Businessmirror january 17, 2017

BAD CHOICE OF WORDS?

In comments that could raise the stakes in the South China Sea, Donald J. Trump’s choice for secretary of state said the US should stop Beijing from constructing artificial islands and deny it access to them. “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed,” former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said tillerson AP during his Senate confirmation hearing. He compared China’s islandbuilding in the disputed waters to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Blocking China’s access to the islands “could spark armed conflict,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “I can’t help but think that he did not mean it this way.” A person familiar with deliberations inside the Trump transition team was aware of no such plans, raising the likelihood that Tillerson misspoke.

CHINA ANALYSTS SEE U.S. CARRIER DEPLOYMENT TROUBLESOME

The USS Carl Vinson battle group is on its way to the Western Pacific to augment the Japan-based USS Ronald Reagan—a move seen by China analysts as a sign that Donald J. Trump’s administration will ratchet up the US military presence in the South China Sea. The Carl Vinson’s deployment coincides with Trump’s January 20 inauguration and the just-completed drills by China’s sole aircraft The Liaoning AP carrier in and around the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The combat exercises involving the Liaoning, including takeoffs and landings by J-15 fighter jets and helicopters, have been closely shadowed by both Taiwan and Japan as China’s largest warship sailed past its nervous neighbors. The Nimitz-class carrier’s dispatch “shows that the Pentagon, including the US Navy, wants to extend Obama’s Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy and further get involved in the West Pacific,” Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the state-run Global Times newspaper.

China has welcomed the statement by the Philippines that it won’t raise its arbitration victory against Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea during Southeast Asian summit talks hosted by Manila this year. yASAY AP “We are not going to raise this issue...because there is really no useful benefit,” Foreign Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay Jr. said. “This is a matter that we will be raising with China at some future time in bilateral talks and to do and involve others in the discussion of this decision is just simply counterproductive for our purposes.” Yasay said if any country would like to pursue their respective claims against China, “they can do so and, perhaps, use the decision of the arbitral tribunal as a precedent-setting case in pursuing the matter.” Citing improved relations with China, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana also put on hold a repair of a runway on Philippine-controlled Pag-asa Island in the Spratlys, which is also claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam. AP

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Tuesday, January 17, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 97

Death penalty may cost PHL EU trade privilege

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By Catherine N. Pillas @c_pillas29 & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

he apparent rush to approve the bill reinstating the death penalty in Congress could cost the Philippines its special trade privileges from the European Union (EU) under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU-GSP+).

6,274 The number of Philippine products that can enter the EU market duty free under the GSP+

This is because an EU monitoring team is slated to arrive this month to assess whether the Philippines can continue to enjoy preferential trade See “Death penalty,” A2

BMReports

@jearcalas

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Part Two

GRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has set his eyes on achieving the country’s rice self-sufficiency, something that some pundits said the previous administration failed to achieve. Piñol has said he is looking at the viability of planting rice in former war-torn areas in Mindanao and outside the country’s secondlargest island group. “According to the color-coded [national agricultural] map, Samar is a potential rice-production area because of the availability of wa-

ter and availability of land,” Piñol said. “Also, it is not frequently hit by typhoons.” While the Department of Agriculture (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 (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos) and Davao. “Soccsksargen and Davao, and actually Zamboanga, as well, have great potential because these areas have slow acceptance of hybridseeds technology,” Piñol said. “If we are able to convince these farmers to embrace hybrid-rice seeds, then we are expecting a spike in our rice-production program.”

PESO exchange rates n US 49.6220

Security

PIÑOL’S fellow Cabinet member, Socioconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, pointed out that the Aquino administration’s rice self-sufficiency program was a “wrong policy”. “The rice self-sufficiency [program], that’s a wrong policy,” Pernia told the BusinessMirror before assuming office as director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). “We will push for food security, not self-sufficiency, because we should be doing things that we have comparative advantage in.” “Obviously, we don’t have comparative advantage in rice,” he added. “It’s cheaper to import rice

PIÑOL: “If we are able to convince these farmers to embrace hybrid-rice seeds, then we are expecting a spike in our riceproduction program.”

from [countries like] Thailand. In 2011 the DA embarked on its program, titled Food Staples Self-Sufficiency Program (FSSP) Roadmap 2011 to 2016, which aimed to eliminate rice imports by Continued on A2

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How to run Philippines Inc.

the entrepreneur Manny Villar

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have been running a business organization with diverse interests for decades, so I know very well how important it is for the members of such an organization, in spite of the differences in product or service areas, to coordinate, complement and operate for the benefit of the whole group. The same is true with running the government, which is sometimes called Philippines Inc., the biggest business organization in the country with the largest resources, the most number of shareholders and the most diverse interests. Continued on A10

HIKE IN CONTRIBUTIONS, SSS PENSION APPROVED

PHL retraces journey toward food security T By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Cameo | Dreamstime.com

BEIJING GRATEFUL PHILIPPINES WON’T RAISE ARBITRATION RULING

he House of Representatives approved twin measures on Monday, allowing the Social Security System (SSS) to increase the monthly contribution of its members and to increase the monthly pension of SSS pensioners. Voting 227-7-1, lawmakers approved House Bill 2158, or “An Act Rationalizing and Expanding the Powers and Duties of the Social Security Commission (SSC) and the SSS,” by amending Republic Act 1161 as amended, or the Social Security Act of 1997. The bill authorizes the SSCSSS to enter into a compromise pact or to release any interest, penalty, or any civil liability to the SSS in connection with short- and medium-term loans to its members, such as salary, educational, livelihood, marital,

calamity and emergency loans, without need for approval from the president of the Philippines. It also authorizes the SSCSSS to condone, compromise or release, in whole or in part, on a case-by-case basis, such penalties imposed upon employers for delinquent social-security contributions due to fiscal difficulties. The bill also mandates the SSC-SSS to submit to Congress annual reports related to the exercise of the power to condone penalties for delinquent socialsecurity contributions/payments and to include the names, addresses and other information on the delinquent employers. The measure also said the SSC-SSS shall determine the salary credits, schedule and rate of contributions and rate of penalty

n japan 0.4347 n UK 59.5166 n HK 6.3994 n CHINA 7.1893 n singapore 34.7444 n australia 37.1371 n EU 52.6142 n SAUDI arabia 13.2304

See “SSS,” A2

Source: BSP (16 January 2017 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, January 17, 2017

PHL retraces journey toward food security Continued from A1

SSS. . .

Continued from A1

or unremitted contributions and unpaid loan amortizations without need for the approval from the President of the Philippines. Currently, the SSS Charter said an increase in benefits for SSS pensioners must be subsidized by a concurrent increase in members’ premium. To make it permanent, the lower cham-

Continued from A12

treatment from EU member-economies, with the reimposition of capital punishment as one of the main considerations. “That’s part of the monitoring discussion, and the team will come later this month,” EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said. The EU-GSP+ is a preferential trade scheme that the Philippines has been benefiting from since December 2014. The EU-GSP+ allows the Philippines to export 6,274 products to the EU duty free. This is an upgrade from the regular EUGSP, which only covered 6,209 products and of which only 2,442 products are accorded duty-free privilege.

International conventions

NONIE REYES

2013 and be rice-sufficient by the end of 2016. The FSSP aimed to deliver interventions by boosting farm productivity through increased farm-mechanization level, development of better irrigation systems, reduction in postharvest losses and utilization of high-quality seeds among others. Pernia’s sentiment was supported by Pablito M. Villegas, president and CEO of agricultural think-tank Meganomics Specialists Inc. Villegas said the DA’s focus should be in food security and not specific crop sufficiency. “Rice self-sufficiency? Better look at it in terms of food self-sufficiency so we can use traditional indigenous foods of the Filipino people,” Villegas, who is also an economist, told the BusinessMirror. “Also, we must start slow shifting to more nutritious highvalue crops and rice, such as brown rice.” And if the government really wants the agriculture sector to fully prosper then it should stop its “commodity approach of budgeting,” according to Villegas. “They should have to reform or have to stop the commodity approach of budgeting because it has not achieved any success,” Villegas explained. “They are budgeting in terms of what is needed, such as rice production and/or corn production.” According to him, “that kind of budgeting has not worked and we have poured in a lot of money that has only been an avenue for more corruption.” Villegas, who served as a senior agricultural economist for the Food and Agricultural Organization, suggests that it’s high time for the DA to implement the identification and creation of Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZ), which is mandated under the provisions of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act. “Which means you have to look at the relative and comparative advantages of commodies in certain areas given the soil, the water and the location,” Villegas said. “You don’t stop from just producing crops but you go on developing the

Death penalty. . .

competitive advantages of that crop by processing or value adding.”

Victimization

GIVEN the SAFDZ mandate, Villegas said the DA should now design a development mechanism that will promote agro-based industrial clustering. In an agro-indsutrial processingbased approach, the country is clustered according to production areas and strategic points, such as airports and ports. Moreso, in such approach, raw produce is geared toward a specific processed product, making it more competitive compared to just being a fresh produce, explained Villegas, who also served as senior adviser to former Agriculture Secretary Salvador H. Escudero III. “So that you can now develop not only the comparative advantages, but also the competitive advantages of the locations,” said Villegas, who was tapped by Indonesia to serve as the Agro-based Industry Specialist for the said country’s project, titled “Study on Restructuring the Agro-based Industries.” ber also approved the House Joint Resolution 10, which provides for a P2,000 acrossthe-board increase in the monthly pension of retired members, to be implemented in two schedules: the first installment, in the amount of P1,000 shall be made in January 2017 and the second installment of another P1,000 shall be implemented starting January 2019. The resolution also sets the minimum monthly pension from P1,200 to P2,200

“Therefore, the commodity or crop now has become neutral, they are not dictated now by specific programs program,” he added. “But they are dictated by the actual needs in those areas and factor endowments based on the resources available in those areas.” Villegas points out that the government should also address the “adverse” effects of an “interlinked credit and product market”, wherein the traders and processors have the power to control the value-chain market. He adds that the government should create programs that would give farmers the opportunity to trade directly to the market. “The farmers are still in a credit-price squeeze and they are not responding favorably,” Villegas said. “They are still being victimized by the oligopolists in the marketplace.” He explained the victimization is “the adverse effect of an interlinked credit and product market, wherein, even while the farmers are still planting, their harvest are already sold at cheaper price compare to their expensive production input costs.” beginning January 2017, and to P3,200 beginning January 2019, for members who have contributed the equivalent of 10 credited years of service; and from P2,400 to P3,400 beginning 2017, and P4,400 beginning January 2019 for those with 20 credited years of service. Earlier, President Duterte also approved an executive order providing the same pension increase for SSS pensioners. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

The Philippines’s availment of this scheme, however, is subject to continuous review and is hinged on the observance of 27 international conventions. Among these conventions is the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, of which the Philippines is a party to. The country similarly agreed to the amendments of the said convention, or the “Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” It is this very document that the UN High Commissioner has warned the Philippines of breaching if it goes ahead with the reimposition of the death penalty. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez has already given his backing to the administration’s push to reinstate death penalty. He will just ask the EU for “flexibility” if the proposal is passed into law. The monitoring team’s assessment this month will form part of a larger report of the EU’s concerned agency on the functioning of the GSP. A full report on the application of the whole GSP Regulation will be submitted to the European Parliament and to the European Council five years after the entry into force of the GSP regulation, or by November 2017. The first monitoring partial report of the European Commission, covering the period 2014 to 2015, showed that in the first six months of 2015, the Philippines had a utilization rate of 62.8 percent for the GSP+. Of the €1.08-billion eligible GSP+ imports from the Philippines, actual imported value was at €681 million. “On capital punishment, we’re saying that even our closest allies have capital punishment. We work hand in hand with them too, as you know. It’s something within Europe that we have strong views on, and we promote that outside too, but we work with all our partners,” Jessen said during the launch of the European Delegation to the Philippines’s commemorative book, titled Ties that Bind, on Monday. This means that even if the monitoring report states that the reimposition of death penalty could lead to the loss of trade privileges, the EU and the Philippines will still go back to the negotiating table. Still, the question on whether the Philippines will continue to enjoy the preferential trade scheme now hangs with the review process.

Priority bills

The House of Representatives is eyeing the passage of the bills reviving the death penalty and lowering the age of criminal liabilities before the Congress goes on sine die adjourn-

Martial law. . . Continued from A12

Having said that, she cautioned Duterte “should be careful, since any violation of the constitutional check and balance on his power to impose martial law, like ignoring the Supreme Court or Congress, might just be the trigger for widespread opposition or even outright hostility to his regime, either by civil society or even the military.” A former justice secretary, de Lima pointed out that martial law without constitutional basis and check and balance is simply “a state-sponsored coup d’état that would need the extra legal support of the military.” “If he is not sure that the military is entirely behind his adventurist plot to launch a coup d’état against our constitutional order, Duterte should think twice and be careful because this adventurism can lead to the military’s own adventurism and be the cause of his own downfall,”she warned. This developed as Sen. Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV also prodded the Duterte administration to seriously take notice of the recent Pulse Asia survey, where 74 percent of Filipinos opposed the imposition of martial law. “Ang mga Pinoy...they are saying ayaw na namin ng martial law, which tells me that people are looking for new solutions,” Aquino said in a television interview. Aquino asserted the martial-law option is not the

www.businessmirror.com.ph ment in June, the chairman of the House Committee on Justice said on Monday. In a news conference, PDP-Laban Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali of Oriental Mindoro said these anticrime measures are important to improve the country’s criminaljustice system. “This is the part and parcel of the criminal justice system reforms that we would like to pursue and the death penalty will surely be a factor in strengthening or enhancing the criminal-justice system,” Umali said. “I am now in favor of death penalty on drug-related heinous crimes after my committee conducted a hearing on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the National Bilibid Prison last September.” The lawmaker said the House “will pass the death-penalty measure regardless of what action the Senate will take on the bill.” The full debates on the death-penalty bill are expected to begin this month. The bill was principally authored by Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez.

