who were scurrying for cover, the authorities said.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” one student yelled over and over in one

video circulating on social media, as more than 40 gunshots boomed in the background.

By the end of the rampage, Cruz had killed 12 people inside the school and three outside it, including someone standing on a street corner, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

Two more victims died of their injuries in local hospitals. The aftermath at the school was an eerie shrine, with chairs upended, a computer screen shattered with bullet holes and floors stained with blood.

“This is catastrophic,” said Israel, who has three children who graduated from the high school. “There really are no words.”

Cruz was arrested in Coral Springs, a neighboring city a couple of miles from the school, about an hour after fleeing the scene, authorities said.

He had slipped out of the building by mixing in with crowds of students. In addition to the rifle, Israel said Cruz had “countless magazines.”

The gunman had clearly prepared for the attack, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said in an interview after speaking to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“The shooter wore a gas mask, had smoke grenades, and he set off the fire alarm so the kids would come out of

the classrooms,” Nelson said, citing details he learned from the FBI. Several students said they found it strange to hear the alarm, because they had already had a fire drill earlier in the day.

Israel said he did not know the gunman’s motive. He added a football coach was among the dead, and the son of a deputy sheriff among the injured.

Twelve of the 17 dead had been identified by Wednesday night, he added, noting that not all of the students had backpacks or wallets on them.

Cruz was enrolled at another Broward County school, officials said.

Israel said law-enforcement officials had already discovered material on Cruz’s social-media accounts that was “very, very disturbing.”

Jim Gard, a math teacher at the school, said Cruz was in his class in 2016 and appeared to be a “quiet” student. But Gard also recalled that “there was concern” about his behavior on the part of the school administration, which e-mailed teachers relaying those fears.

Gard said that after the shooting, he learned from several students that Cruz was obsessed with a girl at the school to the point of “stalking her,” a point authorities did not

raise in news briefings near the scene. The massacre called to mind the country’s two mass shootings that have come to be known by the name of the schools: Columbine, the high school outside Denver where 12 students and a teacher were killed in 1999; and Sandy Hook, the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 students and six adults were shot dead in 2012.

More than 40 “active shooter” episodes in schools have been recorded in the United States since 2000, according to FBI and news reports.

Two 15-year-old students were killed and 18 more people were injured last month in a school in rural Benton, Kentucky.

The shootings have become common enough that many schools, including Stoneman Douglas High, run annual drills in which students practice huddling in classrooms behind locked doors.

With the Parkland shooting, three of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history have come in the last five months.

Nelson said the episode made him relive recent shootings that also shook the state.

“Forty-nine slaughtered at the Pulse nightclub. Another handful

slaughtered at the Fort Lauderdale airport, just a year ago, in the same county where this took place,” he said.

“And that’s just Florida.”

After the gunfire had stopped on Wednesday afternoon and Cruz had fled, students ran out of the school, some in single file with their hands on the shoulders of those in front of them and others in all-out sprints.

As the students sought cover, lawenforcement officers armed with military-grade weapons swarmed the building. Parents rushed to a local Marriott hotel to reunite with their children.

“I tried to stay calm. Students were running everywhere,” said Dianna Milleret, a 16-year-old sophomore who heard the gunshots.

Noelle Kaiser, 17, was in history class when a fire alarm went off. The class was gathered just outside the building when she heard three distinct gunshots.

“I am in shock,” she said softly after clutching her mother, Cheryl Kaiser, on the sidewalk outside the school.

Seventeen patients were treated in three area hospitals, including two who died, said Dr. Evan Boyar of the Broward Health System. All suffered gunshot wounds.

“Words cannot express the sorrow

that we feel,” said Robert W. Runcie, the Broward schools superintendent.

“No parent should ever have to send their kid to school and have them not return.”

Parkland, an affluent suburb of Fort Lauderdale with a population of about 30,000, is known for its good public schools. Stoneman Douglas High is among the largest in the Broward school district, with about 3,000 students. The school will remain closed for the rest of the week. Gov. Rick Scott directed the state to lower its flags at half-staff until Monday.

“My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting,” President Donald J. Trump wrote on Twitter. “No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.”

As authorities frantically searched for the person responsible, they asked residents of the city to avoid the area around the school.

For hours, parents were lined along Coral Springs Drive, calling their children on cell phones and pacing. Some parents said their children told them only to text to not make noise. One parent of two daughters at a nearby middle school said he sat in a bank lobby near the school and prayed.

New York Times News Service

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Friday, February 16, 2018

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Lyn Ressureccion | www.businessmirror.com.ph

Senators strike bipartisan deal on immigration despite veto threat

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ASHINGTON—A broad bipartisan group of senators reached agreement on Wednesday on a narrow rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws that would boost border security and resolve the fate of the so-called Dreamers, even as President Donald J. Trump suggested he would veto any plan that does not adhere to his harder-line approach.

Their compromise legislation sets up a clash pitting the political center of the Senate against Trump and the Republican congressional leadership.

Senators in both parties have been racing against a self-imposed, end-of-the-week deadline to write legislation that could win wide support by increasing border security, while at the same time offering a path to citizenship for young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

Members of the bipartisan group, which calls itself the Common Sense Coalition, said their deal does just that. They were working on Wednesday evening to determine if their bill could garner the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster.

“The president’s going to have a vote on his concept. I don’t think it will get 60 votes,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican-South Carolina, who is a member of the group, adding, “The bottom line then is: What do you do next? You can do what we’ve done for the last 35 years—blame each other. Or you can actually start fixing the broken immigration system. If you came out of this with strong border security—the president getting his wall and the DREAM [Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors] Act population being taken care of, most Americans would applaud.”

The bipartisan measure, sponsored by eight Democrats, eight Republicans and one independent, would appropriate $25 billion for border security, including construction of the president’s proposed wall at the Mexican border, over a 10-year period—not immediately, as Trump demands.

It would also offer an eventual

path to citizenship, over 10 to 12 years, for 1.8 million of the young immigrants, but would preclude them from sponsoring their parents to become citizens.

It would make no changes to the diversity visa lottery system, which Trump wants to end.

But in a morning statement, Trump urged senators to oppose any bill that did not also embrace the “four pillars” of his immigration approach, which includes a rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws that would close the country’s borders to many immigrants trying to come to the US legally.

“I am asking all senators, in both parties, to support the Grassley bill and to oppose any legislation that fails to fulfill these four pillars,” Trump said in the statement, referring to the measure’s chief sponsor, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Republican-Iowa.

The Grassley bill would provide a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants, end the visa lottery program, build a border wall and severely limit what he calls “chain migration,” which is family-based immigration.

It would also increase the use of radar and tower-based surveillance, sensors and drones mostly along the Southwest border, increase the number of border patrol officers and deploy the National Guard to help construct border fencing and operate some of the surveillance equipment.

