Businessmirror january 05, 2017

Brand-new cars ready for delivery are parked at a car dealership in Bicutan, Taguig City. Reports said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) will come up with a unified revision on the excise-tax structure on automobiles this month, in a bid to balance the DOF’s revenue generation with the DTI’s goal to reinvigorate the automanufacturing industry. Story below. NONIE REYES

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Thursday, January 5, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 85

inside

HOW TO PLAN A WEEKEND GETAWAY H

Life

At last He comes in glory

EAR in kindness, the prayers of Your people, that those who rejoice at the coming of Your only begotten Son in our flesh may, when at last He comes in glory, gain the reward of eternal life. May we continue to recognize our primary calling on Earth why God our Father created us, that is to know, love and love Him all the days of our lives. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY, COMMITTEE ON DIVINE WORSHIP SHARED LUISA M. LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Thursday, January 5, 2017

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How to plan a weekend getaway

BY SHIVANI VORA New York Times News Service

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AN’T take time off for a weeklong vacation? Getting away for a weekend is still a way to recharge your batteries, said Shawna Huffman Owen, president of Huffman Travel, a travel consultancy based in Chicago. “If you plan well,” she said, “a quick trip can be a great break and even feel longer than it is.”

As a frequent weekend vacationer, she has plenty of advice on getting the most out of a little time off. Here, her top tips: ■ Know your goal. Do you want to completely disconnect and relax, be active, hit popular nightclubs and restaurants or bond with your family? “Your weekend trip will be a waste if it doesn’t accomplish what you’re looking to do,” Huffman Owen said.

Travelers interested in cultural attractions, for example, might not appreciate a stay in a countryside retreat with few sights nearby, while those who like to be pampered wouldn’t enjoy a property without a spa or one where the spa is small and has a limited menu of services. Plan a trip according to what interests you most.

■ Pick an easy-to-reach destination. Enjoying your destination— not spending all of your time traveling to and from it—is crucial when you have limited time off. Consider places that are within a four-hour drive or a nonstop flight from home. (See related story below) ■ Fulfill a dream. The exception to choosing an easily accessible destination, Huffman Owen said, is using your weekend getaway to fulfill a travel fantasy such as flying to Paris to have dinner in that threeMichelin-star restaurant you have always wanted to dine at, going to London to catch a tennis match at Wimbledon or heading to Morocco for a two-day trek in the Sahara, a trip that an adventure travel company can arrange. “Trips like these may require more effort and a bigger budget,” she said, “but they will be ones that you will never forget and can be rejuvenating in their own way.”

■ Do your homework. Planning is crucial to making the most of your weekend away and avoiding disappointment. If you’re heading to a spa, for example, be sure to book treatments and fitness classes as far in advance as possible because many spas can be fully booked on weekends, and exercise classes, such as spinning, may have a limit on the number of participants. It’s also a good idea to book tables at nightclubs and restaurants, and reserve theater tickets and poolside and beachside cabanas at resorts. ■

TOURISM Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr. stresses the importance of convergence to effectively implement the cruise-tourism strategy.

D.O.T. ROLLS OUT CRUISE TOURISM STRATEGY

THE Department of Tourism (DOT) recently concluded a four-day workshop that brought together key personnel from the government infrastructure agencies to firm up a cruisetourism strategy for the country.

The cruise strategy identified developments in the “Turquoise Triangle” linking the popular tourist destinations of Manila, Boracay and Puerto Princesa in Palawan. The potential for new cruise destinations in the north of Luzon, where ships departing East Asian hubs can arrive after one day at sea, has, likewise, been pinpointed in the plan.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said, “Once completed, the cruise strategy will pave the way for definitive actions and investments into infrastructure, facilities and services. Clearly, our job is to set up the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. These include enhancement of ship access through the development of port and shore-side infrastructure, facilitation of business entry and offering exciting tour packages, among others. Only then can we draw in the much-needed foreign direct investments to pump prime the industry. We must surge ahead to build this multimillion-dollar travel sector and disperse the economic benefits to the countryside.”

Cruise tourism is one of the nine product portfolios identified in the DOT’s National Tourism Development Plan that will enhance the competitiveness of the country as a tourist destination in the Asia-Pacific region. The other products are nature-based; cultural, sun and beach; MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions); leisure and entertainment; diving and marine sports; health, wellness and retirement; and educational tourism.

Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr., who heads the Cruise Tourism Development Committee for the Philippines, said that in 2016, the Philippines attracted just 72 cruise port calls, a relatively small share compared to the top Asian ports: Singapore, with 374 port calls in 2014, and Jeju Island in South Korea and Hong Kong, with 217 and 200, respectively. “As a key element of our strategy, we are determined to build new dedicated cruise facilities, most especially in Manila. A superior cruise port and terminal in the capital, with its extensive airlift and ground facilities, will create a compelling reason for large ships to spend time in the Philippines.

The draft strategy was presented by Chart Management Consulting. It was commissioned by the United States Agency for Development and the DOT to lead a team in undertaking extensive field work, interviews, analysis and direction. This jump-starts the series of consultative workshops aimed at formulating action plans to implement the strategy.

Time for a road trip? Take these steps A CAR is often seen as the first taste of freedom for a young driver. But getting behind the wheel, especially for longer trips, calls for skills and preparation. According to Allstate Roadside Services, younger drivers were the ones most likely to have car trouble when on the road.

Here are some tips to consider before your trip.

■ Know how to change a tire.

“Changing a tire can be a daunting task, but is actually quite straightforward with the right tools and preparation,” said Sarah Robinson, a Michelin tiresafety expert. Robinson recommends “evaluating the task start to finish, before you even begin.” This includes making sure you are in a safe location and that you have the proper tools to change the flat.

Directions on how to change a tire are on the Bridgestone Tire page (www.bridgestonetire.com), along with an

instructional video.

If you are unsure, reach out to a roadside assistance provider. Also take note that car-insurance providers offer emergency roadside-assistance options, as do some car-purchase packages.

Robinson added that “many flat tires can be prevented altogether with proper tire maintenance, so try to avoid the situation by checking out your tires once a month.”

■ Pack an emergency kit. In case you do get stranded while waiting for roadside assistance, an emergency kit will come in handy.

Roadside assistance provider AAA suggests keeping a year-round version in your car with the following: ■ Mobile phone and charger ■ Warning devices (flares or triangles) ■ First-aid kit ■ Jumper cables ■ Flashlight and extra batteries

■ Duct tape ■ Basic tool kit (tire pressure gauge, screwdriver, pliers, adjustable wrench) ■ Rags, paper towels or baby wipes ■ Nonperishable food items (nuts, dried-fruit energy bars, snacks for pets if you are traveling with them) ■ Drinking water ■ Do your homework. AAA also advises not to ignore warning lights, and to check tire pressure, engine oil level and exterior lights at least once a month.

Here’s a trick to see if your tire treads are worn out, from Kevin Burke, the vice president of marketing at SimpleTire: “Place a penny into the most shallow tread groove with Lincoln’s head facing down. If the top of his head is still visible, then the tire needs to be replaced.”

Farmers Insurance suggests keeping a portable charger that can inflate tires and charge electronics.

LIFE

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NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

SLEEPLESS IN BRISBANE

Sports

WORLD No. 1 andy Murray wins his opening match of 2017 in Doha.

BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, January 5, 2017

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

RaFaEL aNDaL continues comeback with a first win in Brisbane.

SLEEPLESS IN BRISBANE Returning from a wrist injury, which curtailed the end of his 2016 season, Rafael Nadal said he’s determined to use every match as preparation for a shot at the title in the season-opening Grand Slam event in Melbourne.

DESTaNEE aIava’S first win in the main draw doesn’t come easily, spanning two days and giving her plenty of time to think about it.

By John Pye

The Associated Press

RISBANE, Australia—Rafael Nadal was in need of some sleep, so he didn’t waste much time against Alexandr Dolgopolov on Tuesday.

The 14-time major champion, playing his opening match at the Brisbane International a day after arriving in Australia following a win in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, beat the Ukrainian, 6-3, 6-3, after getting on court at almost 10:30 p.m. local time.

Returning from a wrist injury, which curtailed the end of his 2016 season, Nadal said he’s determined to use every match as preparation for a shot at the title in the season-opening Grand Slam event in Melbourne.

The 30-year-old Spaniard dropped serve in the third game but recovered to win the last five games of the first set against the 2012 finalist. In all, he converted all four of his break points and fended off three of the four he faced.

“A little bit of jet lag. It’s tough, these kinds of things at the beginning,” said Nadal, who added that he was still sleeping in the early afternoon and felt “destroyed” after the travel. “There wasn’t a lot of time to adapt.”

He only made nine unforced errors, and his most glaring miss of the night was when whiffed at a ball as he tried to hit it into the crowd to celebrate his win.

In a postmatch news conference, he apologized after stifling a yawn, but said he still preferred the late start to help him overcome the jetlag.

Nadal has changed his preparation for the

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Australian Open, arriving two weeks ahead of time to fine tune his game in a bid to make amends for a shocking first-round exit last year.

He will next play Mischa Zverev, who opened with a 6-3, 6-3 win over teenage Australian qualifier Alex de Minaur, and has a potential quarterfinal match against defending champion and top-seeded Milos Raonic.

Also, sixth-seeded Lucas Pouille lost the first five games before rebounding for a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) win over Gilles Simon, while Viktor Troicki beat Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-4, 7-5, and Diego Schwartzman had a 6-2, 6-4 win over Sam Querrey.

In the women’s draw, Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina, who all had career-highlight victories over Serena Williams last season, are already through to the quarterfinals.

Destanee Aiava, a 16-year-old high-school senior who was inspired to take up tennis when she was 5 after watching Williams on TV, also made a mark.

Aiava became the first player born in the 2000s to win a main draw match in an elite Women’s Tennis Associaton event when she beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a first-round match that spanned two days. She already has a wild-card entry to the Australian Open but, before then, will face two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round in Brisbane.

The third-seeded Pliskova, who beat Williams in the US Open semifinals last year before losing the final to Angelique Kerber, defeated American qualifier Asia Muhammad, 6-1, 6-4, to secure the first spot in the quarterfinals.

Svitolina, seeded sixth and the only woman

to beat both Williams and Kerber when in 2016, advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 win over Shelby Rogers. The fourth-seeded Muguruza wasted a match point and saved one before clinching a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7) win over Daria Kasatkina in a three-hour night match. Both players had eight service breaks and Muguruza, who beat Williams in the French Open final last year to claim her first Grand Slam title, dropped her opening serve in all three sets.

Her next match will be against either Kuznetsova or Aiava, who was born on May 10, 2000, was No. 386 in the latest rankings and is very new to the tour.

“Pretty crazy,” Aiava said of her first trip to the locker rooms in the main draw. “I walk in, and there is people I have watched on TV before and it’s, like, ‘Oh!’” Her mother Rosie has been her coach since she showed interest in the game. She keeps the teenager grounded.

After her milestone win, Aiava said her mother just said “good job” and took her back onto the practice courts for 20 minutes to work on her serve.

RISBANE, Australia—Her name is Destanee, and she’s a teenager with a record that nobody born in this millennium can match.

The 16-year-old Destanee Aiava advanced through qualifying before becoming the first player born in the 2000s to win a main draw match at an elite Women’s Tennis Association

event, beating veteran American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Tuesday in a firstround match at the Brisbane International.

She’s set for another memorable mark, too, after being granted a wild-card entry to the Australian Open starting January 16 in her hometown of Melbourne. Aiava is set to become the first player born in the 2000s to play a main draw match at a Grand Slam event.

Her first win in the main draw didn’t come easily, spanning two days and giving her plenty of time to think about it.

Heavy rain forced a postponement on Monday night when she led 3-0, 40-15 in the third set.

Aiava struggled with her serve briefly on resumption on Tuesday, but

Murray extends streak

OHA, Qatar—Top-ranked Andy Murray extended his winning streak to a career-best 25 matches by defeating Jeremy Chardy of France, 6-0, 7-6 (2), in his first match of the year at the Qatar Open on Tuesday.

Murray clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking in his last match of 2016, winning a career-best ninth title by holding off longtime No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Association of Tennis Professionals Finals championship match.

Murray, who won back-to-back Doha titles in 2008 and 2009, was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd when he took to the court.

One fan held up a handwritten sign, “Welcome to Doha Sir Andy,” referencing his recently being knighted

by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth.

Murray won the opening set by posting only one unforced error and seven winners. In all, Murray had nine unforced errors and 18 winners.

The 69th-ranked Chardy settled into the second set, even managing to break Murray’s serve in the first game.

But from 2-2 in the second set tiebreaker, Murray reeled off five straight points to finish off the match.

Murray, who has beaten Chardy in nine of the 10 matches they have played, will face Gerald Melzer of Austria in the next round.

Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, playing in Doha for the first time since he won the title in 2012, ousted Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

The win booked Tsonga a second-round outing against Dustin Brown of Germany.

In Perth, Australia, American teammates CoCo Vandeweghe and Jack Sock combined for a 3-0 win over Spain on Tuesday at the Hopman Cup and secured a spot in the final.

The US team opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Czech Republic, and followed it up with another sweep.

Vandeweghe beat Lara Arruabarrena, 6-2, 6-4, and Sock had a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Feliciano Lopez in the singles matches before teaming up to win the mixed doubles, 4-3 (3), 3-4 (2), 4-3 (2).

The US secured a place in the final with a match to spare when defending champion Australia lost to the Czech Republic, 2-1, later on Tuesday. AP

VENUS WITHDRAWS A UCKLAND, New Zealand—Venus Williams has withdrawn from the ASB Tennis Classic, her first tournament of 2017, due to an arm injury.

Williams beat New Zealand wild-card Jade Lewis in a first-round match and was due to play Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the second round later on Wednesday but withdrew before the match.

The former No.1 and seven-time grand slam

DESTINED FOR RECORDS B

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overcame a couple of double-faults and held on to close out with an ace on her first match point.

“Struggled a bit at the end, but I got through it,” Aiava said.

The 31-year-old Mattek-Sands played her first Grand Slam match at the US Open in 2001 and has played her home major every year but one since then.

Aiava, who was born on May 10, 2000, and was No. 386 in the latest rankings, is at the start of her tennis journey. It will continue with a second-round match against 31-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion who is seeded No. 5 at the Brisbane tournament.

Aiava had already brushed shoulders with some stars of tennis.

In 2012 she won the Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament in Paris and her prize was an opportunity to hit with 22-time Grand Slam winner Steffi Graf.

winner struggled early against Lewis and had to save a set point in the first set.

Tournament Director Karl Budge told reporters Williams “wasn’t able to serve as she would like to and at the level that we have come to expect from Venus and, unfortunately, that has taken her away from the tournament this year.”

The Australian Open, the year’s first grand slam tournament, begins on January 16. AP

Still, the Melbourne high-school senior has had to come to terms with meeting star players in the locker room for the main draw, which is far different to the qualifying tournaments.

“Pretty crazy. I walk in, and there is people I have watched on TV before and it’s, like, Oh!” Aiava grew up in Australia to parents of Samoan heritage. Her mother Rosie is a self-taught tennis coach and has guided her daughter since she showed interest in the game at age 5. Her father Mark is a power lifter who handles her strength and conditioning training. They both keep her teenage daughter grounded.

For instance, Aiava was asked what words of wisdom her mother imparted after the historic win.

“She just said, ‘good job,’ and took me to the practice court,” Aiava said. She spent the following 20 minutes working on her serve and “just getting some rhythm back into my hitting again.”

Aiava knows she’s attracting wider attention than ever now, particularly with a first name tailor-made for headline writers, but said she’s trying to keep her preparations tight for the Australian Open. For the record, she said she prefers to be known by the abbreviated name, Des. “As long as I have a small circle of people that help me to stay grounded,” she said, adding that she wasn’t surprised how she matched up with Mattek-Sands after an admittedly tight start in the first set.