Crimes covered

Under the death-penalty bill, crimes, which are punishable by death through hanging, firing squad or lethal injection, are treason; qualified piracy; qualified bribery; parricide; murder infanticide; rape; kidnapping and serious illegal detention; robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons; destructive arson; plunder; importation of dangerous drugs and or controlled precursors and essential chemicals; sale; trading; administration; dispensation; delivery; distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals; and maintenance of drug den. Also punishable by death are the manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursor and essential chemicals; possession of dangerous drugs; cultivation or culture of plants classified as dangerous drugs; unlawful prescription of dangerous drugs; criminal liability of public officer for misappropriation; misapplication or failure to account for the confiscated seized or surrendered drugs; criminal liability for planting evidence and carnapping. Alvarez said the lower chamber may change the scope of the death penalty bill as they may focus only on illegal drugsrelated crimes.

Criminal liabilities

Also, Umali said the measure seeking to lower the minimum age of criminal liabilities from 15 to 9 years old will also be passed before the first regular session ends. Alvarez is also the principal author of the measure seeking to amend RA 9344, or the Juvenile Delinquency Act of 2006, also known as the Pangilinan law. RA 9344 raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 9 to 15 years old. According to the Speaker, the choice of 9 years as the minimum age of criminal responsibility under the Revised Penal Code was infused with wisdom, saying, “Most children above this age, especially in these times when all forms and manner of knowledge are available through Internet and digital media, are already fully informed and should be taught that they are responsible for what they say and do.” Under the proposal, “a child 9 years of age and above but below 18 of age shall, likewise, be exempt from criminal liability and subjected to an intervention program, unless he or she is determined to have acted with discernment, in which case he or she shall be subjected to appropriate proceedings in accordance with this act.” solution to the country’s problems. “Hindi ito ang sagot sa lahat ng problema natin, na kapag nagkakagulo, magma-martial law tayo. People are looking for new solutions and better ways of doing things, at kaming nasa gobyerno, we owe it to the people to provide these better solutions.” Even as Duterte claims no one can stop him from declaring martial law if the country’s drug problems worsen, Aquino observed that his vacillating statements on martial law create uncertainty and fear among Filipinos. Aquino recalled that just last month, Duterte declared placing the country under martial law was far from his mind, and even noted that Filipino lives did not improve under military rule during the Marcos regime. At one point, Aquino said, the President even indicated wanting to take out the provision in the Constitution about Congress and the Supreme Court weighing in on martial law. “Sometimes, when the President talks about these things differently, siyempre nakakakaba ito,” he said, adding: “The image of this administration, with a strong and iron hand, very fierce, very harsh, it leads to thoughts of martial law and authoritarianism.” Moreover, Aquino echoed Pimentel and invoked the 1987 Constitution’s provision for imposing martial law which, he also noted, clearly states it can only be done during invasion or rebellion.

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, January 17, 2017 A3

Govt to sign supplemental pact with NDF

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By Sammy F. Martin | Philippines News Agency

HE government is ready to sign other agreements with the National Democratic Front (NDF), while discussion on contents and provisions of major substantive agenda is ongoing, when peace talks resume in Rome this week.

Government chief peace negotiator with the NDF Silvestre H. Bello III said the government is all set to sign a supplemental agreement on the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect of Human Rights and Inter-

national Humanitarian Law, which will include an expanded role of the Joint Monitoring Committee. “We are prepared to sign other agreements while we are discussing contents and provisions of the

major substantive agenda,” Bello said in a statement. “And we are challenging the NDF to formalize the unilateral cease-fire with a bilateral cease-fire agreement to give our communities and combatants a more secure environment for the peace process,” Bello added. The third round of talks will start on January 19 and ends on January 25. Bello is confident that the Rome talks will result in major breakthroughs. Bello also said the panel will submit on Monday to President Duterte the draft documents that will be tabled for discussion in Rome. “We are all set and ready to engage the NDF in the discussion of

all substantive agenda, including supplemental agreements needed to proceed and arrive at a peaceful negotiated political settlement, to end the armed conflict in the country,” Bello added. The government panel will pay a courtesy call on the President in Malacañang tonight. Among the documents to be submitted to the President are draft agreements and principles for the Comprehensive Agreement on Socioeconomic Reforms (Caser), Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Refor ms, and Comprehensive Agreement on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces. “We are doing this in the spirit of true reconciliation and genuine quest for just and lasting peace,”

Correspondent

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FR. Prospero Tenorio, national coordinator of Divine Mercy Philippines, gestures during the news conference held to mark the start of the Fourth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Manila. NONIE REYES

Santos of Balanga, Wacom-Asia Episcopal coordinator; Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos, Wacom National Episcopal coordinator; Rev. Patrice Chocholski, Wacom secretary-general; and Rev. Fr. Prospero Tenorio, Wacom-Asia secretary-general. On Tuesday the participants will witness the enthronement of the images of the Divine Mercy, Our Lady of Mercy, saints Faustina, John Paul II, Padre Pio and Mother Teresa w ith mor ning prayers at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. On the third day they will depart for the National Shrine and Parish of Padre Pio in Santo Tomas, Batan-

gas. The pilgrimage will culminate on Friday at the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Balanga, Bataan. Seeing Divine Mercy as object of the Church’s missionary proclamation, Lalog said Saint Pope John Paul II had stated, “The Church, professing mercy and remaining always faithful to it, has the right and the duty to call upon the mercy of God, imploring it in the face of all the manifestations of physical and moral evil, before all threats that cloud the whole horizon of the life of humanity today.” Lalog said Wacom was introduced by the Vatican from April 2 to 6, 2008, in Rome, Italy. The first Wacom coincided with

MMDA sets crackdown on unsafe billboards Correspondent

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HE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is set to launch a crackdown on unsafe and illegal billboards in the metropolis. MMDA acting chairman Thomas M. Orbos said Oplan Baklas Billboard will be reimplemented as soon as the memorandum of agreement between the MMDA and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been signed. The DPWH, he said, will deputize the MMDA to remove the unsafe and illegal billboards, because “we don’t have the mandate [to do that].” “The authority is with the DPWH because of the National Building Code,” Orbos said, adding the DPWH will be the lead agency and that the MMDA will just assist the department. Orbos noted that besides public safety, the proliferation of billboards and similar structures constitutes visual

We are prepared to sign other agreements while we are discussing contents and provisions of the major substantive agenda.”—Bello

By Marvyn N. Benaning

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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

on Safety and Immunity Guarantees and release of NDF leaders and members. In the second round also in Oslo, Norway, negotiators exchanged outlines and agreed to accelerate the negotiations. The government is confident it can strike a peace deal with the communist-led NDF, which counts among its member organization the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army.

Farmers’ group commemorates 30th anniversary of Mendiola massacre

World Apostolic Congress on Mercy opens in Manila I T Y OF M A LOLOS —At least 3,484 local Catholic lay devotees and 753 foreign delegates will visit 15 “Places of Mercy” in Bulacan province as part of the Fourth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (Wacom) that is taking place in the country. Fr. Nick F. Lalog, chairman of the Diocesan Commission on Social Communication of the Diocese of Malolos, said both local and foreign participants will visit the designated Places of Mercy, like the Ephesus House, Tahanan ni Mother Rita, Santo Niño Bethany House and Bahay Pangarap, all in Guiguinto town; Nazareth Home for Street Children (Bustos, Bulacan); Bahay ni San Martin (Bustos); Nazareth Home for Street Children (Bustos); Emmaus House of Apostolate (Malolos City), Tahanang Mapagpala (Malolos City); Bethlehem House of Bread (Baliwag); Bahay Kalinga (Santa Maria); Lingap Bata Center (Santa Maria); Hospicio San Juan de Dios for Men (Bocaue); Galilee Homes (Dona Remedios Trinidad); and the Dumagat tribesmen also in Doña Remedios Trinidad on January 19. The apostolic congress started on Monday and will end on Friday. Lalog said the participants arrived and assembled on Monday morning at the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral in Manila. Joining them are Church dignitaries, headed by Papal Nuncio Guiseppe Pinto; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila; Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines; Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa; Bishop Ruperto

he explained. The main group of government delegation leaves for Rome on Tuesday. Peace negotiations with the NDF were resumed in August 2016, after more than five years of impasse following the election of Duterte. In the August round when the negotiations were reopened, both panels agreed to reaffirm all previous signed agreements and reconstitution of the Joint Agreement

pollution of the urban landscape. Once deputized, he said the MMDA will strictly enforce the new guidelines that will regulate billboards and other advertising signs along major thoroughfares in the metropolis. Earlier, the MMDA was strict in imaplementing the new guideline on locational and structural clearance, and on height and size limitations that nullified all existing billboard-building permits, business permits and clearances and, required all billboard owners to reapply for clearances or permits from their local governments. Under the new guideline, owners and operators of billboards along major thoroughfares, such as Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, C-5 Road, Roxas Boulevard and Macapagal Avenue, shall obtain a clearance from the MMDA. Meanwhile, all billboard owners are required to submit their existing permits to the MMDA and their respective local governments for verification and validation.

the third death anniversary of Saint Pope John Paul II. “From then on, mercy congresses have been sustained on a regular basis so that every world congress was followed by a continental congress and on the following year by a national congress, then back to another world congress,” he said. Lalog also disclosed that on July 18, 2015, Oliveros wrote to all the bishops requesting them to delegate an archdiocesan spiritual director who shall guide and direct lay devotees to actively involve themselves for Wacom 2017. He said that this year’s theme is “Communion in Mercy, Mission for Mercy.” PNA

HE Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) is preparing protest actions, as it commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Mendiola massacre in which 13 farmers died and not a single law enforcer was haled into court. “This year’s protest action and commemoration of the Mendiola massacre will happen under extraordinary circumstances— farmer leader Rafael Mariano, who led the farmers’ march to Mendiola in 1987, is now the secretary of agrarian reform, and the land problem is among the major agenda of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines,” KMP Chairman Joseph Canlas said. “After three decades, there’s still no land and no justice for farmers. No one was arrested, convicted and punished for the massacre at Mendiola that killed 13 farmers, namely, Danilo Arjona, Leopoldo Alonzo, Adelfa Aribe, Dionisio Bautista, Roberto Caylao, Vicente Campomanes, Ronilo Dumanico, Dante Evangelio, Angelito Gutierrez, Rodrigo Grampan, Bernabe Laquindanum, Sonny Boy Perez and Roberto Yumul,” Canlas added. “After the Mendiola massacre, the administration of then-President Cory Aquino enacted the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law and implemented the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program that failed to distribute land to farmers,” Canlas argued. KMP and its allied organizations will press Congress to enact a landreform program that distributes land to farmers for free.

Canlas said KMP supports the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, which was filed in Congress 10 years ago. Farmers will also expose the continuing militarization of farmland and peasant communities, which has resulted in human-rights violations and extrajudicial killings. Regional peasant campouts and land occupations are also being set up. “Seven months into the Duterte administration, we have yet to see drastic policies that will address the problem of the landlessness and poverty of our farmers,” Canlas said. He noted the executive order on the moratorium on land-use conversion is taking too long to be issued. “Worse, the efforts of Agrarian Reform Secretary Mariano to implement pro-farmer policies are being blocked by Duterte’s economic managers and big landowners, like the Cojuangco-Aquinos of Hacienda Luisita and the Lorenzos of Lapanday,” Canlas added. “We will highlight that genuine land reform is necessary and imperative to achieve change, and these actions will show strong support to the third round of peace talks between the government and the NDF. We want to see substantial and major results from the negotiations in terms of upholding social and economic reforms,” the KMP leader said. KMP and its allied land-reform advocates and peasant-based organizations will launch actions at Congress, Camp Aguinaldo and the Department of Agriculture this week. The culminating activity will be a protest on Mendiola on January 20.