Grassley said that in offering the young immigrants, known as Dreamers, a chance to become citizens, Trump had been “much more compassionate on a compromise than anybody thought.”

Limiting family-based immigration—which Democrats call

Protestors are detained in the Hart Senate Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on February 14. President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called on lawmakers to oppose a series of bipartisan efforts to address immigration and resolve the fate of the socalled Dreamers, demanding fealty to his hard-line approach and increasing the odds of political gridlock. Eric Thayer/The New York Times

“family reunification”—and ending the diversity visa lottery are anathema to Democrats. But it was not clear how many Democrats would sign on to the compromise as an alternative.

Senate Democrats met in a closed-door session to talk about the coalition’s plan, and lawmakers emerged saying some of their colleagues, who favor improvements in border security but have been deeply opposed to building a wall, had reservations.

“I know that people want to get some certaint y for these kids,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat-North Dakota. She said she would support the Common Sense measure, but added, “We’re being asked to make some tough compromises.”

Trump’s decision to weigh in forcefully called into question whether any compromise legislation would be dead on arrival at the president’s desk.

His statement came as the Sen-

ate was just beginning to debate immigration using a novel approach in which lawmakers are trying to build a bill from scratch on the floor.

“He’s not helpful at all,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

“All he does is create a crisis and can’t help us solve it.”

In the statement, Trump said that the “overwhelming majority of American voters support a plan that fulfills the framework’s four pillars, which move us toward the safe, modern and lawful immigration system our people deserve.”

He added that he would oppose a short-term “Band-Aid” approach to immigration that some lawmakers have been discussing, which would protect Dreamers for a few years in exchange for a small increase in border security spending—essentially kicking the issue down the road.

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader,

The American people know what’s going on. They know this president not only created the problem but seems to be against every solution that might pass because it isn’t 100 percent of what he wants.”—Schumer

responded harshly to the president’s remarks, noting with dismay that Trump in September ordered an end to the Obamaera prog ra m k now n as Daca (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which protected the Dreamers from deportation and provided them work permits.

“The American people know what’s going on,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “They know this president not only created the problem but seems to be against every solution that might pass because it isn’t 100 percent of what he wants. If, at the end of the week, we are unable to find a bill that can pass—and I sincerely hope that’s not the case due to the good efforts of so many people on both sides of the aisle—the responsibility will fall entirely on the president’s shoulders and those in this body who went along with him.”

Trump’s statement was a victory for conservatives in his administration, including Stephen Miller, his top domestic policy adviser, who have been pushing the president to demand an overhaul of the nation’s immigration rules in exchange for his support of a permanent solution for the Dreamers.

Several senior White House advisers told reporters on Wednesday that Trump would not relent in backing his hard-line immigration principles and said Dreamers should blame Democrats if legislation does not pass.

New York Times News Service

Envoy reports to UNSC on catastrophe in Gaza Strip

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NITED NATIONS—T he United Nat ions’s Mideast envoy briefed the Security Council behind closed doors on Wednesday at the request of Kuwait and Bolivia on what Palestinian Ambassador R iyad Mansour called the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz said Nikolay Mladenov, the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the council that drinking water is short, hospitals have been closed and “doctors stopped doing surgeries.” Mladenov also cited Gaza’s 47-percent unemployment rate, rising to 60 percent for young people, he said.

Llorentty Soliz said he highlighted that the situation in Gaza has been worsened by the United States suspension of millions of dollars in funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

T he U N Rel ief a nd Work s A genc y for Pa lest ini a n Ref ugees was not if ied on Ja nu a r y 16 t hat t he US was w it h holding $65 m i l l ion of a pl a nned $125 -m i l l ion inst a l l ment.

The United States demanded a “fundamental reexamination” of the agency in addition to changes to its programs, which have been heavily criticized by Israel.

Llorentty Soliz said he told the council the primary responsibility for “the catastrophic situation in Gaza” rests with Israel.

Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, countered that the responsibility lies with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which dominates Gaza.

Ha m a s “ h a s been hold i ng the people of Gaza hostage in pursuit of its ow n nefar ious goals, ignoring their most basic needs. Hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid that should go directly toward humanitar ian pur poses have been misappropriated toward terror,” Danon said in a statement to Associated Press.

Mansour said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the Security Council on February 20 on the situation of all Palestinians and will ask members to implement UN resolutions “to end the occupation that started in 1967, to allow for the independence of the state of Palestine, and therefore to save the two-state solution.”

Since the mid-1990s, several US-mediated rounds of IsraeliPa lest i n i a n ne got i at ion s on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel have ended in failure. AP

Myanmar govt under Suu Kyi cracks down on journalists B

A NGKOK—W hen f ive Myanmar journalists were sentenced to decade long prison terms for reporting the alleged existence of a military-run chemical weapons factor y in Myanmar a few years ago, Aung San Suu Ky i—then an opposition law maker—condemned the harsh punishments as “ver y excessive.”

The journalists, from the nowdefunct Unity publication, had been convicted for violating the nation’s Official Secrets Act—the same colonial-era law now being leveled against a pair of Reuters reporters who are facing a staggering 14 years behind bars each.

“It’s not that I don’t accept a concern over national security,” Suu Ky i told supporters during a July 2014 rally, according to an article published at the time in the Irrawaddy, a local media out let. “But in a democrat ic

system, security should be in balance w ith freedom.”

When “the rights of journalists [to report] are being controlled,” Suu Kyi said, the very notion of democratic reform in Myanmar is “questionable.”

T hree and a ha lf years on, t he t hink ing of Suu Ky i, who now heads the government, has apparent ly changed dramatica l ly. R at her t han champion t he pres s, she h a s preside d over an administration whose cour ts have ag g ressively pursued legal charges against dozens of jour na lists, a long w it h other attempts to suppress and d iscred it t he med ia.

Police arrested Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on December 12, 2017, while they were investigating the massacre of 10 ethnic Rohingya Muslims.

But when former United Nations Ambassador Bill Richardson met

the Nobel Peace prize laureate this month and brought up the case against the Reuters reporters, it “brought almost an explosion on her part,” Richardson said.

Suu Ky i ’s spokesman, Zaw Htay, has said that Richardson exceeded his mandate by bringing up the issue. Richardson had been invited to the country to participate in an advisory panel on the Rohingya crisis; he withdrew, calling it a “whitewash.”

Htay did not answer his cell phone when Associated Press (AP) attempted to reach him several times on Wednesday for comment.

Hostility against the media, particularly international news agencies covering Myanmar, has risen markedly since a brutal army “clearance” operation began in August immediately after Rohingya insurgents staged an unprecedented wave of attacks.

More than 700,000 Rohingya, a

persecuted minority widely despised by the nation’s Buddhist majority, have been driven into Bangladesh since.