“That’s what I have been working really hard on getting my game to a professional level.” AP

SPORTS

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Positivism marks new year for market, Duterte execs

AN ENTERTAINING PLAN TO MAXIMIZE MINGLING D2

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

the broader look

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PESO exchange rates n US 49.7880

‘Kontexto’

Teddy Locsin Jr.

free fire

@c_pillas29

sually at odds for their contrasting stand on revenue generation and grant of incentives, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) this time agreed to come up with a unified version of the proposed revision to the excise-tax structure on automobiles that they hope to finish and present to Congress within the month.

business news source of the year

P25.00 nationwide | 4 sections 24 pages | 7 days a week

DTI, DOF agree to unify auto excise-tax proposals 200,000 U

By Catherine N. Pillas

2016 ejap journalism awards

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o American criticism of our savage antidrug campaign—nearly 5,000 (now 6,000 plus) shot in the back of the head or thereabouts, by cops and by vigilantes who turn out to be cops—my answer is that American cops shoot anything that’s fat, black and slow running. Because they are easy targets, and almost never because they pose a threat or committed a grave offense. And yet, news sites report that American courts give the benefit of the doubt to officers and clear them. Two years ago, Slate reports, Officer Michael Slager shot and killed Walter Scott. For a moment there, my heart stopped. A descendant of the writer of Ivanhoe? Slate goes on, Slager is white, Scott was black, past tense.

The number of new jobs that the government hopes to create through its auto-resurgence program

This is to balance the DOF’s revenue-generation efforts with the DTI’s goal of reinvigorating the auto-manufacturing industry.

“We’re working with the DOF for the right excise-tax structure so it

Continued on A11

Continued on A2

Court allows Shell to walk away with ₧1-B unpaid duty

By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has lost its bid to collect almost P1 billion from oil giant Pilipinas Shell Corp. (PSC), representing the total dutiable value of its 1996 crude-oil importation, which was considered as abandoned in favor of the government by operation of law.

In a 31-page decision penned

by Associate Justice Jose Portugal Perez, the Supreme Court’s Third Division said the BOC is already barred from collecting the dutiable value of the shipment, amounting to P936,899,855.90, on the ground of prescription under Section 1603 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

The provision provides that: “When articles have been entered and passed free of duty or final adjustments of duties made, with subsequent delivery, such entry

Section 1603

The provision in the Tariff and Customs Code that sets a one-year prescriptive period on any action or claim questioning the propriety of the entry and settlement of duties and passage free of duty or settlements of duties, as well, after the expiration of one year, from the date of the final payment of duties, in the absence of fraud or protest or compliance audit pursuant to the provisions of this Code, be final and conclusive upon all parties, unless the liquidation of the import entry was merely tentative.”

The decision reversed and set aside the May 13, 2010, ruling issued by the Court of Tax

n japan 0.4229 n UK 60.9206 n HK 6.4189 n CHINA 7.1506 n singapore 34.3484 n australia 35.9569 n EU 51.7994 n SAUDI arabia 13.2782

See “Court,” A2

Source: BSP (4 January 2017 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, January 5, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

All systems go for Miss Universe pageant

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

ITH pageant day just a few weeks away, members of the Duterte administration assured that all measures are already in place for the successful holding of the Miss Universe contest.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for instance, “activated its special task force since last November,” and has been meeting with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and other government agencies about the beauty pageant and its ancillary events.

In a news briefing on Wednes-

Court. . .

Continued from A1

Appeals (CTA) former en banc, which directed the PSC to pay the amount plus an additional legal interest of 6 percent per annum on the total dutiable value.

The Court noted that the PSC filed its Import Entry and Internal Revenue Declaration (IEIRD) and paid the remaining customs duties for the shipment on May 23, 1996. However, it was only in August 2000, or more than four years, when the PSC received a demand letter from the district collector of Batangas for the alleged unpaid duties covering the shipment.

Thereafter, on October 29, 2001, or after more than five years, the oil company received another demand letter seeking to collect for the entire dutiable value of the same shipment amounting to P936,899,855.90.

“Any action or claim questioning the propriety of the entry and settlement of duties pertaining to such shipment made beyond the one-year prescriptive period from the date of payment of final duties is barred by

d ay at t he DOT Bu i ld i ng i n Makati City, Police Senior Supt.

Emmanuel Licup also assured the public that “…there is no direct threat against the holding of this event, but our monitoring is continuous.” He added that the PNP has been coordinating with other law-enforcement agencies prescription,” the Court ruled.

“In the present case, the failure on the part of respondent to timely question the propriety of the entry and settlement of duties by petitioner involving the subject shipment, renders such entry and settlement of duties final and conclusive against both parties. Hence, respondent cannot any longer have any claim from petitioner,” it added.

Based on the Court records, the PSC’s importation of 1,979,674.85 US barrels of Arab light crude oil arrived on April 7, 1996, or nine days earlier than the effectivity of Republic Act (RA) 8180, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1996.

The law provides, among others, for the reduction of the tariff duty on imported crude oil from 10 percent to 3 percent. On April 10, 1996, the shipment was unloaded from the carrying vessels docked at a wharf owned and operated by the BOC, to its oil tanks in Batangas City.

Subsequently, the PSC filed the IEIRD and paid the import duty of the shipment amounting to P11,231,081 on May 23, 1996.

More than four years later, the PSC received a demand letter from

in the country, as well as with the Interpol and other foreign lawenforcement agencies.

Licup added that security for the Miss University contestants will be provided starting from the airport, aboard their transportation vehicles and in a convoy, as well as at the hotels and other venues where the ladies will be appearing. “This includes the route security, and in the ancillary events in about eight areas; there are already task groups that have been created. [Security] won’t be as tight that the public cannot mingle anymore with the candidates, but it will be strict, so that no untoward incident will happen to the candidates, their families or any [among the] organizers,” he stressed.

The main pageant will be on January 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The pageant will be

televised starting 8 a.m. but “all dignitaries should be on the red carpet by 6 a.m.,” Tourism Undersecretary Katherine de Castro said.

As this developed, Malacañang on Wednesday also issued Memorandum Circular 13, enjoining all government agencies to lend support to the Miss Universe exercise. These include all heads of the departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, or instrumentalities of the government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations, and state universities and colleges, as well as local government units.

Signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, the memo circular also provides: “Except for such reasonable resources required in providing support for the hosting of the pageant, no public funds shall be expended for the hosting of the 2016 Miss Universe pageant.”

the BOC, through the district collector of Batangas, assessing it to pay the deficiency customs duties in the amount of P120,162,991 due from the crude-oil importation. It represents the difference between the amount due at the old rate of 10 percent before the effectivity of RA 8180 and the actual amount of duties it paid on the rate of 3 percent.

The BOC denied the appeal of the PSC for the cancellation of the assessment for the custom duties.

However, in October 2001, or five years after petitioner paid the allegedly deficient import duty, it received another demand letter for the payment of the amount of P936,899,885.90, representing the dutiable value of its 1996 crude-oil importation that had been allegedly abandoned in favor of the government by operation of law.

The BOC said import entry covering the subject importation had been irregularly filed and accepted beyond the 30-day period prescribed by law.

The petitioner protested the demand letter on November 7, 2001, on the ground of prescription, prompting the BOC to file a civil suit before the CTA, which ruled in its favor.

Tou r i sm Sec ret a r y Wa nd a Corazon T. Teo told reporters that the bulk of the contestants will be arriving on January 12 and 13.

They will be at the Malacañan Palace on January 23, where they will have the opportunity to meet President Duterte.

The DOT chief added that Duterte has been reserved a seat for the main pageant. “He [Duterte] will be seated beside me,” she said.

On January 14 the contestants will be flying off to Boracay; on January 15 they will be in Vigan; January 16 in Manila for the “governor’s ball”; January 17 in Cebu; January 18 in Baguio; January 19 in Davao and Batangas; January 20 in Manila for an event hosted by the Solar Group of the Tieng family; January 21, a grand fashion show; January 22, a food festival with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach; January 24 National Costume

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history is any guide.

7.Capex hopes. There is also a risk that markets have priced in too much good news too soon, if corporate earnings, other economic data, or fiscal policies disappoint expectations in the coming months.

One reason analysts are bullish about US output and stocks this year, despite the aforementioned headwinds, is the capital-expenditure cycle. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. say the great stagnation in inflation-adjusted US business investment is set to draw to a close this year, thanks to the prospect that higher energy prices lift corporate profits and, therefore, lift capital spending.

According to AllianceBernstein Holding Lp., a reduction in global capex last year crimped world GDP by one percentage point. The asset management firm says pent-up capital spending may be ready to “break out” this year as corporate earnings improve, a boon for cyclical industries and infrastructure firms.

8.Political trumps. Financial markets threw caution to the wind last month, pricing in buoyant growth, even as the specter of global trade wars looms large. Just two-anda-half weeks before his inauguration, Trump tweeted another protectionist sideswipe at Beijing.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won’t help with North Korea.

Nice! Twitter: Donald J. Trump on Twitter. Bloomberg News

presentation. The rest of the days leading up to the January 30 will be devoted to rehearsals, Teo said.

De Castro also said tickets for the National Costume presentation, which is widely anticipated by pageant fanatics, will sell for as low as P500. No venue has yet been finalized, however, for the presentation.

For its part, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it would be business as usual in Metro Manila, and no roads or public spaces will be closed just because of the beauty pageant.

DOTr Spokesman Cherie Mercado-Santos said: “That [closing of roads] is not expected to happen, because the President doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone. There won’t be any disturbance in the daily lives of the Filipino commuters whether in Metro Manila or the provinces, where there will be ancillary events.”

DTI, DOF agree to unify auto excise-tax proposals Continued from A1

wouldn’t counter other government program like the CARS (Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy). Hopefully, this January, there will be an agreement already on how we will structure that, and that can be reflected in the bill,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said on Wednesday.

By working together, the DTI and the DOF hope to have a new auto excise-tax structure that’s agreeable to both parties.

Lowering personal and corporate income tax has been one of the campaign pledges of President Duterte.

Former Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima also turned over a comprehensive tax-reform package to the DOF, which promptly forwarded it to Congress.

The DOF hinged the financial sustainability of the government’s ambitious spending program on infrastructure on the passing of the tax-reform package.

Even the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) expressed fears that the economy’s growth potential may be affected if the comprehensive tax-reform package, in its entirety, is not passed.

This package, however, poses a problem for the DTI, as the agency is just about to implement the CARS Program, which grants fiscal support to qualified automotive manufacturers through tax deductions. This will make local auto production cheaper. However, the DOF’s initiative to hike the tax on vehicles across-the-board is seen to negate the savings and cost advantage that the CARS Program pledges to local participants.

According to the DTI, CARS can potentially generate 200,000 new jobs, bring in fresh investments worth $1.2 billion and stimulate local demand by increasing vehicle sales to $9.2 billion at the end of its six-year run.

Lopez, while keeping mum on the proposed tax structure, hinted that there may be a common ground that can be reached with the DOF, so it will be consistent, not just with the goals of the CARS Program that benefits local assemblers, but all car brands competing in the market.

The proposed excise-tax hike, in its present form, is seen to spike the prices of all vehicles, both locally produced and imported. The tax structure presented in the DOF’s initial proposal to Congress is a progressive system, with the tax based on the value of the vehicle.

If the unit is priced P600,000 to P1.1 million, the excise tax will be 20 percent of net manufacturing/importation price. For vehicles priced P1.1 million to P2.1 million, the excise tax will be 40 percent of net manufacturing/importation price. For vehicles priced above P2.1 million, the tax will be 60 percent of net manufacturing/importation price.

The finance department, earlier this week, pledged to push the passage of tax reforms faster, despite the presence of other priority measures on Congress’s agenda, including the reimposition of death penalty and Charter change.

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Thursday, January 5, 2017 A3

Jail guard killed in attack, 158 inmates escape

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

RMED men believed to be members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked the district jail in North Cotabato on Wednesday in an effort to free some members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), some of whom are notorious criminals, jail and military officials said.

The early-morning attack on North Cotabato District Jail at Barangay Amas in Kidapawan City by more than 100 heavily armed men resulted in the escape of at least 158 detainees, including members of the BIFF. Supt. Peter John Bongngat, provincial jail warden of North Cotabato, said not all of the escapees were members of the two Moro groups, but ordinary detainees who took advantage of the incident to get away from the facility.

Maj. Gen. Rafael Valencia, commander of the Army’s 10th Infan-

try “Agila” Division, said some of the escapees have been recovered as composite teams from the police, the military and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology carried out massive manhunt operations.

“Our troops are recovering escapees…have recovered some of them. We also encountered them [attackers] this morning. The report is still sketchy, but we engaged them this morning,” he said, adding that he had ordered soldiers in North Cotabato and the adjoining provinces to help in the manhunt in support of the police.

Valencia said the attackers have reached the operational jurisdiction of the Maguindanao-based Sixth Infantry “Kampilan” Division.

The armed men swooped down on the district jail, which holds some high-profile members of the MILF and the BIFF, at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, triggering a firefight with jail guards manning the facility.

One jail guard was killed during the attack.

Valencia said the facility, which is not far from the North Cotabato Police Headquarters, is keeping members of the MILF Special Operations Group and BIFF bandits.

He said the Armed Forces has already repositioned its troops in the province and has even sent helicopters, in case they are needed for the continuing manhunt operations.

“Actually, the battalion headquarters of [National Police] Special Action Force Battalion is there.

The battalion headquarters of the RPSB [Regional Public Safety Battalion] is also there, so we have troops there. Initially, we also have a platoon [of soldiers] there and the Eastmincom has already sent air assets there,” Valencia said.

Bongngat said the North Cotabato District Jail is in a forested area and surrounded by a creek that also leads to the provincial

North Cotabato district jail

police headquarters.

“We were attacked…the attackers came from the back side, in right side and the left side targeting our tower post,” he said, claiming the first burst of fire was aimed at the tower, which prompted jail personnel to descend.

“In front, we were defending the gate, main gate. This is the point of entry that we thought they are going to take, but we were hearing numerous gunshots coming from

all sides,” he added.

In the middle of the firefight, the detainees escaped by using their beds as ladders. “This is not a typical jail building…dilapidated school building built in the early 1970s. It was a school compound converted into a district jail,” Bongngat said.

He added that they have already received reports about the plan to attack the facility, which was supposed to take place during the New

Year revelry, and they prepared for it by even asking for augmentation forces from the police and the Army.

“We have a good security posture.

Then it so happened yesterday or the other day that there was an important operation also by the Army, that is why they pulled out the added security,” Bongngat said.

He added that if the facility were a typical jail, no one could have escaped.

Pernia, allies dared to live on ₧40 a day Marcelino, pal press

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

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PA RT Y-L IS T g roup on Wednesday dared President Duterte’s economic managers who are blocking the P2,000 Social Security System (SSS) pension increase to live on a daily budget of P40.

This figure, the group said, is the daily equivalent of the P1,200 monthly base pension of the majority of the country’s SSS pensioners.

“Ang dali para sa kanilang harangin ang pension hike dahil hindi naman sila ’yung nakakaranas na di makakain ng tama o mabili ang mga gamot para humaba pa ang buhay ng ating mga pensioners. Ilang milyong pensyonado po ang matutulungan ng pagtataas ng pensyon, pero mukhang mas mahalaga pa sa kanila ang sinasabing credit ratings kesa sa buhay ng mga senior citi-

zens natin,” Party-list Rep. Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna said.

Zarate and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares issued the challenge as Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General Ernesto M. Pernia blocked the congressional measure to give immediate relief to millions of SSS pensioners.

Elaborating on the challenge, Zarate said, “The P2,000 SSS pension only translates to P66 per day for the much-needed additional fund for our senior citizens’ food, maintenance medicine and other expenses, but this would be a big help for them to somehow have more comfortable lives.”

