Businessmirror february 27, 2018

Incentivizing Integrity

By Jose Solomon B. Cortez

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SUDOWOODO | DREAMSTIME.COM

he result of Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide, gave the Philippines a score of 34 out of 100 and a ranking of 111th out of 180 countries. This indicates a significant decline from the country’s place in the CPI, where it already managed to climb up to its highest notch of 85th out of 175 economies in 2014.

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Tuesday, February 27, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 139

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Department of Tourism (DOT) will be suspending the accreditation of resorts on Boracay Island to further stop the environmental distress of the island due to seawater pollution.

Guimaras still reeling from 2006 oil spill, staying away from dirty fossil fuel for good

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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ishermen on the island-province of Guimaras, known for producing the world’s sweetest mangoes, continue to feel the long-term effect of an oil spill that happened almost 12 years ago.

Gov. Samuel T. Gumarin said the oil spill has taught the people in the province a lesson about dirty fossil fuel like oil. And this prompted them to declare a ban on coal and other dirty energy sources like fuel in Guimaras recently.

The province was severely affected by what is now known as the “Guimaras oil spill” on August 11, 2006, when the oil tanker MT Solar sank off the coast of Guimaras. The oil tanker was carrying more than 2 million liters of bunker fuel. Around 500,000 liters were spilled.

The oil spill affected marine sanctuaries and mangrove forests in three of the five municipalities in Guimaras. It also reached the shores of Iloilo and

Negros Occidental. Guimaras Strait, where the oil spill occurred, connects the Visayan Sea with the Sulu Sea—a rich fishing ground in the Western Visayas Region. Because of the oil spill, fishing activities ceased for about a year.

This writer chanced upon 43-year-old Hermando Gallo of Barangay Ligas in the town of San Lorenzo, along the beach of Aplaya de Paraiso, a resort in San Lorenzo town around 6 p.m. last Friday with his teenage son, Jeck, and another fisherman, pulling out their fish net to the shores.

The method called sahid is common among fishermen to catch fish without going to the open waters onboard their bancas, often for their own consumption and, if lucky to catch more than enough, to sell to the nearby flea market for extra cash.

They were removing only a handful of fish caught from the net: a couple of torsillo and several small reef fishes, visibly small and young ones—their catch for the day.

See “Guimaras,” A12

LIVE YOUR PASSION The first Frederique Constant Geneve Boutique in the Philippines opened on February 26 at The Podium in Mandaluyong City. Showing off their Frederique Constant watches are (from left) Rainier Jacinto, marketing manager of Wizer Industries Inc.; Andrea Reichlin, Swiss ambassador to the Philippines; Williams Besse, international sales director, Frederique Constant; and Ray Jacinto, president, Wizer Industries Inc. NONOY LACZA

PESO exchange rates n US 51.8930

How to avoid Metro Manila’s fate

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Manny B. Villar

THE ENTREPRENEUR

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etro Manila began as Manila, which was already a thriving commercial area before it was established as a city by the Spanish colonizers. Centuries of Spanish rule, followed by the American regime, saw the original city growing and expanding until its current regional status as the National Capital Region (NCR).

The estimated number of resorts and other tourism-related establishments on Boracay Island In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said: “We are imposing a sixmonth moratorium on accrediting

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See “DOT,” A2

Contractualization EO faces delay as DOLE still getting inputs from DTI

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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labor group hit the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday over its alleged attempts to delay the signing of the pending executive order (EO) on contractualization. During its chance meeting on Monday with Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, the Partido Manggagawa (PM) failed to make the DOLE chief “categorically commit” to their version of the EO. Instead, PM Chairman Renato Magtubo said, Bello disclosed he is now in the process of consulting the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on the matter.

“Why would they have to consult the DTI when the President asked for the version of the EO of the labor groups?” Magtubo said in a phone interview.

“We are concerned with this development since it might prolong the process [for the approval of the EO]. This may lead to the approval of its watered-down version,” he added.

PM held a simultaneous demonstration at the DOLE offices in Intramuros in Manila, Calamba in Laguna, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Bacolod and Davao City to call on the government to finally stop widespread contractualization through their proposed EO. It was during the protest in Intramuros where Magtubo and Bello were able to discuss the pending EO. See “Contractualization,” A2

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DOT stops accrediting resorts in Boracay

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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Market demand, competition test strength of PHL’s abaca

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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Part Two

RITER Elizabeth Pot t e r Si e v e r t credited one man for helping revolutionize a Philippine fiber.

There is no substitute for abaca, Sievert quoted Fay Osborne as saying in her book The Story of Abaca: Manila Hemp’s Transformation from Textile to Marine Cordage and Specialty Paper (2009).

Sievert’s narrative revealed Osborne as a technical director of Connecticut, US-based Dexter Corp. She credited Osborne, a scientist, for propelling abaca into the lucrative specialty-paper industry today. She also bared how Osborne discovered how to make specialty papers, as well as teabags, using the fiber from abaca (Musa textilis).

Siever also wrote Dexter Corp., considered the oldest company listed in on the New York Stock Exchange, started to turn abaca fibers, sourced from discarded Manila rope, into handmade papers in 1835.

However, it was only in 1928 when Osborne identified the material used in Manila rope, a type of rope made from abaca, that was ideal for manufacturing paper, she wrote.

Sievert said it took Osborne two years of rejecting other

Different handwoven products made from abaca are on display in a mall in Makati City. Despite a size of farming for abaca of less than 200,000 hectares, the Philippines remains as the world’s top abaca-producing country, accounting for at least 87.5 percent of global output. NONIE REYES

fibers before settling on the abaca as a material for making paper. She wrote that Osborne found other fibers like wood, jute, palm, sisal and bagasse as “too wide.”

Sievert also wrote that Osborne found cotton as long but had the tendency to twist.

She said just few years after the commercialization of Osborne’s abaca paper, the specialty paper saw itself becoming part of the production lines of tea packers making tea bags and Japanese firms producing stencil papers.

Exports

OSBORNE’S accidental discovery—as Sievert wrote—

of turning abaca fiber into a specialty paper had put the Philippines on the global fiber map.

Today, Manila generates an average $100 million from exports of abaca fiber and manufacturers.

Noticeably, the bu lk of this revenue comes from outbound shipments of abaca pulp, the product used in making paper.

“Among the abaca manufactures, pulp continued to lead exports,” the Philippine Fiber Development Authority (PhilFida) said in its newly crafted Philippine Abaca Roadmap (PAR) 2018 to 2022. “Shipments averaged $63.1 million, equivalent

n japan 0.4854 n UK 72.5308 n HK 6.6335 n CHINA 8.1877 n singapore 39.3307 n australia 40.6374 n EU 63.7921 n SAUDI arabia 13.8374

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Source: BSP (26 February 2018 )

A2 Tuesday, February 27, 2018

BMReports BusinessMirror

Market demand, competition test strength of PHL’s abaca Continued from A1

to a 65-percent share of the average export earnings per year.”

The PhilFida said the country’s abaca pulp exports averaged 20,382 metric tons (MT) from 2006 to 2015.

“Europe is the most important destination for Philippine abaca pulp since it is home to a number of specialty paper manufacturers,” said PhilFida, an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture.

The agency added exports of the abaca pulp to Europe averaged 16,454 MT per year, or 80 percent of the total, with 7,420 MT, or 36.4 percent, being absorbed

by Germany.

“The UK was the second-biggest and the fastestgrowing European market for abaca pulp,” it added.

“Exports increased by 1.6 percent yearly as a result of the transfer of the pulp operation of a US-based abaca pulp mill to the UK.” France is, likewise, an important export market for abaca pulp, with imports averaging 1,590 MT per year, or a 7.8-percent share of the total annual average, according to PhilFida.

On the other hand, abaca pulp exports to Asian countries averaged 4,613 MT during the 10-year period, with Japan as the leading destination.

“Japan’s purchases averaged 3,466 MT annually, or 17 percent of the total volume,” the PhilFida said.

“Aside from the Japanese yen, abaca is processed into capacitor paper, insulation paper, tea bag, masking

DA. . .

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PBGEA Executive Director Stephen Antig said he would write a letter to Piñol to request the DA to set up a meeting between his group and the Australian embassy in the Philippines.

However, the DA chief said he has yet to receive the letter from the PBGEA. During a BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum last month, Gorely said Canberra is willing to assist exporters comply with its animal health and plant regulations so they can again access the Australian market.

Gorely added that no Philippine exporter has approached Canberra and has signified interest to ship bananas to Australia.

“The Philippines is the only country in the world for which Australia has agreed [that] bananas could be exported. But for that to happen,

Contractualization. . .

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“We will continue to step up our protest until the next meeting,” Magtubo said.

The PM, along with other labor-group affiliates

tape, stencil paper, filter oil absorbent paper and other specialty paper products,” the PhilFida added.

Meanwhile, abaca pulp imports of the United States, the country’s third biggest market, averaged 1,201 MT or about 5.9 percent of the average export volume during the ten-year period.

Deficit

TODAY, the “long, narrow, cylindrical, yet rigid, fiber” Sievert described has truly become an eye-catcher in the global manufacturing industry.

So attractive that global demand for Abaca, also known as Manila hemp, has grown beyond the production capability of the top-producing country of the fiber: the Philippines. PhilFida Executive Director Kennedy T. Costales believes so, too.

“A month after I joined PhilFida in March 2017, I found out there is already a demand deficit of about 25,000 MT. And later on, [a] company from China is investing a new pulp mill with a capacity of 34,000 MT,” Costales told the BusinessMirror. “So, in total, that’s already 59,000 MT in deficit, which is equivalent to 96,000 hectares.”

Costales said the company, called Bloomfield Shintai Pulp Specialty, is planning to pour in at least $100 million, or about P5 billion, for the establishment of its own abaca plantation and manufacturing plant in the country.

“I asked them, how come that you know there is

already a demand deficit of about 25,000 MT and you will enter the industry and add another 34,000 MT?” he said.

“And they replied: We know who is producing the best abaca in the world, it is just the Philippines. The characteristics of abaca here compared to Ecuador, Costa Rica and Indonesia is far better,” Costales added, quoting executives from Bloomfield Shintai.

Moving forward

THE Philippine Abaca Roadmap indicated local pulp mills had been importing abaca and sisal fiber from Ecuador since 1991 to plug the shortfall in local production.

However, beyond the local demand deficit there lies a bigger threat to the country’s abaca production: the relentless need of the global market for Manila hemp.

“Being a dollar trade, the developments in technology and product innovations happening in the world are realities that the Philippine abaca industry is challenged to meet not only to maintain its global presence, but to also further strengthen its dominant position in the international abaca trade,” the Philippine Abaca Roadmap read.

And Costales wants these issues, particularly the abaca fiber demand deficit at nearly 60,000 MT, to be solved before President Duterte steps down from office.

But how?

To be concluded

the Philippines need to meet some risk-management measures, because Australia has its own banana industry and we have some issues around disease control,” she said. Gorely said Filipino exporters prioritize Asian markets, such as Japan and South Korea, where they have a bigger share, compared to Australia where banana production is sufficient to meet domestic demand.

“If companies come to me and are interested in exporting to Australia, I’m sure we can work with them to meet the SPS,” she said. “No [Philippine] company has done that.” Gorely added there are opportunities for Filipino exporters to ship bananas to Australia. She noted that there were years when Australians were forced to pay more for bananas after plantations in North Queensland were destroyed by cyclones.

Last year Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez urged Canberra to allow the entry of Philippine bananas,

which have been barred from Australia since 1995.

In October 2002 Manila filed a complaint against Australia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for its de facto ban on Philippine bananas. Manila argued that Philippine bananas were no threat to Australian bananas because it does not intend to fill Australia’s entire demand for bananas. To date, the dispute has yet to be resolved.

Piñol also disclosed that the DA is preparing for another round of trade talks between Manila and Seoul, wherein the Philippines is seeking to reduce the tariff imposed by South Korea on imported bananas.

“I received a text from Finance Secretary Dominguez asking us to prepare for an engagement with South Korea, because the President is going to visit South Korea,” he said.

“We are pushing for a free-trade agreement with South Korea to include our agricultural products, such as bananas,” Piñol added.

of the coalition Nagkaisa and militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), will push for the signing of the EO during their next meeting with Duterte on March 15.

“During our meeting [on March] 15, we expect the President to finally sign the EO and not just another dialogue,” Magtubo added.

The labor version of the EO prohibits contractualization except in professions to be determined by the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council.

In his previous meeting with labor groups on February 7, Duterte asked for more time from labor groups so he can review the legality and impact of the proposed EO to the economy.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOT. . .

Continued from A1

accommodations on Boracay, during which resorts and other establishments must acquire and maintain individual water-treatment facilities, and connect to the central sewerage system.”

She said this would help prevent the continued harmful disposal of untreated wastewater into the sea surrounding the island‘s three barangays—Balabag, Manoc-Manoc and Yapak. The central sewerage system is administered by the Boracay Island Water Corp., a company owned by the Makati-based Ayala Group.

Lawyer Helen Catalbas, DOT regional director of Western Visayas, told the BusinessMirror that there are about 41 resorts and hotels on Boracay that are currently accredited with the agency. “The greater majority expired a few months ago and the online accreditation system has been off for several months now.” According to the DOT, there are about 600 resorts and other tourism-related establishments on the island.

Meanwhile, Randy Salvador, general manager of Coast Boracay, noted that the interagency Task Force Boracay “will be more credible” in implementing its work program.

“The implementing initiatives seem to be on the right track specifically in identifying noncompliant establishments not following DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] guidelines, questioning local government units why they allowed this to happen, and setting the six-month timeline to correct all audit findings.” The other members of the task force are the DOT and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

However, Salvador said the President’s comment, calling Boracay a cesspool, “left a bad impression on potential guests.” He added that it was also “unnecessary” to place the island under a state of calamity, as proposed by the DILG. “It’s a problem, that can be addressed by the island’s stakeholders. Declaring a state of calamity will greatly impact livelihood of the community.”

He also wondered what would happen after the six-month deadline is over and urged government agencies and island stakeholders to be “consistent in implementing these programs for the long haul and not because they are in the hot seat at the moment.

This shouldn’t be another example of ningas cogon.” In 2017 there were 2 million visitors in Boracay, of which, half were foreign guests.

Meanwhile, the DOT, in coordination with the DENR and DILG, said it is determined to file the appropriate criminal and administrative charges against establishments and their operators who are responsible for the seawater contamination for violating environmental and tourism laws.

The agency added that while there is no definitive plan to place Boracay under a state of calamity or to close Boracay to international and domestic visitors altogether, it “shares the optimism of well-meaning and law-abiding stakeholder operators that Boracay Island will be completely restored during the six-month period.” The DILG had proposed last week to place Boracay under a state of calamity to allow the national government to take over and implementation its rehabilitation program for the island.

For her part, Catalbas said she has proposed to Teo that her regional office suspend its accreditation campaign among tourism establishments, operators and other facilities on the island “while cleansing efforts led by the DENR are ongoing.” She added that “new applications and applications for renewal of DOT accreditation will be held in abeyance until certificate[s] of environmental law compliance issued by the DENR is/are presented.”

She also recommended that “only environmental lawscompliant DOT-accredited establishments as certified to by the DENR shall recommended for participation in national/international travel fairs, missions or road shows sponsored by the DOT or the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). The TPB is the marketing arm of the tourism department.

On February 5 President Duterte ordered Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año to rehabilitate Boracay in six months, or he will be forced to close the island.

Malacañang said it will still wait for the recommendation of Cimatu on the need to place Boracay under state of calamity for six months and for the island to be closed for 60 days.

The DILG has proposed last week during an interagency meeting with the DOT and DENR to place Boracay under state of calamity to allow government agencies to implement needed infrastructure programs, clean up and dismantle illegal buildings.

DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco V. Densing III also said previously that there is also a proposal to close the island for 60 days.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said in the briefing that “everything is speculative,” pending the submission of Cimatu’s recommendation.