CA junks Marcoses’ petition to stop trial of $2-B human-rights case By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the bid of the Marcos family to stop the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Makati City from hearing the complaint filed by victims of human-rights violations during the late dictator’s regime seeking the enforcement of the final judgment of the US court awarding them $2 billion in damages. In a three-page resolution written by Associate Justice Maria Luisa Quijano-Padilla, the CA’s Special Thirteenth Division denied the motion filed by the Marcoses seeking an extension of time to file a petition for certiorari to question the May 20, 2016, and August 3, 2016, orders of Judge Elpidio Calis of Branch 134 of the RTC in Makati City denying their motion to dismiss the complaint. The appellate court did not give weight to the Marcoses’ claim of heavy wokload on the part of their counsel as basis for filing the motion for extension. In filing the motion, petitioners noted that they received a copy of the RTC’s order on August 12, 2016, giving them 60 days, or until October

11, 2016, to file a petition for certiorari. However, the Marcoses said due to other urgent professional work, including the preparation for the petitions filed before the Supreme Court questioning the burial of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, they were unable to prepare their petition on the case. Thus, the Marcoses prayed that they be given an additional period of 30 days, from October 11, 2016, until November 10, 2016, within which to file their petition. But the CA noted the Supreme Court en banc has issued an administrative order amending Section 4, Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. It noted that the amendment deleted the clause that allowed an extension of the period to file a petition for certiorari for compelling reasons. “As it stands now, parties are only given an unextendible 60-day period from notice of judgment or from notice of denial of their motion for reconsideration within which to file a petition for certiorari,” the CA explained. While the amendment did not make the filing of a motion for extension absolutely pro-

hibited, the CA said it sees no reason to relax the rules in this case. It pointed out that the heavy workload of the petitioners’ counsel is often “self-serving and, as such, is hardly a compelling meritorious reason to deviate from the 60-day rule.” Conc u r r ing w it h t he r u l ing were A s so c i ate Ju st ice s S a mue l Gae rl a n a nd J hosep L opez. The case stemmed from the complaint filed by Priscilla Mijares, Loretta Ann Rosales, Hilda Narciso, Sis. Mariani Dimaranan and Joel Lamangan in their behalf and on behalf of the class plaintiffs in the US case Class Action MDL 840. The US court on February 3, 1995, rendered a final judgment awarding a total of $1.964 billion in damages to human-rights violation victims during the Marcos administration, which decision was affirmed by the US Court of Appeals on December 17, 1996. However, under Rule 38, Section 48 of the Rules of Court, such foreign judgment has to be recognized and enforced in the Philippines through a case filed in Philippine courts.

Economy

A4 Tuesday, January 17, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

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Ending ‘endo’ will cut job opportunities, jeopardize inclusive goal target–PIDS

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

he government’s plan to end endo, or contractualization, could lead to layoffs and greater inequality in the country, according to a study released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). In a study, titled “Beware of the End Contractualization! Battle Cry,” PIDS research fellows Vicente B. Paqueo and Aniceto C. Orbeta Jr. said ending contractualization would be more expensive for companies than the government estimated. Hiring more permanent employees would increase the cost of firms by about 30 percent to 40 percent, higher than the government’s estimate of around 10 percent. “The dilemma is that, on the one hand, limiting government

30% to 40% The projected rise in cost if companies will hire more permanent employees action to tightening enforcement might not be enough to eliminate endo practice, as promised by President Duterte. On the other hand, aggressive threats of government harassment, huge penalties, busi-

ness closures, as well as prohibition of all forms of TECs [temporary employment contracts] to close ‘loopholes’ could lead to unintended adverse consequences like reduction in job opportunities and inclusive growth,” Paqueo and Orbeta said. The government plans to impose a 100-percent end to contractualization that will force employers to strictly comply with the regulation. But based on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) proposed “win-win” solution to contractualization, firms will be allowed to hire workers but these same workers will not be regularized after six months based on certain conditions. These conditions is if firms are provided with qualified manpower service agencies, and if these workers are employed as regular employees of contractors and they receive the mandated benefits. “[The] scheme would give job security to the laborers, while addressing the needs of contractors’ principals for employment flexibility,” the research fellows said. “The main issue is the addi-

tional costs to be passed on to the principals by manpower suppliers,” they added. Fi nd i n g s i n t he re s e a rc h showed that Filipino workers were predominantly regular workers constituting 70 percent of all workers. Interestingly, the share of regular employees was steady at 75 percent prior to 2014. Data also showed that, relatively, regular workers have higher wages and there was a decline in real wage rate between 2001 and 2014. The study also noted that there is a rise in real earnings to P266 in 2014, during the term of former president Benigno S. Aquino III, from P260 in 2010. Further, a 2014 survey showed that 95 percent of workers employed by endo contractors appear satisfied with their current jobs. Additional information reveals that the workers covered by the Social Security System, Pag-ibig and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. are quite high at 95.7, 92.8 and 94.8 percent, respectively. The research fellow also said a high proportion also enjoy mini-

mum wages, overtime pay/holiday premiums and 13th-month pay. “It is, therefore, not surprising that a high proportion of interviewed workers expressed satisfaction with their current jobs despite the fact that only a small proportion of them are entitled to leave credits, separation pay, security of tenure and other benefits. There is, however, still room for improving the work conditions of endo workers when it comes to security of tenure,” the authors said. In 2014 PSA data showed over a million Filipino workers did not hold regular positions in their companies. Based on the Statistics on NonRegular Workers, the PSA said 1.336 million workers were considered nonregular employees in 2014. This represented some 29.9 percent of all 4.472 million workers employed in establishments with 20 or more workers. Nonregular workers are composed of contractual/project-based workers, probationary workers, casual employees, seasonal employees and apprentices/learners.

Premium Airport Bus Express opens Manila—Naia terminal route

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he Premium Airport Bus Express launched on Monday its newest terminal at Robinsons Place Manila to further provide an alternative mode of public transportation and ease traffic congestion in roads leading to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). The Ultimate Bus Experience (UBE) Express hub at Robinsons Place Manila seeks to offer a convenient way of travel between Manila and Naia terminals. Its bus-service route includes stops at Heritage Hotel, Midas Hotel, Hotel Jen, Century Park Hotel, Diamond Hotel, Luneta Hotel, New World Hotel, Pan Pacific Hotel, Bayview Hotel, Manila Pavilion, Manila Hotel, Bayleaf Hotel and Robinsons Place Manila, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Ube Express President Garrie David said the premium airport bus express aims to ferry passengers directly to the Naia Terminals 1, 2 and 3 in one-and-a-half hours. “With the support given to us by Robinsons Place Manila, UBE Express can now provide service to the Filipino people especially OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] by providing quality transportation—convenient, comfortable and world-class quality. Because in Ube Express, we want to give every Filipino an Ultimate Bus

Experience,” David said. For his part, Transportation Assistant Secretary for Land Transportation Mark de Leon said the 24-seater Ube Express airport service will help lessen cars going to the Naia terminals. Its bus, a Mercedes-Benz MCV C 120 Low-Entry model, features state-of-the-art technology, including Euro 5 and BlueTec engine, smooth steering, powerful braking systems, low-entry design, body design with high-force absorption, PWD compatibility, ergonomically sound seats and ample room. Other supporting components of the service include online booking service, GPS tracking, a mobile tracking app, radio communications, onboard Wifi, CCTV cameras, the exclusive usage of Petron fuel and e-ticketing technology (e.g., tap card and credit card). “Ube Express not only increases travel capacity to and from the Naia and improves the weaknesses of existing modes, but, more important, it’s a significant step forward for the Philippine transportation landscape. Our goal is to become the preferred airport-shuttle service in the country and to provide the Filipino people and our visitors the ultimate bus experience,” David said. The Ube Express routes currently

A new station for premium buses plying the Manila to Naia route was inaugurated on Monday at Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila, with a flat rate of P200 per passenger. NONIE REYES

covers a large base of stops at hotels, malls and provincial-bus terminals strategically located in key areas, such as the Makati CBD, Entertainment City, Roxas Boulevard and Intramuros, that existing bus and jeepneys in nearby Naia do not serve without transfers.

It plans to further expand its routes to include other key locations in Metro Manila. The DOTr and its attached agency, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, have initiated the Airport Bus Service project to augment the current

public-transport services in the Naia terminals. The initiative is a direct response to the public demand for more efficient and commuter-friendly transport services option for those going to and from Naia Terminals 1, 2 and 3. PNA with Lorenz S. Marasigan

Top economists, ex-Neda and DOF chiefs back Train tax-reform bill

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he country’s leading economists, former finance secretaries and heads of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), strongly support and are pushing for the approval of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) bill, a legislation of fiscal reforms for the government’s vision of inclusive growth, now awaiting approval in Congress. The newly crafted fiscal-reform package contained in House Bill 4688, authored by Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda, primarily aims to “create a tax system that is simpler, fairer and more efficient, characterized by low rates and a broad base promoting investment, job creation and poverty reduction”. Salceda filed the bill in September last year and is set as a “first priority” legislation by the Ways and Means Committee, when regular Congress session resumes. The country’s current tax rates are based on the 20-year-old National Internal Revenue Code, which has not been

substantially modified since 1997. Train, as presented by Salceda, aims to “ultimately reduce poverty to single digit, grow the economy by 9 percent and transform the Philippines into an Asian economic powerhouse by 2028, with a $1.2-trillion GDP. It will then qualify the country for membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.” When enacted into law, Train will be implemented by the Department of Finance (DOF). The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), composed of ex-officials from the DOF and five former heads of the Neda, in a recently published statement, endorsed the reform proposals, which, they said, intend to “put more money in people’s pockets, encourage investment, ultimately leading to the eradication of extreme poverty.” The FEF, an advocacy group for good economic governance and market-friendly reforms, also commended the DOF and the Duterte’s economic team for “crafting a forward-looking fiscal program for legislation.”

The FEF said the “proposed legislative program creates a solid foundation for the government’s vision of inclusive growth, improved public services and improved purchasing power among consumers.” The statement was jointly signed by FEF advisers and members, including former Prime Minister and DOF secretaries Cesar E. A. Virata, Jose Isidro N. Camacho, Jesus P. Estanislao, Roberto F. de Ocampo, Jose T. Pardo, Cesar V. Purisima and Juanita D. Amatong; former Neda directorsgeneral Arsenio M. Balisacan, Emmanuel F. Esguerra, Cielito F. Habito, Felipe M. Medalla and Romulo L. Neri; and ex-DOF undersecretaries Joel A. Bañares, Romeo L. Bernardo, Cornelio C. Gison, Lily K. Gruba, Milwida M. Guevara, Jose Emmanuel P. Reverente and G. Florencia Tarriela. They said the “structural weaknesses of the outdated tax system make our economy less competitive relative to our neighbors and deprive our people of deeply needed investments to improve their lives.”

“We believe this program will translate to a more comfortable life for all Filipinos along with safe, healthy and peaceful communities all over the country. We have studied the proposed tax-policy reform program, which is the subject of public consultations, and found it to be integral to the attainment of said vision. It is also aligned with the 10-point socioeconomic program adopted by the government,” they added. The statement stressed “the proposed comprehensive tax reform is progressive, timely and well-crafted to achieve the vision of a prosperous Philippines free of poverty. For these reasons, we strongly support the reform and urge the public to do the same.” In one of his newspaper columns in September last year, former Socio-economic Planning Secretary Gerardo Sicat said the tax-reform program is comprehensive and contains different cohesive parts that help to produce a larger revenue to finance government development programs while realigning also the

tax burden across income classes in support of national development. “The overall gains in tax efforts that such reforms hope are expected to bring in an additional 3 percent of GDP. In terms of actual revenues, by the year 2019, this will mean around P600 billion of new revenues. Two-thirds of these revenues [P400 billion] will come from the tax-reform program, while the rest [P200 billion] from the administrative reforms,” Sicat said. “If this bold reform program gets approved, the goal of achieving sustained growth would be near in sight, provided he [Duterte] sticks to the goal of achieving the 10-point economic program—which, of course, represents another test of will. Any failure to pass the important components of this program or to scale it down in terms of revenue productiveness could cause either a reduction in goals or, if continued, could induce more inflationary pressures as more budgeted expenditure by the government is undertaken,” he added. PNA

Alvarez remains cool on proposal for excise tax on petro products By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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he leadership of the House of Representatives remains unreceptive to the proposal imposing excise tax on petroleum products. Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, in a radio interview, said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should improve its taxcollection efficiency measures to cover up for the foregone revenues from the plan lowering personal income tax rates. “The VAT [value-added tax] collection rate is more or less at 4.3 percent, which is very low. It did not even reach half of our 12-percent target. Now if we look at the figures revealing the insufficient means of tax collection, why should we impose taxes on several items just to cover up the inefficiencies of the BIR on tax collection?” Alvarez said. Last month the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill seeking to raise the government’s VAT collections by mandating the creation of an electronic data information interconnectivity between the BIR and the country’s businesses using cash-register machines (CRM) and/or pointof-sales (POS) machines. PDP-Laban Rep. Dakila Carlo E. Cua of Quirino, committee chairman and author of the approved House Bill 4601, said it is the tax administration system that should be improved if the government wants to collect more revenues. “Tax administration is the heart of taxation. However, given the country’s tax laws as to what and how much to be taxed, it is still the system of tax collection which is the be -all and end- all of every government’s fiscal standing,” Cua said. “Ifenactedintolaw,themeasurewillgreatly help in the early detection of misdeclaration donebyunscrupuloustaxpayers,therebyreducing or removing errors in the reporting of sales and purchases. Mandating interconnection between the BIR and appropriate government agencies will provide the BIR with third-party information, easier VAT refund mechanism and data collection, all of which could be used in plugging leakages and overall efficiency of tax administration. This will also put our country on a par with other countries already using interconnectivity between the tax authority and businesses,” Cua said. Moreover, Alvarez said, he already instructed the Ways and Means Committee to carefully study the Department of Finance’s (DOF) tax-reform package, especially the tax on petroleum products that will only affect the poor sector. The imposition of excise tax on petroleum, removal of VAT exemptions for senior citizens and person with disabilities and ad valorem tax on automobiles are among the offsetting measures being pushed by the DOF in their first proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Package, which lawmakers opposed. The Comprehensive Tax Reform Package seeks to lower personal income tax rates and imposeadditionaltaxesoncertaincommodities. The tax-reform package involves foregone revenue of around P200 billion but, at the same time, will generate around P566 billion for the government due to these new additional taxes.