Reporters and human-rights groups covering the crisis have documented grave atrocities, including mass rape, several massacres and widespread arson attacks that left hundreds of Rohingya villages burned to the ground.

Earlier t his mont h, T he A P repor ted t he e x istence of at least five mass graves at Gu Dar P y in v i l lage in R a k hine state.

Suu Ky i ’s gover nment has routinely denied atrocities and staunchly defended the military’s actions, portraying critical media reports as “fake news” in what analysts say is an effort to discredit independent media reports and limit reporting.

They’re “doing everything in their power to block the f low of news, to ensure that no damag-

ing information comes to light,” said Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. “ They’re using legal threats, they’re blocking access to areas where alleged abuses occurred, they’re making it harder for foreigners to get visas,” he said. “ They’ve created a climate of fear among local reporters, too, and the message is clear. If you report critically, you risk going to jail.”

As the antagonism against foreign media has grown, some agencies pulled reporters from the country. AP correspondent Esther Htusan left Myanmar in late-November after threats were made against her life on social media and unidentified men followed her to her Yangon home.

Not so long ago, the mood in the Southeast Asian nation

was very different. When the military, which ruled for half a century, ceded some power to a nominally civilian government in 2011, amid what was widely lauded as a long-awaited transition to democracy, journalists were bursting with optimism.

The government abolished censorship in 2012, allowing local media outlets to flourish for the first time in decades. Foreign correspondents were granted visas, enabling them to report on what had been one of the most closed nations in the world.

T he A ssoc i ated P ress wa s among those allowed in. The news cooperative maintained a presence in Myanmar and covered the nation for decades through local correspondents. But in 2013 AP became the first international news agency to officially open a bureau since the transition from military rule began. AP

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Chinese influence in business

W

ith the celebration of Chinese New Year, it is a perfect time to look deeper into how the Chinese greatly influence our economy. When we see “made in China” nowadays, we usually relate that to cheap items, low quality, fake goods and imitations. But this article will not focus on the Chinese from the mainland but the Chinese who began their businesses generations ago and have children who are now Filipino-Chinese and successful businessmen themselves.

I used to wonder before why Chinatown was in Binondo and not in other parts of Manila. A deeper study revealed that the Spanish authorities (because of previous attempt by the Chinese to seize power from the Spaniards since the Chinese outnumbered the Spanish colonizers by 20 to 1) began to restrict the activities of the Chinese immigrants and confined them to the Parían near Intramuros. Since they can hardly find employment and were not allowed to own land, most of them set up small businesses or served as skilled artisans to the Spanish colonial authorities.

They also worked as stevedores and porters during the early Spanish period, and that is why there are many Chinese near the ports.

Binondo later on became the central business district before Quezon City or Makati became business districts. Before World War II, most of the big banks from Britain and the United States were in Escolta in Binondo, and was called the “ Wall Street of the Philippines” (source: Wikipedia).

Even during my banking days with several banks before, Binondo branches manage some of the largest deposits among bank branches in the Philippines. Other bank branches, aside from valued Binondo clients, consist mostly of Chinese clients.

Most of the big businesses in the country are now controlled by Chinese businessmen. And the younger generation, who are Filipino-Chinese (unlike their parents, who are mostly pure Chinese) are starting to take over. Some of them were educated in North America, and their dominant language is English instead of Chinese.

Filipino and Chinese culture is integrating, gradually. It is not an assimilation but an integration. In other words, the Filipino-Chinese are adopting Filipino culture but, at the same time, retain much of the Chinese culture. One of the Chinese traits greatly influenced by Filipino culture pertains to close family ties. Most big corporations ran by the Chinese are usually family corporations, where the children occupy the top executive positions. Respect for the elders is evident in Chinese families, which is why when the patriarch decides on something, the children obey without question. Thus, if the father decides that it is the daughter who will take the helm instead of the traditional son or sons taking over, the siblings obey without ques-

FINEX free enterprise

Wilma C. Inventor-Miranda tion. Successors in the organization who are the sons and daughters of the founder are given time to study the business and begin training by starting from a low position in the company.

I think this is the also the reason corporations owned by Chinese families continue to grow in the hands of the next generation Chinese. They also acknowledge the importance of nonfamily members to help run their corporation as president or executives of the business are professionals and experts in their fields.

They are also willing to start from the bottom, whether in their own business or employed outside of their business and learn the trade before they assume more responsible positions in their companies.

There was a time when indigenous Filipinos were eased out of their businesses because of bad management (which is why most of the big conglomerates in the Philippines are owned by rich Chinese families).

Because of the prompt training of their children, the successors are also successful in managing the business and make the company grow even bigger. They are willing to pay Filipino professionals to help them and learn all they can from them.

Humility and living a prudent life are values worth emulating by Filipinos. However, the new generation of Filipino-Chinese is fond of luxury items and branded stuff. Filipino-Chinese are the big buyers in luxury stores and can afford regular vacations abroad. Still, humility and prudence, while no longer widely practiced, is still evident in the life of the younger generation Filipino-Chinese.

The Philippine economy cannot deny that the main influencer of growth are the Chinese or their Filipino-Chinese peers or even the pure Chinese second-generation owners. In the 2017 Forbes List of billionaires, eight of the top 10 billionaires were either Chinese or Filipino-Chinese.

Thus, the annual nonworking holiday celebration is a fitting tribute to our Filipino-Chinese or Chinese residents, for they are a major force who greatly influence our economy.

Kung hei fat choi!

Wilma Miranda is the managing partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates and CPAs; board of director member of KPS Outsourcing Inc. and Treasurer of Negros Outsourcing Service Inc.; and adviser of the Media Affairs Committee of Finex. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions.

Editor: Jun B. Vallecera • Friday, February 16, 2018 A9

Deposit reserve now only 19%

T

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday cut the banks’ mandatory deposit reserve by one percentage point to 19 percent. The decision came in the wake of an earlier move to keep the policy rates steady and, soon after, the monetary authorities delinked the reserves from its monetary-policy tool kit.

The mandatory reserve is that portion of deposits the banks keep idle in the vaults of the BSP and may not be deployed as loans or investment.

In a statement, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said the reduction was an “operational adjustment” designed to “support the BSP’s shift toward a more market-based implementation of monetary policy.”

“The Monetary Board believes that the

BSP has attained sufficient progress in its shift towards the use of market-based monetary instruments since the adoption of the interest rate corridor (IRC) framework in June 2016,” Espenilla said.

“Even as the BSP continues to refine its instruments and operations under the IRC, the Monetary Board observed that the BSP now has ample scope to mitigate the potential liquidity impact of a phased reduction in the reserve

requirement via offsetting auction-based monetary operations,” he added.

Just last week, Espenilla talked of delinking the deposit reserve from the monetary-policy tool kit. He also earlier said a cut in the deposit reserve should not be interpreted as an accommodative monetary-policy stance.