“During the last Cabinet meeting, it was then that the DENR secretary was given 60 days to come up with the recommendations on what to do with Boracay. So we have to wait until the expiration of the 60 days. All these recommendations are coming before expiration of the period given to the DENR secretary to make its recommendation,” Roque noted.

“The decision on whether we are going for proposal A or B has to be done after the 60-day period given by the President to Cimatu,” he added.

Duterte, Roque said, was “emphatic” in the Cabinet meeting to remind the local government units (LGUs) that it was their obligation to safeguard the environment. “The President was emphatic in the Cabinet meeting, to remind the LGUs that they will incur criminal liability for malfeasance and misfeasance for their failure to protect the natural environment in Boracay. He said it, he was very emphatic; although he will wait for the recommendations of Secretary Cimatu.” With Bernadette D. Nicolas

The Nation BusinessMirror

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DOJ investigates charges against Aquino, others in vaccine mess

By Joel R. San Juan

PNP bares Maute Group, ISIS’s shift to ‘lone wolf’ attacks in Mindanao

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@jrsanjuan1573

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

T will take years before any terrorist group can carry out another attack similar to the scale and magnitude of the Marawi siege, but the government is not letting its guard down by acting against the recruitment of the Islamic State and its affiliated groups of new members, National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa said on Monday.

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HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally commenced its investigation into the criminal charges filed against President Benigno S. Aquino III and 19 others in connection with their alleged role in the P3.5-billion anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine mess that has been found to cause health risks to children already injected but w ithout histor y of the disease.

In Office Order 439, Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan Jr. announced the creation of a four-man panel of prosecutors who wou ld conduct preliminary investigation on the complaint filed by anticorruption groups Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. earlier this month.

Catalan designated Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rossane Balauag as chairman of the panel with Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Hazel Decena Valdez and Assistant State Prosecutors Consuelo Corazon Pazziuagan a nd Gi no Paolo Sa nt i a go as members.

The panel is tasked to investigate and determine whether there is probable cause to indict the respondents for multiple homicide and physical injuries, malversation of public funds and violations of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and R A 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act).

Aside from Aquino, other respondents named in the complaint were former Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad; former Health Secretary Janette L. Garin; incumbent Health Undersecretaries Carol Tanio, Gerardo Bayugo, Lilibeth David and Mario Villaverde; former retired undersecretaries Nemesio Gako, Vicente Belizario Jr. and Kenneth Hartigan-Go; assistant secretaries Lyndon Lee Suy and Nestor Santiago; former financial management ser vice director Laureano Cruz; incumbent Department of Health (DOH) directors Joyce Ducusin, May Wynn Belo, Leonila Gorgolon, Rio Magpantay, Ariel ValenciaandJuliusLecciones;and Garin’sformerexecutiveassistant Yolanda Oliveros.

Also in the charge sheet were the senior executives of Sanofi Pasteur, the developer and manufacturer of Dengvaxia; and Selling Pharma, the DOH’s supplier of the vaccine.

The groups said they filed the complaint based on the testimonies of the resources persons invited to shed light on the issue by the House Committee on Health and the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation (Blue Ribbon) joint with other concerned committees, which substantiated their claim that the respondents were “directly and proximately” responsible for the Dengvaxia vaccine mess.

They said Aquino and the other respondents should be held responsible for “ill-advisedly, thoughtlessly and imprudently” implementing the anti-dengue vaccination program.

They said the purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccine was approved

by Aquino and Abad even if the program had no allocation in the 2016 national budget.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, February 27, 2018 A3

cavity nemesis

These three kids and 300 other children affirm their promise to brush regularly for healthy teeth at the launch of the Colgate Philippine Anti-Cavity Campaign in Caloocan City in partnership with the Department of Education and local government units.

This yearlong initiative is one of the biggest grassroots programs of the toothpaste maker to date, as it aims for better oral health and hygiene for Filipino children and strive to provide Filipino families across the country more reasons to smile. NONIE REYES

NBI starts probe, case buildup vs recruiter in Demafelis case

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USTICE Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II on Monday directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct an investigation to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against the local recruitment agency of overseas Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found inside a freezer at an abandoned apartment in Kuwait City early this month.

“TheNBI,throughDirectorDante, Gierran is hereby directed and granted authority to conduct investigation and case buildup the possible liabilities of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc. in relation to the death of

overseas Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis and, if evidence so warrants, to file appropriate cases thereon,” Aguirre said in his Department Order 102.

Aguirre also directed NBI Director Dante Gierran to furnish his office with its activities related to the implementation of his directive.

Earlier, President Duterte directed the NBI to look for the local recruiters of Demafelis following the arrest of her employers, Nader Essa m A ssa f a nd h is Sy r i a n wife, Mona Hassoun, by Syrian authorities.

The two are now considered suspects for the death of the 29-

year overseas Filipino worker.

Demafelis was recruited by Mt. Carmel, which was shut down in 2016.

T h e f o r e i g n r e c r u it m e nt agency of Demafelis listed as Fadilah Farz K aued A l Khodor Recruitment Office is currently under the watch list of the Philippine Overseas Employment Ad ministrat ion because of a pending case. Demafelis’s family said they went to the recruitment agency who sent her to Kuwait after they lost contact with her in 2016, only find out that it had been shut down due to recruitment violations.

Joel R. San Juan

The PNP chief was reacting to the arrest of Juromee Dongon, widow of the late Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan, who was apprehended last Sunday in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, on charges that she had been recruiting members for the terrorist group.

“It will take some time. Largescale attacks like Marawi will take months or years in the making before it can be carried out,” dela Rosa said, but added the PNP is taking measures so that it could be prevented.

“What we are only guarding now is the threat coming from the remaining members of the Maute-ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria], those pocket attacks, lone-wolf attacks, because they can be easily carried out,” he said.

Reports said earlier that another attack, possibly in the likes of Marawi, may happen again in Mindanao, but dela Rosa doused off such reports, saying the PNP is doing everything it can in order so that the rebellion that flattened Marawi

It [intelligence validation] will be replicated in other key cities in Mindanao in order to ensure that there will be no repeat of the Marawi siege in Mindanao.”—dela Rosa

C.A. affirms bail for 16 cops linked to 2009 Maguindanao massacre

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HE Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the plea of government prosecutors to nullify its earlier decision upholding the grant of bail by the lower court to 16 policemen who were among the 198 accused in the 2009 massacre of 58 people, including 32 journalists in Maguindanao.

In a three-page decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, the CA’s Former Tenth Division held that government prosecutors failed to raise new grounds and arguments that would warrant the reversal of its decision issued on July 28, 2017.

The appellate court, in the said ruling, affirmed the order issued

by Regional Trial Court Branch 221 in Quezon City presiding judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes on October 13, 2014, which granted the petition for bail filed by the 16 accused police officers who are members of the 1508th Provincial Mobile Group (PMG).

Granted bail were PO1 Heirich Amaba, PO3 Rasid Anton,

PO3 Felix Enate, PO1 Esprielito Lejarso, PO1 Narkouk Mascud, SPO1 Eduardo Hong, PO2 Saudi Pasuta, PO1 Arnulfo Soriano, PO1 Pia Kamidon, PO3 Abibudin Abdulgani, PO2 Hamad Nana, PO1 Esmael Guilal, SPO1 Oscar Donato, PO1 Abdullah Baguadatu, PO2 Saudiar Ulah and P/Insp. Michael Joy Macaraeg.

Judge Reyes, in granting their bail applications, noted that none of the testimonies or exhibits presented by the prosecution had particularly linked and identified the police officers to the relevant times and places surrounding the alleged killing of the victims.

“After a careful calibration of the parties’ perspective arguments, the Court is convinced that no new and legitimate ground was raised to reverse or set aside the Court’s earlier finding,” the CA said.

It noted t he a rg u ments raised in the motion for reconsideration filed by gover nment prosecutors are not dif-

ferent from what they raised i n t hei r pre v iou s plead i ngs, which have a lready been du ly con sidere d i n it s Ju ly 2017 decision.

“Be that as it may, the Court has once given petitioner’s submissions a thorough and objective review but, even on second hard look, no cogent reason surfaces to warrant the reconsiderat ion sought,” t he CA said.

“As it is, the arguments advanced in support of the motion are not compelling or persuasive enough to impel the Court to justify petitioner’s desired course of action or to warrant a possible reversal or setting aside of the Court’s decision,” it added.

In seeking the reversal of the CA’s decision, government prosecutors held that the trial court judge committed grave abuse of discretion and acted in excess of jurisdiction in granting the petition for bail of the accused.

It noted the judge limited her-

self to the testimonies of only 13 out of the 35 prosecution witnesses and disregarded other undisputed and material facts, which would warrant the dismissal of the bail petition.

The prosecution insisted that it presented strong evidence sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused in the Maguindanao massacre.

However, the CA did not give weighttotheclaimoftheprosecution that the link or the actual role of the said policemen to the crime was shown by their act of manning the checkpoints without which the victims would not have been stopped in their convoy that led to their murdered.

The prosecution insisted that accused were part of the “armed men” refer red to by w it ness Norodin Mauyag as the same police officers who were members of the 1508th PMG and were stationed at the Malating checkpoint when the incident happened. Joel R. San Juan

Pricier gas, diesel and kerosene on Tuesday

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il firms on Monday announced that they will implement a price hike on petroleum products, citing movements in the international oil market.

Eastern Petroleum, PTT Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum, will increase gasoline prices P0.65 per liter and diesel by P0.85 per liter.

They will implement their re-

spective price adjustments at 6 a.m. of February 27.

Seaoil will also implement the same price adjustment. It will also hike kerosene by P1.15 per liter.

City in Lanao del Norte will not be repeated anywhere else in the region.

“Our intelligence is validating that… well, all the major key cities in Mindanao are candidates to become Marawi Part 2, that is why our director for operations is in Davao doing the signing for the security and defense of the city,” the PNP chief said.

“It [intelligence validation] will be replicated in other key cities in Mindanao in order to ensure that there will be no repeat of the Marawi siege in Mindanao,” he added.

Dela Rosa confirmed reports about the recruitment of terrorist members in Lanao provinces, and this is what the government is already addressing.

“They were recruiting for them to have forces and, when they already have enough forces for them to mount another siege, then they could possibly do a Marawi Part 2,” he said.

“So we should address that; that they could not recruit forces,” he added.

Other oil firms are expected to follow suit. Prior to this week’s oil price hike, oil firms implemented price reduction for two consecutive weeks. Lenie Lectura

BI set to deport SoKor fugitive in call-center fraud

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HE Bureau of Immig ration (BI) on Monday announced that it would be deporting a South Korean fugitive being sought by authorities in Seoul to face prosecution for his alleged involvement in a multimillion dollar telephone fraud scheme.

The 35-year-old Jung Hyo-jin, according to the BI, fled to the Philippines three years ago after victimizing many of his compatriots.

He was arrested last Thursday in Malate, Manila, by operatives from the bureau’s fugitive search unit and has been detained at the immigration facility in Bicutan, Taguig.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said Jung, who is the subject of an Interpol red notice, was issued three arrest warrants by the Seoul central district court, where he was indicted for organizing a fraud syndicate, an offense that carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

“Like all the other wanted foreign criminals that we caught after hiding here to avoid prosecution, he [Jung], too, will be deported to face trial in his homeland and receive punishment for his crimes,” Morente said.

“His presence here poses a threat to public safety and security,” he added Joel R. San Juan

Economy

A4 Tuesday, February 27, 2018 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

DOH chief cites ‘implications’ of Dengvaxia vaccine probe

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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@joveemarie

he Department of Health (DOH) on Monday appealed to lawmakers and former government officials to stop the blame game and finger pointing on the heat of the Dengvaxia vaccine congressional investigation.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, citing the implications of the issue to other vaccination programs of the government, told lawmakers during a hearing on Monday of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and House Committee on Health that the prolonged congressional investigation is now affecting the implementation of the government’s other immunization programs.

“We have to be mindful of the implications of a very prolonged investigation on this. Let’s not add to the confusion and the divide. No issue has divided the public as much as Dengvaxia,” Duque said.

Duque earlier admitted the unnecessary panic over the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine. With this, he said the DOH recorded a substantial decline of children getting vaccinated as more parents are refusing to avail themselves of the government’s various vaccination programs following the Dengvaxia controversy.

Vaccine fright

A consumer-commuter group, meanwhile, called on Filipino parents to exercise caution and circumspection before believing in claims made by some so-called “medical experts” who did no research about the Dengvaxia vaccine.

In a news statement, the Consumer-Commuter Association of the Philippines (CCAP) also urged parents not to lose faith in the public vaccination program of the DOH. By not sending their children to public health centers, parents lose the chance of protecting their kids from diseases more lethal than dengue.

CCAP coconvener Bency Ellorin says the group is concerned about the decreasing numbers of Filipino parents subjecting their children to vaccination. CCAP believes

that an outbreak of other diseases, such as measles, is possible if parents continue to refuse appeals by health workers to subject their children to vaccination.

In January Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio declared a measles outbreak following the deaths of four children and about 200 people reported suffering from measles symptoms. A month later, on February 9, Zamboanga City mayor Maria Isabelle ClimacoSalazar declared a measles outbreak after she noted a 1,343-percent increase of measles cases involving kids in the city.

The Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit of DOH Region 11 has recorded 317 cases of measles outbreak only for the month of January. CCAP learned from an officer of the Davao health office that the outbreak was a direct cause of the Dengvaxia scare. “ Parents are now deathly afraid of subjecting their kids to vaccination.

Our CCAP members blame these socalled ‘health experts’ who claim to have knowledge about dengue when they are actually experts of other diseases,” Ellorin said.

Face charges

Rep. Lito L. Atienza of Buhay Party-list said it is better to let the courts hear the Dengvaxia case involving former president Aquino and other officials.

“We are here to pinpoint responsibility and accountability of public officials. But, based on the statements being issued by the officials involved, it is clear that this is going nowhere,” he said.

“Rather than spend time in this hearing, let us listen to them answer the charges in court,” Atienza added.

He said there was “clear conspiracy” during the Aquino administration in the procurement of the Dengvaxia vaccines made by French pharma-

ceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur.

“They did not really act according to what is best for Filipinos,” he added.

Also, Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate of Bayan Muna said all those accountable for the multibillion Dengvaxia mess should already be charged by now.

“Charges should be filed starting with former President [Benigno S.] Aquino [III] and his cabal of officials who rushed the mass vaccinations of mostly poor children. But it should not stop there. Charges should also be filed against the officials of the present Duterte administration who continued the Dengvaxia program despite questions already raised by health professionals and advocates. This lack of concern and prudence also caused the mass vaccination of many more children even under the present administration,” Zarate said.

“The people’s confusion, anger and anxiety mount each day that no public official or company was charged that involved public officials and Sanofi Pasteur are not accepting any accountability, and that no indemnification were being received by the families of vaccinated children,” he added.

Aquino, meanwhile, said the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy should be left to medical experts alone.

During the hearing, Aquino expressed doubts on “forensic experts” talking on Dengvaxia issue, claiming the dengue vaccine caused the death of children.

The former president said there’s a need to address the increasing number dengue cases in the country, which increased from 5,166 cases in 1995 to 200,415 cases in 2015.

Aquino also cited the claims of the Philippine General Hospital that dengue infection is not due to Dengvaxia, but because of mosquito bite.

“They [medical experts] released a full page ad [that] said, ‘we urge our colleagues in the medical profession to consider the greater good in all their statements and actions and to

refrain from making premature conclusions based on insufficient data.

We urge those who have documentary evidence that can truly shed light on the current controversy to please come forth with the truth. And we beg our legislators to be open to hearing both sides,’” he said.

In the same hearing, health expert Dr. Anthony Leachon accused Sanofi Pasteur of hiding safety issues on Dengvaxia vaccines.

According to Leachon, Sanofi concealed the adverse effects of the vaccine to individuals who have not been previously infected with dengue.