‘Band-Aid solution’

Meanwhile, Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis urged the Duterte administration not to push with the proposal of his economic managers to impose its tax-reform measures, particularly on raising the excise tax on oil products, but instead run after tax evaders, improve tax collection or impose higher taxes on the richest elite in the country such as those tagged by Forbes magazine as the 50 richest. Casilao also said that, instead of conscientiously running after tax evaders who are usually from the business sector, these economic managers prefer a Band-Aid solution that stretches to being undemocratic and burdensome to the majority of the population. Casilao added that oil products are volatile commodity due to the monopoly of a few oil companieswho“cartelize”itspricesastolerated by the existing law deregulating the oil industry, saying oil-price hikes trigger a pandemonium effect—from transportation costs, prices of basic goods, utilities and services—that would automatically affect the poor sectors. “The government tax agencies should shape up and carry out reforms in getting their collectibles, such as the staggering losses of the BIR at P400 billion and Customs at P200 billion in 2012, as announced by the finance department,” Casilao said.

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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Govt urged to hike support price for corn By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

orn farmers belonging to the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) urged the government to increase the support price for corn and to allow them to export their produce. PhilMaize President Roger V. Navarro appealed for government help as the prevailing farm-gate price of corn have remained below P11 per kilogram. The group attributed this to the importation

of feed wheat, an alternative to yellow corn, used in manufacturing animal feeds. “The government must intervene or else we will issue a request compelling the livestock sector

to calibrate their importation in a way that will not affect our local producers,” Navarro told the BusinessMirror. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the average farm-gate price of corn fell to P10.85 per kg in December 2016, from P11.50 per kg recorded a year ago. The PhilMaize chief noted that Republic Act (RA) 7607, or the Magna Carta for Small Farmers, gives them the right to “participate in a market that is free from monopoly, cartel, or any other situation, which may suppress prices to their disadvantage.” “The Department of Agriculture, through its appropriate agencies, shall establish a pricesupport system for certain agricultural products, especially rice and corn, taking into consider-

ation the need to increase the real income of small farmers,” RA 7607 read. “The government shall also endeavor to set farm-gate prices that respond to the changing economic conditions,” it added. The National Food Authority (NFA) buys corn from farmers at a support price of P13 per kg. Data from the PSA, however, showed that the NFA’s corn purchases have been minimal. The food agency attached to the Office of the President is mandated to regulate and monitor the stability of corn supply and prices. To ensure farmers’ income, PhilMaize has been asking the government for years to allow them to export corn, particularly when farm-gate prices are low due to a supply glut.

Navarro has earlier called for the creation the Philippine Corn Development Authority, which will oversee the government’s program for the corn sector. “ We s h o u l d a l s o h a v e a commodity exchange system, w he re i n t he h a r v e s t wou ld be kept in a wa rehouse a nd would be traded on later dates,” Navarro said. He appealed to stakeholders in the livestock and poultry sector to consider the plight of corn farmers. “They should calibrate their importation of feed wheat and corn.” PhilMaize had earlier warned that farmers may be discouraged from planting corn due to low farm-gate prices. This, he said, could result in lower corn output for 2017. According to PhilMaize, the

DA revalidates 15,281 permits to import agri products

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he Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has revalidated 15,281 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS -IC) since November 23, 2016, when it implemented more stringent guidelines for importing farm commodities. Of the total validated SPS-ICs, 603 were already tagged used and may be recycled by the permit holders, according to Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Ariel T. Cayanan. “It’s possible that these [SPSICs] would be recycled, but we already caught them so they cannot do that anymore,” Cayanan told BusinessMirror. Based on DA records, Cayanan said around 1,484 SPS-ICs issued before November 23 have yet to be revalidated, but permit holders opted not to reapply for new import permits. “Maybe because they don’t want to use them anymore, but then again, there could be other reasons,” Cayanan said. Last November 22 Memorandum Circular 5 (MC 5), which authorized the DA on the basis of the Food Safety Act of 2013 to revalidate—and not revoke—all SPS-ICs issued before November 22, was signed. Under the MC 5, the DA would create two technical working groups (TWGs): SPS Inspection Group and SPS Monitoring and Evaluation Group. The SPS Inspection Group will be responsible for conducting a mandatory inspection of all inbound shipments prior to the assessment for tariffication of the concerned Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel. The measure seeks to avoid the

Farmers to DAR: Distribute reserved lands in N. Cotabato By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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AP Photo

misdeclaration of goods. Meanwhile, the SPS Monitoring and Evaluation Group will spearhead the “revalidation” process of all SPS-ICs in the country, which would be done manually. All affected importers will present their SPS-ICs physically to the TWG in the DA central office that would validate and authenticate the permits manually. Last November 29 the DA released a memorandum instructing the facilitation of the release

of highly perishable items. The perishable items covered by the memo are live items, chilled items, dairy products and fresh fruits; vegetable and f lowers, except onions and garlic; hatching eggs; live plants and orchids; and veter inar y products and nutritional products. “Importers issued with SPS import permits covering said items/ products may directly process their documents at the respective

quarantine offices of the port,” the memo read. “Validation of SPS import clearance shall be done directly at the Quarantine Office at the port of entry by authorized DA officers under the SPS technical working group,” it added. Last December 21 the DA released a memorandum setting the deadline for the revalidation of SPS-ICs on December 31, 2016. A s for t he appl ic at ion of

new SPS-ICs, importers would still apply online. The online application will be reviewed by the Bureaus of Animal Industry and Plant Industry, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the National Meat Inspection Service. Once approved by the DA chief, the SPS -IC w ill be returned to the concerned regulatory agency where the importers would get their respective permits. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Uganda reactivates national task force as avian flu breaks out

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country’s corn production likely went down by as much as 10 percent to 6.8 million metric tons (MMT), compared to the 7.52 MMT recorded in 2015. Navarro earlier said the drop in output could be attributed to the lingering effects of El Niño and the strong typhoons that ravaged the country, such as Typhoon Lawin (international code name Haima). “ T he projected 10 -percent cut is the maximum. Corn produc t ion l a st yea r m ay h ave declined by a minimum of 5 percent,” he said. C it i ng PSA d at a , Nav a r ro said the country’s corn production from January to September 2016 reached only 5.49 MMT, 1.77 MMT short of the agency’s projected output of 7.26 MMT in 2016.

AMPALA­—Uganda has reactivated the National Task Force (NTF) to coordinate the fight against avian flu that has broken out in the east African country, minister of agriculture said on Sunday. Vincent Ssempijja told reporters that the NTF is composed of human and animal experts from government and nongovernmental organizations. “The NTF has experience and has competence to handle such outbreaks and, therefore, the situation is under control,” Ssempijja said. He urged the public to report any cases of mass deaths of birds, animal, both domestic and wild, to any nearest government authority. He said bird owners must keep them indoors to avoid them interacting with wild birds and animals.

He said people must not touch or eat wild birds or other wild animals that are found dead, they should instead report to the nearest veterinary authority. Uganda on Saturday said the avian flu had broken out in the central parts of the country. Ssempijja said confirmatory tests from a mass death of birds at Lutembe beach on the shores of Lake Victoria turned out positive for avian flu. Other tests on dead birds in Masaka also turned out positive. Avian flu is a highly pathogenic disease that affects both humans and animals and causes high number of deaths in both species, according to the ministry of agriculture. Uganda is among the countries in subSaharan Africa that face a high risk of a bird flu outbreak because it is crisscrossed by several routes for migratory birds, which

Bloomberg Photo

are carriers of the virus. The infection can cause a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness, which may pass unnoticed, to a rapidly fatal disease that can cause severe epidemics.

According to the World Health Organization, avian influenza viruses do not normally infect humans but there have been instances of certain highly pathogenic strains causing severe respiratory disease in humans. PNA/Xinhua

fficials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said they recently met with farmers who appealed for the distribution of lands belonging to two state universities and colleges (SUCs) in North Cotabato. Agrarian Reform Undersecretaries Marcos D. Risonar Jr. and Sylvia F. Mallari met with some 500 farmers who are eyeing the distribution of the lands owned by the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) and Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology (CFCST) in Arakan town. The farmers claimed that they have been cultivating the reservation land owned by the SUCs. To settle the issues, a joint board meeting was scheduled on February 9, with the Board of Regents of the USM and the Board of Trustees of CFCST, where the key officials from the DAR, CFCST, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Environment and Natural Resources and local government units (LGUs) are expected to attend. Pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 6657, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law as amended by Republic Act 9007, or the CARPExtension with Reform, the farmers claimed that they are entitled to own the lands under the government’s land transfer program. The group appealed for the coverage and distribution of a reserved area of 5,018.37 hectares of USM, which have not been actually, directly and exclusively used for the purpose as stated under a proclamation. T he 2,110 l a nd less fa r mers cultivating the land belong to the Mailuminado FarmersAssociation Inc.; Arakan Progressive Peasant Organization; Tinanan Kulamanon Lumadnong Panaghiusa (TIKULPA), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas; and Apo Sandawa Lumadnong Panaghiusa sa Cotabato in Arakan, North Cotabato. UnderExecutiveOrder407,theDAR, in coordination with the government agency or instrumentality concerned in whose favor the reservation was established, is empowered to determine whether such land, which have been reserved by Presidential Decree 428, are suitable for agriculture and are no used for the purposes for which they have been reserved. The DAR is also mandated to segregate such portion, and the government agency, or instrumentality to transfer the same to the department, for distribution to qualified beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. In a statement, Risonar said DAR North Cotabato maintains its approach to resolve issue through close coordination and collaboration with the concerned institutions. Risonar added that a deed of transfer must be executed immediately so that the documentation and processes can be started.

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The World BusinessMirror

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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

Trump’s vow to erase Obama EOs poses adverse ripples

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Workers install a flag outside the US Capitol on January 15, in Washington, before a rehearsal of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. AP/Patrick Semansky

$100M

Corporations open spigot to bankroll inauguration

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ASHINGTON—When Donald J. Trump strides onto the inaugural ballroom floor this week amid the sprawling celebration of his swearing-in, he will have corporate America and many of its titans to thank for the rapturous greeting.

Chevron, the oil giant, has given $500,000 for the days-long festivities. Boeing, which has been a target of Trump, pledged $1 million. And Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, giants of the gambling industry, are said to have donated more than that by themselves. They are far from alone. All told, the group planning the inaugural festivities says it has raised more than $100 million, which would be nearly double the record for an inauguration, with much of it coming in six- and seven-figure checks from America’s corporate suites. In exchange, Trump’s most prolific donors will gain access to what amounts to a parallel inauguration week, carefully planned and largely out of public sight, during which they can mingle with members of the incoming administration over intimate meals and witness Trump’s ascension from the front rows. No matter which party controls the White House, corporations and wealthy individuals open their checkbooks every four years, and administrations reward their donors with private events and other incentives. But ethics experts say Trump’s donors are being given greater access and facing fewer limits on donations than those in other recent inaugurations, despite his vow to “drain the swamp” of special interests in Washington. “This is nothing short of selling access to the president, the vice president and the Cabinet,” said Craig Holman, a registered lobbyist for Public Citizen, a nonpartisan ethics group in Washington. “This is very unfettered, brazen selling of access. It certainly runs counter to any presidential candidate who was talking about draining the swamp.” For those who have bankrolled the events, inauguration week will look quite a bit different from what

$100M The estimated amount raised for the inaugural of Donald J. Trump it will to average Americans viewing it from home or the National Mall. The festivities will begin on Tuesday evening with a black-tie “Chairman’s Global Dinner” for Trump’s Cabinet picks, congressional leaders, foreign diplomats and a few top donors. On Wednesday, events include a lunchtime reception hosted by Reince Priebus, incoming White House chief of staff, and a dinner honoring Vice President-elect Mike Pence, according to a copy of the week’s schedule obtained by The New York Times. Thursday will feature another “leadership luncheon”, a public concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring artists, like Toby Keith and 3 Doors Down, and a candlelight dinner with Trump and his family for about 1,500 in the great hall of Union Station. Packages range from $25,000 to $1 million or more for both individuals and corporations, and as the figures rise, so do the number of invitations available and the level of proximity to the presidentelect and his inner circle. Throughout the week, private transportation will ferry donors between a handful of high-end hotels, where donors were given priority booking, and the events. During unscheduled time, donors will be able to take advantage of private tours of Smithsonian museums arranged for them by the inaugural committee. Depending on the size of their gift, donors are also entitled to

several VIP tickets to an inaugural ball (there will be two, hosted on two floors of the convention center), the inaugural parade and the swearing-in. For the most important guests, including many of Trump’s Cabinet picks, his new hotel blocks from the White House will serve as a de facto home base and afterhours social venue, according to a member of the committee. Unlike campaigns, inaugural committees face few regulations limiting what they can raise and how they can do it. That has traditionally left it up to each administration to set its own restrictions. George W. Bush did not place restrictions on who could donate, but he did cap gifts at $100,000 in 2001 and at $250,000 in 2005. Barack Obama went further in 2009, banning all gifts from lobbyists and corporations, and capping individual gifts at $50,000, even as his fund-raising team amassed $53 million, then a record. He relaxed those restrictions in 2013, generally accepting corporate gifts up to $1 million and individual gifts up to $250,000. Trump’s team said it would not accept gifts from registered federal lobbyists or solicit corporate donations over $1 million. The committee did not cap contributions from individuals. W hile Obama and Bush also offered tiered incentive packages, Holman, of Public Citizen, said the packages offered by Trump’s team appeared to prom ise g reater access t h a n those of the recent past. The inaugural committee will not be required to disclose its donors until late-April, 90 days after the inauguration. The funds will cover all nonofficial inaugural programming, though the committee has not detailed exactly how much it plans to spend. A spokesman, Boris Epshteyn, has said any leftover money will be donated to charity. Thomas Barrack Jr., the private - equ it y i nvestor lead i ng the committee, said his group’s work was made considerably easier by a large untapped pool of donors who for one reason or a not he r d id not s up p or t Trump’s campaign. The fund-raising haul also shows that corporate America is coming around to the reality that it will have to do business with