The BSP said the reduction will apply to the reserve liabilities of all banks and nonbank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions and shall take effect on the reserve week beginning on March 2 this year.

Espenilla also signaled more reductions on the deposit reserve as he vowed to “gradually lessen its reliance on reserve requirements for managing liquidity in the financial system.”

“At the same time, the Monetary Board noted that the reduction in reserve requirements will help mobilize liquidity in support of economic activity, as well as capital market development over the medium term,” he added.

The 20-percent deposit reserve has been in place since May 2014.

Government to sell parts of Mile Long property

T

he government plans to cut up the 2.9-hectare Mile Long property into parts and sell some of them to the private sector, the Department of Finance said on Thursday.

The proposed sale would come after the property has been properly appraised, an exercise seen completed next month, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

“Essentially, I want to divide [the property] into

three or four lots, probably sell two and keep two,” Dominguez told financial reporters.

Mile Long had been in the possession of Sunvar Realty for 35 years until the Regional Trial Court in Makati City told the Prieto family to vacate the property.

It leased the undeveloped government land 35 years ago on the understanding that the lease period would expire in 2027. Sunvar paid P16.8

million as advance rentals and spent millions more to build roads, buildings and infrastructure to develop the property.

Dominguez said he told President Duterte they do not plan to sell the entire lot but only portions of it: “Once the development starts there, the price will go up, so why shouldn’t we benefit from it?”

Duterte previously said the proceeds from the sale would be used to fund housing projects. Rea Cu

A10 Friday, February 16, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

Clean up Boracay now

W

e can vividly remember the Boracay Island of 30 years ago. It was a sleepy place where you could wander the windward side of the island all day long and see only the occasional windsurfer in the rough waters. Trash collection was done by local entrepreneurs, leading an old carabao pulling a wooden cart.

The drink of choice seemed to be a mango shake, which required a small generator be started to run the electric blender, breaking the tranquil silence. A sign might read “Ice Cold San Miguel Beer” but that was only if the ice had been delivered from Caticlan.

Most of the visitors were young people, primarily from Europe that might have a book titled Boracay on $5 a Day and who were determined to get that down to $2 a day. But that was fine since apart of the nightly festivities at the two popular bars, there was not much else to spend money on.

There were some more “expensive” resorts, including the foreignowned one that built the first swimming pool on the island. Most, though, were nipa huts, such as the one owned by “Fred” Elizalde, the husband of the first Filipina prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. The property was managed by an ex-special forces soldier from South Africa who spent his afternoons and evenings drinking with the guests until—too drunk to walk—his Filipina girlfriend had a couple of the boys carry him to bed.

That was Boracay then and everything but the incredible sunset has changed.

However, even at that time there was growing concern over the degradation of the local environment. Occasionally during the year, a sudden algae bloom would turn the local waters murky with a “bad” color. Longtime residents that had watched this situation progress over the years were convinced it was because of untreated wastewater being dumped in the ocean.

Not much was done except to talk as no one was interested paying to mitigate the potential problem and local governments were really not interested in discussing anything negative about their “island paradise.”

Fast forward three decades and Boracay would be completely unrecognizable to anyone that had not been there during the intervening time. Further, the “potential problem” of 1988 is now a borderline disaster. That is always what happens when you let things go. It is a disgrace and a failure on the hands of every level of government from the island barangays of Balabag, Manoc-Manoc and Yapak to Malacañang.

It was bad enough that the small locally owned resorts ignored the problem but to have billion-peso corporations not to use their influence and money to stop this catastrophe is unforgiveable.

If cleaning up Boracay requires drastic measures even to the point of closing the island to tourism, then that is what should be done. For all the talk by former Department of Environment and Natural Resources secretaries about the environment, it was just that when it came to the tourism jewel of the Philippines.

While the Boracay Island Water Corp., a joint venture of the Ayala Corp. and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, is building a proper wastewater disposal system, it will not be island wide until 2022.

We do not have much sympathy for the resort owners, big or small.

This is not something that happened overnight and all are responsible for the garbage and sewer water that is too pervasive on the island. Start cleaning up Boracay now.

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Mentorship James Jimenez

spox

S

o last week’s enthusiasm over the imminence of the 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE2018) now appears to have been more a matter of wishful thinking thing else. I jumped the gun, you might say, and engendered some expectations that should be managed more realistically. However, that episode did prompt someone to ask me whether I thought it was worth pushing through with the Sangguniang Kabataan elections in the first place, considering that the youth of today don’t seem particularly ready for the power that comes with being an elected official.

Despite the cloud of indeterminacy that now hangs over BSKE2018 (again), that is a question worth tack ling, and the answer is in two parts.

First, I reject the notion that the youth of today are not ready to assume leadership roles in society. Fitness for leadership is not a function of chronological age, nor can fitness for leadership— at least in its broadest and most

general sense—be deduced from a person’s adherence to any particular set of morals or aesthetic.

Having said that, however, and accepting for the sake of argument that the youth of today seem unprepared—less kindly words have been used, to be honest—the second part of my answer remains decidedly in the negative.

If we believe that the youth are not ready for the burdens of public

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leadership, then the solution is to undertake such steps as are needed to make them ready. Those who are in power now cannot live forever, as much as they might want to. The time will come for them to step aside. If that time comes and all that’s available to take over is a generation that has been isolated from all responsibility, then the decline of everything built up by previous generations is assured.

Removing the opportunity for the youth to experience the rigors and demands of public leadership would only hamstring the up and coming generation, perhaps preserving a comfortable status quo for a time, but ultimately dooming the future.

A better solution would be to finally treat the Sangguniang Kabataan like the mentorship

program it was designed to be; but a mentorship not just under the barangay—that particular approach failed, leading to the muddying of the SK vision because, in an entirely appropriate ironic twist, not all adults are themselves ready for leadership roles. And that’s exactly what the SK Reform Act (Republic Act 10742, 15 January 2016) is trying to accomplish.

By establishing mechanisms of supervision and review, the Reform Act attempts to create an environment where elected youth leaders are given the opportunity to work for the development of their communities with enough safety nets and institutional oversight that the problems of the past would not have to be repeated.

This transforms the SK, from being just a miniature version of barangay politics, to a true learning environment where youthful inexperience, intemperance and overall unreadiness aren’t toxic risk factors but starting points for the growth, development and the honing of new leaders. And boy, we do need that.

Too bad some people are moving to make sure that we wait just a little bit longer than we should have to.

How the diesel price increase can be cushioned

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

If we believe that the youth are not ready for the burdens of public leadership, then the solution is to undertake such steps as are needed to make them ready.

Those who are in power now cannot live forever, as much as they might want to. The time will come for them to step aside.