“You have here a problem of concealment of data, particularly of safety. This is a great sin to the Filipino nation considering that this was a program of the government,” he added.

Leachon said the certificate of product registration for Dengvaxia is for prescription basis only and not for mass vaccination.

“There was hasty mass vaccination based on the FEC [Formulary Executive Council]. You have here a classic regulatory capture in which the companies would influence the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] and FEC,” Leachon said.

FDA Director General Nela Charade Puno has also admitted that the agency has found that Sanofi was given accommodation despite noncompliance with FDA standards.

The Philippines became the first country in the world to launch in April 2016 a public inoculation program against dengue using Dengvaxia.

But, 19 months after the program’s launch, Sanofi released the adverse findings of its long-term follow-up study, which showed that children who never had dengue but who were given Dengvaxia shots had an increased risk of a severe case and hospitalization from the third year after immunization.

The DOH had since halted the anti-dengue immunization drive, after Sanofi conceded that the shots could worsen symptoms for vaccinated children who contracted the disease for the first time.

We have to be mindful of the implications of a very prolonged investigation on this. Let’s not add to the confusion and the divide. No issue has divided the public as much as Dengvaxia.”­—Duque

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DTI flaunts 99.38% resolution rate of consumer grievance

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

T

he trade department had almost resolved all complaints it received last year, reporting a 99.38-percent resolution rate on grievances filed by consumers.

In a recent news statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said a total of 7,847 consumer complaints across the country were sent to the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) in the previous year.

At least 21 percent of these complaints were endorsed for action to other government agencies and to other DTI attached offices.

“The augmented efforts of the mediation and adjudication teams of the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau resulted to the prompt redress of consumer complaints. For 2017, the DTI achieved a resolution rate of 99.38 percent on consumer complaints filed to the FTEB,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.

Under the Department Administrative Order 13-02, Series of 2013, the DTI is mandated to respond expeditiously to consumer complaints.

The order states that resolution of grievances should not lapse beyond 10 working days by mediation and 20

working days by adjudication.

The DTI reported that 2,805 of the complaints were processed and resolved through mediation within 10 working days. At the same time, the trade department also elevated 235 of the grievances for adjudication, wherein 226 of the 228 arbitrated cases were concluded within 20 working days.

At the same time, the DTI disclosed there were 1,513 complaints that were dismissed because of inadequate information provided by the filing consumers. At least 1,624 of the grievances were also archived by the agency due to the respondents’ disinterest and indetermination to pursue their complaints.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo claimed consumers are satisfied with the speed the DTI responded to their complaints last year. “In parallel to resolving received complaints, the DTI received a client satisfactory feedback of 88.91 percent,” she said.

For his part, Lopez told consumers to be well informed of their rights and to immediately tap the DTI should their be a violation committed against them.

“The department encourages consumers to report violations against their right to be compensated for sales misinterpretation, shoddy goods and unsatisfactory services,” Lopez said.

TRB eyes staggered Nlex toll-rate hike

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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ECAUSE the effect of a one-time implementation of the delayed tariff adjustment on the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) would be too huge for motorists to bear, the toll regulator has proposed to increase the toll rates on the thoroughfare on a staggered basis.

Albert Suansing, spokesman for the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), said his group has proposed to spread the toll hike on the expressway over the course of two years, as this could cushion the effect of the huge adjustment on tariff paid by motorists using the thoroughfare.

“We already have a recommendation, but then of course, we have to bring that to the board.

What we are looking at is a gradual increase—for two years—so the effect will be cushioned, but nothing is final yet,” he said in a chance interview.

The toll regulator has not acted on the company’s three petitions for the rate increase for the Nlex, one filed in 2013, another in 2015 and one this year. Accumulated, the increase would account to a 21-percent adjustment over the course of seven years. The concession that the Manuel V. Pangilinan-controlled company allows for toll adjustments every two years.

Current toll fees on the thoroughfare (from Mindanao Avenue to Santa Ines) amount to P218 for Class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks andvans);P544forClass2vehicles(two-axletrucks, busesandvans);andP652forClass3vehicles(trucks and trailers with three or more axles).

This has led to the government facing an ar-

bitration case of over P7.5 billion due to the foregone revenues of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. The amount continues to increase as long as the petitions for rate increase have not been acted upon.

Nlex Corp. sought in April 2016 the intervention of an arbitration court for the settlement of the foregone toll revenues due to the government’s inaction to petitions for adjustments of the expressway operator.

Suansing noted that while the regulatory body is keen on acting upon the “sensitive political issue,” the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority are “wary” about the rate adjustments.

“We have meetings with the solicitor general for the arbitration and toll fee increases,” he said.

Nlex Corp. President Rodrigo E. Franco said his group has yet to receive a formal proposal for the implementation of the tariff adjustments. He added his group may be forced to defer some of its unsolicited proposals due to the foregone revenues of the company from the tariff-adjustment delays.

“It’s difficult to make additional investments if we do not have clarity on what is happening on the toll-rate adjustment petitions,” he said in a spot interview. “If the situation continues to not be resolved, then obviously, we will be forced to at least slow down on the projects that have not yet started.”

The group has proposed to build a 9.8-kilometer, four-lane thoroughfare that will connect the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway to Rosario and Sangley Point in Cavite. It also offered to build a link road between C-5 and Nlex.

Ban on HSW direct hires to Malaysia stays–POEA

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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Risky stroll A pedestrian walks past a construction site, oblivious of a warning sign on the danger of falling materials. Alysa Salen

@sam_medenilla

he Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said directly hired Filipino household service workers (HSW) are still banned from being deployed to Malaysia despite a new regulation of the Malaysian government relaxing its recruitment policy for migrant HSWs. The agency issued the clarification after the Malaysian government earlier announced it will now allow employers to hire HSWs from nine countries, including Philippines, without going through recruitment agencies.

In an advisory, POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said the direct recruitment for Filipino HSWs and other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) abroad is still generally considered illegal under their existing regulations except for certain cases.

“Direct hiring of domestic workers bound for Malaysia shall not be allowed except for employers who are members of the diplomatic corps, international organization and heads of states and government officials with the rank of at least deputy minister,” Olalia said in POEA Advisory 10.

The POEA requires aspiring OFWs to go

through licenses recruitment agencies in seeking employment abroad to ensure their protection.

In an event OFWs are abused by their employers, their recruitment agencies could be easily held accountable by the POEA through its regulatory powers.

The POEA reminded aspiring Filipino HSWs, who would attempt to avail themselves of Malaysia’s relaxed policy for direct hires by leaving the country as tourists, would still have time securing work.

“The Philippine Overseas Labor Offices [Polo] in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia shall not issue the overseas employment certificate [OEC] to Filipinos who have exited the Philippines as tourists and now working in Malaysia,” Olalia said.

An OEC is a mandatory document issued by the POEA or the Polos to OFWs before they could work abroad.

To avoid such complications, Olalia said applicants seeking employment in Malaysia go through the legal process of having their employment contract processed by the POEA. According to the POEA, Malaysia remains one of the top 10 destinations for Filipino HSWs. In 2016 over 7,500 newly hired HSWs were deployed there.

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Excise tax collections up 81.69% to P22.078 billion in January–BIR

By Rea Cu

E

@ReaCuBM

xcise tax collections in January went up 81.69 percent to P22.078 billion against the P12.15 billion recorded in the same month last year, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

According to the BIR, the excise tax collection for the month was 7.7 percent higher compared to the agency’s goal of P20.501 billion.

I nter n a l R e venue Com m i ssioner Caesar R. Dulay said the bureau has collected P12.139-billion excise taxes from tobacco firms, exceeding by 52.8 percent the agency’s target of P7.944 billion for the month. This was mentioned during a recent executive committee meeting of the Department of Finance.

He added that total tobacco excise tax collections in January was P5.942 billion higher than the tax take of P6.196 billion in the same period last year.

Excise tax collections from automobiles reached P443.34 million, or 29.42 percent higher than the BIR’s P342.561-million target for the month. This is 113 percent higher than last year’s collections of P208.010 million.

Meanwhile, tax collections from sugarsweetened beverages amounted to P2.5 billion in January.

Of this amount, collections from CocaCola Femsa Philippines Inc. amounted to P1.186 billion; followed by Pepsi Cola Philippines Inc., P666 million; ARC Refreshments Corp., P293.015 million; Nestlé Philippines Inc., P143.5 million; Inter Beverages Philippines, P112 million; Asia

Brewery Inc., P18 million; Liwayway Marketing, P16.049 million; SMB Inc. P10.726 million; and Zesto Corp., P7 million.

Earlier, the BIR said local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp. has paid P4 billion more in monthly taxes since global firm Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI) took over its operations in 2017.

Data showed that compared to the same period in the previous year, cigarettes bearing the brands sold by Mighty Corp. yielded roughly P4 billion more in monthly excise taxes over the September to December 2017 period, or when JTI fully took over the operations of the company.

Dulay said this increase in excise tax payments on Mighty Corp. brands totaling P20.22 billion from September to December 2017 represented a 262-percent improvement or P14.65 billion more from the collection of P5.57 billion for the same period in 2016, when Mighty Corp. was still controlled by its previous owners.

“What stands out here is the Mighty-JTI improvement in collections, representing 262-percent improvement from September to December,” Dulay said.

Editor: Jun B. Vallecera • Tuesday, February 27, 2018

A5

Govt rejects all bids in Treasury bills auction

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he Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has rejected all bids in its Treasury bills (T-bills) auction on Monday with P20 billion on offer, on the back of anticipation for rate hikes from the Federal Reserve System (the Fed).

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the auction committee saw spikes in bids for the government security that were deemed unreasonable.

The high bid rates for the set of T-bills on auction reportedly stemmed from expectations of a Fed rate hike this year.

“In terms of the increase, it’s not reasonable to have such very big spikes in the bids that were offered today. Of course, understandably, because of the imminent Fed rate hikes and coming out with very hawkish statements of the Fed governor of late, and also for the January Fed minutes,” de Leon told financial reporters.

For the 91-day tenor, had the BTr accepted all P9 billion on offer, an annual average rate of 2.98 percent would have been accepted for the IOUs, representing an increase of 31.9 basis points from the previous

auction’s 2.67 percent.

The auction committee rejected tenders for the security amounting to P13.328 billion.

“We are also comparing this with our own expectations and it’s far beyond what we would have inputed in anticipation of today’s auction for all tenors,” she added.

The 182-day tenor received bids amounting to P3.810 billion, which was undersubscribed compared to the P6 billion on offer. Had the BTr accepted all bids, an annual average rate of 3.26 percent would have been set for the security, which is 41.1 basis points higher than the previous auction’s 2.85-percent rate.

For the 364-day tenor, bids only amounted to P4.190 billion from the P5 billion on offer. If the BTr auction committee had accepted the bids, an annual average rate of 3.42 percent would have been set for the security, increasing by 38.8 basis points from the previous auction’s 3.04 percent.

“Hopefully, once all these speculations fizzle out in March because of the Fed and the policy rate meetings, then everything would come down,” de Leon said. Rea Cu

PSBank income up 8.3% to P2.7B in 2017 BDO marks 2017 as most profitable year so far

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

P

hilippine Savings Bank (PSBank) reported positive growth figures to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, as the thrift bank’s profitability got buoyed by demand in auto and mortgage loans, as well as small-scale business loans in 2017.

In a disclosure, the thrift-banking arm of the Metrobank Group said its net income grew 8.3 percent in 2017 to P2.7 billion.

This is about P200 million higher than the P2.5 billion recorded in 2016.

PSBank attributed its growth to strong core revenues composed of net interest income and fee-based income as main drivers of the increase in profits for the year. Both net interest income and feebased income expanded at double-digit pace during the year, at 14.6 percent for net interest income and 19.9 percent for fee-based income.

In terms of loan portfolio, PSBank

L

reported a double-digit growth of 13.3 percent against last year’s figures. This year the thrift bank’s total loan portfolio stood at P146.3 billion, up from the previous year’s P129.2 billion.

The bank identified auto loans and mortgage loans as the main contributors for growth in its consumer-lending segment, while higher demand for small and medium enterprise loans pushed the growth for commercial lending.

The bank’s total assets also went up 13.4 percent to P223.3 billion, with total equity up 11.8 percent to P22.4 billion.

Broken down, PSBank’s tier 1 ratio stood at 11.1 percent, while its capital adequacy ratio stood at 13.9 percent—both passing the minimum requirement set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The bank also proved prudent, keeping nonperforming loans at a 1.2-percent ratio.

Deposits also increased 19.3 percent to P188.9 billion from P158.4 billion in 2016.

The bank said new reforms in its system—such as its Cardless Withdrawal i n novat ion a nd redesig ned mobi le application—make for a good outlook for the bank’s performance for 2018.

BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla gets no respite on rate-hike push

ocal banking giant BDO Unibank Inc. continued to rake in profits in 2017, reporting an all-time high net income due to double-digit growth pace across all business segments In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, BDO announced a net income of P28.1 billion in 2017, marking a 7-percent rise from 2016 level. This is the bank’s highest annual net profit in its history.

BDO reported strong performances across the board, saying sustained expansion in lending, deposit-taking and fee-based business all drove the bank’s stellar performance for 2017.

In particular, consumer loans rose 18 percent to P1.8 trillion during the year, while total deposits was up 11 percent to hit P2.1 trillion.

The increase in deposits was mainly seen in the low-cost segment, growing 12 percent for the year. This segment accounts for 73 percent of total deposits.

Overall, the bank’s net interest income was up 25 percent to hit P81.8 billion for the year.

Its noninterest income, meanwhile, reached P47.2 billion, up 13 percent

from 2016. Fee-based income accounted for most of this segment at P28.9 billion—posting a 20-percent expansion from 2016.

Insurance premiums were also up 23 percent to P9.9 billion for the year.

BDO’s noninterest income could have been higher, the bank said, if not for the 20 percent decline in trading and foreign exchange gains. The bank attributed the decline to “challenging market conditions.”

The bank’s capital base stood at P298.3 billion in 2017, with its capital adequacy ratio at 14.5 percent and common equity tier 1 ratio at 12.9 percent. Both are within regulatory standards set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Its nonperforming loans ratio also went down to 1.2 percent, from 1.3 percent in 2016.

For this year, the bank said its growth strategy, robust business franchise and solid balance sheet will deem it well-positioned to enter opportunities in specific sectors, such as those involving the country’s favorable demographics and higher infrastructure buildup. Bianca Cuaresma

By Clarissa Batino & Siegfrid Alegado | Bloomberg

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angko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr’s admission that he’s recovering from cancer hasn’t stopped investors from pushing for more action on monetary policy.

Espenilla said he was diagnosed with “very early stage” tongue cancer last November, but has since had the tumor removed and successful radiation treatment, in written remarks to reporters last Sunday. The governor also said the Central Bank can adjust monetary policy without lifting interest rates, while stressing the decision to cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio wasn’t an easing of policy and won’t fuel price pressures.

“If he’s really cancer-free now, then it won’t cause jitters in the market anymore,” said Michael Gerard Enriquez, chief investment officer at Sun Life of Canada Philippines Inc. in Manila. “What is more alarming is the direction of the policy rates. Given a higher inflation rate, I believe we will be behind the curve if they don’t raise rates next month.”

Espenilla said last Sunday that the Central Bank can adjust the policy stance “more subtly without necessarily changing” the benchmark rate. This can be done “by allowing term-deposit facility rates to rise—or fall—by altering auction volumes,” he added, referring to the weekly tenders where the Central Bank accepts short-term deposits.

The governor only last week said a rate hike remains on the table if the inflation target is

Espenilla threatened, with most economists forecasting an increase on March 22, when the Central Bank holds its next policy meeting.

Espenilla has taken a cautious approach to monetary policy tightening, keeping the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3 percent earlier this month even as he forecast inflation will exceed the 4-percent upper limit of the inflation target this year.

While there could be some “short-term anxiety” on the governor’s health, his transparency should address some of the speculation in the market about his condition, said Deanno Basas, president and managing director of Atram Trust Corp. in Manila.