Trump, who has shown himself more than willing to single out individual companies for criticism. His inauguration offers them a first chance to show their support. “A lot of the people who were not on board early on are now getting on,” said Mel Sembler, a longtime Republican fund-raiser who has helped solicit donations. Among the donors will be UPS and JPMorgan Chase, which declined to directly sponsor the Republican National Convention last summer, despite past support. (The bank donated instead to summer youth employment programs in the host cities for both conventions.) Bank of America and Deloitte, donors to Obama’s 2013 inauguration, will give again this year, too. And a spokesman for AT&T said the company had made both a monetary contribution and agreed to spend millions of dollars to bolster cellular service for the crowds. Daniel I. Weiner, who studies campaign finance issues at the Brennan Center for Justice, said those gifts, while certainly not unusual, raised questions about Trump’s campaign promises. “Virtually, any industr y of any significance in the United States has business w ith the government, and the chance to rub shoulders with the president and prominent officials is kind of priceless,” he said. In a statement issued to The Times on the committee’s fundraising work, Epshteyn said the group was “honored and humbled by the incredible outpouring of support” and focused on organizing “world-class” events honoring the nation’s history. Several members of the committee rejected the criticism of its fund-raising. “Look, a lot of people are just good American citizens, and they want to support the transfer of power,” said Ray Washburne, a Dallas investor and a member of the committee. “As far as buying influence, I don’t know what kind of influence that can buy.” Sembler agreed, but said it was certainly “good public relations” for US companies to be backing the celebration. “It’s important to have your name there if you are in that business,” he said. “It’s like supporting your community.” New York Times News Service

resident-elect Donald J. Trump’s pledge to cancel the executive orders (EOs) of his predecessor would have wide-ranging implications in compensation, paid leave, diversity in hiring, and protection for gay and transgender employees in the workplace. A mong more than 240 EOs s i g ne d b y P re s id e nt B a r a c k Obama since he took office in 2009, about 27 relate to the workplace or societa l actions that benefit minorities, younger workers a nd u nderser ved com mu n it ie s a mon g fe de r a l c o nt r a c t or s a nd e mp l o y e e s , accord i ng to a n a n a ly si s by Bloomberg News. Many of those orders already have affected corporate policy and societal expectations, said Clayborne Carson, professor of American history and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. “ T here’s always that sense t h at i f you br i ng about t he change, and it has become institutionalized to a degree, it’s going to be hard to reverse,” Carson said. “Denying people rights that they don’t already enjoy is one thing; denying people rights that they’ve learned to take for granted is another.” For instance, after failing to get action from Congress, Obama issued orders requiring paid leave and a $10.10 minimum wage for federal government contractors, as well as adding protections against discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Rescinding the orders “would have a direct and immediate effect for some workers,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president for the National Partnership for Women and Families, which advocates

for more equitable workplace rules. “It also sends the wrong message overall to employers because, in some cases, the requirements will be instituted for all employees at a company.” Pressure on companies to accommodate employees, such as paid time off, have had mixed results. More companies now of fer paid mater nit y leave— that benefit rose to 26 percent of companies last year, from 21 percent in 2015 and 16 percent in 2012, according to an annual survey by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Unpaid leave beyond what’s required by federal law, meanwhile, fell last year to 21 percent, from 26 percent in 2015, SHRM reported. About half of companies still offer no paid time off. Only Congress can enact laws that dictate policy for the entire US, and the president’s executive orders are limited to federal contractors and employees. The L abor Depar tment estimates there are about 24,000 companies employing 28 million workers that have such contracts, although not all work directly on those projects. The Obama EOs also addressed minority education and services, reducing violence against women, protection for HIV patients and resources for veterans or students. “Probably in the longer term, O b a m a w i l l b e re me m b e re d more for the advancement of gay rights and LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual] rights than for advancing black rights,” said Carson, who has edited and published seven volumes of speeches and writings from King. “His role there has been more defensive—trying to prevent reversals. Part of that was a self-conscious desire to not be seen as the black president.” Bloomberg News

Thousands rally vs GOP’s drive to repeal health law

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ARREN, Michigan—Thousands of people showed up in freezing te m p e rat u re s o n S u n d ay i n Michigan to hear Sen. Bernie Sanders denounce Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health-care law, one of dozens of rallies Democrats staged across the country to highlight opposition. Labor unions were a strong presence at the demonstration in a parking lot at Macomb Community College in the Detroit suburb of Warren, where some people carried signs saying “Save our Health Care.” Lisa Bible, 55, of Bancroft, Michigan, said she has an autoimmune disease and high cholesterol. She said the existing law has been an answer to her and her husband’s prayers, but she worries that if it’s repealed her family may get stuck with her medical bills. “I’m going to get really sick and my life will be at risk,” said Bible, an online antique dealer. President-elect Donald J. Trump has vowed to overturn and replace the Affordable Care Act, and majority Republicans in Congress this week began the process of repealing it using a budget maneuver that requires a bare majority in the Senate. “This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It is time we got our national priorities right,” Sanders told the Michigan rally. The law has delivered health coverage to about 20 million people but is saddled with problems, such as rapidly rising premiums and large copayments. Britt Waligorski, 31, a health-care administrator for a dental practice, said she didn’t get health insurance through work but has been covered through the health law for three years. While the premiums have gone up, she said she is concerned that services for women will be taken away if it is repealed. “It’s done a lot for women for their annual checkups, for mammograms— women’s health, in general. If this gets repealed, we’re going to go back to the

old days when that’s not covered,” she said. At the rally in San Francisco, Silvia Pena, a 45-year-old nanny, said she had never had held insurance until she enrolled in the Affordable Care Act six years ago. “I don’t have health issues, but you can need insurance any time. We should all have access to health services,” said Pena, who held a sign that read “It’s our right and our body. Keep Planned Parenthood and Obamacare.” About 2,000 people cheered and held rainbow and American flags and signs that read “Don’t Make America Sick Again” and “Health Care For All” at the rally. Patients who survived cancer, strokes and other health difficulties are sharing stories on how they benefited from the mandated health insurance. In Los Angeles organizers of the rally outside the LA County/USC Medical Center warned that a repeal of the law without a replacement will throw the state’s healthcare system into chaos and strip coverage from 5 million Californians. Rallies in other cities in support of the health law were also well attended. The police estimated about 600 people showed up in Portland, Maine. Hundreds also attended events in Newark, New Jersey, Johnston, Rhode Island, Richmond, Virginia and Boston. The health law has provided subsidies and Medicaid coverage for millions who don’t get insurance at work. It has required insurers to cover certain services, such as family planning and people who are already ill, and has placed limits on the amount that the sick and elderly can be billed for health care. Republicans want to end the fines that enforce the requirement that many individuals buy coverage and that larger companies provide it to workers. But they face internal disagreements on how to pay for any replacement and how to protect consumers and insurers during a long phase-in of an alternative. AP

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

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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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Stark inequality: 8 men as rich as half the world

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AVOS, Switzerland—The gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the global population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released on Monday. Presenting its findings on the dawn of the annual gathering of the global political and business elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, antipoverty organization Oxfam says the gap between the very rich and poor is far greater than just a year ago. It’s urging leaders to do more than pay lip-service to the problem. If not, it warns, public anger against this kind of inequality will continue to grow and lead to more seismic political changes akin to last year’s election of Donald Trump as US president and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. “It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, who

3.6B

The number of people whose wealth is equivalent to the eight super-rich men

will be attending the meeting in Davos. “Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy.” The same report a year earlier said that the richest 62 people on the planet owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the population. However, Oxfam has revised that figure down to eight

Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Facebook, waves at the CEO Summit during the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, on November 19, 2016. Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 while a college student to connect Harvard students. The company went on to become popular globally and listed its shares publicly in 2012, making Zuckerberg, now 32, a multibillionaire. AP/Esteban Felix

following new information gathered by Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Oxfam used Forbes’ billionaires list that was last published in March 2016 to make its headline claim. According to the Forbes list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of $75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

Oxfam outlined measures that it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality. They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs, greater cooperation among governments on ensuring workers are paid decently and the rich don’t dodge their taxes. And business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees. Max Lawson, Oxfam’s policy adviser, urged billionaires to “do the right thing,” and to do “what

Bill Gates has called on them to do, which is pay their taxes.” The ability of the rich to avoid paying their fair share of taxes was vividly exposed last year in the socalled “Panama Papers,” a leaked trove of data that revealed details on offshore accounts that helped individuals shelter their wealth. “We have a situation where billionaires are paying less tax often than their cleaner or their secretary,” Lawson told The Associated Press. “That’s crazy.” It’s because of this kind of inequality that trust in institutions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to Edelman, one of the world’s biggest marketing firms. In its ow n pre-Davos sur vey of more t ha n 33,0 0 0 people across 28 ma rkets, Edel ma n fou nd t he l a rgest- ever d rop in tr ust across gover nment, busine s s , m e d i a a nd e v e n no n gover nment a l orga ni zat ions. CEO credibility is at an all-time low and government leaders are the least trusted group, according to the survey. The firm’s 2017 Trust Barometer found that 53 percent of respondents believe the current system has failed them in that it is unfair and offers few hopes for the future, with only 15 percent believing it is working. That belief was evident for both the general population and those with college education. “The implications of the global

trust crisis are deep and wideranging,” said Richard Edelman, the firm’s president and CEO. “It began with the Great Recession of 2008, but like the second and third waves of a tsunami, globalization and technological change have further weakened people’s trust in global institutions. The consequence is virulent populism and nationalism as the mass population has taken control away from the elites.” E de l m a n h ig h l ig hted how “the emergence of a media echo chamber” (that) reinforces personal beliefs while shutting out opposing views has magnified this “cycle of distrust.” According to the survey, search engines are trusted more as an information tool than traditional news editors, 59 percent to 41 percent. “People now view media as part of the elite,” said Edelman. “The result is a proclivity for self-referential media and reliance on peers. The lack of trust in media has also given rise to the fake news phenomenon and politicians speaking directly to the masses.” Edelman said business may be best-placed to help improve trust. Companies need to be transparent and honest with their employees about the changes taking place in the workplace, improve skills and pay fairly, he said. The online survey was conducted between October 13 and November 16, 2016. AP

Ignoring Trump’s skepticism, Davos elite bets on climate change

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onald J. Trump has often ridiculed global warming and promised to withdraw the US from the global accord signed in Paris in 2015. Yet, despite the change of political weather in Washington, the captains of business and finance gathered in Davos this week will spend a lot of time talking about climate change—and how to make money from it. The World Economic Forum (WEF) is devoting 15 sessions of its 2017 annual meeting to climate change, and nine more to clean energy—the most ever on the issues. It reflects how much is at stake. For global business leaders, it’s not just a question of burnishing their green credentials, but about billions of dollars—maybe even trillions—in potential profits and losses. Insurers are starting to price-in more frequent flooding and droughts; energy giants are shaping their business for a world that’s moving away from oil and coal; carmakers are putting real money into electric vehicles; banks want to lend money for renewable electricity projects. “The good thing is that the Paris agreement raised the bar for everyone,” said Ben van Beurden, the head of Royal Dutch Shell Plc., Europe’s largest oil group. “Everybody feels the obligation to act.” Achieving the ambitions set out in Paris may require $13.5 trillion of spending through to 2030, according to International Energy Agency data that shows the scale of the opportunity for business. Only last year, clean-energy investment stood at $287.5 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance indicate. “The scale and scope of the investment flows on renewables shows it’s mainstream,” said David Turk, head of climate change at the IEA in Paris and a former senior US climate diplomat.

Opportunities rising

With money-making opportunities rising, traditional climate-change advocates—Al Gore and Greenpeace executive director Jennifer Morgan—will mingle in panel discussions with executives, such as HSBC Holdings Plc. Chairman Stuart Gulliver and Patrick Yu, president of Cofco Corp., the largest food company in China. They will discuss the nexus between the fight against global warming and business—both how to stop climate change and how to profit from it. “Climate change is material and central for many companies and their boards,” said Dominic Waughray, head of publicprivate partnership at the World Economic Forum. “Climate change is a core part of the growth agenda.”

A person walks in front of the venue of the annual World Economic Forum of business and world leaders in Davos, Switzerland. Bloomberg News

Beyond the official program, a record 60 CEOs are expected to gather in a closeddoor session to discuss the challenges of climate change, according to a person familiar with the event, who asked not to be named because the meeting isn’t public. In the Alpine resort’s congress center, the World Economic Forum has built an exhibition highlighting climate change, “from rampant emissions to rising sea levels.”