“In fact, with the initial P1,000 increase beginning this month,

that would mean just P33 per day of additional funds for the elderly pensioners,” added Zarate, one of the principal authors of House Joint Resolution 10 granting the increase beginning this month.

Zarate said the proposed P2,000 SSS pension hike would only raise to P106 per day the base pensioners’ budget, a far way off from the P183 per person daily budget or P1,096 daily living income for a family of six members, according to a study by the independent thinktank Ibon Foundation.

Colmenares, on the other hand, questioned the figures and data put out by the administration’s economic managers to justify their position against an SSS pension increase.

“SSS announced during the deliberation of our bill during the last Congress that a P2,000 increase will deplete SSS funds by 2029. The

current proposal is only a P1,000 increase in 2017 and the other P1,000 increase sometime in 2020 and, yet, the economic managers threatened that this will deplete the fund life further to 2027,” Colmenares said.

“How come a P1,000 increase will result in a shorter fund life than a P2,000 increase. This is absurd,” he added.

Colmenares also questioned the unfunded liability data of the economic managers.

“In June 2015, former SSS Chairman Emilio de Quiros declared that the unfunded liability of the SSS is P1.2 trillion, but SSS will mop it up to P908 billion. Now, a little more than a year later, the economic managers declared a current P3.5trillion unfunded liability. Either the SSS suffered massive losses last year or someone is playing with the data,” he added.

Troops kill Abu bandit, foil hijacking Air quality in NCR worsened

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NOTORIOUS follower of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Furudji Indama was killed on Wednesday in operations launched by the military in Basilan, Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said.

A team from the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion, Civilian Active Auxiliary under the Fourth Special Forces Battalion and members of the Civilian Volunteer Organization in Sumisip, Basilan, encountered the group of an Abu Sayyaf subleader, identified only as Garabat, at Barangay Sapah Bulak, Sumisip.

The troops killed Garabat and recovered an assault rifle during the firefight, which occurred at past 5 a.m.

Tan said the bandits withdrew later toward the direction of Sitio Pandekepan, Barangay Sapah Bulak.

“Troops under the Joint Task Force Basilan proceeded to the encounter scene to provide followon and augmentation forces.

All other troops were alerted and continue to conduct full inspection of all vehicles going to and from the vicinity,” the local military spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Navy personnel foiled an attempt by suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf to

hijack a container ship, also in Basilan on Tuesday.

Tan said the MV Ocean Kingdom was on its way to Davao City from Zamboanga City when it was harassed by armed men onboard two boats, off Sibago Island in Basilan on Tuesday afternoon.

“Due to the vigilance of her crew and the prompt response of naval troops, the armed perpetrators aborted their attempt to hijack the vessel and retreated toward Moro Gulf,” Tan said.

Tan added that the two boats used by the perpetrators were manned by bandits who were armed with M-16, M-14 and AK47 rifles.

The MV Ocean Kingdom sustained gunshot holes on her port and starboard sides, but no casualty was reported among her crew members.

“The Naval Forces Western Mindanao Command deployed naval vessels with the Naval Special Operations Unit in the area. Air assets were also deployed to conduct aerial reconnaissance and later on prepositioned in the area, as government forces continue to monitor transiting vessels at the Basilan Strait and the waters off Zamboanga City,” Tan said.

Rene Acosta

during New Year revelry

D

espite the campaign against firecrackers, air quality in Metro Manila worsened during the revelry welcoming the New Year, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reported.

According to the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), air-quality monitoring stations in Metro Manila for particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) registered slightly higher levels of pollution on New Year’s Eve. At midnight of January 1, 2017, the air-quality monitoring station at De La Salle University (DLSU), Taft, Manila, recorded levels of 448 ug/ Ncm; Parañaque, with 433 ug/Ncm; Taguig, with 324 ug/Ncm; Valenzuela, with 285 ug/Ncm; and Muntinlupa, with 175 ug/Ncm. Meanwhile, as of 2 a.m. of January 1, the air-quality monitoring station at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City recorded levels of 369 ug/Ncm and 397 ug/Ncm at Pasig City.

Healthy guideline values for PM 2.5 is at 25 ug/Ncm annually, and 50 ug/Ncm for 24-hour averaging. All stations have registered higher levels of PM 2.5 compared to last year’s festivities.

On regular days, however, such as the month of April 2015, PM 2.5 readings recorded in selected air-quality monitoring stations are generally lower values in the ranges as follows: DLSU, with 7 to 182 ug/Ncm; Parañaque, with 6 to 18 ug/Ncm; Muntinlupa, with 8 to 42 ug/Ncm, DENR-EMB In-Charge, Office of the Director and Concurrent Assistant Director Jacqueline Caancan said.

The DENR-EMB regional offices regularly monitors fine particulates, such as PM 2.5, along with other pollutants present in the air.

“The DENR supports all efforts to reduce

the use of firecrackers during the New Year’s Eve celebration, as it significantly affects the air-pollution situation in the country. Experts have advised that particles in PM 2.5 are able to travel deeply into a person’s respiratory tract and can cause short-term health effects and worsen medical conditions of people with asthma or heart disease,” Caancan added.

Air pollution accounts for one in eight deaths worldwide—approximately 7 million deaths in 2012, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO). The findings, released in late March, doubled previous estimates from just a few years ago in 2008. The WHO now characterizes air pollution as “the world’s largest single environmental health risk”.

The EMB-National Capital Region (NCR) operates and maintains 13 air-quality monitoring stations in Metro Manila. For Quezon City, Manila and Valenzuela City, these are maintained by the EMB-Central Office.

These stations are in the following areas: Hall of Justice, Open Ground, Marikina City Hall; Caloocan City Hall Annex, North Caloocan; Don Bosco Barangay Hall, Parañaque City; Pateros Elementary School, San Pedro, Pateros; Malabon Polytechnic Institute, Malabon City; Navotas City Hall, M. Naval Street, Navotas City; Rohm and Hass Warehouse Compound, CAA Road, Las Piñas City; Bilibid open ground compound, Muntinlupa City; TUP Taguig Campus, East Service Road, Western Bicutan, Taguig City; Danny Floro Street, Oranbo, Pasig City; Plaza Hardin, Martinez Highway, Addition Hill, Mandaluyong City; PAL Compound, Pasay City; and Pinaglabanan Shrine along Pinaglabanan Street, San Juan City. Jonathan L. Mayuga

court to junk charges

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

M

ARINE Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino and his Chinese coaccused Yan Yi Shou in a P380-million illegal-drugs case have asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Manila to reverse its resolution denying their motion to dismiss the case and to defer issuance of arrest warrants against them.

In a 31-page omnibus motion for reconsideration and to lift warrant of arrest filed through the Public Attorney’s Office, Marcelino and Yan insisted that the charges of illegal possession of dangerous drugs filed against them have no basis.

“With all due respect, herein accused beg the Honorable Court to take a second hard look on Lieutenant Colonel Marcelino’s involvement in clandestine operations to eradicate illegal drugs,” the motion said.

It can be recalled that Marcelino and Yan were charged with violating Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, in connection with their arrest and the recovery of P380 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu in an apartment in Santa Cruz, Manila, a year ago.

The two argued that Judge Daniel Fernandez of Branch 49 of the RTC in Manila erred when he held that they failed to give a good and credible account of their presence in the premises where they were arrested.

The accused added that the RTC in Manila committed a mistake in ruling that there was conspiracy between them.

“The Honorable Court failed to consider that the presence of accused Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino was in fulfillment of his duty as a military intelligence officer,” the motion stated.

This developed as Marcelino’s coaccused finally surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday, several hours after the marine officer surrendered to the Armed Forces Provost Marshal General in Camp Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said Yan Yi Shou, alias Randy, turned himself to the NBI

AGUIRRE: “We are proud to announce that Yan Yi Shou is now in the custody of the NBI. This is a welcome development insofar as our pursuit of this case is concerned.”

Special Task Force headed by head agent Moises Tamayo.

“We are proud to announce that Yan Yi Shou is now in the custody of the NBI. This is a welcome development insofar as our pursuit of this case is concerned,” Aguirre said.

“As we have said before, we will be relentless in this fight,” he added.

T he De pa r t ment of Ju st ice (DOJ) on Tuesday earlier asked Branch 49 of the RTC in Manila, which issued the warrants of arrest against Marcelino and Yan, to also issue hold-departure orders against them to prevent them from leaving the country and avoid prosecution.

Marcelino and Yan were arrested by a team f rom the Nationa l Police-A nti-I l lega l Dr ugs Group (A IDG) and t he Phi lippine Dr ug Enforcement A genc y ( P D E A ) a n d s u b s e q u e nt l y charged before the DOJ. Marcelino denied the charges and said he was in the said apartment for a covert surveillance operation as a member of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces (Isafp).

He even submitted a certification from the Army Intelligence Group attesting to the fact that he is sharing information on the alleged involvement of Army personnel in the illegal drugs trade from September to December last year.

Marcelino said the root cause of his arrest was because then-Pdea Dir. Gen. Arturo G. Cacdac Jr. was “historically irate” at his continued involvement in the antidrug campaign of the government.

In June l ast year t he DOJ, t h rou g h S e n ior D e put y St at e Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, junked all the charges against Marcelino and Yan for insufficiency of evidence, prompting the AIDG and Pdea to file a motion for reconsideration.

Economy

A4 Thursday, January 5, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

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DENR renews push for waste-to-energy solution to address urban garbage woes B

Economic optimism for next 12 months declines–IBR

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

W

@jonlmayuga

ith the failure of the local government units (LGUs) to enforce Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said there is no other way to solve the country’s garbage problem but through the adoption of waste-toenergy (WTE) technologies.

Environment Undersecretary for Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Jonas Leones told the BusinessMirror that, in line with President Duterte’s policy direction, the DENR is exploring partnerships in pursuit of WTE projects.

Leones likened WTE to “hitting two birds with one stone.” He said it will not only address the garbage problem, but will also help “energize” the country and lessen the country’s dependence on coal-fired power plants.

Leones added that the Philippines has been promoting proper waste management since the R A 9003, but with apparent little success. Some local officials, in fact, are now facing charges for alleged failure to enforce the garbage law, which includes proper waste segregation, recycling and composting, including the shutting down of open dumps in their respective jurisdictions.

W hile the DENR continues to promote proper solid-waste management as mandated by law, Leones said, the DENR is also exploring partnerships with Japan, and is eyeing 10 new WTE projects this year.

The partnership between the Philippines and Japan for WtE cooperation was set in motion during a visit by Japanese environment officials in Manila last November.

The two countries are eyeing WTE cooperation in Quezon City and Davao City as potential pilot sites and are mulling over 10 more projects this year.

Japan’s Ministry of Environment, led by Shigemoto Kajihara, vice minister for global environmental affairs, met with Leones to strengthen the strate-

gic partnership between the two countries on waste management, especially on WTE. Energy from waste is in line with Duterte’s plan to address the looming garbage crisis in the Philippines, consistent with the DENR and National Solid Waste Management Commission’s (NSWMC) plan to promote WTE using advanced technologies that hurdle environmental standards.

“There’s already a guideline on WTE. Not all incinerations are prohibited by law,” Leones stressed, insisting that there are incineration technologies that comply with dioxin emissions standard.

The President visited Japan last October and brought home 12 major Japanese investments worth P89.73 billion. These investments are expected to generate 250,000 jobs for Filipinos.

The first environment dialogue on waste management between the Philippines and Japan was held in October 2015, wherein both countries agreed to identify model areas to promote cooperation between Manila and Tokyo on waste management.

Since then, joint workshops on waste management between two countries, to deepen understanding of the current situation of wastemanagement practices in the two countries, were held.

During the dialogue last November, the Ministry of Environment of Japan proposed to provide a comprehensive support, with Quezon City and Davao City as model cities for WTE, together with Osaka and Kitachushu, through a “sisterhood” pact.

According to Leones, WTE technologies have legal bases, contrary

to the claims of some non-governmental organizations (NGOs), citing the case of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority v. JanCom Environmental Corp., wherein the Supreme Court stated that “not all incineration violate the law.”

“Incinerat ion [tec hnolog y] t hat compl ies w it h emission standard is allowable,” Leones said. He added that over the years, the DENR has been investing on capacity building.

“We now have a laboratory that can measure dioxins/furants,” Leones said, referring to a dioxins/furans (D/F) laboratory at the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

“In the ruling of the SC, not all incinerations are bad and are prohibited by law,” he said.

NGOs, such as the EcoWaste Coalition, stiffly oppose WTE, saying that such technology employs waste incineration, which, it insisted, violates the Clean Air Act. The EcoWaste Coalition was among the many groups that supported Duterte’s appointment of Regina Paz L. Lopez as DENR secretary.

“In our statement in June 2016, we expressed our hope that Gina would opt to join Duterte’s Cabinet so she can safeguard our natural resources from wanton destruction and stop peddlers of false climate and waste ‘solutions’, including thermal waste-to-energy technologies, from making inroads to the new government,” said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“We expected that the DENR would terminate all undertakings that are in breach of the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and suspend the development and implementation of coal power plants in the pipeline and so-called WTE facilities,” she said.

“Unfortunately, the waste and toxic issues that are of utmost concern to us remain unresolved,” Lucero said.

She added that Lopez, as chairman of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, has

yet to rescind the pro-incineration guidelines adopted by the NSWMC, which, she said, brazenly promotes WTE. “If not repealed, this would open the f loodgates for burn or thermal waste disposal technologies, undermining the country’s efforts to sustainably address our discards, which could be reused, recycled or composted instead of being incinerated,” she pointed out.

“WTE technology that burns discards is like a Trojan horse: it may look state-of-the-art and inoffensive, but, in reality, can be a very costly venture that can cause harm to public health and even to the local economy,” Lucero warned.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Stop WTE Alliance and allied groups in environmental and climate ju st ice movement h ave s a id that “ it will be reprehensible to squander massive amounts of public funds to construct, operate and sustain WTE burners when simpler, job-creating and safer solutions exist as specified in R A 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.” “The threat of waste incinerators is more real today than before, especially with the publicrelations success of the waste incineration industry to deceptively package WTE as power plants rather than as waste-disposal facilities despite the nominal quantity of energy in the form of electricity that is generated from the burning of trash,” they said.

“WTE is the most expensive scheme for generating electricity that is costlier to build, operate and maintain compared to coal and nuclear-power plants and the various renewable-energy sources as reported by the US Energy Information Administration,” the groups pointed out.

“It will be unconscionable to burn discards, as this will deprive poor individuals and families and small businesses, many of whom form part of the under-recognized and under protected informal waste sector, of useful materials for recycling-based livelihoods,” they said.

Incineration [technology] that complies with emission standard is allowable. We now have a laboratory that can measure dioxins/ furants.”—Leones

Lawmaker to MMFF: Distribute festival largesse to beneficiaries

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he chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development on Tuesday asked the executive committee of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) to immediately distribute the beneficiaries’ share from the income of the successful holding of the annual event last Christmas.

Liberal Party Rep. Winston Castelo of Quezon City, panel chairman, said beneficiaries of the MMFF should now get their share of the festival’s triumph, as such is part of the reform designed to improve the Philippine movie industry.

He said that, under its mandate, the MMFF allots portions of its proceeds for its beneficiaries, which include the Movie Workers Fund, Anti-Film Piracy, Film Academy of the Philippines and the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Castelo added that ensuring MMFF beneficiaries get their part of the festival’s income is the second objective of reforming the local film business.

“And I mean there should be no delay in the delivery of the said benefits,” Castelo said.

During a House investigation last year, Castelo said his panel found out that such proceeds from the MMFF failed to reach its beneficiaries or got delayed, causing rifts and demoralization in the industry.

“The problem was also identified as one of the main culprits behind the deterioration in the quality of films produced in the country, to the dismay of movie critics and concerned supporters of the Filipino entertainment sector,” the lawmaker said in a news statement.