“It’s true that the BSP has many more tools in its chest now. However, a rate move is still the clearest signal to the market,” Basas said.

“In my personal view, a rate hike—even a token one—will help assuage fears of BSP being behind the curve and help anchor inflation expectations. This also will help in their control of the volatility in the currency.”

Espenilla also said last Sunday the Central Bank is selling dollars from its reserves to ward off currency speculators. The Philippine peso is the second-worst performing currency among emerging markets so far this year, next to Argentina’s, and this month traded at the lowest since July 2006.

“Though the FX reserves are still more than enough, interest-rate policy is also a useful tool, especially if it’s consistent with inflation management,” Basas said.

The local currency rose 0.2 percent in early trading on Monday.

Case clippings

By Justice S J Ranada Jr. LAWYERS–imputation of ill-motives to a judge Where a lawyer consistently attributes unsupported imputations in his pleadings against the presiding judge, such as antedating of an order, being in cahoots and having deplorable close ties with the adverse counsels, which are bare allegations unsupported by any piece of evidence, said lawyer shall be ordered suspended from the practice of law for two years, for his failure to uphold the dignity and authority of the court.

Alpajora v. Calayan 10 Jan. 2018

AC 8208 Gesmundo, J

A4 Tuesday, February 27, 2018 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion A6

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

World’s highest-paid expats going to India

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O East, expatriates looking to make the big bucks. Mumbai, India’s financial, commercial and entertainment capital, tops global rankings for expat salaries, according to a survey conducted by HSBC Bank International Ltd. Foreigners moving to the subcontinent’s most populous city reported average annual earnings of $217,165.

That’s more than double the global expat average of $99,903, the HSBC Expat survey shows.

Other Asian cities joining Mumbai in the top 10 expat salary rankings were Shanghai, Jakarta and Hong Kong.

While expats in Asia were generally well compensated financially, all—including Mumbai, the megacity home to more than 18 million people—ranked lower in expat job opportunities than United Kingdom

$217,165 The average annual earnings of foreigners in Mumbai

and United States destinations such as London, San Francisco, New York or even Birmingham, according to HSBC. “The financial and technology hubs of the US and UK are the most attractive for ambitious expats eager to push their career to the next level,” said Dean

Cash-strapped Venezuela faces eviction from Miami consulate

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OGOTA, Colombia—Venezuela’s cash-strapped government faces eviction from a Miami building it once owned after its consulate failed to pay rent since August.

The notice demanding the consulate vacate the building in the ritzy Brickell neighborhood was filed on February 15 in a MiamiDade county court. The landlord, a developer behind Miami’s tallest high-rise, the still being built Panorama Tower, said Venezuela owes $142,119 in unpaid rent.

The potential eviction is a major reversal for Venezuela’s government, which owned the building until 2005, when it sold it for $70 million.

“The fact Venezuela can’t come up with such a small amount of cash tells you what dire straits they’re in,” said Russ Dallen, a Miami-based investor specializing in Venezuelan bonds who discovered the eviction notice last Thursday.

The government’s consulate occupied a single floor in the building until the late Hugo Chavez closed its doors in 2012 amid a diplomatic dispute with the United States.

The move left the large exile community in south Florida with no other option but to trek to New Orleans to cast ballots in that year’s tight presidential election.

Even though it has remained closed, the government kept paying the almost $21,000 monthly rent on the property until August.

The real-estate reckoning isn’t limited to Miami.

Late last year, Venezuelan embassies around the world were ordered to tighten belts and renegotiate leases, according to a leaked foreign ministry memo obtained

by The Associated Press.

Diplomats in several countries privately complain of not being paid for months.

In one well-publicized incident last year a landlord parked a bobcat truck in front of Venezuela’s embassy in Australia to block diplomats from entering the building until he was paid. A Venezuelan cross country skier reacted angrily by punching the elderly owner in the face, saying he was defending his country’s sovereignty.

But the turmoil at the consulate in Miami, home to the largest community of Venezuelan migrants in the US, comes at an especially inopportune time, with another key presidential election looming.

On February 14 the deadline given by landlord TWJ 1100 for turning over the property, President Nicolas Maduro made the shock announcement that the diplomatic mission would be reopened to facilitate voting in the April 22 contest.

Opposition activists saw it as a desperate move to deflect attention from his decision to call a snap election in the face of international condemnation that voting would be rigged.

The majority of Venezuelans in south Florida arrived there fleeing Venezuela’s economic turmoil and oppose Maduro. AP

Residential housing in Lodha Group’s Palava City, as middle-class dreams fuel India’s $1.3-trillion housing boom

Bloomberg

Blackburn, who heads HSBC Expat.

Dublin, a tech center in Europe, also ranked in the top 5 for expat job opportunities, but was below the global average in expat salaries.

Nonetheless, 61 percent of expats in the capital of the Republic of Ireland reported an improved work-life balance.

Switzerland, the nation that has previously topped country rankings for expat salaries, had two cities in the top 5.

Zurich, home to banks, including Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG and a tech hub for firms, including Alphabet Inc., reported the third-highest expat salaries, while Geneva, the base for some of the world’s biggest commodities traders, including Trafigura Group and Mercuria Energy Group, was fifth.

Despite Switzerland’s notorious living costs, the country’s high salaries and low personal-tax rates saw 77 percent of expats in Zurich report that their disposable income had increased since moving.

In fact, over half of Zurich expats reported that they are living in a better dwelling than they did at home even with the Swiss city’s expensive rental and property markets. Bloomberg News

Violence drops in Syrian after UN vote B EIRUT—Despite a drop in intensity, shelling and bombardment in the Syrian capital and its embattled eastern suburbs killed at least six people last Sunday following the United Nations Security Council‘s unanimous approval of a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, opposition activists and residents of Damascus said.

Attacks on residential areas appear to have shifted to strikes on front lines, where some of the most intense fighting took place throughout the day between government forces and their allies against insurgents.

State media said that troops pushed into the eastern suburbs, reports that the opposition denied.

Opposition activists reported clashes on the southern edge of the rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two air strikes late last Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted.

During the day last Sunday, more shelling and air strikes were reported in eastern Ghouta and Damascus.

The drop in violence came after a week of intense air strikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the governmentheld Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

“This has been the calmest night since last Sunday,” said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on February 19. He added that clashes between

Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution demanding a 30-day humanitarian cease-fire across Syria on February 24 at the United Nations headquarters. The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria “without delay” to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded. AP/Craig Ruttle

troops and rebels last Sunday were the most intense this month.

Syrian state TV said the army captured several buildings in the rebelheld suburb of Harasta and pushed into several other areas on eastern Ghouta that is besieged by government forces from all sides. It also said that troops captured the small towns of Nashabiyeh, Hazrama and Housh al-Salihiyah on the southeastern edge of eastern Ghouta.

The Ghouta Media Center, an

activist collective, said members of the Army of Islam insurgent group repelled the Syrian army’s attacks on several fronts adding that many soldiers were killed.

The push by the army, although still limited, appears to be similar to steps taken in rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo that government forces captured one after another until rebels eventually agreed to leave the city in December 2016,

marking President Bashar alAssad’s biggest victory since the conflict began in 2011.

“The Assad regime and his allies have shown no respect to the Security Council by launching their most intense offensive on Ghouta from several directions hours after the resolution was adopted,” said Ghouta-based activist Ahmad Khanshour. He added government forces “did not succeed in advancing 1 meter.” AP

Nigerian government: 110 girls still missing US Congress has no consensus on gun violence

M

AIDUGURI, Nigeria—Nigeria’s government acknowledged last Sunday that 110 girls remain missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked their town.

Frustrated family members already had compiled a list of missing girls after saying officials were being slow to respond.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls’ school was located.

Some eyewitnesses reported seeing young women taken away at gunpoint.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement last Sunday after meetings were held with family members and others, some of whom have criticized the government for taking days to make such an announcement.

Air Force Spokesman Ola-

tokunbo Adesanya said in a press statement last Sunday that “the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces.”

Many fear the girls were abducted as brides for Boko Haram extremists. The group kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok in 2014 and forced them to marry their captors. About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families in nearly four years.

The militants arrived last Monday evening in the town of Dapchi in Nigeria’s Yobe state, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid the hail of gunfire.

While Nigeria’s president has called the girls’ disappearances a “national disaster,” local officials at first falsely indicated that some of those abducted were rescued while others were

hiding and would return in the coming days.

Bashar Manzo, whose daughter Fatima is among the missing, said the chances the children are merely hiding in the bush are slim.

“All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school last Tuesday, and a roll call was taken, after which they had all gone home to meet their parents,” he said.

Nigeria’s president said earlier that no effort will be spared to locate them.

“The entire country stands as one with the girls’ families, the government and the people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster.

We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members,” President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier in the week. AP

W

ASHINGTON—After a 10-day break, members of Congress are returning to work under hefty pressure to respond to the outcry over gun violence. But no plan appears ready to take off despite a long list of proposals, including many from President Donald J. Trump.

Republican leaders have kept quiet for days as Trump tossed out ideas, including raising the minimum age to purchase assault-style weapons and arming teachers, though last Saturday the president tweeted that the latter was “Up to states.”

Their silence has left little indication whether they are ready to rally their ranks behind any one of the president’s ideas, dust off another proposal or do nothing.

The most likely legislative option is bolstering the federal background check system for gun purchases, but it’s bogged down after being linked with a less popular

measure to expand gun rights.

The halting start reflects firm GOP opposition to any bill that would curb access to guns and risk antagonizing gun advocates in their party.

Before the February 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, Republicans had no intention of reviving the polarizing and politically risky gun debate during an already-difficult election year that could endanger their congressional majority.

“There’s no magic bill that’s going to stop the next thing from happening when so many laws are already on the books that weren’t being enforced, that were broken,” said Rep. Steve Scalise, Republican-Louisiana, the third-ranking House GOP leader, when asked about solutions.

“The breakdowns that happen, this is what drives people nuts,” said Scalise, who suffered life-threaten-

ing injuries when a gunman opened fire on lawmakers’ baseball team practice last year.

Under tough public questioning from shooting survivors, Trump has set high expectations for action.

“I think we’re going to have a great bill put forward very soon having to do with background checks, having to do with getting rid of certain things and keeping other things, and, perhaps, we’ll do something on age,” Trump said in a Fox News Channel interview last Saturday night.

He added: “We are drawing up strong legislation right now having to do with background checks, mental illness. I think you will have tremendous support. It’s time. It’s time.”

Trump’s early ideas were met with mixed reactions from his party. His talk of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons into classrooms was rejected by at least one Republican, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. AP

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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

A7

China set to repeal Xi’s term limits

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resident Xi Jinping’s efforts to indefinitely extend his rule as China’s leader, announced last Sunday, raised fresh fears in China of a resurgence of strongman politics— and fears abroad of a new era of hostility and gridlock.

Xi, who has been president since 2013, has tried to cultivate an image as a benevolent father figure who is working to promote China’s peaceful rise.

But the ruling Communist Party’s decision to change China’s Constitution and open a path to a third term for Xi heightened a sense of resentment in China among academics, lawyers, journalists and business executives.

Many have watched warily as Xi has used his power to imprison scores of dissidents, stifle free speech and tighten oversight of the economy, the world’s second largest.

‘Super-president’

Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing who is critical of Xi, said the change to the constitution would turn Xi into a “super-president.”

“He will have no limits on his power,” he said.

Government censors rushed to block criticism of the decision.

Internet memes depicted Xi as an emperor with no regard for the rule of law and showed a portrait of Xi replacing Mao’s hallowed image in Tiananmen Square. Another repurposed an ad for Durex condoms, adding a tag line— “Twice is not enough”—to poke fun at the idea of Xi angling for a third term.

Top global power

The party’s move comes as Xi has proclaimed an era of China’s greatness, when the country, he says, will take what he see as its rightful place as a top global power.

Already, it is establishing military bases in the Western Pacific and Africa, building infrastruc-

ture across Asia, parts of Europe and Africa, and running what Xi hopes will be the world’s No. 1 economy within two decades or sooner.

“China feels it is on the road to great power status and they want to perpetuate the trajectory they are on,” said David Finkelstein, director of China Studies at CNA, a research institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Tense US-China relationship

Some analysts outside China said they worried that allowing Xi oneman rule might worsen an increasingly tense relationship between the United States and China.

After years of efforts by the US to engage China on issues from market reform to climate change to human rights, the Trump administration turned on Beijing last December and called China a strategic competitor in its first national security document.

Washington policy-makers are preparing plans to impose tariffs on some Chinese imports, limit Chinese investments in the United States, particularly in technology, and spend more on the US military to sustain its big advantage over the People’s Liberation Army.

In congressional testimony earlier this month, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray described China as “not just a whole of government threat but a whole of society threat.”

Influential leaders

Trump may well see Xi’s consolidation of power as part of a global trend toward increasingly influential leaders, in which he

A series of visits by senior Chinese officials to Washington in the past month to try and persuade the Trump administration to slow down plans to introduce punitive measures that could result in a trade war had failed, Paal said.

“This could get complicated when controversial US initiatives meet unconventional times in China,” he said.

Popular

US President Donald J. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China walk off stage after meeting with business leaders in Beijing last November 9. Doug Mills/The New York Times

might include himself along with Xi and Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, said James Mann, the author of The China Fantasy, which contradicted the popular view that increasing prosperity would lead to political liberalization in China.

“I’m guessing he will not deplore the lack of democracy in China, because that’s the sort of thing he rarely if ever does,” Mann said of Trump.

Mann also said Trump might not have much problem with what Xi had accomplished.

“Over the past 14 months in office, Trump has almost never voiced the sort of support for our constitutional system that has been a staple in the statements of past presidents,” Mann said. “He does not respect the dignity or integrity of political opponents. He does not express support for the independence of the courts or the freedom of the press.”

So if anything, he said, “I think Trump is probably jealous.”

From Clinton to Bush to Obama, the prevailing belief was engagement with China would make China more like the West.

Instead, as Mann predicted,

China feels it is on the road to great power status and they want to perpetuate the trajectory they are on.”—Finkelstein China has gone in the opposite direction.

Stronger than Trump

Shi Y inhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said Xi likely did not care how the world would interpret his designation as a potential ruler in perpetuity.

With an unlimited term in office, Xi would almost certainly be in office beyond 2024, the year Trump would leave the White House if he won a second term.

“This objectively makes him stronger than Trump, who has no reason to like the change,” Shi said.

Support for third term

At home, Xi will likely have considerable support for a third term, the result of a years-long campaign to sideline political rivals and limit dissent. And nationalists cheered

UK Labour seeks customs union with EU, piling pressure on May T

he United Kingdom’s Labour Party said it wants Britain to seek a new customs agreement with the European Union (EU) after Brexit, piling pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May by leaving her at the mercy of rebels in her own Conservative Party who also want such a deal with the bloc.

After weeks of discussions, the party’s leadership has “unanimously” agreed on a policy backing a customs deal and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn will flesh out the details in a speech on Monday, his spokesman on Brexit, Keir Starmer, said.

The party previously said it was open to the option of staying in a customs union with the bloc.

“There’s going to have to be a new treaty,” Starmer said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show last Sunday. “Will it do the work of the current customs union? Yes, that’s the intention.”

The change in stance points to perilous times ahead for May, who has so far advanced the bulk of her EU agenda through Parliament with the support of a Labour Party that’s anxious not to alienate Brexit voters.

The premier’s fragility was laid

bare last December, when rebels in her party joined with Labour to defeat May in Parliament, ensuring lawmakers will have a meaningful vote on the final deal she strikes with the EU.

‘Freedom to act’

May has opposed staying in a customs union with the EU because it would tie Britain’s hands in negotiating trade deals with other nations.

Trade Secretary Liam Fox, on the same broadcast, said that “what’s important is Britain’s freedom to act differently in the future according to different circumstances.”

The customs union “puts a frontier around Europe and it means that we all apply the same duties to goods coming in,” Fox said.