A

nd recently, consumer concern over the rising cost of diesel fuel has been heightened with the proposed increase in transportation fares by bus companies and other transport groups. Should these petitions for fare hike be granted, this would raise the prices of basic commodities in the market, even as it would also deplete the household income of many Filipino families. All these consumer woes are being blamed, though, on the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which imposed an excise tax on all oil products.

Lowering the cost of diesel

But as the nation an xiously wait for the decision of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on the petition for fare increase by transport groups, and as consumers anxiously monitor the price movement of oil products, there is, however, a law that could help lower the cost of diesel fuel without affecting its efficacy as a power source.

Called the Bio-fuel Act, the law requires all oil companies to use, as an additive for its diesel fuel products, up to 5-percent biofu-

el. But for whatever reason, not only are the law’s biofuel technical specifications tailored fit for coconut oil, but only 3-percent biofuel is currently being added to diesel fuel.

Cushioning the impact of TRAIN

But how can the Bio-fuel Act cushion the impact of TRAIN on diesel products and consumers?

When properly applied, the Biofuel Act would significantly lower the pump price of diesel fuel.

Unfortunately, though, while the law’s biofuel specifications are tailored fit for coconut oil, there

Allowing the use of imported palm oil as an additive for diesel would be a win-win situation for the country, especially if the provision allowing the use of up to 5-percent biofuel in diesel is maximized, as this would lower the pump price of diesel and, perhaps, help raise the country’s dollar reserve at the same time. are, however, allegations that some companies are importing palm oil and using them for their biodiesel instead.

The allegations practically defeat the purpose of the Bio-fuel Act to lower the pump price of diesel fuel, through the alleged manipulation by some unscrupulous companies of the vulnerability of the Bio-fuel Act. As of February 14, for instance, the price of crude coconut oil in the world market was $1,250 per metric ton, while the price of palm oil was only $625 per metric ton.

With the price of palm oil almost half the price of crude coconut oil, just imagine how much profits the manufacturers of biofuel that allegedly use palm oil instead of coconut oil for their biodiesel are raking in, while consumers are practically deprived of their right to cheaper diesel fuel.

Moreover, should the Bio-fuel

Act’s technical specifications for biodiesel allow the use of palm oil, the local coconut industry should be able to export more of its products into the world market and help raise the country’s dollar reserve, without affecting the country’s Bio-fuel program.

In short, allowing the use of imported palm oil as an additive for diesel would be a win-win situation for the country, especially if the provision allowing the use of up to 5-percent biofuel in diesel is maximized, as this would lower the pump price of diesel and, perhaps, help raise the country’s dollar reserve at the same time.

I am, therefore, suggesting for the Department of Energy (DOE) to amend its technical specifications for its oil additive for biodiesel that would now legally allow the use of palm oil.

Moreover, I am also suggesting that an inventory of the country’s palm-oil importations be conducted by concerned government agencies vis-à-vis its end-products, whether as edible cooking oil or whatever other products.

This could be a tall order for all concerned government agencies.

But as one of the leading industry groups in the country, we are ready to lend a hand should our suggestions be given due course by the government.

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Charity is the very heart of Christian life

The love column some readers want me to write Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

‘G

SERVANT LEADER

od so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)

In h is pa stora l let ter for Lent, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, DD, pointed out that “the Lenten season directs us in a very special way to reflect on God’s merciful and salvific love.”

It is, indeed, “the way we came to know love was that Christ laid down His life for us” (1 Jn 3:17).

In a very real sense, during the Lenten season, God is calling us to show our love and compassion to others through charity. As what Tagle also said “charity is the very heart of Christian life. And in this season of Lent, we are especially called upon to exercise charity in our dealings with our neighbor— that is to say, to have a genuine concern for those who are needy and who suffer, and to perform concrete good works.”

In line with what Tagle said about charity, Pondo ng Pinoy is once again launching its Fast2Feed campaign that aims to feed at least 20,000 hungry and malnourished children in Pondo ng Pinoy member-dioceses.

Since its inception in 2005, Pondo ng Pinoy has provided supplemental feeding for about 2 million undernourished children around the country through its Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program. It has also provided values education, and skills and livelihood training for the parents.

Thus, we are calling all the faithful once again to support the Fast2Feed campaign 2018.

As what Tagle said, “Your support will enable Hapag-Asa to continue helping malnourished children.

It only takes P10 per day [P1,200 for six months] “to bring back a hungry and undernourished child to a healthy state.”

Let us take the season of Lent as an opportunity not just to repent our sins, but to show our mercy and love to others as what our Almighty God showed his mercy and love by giving his only Son to save us and evangelize us.

The Fast2Feed 2018 Fund Campaign envelopes would be distributed to parishes and schools. Faithful are encouraged to offer the Fast2Feed envelope with their donations during the Mass, or turn it over to the parish office any day after Ash Wednesday.

May God continue to prosper you and bless your generosity and charity.

To know more about Caritas Manila, visit or follow us on Facebook: CaritasManilaInc. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 09997943455, 0 9 05 - 42850 01 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 and follow its twitter and instragram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at www. veritas846.ph.

For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

Chinese need to learn to save again

F

or years, economists and policy-makers have hailed the propensity of Chinese to save. Among other things, they’ve pointed to low household debt as reason not to fear a financial crash in the world’s second-biggest economy. Now, though, one of China’s greatest economic strengths is becoming a crucial weakness.

Over the past two weeks, as they’ve held their annual work meetings, China’s various financial regulatory bodies have raised fears that Chinese households may be overleveraged. Banking regulators sound especially concerned, and understandably so: Data showed that Chinese households borrowed 910 billion renminbi ($143 billion) in January—nearly a third of all RMB-denominated bank loans extended that month.

While too much can be made of the headline number—lending is always disproportionately large in January, and bank loans are rising as regulators crack down on more shadowy forms of financing—the pace of growth for household debt is worrying. Between January and October last year, according to recent data from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chinese household leverage rose more than 8 percentage points, from 44.8 percent to 53.2 percent of GDP—a record increase.

By contrast, between 2009 and 2015, households had added an average of just 3 percentage points to their debt-to-GDP ratio each year, and that includes a large jump of 5.5 percentage points in 2009 as banks ramped up lending in response to the global financial crisis. Before 2009, household debt levels had hovered around 18 percent of GDP for five years. In other words, the debt burden for

Chinese consumers has nearly tripled in the past decade.

Part of that rapid debt expansion has been deliberate. China’s government has encouraged increased borrowing and spending on items like cars and houses, to boost both consumption and investment. At the G-20 summit in February 2016, China’s sober central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan remarked that rising household leverage had “a certain logic to it.”

At the same time, a generational shift is unfolding. Younger, urban Chinese are proving more willing to bring their consumption forward to today rather than pushing it off to the future as their parents did.