“The past MMFF was tainted with corruption. There was no transparency. Outright delay or partial remittance marked the distribution of income to the workers and beneficiaries of the festival,” Castelo added. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Black Nazarene feast The forthcoming Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila,

brings out not only the religious piety and devotion for the revered image of Jesus Christ bearing the cross among many Filipinos, but also whets the entrepreneurial appetite of a good number of businessmen in the district. Photo shows one of the hundreds of entrepreneurs who found a good spot in the crowded Quiapo area to sell an array of merchandise, ranging from calendars and figurines to rosary beads, to Black Nazarene devotees. ROY DOMINGO

usinesses have better expectations in the Philippines in terms of profitability and exports in the next 12 months, but overall optimism in the economy has declined.

According to the P&A Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) in the fourth quarter of 2016 released on Tuesday, the Philippines’s IBR showed that business outlook for the next 12 months became less optimistic in the fourth quarter of 2016 at 80 percent, which declined from 84 percent in the third quarter and 94 percent in the second quarter, but higher than the first quarter’s 56 percent.

Economic uncertainty in the country also increased to 40 percent in the last quarter’s report, from 38 percent and 24 percent in the third and second quarters, respectively. Economic uncertainty was at its peak this year in the first quarter, at 46 percent.

Expectations on employment and research and development for the next 12 months both dropped by 10 percentage points quarteron-quarter basis.

Employment outlook fell to 54 percent in the fourth quarter, from 64 percent in its previous quarter, while prospects for research and development weakened to 46 percent, from 56 percent.

Businessmen’s expectations on their revenues, likewise, declined to 58 percent in the last quarter of 2016, from 84 percent in the third quarter, but profitability outlook recovered from 58 percent in the third quarter report to 72 percent in the fourth quarter.

Outlook on exports further improved in the last quarter of 2016 to 30 percent.

At the start of 2016, prospect on exports was only at 18 percent. It went up to 20 percent in the second quarter and increased to 24 percent in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the IBR showed that business optimism globally increased by five percentage points to net 38 percent.

“Globally, the increase in optimism reflects a view among the

40%

The increase in economic uncertainty for the Philippines in last quarter’s report, from 38 percent and 24 percent in the third and second quarters, respectively business community that uncertainty over the outcome of major events, like the EU referendum and the US presidential election, is now behind them,” P&A Grant Thornton Chairman and CEO Marivic Españo said.

“Knowing the results will allow businesses to have a clearer steer on key issues such as taxes, jobs and trade policy,” she added.

But in Asia-Pacific economies, a split in optimism for the next 12 months was recorded as developed economies registered a decline of eight percentage points in the last quarter of 2016 at net -16 percent, while emerging economies have increased optimism by 11 percentage points to 53 percent.

“There is a striking split in the direction of travel between business leaders in emerging and developed Asia-Pacific countries. Part of the reason for this could be the likely scrapping of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, out of which developed economies—like those of Australia and New Zealand—stood to gain the most,” Españo noted.

“However, China is looking to implement its own regional economic partnership, which could fill some of that gap. The high levels of optimism in emerging economies reflect what can happen when closer economic ties are in place, with the Asean Economic Community agreed in 2015,” the executive explained.

The IBR is a quarterly global survey of 2,600 businesses across 37 economies. PNA

House panel approves BIR, POS, CRM data link to boost tax take

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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O raise the government’s value-added tax (VAT) collection, the House Committee on Ways and Means has approved a measure establishing an electronic linkage between the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the country’s businesses using cash-register machines (CRM) and/or point-of-sale (POS) machines.

In House Bill 4601, PDP-Laban Rep. Dakila Carlo E. Cua of Quirino, chairman of the committee and principal author of the bill, said it is the tax-administration system that should be improved if the government wants to collect more revenues.

The measure aims to create data linkages between the BIR and the country’s taxpayers who are utilizing cash register and/or POS machines with the end view of increasing VAT collections, removing burdensome compliance requirements and promoting transparency in businesses with bulk transactions.

The bill, which mandates interconnectivity between the BIR and other government agencies, will provide the BIR with third-party information, easier VAT refund mechanism and data collation, all of which could handily be used in plugging leakages and overall improvement of tax administration.

Under the bill, the BIR shall create an electronic system that will link sales and purchased data entered on CRM/POS machines of VAT-registered taxpayers to the BIR’s servers for simultaneous reporting of sales and purchase data.

The VAT-registered taxpayers shall acquire CRM/POS machines and secure said machines’ linkage to the BIR servers at their expense.

They shall also ensure that the CRM/POS machines have the capacity to simultaneously transmit data entered on the machines to the servers of the BIR. The bill provides that, the BIR creation of an electronic system and the VAT-registered taxpayers’ linkage to it shall be done within one year and six months upon the effectivity of the act.

The measure mandates that within one year and six months after the enactment of the act, the BIR shall establish electronic interconnectivity with the Bureau of Customs, Land Transportation Office, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, Securities and Exchange Commission and other appropriate government agencies to enhance the revenue effort of the government.

Moreover, it said the data processing of sales and purchase data shall also comply with the provisions of Republic Act 10173, or the Data Privacy Act. Also, the bill said that any VATregistered taxpayer who fails to link the CRM/POS machines to the BIR servers due to negligence or intent to defraud the government shall pay a penalty amounting to one-half of 1 percent of the annual net income as reflected in the VAT-registered taxpayer’s audited financial statement for the second year preceding the current taxable year for each day of violation.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, January 5, 2017

A5

‘Mindanao can boost PHL’s rice sufficiency’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

he Department of Agriculture (DA) is keen on expanding rice output in former conflict areas in Mindanao, which is not usually hit by typhoons, in its bid to achieve its rice self-sufficiency goal.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the vulnerability of traditional farming areas in Luzon to strong typhoons has made it imperative for the government to look for alternative sites for rice planting.

“What’s happening right now is a grim reminder for us to really review our agricultural planning and consider the fact it may not longer be wise for us to really focus our resources in traditional farming areas, [like] Central and Northern Luzon, because of the intensity and frequency of typhoons,” Piñol told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.

“It’s sad to say this, but we are not abandoning them [traditional farming areas] but if we are really hoping to fill up the gap in our foodsufficiency program, [then] we should look elsewhere,” he added.

Piñol made the statement after Typhoon Nina (international code name Nock-ten) damaged crops in Regions 4A, 4B and 5 valued at P5.32 billion.

He said he wants to expand food production in provinces

used to be torn by civil war, such as Sulu, Zamboanga and Basilan. “[There are] unexplored areas that were war-torn before but are okay now. I asked the people in Sulu and they said that, given government support, they will be to plant rice enough to supply their province and maybe even Zamboanga,” Piñol said.

“Basilan and Tawi-tawi are other potential areas. These are areas that are not threatened by climatic disturbance, which we want to explore,” he added.

The DA chief also said he is looking at the viability of planting rice in areas outside of Mindanao.

“According to the color-coded [national agricultural] map, Samar is a potential rice-production area because of the availability of water and availability of land. Also it is not frequently hit by typhoons,” Piñol said.

While the DA is keen on using hybrid-rice seeds to expand output, the DA chief said it is not yet widely used by farmers in Soccsksargen and Davao.

“Soccsksargen and Davao, and

Nestlé Philippines to help establish 150 model coffee farms

I

n celebration of its global 150th anniversary, Nestlé Philippines will help to establish 150 model coffee farms in the country in line with the company’s Nescafé Plan, a program which aims to help improve the yield and income of Filipino coffee farmers.

The initiative was launched recently at the Farmers Information and Technology Services Center in the country’s coffee capital of Amadeo, Cavite, by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan, Mayor Albert Ambagan Sr. of Amadeo, and Nestlé Philippines Executives Chairman and CEO Jacques Reber, SVP and Head of Corporate Affairs Ernesto Mascenon and Nestlé Agribusiness Development Department Head Arthur Baria.

The 150 coffee model farms will be established by providing intervention packages, individually designed to serve the unique needs of each farm. An intervention package will consist of fertilizer, compost units, all-weather dryer, grafting tools and support, forest trees for shade, technical guidance and monitoring until 2020. These components will be applied initially to portions of the farms to showcase their effect on coffee yield, in order to influence more coffee farmers to invest in such interventions.

The model farms are in major coffee areas, namely, Quirino, Cavite, North Cotabato, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Iloilo, Surigao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat.

Pangilinan said his office and Nestlé have been partners for several years and, thus, he welcomes the continuation of the partnership between the government and the private sector in supporting and providing assistance to farmers.

Cayanan, saying the government’s partnership with Nestlé seeks to boost agricultural productivity, observed that the value chain for coffee production does not consist simply of farmers planting coffee but completing it by selling their produce at the best possible price.

For his part, Reber said the celebration of Nestlé’s global 150th anniversary is a “celebration of partnerships”. He added that, as the company would never have existed without farmers, it recognizes the importance of linkages with various sectors, including the government, academic institutions and scientists. He thanked coffee farmers for their support, saying, “Every morning you should remember that you wake up to work hard to make so many Filipinos happy, when they wake up and start the day with a cup of coffee.”

Mascenon said that, in the four years since the launching of the Nescafé Plan, some 10-and-a-half million high-yielding plantlets have been distributed through the government, and more than 30,000 farmers have been trained under the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C), an international standard for sustainably produced coffee. Farmers who are 4C-certified earn a premium for their coffee produce.

The Nescafé Plan is a part of Nestlé’s commitment of Creating Shared Value (CSV)­­—that of creating long-term positive value for society through its business and through an inclusive value chain. Nestlé focuses on areas of nutrition, water and rural development. The Nescafé Plan puts CSV into practice by increasing its local sourcing of coffee, while, at the same time, helping farmers produce more high-quality robusta coffee and improving their yield and income.

Bloomberg Photo

actually Zamboanga, as well, have great potential because these areas have slow acceptance of hybridseeds techonlogy,” Piñol said.

“If we are able to convince these farmers to embrace hybridrice seeds, then we are expecting a spike in our rice-production

program,” he added.

Earlier, Piñol said he is confident that the country will achieve r ice self-suf f icienc y by 2019

should the DA’s plan of planting hybrid-rice seeds in 1 million hectares of irrigated lands pushes through this year.

DA releases ₧75M to hike food production in poorest provinces T

he Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has released P75 million to three provinces under a government program, which aims to boost food output and improve the income of farmers and fishermen.

Three checks worth P25 million were released by the DA office in Region 12 under the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD)—a program that aims to reduce poverty in the country.

Under SAAD, the DA will focus

on the top 10 poorest provinces, in line with President Duterte’s thrust to increase food production and cut poverty through the provision of livelihood projects.

Engr. Milagros Casis, DA-12, regional executive director, said.

“North Cotabato, Sarangani and Maguindanao were among the three provinces included in SAAD program, and just this month, we were able to hand-over checks to their local chief executives with an initial fund of P25 million each.”

Severe Bolivian drought hurts crops, threatens capital

C

AR ACOLLO, Bolivia—Last year the f lowering quinoa plants painted Florencio Tola’s farmlands in vibrant sepia and ochre tones.

But this season, all that could be seen was the straw color of dried-out stalks that never germinated amid Bolivia’s worst drought in 30 years.

Nearby a collection of scrawny cows, with their ribs protruding and flaccid udders, grazed on what little vegetation could be found on the sere ground.

“It’s as if I had never sown anything,” said Tola, 60, who like thousands of other farmers planted his quinoa last October ahead of the rainy season that usually runs through March.

He and thousands of other farmers in the Bolivian high plains believe they have been hit by a particularly strong weather phenomenon known as El Niño, caused by warming waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Crops and livestock were decimated, and reservoirs that supply the capital of La Paz and other cities have dropped to alarming levels.

Lake Poopo, Bolivia’s second-largest, has dried up entirely.

Although Maguindanao is under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Casis said its fund was downloaded to DA-12.

The P25 million each received by said local government units (LGUs) was the first tranche of the commitment of the DA per target province.

Aside from the three provinces, the other target areas are Apayao, Eastern Samar, Western Samar, Northern Samar, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

“The 2015-2016 [El Niño] is one of the strongest in 30 years, although scientists’ verdict on its role in the current drought has not been concluded yet,” said Dirk Hoffmann, a glacial and climate specialist who directs the Bolivian Mountain Institute, a research and advisory foundation.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has warned that if the rainy season is delayed further, it could deplete food supply next year. Last October he approved a $250-million emergency plan to support those affected by the drought by drilling wells to stave off potential water shortages.

While there have been isolated heavy rains in recent weeks, they haven’t yet been enough to compensate for months of drier than usual weather.

Authorities say reservoir levels are at their lowest level ever. According to Humberto Claure, manager of the Social Public Enterprise for Water and Sanitation, even generous rains will not fill up the five dams that serve La Paz, so the emergency is expected to last through the end of 2017. AP

“Farmer and fisher groups and local governments not included in this special program are encouraged to still propose for more agrifishery interventions under our agency’s regular programs,” Casis said.

Last year Agriculture Secretary Emnanuel F. Piñol led the launching of SAAD program in Kidapawan City and called on the participation of the LGUs and all agrifishery stakeholders in the program. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

TheBroa Positivism marks new year

Business

A6 Thursday, January 5, 2017

By VG Cabuag, Lorenz S. Marasigan, Jonathan L. Mayuga & Joel R. San Juan

D

ESPITE challenges experienced by the equities market and the new administration of President Duterte, players and government officials remained optimistic of the new year.

Market executives noted that 2016’s biggest lowdown was the failure of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to secure regulatory approval to merge with the bond market.

For the newly elected President, an underestimation of how the illegal-drugs syndicate permeated the bureaucracy and the intensity of violence in stamping this menace overshadowed pressing economic concerns.

During the closing ceremonies of the PSE for 2016, PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo asked for a continued positive outlook.

“As we close the year, let us remain optimistic about the year ahead of us,” Pardo said. “I know that 2016 has been very challenging for many markets, given the major events that transpired both locally and internationally. But as with many things in life, we draw from this experience and find ways on how to make good and do good out of any situation, including the more difficult ones.”

Pardo exhorted all market players to “draw inspiration from our achievements in 2016, and try to do more for the development of the capital markets in 2017.”

For officials like Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon, the government can only achieve its goals for the year if it continues to gain the support the Duterte administration received last year.

Faeldon noted specifically the support from purveyors of information: the media.

Market threads

ACCORDING to Justino B. Calaycay Jr., head of marketing and research at A and A Securities Inc., among many threads to dominate the narratives for the market this year include a new US government and the continuing controversies generated by Duterte’s rhetoric.

This year is part of the era of rising oil prices and China’s rise as an economic and military power, according to Calaycay. Other major threads he sees weaving the next 365 days are sustaining the country’s growth momentum, specific industry policies, interest rates and inflation.

“All told, even the technical condition posits increased caution for investors moving into the New Year,” Calaycay said.

“That would be the central theme of our portfolio, even as we look with optimism on select sectors, which stand to benefit from the administration’s plans and projects for the next six years.”

For online brokerage firm 2Tradeasia.com, “There are ‘risk zones’ to consider at least for the early part of the year; the bulk of which will depend on the US Fed’s aggressiveness in monetary tightening.” The firm added, “It would be prudent [for now] to hold onto defensive plays, as well as putting investors’ money on stocks with promising dividend stories.”

Slow growth

THE online brokerage firm’s views came after Swiss investment bank UBS AG said it expects growth in the Philippines to slow this year, having accelerated sharply last year.

The Zurich-headquartered firm said 2016 has seen “extremely” strong domestic demand and,

in particular, booming investment growth delivered better than expected GDP growth, driven mainly by election-related spending and loose monetary conditions that fueled credit growth.

“We expect both of these to reverse in 2017, as deficit projections show a smaller fiscal impulse and global monetary conditions tighten,” it said, adding that it forecast real GDP growth of 5.6 percent and 6 percent in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

“We expect growth to slow in the Philippines—while the external balance has deteriorated, removing a buffer to global capital flows as the Fed is due to raise rates,” the bank said. “Rising inflation and higher oil prices will also hurt the Philippines, as it is a net oil importer.”