Global fight

Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton University who will help to explain the exhibit, said despite the arrival of Trump, the fight against global warming will continue. “No matter what the US president says, the progress on climate change can have many routes,” he said. “The US can harm progress, but will not stop progress.” Last November’s follow-up meeting to Paris, nearly 200 nations, including China and Saudi Arabia, vowed to step up their efforts to fight global warming, facing down concerns the new Trump

administration will seek to derail policies aimed at curbing pollution. “Leadership on climate change is proving to be remarkably resilient,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former top climate change diplomat, who will be in Davos speaking on a panel alongside Patrick Pouyanne, boss of French oil giant Total SA, Oleg Deripaska, owner of world’s top aluminum producer United Co. Rusal, and Ignacio Sanchez Galan, head of renewables heavyweight Iberdrola SA.

China flip

China, which for years sought to derail global efforts to tackle climate change, has flipped its role and is now lecturing the US and Europe on the importance of the issue. Xi Jinping will be the first sitting Chinese president to attend Davos, after making green finance a key topic for China’s presidency of the Group of 20 nations last year. In 2012 Trump claimed climate change was a Chinese hoax designed to damage the US economy. Even though the president-

elect has appeared to soften his stance a little, telling the New York Times last year he was open minded about the issue, his policy positions stand in stark contrast to China. Trumps’s election platform pledged to reverse environmental regulations, increase coal production and pull the US out of the landmark Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to limit fossil-fuel emissions. Yet, more than 600 US companies from DuPont Co. to Monsanto Co. have urged Trump to stay in the Paris accord. “It’s totally clear that companies see the writing on the wall,” said Morgan of Greenpeace. “If President-elect Trump doesn’t want to go, there then he is going to be very out of step.”

Trump team shunning Davos

Trump won’t send an official representative to the annual gathering of the world’s economic elite in Davos, although one of the presidentelect’s advisers is slated to attend. Former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, a regular attendee in the past, told the group he would skip 2017 after being

named in December to head the National Economic Council, said people familiar with the conference. Other top Trump appointees will also pass up the forum. A senior member of Trump’s transition team said the president-elect thought it would betray his populist-fueled movement to have a presence at the high-powered annual gathering in the Swiss Alps. The gathering of millionaires, billionaires, political leaders and celebrities represents the power structure that fueled the populist anger that helped Trump win the election, said the person, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter. Hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci is planning to travel to Davos, though. The founder of SkyBridge Capital and an early backer of Trump’s campaign, Scaramucci was named on Thursday as an assistant to the president.

Trump advisers

Scaramucci, who has attended the forum several times, made plans before being selected for the White House team and is

traveling in an unofficial capacity, Trump Spokesman Hope Hicks said. The forum schedule lists him on a January 17 panel that will cover “the priorities, challenges and opportunities for the incoming government of the United States,” and identifies him as an executive member of Trump’s transition team. “Anthony Scaramucci has been a longstanding participant at the annual meeting, and as such has been registered to attend since last spring,” Paul Smyke, head of the North America World Economic Forum, said in a statement. Scaramucci will depart in time to attend Trump’s swearing-in on January 20. Political adviser Rebekah Mercer is also registered to attend. A major Republican donor, Mercer is a member of Trump’s transition team and has been influential in helping to hire senior staff, but doesn’t have an official role in the incoming administration. During the campaign Trump labeled his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, as “a globalist” and portrayed himself as a champion for the working class fighting an unfair economic system. Since the election, Trump, who will be the nation’s first billionaire president, has nominated for his Cabinet two billionaires and about a dozen millionaires. Many in the upper ranks of his administration are from the world of finance, including several who have worked for or who have ties to Goldman Sachs, the investment bank singled out for criticism during the Republican’s campaign.

Economic inequality

A study by the World Economic Forum released ahead of the Davos gathering concluded that the weak economic recovery following the global financial crisis of 20082009 has widened the gap between rich and poor, fueling a sense of “economic malaise” that’s led to the rise of populist parties. While the Trump team stays away, Xi Jinping is set to become the first Chinese president to attend the forum, bringing with him a contingent of China’s wealthiest executives. China is casting itself as an advocate of globalization, in contrast to Trump’s “America First” platform critical of free-trade deals. Xi will join about 3,000 others, who will include UK Prime Minister Theresa May, outgoing US Vice President Joe Biden and South African President Jacob Zuma. Past attendees include singer and philanthropist Bono of U2, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The forum wraps up on Trump’s Inauguration Day. WEF founder Klaus Schwab met with members of Trump’s staff in December. Bloomberg News

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Obama on Israel, Trump in last interview as prexy

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Pro-Israel demonstrators hold Isreali and France flags during a gathering in front of the Israel embassy in Paris, France, on Sunday. Fearing a new eruption of violence in the Middle East, more than 70 world diplomats gathered in Paris on Sunday to push for renewed peace talks that would lead to a Palestinian state. AP/François Mori

World diplomats tell Trump, Israel: Mideast needs peace

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ARIS—Sending a forceful message to Israel’s prime minister and the incoming Trump administration, dozens of countries called on Sunday on Israel and the Palestinians to revive work toward long-elusive peace—including an independent Palestinian state.

The closing declaration at a Mideast peace conference in Paris urged both sides to “officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution” and disassociate from voices that reject this. It also warned them against taking one-sided actions that could hurt talks, an apparent reference to Israeli settlement building. While the Palestinians welcomed Sunday’s declaration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the conference “rigged” and cooked up behind Israel’s back to force it to accept conditions against national interests. The French organizers argued the conference was necessary to keep hopes alive for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians—the solution favored by the international community for the past two decades. Many members of Netanyahu’s coalition want to abandon the two-state solution and expand settlements, and some have even called for annexing parts of the West Bank. Trump’s campaign platform made no mention of Palestinian independence. In a nod to Israel, the final declaration of Sunday’s conference

included criticism of incitement and “terror,” a reference to Palestinian attacks. And some of the pro-Palestinian language in an earlier draft was removed after diplomats huddled in Paris. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been increasingly critical of Netanyahu, represented the US at the talks and defended the effort. He rejected Israeli criticism of the conference, saying the concept of a two-state solution to the conflict is “threatened” and must be reinforced if it is ever to happen. The communiqué, he said, endorses that without imposing a resolution. “Given where things are going and what is happening, that is particularly important,” he said. He also warned that it’s too early to move the US Embassy in Israel rom Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem, as proposed by US President-elect Donald J. Trump. “This is not the right time,” he said. “We think it’s ill-advised.” Trump’s administration did not take part in the meeting and didn’t immediately comment on its final statement. While Netanyahu has voiced support for

a two-state solution, his critics, including Kerry, have said that continued settlement construction on occupied territories raises questions about his commitment to pursuing a peace deal. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon dism issed Su nd ay ’s conference, tweeting that it was “flat as a failed soufflé.” “A big show is no replacement for direct negotiations between the parties,” he said. French President François Hollande agreed on the need for direct talks. “It is not a question of dictating to the parties.... Only direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians can lead to peace. No one will do it in their place,” he said. “ The world cannot, should not resign itself to the status quo,” Hollande told the gathered diplomats from across Europe, the Mideast and other regions, as well as from the United Nations, the Arab League and other international organizations. Hollande said he was sounding an “alert” that peace talks should be revived before violent extremists and Israeli settlements destroy any hope of a two-state solution. He urged the diplomats to support peace efforts by offering economic incentives to Israelis and Palestinians. The chief Palestinian representative to France warned the Trump administration not to “underestimate” the message of peace sent by the conference, or the UN resolution last month condemning Israel ’s construction of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Salman Elherfi, speaking to The Associated Press, insisted “the option of two states is not

the dream of a single country, but it has become the concern of the whole world to protect it.” Palestinian officials hope the conference can layout terms for eventual negotiations, notably on how to share Jerusalem and the need to stop Israeli settlements. France and others expressed concern that the Trump administration could unleash new tensions in the region by condoning settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians and moving the US Embassy. The embassy issue wasn’t mentioned, however, in the final declaration. Netanyahu declined an invitation to a special meeting after the conference, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was initially expected, but his visit to Paris was postponed. The Israeli prime minister said the gathering would do little to promote peace and marked the “last flutters of yesterday’s world.” “Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close,” he said in apparent reference to Trump’s incoming administration. Israeli and Palestinian leaders have not negotiated even indirectly since a failed US-led peace effort in 2014. While the conference was underway, a few hundred pro-Israel demonstrators, waving Israeli flags and placards denouncing the summit, gathered outside Israel’s embassy in Paris. “The Palestinians and a number of Arab states have not expressed a will for peace,” said Serge Klarsfeld, a well-known French Nazi hunter. “If it existed and if the Arab world recognized the existence of Israel, we would find the means to solve all the problems very quickly.” AP

Stopped train triggers political row in Balkans B

ELGRADE, Serbia—A Serbian train halted at the border with Kosovo and bearing signs reading “Kosovo is Serbian,” has fueled a major crisis in the Balkans and escalated a potential RussiaWest row over dominance in the heart of the war-torn region. Serbia accused Kosovo’s leaders on Sunday of “wanting war” and warned that it would defend “every inch” of its territory, a day after the train, provocatively decorated in Serbian Christian Orthodox symbols and flags, was prevented from entering the neighboring nation. Kosovo, supported by much of the West, declared independence from Serbia in 2008. But, Serbia and its Slavic Orthodox ally, Russia, do not recognize the split.

Serbia has sought to maintain influence in Kosovo’s north, where most of the country’s Serb minority lives. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato)-led troops have controlled Kosovo’s borders since a threemonth air war in 1999 to stop a bloody Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic issued the warning on Sunday after the passenger train, inscribed with “Kosovo is Serbian” in 20 languages and painted in the colors of the Serbian flag, was prevented from crossing into Kosovo, where his government contends ethnic Serbs are under threat from Kosovo Albanians. “Yesterday we were on the verge of clashes,” Nikolic said in the strongest rhetoric

since the Nato-led troops took control of Kosovo’s borders in 1999. Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said he had contacted the United States and the European Union to express his country’s concerns. “The time of provocation, conflicts and wars should belong to the past,” Mustafa said, adding that such moves “are unacceptable, unnecessary actions that do not contribute to the normalization of the relations between our two countries.” Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci said on his Facebook page that he hopes “Serbia has learned a lesson” from the latest incident. Serbia officially is seeking European Union membership, but has lately been sliding toward the Kremlin and its policies to increase its influence in the Balkans.

Serbia has strained relations with most of its neighbors—something many analysts believe is a Russian influence. Nikolic, who is staunchly pro-Russian, said the EU and the West have never been on Serbia’s side or come to its aid. “Why were the so-called international community and the Albanians so upset about one train?” Nikolic asked. “Maybe because it had ‘Kosovo is Serbian’ written on it, and because it had pictures of our icons inside.” “We are a country which has to protect its people and its territory,” he added. Nikolic also urged that Serbia halt its EU membership negotiation in Brussels, including a key par t that calls for normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. AP

A S H I N G T O N —T h e increase of Israeli settlements has “gotten so substantia l ” that it is inhibiting the possibilit y for an “effective, contiguous Palestinian state,” President Barack Obama said on Sunday, in his fina l inter v iew as president. Speaking to CBS’s 60 Minutes, Obama dismissed the idea that there is a “major rupture” in the relationship between the United States and Israel after last month’s decision by the US to abstain from a United Nations vote condemning Israeli settlements. “Because of our investment in the region, and because we care so deeply about Israel, I think [the US] has a legitimate interest in saying to a friend, ‘This is a problem,’” Obama said. “It would have long-term consequences for peace and security in the region, and the United States.” The outgoing president ref lected on his legacy and his biggest challenges during his eight years in office during the hourlong interview. A number of his policies—from health care to his contentious relationship with Israel—could be short-lived as President-elect Donald J. Trump becomes the 45th president later this week and vows to reverse some of those policies. Trump has been vocal about his disapproval of many of Obama’s policies, often voicing his disagreement or engaging in public disputes with the president on Twitter. Most recently, Trump lashed out over hypothetical comments Obama made that he would beat Trump if they ran against each other in a general election. Over the holidays, Trump accused Obama of throwing up “inflammatory” roadblocks during the transition of power and his administration of treating Israel with “total disdain.” Obama acknowledged it’s been an “unusual” transition, adding, “I suspect the president-elect would agree with that.” “We are moving into an era where a lot of people get their

information through tweets and sound bites and some headline that comes over their phone,” the president said. “There’s a power in that. There’s also a danger—what generates a headline or stirs up a controversy and gets attention isn’t the same as the process required to actually solve the problem.” He warned people not to “underestimate the guy” and urged congressional Republicans and Trump supporters around the country to be sure “that as we go forward, certain norms, certain institutional traditions don’t get eroded, because there’s a reason they’re in place.” Obama said there needs to be a focus on “making sure that our democracy stays healthy, and making sure that we maintain that sense of solidarity.” With that, he said he’s been “disturbed ” about intelligence reports over Russia hacking the US election. “I have been concerned about the degree to which, in some circles, you’ve seen people suggest that Vladimir Putin has more credibility than the US government,” he said. “You’re not going to be able to make good decisions without building some relationship of trust between yourself and that community.” Obama also reflected on his approach to the civil war in Syria, as it approaches its sixth year with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced around the world. The president acknowledged that his “red-line” declaration about the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ’s government wasn’t in his 2012 speech and that he didn’t have to use those words. They later prompted harsh criticism, since the US did not follow through on the threat. “I would have, I think, made a bigger mistake if I had said, ‘Eh, chemical weapons. That doesn’t really change my calculus,’” he said. “And regardless of how it ended up playing, I think, in the Beltway, what is true is Assad got rid of his chemical weapons.” AP

S. Korea prosecutor seeks arrest of Samsung’s exec

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rosecutors are seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung Group’s Jay Y. Lee for allegations including bribery, a stunning turn for the scion of South Korea’s richest family groomed for decades to take over the company from his father.