“We would like to be able to alter those, for example with developing countries, we’d like to be able to cut some of those duties.”

Tories who wanted to remain in the EU have already signaled support for Britain staying in a customs union.

Earlier this month, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke and former Business Minister Anna Soubry proposed an

amendment to May’s taxation bill that would oblige the premier to try to keep the UK in the customs union after Brexit.

They won backing from Labour lawmakers, including Chaka Umunna, and the proposals are similar to those advanced by Labour’s leadership team.

“Whether it’s our amendments or the cross-bench amendments, crunch time is now coming for the prime minister because the majority of Parliament does not back her approach to a customs union,” Starmer said. “The majority in Parliament needs to be heard and it will be heard sooner rather than later.”

Seeking more

The House of Commons Liaison Committee—which includes all the leaders of the backbench committees that scrutinize legislation—has debated using parliamentary time to hold a nonbinding vote on customs union membership, providing for another potential flash-point.

Corbyn will outline details of Labour’s stance in a speech in Coventry on Monday morning. The change in position was described on Twitter as “very welcome” by

Umunna. Chris Bryant, another backbencher seeking to soften Brexit, said in a text message that he was “delighted.”

“It’s the only way to protect jobs, maintain a prosperous economy, ensure British companies can do business across Europe and protect the Good Friday Agreement,” Bryant said.

Even so, Bryant and Umunna are among more than 80 senior Labour figures to push for the party to go even further and set a goal for the UK to remain in the European Economic Area, allowing it to stay in the Single Market.

The call, issued in an e-mailed statement last Sunday, includes 36 members of Parliament and former party leader Neil Kinnock.

“Given t he pa rl i a ment a r y arithmetic and the numbers of parliamentar ians f rom other parties—including Conser vative backbenchers—who have indicated they will join us in this endeavor, our country’s continued participation in a customs union and the Single Market is now in the Labour Party’s hands,” they wrote. “We must grab this chance before it is too late. We will never be forgiven if we fail to do so.” Bloomberg News

the decision, describing Xi as a singular force who could restore the glory of the nation.

But as the news spread, readings of Hannah Arendt, who wrote about the evils of totalitarian rule, and passages from George Washington, who retired after two terms as president, were discussed on social media in Chinese legal circles.

Douglas H. Paal, a China expert at the Car negie Endowment for International Peace, said the sudden move, before Xi even starts his second term next month, suggested that things were not “normal ” within the Communist Party.

“This looks like forced marching, not normal order, so something is going on,” Paal said. “Xi is winning, but it will take sleuthing to find out what. These are not ordinary times.”

Still, Xi is popular in many areas—his fans affectionately call him “Uncle Xi”—and his brand of folksy nationalism wins accolades, especially in rural areas. Experts said Xi would likely benefit from the perception in China that the rest of the world is chaotic.

“With a population amazed at the incompetent mess in much of the rest of the world, and intoxicated by nationalism, for Xi to effect this change will be seen as reasonable,” said Kerry Brown, a professor of Chinese politics at King’s College, London.

Start of downfall

Xi’s assumption of unfettered power may not work out the way he thinks, said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and a former senior Australian defense official.

“The risks to his personal fortunes are huge,” he said. “What if the People’s Liberation Army decides he should be cut loose?” And, he added, “What if growth slows more than expected?”

If Xi comes under pressure at home or abroad, he could become unpredictable, and even dangerous, Jennings added. The reach for more personal power could be the start of his downfall.

“The West can take no comfort in that because Xi’s situation means he may take more risks in the South China Sea or over Taiwan,” he said. “He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by engaging in more Putin-like brinkmanship.”

Moreover, he added, “Where does one ever see the ‘president for life’ model end well?” New York

Times News Service

US downturn seen as risk for Taiwan’s new CB chief

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ncerta inty over the medium-term US economic outlook looms large over Taiwan’s first new central bank governor in 20 years.

Although the US is forecast to grow through at least 2020, as Yang Chin-long began a five-year term as monetary chief of Asia’s bellwether economy on Monday, a downturn across the Pacific is seen by economists as the external risk with the biggest chance of materializing in that time.

“We are already pretty much at the tail end of the US recovery,” said Angela Hsieh, an economist at Barclays Bank Plc. in Singapore.

“There’s a good chance there will be a recession during Yang’s time in office.”

Right now, the outlook is good for the island’s economy, which is very different to the situation Yang’s predecessor Perng Fai-nan faced when he took over in the midst of the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

Taiwanese officials have raised their forecast for economic growth to 2.4 percent for this year, and economists expect the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate to 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

At a ceremony marking his appointment on Monday, Yang pointed to capital flows as one of the ma-

jor challenges to Taiwan’s growth.

“The central bank will prioritize price and financial stability to actively help economic growth,” he said. “But foreign exchange policy cannot and should not shoulder the duty of promoting economic development on its own. It must work together with fiscal and economic policy.”

Hsieh said the central bank has room to raise borrowing costs from the current near record low of 1.375 percent, especially as counterparts in other countries are moving toward normalization of monetary policy. But as exports account for around two-thirds of Taiwan’s output, exchange rates can have a much-bigger impact on Taiwan than interest rates.

Currency traders see the Taiwan dollar gaining little over the first half of 2018 after surging 8.1 percent against the US dollar last year.

“The biggest challenge for Yang may come in the medium term,” said Claire Huang, an economist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong.

“In our scenario, the US will enter a recession in that timeframe. That will really test whether he can withstand a major global risk.”

For now though, the Federal Reserve is looking to raise rates multiple times this year as the economy grows. Bloomberg News

A8

The Regions

Tuesday, February 27, 2018 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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Shutdowns, limited power generation cause Luzon grid to be on yellow alert

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

T

HE Luzon grid was placed on yellow alert, the first for the year, mainly due to a number of power plants that went offline.

“The Luzon grid is on yellow alert due to the unexpected shutdown and limited generation of some power plants,” National Grid

Corp. of the Philippines said. It issued the yellow alert from 11 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 to 4 p.m.

A yellow alert means there are

not enough reserves to cover the largest-running generating unit at the time, but does not necessarily lead to power outages.

Data provided by the Department of Energy showed the following units placed on scheduled outage: n Angat Unit 3 (50 megawatt); will be offline until June 29; n Calaca Unit 2 (300 MW), on maintenance until March 15; n Masinloc Unit 2 (315 MW); out until March 2; n Quezon Power (459 MW), offline until March 12; and n GN Power 2 (300 MW), on

planned outage until March 6.

Meanwhile, the plants that were put on forced outage over the weekend are Pagbilao Unit 2 (382 MW), GN Power Unit 1 (316 MW), Makban Unit 5 (55 MW), Calaca Expansion Unit 2 (121MW), Malaya Unit 1 (150 MW), Makaban Unit 8 (50 MW), San Lorenzo Module 50 (265 MW), GN Power Unit 2 (316 MW).

In all, the total capacity on outage stood at 2,902 MW. There were also two gas plants that operated on limited capability due to Malampaya fuel restriction. These are the Ilijan (from

1,200 MW to 857 MW) and San Gabriel (from 420 MW to 260 MW) plants.

At 2 p.m., system capacity stood at 9,971 MW, while demand forecasted to peak at 9,349 MW, leaving a reserve level of 622 MW. Meralco Head of Networks Ronnie Aperocho said the utility firm is “hoping the Malampaya trouble will be fixed as soon as possible so as not to result to load shedding.”

The utility firm sources bulk of its power requirements from the gas plants fueled by the Malampaya facility.

Korean firm to hire 5,000 workers for Pangasinan coal power-plant project

By Orly Guirao Correspondent

S

UAL, Pangasinan—The Korean firm putting up a coalfired power plant in this coastal town will need at least 5,000 local workers once it starts construction of the project, the second of its kind for Sual.

The job opening was announced

by Korean Electric Power Corp.

(Kepco), which is finalizing negotiations with municipal officials, headed by Mayor Roberto Arcinue, for the planned power plant designed to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) more of energy supply to the Luzon grid.

Kepco is investing $2 billion in the project. It is expected to hire more than 300 regular employees for the plant’s operation.

Arcinue said most of the workers and employees should come from Sual, as mandated by an ordinance that requires investors to recruit local residents for their manpower needs.

Aside from job benefits, Arcinue said P800 million in realproperty taxes could be collected annually from the proposed power plant, which shall be shared by the province (35 percent), the municipality of Sual (40 percent) and Barangay Baquioen, where the plant would be constructed (25 percent).

In a recent referendum, Sual residents—women, senior citizens, farmers, fishermen, employees and students who stand to benefit through the scholarship program of the municipal government—have overwhelmingly welcomed the project.

T he proposed plant ’s generat i ng c apac it y, t he m ayor said, will boost and stabilize the power supply for the Luzon grid to do away with frequent

power interruptions.

The construction of the power facility, he added, dovetails the pronouncement of President Duterte, who stressed the need to put up more coal-fired power plants to avert another power crisis, owing to the influx of investors and increasing power consumption brought about by the population boom.

Currently, Sual is host to the 25-year-old, 1,500-MW coal-fired power plant operated by Marubeni and Tokyo Electric Power Corp.

Duterte said he sees nothing wrong with the government’s plan to put up new coal-fired power plants to boost power supply in the country.

“You open the Philippines for all power players, I guarantee you the electricity will become cheaper,” Duterte repeatedly said as he inaugurated several coal-fired power plants in the Visayas and Mindanao, the latest of which was the 405-MW coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental.

“At this time, whoever is the president of the Philippines would always contend with coal. There’s so much coal still that can be utilized by civilization for the next 50 to 70 years.... You open the Philippines for all power players, I guarantee you the electricity will become cheaper,” he said.

T he President added there should be no problem with coal when it comes to pollution, owing to the advent of new technologies.

Among these new technologies are the “circulating fluidized bed boiler” and the “ultra-super critical coal-fired power plant,” which reduce by 95-percent sulfur and green gas emissions.

For its Sual power plant, Kepco would be using the ultra-supercritical technology that is the latest in coal power generation.

PANGARAP SOARS HIGH AT 19

Pangarap, AboitizPower’s adopted Philippine eagle, turned 19 years old on February 23.

AboitizPower has been supporting the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) since 2010 by providing funds for Pangarap’s food, veterinary care and shelter maintenance. “Our long-standing partnership with AboitizPower has been instrumental in our advocacy to save the Philippine eagle. Through their adoption of Pangarap, they help support our various initiatives in the Captive Breeding Program and in our efforts to raise awareness for the mission,” PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador said.

GMA leads opening of SCTEx exits in Pampanga

By Catherine Joy L. Maglalang Correspondent

F

ORMER President and now Pampanga Second District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led on Monday the ceremonial drive-thriugh that signaled the inauguration of new infrastructure projects, such as the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (Sctex) Mabiga Interchange and North Luzon Expressway (Nlex Sta. Ines-Magalang Exit that will help promote traffic safety and convenience for motorists traveling along Nlex, SCTEx and MacArthur Highway within the Greater Clark area.

Arroyo said the construction of the SCTEx and other strategic roads in her home province of Pampanga is her most important legacy for promoting investments. It is strategically important for making the Subic-Clark corridor the most competitive area in the region.

“As Kapampangans, we will do our share,” Arroyo said.

She added more Korean firms are interested in investing in Pampanga and “we have to pursue that in order to compete.” She believed the SCTExMabiga Interchange is vital in

making Pampanga a center magnet of Manila.

The representative was joined by Nlex Corp. and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco, Pampanga Chamber of Commerce Chairman Emeritus Levy P. Laus, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vivencio C. Dizon, Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo C. Garbo and other local government units and guests.

The tollways company converted the SCTEx Mabiga into a full-diamond interchange by building new access ramps with entry and exit toll plazas. This major expressway is expected to enhance road safety in this strategic location, where the two expressway systems merge with the local traffic network.

In addition, the interchange got a boost with the construction of a right-turning exit ramp to Mabalacat-Magalang Road to improve direct access to local roads in Magalang in the province of Pampanga.

A fter the ceremonial drivethrough, a program took place at the Royce Hotel in Clark, Pampanga.

Raul Ignacio, senior vice president

Miaa execs distribute relief goods, conduct medical mission for Mayon evacuees

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

T

HE Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) conducted relief distribution and a medical mission last Saturday, including free haircut, to some 1,500 families whose lives were disrupted by the eruption of Mayon Volcano in Anislag, Daraga, Albay, one of the evacuation sites.

Miaa General Manager Ed Monreal, accompanied by fellow

officials, took the opportunity to distribute to each recipient four kilos of rice, two gallons of distilled water, five pieces of assorted canned goods, a blanket, a mat and a plastic pale.

Monreal said the distribution and medical mission were part of the 36th anniversary of Miaa in partnership with Air 21, Cargohaus, Philippine Army, Manila Chinatown, Lions Club, Radio Emergency Communication Operations Network Philippines

Inc. and local government units.

He added the event was part of the Miaa’s corporate social responsibility inline with the anniversary.

He said the relief goods included 6,000 kilos of rice; 3,000 gallons of distilled water; 7,500 pieces of assorted canned goods; 1,500 blankets; 1,500 mats; and 1,500 plastic pails loaded in two Air 21 delivery trucks that left Pasay City last Friday afternoon for Bicol.

of construction and engineering and vice president for operations of Manila North Tollways Corp., said the interchange is worth P105 million. It has new entry and exit ramps and plazas from SCTEx to MacArthur Highway and vice versa, with two lanes per plaza. It will benefit the public in giving direct access between SCTEx and MacArthur Highway, will eliminate the need to make U-turn for vehicles bound to SCTEx. On the other hand, the exit is 270 meters in length and has a construction cost worth P27 million. It is a new exit ramp for Nlex to Mabalacat-Magalang road. It will make the delivery of goods and services faster and enhance public safety.

Both were completed in December last year and built by EEI Corp., as the contractor.

The BCDA is the original concessionaire of the SCTEx. “We are proud to support Nlex Corp. in providing safe, reliable and people-oriented projects, such as the SCTEx Mabiga Interchange. The interchange will enable a smooth and faster flow of traffic for motorists going to Subic or aTarlac,” Dizon said, as they backed the company's infrastructure projects.

Bangkok company to gauge viability of major infra projects for Subic Freeport

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

S

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—Bangkok-based Mahanakorn Partners Group Co. Ltd. will be undertaking feasibility studies of major infrastructure projects to be built here under the government’s transportation-infrastructure development program.

The Thai holding company, with interests in business consulting, legal and trade finance, as well as property management and development, signed here last week a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to conduct the studies free of charge.

The agreement was signed by MPG managing partner Luca Bernardinetti and SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

Eisma said the Subic agency proposed the projects under the “Greater Subic Bay Freeport Multimodal Transport and Access and Logistics Support Projects” program, which was designed in support of President Duterte’s “10 point agenda” to accelerate infrastructure spending and pumpprime economic development through productivity, trade and investment.

The projects are expected to be funded through the P3.1-trillion allocation for transportation-infrastructure development set by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) under the country’s P7.27-trillion infrastructure development requirements.

“The projects focus on the different infrastructure developments to be established in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to catalyze its upgrading toward being a premier free port zone in Asia and the Pacific,” Eisma said.

“We want to help resolve congestion at the Port of Manila and ease traffic gridlock in the metropolis, while shifting the momentum of development north toward the corridor of new wealth in Subic and Clark,” she added.

Under the MOU, Mahanakorn Partners will gauge the viability of three major infrastructure projects proposed for the Subic Bay Freeport.

These are the construction of a 17.273-kilometer bypass road connecting the Subic seaport terminals directly to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx); construction of a 17-kilometer bypass road Subic seaport to Segment 7 of the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex, a two-lane, cargo-truck expressway and railway system and a 25-kilometer bypass road from Tipo Road in Bataan to Castillejos, Zambales; and the upgrading of the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA).

The first project is designed to provide exclusive routes for cargoes brought in and out of Subic Freeport, while the second proposal seeks to open up a 3,000 hectare new industrial site at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula near the Hanjin shipyard.