Tax reforms

FOR the Department of Finance (DOF), reforming taxation could inject fresh blood into the economy.

One of the primary goals of the DOF coming into the new year focuses on its comprehensive tax-reform package, in line with Duterte’s promise of lowering tax rates mentioned at his state-ofthe-nation address.

The DOF has submitted to Congress on September 26, 2016, a package of its proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, which includes the lowering of personal-income tax (PIT) rates from 32 percent to 25 percent. The tax measure aims to generate a net gain of P174 billion, equivalent to 1 percent of the country’s GDP in 2018.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III explained that the DOF tax-reform program is still on track since submitting its first package to Congress. Dominguez pointed out that in their original plan, lower PIT rates are expected to be implemented during the third quarter of the year or the first quarter of 2018.

“In fact, if you look at the original plan, it [lowering of PIT rates] will be either effective July 1 or first part of January 1, 2018,” Dominguez said.

According to the DOF, the successful implementation of the tax-reform program will help alleviate from poverty at least 6 million Filipinos by the year 2022. But Dominguez said the failure of its approval will translate to 21.6 percent of the Philippine population to remain under extreme poverty. He also warned that the country’s GDP expansion will not be sustained at 7 percent; the economy will suffer a credit ratings downgrade; and the benefits of continued high growth will remain exclusive to the rich.

In earlier reports, Dominguez explained the completion of some of the goals of the Duterte administration will not be possible if the tax-reform package is not approved.

Aside from the lowering of the PIT rates, the first package also includes the expansion of the valueadded tax (VAT) base by limiting exemptions to necessities, such as raw food, education and health care, and increasing excise taxes on oil products and automobiles. The taxreform package of the DOF contains four packages in total, with

aderLook

sMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, January 5, 2017

A7

r for market, Duterte execs

President Duterte (third from left) gestures with members of a Filipino business sector, prior to addressing them in Pasay City on October 13, 2016.

Second from left is Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. AP/Bullit Marquez

the remaining packages yet to be submitted to Congress.

BOC reforms

FOR Faeldon, the reforms being undertaken by the Duterte administration would come to naught if the Bureau of Customs (BoC) remains incorrigible in its image as a corrupt agency.

He cited the plan to rebuild the country’s entire port facilities, which is hoped to materialize this year. Faeldon said modernizing the port facilities were among the project proposals the BoC submitted to the DOF for 2017.

Faeldon added the agency is now consulting with engineers and developers to come up with a conceptualized framework on how to build a 300-hectare world-class port facilities in Manila.

These new port facilities will cover the Port of Manila (POM) and the Manila International Container Port (MICP), according to the BOC chief, which would include a rendering capability.

“These facilities will include everything that we need, like for example, we have these sibuyas [onions] and karne [meat], sometimes it takes us more than a year to render,” Faeldon explained. “I mean to destroy them.”

“We need to come up with a rendering facility, meaning, everything we need to destroy, nandiyan na kaagad. Hindi na po tayo pupunta sa malayo [If we need to destroy something, the facility is readily available; we need not go far],” he added.

Faeldon cited for example Singapore, which is considered a trading hub of the world as far as movement of import and export is concerned. He noted that Singapore’s economy largely depends on port activities as it caters to the entire Asia-Pacific region.

The Philippines, according to Faeldon, is geographically better than Singapore since the country is between South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

“So we can easily cater [to] the Asian region and the Pacific, including Australia. So we will be building world-class port facilities here, where the transshipment of commodities all over the world can be traded,” he said.

“Can you imagine the impact of that in our economy?”

But Faeldon admitted that plan would not be feasible without the help of the people, particularly the media.

He said it is important for the BOC to create a credibility that is

very high as far as the international industries are concerned.

“If you will continue to stereotype the BoC, even if we build a very beautiful facility next year, nobody is going to use our facilities,” Faeldon said. “That’s why I appeal to you to help develop the Bureau of Customs because these port facilities will substantially contribute to the economy of the country.”

Zero tolerance

FOR Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez, not tolerating corruption under her watch is a mark of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s (DENR) performance this year.

“All the money we have are not going to do any good if the DENR doesn’t have the right people. So I am inviting the public to join hands as together we can build a better Philippines,” she said.

“These are not my dreams but rather the hopes and aspiration of the Filipino people.”

The DENR chief vowed to intensify this year programs that will generate more green jobs to open up new economic opportunities for rural folk through the Enhanced-National Greening Program (E-NGP).

“I want to facilitate economic zones through the NGP funds… similar to the La Mesa Watershed and Eco Park, which is earning more than P40 million a year and has been declared the gold standard for reforestation by the United Nations,” Lopez told the BusinessMirror.

According to Lopez, the E-NGP will be used to establish mangrove and bamboo plantations, which will similarly become economic zones.

Lopez said rural and upland communities will be the first to benefit from the DENR programs.

“We have 29 convergence areas and our E-NGP program is all over the country,” she said. “The communities can do agri-forestry in our NGP areas and we will even help them sell the products.”

According to Lopez, the DENR will help E-NGP partners sell agroforestry products.

“We will buy the products from them. We have orders of up to a million hectares of cacao.

They can do abaca. [There are] many good organic cash crops,” she said. “Mangroves give rise to fish, oyster, shellfish, shrimp and can be wonderful ecotourism areas. But most important is that they will protect our country from climate change.”

According to Lopez, the islands with mangroves suffered 80 percent less damage.

On the other hand, she said bamboo plantations are amazing for low-cost housing, medicine, cosmetics, health, cleaning water and even mined-out areas.

“[The bamboo] has so many uses,” she said. “It is inexpensive and we can fund the plantations.”

Convergence zone

ACCORDING to Lopez, the DENR will have 29 convergence areas where “climate-change economies” will be implemented together with nongovernmental organizations, church, academe and business sector.

“I want to prove that taking care of the environment is our sure way out of poverty. I want to implement extensive biodiversity research and do value adding,” she said.

According to Lopez, currently, the DENR is conducting thorough studies on the legacy of mines, including open pit mines, coal plants and diesel.

She said that, by the first quarter of 2017, the DENR would have finished the study of all environmental compliance certificates focusing on the ones that have far-ranging impact on the common good.

“It needs to be clear that the DENR has adopted social justice as its heart and soul—and to this end our policies will be reviewed and new ones implemented. Because of this, we have decided to adopt an area development program—the prime performance indicator being the quality of life of our people,” she said.

According to the DENR chief, all DENR programs will have broad civil-society participation.

Transport reforms

LAST year saw the transportation department pushing for reforms in the transport sector albeit in small ways, and it plans to continue on doing that in a much larger scale this year.

The year 2017 will mark the start of the transportation agency’s endeavor in forcing more infrastructure projects out of its pipeline.

“We are working on our infrastructure projects, and we are planning on the bigger scale to decongest and promote interconnectivity for the whole country,” Transporation Spokesman Cherie Mercado-Santos said.

While she declined to give a full list of the priority projects this year, she mentioned that railway

development will be on top of the list, after all, Duterte mentioned in his first State of the Nation Address that he will put prime importance on the construction of train systems around the Philippines, most particularly in the South.

The program for railway development involves billions of pesos in investments stretched beyond the term of the Duterte administration.

This includes the construction of the East-West Line, which will run from Commonwealth to Quiapo, a railway that will run from Malolos to Clark, another one from Solis to Los Baños, and the Mindanao Railway, among others.

In Mindanao alone there is about 1,533 km worth of rails to develop. The dream for Mindanao is to have a railway line that will run from Cagayan de Oro to Davao City.

It will be done in three phases—divided into so-called corridors. Corridor 1 will be from Cagayan de Oro to Butuan. The second corridor will run from Butuan to Davao City. The third corridor will be the loop to Cagayan de Oro from the city of Davao.

Airport modernization

AIRPORT construction and modernization is next on the list.

This year will mark the resumption of the bidding process for the rehab and upgrade of five regional airports, and the redevelopment of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Even with these projects at hand, the government is entertaining proposals from the private sector—there are two to date—for the construction of a Naia replacement.

According to Santos, the government is also planning to modernize Clark to accommodate flights of full-service airlines like Philippine Airlines, while constructing a railway that will connect Metro Manila to the area.

Interisland connectivity via Philippine waters will also be promoted next year. The vision is to upgrade and expand the existing ferry routes in the coming months.

“A lot of the ideas and projects that are going to be rolled out are not unique and are not new. A lot of them are from our past administrations,” she said. “What we are doing is to push ourselves to work to get things done,” Santos said.

“In the history of infrastructure, we are a laggard. We also have a history of projects not finished.

So our vision is to finish what we have started.”

A8

The World BusinessMirror

Thursday, January 5, 2017

briefs

Turkey detains 5 I.S. suspects linked to nightclub attack ISTANBUL—Turkey’s staterun news agency says police have detained five suspected Islamic State (IS) group militants believed to be linked to the deadly Istanbul nightclub attack.

Anadolu Agency says the operation was launched in the Aegean port city of Izmir on Wednesday. It says the operation in continuing.

T he g u n m a n who k i l led 39 people du r i ng Ne w Yea r ’s ce lebrat ion s, h a s not been publ ic ly n a med a nd i s st i l l at l a rge.

The IS group has claimed responsibilit y for the attack, which a lso wounded nearly 70 people. AP

Ugandans at Chinese firm hold strike over alleged harassment K AMPALA, Uganda—At least 400 Ugandan workers at a Chinese-owned construction company went on strike on Tuesday to protest alleged sexual harassment by managers and poor pay.

The angry employees staged a demonstration outside the offices of the state-owned China Railway Seventh Group in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

One of the workers, Agnes Namusisi, said managers pay employees who agree to their sexual advances. “I have not been paid for the last three months because I refused sexual advances from my boss,” Namusisi said.

The alleged mistreatment also includes long hours and supervisors beating workers who are delayed getting to their jobs, she said. AP

German I.S. member charged in murders German prosecutors have added six counts of murder and war crimes to the charges against an imprisoned Islamic State (IS) member from Germany who attracted global attention after claiming disillusionment and disgust with the terrorist group.

The new accusations, announced by the prosecutors on Tuesday, were brought three months after a video surfaced suggesting that the recruit, Harr y Sarfo, 28, had taken part in a Syrian mass killing. But in previous inter views, he told the authorities and reporters that he had never killed anyone.

Sarfo, a German of Ghanaian descent, was convicted last year in a Hamburg court of membership in a terrorist organization after his arrest upon returning to Germany in July 2015 from Syria, where he traveled three months earlier to join the IS.

New York Times News Service

Roadside bomb hits police vehicle in Pakistan, 19 wounded DER A ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan—A Pakistani police official says a roadside bomb has struck a vehicle carrying police in the country’s northwest, wounding four officers and 15 passers-by.

Local police official Mohammad Nawaz says Wednesday’s attack took place in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, a gateway to Pakistan’s troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Pakistan’s army has carried out several operations against local and foreign militants in the country’s tribal regions in recent years.

The army says it has cleared over 90 percent of the region from insurgents, who once had a strong presence there. AP

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

Ford, criticized by Trump, cancels plans to build Mexican plant

F

ord Motor said on Tuesday it was canceling plans to build a $1.6-billion plant in Mexico and would, instead, invest $700 million to increase production in Michigan.

Ford had come under heavy criticism from Donald J. Trump during the election campaign for plans to expand production in Mexico. But at a news conference on Tuesday, Ford’s chief executive, Mark Fields, said the company was optimistic that Trump and the new Republican-controlled Congress would pursue growth policies that will strengthen US competitiveness in manufacturing.

Fields said confidence and a desire to maximize use of existing plants had prompted the decision to expand a factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The announcement brought cheers from the hundreds of workers in the audience at the news conference, held at the Flat Rock plant.

“I don’t know if you can really understand the impact of this investment,” said Jimmy Settles, a vice president of the United Auto Workers union, who represents Ford workers and spoke after Fields. “This is the equivalent to a new assembly plant.”

Fields said Ford planned to use the Flat Rock plant to produce gas-electric hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup truck and the Mustang sports car, as well as a new battery-powered sport-utility vehicle (SUV). The plant also makes the standard Ford Mustang and

$1.6B

The value of a plant Ford Motor is canceling plans to build in Mexico

the Lincoln Continental.

The Mexican plant was to be in San Luis Potosí and would produce small cars. Ford will still move production of its Focus compact to Mexico. The company said it would make that car at an existing plant in Hermosillo. The Focus is currently made in Wayne, Michigan.

“We are encouraged by the pro-growth policies that President-elect Trump and the new Congress have indicated they will pursue,” Fields said. “And we believe that these tax and regulatory reforms are critically important to boost US competitiveness, and, of course, drive a resurgence in American manufacturing and high-tech innovation.”

Trump’s vows to protect manufacturing jobs, and his portrayal of the North American Free Trade Agreement as a job-killer in the United States, helped him win the support of working-class voters,

Ford President and CEO Mark Fields addresses the Flat Rock Assembly on Tuesday in Flat Rock, Michigan. Ford is canceling plans to build a new $1.6-billion factory in Mexico and will invest $700 million in a Michigan plant to build new electric and autonomous vehicles. The factory will get 700 new jobs. AP/Carlos Osorio

including many factory workers in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.

Ford’s unexpected news came hours after Trump turned his sights on General Motors (GM).

In a Twitter post on Tuesday morning, Trump suggested GM should pay a tax for producing certain versions of a Chevrolet compact car at a plant in Mexico.

“G e ne r a l Motor s i s s e nd i ng Me x ic a n- m ade mode l of C hev y Cr u ze to US ca r dea lers ta x-free across border,” Tr ump w rote. “Ma ke in USA or pay big border t a x! ” GM makes most Cruzes at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, but last summer it disclosed plans to produce a hatchback version at a factory in Ramos Arizpe, about 100 miles south of the Texas border.

In a statement, the company

said it exported most of the Cruze hatchbacks from Mexico to “global markets” and ships “a small number” to the US. Until now, Trump has said little about GM, which is investing billions of dollars to expand production in Mexico. He named GM’s chief executive, Mary Barra, to an economic policy board that is supposed to advise him on the economy after he takes office.

The attack on GM is the latest

by Trump on a big US corporation.

In recent weeks, he has criticized Boeing over the cost of a new Air Force One and did the same to Lockheed Martin about the cost of developing a new F-35 fighter jet.

D u r i n g t he c a mp a i g n , he railed against Carrier and its decision to close a plant in Indianapolis and open one in Mexico.

Carrier recently agreed to keep about 850 jobs in Indianapolis, although it is still moving about 1,000 to Mexico.

Trump also slammed Ford for its plan to shift small-car production to Mexico, while using US plants to produce larger vehicles, like pickup trucks and SUVs. Ford officials have said the change will not result in a loss of jobs at US plants.

A f ter t he e lec t ion, Ford ’s chairman, William Clay Ford Jr., told Trump in a phone call that the company had decided to cancel plans to move production of a small Lincoln SUV to Mexico from Kentucky.

Trump then erroneously said on Twitter Ford had decided not to move a “Lincoln plant” to Mexico from Kentucky.

New York Times News Service

‘Muddled thinking’ could hurt Syria rebels suspend talks over alleged truce violations Brexit talks, ex-UK envoy says

P

rime Minister Theresa May needs to be told the “uncomfortable” truth about the difficulties of negotiating Brexit, her former envoy to the European Union said, with his resignation seen as increasing the prospects for a disruptive departure from the bloc.

Ivan Rogers quit as Britain’s permanent representative to the EU on Tuesday and urged officials working for the UK in Brussels to keep challenging “muddled thinking” from colleagues in London. He warned that May lacked experienced negotiators and called for stronger working relationships between her Londonbased team and the UK’s permanent post in the Belgian capital.

“I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power,” Rogers said in a message announcing his resignation to staff in Brussels. “The government will only achieve the best for the country if it harnesses the best experience we have,” he added in the note, obtained by the BBC and published on its web site.