Most worryingly, though, skyrocketing home prices seem to be driving much of the increase in household debt. Higher mortgage rates—and, especially, government policy—have compounded the problem. In order to slow rising prices, officials have raised dow n-pay ment requirements, pushed banks to slow mortgage lending and placed administrative restraints on purchases. That’s led buyers to borrow from different, often more expensive, channels.

Online peer-to-peer lenders, for instance, who charge much higher rates than banks, have become popu l a r sou rces for bor rowing cash for down payments.

Throughout 2017, borrowers also began classifying their loans as more bread-and-butter consumer loans, as opposed to mortgages.

That’s undercut banks’ attempts to reduce lending to the property sector. Over RMB 1 trillion worth of short-term consumer loans were created in just the first seven months of 2017—nearly triple the same period in 2016. Bloomberg View

Friday, February 16, 2018 A11

B

y this time, the equatorial roses have already gone down in price. The chocolates in fancy boxes have already been eaten. If they have not been touched, it is because the one who received the gift feels she is not worth the precious box of processed cocoa and milk and nuts. This means this woman or man is not worth the special attention given that day because no wise person would ever measure his or her humanity in the valued candies.

Flowers cannot signify love. We have gotten used to them because of cultures, and histories. But flowers are pathetic symbol of something by far stronger and overwhelming.

Flowers are the deafest and mutest of creatures. They exist because of their colors and their shapes.

Examine them. There is nothing special about the forms of flowers.

They are so outward and so open they cannot be the avatar for love that is felt inward most of the time.

I cannot rest my case either and call love a mystery. If there is a mystery, then the universe is the only legal mystery: It cannot be measured and it cannot be ruled.

So, can love be measured? Can love be ruled? Yes to the two questions. No one has consciously ruled and measured love.

So love is not poetry, because poetry is measured. Poetry goes by meters or some silent internal beat.

Love does not die. This means

one does not fall out of love. Someone departs to live with someone more attractive. That is not love.

That is a beauty search. One feels he can be happier somewhere. That is not love. That is forum shopping.

One opts to be with a richer person.

That is not love. That is a business proposition. One goes crazy over somebody’s sexual technique. That is not love. That is sex, that is lust. A woman thinks she will be comfortable with another man. That is not love. That is economics. Two people live forever because they are both on the left side of society. That is ideology, not love. Someone loves the smile on the face of the other.

That is not love but dental obsession. Someone believes she will be there for her man because he makes her smile. She is not looking for love but for circus.

Think of this: In a pastry shop, a young man on this they call Va lent i ne’s Day poi nt s to a

The Trump stain spreads

By Nicholas Kristof New York Times News Service

W

inston Churchill is supposed to have said: “With integrity, nothing else counts. Without integrity, nothing else counts.” In fact, that seems to be one of those Churchillian epigrams that Churchill never actually got around to saying. But it captures an important truth about politics, that dishonor is like a cancer that spreads inexorably as it feeds upon ambition, protects itself with lies and doubles down with cover-ups.

Looking at the chaos in the White House these days, I worry about inexperience, incompetence and lack of judgment. But maybe I worry most about an utter lack of integrity—and the way it is proving infectious.

The contagion of dishonor has spread irresistibly through the White House staff, turning aides into con artists. Indifference to ethics has spread through the Cabinet and agencies, resulting in endless scandals. And the epidemic has rippled through much of the GOP (with some heroic exceptions), turning lawmakers into enablers and hypocrites.

The Rob Porter affair, for example, isn’t just about Porter any more but about what seems to be a cover-up and dismissiveness toward domestic violence. John Kelly, the

White House chief of staff, claimed that he had removed Porter within 40 minutes of learning of credible allegations of Porter’s domestic abuse; to listen to FBI testimony, it now seems it may have been seven months.

President Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he is against domestic violence. But when you have to say that, something is wrong.

We have a president who has himself been accused of domestic violence (an allegation of rape by his first wife that she later retracted), who has lost two aides to accusations of domestic violence, whose chief of staff (a retired four-star Marine general) in 2016 praised a colonel as a “superb Marine officer” after he had been accused of sexually harassing two women. More broadly, while I understand the sorrow people feel for a colleague who is self-immolating, the White House’s initial comments came across as discounting one of the most common kinds of violence in America today.

Some 28,000 Americans are sent to emergency rooms each year because of domestic violence. Almost 20 people are victimized each minute. This isn’t a fringe issue: It claims far more American lives than terrorism. The White House would never be caught with a bank robbery suspect on its staff, so why tolerate someone alleged to be a wife beater?

Love does not die. This means one does not fall out of love.

Someone departs to live with someone more attractive. That is not love. That is a beauty search. One feels he can be happier somewhere. That is not love. That is forum shopping.

One opts to be with a richer person. That is not love. That is a business proposition. One goes crazy over somebody’s sexual technique. That is not love. That is sex, that is lust. A woman thinks she will be comfortable with another man. That is not love. That is economics.

lollipop bigger than his head, and asks how much it is. The lady at the counter says a hundred pesos.

The young man looks at the thing for a few seconds and walks out.

The young man is not in love. He

is in love with the prospects of loving another because that is what they say around him. But imagine this: the young man has grown older. He goes to a bakery and buys an expensive pie. He brings it home and he gets scolded by his wife because he has spent his allowance for that week. Then they spend an hour sharing the pie as the world around them swirls forever. What is that?

In some houses away from the world, an old man and an old woman are in their 80s. They sure are dying soon one day. They laugh and have fun and they get irritated together.

They have lost their hairs, some of their teeth. One day, they lose a bit of their memories; another day, they lose their vision. Most of the time, they do not have the sense of taste and hearing. They feel each other. They cannot imagine being apart even if the universe is not sure whether it is going to expand or collapse. This must not be about the planet and stars. This must be love.

The answer has to do, I think, with a lack of integrity, an absence of a moral compass, a narcissism in which the all-consuming need becomes to protect oneself and one’s boss.

Lack of integrity may also be the best way to capture the morphing scandal of the preelection $130,000 payoff to a porn star to apparently keep quiet about an affair with Trump. It’s bad enough that Trump appears to have been cheating on Melania right after she had their baby (“Oh, don’t worry about her,” he is said to have told the actress). But with the payoff and reported coverup, Trump is betraying all of us.

When The Wall Street Journal first reported the porn-star payout

by Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime lawyer, Cohen denounced the report as a “false narrative” of “outlandish allegations.”

Oops. Take two. This week, Cohen confirmed the payment in a statement saying that he “facilitated” the transfer with his own cash. It doesn’t seem quite true, as some news organizations reported, that Cohen precisely denied that he had been reimbursed. Cohen’s statement was artful. He denied that he had been reimbursed by either the Trump Organization or the Trump presidential campaign but not that he had been reimbursed by someone else—say, by Trump himself. (The White House did not respond to my

inquiry about whether Trump had personally paid the $130,000.)