Aklan LGU to continue construction of ₧4.9-million information center

By Jun N. Aguirre Correspondent

B

ORACAY ISLAND, Malay, Aklan—The local government of Malay, Aklan, is pushing the construction of the P4.98million information-center project, despite criticism from some sectors.

Rowen Aguirre, executive assistant to the Office of the Mayor, said the local government unit has no choice, but to continue with the government project.

Earlier, the center draw flak for having been built solely to provide toilet facilities

for both tourists and residents coming to and from Boracay.

“I admit the toilet was in the beach line area.

It started construction last year. If we will not push for its construction, we do not know where to place our information and assistance center and toilet,” Aguirre said.

The construction of the information center is expected to be finish by May this year.

Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources distributed no less than 300 structures in the beachfront of Barangay Balabag consisting of large-scale hotels, restaurants and diving shops, among others.

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Hong Kong’s dilemma is what to do with its massive cash pile

By Eric Lam | Bloomberg

A

S Hong Kongers suffer through the world’s least affordable property market, their government is enjoying the flip-side of the real-estate and stock-market boom: One of the biggest fiscal surpluses anywhere.

When the territory’s budget is unveiled this on Wednesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Financial Secretary Paul Chan may have as much as HK$168 billion ($21.5 billion) left over from the 2017-2018 fiscal year to play with, according to an estimate by accountancy firm PwC. That’s 10 times the original government forecast of HK$16.3 billion, thanks to higher-than-expected revenue from land sales, profits tax and stamp duty, PwC said.

On a quarterly basis, the budget surplus hit 8.6 percent of GDP in the third quarter of 2017, the highest since at least 1999, Bloomberg data show. If carried through for the full fiscal year even close to that level, Hong Kong’s surplus would stand among the biggest of any developed economy, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data.

With Hong Kong now comparable to New York in terms of income inequality, and amid persistent worries that the city’s role as a financial center is being eclipsed by the likes of Shenzhen or Shanghai, news of bumper fiscal takings is likely to prompt a barrage of calls on how to spend them.

Lam has hinted that the first budget under her leadership would include more “daring” spending.

“They can use policy buffers to support growth in the long run,” Mahamoud Islam, an economist at Euler Hermes, said in a phone interview. The windfall provides an opportunity to invest with an eye toward a more difficult global economic outlook potentially as soon as 2019, he added.

Islam suggests the most immediate investments are in boosting research and development activity. The city should position itself as a source of professional talent for China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative, encouraging education programs that nurture more architects, engineers, consultants and other commercial services providers, he said. The windfall should benefit some taxpayers, too. PwC proposes widening salaries tax brackets and increasing deductions for child allowance by as much as 20 percent. The government could consider waiving stamp duty for first-time, local home buyers for purchases under HK$6 million, according to The Taxation Institute of Hong Kong.

No cash handouts

Speaking to reporters on February 17, Chan cautioned that, while there will be a “high level of surplus,” it may not be as large as analysts have predicted. He also disagreed with one-off cash handouts, such as have been made in Macau, Singapore—and in Hong Kong, where residents received a HK$6,000 sweetener announced in 2011.

“Part of it may not be recurrent, so we have to be very careful,” Chan said.

“As to long-term requirements, innovation and technology is one sector we would give serious consideration because this will help across-the-board many industries in enhancing their competitiveness.” The financial secretary added that Hong Kong’s tax regime—such as a 15-percent standard salaries tax rate —is already competitive and he will not consider any acrossthe-board tax cuts, while targeted tax measures to help certain industries are on the table. Short-term rebates would also be considered, he said. In a blog post last Sunday, Chan highlighted education, medical services, housing and innovation as among the most pressing issues in the city, with the government obligated to use prosperous years to prepare for bad ones.

“The philosophy has always been on the prudent side,” Euler Hermes’s Islam said.

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Tuesday, February 27, 2018 A9

What an extension of Xi Jinping’s reign in China means for investors

By Justina Lee | Bloomberg

T

he removal of presidential term limits should guarantee one thing for investors—their China portfolios will be increasingly tied to one man.

Markets initially welcomed China’s plan to change its constitution on Monday, a move that would allow Xi Jinping to rule beyond 2023. Analysts say the political certainty should be largely positive for Chinese assets as it bolsters the president’s ability to drive through policies, such as those related to the deleveraging and antipollution campaigns. The absence of checks and balances, though, raises the risk of policy errors.

Xi’s term since 2013 has been marked by a mostly steady economy but also periods of volatility in the financial markets, typically triggering government intervention. Challenges loom, too, including taming the towering debt pile, the threat of slower economic growth and dealing with the aging population.

Further centralizing power under Xi is broadly positive from an investor standpoint, said Arthur Kroeber, founding partner at Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing. But the longer-term risk is that “this lack of accountability, this lack of checks, could lead to a deterioration in the quality of decision-making at the top,” he said.

While the proposal wasn’t entirely surprising, it marks a formal break from the party’s succession practices and tradition of collective leadership.

Sunday’s announcement comes a week before the National People’s Congress, when a series of constitutional changes cementing Xi’s influence are likely to be approved.

The yuan rose 0.4 percent on Monday as risk appetite strengthened and the greenback fell.

The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.3 percent, its sixth straight session of gains.

Here’s what analysts are saying about the move to abolish term limits: Raymond Yeung and Betty Wang, economists at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., wrote in a note: The proposed amendments to the constitution will ultimately shape all economic policies over the next decade or so, including fiscal and monetary policy. Wage growth, financial stability or the environment will be as important or even more important than annual gross domestic product growth. Downplay the 2018 GDP forecast provided by Premier Li Keqiang at the NPC on March 5 as it will carry a lot less weight as a policy goal. The focus will be on money supply and total social financing as they’ll have a direct bearing on debt control, and hence financial stability.

Ken Cheung, senior Asian currency strategist at Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Hong Kong, said in a note: Further power consolidation

by Xi suggests smoother delivery of structural reforms in the shortterm. A stronger leadership would help him tackle the obstacles on the reform delivery. However, the potential shift from collective leadership to sole leadership signals increased policy-mismanagement risk and the lack of transparent system in power transition points to increasing political risk, which could undermine market confidence on the yuan in the medium term.

Analysts at Everbright Sun Hung Kai Co. said in a note: Xi staying on beyond the twoterm limit shouldn’t alter policy direction, but underlines the

IN this October 25 file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping claps while addressing the media as he introduced new members of the Politburo Standing Committee at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. China’s official news agency said on February 25 the ruling Communist Party proposed removing a limit of two consecutive terms for the country’s president and vice president. The move, if approved, appears to lay the groundwork for party leader Xi to rule as president beyond 2023. AP

commitment to carry it through.

China has been very specific in its policy-making plans this year. Key tasks include preventing systemic risk, targeted deleveraging and reducing credit flows to undesirable areas. From an investment perspective, the best way to play this is to buy large domestic banks. They benefit from a large deposit base, meaning they’re less affected by the government’s risk-prevention policies.

Banny Lam, head of research at CEB International Investment Corp. in Hong Kong, said by phone: The possibility of Xi ruling for a longer term will have a positive impact on Chinese markets: the Xi put will likely continue. China is still only half-way through reforms and economic transformation, so policy continuity is very important. A longer term for Xi would ensure more supply-side reforms and deleveraging efforts, as well as stable fiscal and monetary policies. That will

help economic fundamentals and lift market momentum.

Robert Carnell, chief economist and head of research, Asia-Pacific, at ING Bank wrote in a note: While most of the stories on this have focused on growing authoritarian tendencies in China, there is another way to view this—and that is on China’s ability to get things done.

The deleveraging push, transition to a more consumption-based economy, the Belt and Road initiative, a more flexible capital account and currency, and anti-graft measures are more likely to be successful with a strong and steady leadership. The ability to get stuff done is something that the weak coalitions that govern, for example, most of Europe, would give their eye-teeth for. By all means, lament the lack of political debate in China, but from an investment perspective there are some upsides.

Pauline Loong, managing director at research firm Asia-Analytica

in Hong Kong, said by phone: The differences will not filter through to financial markets in ways that you can predict and act upon. In terms of policy, the Chinese government will continue to change market structure and rules to make the financial system more stable because now there’s a lot of stress and potential instability. The government will change everything in order to do that. In China market forces are advisories—if it’s to the benefit of the nation as seen by the government, it will be allowed to go ahead, if not, it has no space.

Tommy Xie, economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, wrote: The departure from established norms may raise concerns among some Western investors as to whether China will dial back its political and economic reform. It’s unlikely to derail China’s commitment to open its market. Bloomberg News

Bitcoin bitterness starts to make messy divorces even worse in UK

By Hannah George Bloomberg

D

ivorces are messy, and cryptocurrencies are helping to make them a whole lot more so.

Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are a new challenge for United Kingdom lawyers, plagued with volatility and secrecy that is extending the already-painful process of dividing a couple’s assets.

The rising popularity of Bitcoin —and for a while at least, its rising value—means more separations involve the currency, which is difficult to trace and hard to value. Although parties have a duty to provide full disclosure of their assets in a divorce, the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies potentially make them a safe haven for spouses wishing to hide their money from a warring partner.

“Often in a divorce one spouse is looking for a pot of gold that doesn’t exist. But with cryptocurrencies, it’s possible the pot does exist,” Toby Yerburgh, head of Family Law at Collyer Bristow, said in an interview.

Yerburgh said he started to get cases where partners are concerned about hidden Bitcoins since the currency became better known last year.

If one party decides not to disclose or provide evidence of their holdings, the divorce process becomes more expensive and timeconsuming, and could result in the

partner failing to get a fair share of assets. This can amount to a lot of money in the UK, which has a reputation of being a more sympathetic place to play out high-stakes divorces, because judges generally order a 50-50 split of assets, giving equal weight to the work of a wealth creator and a partner.

“It’s creating another layer of distrust that we haven’t had to deal with before,” Jo Carr-West, a partner at Hunters, said in an interview. “The public perception that there is a lack of a paper trail causes the anxiety.”

Offline currency

Cryptocurrencies traded using an online exchange or bought with funds from a bank account can be easier to trace and value. But if a cryptocurrency is moved offline— for example, if someone transfers the digital wallet onto a USB—then it becomes more difficult. In this case, a digital forensics expert can be brought in to search through the spouse’s e-mail to determine what transactions have taken place. This is a slow process that can cost thousands of pounds—sometimes more than the currency itself is worth.

“Cryptocurrencies make things complex if you have a spouse who’s determined to hold on to their money, same as if they were hiding assets overseas,” Victoria Clarke, a solicitor at Stowe Family Law, said in an interview. “We have the tools to trace

A coin representing Bitcoin cryptocurrency sits on a computer circuit board in this arranged photograph in London, United Kingdom. Bloomberg

Bitcoin. The difficulty is that some lawyers don’t necessarily understand it yet—you need knowledge of the asset you’re trying to get hold of.”

Volatility woes

Cryptocurrencies also bring the problem of valuation. Last December Bitcoin hit a high of nearly $20,000, and less than two months later, had dropped to around $6,000.

This volatility makes it difficult to determine value as the price can fluctuate wildly within the course of a divorce.

“It’s not as straightforward as valuing your ordinary shares and investments,” Vandana Chitroda, a partner at Royds Withy King, said in an interview. “There will have to be valuations made at every step in the proceedings. You would then have to agree on a value on the date of

the final hearing.” This means that although a partner could have built up a substantial crypto fortune when filing for divorce, it may have diminished by the time of settlement. One of Royds Withy King’s three cryptocurrency cases involves an original investment of £80,000 ($111,600) made by a spouse in November 2016.

By December it had jumped to £1 million, and is now worth £600,000.

New challenges

The courts now have to address the effect of new technologies. Bitcoin was created in 2009, and so lawyers and judges are only beginning to witness the first instances of cryptorelated splits. There’s no existing case law to guide procedure, so new ways of handling the issue will be devised as hearings take place.

Furthermore, the court’s usual

methods of securing assets, such as issuing injunctions, can be difficult to administer with cryptocurrencies.

“The courts are being faced with a challenge it doesn’t have the power to deal with,” Chitroda said. “The court can make a worldwide freezing injunction, but it’s worthless if there’s no centralized power to administer it.”

But it won’t be that easy to get away with burying cash in Bitcoin. Courts are accustomed to tackling cases that require painstakingly tracing assets, especially where those assets are held offshore. And in some circumstances, if one party refuses to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings, the court can make an award heavily in favor of the other party to make up for it.

Parliament

Still, there’s a sense the UK’s institutions are urgently trying to get to grips with blockchain technology.

Last Thursday Parliament’s Treasury Committee launched an inquiry into the role of digital currencies in the UK, including the opportunities and risks they may bring to consumers, businesses and the government.

“Maybe Bitcoin is a bubble, but the blockchain technology is not,” said Clarke, who has mined Bitcoin herself since 2011. Chitroda also believes cryptocurrencies aren’t going away and that the law will have to adjust to the new challenges.

A10 Tuesday, February 27, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial Rape is rape

I

T is quite unfortunate that rape victims are often made suspects in their own cases and that they are often insulted and shamed more with “she was asking for it” statements, as if the rape itself is not devastating enough for victims, whatever the context.

While Americans in the US are speaking out and acting against sexual misconduct (even taking to task US President Donald J. Trump for certain allegations against him), here it seems more than a few Filipinos are still stuck in a cultural blight that contributes to making the crime of rape and other sexual abuses everyday transgressions in our society.

Anthony Taberna, ABS-CBN reporter, anchor and one of the hosts of its TV morning show Umagang Kay Ganda, recently apologized after taking heat from netizens who criticized him for his comments regarding the case of a 19-year-old woman who was raped by three men after she met up with one of them whom she was chatting with online.

Reacting to the report, Taberna was heard, saying, “Pambihira naman, o. Ito po ay hindi first time na nangyari, napakadaming pagkakataon na yang eyeball eyeball na ’yan, ang mas delikado nakipag-eyeball ka na nga, nakipag-inuman ka pa. ’Yan ang problema, ’yun ang mabigat sa lahat, lalo’t puro lalake ka-inuman mo.”

When his cohost Jeff Canoy said the blame should not be on the victim but on the men, because if the woman says “no,” that means “no”, Taberna added, “Hindi, sa totoo lang, madaling sabihin ’yan sa lalaki, eh.

Pasensya na dun sa biktima ’yun dapat mabigyan ng katarungan. Pero ito para sa future na pangyayari. Kapag ikaw ay babae, ’wag kang papasok sa lungga ng mga tulisan.”

After earning brickbats online, Taberna said sorry to those he offended. He clarified he was not blaming the victim for what happened.

He said he will never take the side of the rapists.

However, the slant Taberna had initially presented is unfortunately not uncommon in our society.

Indeed, it is shameful how, at times, fellow Filipinos can suggest a rape victim is somehow to blame for what happened.

These questions and suspicions are often reflected in the news and public discourse when it comes to rape cases: What was she doing all alone with the men anyway? How was she behaving at the time of the alleged rape? Was she drinking or was she, in fact, drunk when the rape happened? What was her personal life like? Was she a “loose” woman?

It is appalling how accusatory some of the discussions have been against rape victims, whether in street corners or in other forums both formal and informal.

Let us be clear.

Nobody asks to be raped. Even if the woman in the rape case, just for the sake of argument, was behaving improperly, even recklessly, she still should have the right to say no to sexual intercourse.

Without that consent, rape is committed. Whether she is a model citizen or not, does not and should not matter. Rape is rape and rapists should be brought to justice.

“Was she drunk?” is a relevant question, only because if a girl was, in fact, drunk it would be more indicting against the rapists. Because the legal definition of rape turns on the notion of “consent.” Therefore, sexual contact with any woman too drunk to be capable of giving permission is technically already a crime of rape.

Rape victims in this country unfortunately have to go through an incredible amount of humiliation to see justice served.