Rogers’s comments show the size of the task facing May’s government, three months before she is due to trigger the formal start of Brexit negotiations. He is the most senior figure from the UK’s politically neutral civil service to voice concerns over preparations for the talks.

Political minefield

Dismissed by Brexit hardliners as an EU fanatic, Rogers was viewed by advocates of a softer form of Brexit as an experienced asset with strong

diplomatic contacts and an openness to find common ground.

His sudden exit at such a delicate juncture signals a hardening of positions, raising the chances the UK will quit the single market and revert to a tariffs regime. Last month May’s office was forced to downplay remarks attributed to Rogers, saying that it could take a decade to negotiate a free-trade deal with the EU. Her spokesman clarified that Rogers was merely communicating to London the views of other EU governments. The episode showed how his observations, however nuanced, inevitably risked exploding when they landed in the political minefield of Brexit.

On Tuesday May’s government said Rogers was scheduled to depart at the end of his term in November but had resigned early to enable a replacement to be appointed before exit negotiations begin.

In his note to staff, Rogers outlined concerns about shortcomings in preparations for the talks.

“Senior ministers, who will decide on our positions, issue by issue, also need from you detailed, unvarnished—even where this is uncomfortable—and nuanced understanding of the views, interests and incentives of the other 27” member-states of the EU, he wrote.

‘Rapid resolution’

The structure of the UK’s negotiating team needs “rapid resolution” and the “working methods” to create a seamless process between London and Brussels need strengthening, Rogers warned.

“Serious multilateral negotiating

experience” is “in short supply” in the UK government—unlike in the European Commission, which will lead the EU side in the talks, he said.

In a thinly veiled rebuke to Brexit-supporting politicians, he added: “Contrary to the beliefs of some, free trade does not just happen.” It will depend on the terms of the deals that the UK can strike, he said. “I shall advise my successor to continue to make these points.”

Clean Brexit

Rogers’S resignation fueled the view the UK could opt for a full break with the EU’s single market and customs union. “Britain’s partners will take this as a sign that May’s government is heading for a hard Brexit, which puts sovereignty ahead of economic integration with the EU,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.

Backers of a clean separation from the EU cheered Rogers’s exit as an indication the UK is committed to regaining complete control of immigration, laws and budget even if that means fraying trade ties.

His successor will play a leading role in May’s negotiations with the bloc and the choice will offer further clues on the direction of talks.

Former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said he welcomed the resignation and called for a “complete clear-out” of the Foreign Office, which has traditionally been seen as sympathetic to EU membership. Peter Mandelson, a former European trade commissioner, described Rogers’s departure as “a serious loss.”

Bloomberg News

B

EIRUT—Syrian government forces pressed their offensive in a waterrich valley northwest of Damascus on Tuesday, as 10 rebel groups announced they are suspending talks about planned peace negotiations because of what they described as government violations of a cease-fire deal.

The truce, brokered by Russia and Turkey, is meant to be followed by talks later this month in the Kazakh capital of Astana between mainstream rebel factions and government representatives.

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, to end the nearly six-year conflict and jump-start peace negotiations.

But the nationwide four-day-old cease-fire is looking increasingly shaky, with opposition factions angered, in particular, about the ongoing military offensive in the strategically important Barada Valley. The government and the opposition disagree about whether the region is part of the cease-fire agreement, which excludes extremist factions, such as the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda’s affiliate, known as the Fatah al-Sham Front. The text of the document was never released to the public.

The Syrian government says the mountainous region is not part of the cease-fire because of the presence of the Fatah al-Sham Front. Local activists deny any militant presence in the area.

Opposition activists, including the Barada Valley Media Center, on Tuesday reported heavy bombardment of villages there. The opposition’s Civil Defense first responders reported at least nine government air strikes since Sunday, as well as acute shortages of medical supplies. Six people have been killed and 73 have been wounded, it said.

In a statement posted late on Monday, 10 rebel factions said they were “freezing all discussions regarding the Astana negotiations or any other consultations regarding the cease-fire agreement until it is fully implemented.” They include the powerful Army of Islam group, which operates mainly outside the Syrian capital.

It said the violations in the Barada Valley are continuing and “threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.”

The statement also said the opposition would consider any military changes made on the ground to be a serious violation of the cease-fire agreement “that renders it null.”

T h e B a r a d a Va l l e y, w h i c h i s controlled by rebels and is surrounded by pro-government forces, including the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah group, is the primary source of water for Damascus and surrounding areas. The fighting has cut off the capital’s main sources of water, resulting in severe shortages since December 22.

Images from the valley’s Media Center indicate its Ain al-Fijeh spring and waterprocessing facility have been destroyed, apparently by air strikes. The government says rebels spoiled the water source with diesel fuel, forcing it to cut supplies to the capital. The cease-fire agreement, which went into effect early on Friday, is supposed to pave the way for the government and the opposition to meet for talks for the first time in nearly a year in the second half of January. Those talks will be mediated by Russia, Turkey and Iran, though Russian officials have said other key players, including the US, are welcome to participate.

In the northern province of Idlib, alQaeda’s affiliate, the Fatah al-Sham Front, said more than 20 people were killed as a result of US-led coalition air strikes that targeted one of its command centers. AP

Asean

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Protection of intellectual property rights Asean-EU Perspective

HENRY J. SCHUMACHER

T

he Philippines has shown great improvement in the past years in terms of intellectual-property rights (IPR) protection, as highlighted by its removal from the United States watchlist of trading partners with grave IPR infringements. In addition to the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 10372, which brought amendments to the IP Code of the Philippines and which enhanced enforcement of IPR protection by granting enforcement powers to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPhil) office, the Philippines has put in place a legislative framework that complies with minimum standards of IPR protection set by the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

With more and more Philippine companies investing abroad, with more Philippine business launching creative products internationally, the importance of IPR protection is recognized.

The Philippines is also party to international treaties and agreements on IPR, including the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization; the Paris Convention for the Protection of Individual Property; the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit for Microorganisms for Purposes of Patent Procedure; the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; the International Convention for the Protection of Performers; the Producers of Phonographs and Broadcasting Organizations; the Patent Cooperation Treaty; and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol). The Philippines has also recently been undertaking policy measures to ratify the Nice Agreement on the classification of goods and services in trade mark applications.

There are currently four types of courts in the Philippines that deal with cases related to IPR infringement, namely, the Special Commercial Courts for IP cases; the IPOPhil Quasi-Judicial Courts for cases under their jurisdiction, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) under the IPOPhil; and the Arbitration Courts by Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, which are attached to IPOPhil.

Despite the positive developments in IPR protection in the Philippines in the past years and the attempts of the Bureau of Customs, smuggling and the subsequent entry of counterfeit products into the market remain a significant concern for many companies. With regard to geographical indications (GIs) protection, while IPOPhil has moved to allow recognition and registration of GIs, there is still no legislative or executive framework to establish their protection.

The need for a strong IPR protection and enforcement framework becomes ever more relevant with the Philippines’s membership in the Asean Economic Community. The single market it creates undoubtedly brings substantial benefits to member-countries; however, due to the lack of a single regional IPR-protection regime to cover the Asean single market, it increases the pressure on member-states to safeguard IPR in their respective jurisdictions in order to limit the opportunities that the single market creates for the intra-Asean movement of counterfeit goods. Likewise, as the Philippines continues negotiations with the European Union (EU) for an EU-Philippines free-trade agreement, the Philippines’s willingness to improve protection of IPR and most especially create a policy framework to protect GIs, will be an important factor in how negotiations proceed.

Additionally, the Philippines is producing IPR in the form of software development, game development and other creative services—these need IPR protection, too.

From an EU business perspective, IPR protection remains a concern in the Philippine market, as many European companies are innovator companies and suffer from substantial smuggling and the presence of counterfeit products in the Philippine market. In addition to the financial costs that the compromise of their IPR leads to, it is especially damaging for their brand images. The risks that counterfeits pose on consumer safety are also worrying, especially in sectors, such as pharmaceuticals.

Judges rule Jakarta governor blasphemy trial closed to media

A

n Indonesian court ruled on Tuesday that witness testimony will be closed to the media in the blasphemy trial of the capital’s minority Christian governor.

Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is charged with insulting Islam and desecrating the Koran by using one of its verses to boost his chances of winning reelection. Ahok, 50, is seeking a second term as governor in elections due in February.

The blasphemy controversy erupted when a video circulated online in which Ahok lightheartedly said people were being deceived if they believed his detractors who asserted that the Koran prohibits Muslims from having a nonMuslim leader. A five-judge panel ruled that journalists will not be allowed to cover witness testimony during the trial and that spectators can’t bring cell phones inside the courtroom. Testimony began shortly after the decision was announced on Tuesday.

Presiding Judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto ordered journalists to leave the packed courtroom at the North Jakarta

District Court shortly after he opened the hearing.

One of Ahok’s lawyers, Trimoelja Soerjadi, said the ruling was aimed at protecting the witnesses, given the huge amount of attention the trial has received in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. He said none of the four people who reported Ahok to the police and testified on Tuesday directly heard what Ahok said when he visited a fishing village in northern Jakarta.

Muchsin Alatas, one of the witnesses, told reporters after testifying that Ahok was using the Koran for his political interests.

“He was insulting Koran, that’s why I reported him to the police...justice must be done,” he said.

Protests against Ahok, led by conservative Muslims and which drew hundreds of thousands of people, have kept Jakarta on edge for weeks. A November 4, 2016, protest there turned violent, with one death and dozens of police and protesters injured.

The trial could take two to three months. AP

Editor: Max V. de Leon • Thursday, January 5, 2017 A9

KFC return to Malaysian bourse heralds rebound in deal volumes $305M F und-raising from Malaysian initial public offerings (IPO) is poised to rebound from the lowest in 16 years, led by a planned relisting of the local KFC operator, as receding uncertainty and commodity price gains help rekindle demand for riskier assets.

First-time share sales in Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s top destination for new listings less than five years ago, fell to $305 million in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The figure was the lowest level since 2000 and trailed other regional exchanges, including Singapore, which hosted $1.7 billion of IPOs, and Thailand, where $1.5 billion was raised, the data show.

While a volatile ringgit and slower economic growth hurt IPO volumes last year, fund-raising could jump to at least $2 billion in 2017, according to CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., Malaysia’s top IPO arranger.

QSR Brands (M) Holdings Sdn., the fast-food franchisee backed by CVC Capital Partners, is preparing a $500-million share sale, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier. Property developer Eco World International Bhd. said last October it plans to seek more than 2 billion ringgit ($446 million) in an IPO.

“Large IPOs planned for 2017 are expected to reignite investor interest,” Kong Sooi Lin, CEO of CIMB’s investment-banking arm, said in an interview. “If post-IPO performances listings are strong, we could see a rub-off effect where more private companies may decide to go public.”

Rising prices

QSR Brands, which runs more than 730 KFC outlets and 390 Pizza Hut eateries in Southeast Asia, is returning to the Malaysian stock market after being taken private in 2013 by CVC, Employees Provident Fund and Johor Corp. The company picked Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG and Malayan Banking Bhd. to lead its IPO, people with knowledge of the matter said last October.

Malaysia, the only net oil exporter in Asia and the world’s second-biggest palm-oil producer, saw its currency weaken more than 4 percent in 2016. Brent crude oil prices, which hit a decade low last January, rallied

Domestic liquidity

The amount of first-time share sales in Malaysia in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, lowest since 2000

more than 50 percent to about $57 per barrel and could rise further in 2017 as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries vows to trim output. Benchmark palm prices in Malaysia climbed 22 percent last year. The recovery could provide a boost to Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd., an oil-and-gas services provider that’s taking orders for an IPO of as much as 584.1 million ringgit.

Edra Global Energy Bhd., Malaysia’s second-biggest independent power producer, is considering a $400-million first-time share sale as soon as this year, people familiar with the matter said last October.

Listings that have been delayed could return in 2017, as confidence in the market increases, Ramesh Manimekalanandan, head of Malaysia equity capital markets at Maybank Investment Bank Bhd., said in an interview. Lotte Group shelved plans to list its Malaysian petrochemicals business, which could have raised more than $500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said last June.

Other companies that have postponed share sales include Weststar Aviation Services Bhd., a provider of helicopter transport backed KKR & Co. that was planning to seek at least $300 million in a 2015 IPO, and Sime Darby Bhd.’s car dealership unit, which was aiming to raise as much as $900 million that year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Robert Huray, head of investment banking at RHB Bank Bhd., said investors have greater confidence about 2017 since the US presidential election has passed and oil prices have stabilized. Companies that have been waiting for better market conditions may decide to proceed with listing plans now to raise needed funds, as borrowing costs are rising, according to James Lau, a Kuala Lumpur-based investment director at Pheim Asset Management Sdn. Any revival in listings will be supported by Malaysia’s abundant domestic liquidity, said Steve Clayton, senior country officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. The nation’s top 2 pension funds, Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), manage more than $180 billion of assets and have more than 70 percent of their investments in Malaysia, according to their web sites.

“The local IPO market is set to rebound because there’s a greater degree of predictability in 2017, now that most of the uncertainties that we have seen in 2016 are fading,” said Danny Wong Teck Meng, CEO of Areca Capital Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. “There’s light at the end of tunnel.” Bloomberg News

Video weakens Myanmar claims it’s not abusing Rohingya

N

ewly revealed video of Myanmar police beating Rohing ya Muslims in northern Rakhine state has weakened months of government claims that its forces have not committed abuses in the tense and isolated region it has largely closed off to foreigners since a deadly insurgent attack last October.

The footage has made it more difficult for the government to say at least some abuses are not happening, and sown doubts into its dismissals of more grievous allegations, such as rape, arson and murder.

Authorities quickly verified the video and detained the officers who were seen beating and kicking residents in a large-scale roundup.

According to the office of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the clip was posted to social media last December 31 but recorded last November 5 in a village called Kotankauk in the north of Rakhine, a state in western Myanmar where most of Myanmar’s more than 1 million Rohingya live. It was apparently filmed by a police officer, who recorded the beating while looking impassively into the camera and smoking a cigarette.

Aye Aye Soe, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, insisted the event “has to be an isolated case.”

“You cannot just look at one incident and think, that’s the whole thing that is happening.” She said that, if the government is presented with facts, it will respond in kind, but that “it’s sort of mixed up and confusing over there,” and many allegations are difficult to verify.

“Come back with something concrete, and we will give you back something concrete,” she said.

Most journalists and aid workers, however, have been blocked from the area of Rakhine where abuses have been alleged.

Myat Thu, a former political

IN this December 2, 2016, file photo, Rohingya from Myanmar make their way in an alley at an unregistered refugee camp in Teknaf, near Cox’s Bazar, a southern coastal district about 296 kilometers (183 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh. AP

prisoner and chairman of the Yangon School of Political Science, said the incident “undermines the government position a lot.” Asked whether he thought the video represented an isolated case, he said sarcastically, “I will say there are so many ‘isolated incidents’ in Rakhine state.”

The police were taking part in a search for militants from a fledgling insurgent group that says it is fighting for the rights of the stateless Muslim minority, who lack Myanmar citizenship though Rohingya have lived in the country for generations.

The militants killed nine police officers and stole weapons from their posts last October 9 in northern Rakhine state, setting off a “clearance operation” that resulted

in tens of thousands of Rohingya fleeing across the border to camps in Bangladesh. Rohingya and rights groups say dozens have been killed as part of the operation, and the displaced have shared horrific tales that officials have repeatedly characterized as fabrications.

The police in the video were responding to an alleged follow-up attack in early November 2016 that killed one officer. The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar published details about the video on Monday, but the next day returned to casting doubt on abuse claims with an article headlined, “Fabricated Stories, Misleading Pictures About Rakhine Cause Global Criticism.”

While some patently false videos and photos have been disseminated, rights groups say there are many

legitimate abuse claims that demand an independent, international investigation.