2.3% The percentage of decline of Samsung shares that fell as much after the announcement of possible issuance of arrest warrant to Samsung Group’s head Jay Y. Lee

Lee, 48, the de facto head of the Samsung Group and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., is accused of participating in payments that Samsung made to a close friend of South Korean President Park Geunhye in exchange for government support in the company’s succession planning. A special prosecutors’ team was established last December to investigate whether Samsung and other chaebol business groups contributed money to Choi Soon-sil, the Park confidant, in exchange for political favors. President Park has been already impeached and her powers suspended. Samsung shares fell as much as 2.3 percent following the announcement. The company didn’t immediately have a comment on the arrest warrant. The prosecutor’s office

said in a text message Monday that they are seeking Lee’s arrest. A court still needs to determine whether to approve the warrant. The prosecution jeopardizes Lee’s ability to take over Samsung Group and risks further destabilizing the leadership of South Korea’s largest company. His father, Chairman Lee Kun-hee, has been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack in 2014. Samsung is now facing its second crisis in a matter of months, after it was forced to pull the Note 7 smartphone off the market last year because the device was catching fire. The presidential scandal has gripped South Korea for months, with millions taking to the streets to demand the ouster of President Park. Lawmakers questioned the heads of nine chaebol to understand whether they were pressured to give money to foundations controlled by Choi. In recent weeks, investigators have focused on Samsung to determine whether the company made payments to gain the backing of Korea’s national pension fund for a controversial merger between Samsung affiliates in 2015. Prosecutors have homed in on Samsung’s contributions to entities linked to Choi, including a 1-billion-won ($846,000) horse for her daughter and millions of dollars for riding lessons. The money allegedly was in exchange for helping ensure a smooth transfer of power at Samsung to the younger Lee. One key question is whether the administration exerted pressure on Korea’s national pension service to support the controversial merger of two Samsung Group companies, Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C and T Corp. The controversial deal was approved in 2015 and made it easier for Lee to gain influence over the sprawling conglomerate. Bloomberg News

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Singapore’s MAS fears ‘disastrous’ effect of trade tiffs

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he global economy will face “disastrous consequences”if US protectionist measures proposed by incoming President Donald J. Trump prompt trade wars, the head of Singapore’s central bank said. Some of the possible actions—such as rejecting a US-Pacific trade deal, extra taxes on US importers and labeling major trade partners as currency manipulators—“may well attract retaliatory measures,” Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a speech at a local conference on Monday. But in all likelihood, the outcome “may not be that bad” since there’s still uncertainty around Trump’s policies and support for free trade remains strong among the US establishment, he said. Export-reliant Singapore is among the biggest losers from a slump in trade, with the economy probably recording its worst performance last year since the 2009 global financial crisis. Officials have vowed to push ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact signed between 12 countries including the US, Japan and Singapore. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to withdraw from the deal when he takes office. While there is optimism about a US fiscal boost and concern about a trade backlash,“there remains considerable uncertainty as to the actual policy changes in store,” Menon said.“They may not pan out as expected.” Singapore is expected to continue a modest pace of expansion, with authorities forecasting growth of 1 percent to 3 percent for this year, Menon said. Tradeoriented industries should benefit from a mild upturn in global and regional electronics, he said. Still, the economy won’t be immune to higher US interest rates, volatility in capital flows, and “potential stresses in the regional corporate sector,” he said. Meanwhile, Singapore house sales last year topped 2015’s tally as a third straight year of price declines stoked pent-up demand from homebuyers. Developers sold 367 units last month, taking the yearly total to 8,136, compared to the 7,440 sold in 2015, according to data released Monday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The surge in sales came even as Singapore’s government maintained real estate curbs rolled out since 2009. House prices have eased since the government began introducing housing curbs, with some of the strictest measures implemented in 2013. Home prices fell 3 percent in 2016, the third straight yearly decline. Home values have dropped 11 percent from their 2013 peak. Still, Singapore remains a high-end housing market—the city was ranked Asia’s most expensive to buy a luxury home after Hong Kong, according to a 2016 Knight Frank wealth report.

Bloomberg News

Editor: Max V. de Leon • Tuesday, January 17, 2017 A9

Trump nominees give Vietnam’s premier hope for Pacific trade pact

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ietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is holding out hope that incoming US President Donald J. Trump will reconsider the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal that would be a major boost to the export-driven Southeast Asian nation. Recent comments made by officials who are set to take senior roles in Trump’s Cabinet give him reason to be optimistic of a possible agreement that can satisfy the US, Phuc said. Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, said in his Senate confirmation hearings last week he wasn’t opposed to the TPP, though he shared some of Trump’s concerns about the pact. The US presidentelect had vowed on the campaign trail to withdraw from the TPP on his first day in office, saying such trade deals kill American jobs. “I still believe the new administration of the United States will reconsider its perspective on the TPP and will also try to achieve a new generation agreement that will benefit all parties concerned,” Phuc said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin at the Government Office in Hanoi on Friday. “Many of the newly appointed members of the new cabinet are in favor of the TPP, so I think that Washington might reconsider its decision because it will also benefit the US,” he said. Phuc, 62, is working with other Asia-Pacific leaders to keep momentum going on the 12-nation trade treaty that’s been signed—but not yet ratified—by countries including the US, Australia, Japan and Canada, and was a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s strategic pivot to Asia. TPP would represent nearly 40 percent of global economic output worth $30 trillion if it came into force. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reaffirmed his commitment to the TPP on Saturday and urged resistance to protectionism ahead of a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in

I still believe the new administration of the United States will reconsider its perspective on the TPP.”—Phuc Sydney. A key advocate of the agreement, Abe said over the weekend he’s working on an “early entry into force of the TPP.” Turnbull told reporters on Monday TPP members are weighing how the deal would work without the US. Phuc will host the Japanese leader in Hanoi on Monday. Vietnam—an economy that’s been transformed in the past decade from a mainly farming one to a manufacturing hub—is seen by the World Bank and others as one of the biggest winners from the TPP, providing an estimated 8-percent boost to gross domestic product by 2030. As a low-cost producer, Vietnam is one of the few economies in Asia still posting export growth as foreign investment from companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. continue to rise. The economy expanded more than 6 percent last year and is set to be among the world’s best performers over the next two years with growth rates exceeding 6 percent, according to the World Bank. The government is targeting expansion of 6.7 percent in 2017. The TPP is more ambitious than other agreements in not only reducing tariffs on a range of products, but also offering protection on

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (foreground, second from left) poses with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (foreground, third from left) and their delegation at the Office of the Government after their meeting on Friday in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP

intellectual-property rights. That provided impetus for countries like Vietnam to implement businessfriendly reforms to take advantage of the benefits from the trade pact.

China relations

“Modernizers in Vietnam hoped that TPP would exert an external push for reform that they were unable to make internally given the domestic structural constraints,” said Alexander Vuving, a security analyst at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. It would also create a “strong force to draw Vietnam away from the Chinese orbit,” he said. Even without US support for the TPP, Phuc said Vietnam will work with the other member countries to find a solution that benefits everyone, while also seeking free-trade deals elsewhere, such as the Regional

Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is being pushed by China. “Vietnam will continue to move forward because we have 12 other FTAs in place and three FTAs that are currently under negotiation, including the RCEP,” he said. “These will help our economy to continue to be propelled forward.” Vietnam is seeking to steer a more independent course from China—its biggest trading partner with bilateral trade amounting to $71.6 billion last year—as territorial disputes with its fellow communist neighbor repeatedly mar relations.

‘Potential market’

The Southeast Asian nation looks to China to “facilitate business” and “a potential market for goods and services of regional countries,” Phuc said. The two countries have a com-

plex relationship. They engaged in a 1974 clash near the disputed Paracel Islands and a bloody border war in 1979 over Cambodia. Relations were further tested in 2014, when China placed a deep-sea exploration rig off the Vietnamese coast in an area of the South China Sea claimed by both countries. That action prompted several clashes at sea and sparked widespread protests in Vietnam. “We are boosting economic growth, but we will not compromise the environment, national security and independence,” Phuc said. “And as long as we are able to uphold such principals, we should all work together for mutual development.” China and Vietnam issued a joint statement on Saturday pledging to better manage maritime differences and avoid actions that complicate the situation in the South China Sea. Bloomberg News

Indonesia, Japan affirm deeper economic, political ties during Abe’s Asian tour

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apan and Indonesia on Sunday affirmed a deepening of economic and political ties during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is using a four-nation tour of Asia to underscore his government’s role in countering China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. After meeting with Abe, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the increase in Japanese investment in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has been “very significant,” doubling to $4.5 billion in January to September of last year. He said the meeting was “warm, open and productive,” and that the countries agreed that their defense and foreign ministers would meet in Indonesia this year under a new forum they established in 2015 to increase maritime cooperation. Jokowi said there were agreements on development of the Patimban deep-sea port and the Masela gas field in Indonesia, and for preliminary discussions on a JakartaSurabaya rail line. Abe said an Indonesian-Japanese joint venture company would develop Patimban. He also pledged “business opportunities” worth ¥74 billion ($646 million) for coastal development and irrigation in Indonesia.

$4.5B

The amount of Japanese investments in Indonesia in January to September last year

Abe’s trip is largely aimed at taking a leadership role in promoting regional cooperation to counter Beijing at a time of increased tension between China and the US and uncertainty about the policies of the incoming Donald J. Trump administration. With the tour, Tokyo wants to send a message that its respect for a rules-based international system, in contrast to China’s more aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, where it has vast territorial claims, makes it the best partner for Southeast Asian countries. Abe said he and Jokowi “exchanged views on the development of the regional situation, including the South China Sea issue that has been a concern for the entire international community that will directly affect the peace and stability of the region.” “We reiterated the importance of

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (left) talks to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on Sunday. AP

enforcing the principle of the rule of law and peaceful settlement,” he said. Abe’s swing through Asia has included two of America’s main allies in the region, Australia and the Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s hostility to the US has raised doubts about his

commitment to the US alliance that Japan is a crucial part of. Australia and Japan agreed to greater military cooperation, and in the Philippines, Abe pledged $8.7 billion in business opportunities and investment. Jokowi said that in his meeting

with Abe, he asked for Japan to open access for Indonesian agricultural goods, improve access for Indonesian nurses to work in Japan, commence a review of the IndonesiaJapan economic partnership agreement this year, and grant national carrier Garuda rights for a Jakarta-

Tokyo-Los Angeles route. After Indonesia, Abe will visit Vietnam, which the US has cultivated stronger ties with as a part of President Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia policy. Trump, however, has said he will scrap US involvement in the TransPacific Partnership trade agreement, which was a signature part of Obama’s policy. Abe is meeting with Vietnam’s leaders on the last stop of his fournation tour intended to boost Japan’s trade and security engagements in the region amid China’s rising dominance in Asia. Abe and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc reviewed an honor guard in Hanoi before heading for talks behind closed doors at the beginning of his two-day visit on Monday. Japan is one of Vietnam’s top investors and trading partners and is the communist country’s single largest bilateral donor. The two countries are locked in separate maritime disputes with China. Japan has provided Vietnam with six used patrol vessels to help strengthen maritime capability. Abe has already visited the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia on his trip. AP

A10 Tuesday, January 17, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Paris Agreement is no panacea

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enate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said last week he sees the Senate ratifying the Paris Agreement within six months, to concur with President Duterte’s commitment to sign the pact that seeks to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, mainly by burning less gas, coal and oil.