A rape victim’s alleged lack of good sense is not on trial here—we are; our society is.

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Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur Continued from A1

T

he absence of long-term planning for development is reflected in the present condition of the metropolis. Paved roads and bridges were built even during the Spanish regime, but no one probably thought what the city would be like in the 21st century.

Travel was smooth in the past, despite the slowness of the horsedriven carriages, because the demand from people and business could be satisfied by the transport system at that time.

But advances in technology and industries, as well as population growth and globalization, quickly outpaced the growth in road networks, which failed to satisfy demand for the movement of goods and people.

Now, commuters and motorists have to endure hours of snail-paced traffic on Edsa and other major thoroughfares, resulting not only in loss of productivity and income, but also in health problems like stress. Traffic congestion in Metro Manila is costing the Philippine economy at

least P3.5 billion a day, according to a recent study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

President Duterte said last December that, because of the worsening traffic problem, Metro Manila would be a dead city in 25 years. That would happen if nothing is done to solve the problem.

Jica’s report, titled “Road map for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its Surrounding Areas,” proposed strategies to solve the traffic problem by 2030.

The strategies include not only the construction of modern railways and other transport projects, but also the development of other growth areas outside Metro Manila.

Actually, the President’s thrust toward regional development will

Stock-market hazing John Mangun

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos Dennis D. Estopace

Online Editor Social Media Editor

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager VP HR and Admin

How to avoid Metro Manila’s fate

OUTSIDE THE BOX

‘H

azing” is a rather loose term to describe “the practice of rituals involving harassment, abuse, or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group.” We most frequently apply this when a local fraternity violently abuses a prospective member, as in the case of the death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III. However, this is a global phenomenon going back literally thousands of years. Initiation rites of passage are found in nearly every society and are justified for a variety of reasons. The ancient Hebrew circumcision ritual is an example, as is the scarification ceremonies when men of the Sepik tribes of Papua New Guinea have their backs cut to resemble the markings of the crocodile.

Research studies about hazing from the modern upper-class boarding schools of England to the gangs

in the slums of South Africa were instrumental in creating the theory of cognitive dissonance first proposed

by American social psychologist Leon Festinger. This is the mental discomfort or stress experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two contradictory beliefs. In other words, while it is a natural survival instinct to avoid harm and pain, there is also the desire to endure that pain to be a part of the group.

While hazing may be an extreme term to apply to stock-market

I happen to operate in many cities in Mindanao, so I see the ongoing development in these areas. For the local planners, it is easier to prepare traffic plans.

They should avoid the example of Metro Manila, which allowed the continuous building of commercial and other structures without considering the impact on the road and transport systems.

accelerate economic growth in the provinces, which will increase demand for better transport systems.

The development of new growth areas will, hopefully, reduce the migration of people from the provinces to the congested Metro Manila, in effect also reducing the informal-settlement problem in the metropolis.

In addition, the new growth areas will attract more investments in the countryside, resulting in a more equitable distribution of capital.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority, out of the total of 4,985 infrastructure projects listed in the government’s investment program for 2017 to 2022, at least 3,911 projects have been identified as region-specific, while at least 98 have been identified as inter-regional.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao alone will receive 1,340 projects.

While hazing may be an extreme term to apply to stock-market investing, the cognitive dissonance that keeps hazing a relatively common practice in our “enlightened” modern world also creates stock-price movement. Should I buy or sell? investing, the cognitive dissonance that keeps hazing a relatively common practice in our “enlightened” modern world also creates stock-price movement. Should I buy or sell?

To the outside observer, subjecting oneself to even the potential of physical abuse to be “one of the boys —or girls as the case may be since hazing is not limited to males— seems completely irrational. To someone on the “inside,” it seems a completely sensible thing to do.

Cognitive dissonance—the concept of being torn between two opposites—has been applied across a wide range of human experiences, from politics to consumer behavior.

Do we go with “You get what you pay for” to justify buying at a higher

The government’s massive infrastructure program now needs a total of P9.04 trillion investments in six years. The amount does not include infrastructure projects that would be funded by local government units, government-owned and -controlled corporations, the private sector and other sources.

This is the right time for other cities and urbanizing areas outside Metro Manila to prepare long-term plans for traffic and other development requirements. Local executives should learn from the history of Metro Manila in order to avoid the same fate.

It is cheaper and more efficient to plan for, and undertake projects to cope with future demand, than to solve a problem as worse as Metro Manila’s.

In my travels around the country, I see the booming economies in many cities and provinces. In spite of what happened in Marawi, there’s a lot of excitement in cities like Davao and Cagayan de Oro. I happen to operate in many cities in Mindanao, so I see the ongoing development in these areas.

For the local planners, it is easier to prepare traffic plans. They should avoid the example of Metro Manila, which allowed the continuous building of commercial and other structures without considering the impact on the road and transport systems.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

price? Or with “Items on sale are always the best value”? There is obviously no right answer. Yet, all of us have stood in the department store in a stressful state of cognitive dissonance wrestling with a “To buy or not to buy” decision.

The Philippine Stock Exchange has been in a state of extreme—historically speaking—cognitive dissonance for weeks.

Market capitalization is the value of the shares of a listed company computed by multiplying the total number of outstanding shares by the current market price. The market value of Ayala Corp. at the current price is approximately P650 billion.

During the past six weeks, the weekly change in the share price of Ayala Corp. has been: down 3.19 percent, up 0.87 percent, up 0.96 percent, down 4.29 percent, up 8.96 percent, and down 3.20 percent.

Note that the net change during this period is 0.11 percent or basically nothing.

However, each 1-percent price movement changes the stock market value of the company by See “Mangun,” A11

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Never forget

Keeping the peace

BusinessMirror

Ernesto M. Hilario

Cecilio T. Arillo

database

‘N

EVER forget,” writer-researcher Micel Coleen Buencamino said, “is an expression, a mantra, first used in relation to the Holocaust, and has now been reassigned to the 9/11 attacks. The biggest enemies and critics of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, especially some of the millennials, are also fond of using this political slogan now best written in a hashtag by the Internet generation.” “#NeverForget is a clever piece of advertising, a commodity—sold by oligarchs and pseudo-analysts and communists down to concert organizers, t-shirt designers and social-media ‘experts’ who love to encapsulate history by way of making memes,” Buencamino said.

Indeed, we should #NeverForget.

Never forget that Marcos was a leader ahead of his time, and for this he was extremely misjudged and misunderstood.

Never forget all the 7,883 presidential decrees and other legal issuances he crafted and formulated, not only for the past, but also for the present and the future.

These laws, proof of his wisdom and exemplary governance, are embedded in our legal system, still effective and being enforced in the nation today.

Never forget his massive infrastructure projects—roads, bridges, irrigation systems and other public works. The records showed that his regime built more roads, bridges and irrigation facilities during his first four years in office than any other president in the past. Perhaps until present day.

Never forget that it was also during his time when the Filipinos saw the establishment of other unprecedented edifices and infrastructures, majority of which still stand proudly until today, servicing the needs of the Filipino people.

Never forget, in particular, that it was in Marcos’s time when pioneering hospitals were built: the Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

Cultural, tourism and heritage sites were, likewise, constructed: the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center and the National Arts Center (now Makiling Center for the Arts).

Never forget how his government addressed the 1973 global oil crisis head-on, knowing that skyrocketing oil and power rates would eventually result in high prices of commodities. Never forget how he sought to decrease dependence on imported oil by harnessing indigenous sources of energy. As a result, the Marcos regime completed 20 power plants.

Never forget, too, that after he was ousted from power, not only did his successors fail to build a single power plant; but more devastatingly, the nation saw the aggressive privatization of the energy industry. A few oligarchic families amassed billions of profit, while Filipino consumers bore the brunt of shouldering costly power rates.

The Philippines has even earned its place as one of the countries with the most expensive power rates in Asia.

Never forget how he always gave the biggest portion in the national

Mangun. . .

continued from A10

P6.5 billion. Two weeks ago, the value of Ayala Corp. increased by P58 billion. To put that number in perspective, in 2017 the total daily output of the Philippine economy— measured by the GDP—was about P50 billion.

To the outside observer, these price movements seem completely irrational. To someone on the inside,

Never forget that President Ferdinand Marcos was a leader ahead of his time. Never forget all the 7,883 presidential decrees and other legal issuances he crafted and formulated. These laws, proof of his wisdom and exemplary governance, are embedded in our legal system, still effective and being enforced in the nation today. budget to education and established a long list of colleges and universities, thereby enlarging the Filipino people’s access to free education and catapulting our literacy rate to one of the world’s highest.

Never forget that he kept true to his political and social platform of “rice and roads,” at a time when the country’s most urgent problem was inadequate food production.

The Philippines overcame chronic rice shortages, and after being a rice importer for so many decades, the country began exporting rice to other countries in 1978.

However, while empowering the countryside, never forget that President Marcos also realized that our agriculture-based economy could not compete with the emerging markets in Asia. So, he strongly fought for the implementation of the country’s 11 heavy industrialization projects led by the steel, petrochemical and engineering industries.

Never forget, too, those who relentlessly blocked and delayed these projects, and sabotaged the country’s industrialization plan. As a result, the country today remains an economic laggard compared to our Asian counterparts.

Never forget, that Marcos made a legacy so remarkable and enduring that it has been the life work of his foes to obliterate it in the chronicles of our history. Yet, no matter how hard they attempted to stigmatize him, the significant things he accomplished cannot be equaled by the presidents who succeeded him: Corazon Cojuangco, his favorite son, President Benigno S. Aquino III and the three presidents between them who spent more than P35 trillion in accumulated budgets in 31 years.

Never forget the unparalleled achievements and contributions of President Marcos who only spent in 20 years P486.42 billion in accumulated budgets, albeit persistently shunned from the spotlight and missing in our history books.

Never forget The Marcos Legacy, now a book in 446 pages published

by Brown Madonna Press and Amazon, one of the world’s biggest book publishers, and written by this author.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

it seems a completely sensible thing.

However, people caught in a period of cognitive dissonance are motivated to reduce the discomfort of the situation. So fear not.

Soon the market will clearly decide which way it wants to go. And when it does, ride whatever wave that happens to be.

Please e-mail questions and comments to mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www. mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets.

ABOUT TOWN

W

hat should be the correct approach to strengthen the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China?

The two sides are correct in pointing out that “contentious maritime issues are not the sum total” of their bilateral relationship.

We believe that finding common ground, instead of emphasizing differences, could be the key to resolving territorial claims in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea. During the recent one-day meeting in Manila of the bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM)—the second such meeting between the two sides since the improvement of relations between the two Asian neighbors in 2016—they said the talks had been “positive, fruitful and productive,” and expressed the hope that the mechanism “would continue to contribute to the stable growth of bilateral relations.”

What’s been achieved by the two sides so far?

One, they agreed on the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety, and to begin negotiations on a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea early next month.

Two, they also agreed to maintain

and promote “peace and stability, freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, freedom of international commerce and other peaceful uses of the sea, addressing territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force.”

Three, they agreed to continue “friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law,” including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. And four, they agreed “to continue discussions on confidencebuilding measures to increase mutual trust and confidence and to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities in the South China Sea that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability.” Among these confidencebuilding measures is the possibility

The edges of reason

W

By Ross Douthat | New York Times News Service

hen I was a child I lived in several worlds. First was the world that I understood to be the normal one: a world where people had professional degrees and followed their doctor’s instructions strictly and carefully; a world ruled by a solid-seeming secular and liberal consensus about what was scientific, what was certain, what was true.

Then there were the other, stranger worlds—which we explored for reasons of chronic illness, religious interest and some of the roving curiosity that defined my parents’ generation at its best.

First was the world of charismatic religion, where people sought healing and spoke in tongues and prophesied, experiencing the divine as palpably as people in the secular world experienced, say, this newspaper’s pronouncements.

Second was the world of alternative medicine and what was then still described, disparagingly, as “health food”—the shabby little pre-Whole Foods stores selling organic vegetables and carob and tofu, the chiropractic offices smelling of essential oils, the vegetarian restaurants with New Age bookstores umbilically attached.

I found myself thinking about those childhood worlds while browsing Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now!, a big book by a big thinker written to defend Reason against its enemies—be they the populist right, the identity-politics left, or a larger crew of historical villains, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, whom Pinker

blames for impeding civilization’s march toward ever-greater wealth and health and peace.

His book is at once a salutary reminder of the material progress modern science and commerce have delivered and a propagandistic treatment of the past. Pinker defends a selectively edited Enlightenment that conforms neatly to his style of liberal politics (stridently secular, mildly libertarian, anti-PC), and absolves his idealized version of the modern project of all imperial and eugenic and centralizing cruelties, and all the genocides and persecutions justified in Reason’s name.

But historical critiques of Enlightenment Now! are available elsewhere.

I’m most interested in the bright line that Pinker draws between the empirical spirit of science and the unreasoning obscurantism he suggests otherwise prevails.

I’m reasonably confident that both of the stranger worlds of my childhood, the prayer services and macrobiotic diet camps, fit his definition of the anti-empirical dark. And therein lies the oddity: If you actually experienced these worlds, and contrasted them with the normal world

Tuesday, February 27, 2018 A11

of conducting several joint initiatives in the waters, which include oil and gas cooperation and marine scientific research.

The second round of talks achieved significant agreement in principle on key issues. The way forward, of course, is for them to tackle specific issues in detail. We hope the discussions proceed without any hitches or obstacles in the years ahead.

Opening the floodgates to corruption

The legislature shouldn’t be “stampeded” into approving a bill granting emergency powers to the Duterte administration to solve the traffic crisis in Metro Manila.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza believes that House Bill 4334, or the proposed Traffic Crisis Act—proposed as the solution to horrible traffic congestion in Metro Manila—could open the floodgates to corruption.

“This is not the solution. This would only aggravate the situation since it does not address the real cause of the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila and other urban cities— corruption!” he said.

The lawmaker is convinced that emergency powers that would suspend laws on bidding and procurement might only lead to more corruption.

For the former Manila mayor, what would work is “efficient and honest-to-goodness enforcement of existing laws.”

We agree wholeheartedly.

of high-minded liberal secularism, it was the charismatic-religious and “health food” regions where people were the most personally empirical, least inclined to meekly submit to authority, and most determined to reason independently and keep trying things until they worked.

That’s because those worlds’ inhabitants were a self-selected population who had either experienced something transformative or suffered something debilitating and been told by the official consensus, “We have no answers for you yet.”

And so they ventured out in search of answers in an intensely experimental spirit—trying to see what people or prayers or situations recreated the initial religious experience, trying to discern what remedy or diet or program might actually make them feel, not just alive, but well.

Such individual experimentation is not the same thing as the scientific method; it lacks the proving tests of replication and consensus.

But the two approaches are more closely related than today’s apostles of scientism often suggest. They proceed from the same intense curiosity, the same desire for understanding through experience—and personalized experimentation can be the only way to be empirical when your subject is the strange nexus of the self.

Every human life is, in this sense, a science experiment, and how we choose to react when our assumptions are tested defines the real scope of our curiosity. If you refuse any

Take the case of the retail business hub in Manila—Divisoria—where the traffic situation is total chaos at any time of the day.

Here, jeepneys load and unload whereever they please, tricycles and pedicabs jostle for position with public-utilily vehicles and private cars on narrow streets, people cross the street whenever they want to and vendors spill out into the streets to sell various wares, forcing people to walk out in the streets instead of on the sidewalks. Lately, the city government also fielded hundreds of electric-powered tricycles, thus contributing some more to already chaotic traffic.

It is true that the government has not been enforcing traffic rules and regulations at all, nor evenhandedly. Traffic enforcers merely look the other way while drivers violate all traffic rules with impunity.

In other parts of Metro Manila, public-utility buses also load and unload passengers without any regard for traffic rules, while illegal jeep and tricycle terminals take over already narrow streets.