“I’d say this video throws a stick in the spokes,” Matthew Smith, executive director of the NGO Fortify Rights, said in an e-mail.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who heads a government-appointed commission to suggest ways to resolve tensions between Rakhine’s Muslim and Buddhist communities, recently visited the area and met with Myanmar leaders. He expressed concern about reports of human-rights abuses but did not comment on their credibility, saying, “We didn’t go there to investigate.” He called for aid agencies to be allowed in as soon as possible and said he hoped media would be granted access as well. AP

A10 Thursday, January 5, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The shortest path to inclusive growth

A

n archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines offers world-class beaches, historical sites and natural wonders. It also enjoys a reputation as home to the happiest people on Earth. Despite boasting a range of tourist destinations and a reputation for hospitality, however, the country’s tourism industry has a long way to catch up with powerhouse neighbors, such as Malaysia and Thailand, which traditionally receive in excess of 20 million international visitors every year.

Infrastructure, or the lack of it, is the main reason the Philippine tourism industry continues to underperform. Our aging roads and inadequate airports have frustrated countless foreign visitors. We can’t host big events outside Metro Manila because of a shortage of hotel rooms. These problems are curtailing the growth of an industry that could potentially create millions of jobs all over the country.

Experts say the Philippines is ideally suited to become a tourist mecca. If it can effectively solve its infrastructure problems, it will give its Asian neighbors a good run for their money in attracting millions of international tourists. Fortunately, the Duterte administration is trying to ensure that government infrastructure projects are aligned toward improving access to the country’s tourist destinations.

At the same time, tourism officials are raising awareness of the investment needs to boost the industry’s competitiveness. Barring hitches, our tourism industry is seen growing exponentially in the next few years. And there will invariably be greater demand for modern tourism structures, facilities and services.

To lure foreign and local investors, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has released the long-awaited rules for the grant of tax perks to tourism-oriented investments. By acting upon the directive to implement the rules and regulations governing the tax incentives available to registered tourism enterprises with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), the BIR has given life to Republic Act (RA) 9593, otherwise known as the “Tourism Act of 2009”, touted as a road map to developing Tourism Enterprise Zones (TEZs) aimed at enhancing the capacity of tourist attractions and their facilities in priority destinations.

To benefit from the tax perks a tourism enterprise must locate in a TEZ and must register with Tieza. However, existing accommodation establishments outside of the TEZ may avail themselves of incentives from Tieza. The incentives include: Income-tax holiday, exemption from payment of all national and local taxes (5 percent on gross income) and exemption from customs duties and taxes. Nonfiscal incentives include: Employment of foreign nationals for senior positions, Special Investor’s Resident Visa, working visas and repatriation of investment.

For existing accommodation establishments outside of a TEZ, available incentives are as follows: Income-tax holiday for up to six years for upgrade or expansion of facilities as long as the upgrade’s costs amount to at least 50 percent of the original investment; and exemption from duties and taxes for imported capital equipment necessary for the upgrade/expansion or renovation of facilities.

These incentives are being realized eight years after RA 9593 and its implementing rules and regulations were passed. The perks will benefit businesses “engaged in whole or in part in tourism and for the purpose of attracting visitors to and within the Philippines, such as, but not limited to, facilities, services and attractions involved in tourism: Travel and tour services; tourist transport services, whether for land, sea, or air transportation; tour guides; adventure sports services involving such sports as mountaineering, spelunking, scuba diving and other sports activities of significant tourism potential; convention organizers; accommodation establishments, including, but not limited to, hotels, resorts, apartment hotels and condotels that cater to tourists, tourist inns, motels, pension houses and homestay operators.”

The same perks are, likewise, given to: Tourism-estate management services; restaurants; shops and department stores; sports and recreational centers; spas; facilities offering health and wellness services; museums and galleries; theme parks; convention centers; zoos; and such other enterprises as may be identified by the Department of Tourism or Tieza.

With these investment perks, we hope for renewed optimism that, finally, the Philippine tourism industry will be able to compete on the global stage. This will give life to our belief that, indeed, tourism is the shortest path to inclusive growth.

Since 2005

Trump’s trade war with Philippines John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

A

S the “Thinking Class” both here and in the United States try—rather unsuccessfully—to come to terms with new foreign-policy initiatives from President Duterte and President-elect Donald J. Trump, so also are they having problems with both presidents’ international trade ideas.

International trade—exactly like a military conflict—is a war because it is a “zero-sum” game. One nation wins; the other nation loses. Imagine two nations selling goods to each other. Country “A” sells $1 billion to Country “B”. Country “A” has a $1-billion trade surplus; Country “B” has a $1-billion trade deficit. Zero-sum.

The best that a country can hope for is to sell more than it buys to and from many countries.

Back in the good old days when a nation’s currency was convertible to silver or gold, a nation could not run a trade deficit for 41 years like

Cecilio T. Arillo

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So how does the Philippines figure into “Trump’s Trade War”? In spite of all the worry and whining, the Philippines does not even show up in the top 15 countries that the US has a trade deficit with. Even including what the US must spend to support its call center/businessprocess outsourcing operations here, the deficit the US carries with Indonesia is 2.5 times as large.

Mexico’s is twice as large and Vietnam runs a trade surplus almost 10 times as large with the US as does the Philippines.

But what about all those Philippines call-center jobs? Currently, there are 40 million Americans officially unemployed, underemployed, or “discouraged” and not looking for work. If all 1 million local call-center jobs went back to the US, the impact would be minimal. And besides, why work at a US call center for the same wages as at McDonald’s where at least you get free food?

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Congress to regulate employment of foreigners

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business Publisher

the US has. Eventually, it would run out of silver/gold and its currency would be worthless. Alternatively, it could devalue its currency against a precious metal to the point where imported goods would be too expensive for consumers to buy.

But in 1971—45 years ago—the US wanted its cake and to eat it, too, by forbidding the dollar from being converted to gold or silver. However, it kept the dollar from plummeting in value by issuing debt to back the currency. Simplistically, the US borrowed money from China and Japan—the two largest holders of

US debt by a wide margin—to buy their exports.

It is like some idiot at the bank continuing to increase your credit card in spite of the fact that you could never pay off the debt. In this case, the “idiot” was the US Congress raising the government debt ceiling.

In 1971 the most the government could borrow was $430 billion. It is now $18 trillion.

In order to “win” a trade war by achieving a trade surplus, a country must reduce imports and/or export more. Trump wants to “win” by reducing US imports through “import substitution”, making those goods in the US. He is using a “carrot and stick” approach.

Ford Motor Co. has canceled building a $1.6-billion auto factory in Mexico because Trump is threatening a huge tax on auto imports.

The risk of building that factory and losing any cost and competitive advantage is too great. That’s the stick.

The carrot is that Trump is proposing a huge reduction in corporateincome tax by more than half to 15 percent. This would offset much of the advantages of companies setting up operations outside the US.

A

FTER 43 years of neglect, Congress has finally realized the need to strengthen and regulate the employment of all foreign nationals in the country by imposing penalty on those who transfer work without the prior approval of the secretary of labor and employment.

The House Committee on Labor and Employment, chaired by Rep. Randolph S. Ting (Third District of Cagayan), approved before the Christmas break House Bill (HB) 277 authored by Reps. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (First District of Davao City) and Jericho B. Nograles (PBA Party-list) in consolidation with HB 710 filed by Rep. Bellaflor J. AngaraCastillo (Lone District of Aurora).

The bills seek to amend Articles 40, 41 and 42 of Title II, Book One of Presidential Decree (PD) 442, as amended, otherwise known as the “Labor Code of the Philippines”.

Karlo Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said one of the country’s commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO)-General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS) is to review the restrictions in Title II, Article 40 of PD 442, as amended.

The main restriction in the hiring of a foreign national is the Labor Market Test, which is used to deter-

mine the nonavailability of a qualified, able and willing person in the Philippines to do the services for which the foreign national is being hired. This test is comparable to an Economic Needs Test implemented by other countries.

Karlo Nograles explained that the proposed amendment of the Labor Code provision is meant to facilitate uniformity by properly stating the term used by the country in its commitments entered into via bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements.

“It is a way for the country to determine if there is a short supply of workers in specific industries, occupations and professions which probably inhibits the country from increased productivity and industry development. It includes a provision for training of Filipino understudies to transfer skills and technology from the foreign national,” he said.

The Labor Code of the Philippines is the legal code governing employment practices and labor relations in

the country. It was enacted on Labor Day, May 1, 1974, by President Ferdinand Marcos in the exercise of his legislative powers.

Karlo Nograles said the country strives to meet its commitment in the WTO-GATS, Asean Economic Community and other bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements, and it is expected to at least review the affected national laws and policies.

“The proposed agreement,” he pointed out, “is a timely initiative to update the said law as the country modernizes as part of a global community. It is also a show of good faith to countries, regions and international bodies that the Philippines is willing to accommodate changes in order to meet its commitments. The proposed amendment is beneficial to the country, as it paves the way to an improved but still protective policy on employment of foreign nationals.”

The consolidated bill sought to amend Article 40 of PD 442, as amended, so that Title II is renamed Employment of Nonresident Foreign Nationals. The title of Article 40 is also changed to Employment Permit for Nonresident Foreign Nationals.

The amendment further provides that “An employment permit may be issued to nonresident foreign national subject to the Labor Market Test based on the nonavailability of qualified and willing Filipino nationals.”

The secretary of labor in the amendment is authorized to grant exemptions from the Labor Market Test to foreign nationals as provided for under existing laws and

agreements, as well as in industries or occupations or practice of professions where there is short supply, after tripartite consultation. Foreign nationals issued employment permits shall transfer technology to Filipino understudies within a prescribed period, the amendment further provides.

Any nonresident foreign national who shall take up employment in violation of the provision of the bill and its implementing rules and regulations, as well as the employer or the responsible person representing the employer, shall be fined not less than P50,000 nor more than P100,000, or imprisonment of not less than six months nor more than six years, or both, at the discretion of the court.

The foreign national shall be subject to deportation after service of his sentence, the amendment provides.

The amendment provides that the labor secretary is authorized to impose a fine of P50,000 for every year or fraction thereof to both the foreign national found working without valid employment permit and to the employer.

The amendment also provides that any employer hiring nonresident foreign nationals shall submit a list of such nationals, indicating their names, citizenship, foreign and local addresses, nature of employment and status of stay in the country. The labor secretary shall then determine if they are entitled to an employment permit.

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

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Live and let die?

Truth through strangers

BusinessMirror

Ariel F. Nepomuceno

Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

DECISION TIME

D

Alálaong Bagá

E

uring the height of the presidential election campaign, President Duterte firmly declared his intention to revive the death penalty if elected. He promised to end the increasing violence caused by the drug problems, crimes and acts of terrorism.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” appeared to be driving his justifiable hatred against fearless violators of our laws.

piphany, as a tradition older than our celebration of Christmas, is the feast of divine manifestation and of human discovery. It identifies the purpose of the human birth of the Son of God (Matthew 2:1-12). The story of the wise men from the east concretizes the light that shines forth to liberate those in the shadow of darkness.

Based on this marching instruction, Congress approved, last December 7, 2016, House Bill 1, which aims to bring back the death penalty for heinous crimes. The long enumeration of so-called heinous crimes include treason, murder, parricide, infanticide, rape, kidnapping, robbery, carnapping, qualified piracy, bribery, arson and plunder, drug-related crimes, such as importation, sale, trading, administration, delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs and controlled chemicals.

The magi from the east

Constitutional parameters

Our 1987 Constitution made history among Asian nations, when our country was the first to remove the death penalty. Article III, Section 19 paragraph (1) provides that “Excessive fines shall not be imposed nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inf licted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, Congress hereafter provides for it.”

Clearly then, this particular wording of our Constitution paves the way for Congress to amend the same “for justifiable reasons and only for heinous, atrocious or vicious crimes.”

Global norm on death penalty

The fact is, there are many countries that still impose the death penalty. In Asia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and North Korea use methods such as hanging, lethal injection or firing squad. Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries still use beheading, while some states in the US have electrocution and gas chamber, to the chagrin of many human-rights advocates. It appears that the most economically, socially and politically developed and mature nations still find it appropriate and necessary to have the death penalty in place.

In support of death penalty

Those who favor the reinstatement of the death penalty find anchor in the concept of the need to prevent and deter crime and to address the fundamental human desire for fairness that when a man malevolently takes the life of another, it

is but fit that he suffers the same consequence.

Capital punishment is imposed because it is deserved. As such, the punishment must be proportionate and must fit the crime. This is a classic argument for those who believe that if we are to live in a just and civilized society, there is no room for people who commit unimaginably remorseless, brutal and wicked offenses.

Against the reimposition

ON the other hand, the antideath penalty advocates opine that there is absolutely no truth or factual basis for the belief that such a penalty is, indeed, a deterrent to crime.

In fact, during the time when said penalty was still being used, crimes, like murder, rape and kidnapping, were still rampant and the rate has not diminished considerably. Surely, there will be initial “shocking” effects but these tend to taper off as time passes by.

There is even no proof that death penalty has a stronger preventive effect than life imprisonment, considering the sordid conditions of our jails and penitentiaries. From a human-rights perspective, there is, likewise, that reasonable argument that any law reintroducing death penalty may be violating the dignity of the human person and human rights under Article II, Section 11 of the Constitution. This clause is consistent with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines had ratified.

Furthermore, they argue that our flawed justice system would dangerously condemn even the innocent who are poor and incapable of a good and credible court battle.

Move forward with caution

Both proponents and opponents of the death penalty have valid, good and uniquely rationale grounds.

Crucial here is for the bill not to be hurriedly passed. It should stand the rigor of open, honest and fearless discussion, criticism and then, discernment.

For after all, a life saved may be a life well lived. We are all entitled to be granted this grace.

For comments and suggestions arielnepo. businessmirror@gmail.com

More than just folklore or even history, the figures of the “magi”, or wise men, from the east belonged to the story of Christmas long before Santa Claus came around. The infancy narratives in the gospel were not intended as historical vignettes but as interpretations of Scriptures to help our faith in Jesus Christ. The inspired writer crafted together several stories based on Old Testament lines to present Jesus and his mission for our deeper reflection. Like the flight into Egypt, the adoration of the magi is a creative composition with profound theological assertions. It is like history overheard at the door of faith.

Tax law for business

A

few years back, we wrote an article in this column about the necessity of keeping an eye on the life of a corporation.

Included in that article is the reminder regarding the need to extend a corporation’s life which is about to expire and the requirements for undertaking such extension. A recently issued opinion by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prompted us to again remind concerned parties that there is such an end to a corporate term, and there is a need to renew such term if the corporation intends to continue doing business under the same juridical entity.

The existing Corporation Code, which took effect on May 1, 1980, provides that a corporation shall exist for a period not exceeding 50 years from the date of incorporation, unless sooner dissolved or unless said period is

extended. This means that the number of years that a corporation may exist is limited to 50 years. However, this corporate life may be extended for a period not exceeding 50 years in any single instance by an amendment of

Herod and the leaders of the jews

IN contrast to the wisdom of the

‘Kontexto’ Teddy Locsin Jr.

Free fire Continued from A1

I

N a video taken with a bystander’s cell-phone camera, Scott can be seen running from Slager after a brief scuffle. As Scott flees, Slager raises his gun and fires—eight times. Killing him.

The officer cuffs the corpse, baka zombie, and drops a small black object near his body, like the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) dropped a gun beside the hand of the dead

Espinosa—rather than in his hand, with his dead finger wrapped around the trigger. What is it with the police and common sense? Magtatanim ka na ng pusil, hindi mo pa itatanim sa kamay. Instead,

By Adam Minter | Bloomberg View

I

t’s hardly a happy new year for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Just before Christmas, the US Trade Representative added Alibaba’s Taobao e-commerce site to a list of “notorious markets” that traffic in counterfeits. That’s an unseemly place for a publicly held company: Other members include a Chinese shopping mall that specializes in counterfeit leather goods and a Paraguayan border market rife with organized crime that hawks everything from fake Ray-Bans to knockoff DVDs.

the articles of incorporation. But no extension can be made earlier than five years prior to the original or subsequent expiry date(s).