Sometimes politicians, liberals and conservatives alike, are unprincipled in pursuit of principles they are passionate about. But Trump aides don’t seem to believe in any cause larger than themselves or their leader.

That’s alarming because of the risks that even worse might lie ahead. When self-absorbed people are caught in a growing scandal, they overreach. In this case, that might mean the firing of Robert Mueller or Rod Rosenstein, or some military clash that changes the subject.

To be clear, I don’t think officials would deliberately turn to war as a solution to political problems, but we all have a remarkable ability to persuade ourselves that what is good for us is also good for the country.

Every administration suffers embarrassments. But when there is a basic lack of integrity at the top, these do not easily self-correct; rather, they build upon themselves because of an impulse to cover up and layer new deceptions on top of old deceit. That seems to be what is happening in both the Rob Porter and porn-payoff scandals.

The risk is that this stain continues to spread, metastasizing and bringing down everything around it.

And to me, it looks as if the Trump administration is now metastasizing.

Don’t be complacent about Italy’s elections

I

nvestors contemplating Italy’s upcoming elections apparently see no cause for alarm, but their mood may not last. The vote looks set to produce a coalition government too weak to address the country’s twin challenges of slow growth and high debt.

For now, calm prevails. The countr y’s 10 -year bond yield, which rose to more than 7 percent during Europe’s economic crisis, hovers around 2 percent.

Italy’s equity market has been battered by the recent global setback, but it’s still outperforming its European peers.

Up to now, the European Central Bank’s policy of quantitative

easing has helped mask Italy’s fragility. But the ECB is likely to stop buying new bonds in the fall. When that happens, Italy’s deep-seated problems will return to the fore.

Granted, the economy has made progress recently. Growth is picking up, and the unemployment rate has fallen to 10.8 percent—still far too high, but the lowest in more than five years.

After protracted dithering, banks are finally trying to reduce their nonperforming loans. That’s essential, because it will make lenders more resilient to shocks and free up capital, which can be used to boost lending.

The trouble is, the elections

seem unlikely to help. Italian politics consists of three main groups: the center-left, led by Matteo Renzi; the center-right, headed by Silvio Berlusconi; and the antiestablishment Five Star Movement, led by Luigi Di Maio.

According to recent polls, none will be able to form a government. The expected result is either a wobbly “grand coalition” or a prolonged stalemate, leading in due course to new elections.

Would that be so bad? Many investors seem to believe that, so long as Italy doesn’t elect an openly euro-skeptic government, the euro zone will be fine. It’s Italy, after all, where weak and unstable govern-

ments aren’t exactly unheard of.

This time will be different. Italy’s public debt stands at a towering 132 percent of GDP, and the policies needed to put it on a sustainable downward track are nowhere in sight. When the next crisis hits the euro zone, Italy’s broken public finances will be a focus of intense concern—and investors will remember that Italy remains the euro zone’s third-largest economy, and one of the world’s largest manufacturing countries.

At the moment, the coming election looks like no big deal.

Before much longer, there may be cause to regret this complacency. Bloomberg View

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Friday, February 16, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Duterte tells govt officials to protect other top tourist destinations in PHL

P

By Jonathan L. Mayuga & Bernadette D. Nicolas

@jonlmayuga @BNicolasBM

resident Duterte’s threat to close Boracay is a “wake-up call” to all government officials to protect the country’s tourist destinations, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said on Thursday.

Roque issued the statement following the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) pronouncement that two resorts could be shuttered if they do not put in place a proper

sewage-disposal system.

“I think what the President said regarding Boracay is equally applicable to all other islands,” he said.

Duterte also threatened to shut

ROQUE: “I think what the President said regarding Boracay is equally applicable to all other islands.”

down Boracay if the environmental issues are not addressed in six months. “The President gave [Environment Secretary Roy A.] Cimatu six months to give a final recommendation on possible solutions to prevent the further deterioration of Boracay,” Roque added.

Cimatu had announced he will give erring establishments in Boracay two months to address their violations.

“[Mr. Duterte] did mention that Boracay was very dirty, and that he was putting the blame on local government officials, because it is the local government officials that implement relevant laws and regulations on the protection of the environment,” he said.

Roque clarified that the President issued his statements regarding Boracay not because he wanted to damage the reputation of island but because he wanted to preserve the country’s tourist destinations. Boracay is recognized as one of the best islands in the world.

Aside from Cimatu, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo was also tasked by Duterte to address the problems of the popular

Solving Boracay’s woes

Cimatu is prodding the local government of Malay in Aklan to help address the environmental prob-

lems besetting the country’s top tourist destination.

In a statement, the chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) admitted that the local government unit (LGU) has jurisdiction and supervision over Boracay and is the primary government unit responsible for ensuring that all laws, including environmental laws, are enforced.

Cimatu earlier declared that erring establishments have two months to institute corrective measures, or they will face closure.

“The local government of Malay has direct jurisdiction and supervision over Boracay. It is the primary government unit responsible Continued on A2

Duterte offers kill bounty for communist guerillas

Indonesia defends dela Rosa’s recognition

P

I

ndonesian police officials have defended bestowing their highest honor on the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, who has been criticized for spearheading the war on drugs that has left thousands of suspects dead.

Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa was among five neighboring police chiefs who were presented with the award by Indonesian police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian on Wednesday.

New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the award, saying the Indonesian government debased the rule of law by awarding dela Rosa its highest honor.

Karnavian reportedly praised dela Rosa for his “rock star-like inspiration” on how to fight the war on illegal drugs. National Police Spokesman Setyo Wasisto said the award was based on good relations and cooperation between the countries’ police institutions, and has nothing to do with human rights.

In an official communiquè sent on January 29, Integrated National Police (INP) head General H. Muhammad Tito Karnavian, through Philippine Ambassador Maria Lumen B. Isleta, informed the PNP chief of the recognition.

The “Bintang Bhayangkara Utama” is the highest medal for the INP presented by the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

The INP Medal of Honor award is “presented in appreciation for your important role in cooperation and contribution to the security of Indonesia and Philippines in the past and for the future,” Karnavian said.

The PNP and INP, both pioneer members of the Asean Association of Police Chiefs, share bilateral understanding and commitments on specific areas of cooperation in joint maritime border patrol, antiterrorism, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, transnational crime, illegal drugs and trafficking in persons.

In the same ceremony, the INP also bestowed the Bintang Bhayangkara Utama award to the Minister for Home Affairs of Singapore, the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, the Commissioner of Royal Brunei Police Force, the Inspector General of Royal Malaysia Police, the Commissioner of Singapore Police and the Director of Internal Security Department of Singapore. AP, PNA

tourist destination.

Teo said the DOT will open a Compliance Monitoring Office on the island to ensure that tourism establishments there are operating “according to the standards set for the purpose of making the island more competitive in the domestic and international markets.”