With traffic congestion in Metro Manila this bad, would giving government blanket authority to exercise emergency powers be the answer? We certainly don’t think so, as this woud give the corrupt and the unscrupulous all the opportunity to laugh all the way to the bank without making any real dent in alleviating the chaos in our streets.

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

non-FDA-blessed treatment for chronic illness because there’s no controlled study proving that it works, or have a religious experience and preemptively dismiss it as an illusion without seeing what happens if you pray, you may be many things, but you are not really much of an empiricist.

Which is why in many instances the interests that Pinker dismisses as irrational hugger-mugger, everything from astrology to spiritualism, have tended to strengthen during periods of real scientific ferment. It’s why Isaac Newton loved alchemy and the Victorians loved séances; it’s why charismatic Christianity has spread very naturally with economic development in Africa and Latin America and why the Space Age coincided with the spread of all those health-food stores. It’s not that there is some quantum of unreason that needs an outlet when reason’s power grows.

Rather, it’s that when people and societies are genuinely curious they are very reasonably curious about everything, including things happening in their bodies and their consciousness and more speculative realms.

Which is why if Pinker and others are genuinely worried about a waning appreciation of the inquiring scientific spirit, they should consider the possibility that some of their own smug secular certainties might be part of the problem—that they might, indeed, be stifling the more comprehensive kind of curiosity upon which the scientific enterprise ultimately depends.

There’s still no good way to let a big bank fail

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nce upon a time, President Donald J. Trump vowed to “do a very major haircut” on the Dodd-Frank Act. After a lengthy review, his officials have apparently concluded that the 2010 law’s approach to the failures of large banks was about right. In some ways, this reversal is a pity.

The 2008 crisis showed how dangerous it can be to let a big, interconnected financial institution go bust. When the US tried that with Lehman Brothers, the repercussions were disastrous. Within months, the government was supporting vast swathes of the financial industry, including money-market mutual funds, AIG and the country’s largest

banks. In response, Dodd-Frank created a tool aimed at making big failures more manageable. Known as the orderly liquidation authority, it allows regulators to keep myriad operating subsidiaries running—with the help of government loans—while shoring them up at the expense of the parent company’s shareholders and creditors. Ideally, a newly recapitalized enterprise emerges.

The mechanism has flaws. It’s untested, for one thing, and it’s unlikely to work in a full-blown crisis—when multiple countries are involved, markets are volatile and nobody knows exactly how insolvent financial institutions really are. It might be able to handle the failure of a single bank in

otherwise favorable circumstances, but anything bigger would probably require a blanket government guarantee to prevent panic.

Yet, even if this part of Dodd-Frank could be improved, the Treasury Department’s review has come up mostly empty. In a 53-page report, the biggest proposal is to adjust the bankruptcy code so that it’s better fitted to financial institutions—by adding features similar to those of the orderly liquidation authority. The Treasury also suggests changes to the authority itself, but these are mainly cosmetic, intended to make the mechanism look less like a bailout.

The effort illustrates, once again,

the crucial point: There’s no good way to let a systemically important financial institution fail. That’s why it’s vital to make such failures as unlikely as possible, by requiring institutions to have enough equity capital to absorb even severe losses. In this, despite improvements since the crash, the US still falls short. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis estimates that capital requirements would need to more than double to lower the risk of failure adequately.

It’s good that regulators have a plan to handle big bank failures, and that the Trump administration isn’t planning to simply scrap it. Ideally, they’d do more to ensure that no such plan ever has to be used. Bloomberg View

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Don’t blame TRAIN for rising prices for now–Gatchalian

T

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

he chairman of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee asserted on Monday that the Duterte administration’s revenueraising package, called Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), is not to blame for rising inflation.

“As of this point, TRAIN is not the reason for the rise in prices,” Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian said. “It is a fluctuation on the global oil prices, as well as the depreciation of the peso.”

Saying “these are the two main causes,” Gatchalian noted recent fluctuations on oil prices. “Definitely, these are the ones affecting inflation right now.

We will see the full effect of TRAIN in terms of inflation come May,” the senator said, adding: “All the way until August, this is really the timetable wherein we will feel the effects of tax reform; but, right now, not yet.”

But he confirmed he will convene another committee hearing before then to review, among others, the mitigating measures in the tax-reform law. “ T he mit igat ing measures are there; for example, the cash-transfer

subsidy adjusted to P200 this year, and we urged the Department of Finance [DOF] and Neda [National Economic Development Authority] to really implement it. The money is there, [amounting to] P24 billion,” he added.

Gatchalian said 10 million beneficiaries, or 10 million families, will receive P200 every month. “So it should be implemented already because the money is there. This is on top of what they are getting from the 4Ps, which is about three thousand pesos,” he stressed, referring to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

He added that, by next year, beneficiaries will be receiving P300 every month from the cash-transfer scheme.

At the same time, Gatchalian agreed with the DOF’s stance that the inflation rate is still manageable.

Gatchalian: “All the way until August, this is really the timetable wherein we will feel the effects of tax reform; but, right now, not yet.”

“The inflation rate right now is manageable; it’s not due to the tax reform because we can see the fluctuations in oil prices and the peso depreciation,” but “that does not mean that we should not implement what is already included in the law, which is the cash transfers and the national ID system.”

He explained that the national ID system is “also very important, because this is where we will release the targeted subsidies, such as discounts in transport fares and rice supply.”

The senator noted there are at least four mitigating measures lined up to address inflation: “No. 1 is the cash transfer of P200 every month; No. 2, 10-percent discount on fares for indigents; No. 3, 10-percent discount in rice supply for the poor; and, No. 4, removal of quantitative restrictions so our traders can import cheaper rice, imposing only 35-percent tax.

We estimate, this will bring down the cost by almost P20 per kilo if we will allow importers to bring in rice from other countries.”

Gatchalian pointed out that rice takes up the biggest budget of poor families. “Almost 20 percent of the budget of our poorest families goes to rice so that, when the price of rice goes up, this is immediately felt by them.”

He said the consensus at the recent senate hearing was to find ways to bring down rice prices, as this will have “the quickest positive impact on our countrymen.”

Gatchalian added the Senate hearing also elicited estimates by the University of the Philippines that the government’s current cash-transfer rates are “not enough” to sustain poor families. “We will need approximately P500 pesos to support our poor families, the poorest of the poor; that is why we are looking to raise it by P300 more to add up to P500 to support poor families.”

The senator suggests that one way to do this is to implement “nonrevenue measures,” such as discounted rice prices for indigents.

“We are also looking for other ways to raise the subsidies.”

“That is what the Senate will likely do; we will pass a law to enable traders to import rice at cheaper prices, even as we ensure protection for our local farmers,” Gatchalian added. “Hopefully, our recommendation is implemented before the first half of the year, before June.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DA vows to help exporters ship bananas to Australia

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

T

he Department of Agriculture (DA) will facilitate the entry of Philippine bananas into the Australian market, which has been closed to Filipino exporters for more than two decades. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he would be willing to broker a meeting between Filipino banana exporters belonging to the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) and Australian officials. “[The possible reopening of the Australian market] is a welcome development for us and for me. I find it unfair that the Philippines buys beef and other meat products from Australia, but local products could not enter their market,” Piñol told reporters in an interview on Monday.

The PBGEA has reportedly signified anew its interest to export bananas to Australia after Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely said Canberra is willing to cooperate with exporters.

See “DA,” A2

Incentivizing Integrity Continued from A1

In just a matter of three years, the country’s trajectory seems to be headed right back to where it was at the height of the financial crisis, when the same index put the country at its lowest ranking of 141 with a paltry score of 23. The international anticorruption watchdog has consistently put the Philippines in the CPI’s lower half, with scores of 36 in 2013, 38 in 2014 and 35 in both the 2015 and 2016 indices.

The Philippines’s 2017 CPI score also placed it in the same league as the Maldives, which had a score of 33 and Pakistan with 32. Vietnam and Mongolia had slightly better scores of 35 and 36, as well as Thailand and Indonesia, which both scored 37, although these only put everyone still under the global average score of 43. Even India and China only managed to score 40 and 41, respectively.

Overall, the Transparency International survey gives a dismal reading of the trend in the Asia Pacific, saying “only a few countries experienced small, incremental changes indicating signs of improvement” in the last six years, even noting the Philippines as “among the worst regional offenders for threatening journalists, activists, opposition leaders and even staff of law enforcement or watchdog agencies” and highlighted, along with countries like India and the Maldives, as countries that “score high for corruption and have fewer press freedoms and higher numbers of journalist deaths.”

Whatever gains it was able to muster in the past six years, the Philippines now looks to be bucking the trend that other comparable Asia Pacific economies are going as shown by the graph below:

While Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are virtually improving in their standings and making efforts to not lag behind their neighbors, the Philippines seems to be heading in the opposite direction and going against the pack in its anticorruption efforts.

This does not bode well for the country’s ambitious plans to boost the economy by engaging in unprecedented amounts of public procurement through massive infrastructure projects, where it needs to earn the trust of other states and private-sector partners

that will play key roles in its “Build, Build, Build” program, which the Department of Public Works and Highways is already linking to the larger “Belt and Road” Initiative of China. The government, in its zeal, must be careful not to compromise the integrity of the finances that will be poured into the public projects but must also put more effort into ensuring that the principles of transparency and accountability are very much in the core of every procurement activity that it will be getting into.

This will also be an opportune time for every sector to take part in strengthening the institutions and accountability mechanisms that are critical in safeguarding the basic rights and freedoms of the public. This trend in the CPI rankings should give pause to groups that work hard to make their governments more transparent and accountable, especially in countries here in Asia, and seriously rethink the way they are running their integrity programs, especially at the grassroots level. My work for the past seven years dealing mostly with the promotion of anti-bribery/corruption (AB/C) prevention measures in enterprises has made me realize this. We need new ways of looking at the problem of corruption so we can think of more effective and sustainable solutions. Although a lot has been done in raising awareness of global best practices in AB/C controls, the fact remains that organizations face a lot of challenges implementing them in the face of certain harsh realities.

One of which is the fact that they have to operate in a very high-risk environment where “corruption and cronyism are pervasive…[and] the President’s strong-arm tactics reinforce a culture of impunity.”

It is important that we rethink the strategies that can effectively deal with the systemic causes of corruption, and not just the symptoms. As the recent Panama and Paradise papers exposes have revealed even more disturbing incidences of global corruption, we should “start by seeing corrupt actions as symptoms of deeper imbalances in power, weaknesses in institutions and gaps in accountability” before thinking of new, radical solutions and look at “how other countries made corruption low reward and high risk, and that means stolen assets returned and jail time served.”

While the government has an important role in spearheading anticorruption efforts, the private sector should also complement these initiatives by addressing corruption that is also happening within their own ranks. As the most recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) Enterprise Survey on Corruption in 2016 reveal that “most/almost all companies in their line of business give bribes to win private-sector contracts,” it is necessary for companies to also seriously commit and act on the problem in their own spheres of influence. The SWS survey also noted that most enterprises do not even allocate any amount for their own anticorruption programs, and only a few spend a meager P10,000 for their AB/C efforts. Moreover, 84 percent even said they “did not contribute to any

private anticorruption program in the last two years.”

A fisherman shows his prize catch lobsters, which he sells to a fish dealer at P2,100 per kilo, in Barangay Suclaran, San Lorenzo town, Province of Guimaras. Guimaras still reeling from 2006 oil spill, staying away from dirty fossil fuel for good.

Guimaras. . .

Nevertheless, the same survey respondents also share that the best ways for companies to fight corruption are: (a) to never pay bribes; (b) use honest business practices; and (c) know the laws/rules. These practices are also the basis for signing the Integrity Pledge, and the government can make a decisive step in granting incentives to companies only if they sign the Integrity Pledge and live up to its conditions. Holding companies accountable in implementing honest business practices that they themselves believe are doable and effective can further be institutionalized if government agencies, such the departments of Finance, Trade and Industry, Public Works and Highways, Transportation, Environment and Natural Resources and of the Interior and Local Government, and regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, bureaus of Internal Revenue, Customs and of Investments/Philippine Economic Zone Authority, can make the anticorruption commitment a standard undertaking for companies that want to do business with integrity.

A draft executive order prepared by the Integrity Initiative was already endorsed to the Office of the Executive Secretary and the finance secretary, and it is now up to them to consider the issuance as a real practical and effective weapon in the continuing fight against corruption. Only by incentivizing integrity practices can the Philippines hope to bring its economic trajectory back into a more competitive and inclusive track.

Sources: https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017; https://www.heritage. org/index/country/philippines; http://www.dpwh.gov. ph/dpwh/news/12698; http://www.fcpablog.com/ blog/2017/12/20/michael-johnston-relying-on-politicalwill-to-fight-corrupti.html; https://www.rappler.com/ nation/105154-anti-corruption-lessons-philippines-iacc; http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsys code=ART-20161005151549 Jose Solomon B. Cortez is the former executive director of the Integrity Initiative Inc. and currently a Project Consultant at the RVR Center for Corporate Responsibility of the Asian Institute of Management. E-mail: jose.cortez.2017@ mtsc.smu.edu.sg

Continued from A1

Speaking in mixed Filipino and Ilonggo, Gallo said fishing was never the same in Guimaras after the oil spill.

“If your job is fishing alone, you’ll go hungry. You need to have more than one job,” he said. “The fish are scarce. If you really want to catch fish, you now have to go farther away from the shore.”

Still, he said the average fish catch does not exceed 5 kilos. “You are lucky if you can catch 5 kilos nowadays.”

“Before, we can catch 10 to 15 kilos in just a few hours, and we do not even have to go far out to the seas to catch,” he added. Gallo has been fishing since he was a teenager. “I started when I was young. I was 15, the same age as my son is learning to fish now.”

But he is worried. He said fishing in Guimaras is no longer profitable.

Fishing alone could not possibly make ends meet, he said. “You have to have another job. Carpentry, if there are offers, or do farming and livestock.”

Alfred Quinto, 33, of Barangay Suclaran, Sitio Baybay, said fishing was a lot better before the spill.

Fishermen, he noted, are forced to borrow money from him and another fish dealer to make ends meet. “I lend them money so that they can go fishing because they have no capital.” Fishermen need gasoline for their motorized bancas to catch commercially viable fish and other seafood.

For Quinto, despite the devastating impact of the oil spill, Guimaras continues to provide food on the table of a lot of fishermen.

Every day, he said he goes to the docking area in Barangay Suclaran where fishermen who owe him money bring their catch. Some are fortunate if they are able to catch live lobster, which he buys at P2,100 per kilo.

Locally called banagan, he sells lobster to another dealer for export.

Grouper fish, or lapu-lapu, locally called “inib,” is another prize catch. “I buy them at P250 a kilo. Sometimes, I sell them at the local market for P350 a kilo,” he said.

Sometimes, he said his daily P10,000 capital would have been spent buying all morning, as fishermen continue to bring in their catch.

“They start arriving around 6:30 a.m. I’ll be here waiting until 9 a.m.

Sometimes, they bring me a lot of fish. Sometimes, there’s none. They had to go farther, unlike before, you can catch fish and lobster just a few meters from the shores,” he said.

The province does not want to forget that incident 12 years ago, which is why it has been commemorating the Guimaras Oil Spill to remind them of its devastating impact and how it changed the lives of the people on the island. Last Saturday Gumarin led local officials in welcoming and playing host to the crew of Greenpeace’s flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, as part of its Climate Justice Ship Tour in the Philippines.

Aside from pushing for programs in line with his thrust to make the province the agri-ecotourism capital of the Western Visayas region, Gumarin wants Guimaras to be known for producing clean renewable energy, in line with his commitment to combat climate change.

“Balangaw: The Climate Justice Ship Tour” is part of Greenpeace’s five-month “Climate Change and People Power” tour of Southeast Asia.

The Philippine leg started from February 14 to 18 in Manila, followed by a protest action at the Shell Batangas refinery on February 21. From Guimaras, the ship will sail to Tacloban in Eastern Visayas, arriving on February 28 and staying until March 4, before it sails on to Indonesia.