There is, therefore, proper timing for the renewal of corporate life. One cannot do it too early, neither can it be done after the life has already expired. There were, in fact, a number of instances where the SEC denied the amendment of articles of incorporation extending the corporate life, simply because the original corporate life had already expired. A life that has already expired cannot be extended.

But one cannot properly determine the end of the corporate life if he does not know the reckoning or the start of the corporate life. Thus, in order for the end of the corporate term to be determined, it is equally necessary to determine when the said term is to be reckoned. While there are SEC issuances in this matter, for some, this is not so clear especially for stock corporations incorporated prior to the effectivity of the present Corporation Code.

the east was pointing or what their own texts are actually saying. It is not science (a planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn circa 7 BC to 6 BC?) that is the concern here but the theological significance of the rising star. It was a common ancient belief that a great ruler’s birth is heralded by a new star. The Jews were very aware of the Old Testament story of Balaam from the east who prophesied that “a star shall advance from Jacob” (Numbers 24:17)—the Davidic star that would proclaim the greatness of the God of Israel.

magi, Herod and the chief priests and scribes manifested respectively a cunning unbelief and a paradoxical blind spot in their belief. Herod, a satrap king under the Romans and notorious for the many kin he had murdered to remove prospective aspirants to his throne, typified worldly power that tethers at every possible challenge, and like most worldly power seeks in deceit and violence surcease from uncertainty. Easily pretending to be interested in finding the “truth” and giving homage, Herod has the distinction of being dubbed outright as one who “is going to search for the child to destroy it,” thus providing the shadow of the cross from the outset looming over the child Jesus.

In a way, the chief priests and scribes were more pathetic. Steeped in prophecies about the coming messiah and as guardians of the traditions of a “people in waiting”, they failed to recognize him when finally he was manifest. Ironically, these religious leaders were quoting to Herod treasured texts (2 Samuel 5:2; Micha 5:1) that should have facilitated their acceptance of Jesus. But they were capable only of quoting texts and no more. Their belief in the plans of God could not see the truth at which the star that moved the strangers from

every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on dwIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

tinanim mo sa cement plorh. Okay, if the CIDG who murdered Espinosa went to trial in the United States, would they go scot-free like Slager did?

No. Why? One, Walter Scott was running away.

Espinosa was in a cell, where it got so tight with the CIDG joining, it was all Espinosa could do not to suffocate from the b.o.

Two, white and sometimes black officers shoot innocent civilians but only out of racism or nervousness, interpreting the slightest black movement as resistance and a threat to the officer’s life.

Same with cops here. They are nervous—the good ones about an imminent threat to their lives, the bad ones about getting fingered by their assets.

Kasi when poor drug pushers and addicts are shot, it is in the back of the head and they are already wrapped in packing tape. So no threat imminent or

even remote. American police officers are professional. Can we say the same thing about our cops? Yes—about most of them; it’s why most of them didn’t get promoted. Only the tainted ones.

It was drug-protecting cops that made it to the top. It is only under President Duterte that good law enforcers have gotten promoted to the very top of their forces and their bureaus. Men of integrity and independent judgment, like the NBI director from Davao. This is why they come up with reports that even contradict the President and get away with it.

That said, because too many of our law enforcers are corrupt, I do not think an American jury will acquit the CIDG— or, as in Slager’s case, call a mistrial to avoid convicting a good-looking American cop or embarrassing themselves by acquitting him. It is all about context.

Why Alibaba can’t stop counterfeiters

Reckoning of a corporate term Fulvio D. Dawilan

The wise men from the east, strangers and outsiders, therefore, observed the rising of a star that indicated to them the birth of “the king of the Jews” and they came to do him homage. These men, apparently astrologers of some sort, represent the non-Jewish people who did not have the benefits of the Sacred Scriptures or the messianic traditions, but only nature’s witness in the form of stars, yet, they traveled far to see the revelation of the newborn king. Theirs was a human openness rewarded with the discovery of the Savior of humankind.

Thursday, January 5, 2017 A11

Alálaong bagá, the astral herald proclaiming the “epiphany” of the Savior of the world beckons all to salvation. The refusal of the keepers of tradition and the machinations of the worldly power are a warning to us. Those who grew up in the heritage of faith can easily take it all for granted and be not assiduous anymore like those who have to search diligently to acquire it. The faith of the gentile magi underlines the universal proportions of the unfolding history of salvation and illustrates what it takes to find Jesus and do him homage.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God

Alibaba isn’t keen to be associated with this motley group. But like Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc. and other online marketplaces dependent on Chinese manufacturers, it has struggled to maintain its integrity against an onslaught of counterfeiters. Without an aggressive crackdown by China’s government, these marketplaces won’t stand much of a chance against the fakes.

By many measures, counterfeiting is one of China’s leading industrial sectors. A study by the US Chamber of Commerce found that it brings in about $396 billion annually, representing some 12

percent of China’s total exports and 1.5 percent of its GDP. Last year, when just one Chinese province decided to crack down, it shut 417 “manufacturing and sales locations” with stock worth more than $200 million.

This large-scale criminal enterprise has surprisingly staid origins. The global outsourcing boom that started in the 1980s brought foreign factories and expertise to China. Workers at those factories excelled at making iPhones and other consumer goods, but also quickly learned how to knock them off.

These days, it’s not unusual for a new

product to face counterfeit competition in China within days of its release—or, in the case of the iPhone 6s, days before its release. In some instances, as with last year’s hoverboard craze, the knockoffs proliferate so quickly that the original patent and brand owners are forgotten in favor of generic “made in China” versions. This parallel economy is no secret. Last year Alibaba Cofounder Jack Ma bluntly told a gathering of retailers that counterfeiters use exactly the same factories and raw materials as legitimate manufacturers. Local governments tend to look the other way—or worse.

There were earlier opinions issued by the SEC holding that the 50-year period should not be counted from the date of registration. Instead, it would be appropriate to reckon the 50-year period from the date of the effectivity of the Corporation Code, which is May 1, 1980. For instance, in the case of an educational institution that was originally registered with the SEC in 1911 with a perpetual corporate term, it was deemed to exist only for a period of 50 years reckoned from May 1, 1980, the date of the effectivity of the Corporation Code. Thus, its corporate existence will expire only on May 1, 2030, unless sooner dissolved or extended within the allowed period.

In a recent SEC opinion (SEC-OGC Opinion 16-27, dated November 23, 2016), a corporation that was originally incorporated in 1962 and with a corporate term of 50 years specifically requested the SEC to provide an opinion as to whether its corporate term should be counted from May 1, 1980, the date of the effectivity of

the Corporation Code. In response, the SEC noted that its previous opinions, with respect to the counting of the term of corporations registered under the corporation law, the law prior to the Corporation Code, finds no application to stock corporations.

The SEC clarified that its previous opinions refer to educational institutions with perpetual term. In short, the 50-year term is not a new requirement for stock corporations that are not educational corporations. Thus, the original 50-year corporate term must be retained and must be counted from the date of its registration, not from May 1, 1980.

It is clear, therefore, that for corporations registered prior to May 1, 1980, the reckoning of the 50-year corporate life from May 1, 1980, applies only to educational corporations. For stock corporations, which are not educational institutions, the 50-year life should be counted from the actual date of registration with the SEC, whether the registration was made prior or

subsequent to May 1, 1980.

This period is so significant because the nonrenewal within the allowed five-year period prior to the end of corporate life will result in the denial of the amendment extending the corporate term. This results in the automatic death of the corporate term.

It is, thus, appropriate for the corporations registered in 1967 to 1971 to already start the amendment process amending the corporate term and file the same with the SEC.

The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of World Tax Services (WTS) Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at fulvio.dawilan@bdblaw.com.ph or call 4032001 local 310.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

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Thursday, January 5, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Palace, Congress leaders still favor Con-ass for Cha-cha S

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ENATORS and congressmen convening as a constituent assembly (Con-ass) remains the favored mode by Malacañang and Congress leaders to fast-track a major amendment to the 1987 Constitution, paving the way for a shift to a federal form of government endorsed by President Duterte.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, as he confirmed efforts to firm up a bicameral consensus to convene the Senate and the House of Representatives as a Con-ass instead of calling for national elections of delegates to a Constitutional convention (Con-con) to change the Constitution ratified during President Corazon C. Aquino’s administration.

Fielding questions at a Senate media forum, Ejercito disclosed that leaders of the bicameral Congress, however, still need to iron out the manner of voting when senators and congressmen finally convene to amend the Constitution.

He also acknowledged concerns that under the federal setup, some regions “may be left behind ” by other regions rich with natural resources, but cited Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III’s assurance that this will be “adequately addressed” when lawmakers convene.

EJERCITO: “Senate President Koko is safe...the issues are not enough to justify a Senate coup.”

“The Senate President believes there are mechanisms to address that,” Ejercito said.

He added that Congress leaders are still in the process of working out other details to pave the way for Charter change (Cha-cha), following an initial consensus favoring the Con-ass as the more “convenient” mode for amending the Constitution.

He recalled that sentiments aired by lawmakers in favor of Conass cited the additional expense required for conducting national elections to elect Con-con delegates.

In the same forum, Ejercito debunked speculations about an al-

President Duterte delivers his first State of the Nation Address. AP

leged plot by some senators to stage a “coup” to oust Pimentel.

“Senate President Koko is safe...the issues are not enough to justify a Senate coup,” Ejercito said. “May konting tampuhan lang, but not serious enough to oust him,” Ejercito told reporters

but declined to elaborate beyond saying that the Senate leadership remains “stable at this time.”

He added: “As of this time, Senate President Pimentel has nothing to worry about. He listens and acts right away if issues are brought to him...he reaches out.”

These eight charts explain what’s happening in markets right now I

t’s back to school for financial markets. Bonds are out, stocks are in. Inflation in the developed world is on the prowl. Optimism for US growth and corporate profits is sky-high. And Presidentelect Donald J. Trump casts a dark shadow over the outlook for global trade.

In short, from inflation to manufacturing to bond yields to global trade, 2017 may herald a number of sea-changes for financial markets.

Here are eight charts that paint the market landscape ahead.

1.Inflation breakout.

One of the biggest themes for 2017—the rising outlook for inflation—was underscored on Tuesday after German consumer prices staged a sharp 1.7-percent rise from a year ago, beating expectations of a 1.3-percent advance. Though underlying price pressures remain weak, the data may embolden European Central Bank (ECB) hawks who argue the euro-area economy is on a firmer footing, justifying a shift away from loose monetary policies. Analysts at Société Générale SA reckon ECB tapering fears are likely to haunt markets once more in the second half of the year.

2.Commodity reflation.

Headline inflation data in the euro-area and the US in the coming months may be fueled by a pick-up in energy

prices. West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $55 a barrel for the first time since July 2015, amid output cuts in Kuwait and Oman that suggest the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners are going to deliver on an agreement forged last year to scale back production.

3.Dollar devotion. Markets are also grappling with the prospects for the greenback after its Trumpfueled climb. T he Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the currency against 10 of its peers, has notched a 6.5-percent gain since the November 8 election, as expectations of looser regulations, higher government spending and lower taxes bolster the outlook for US growth and inflation.

The dollar rally raises a slew of questions for investors: Will the strength of the greenback pose a headwind for US output in the second half of the year? Will it vex the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) monetary-tightening path? Given the dollar’s role as the principal global funding currency, will its spirited strength crimp emerging-market liquidity and growth?

4.Elephant in the room. China is one emerging-market country that is reeling from the effects of a stronger dollar, which is serving to fuel capital outflows and tighten

onshore domestic liquidity. To this end, China dropped a yearend surprise on sleepy currency markets, when it downgraded the relative importance of the dollar in its trade-weighted foreignexchange basket, in an effort to better reflect the yuan’s valuation against its trading partners.

Though the move may have eased the risk of a one-off devaluation, yuan-depreciation expectations have surged year-on-year.

All eyes are on China’s foreignexchange holding data, which will update with last month’s figures on January 7. If they drop below the psychologically significant $3-trillion threshold, the currency would come under further pressure, complicating Beijing’s bid to incent private investment and rein in credit growth.

5.Manufacturing cycle. An uptick

in the global industrial production cycle may give Chinese policy-makers some breathing space. On Tuesday we learned UK manufacturing data for December advanced at its fastest pace in 30 months, helped by resilient demand and a weaker pound.

In addition, Institute for Supply Management data showed that last month American manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in two yea rs, u nderscor ing soa r ing business confidence.

Euro-area manufacturing also

grew last December, at its fastest pace since April 2011, feeding the market narrative that inflationary pressures are building up in the developed world, and that Corporate Europe is on a stronger footing.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase Bank say a pickup in business spending and goods-price inflation will fuel an uptick in global manufacturing in 2017, with strong export data in Asia last November and December highlighting the growth in final-goods demand.

6.Shifting yield curves. Another

major theme this year is the outlook for term premiums—the extra compensation investors demand to hold longer-dated government bonds relative to shorter-dated obligations. In the US, UK and euro area, they fell sharply in the middle of last year as markets bet that central banks would keep monetary policies loose. According to analysts at Société Généralé SA, rising US Treasury issuance and price pressures could fuel a notable rise in the term premium this year, as yield curves in the developed world remain flat relative to low absolute yields on short-dated obligations.

The shape of the Treasury curve will heavily influence the capital-flow cycle in emerging markets this year, as much as the pace of Fed monetary tightening itself, if See “Eight charts,” A2

Boom time spells more hardship for laggard peso S OUtheast Asia’s worst-performing currency of 2016 is in for another tough year, with President Duterte’s spending plans seen boosting imports just as rising US interest rates spur capital outflows.

The peso is forecast to be collateral damage, as an economy growing faster than 7 percent and the government’s infrastructure-program drive demand for inward shipments.

This year will be the first in about a decade when the amount of money Filipinos send home from overseas will be lower than the trade deficit, estimates ING Groep NV. “It’s a challenging situation for the peso for the next couple of years,” said Joey Cuyegkeng, an economist at the Dutch lender in Manila.

“A very strong domestic sector requires imports of both consumer goods and durable equipment, as the economy expands and moves into investment-driven growth.”

The peso, which dropped 5.2 percent against the dollar in 2016, will fall a further 4.4 percent to 52 by the end of this year, predicted Cuyegkeng. The uncertain international environment, with Donald J. Trump poised to take office as US president, and nervousness over Duterte’s pivot toward China, is likely to push investors to demand a peso premium, he said.

The peso strengthened 0.04 percent to 49.76 a dollar as of 11:44 a.m. in Manila, while the Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 1.8 percent.

Duterte’s fiery outbursts and unpredictability, together with high valuations, also damped the allure of Philippine shares in the

CUYEGKENG: “It’s a challenging situation for the peso for the next couple of years.”

second half of 2016. The benchmark index dropped 16 percent from a peak in mid-July to finish the year down 1.6 percent. Opinion is divided on the prospects for this year, with Deutsche Asset Management and Nomura Holdings Inc. predicting a rebound, while Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG see more losses .

Political risk The government is forecasting a 10-percent jump in imports in 2017, compared with a 4-percent rise in remittances. Money sent home by Filipinos living abroad accounts for around a tenth of the nation’s economy.

Alan Cayetano, the Manilabased head of foreign-exchange trading at Bank of the Philippine Islands, is penciling in a rate of 51.5 to 52 per dollar by the end of 2017. That’s more bearish than the median estimate of 50.8 of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The peso will weaken at a slower pace this year than in 2016 as major developments like higher US rates and more local spending are mostly priced-in, Cayetano said. “But that’s barring any unforeseen events,” he said. “What can affect the peso locally will be politics.” Bloomberg News