She also ordered Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Authority to ensure the speedy completion that its P716-million drainage project to address the flooding problem on the island.

taking heed for the big one Thousands of students and their teachers join the nationwide earthquake drill on Thursday, with this one held at the Pembo Elementary School in Makati. NONOY LACZA

Maldives seeking air-transport deal with PHL Continued from A1

week. It was last updated in July 2005.

Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines, according to its president, Jaime J. Bautista, is interested in relaunching its New Delhi flights sometime in the second half of 2018.

Coefficients for the Manila-Hong Kong route was at 30,000 seats per week. The air-services agreement was last updated in October 2014.

The agreement with Papua New

Guinea, last updated in August 2011, allows carriers to fly between Manila and Port Moresby for only 760 seats per week.

For Japan, there are only 14 weekly flights available for Philippine carriers that want to fly between Manila and Tokyo (Haneda International Airport). All of these are held by the flag carrier.

Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia have been asking the regulatory body to launch air talks to expand the said

agreement for a few years now. Haneda Airport is the closest airport to Tokyo.

The Philippines-Australia air-services agreement allows Philippine carriers to fly between airports in the Philippines and Australia with 9,300 seats per week.

There is no existing bilateral agreement with the Maldives.

“These are the countries that need additional entitlements because we do not have enough to cover the needs of our airlines,” Arcilla explained.

resident Duterte has offered a nearly $500 bounty for each communist rebel killed by government forces to save on anti-insurgency costs, and says insurgents are easier to hit than birds because they have bigger heads.

Duterte’s latest crass remarks, which the government issued to reporters late Wednesday, came after human-rights groups condemned him this week for saying troops should shoot female communist guerrillas in the genitals to render them “useless.”

“You kill an NPA today, and I’ll pay you P25,000,” Duterte said in a speech at an air base in central Cebu city, referring to New People’s Army guerrillas.

“I was computing that, if this drags on for four years ... it’ll be very expensive, because it’s war. If I’ll just pay 25,000 for a life, I can save about 47 percent,” he said to laughter from the crowd.

There was no elaboration on how he came up with those figures, and whether or how the government would pay for claimed kills. Backing up his offer, the brash-talking president encouraged state forces to go for the kill.

“If you work really hard to crawl across the forest, you’ll surely be able to shoot even just one. If you can shoot a bird above you, then how much more an NPA whose head is so big?” the brash-talking Duterte said, again eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Duterte’s incendiary remarks encourage government forces to commit war crimes instead of instilling a culture of accountability in accordance

with international law, Human Rights Watch said.

“Duterte’s pronouncements normalize the idea that government security forces can do as they wish to defeat their enemies, including committing summary executions and sexual violence,” said Carlos Conde of the United States-based rights group.

The volatile president turned up the rhetoric against communist guerrillas after peace talks brokered

by Norway collapsed last year when he protested continuing rebel attacks on government forces.

When a rebel leader recently warned that the guerrillas could kill one soldier a day, Duterte countered by threatening to kill five rebels daily and offering to train tribesmen as militias and give them bounties to kill the insurgents.

Duterte is already under international criticism and is facing a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for thousands of deaths in the war on drugs he initiated after become president two years ago.

He has lashed out in his response, including asking why the ICC was focusing on him when atrocities were unraveling elsewhere.

“There are Rohingyas who are being slaughtered, but they only chose to indict me. OK, you asked for it, let’s have a trial. I will cross-examine you,” Duterte, a former state prosecutor, said, referring to the Muslims fleeing from violence and persecution in Myanmar. AP

‘Feng shui’ readings for businessmen, officials in Year of the Earth Dog Continued from A1

more tax-reform measures to shepherd for implementation.

Because it is a conflict year for Dragons, Allen advised them to “take it easy, do charity work and just be cool.” Rabbits are advised to be prudent with their finances.

“Do not splurge your funds, as income flow could be limited. Review your earlier contracts or commitments signed, as a possible legal threat is lurking.”

Meanwhile, this is a lucky year for Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, having been born in the year of the Snake (1965) and the month of the Dragon (April). “She has very good vibes; she has the ability of to solve complex issues, like most Snakes, if you give them the chance.” Because of the good elements in her chart, having the wood element, as well as being a yin fire person, “there are two ways to

go: either be very aggressive and be strong, or cool off and take it easy.”

Another lucky Snake (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013) is Marife Zamora, chairman of Convergys Philippines.

Long-term benefits are in store for Rats (1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) this year, “although the misfortune star has flown in your direction.

Consider taking time off, rest and give yourself that much-needed break. Travel, go on holidays and spend time with happy people.

CEOs born in the year of the Rat include the Ayala Group’s Fernando Zobel and ICTSI President Enrique Razon Jr.” This year will demand much from the Ox (1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009), like Globe President Ernest Cu, especially because possible disputes will mostly prevail. Allen advises not to read too much into

all these, “and be more reasonable and patient, and try to promote a harmonious environment. Let all these animosities go, as the rewards will be worth your efforts.”

Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy, who has been expanding his petroleum-based empire into other businesses, such as tourism, is another prominent Ox. Tigers (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010), such as SM Investments Corp. Vice Chairman Teresita Sy Coson, will have a reasonably good year, “provided you control your temper and avoid confrontations that could lead to a fight. You will have to contend with doing more than what is expected. Even if you feel that your team does not work exactly at the same speed as yours, just carry on.

You will need more friends than enemies this year.”

Finances for Horses (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990,

2002, 2014) like San Miguel Corp.

CEO Ramon S. Ang and JG Summit’s Lance Gokongwei will be favorable and smooth this year. “If you own a company, you will be a lot happier, as increase in sales and financial gains are to be expected.”

Their happiness will be even further boosted by the “auspicious influence of the peach blossom stars visiting you this year, more so if you play your cards right.”

Sheep (1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015) like Socioeconmic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia should refocus more on themselves. “There is no need to explore and initiate brand new ventures,” Allen said. “Whatever you have started before has a very stable foundation. You may have to redouble your efforts to achieve whatever goals you wanted.”

Monkeys (1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016) l i k e A b o it i z E q u it y

Ventures CEO Erramon Aboitiz and Megaworld’s Kevin Tan will have an hectic year. But this is good news because that means “possible cash inflows in the form of a windfall.” But they are also advised to “ease off in spending, especially on luxury products....

Instead, refocus your expenses into good investments.”

Boars like BPI President Bong Consing and East-West Bank Vice Chairman Tony Moncupa should get ready for new beginnings. “Time to let go and forget about the anxieties and the mistakes of the past. Everyday is a new day.” While finances will be stable this year, they should “watch out for those spying around your business and trying to steal some of your clients and connections.” Boar years are: 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007.

For more feng shui readings, go to www.maritesallen.com.