The Philippines’s ratification of the Paris Agreement would bind the country into cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030. Duterte initially had second thoughts about signing the Paris Agreement, arguing that big polluters, like the United States, China and other European Union countries, should be the first to cut their carbon emissions. But we welcome the President’s change of heart and the Senate’s expression of support for the climate pact. The Philippines, after all, is a leader of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of highly vulnerable nations. Countries composing the CVF, including some of our Southeast Asian neighbors, are among the first to be affected by climate change and the last to recover from disasters caused by extreme weather events. Ondoy, Pepeng, Yolanda, Pablo and Sendong—these are just some of the deadliest tropical storms that hit the Philippines in recent years, causing thousands of deaths and billions in damage. We need no further proof, obviously, being a perennial climate-change victim ourselves, that reducing carbon emissions is necessary. And signing on to the Paris Agreement can only strengthen our leadership in voicing the concerns of vulnerable nations on the impact of climate change. But while the Paris Agreement can lay the groundwork for meaningful, collective action, make no mistake, it is no panacea. Avoiding the most catastrophic effects of climate change will require more than the actions of countries and their governments. It will also require the concrete actions of individuals, their communities, workplaces and various organizations. Long before the Paris Agreement became a byword, we already had citizens trying to cut carbon pollution on their own, taking responsibility through lifestyle changes, whether by ditching their cars in favor of bicycles, installing solar rooftops, switching to LED bulbs, planting trees, recycling water and waste, or some other simple steps that matter. A few local governments have made similar commendable commitments. The Provincial Board of Ilocos Norte last year passed a resolution seeking to make the province the first to phase out coal use and become a total renewable-energy consumer. Since 2010, local government initiatives have paved the way for Ilocos Norte to have a 264-megawatt installed wind-energy capacity, hosting the wind farms of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) in Burgos, Northern Luzon; UPC Asia Corp. in Caparispisan; and Northwind Power and Development Corp. in Bangui. With other solar and hydropower projects under way, the province is seen generating 50 percent of its power requirement from clean energy in the near future. Negros Occidental hosts six solar-power facilities, with a total generation capacity of 341.5 MW, according to the Negros Occidental Investment Promotions Center-Public Information Section. The province also has six major river systems—Himogaan, Sicaba, Malugo, Bago, Binalbagan and Ilog-Hilabangan—which can be tapped for run-of-the-river hydroelectricity with an estimated capacity of 200 MW. Cities, communities and schools have joined hands with the private sector to launch their own initiatives in climate-change mitigation. A 1.03-MW solar-rooftop system was installed last week by EDC in Gaisano Capital’s mall in La Paz District, Iloilo City. The largest in the province, the solar rooftop can supply up to 50 percent of the mall’s daytime load. Since June last year, the 658-hectare campus of Central Luzon State University, the oldest and largest state university in Region 3, has been getting all its electricity from an EDC geothermal-power station in Bicol. Bike-friendly infrastructure have been built in various parts of Metro Manila to promote bicycle riding as an alternative means of transport. There are also bike-sharing or rental projects, like the ones in the tourist districts of Malate and Intramuros, in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and on the Diliman campus of the University of Philippines. Sure, our cities are not as bike-friendly as Amsterdam or Copenhagen but the efforts are still encouraging. The use of electric vehicles is growing in Philippine cities. We can now see electric jeepneys and tricycles plying our streets. They are being used as shuttles in Philippine tourist destinations, like Boracay, Davao and Surigao, and in central business districts, particularly in BGC and in Legaspi and Salcedo villages in Makati. A number of universities and private companies, like the Manila Electric Co., Filinvest, the Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University, have fleets of e-jeepneys going around their compounds and campuses. All these individual actions matter as much as the nation’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. And they only show that Filipinos on their own can do a lot and have done a lot of things to cut their own carbon footprints and create a greener, healthier place to live. What more if we do it together.

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Continued from A1

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ust like corporations or conglomerates, the successful operation of the government requires coordination and complementation of its different activities in pursuit of a common goal.

The common goal has been set by President Duterte: to make the Philippines a peaceful and progressive country. The departments under the Office of the President must craft programs and adopt policies in pursuit of the goal set by the Chief Executive. In general, I am glad to say that in the past six months, which comprise Duterte’s first semester in office, the economic-oriented departments have been moving in one direction. I believe this is one of the reasons investors continue to be bullish about the economy’s prospects, despite the uncertainties in the global economy. For example, the World Bank last

week upgraded its growth forecast for the Philippines for the next two years. In its January 2017 Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank said the Philippine economy would grow by 6.9 percent this year (from 6.8 percent in 2016) and by 7 percent in 2018. Among other factors, the World Bank cited infrastructure as one of the major growth drivers for the economy. A good example of coordination and cooperation between executive departments with entirely different areas of operation is the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

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OUTSIDE THE BOX

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ocal protesters were recently seen carrying signs that read: “No to Fascism.” While doubting their full understanding of that political philosophy, you have to give them credit for thinking that something is wrong. In an article for the Left-leaning US magazine The Nation, titled “Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Is a Wildly Popular Fascist,” former Rep. Walden F. Bello said the broad characteristics of a fascist leader is “a charismatic individual with strong inclinations toward authoritarian rule” and who “proposes a political project that contradicts the fundamental values and aims of liberal democracy or social democracy.” Of course, that also sounds like a description of the most successful basketball coach in history—Phil Jackson—who unlikely made decisions based on the tenets of a “social democracy”. Maybe it would be instructive

to turn to the founder of modern fascism, Benito Mussolini, for his definition: “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state”. If that is accurate, then “neoliberalism” (NL) and “neoconservatism” (NC) are two sides of the same “fascist” coin. Both concepts want as much power and authority as possible concentrated in government—the State. While both appear to espouse the “free market” and economic freedom, NL looks directly to the State to control the economy through the large corporate interests and NC look to the corporate interests to control the government. The end results are the same.

Just like corporations or conglomerates, the successful operation of the government requires coordination and complementation of its different activities in pursuit of a common goal. The common goal has been set by President Duterte: To make the Philippines a peaceful and progressive country. The MOA, titled “Roads Leveraging Linkages for Industry and Trade (ROLL-IT) Program,” is a convergence program aimed at building roads to link the economic zones, which are being developed by the DTI and the private sector, throughout the country. Under the MOA, the two departments will jointly undertake studies and implement infrastructure projects in priority economic and manufacturing areas in the Philippines. The timing is also right, because the Duterte administration has committed itself to increase spending for infrastructure, beginning with P861 billion for this year, which is equivalent to 5.4 percent of GDP, from less than 5 percent under the past administration. According to the Department of Budget and Management,

While NL talks of equality, it is the same equality that George Orwell wrote about in his novel Animal Farm. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The NL promises great individual social freedoms in return for government control of the economy and supposed economic equality. NC promise greater prosperity as long as the people accept that this best comes from decisions made by big business through the government. While there is greater individual “economic freedom”, the government has the obligation to make more decisions about “social freedom”. Certainly, this is a simplistic and incomplete definition of NL and NC. But the point is that there is little difference between the two, and both are fascist by Mussolini’s definition. The largest campaign donors in the 2016 US election cycle regardless of political party were: six hedgefund founders, two media owners, one casino magnate and a cofounder of Facebook. Collectively they spent the equivalent of a week’s income of the poorest 1 billion on Earth to “influence” the US election. The US has been the largest exporter of weapons for many decades

the government plan is to continue increasing infrastructure spending until it reaches 7.2 percent by 2022. With better road linkages, ecozones and industrial estates in the rural areas are expected to become more attractive to investors. I believe the program is in the right direction because right now, many ecozones are not being maximized because of the lack of, or inadequate, connections. The program will also contribute to the President’s policy of developing new engines of growth in the countryside to generate employment in the provinces, where poverty is most prevalent. We really have to push countryside development if we are to succeed in spreading the benefits of economic growth to the majority of Filipinos. Economic activities have been concentrated in Metro Manila for so long. Hopefully, the MOA between the DTI and the DPWH will pave the way for more investments to reach the countryside and give Filipinos in the rural areas a much-deserved and long-overdue share of economic benefits. For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

regardless of which political party or political philosophy controlled government. The US has forced “regime change” all over the world no matter who sat as president. The Roman Catholic Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace recently issued a document, “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority.” It calls for “an emerging requirement for a body that will carry out the functions of a kind of ‘central world bank’ that regulates the flow and system of monetary exchanges similar to the national central banks.” The document concludes, “This transformation will be made at the cost of a gradual, balanced transfer of a part of each nation’s powers to a world authority and to regional authorities.” The Church is echoing the voices of both the NL and the NC. Taken out of the religious context, “Through Him, with Him, in Him” from the Liturgy sounds eerily familiar. 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.

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Why worry about martial law? Cecilio T. Arillo

database

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ES, indeed, why worry about it when the country sadly experienced it twice already in 10 years and four months under two presidents.

The first martial law was declared by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 21, 1972, and lifted it nine years later, on January 1, 1981, to save the republic from communist threat, the threat to dismember the country from Moro separatists in Mindanao and to restore law and order against all forms of criminality, including abuse, smuggling and manufacturing of prohibited and regulated drugs. It can be remembered that the business community generally cheered the Marcos martial-law regime when it rid the streets of paralyzing mass protest actions; ended labor strikes in factories and in the public transport industry; sent students either back to school or off to the mountains to join the communist guerrillas; terrorist bombings of power and water utilities, businesses, and public and private buildings, stopped. Normal commerce became possible once more and, in fact, became more buoyant after some four years of anarchy. The second martial law came a few days after February 25, 1986, when the Philippines teetered on the brink of a real revolution as people and an electric air filled the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, to witness Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino took her oath as the 11th president, in defiance of President Marcos who held a similar vow in Malacañang a few kilometers away. To those present, most of them had risked their lives only three days earlier on Edsa as a human buffer to the breakaway of then rebellious Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Fidel V. Ramos and the reformist soldiers, it was a supreme act of faith hoping that Mrs. Aquino would establish a good, just, honest and efficient government. Appearing to match faith with faith, Mrs. Aquino, the naif icon of democracy and religious Catholic supremacy in the country, humbly accepted the gift of power and pledged to obey the “fundamental law of the land” (Constitution), enforce the laws and do justice to every one. Then she read her inaugural speech (written by now ambassador to the United Nations, Teddy Boy Locsin, on the backside of a CoryDoy campaign leaflet): “Beloved brothers and sisters, it is fitting that, if the rights and liberties of our people were taken away at midnight 14 years ago, the people should recover those rights and liberties in full daylight. It took the brutal murder of Ninoy [Benigno Aquino Jr., her husband] to bring about a unity so strong and the phenomenon of people power. We became exiles in our own land—we Filipinos who are at home only in freedom—when Marcos destroyed the Republic 14 years ago. Through the power of the people we are home again. And now

I would like to appeal to everybody to work for national reconciliation, which is what Ninoy came home for. Continue to pray! Pray to the Lord to help us, especially during these difficult days.” After that she announced to the nation and the world that she would restore unity, genuine reconciliation and democratic space; that she would not file charges against Marcos; that she would not reside in the presidential palace (“because in these difficult times, it is not proper to live in extravagance”); and that she would be “the opposite of Marcos”. But instead of all these, President Aquino, whose administration had been frequently associated with “miracles”, invoked the powers of a rebel government, abolished the 1973 Constitution, scrapped the Batasan Pambansa (Parliament), the Supreme Court, local government units, the civil and military services and organized the Presidential Commission on Good Government to run after the so-called ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses, their friends, relatives and cronies and strangely provided its officials and agents with immunity from prosecution. And to provide her administration with democratic legitimacy, she arrogated power unto herself by hand-picking 48 men and women, including prelates and suspected communists, and hastily framed her own Constitution, the substance and wordings of which, due mostly to the hatred of Marcos and accommodations of the diverse political, social and economic interests of the framers, was the longest in Philippine history and probably throughout the world. In 58 pages, with 39,000 words and punctuation marks, the Aquino Constitution is four times longer than the brief but all-embracing US Constitution that has already been amended 26 times. As a result, the Aquino Constitution had 97 open-ended and ambiguous provisions that were entrusted to Congress to provide the enabling law with equally nebulous phrases: “...as may be provided by law” or “as Congress may provide.” Curiously, five presidents, from Mrs. Aquino, her son Benigno III and the three presidents between them, and the 10 Congresses (from the 8th Congress in 1988 to the 17th Congress, this year) had not moved beyond lip service to amend or revise the flawed 1987 Constitution that remains a burden to the nation until today. The question is if Mrs. Aquino, using an iron hand in 1986, can abolish a constitution, why can’t President Duterte, using martial rule, do the same for the sake of the country and its people? To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

Ladder of success By Christopher Palor Alejo

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he implementation of new academic programs and policies has finally turned the country’s education system around. From a struggling department saddled with the same problems and challenges year after year, the Department of Education (DepEd) has little by little resolved its biggest problems to become an effective instrument of change. One of the programs that helped the DepEd take flight is Republic Act (RA) 10647 or the Ladderized Education Act of 2014.Thislawbecamethe“magic”keythat

allowed students to enter or exit technical education courses and shift to a college degree program whenever they please, ensuring that no subject taken or credit incurred will be wasted. The ladderized education program is indeed a boon to students, especially to those who have to work to support themselves or those who have to take a break from their studies for some reason. RA 10647 promotes quality education in all levels and maintains a complete adequate integrated system of education. The law “institutionalizes ladderized interface between technical-vocational education and training (Tvet) and

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Prime Minister Abe’s diplomacy Edgardo J. Angara

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t the state banquet in Malacañang, President Duterte said, “Japan is a friend closer than a brother…a friend unlike any other.” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded that Philippine-Japanese relations are “deep, warm and brotherly”. Both leaders were characterizing the current relationship between their two countries. They could have very well been talking about their personal ties—which have been demonstrably close since Duterte visited Tokyo last October. At the time, the proverbial red carpet was rolled out for Duterte, befitting a visiting head of state. Moreover, Abe made the unprecedented gesture of inviting the President to his official residence for an evening one-on-one meeting. In Japan an invitation to one’s home sends out a strong signal of respect and confidence—a cultural norm equally true in the Philippines. The highest compliment a Filipino can pay to a friend is to invite him over to his home. Duterte did just that with Abe, not only to his official residence, Malacañang, but to his home— a humble bungalow at a private subdivision in Matina, Davao City. There, the leaders shared a simple

breakfast and toured Duterte’s bedroom, complete with the mosquito net he uses when he sleeps. That visit captured the closeness and the perfect chemistry Abe has struck with Duterte. In pushing for Japan to be more assertive and active in global affairs, Abe appears to be following in the footsteps (and possibly learning from the experience) of his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi— Japan’s 57th prime minister—and his father, Shintaro Abe—Japan’s longest-serving postwar foreign minister. But his personalized approach to diplomacy—fostering close personal ties with world leaders—appears to be a distinctive trademark of the Prime Minister’s leadership. He has shown himself to be a perceptive, emphatic and daring diplomat. Last December he visited Pearl Harbor with President Barack Obama as a symbolic act of reconciliation between the US

and Japan—an act that for decades was unimaginable for a Japanese prime minister. A little more than a week after the November 2016 elections, the prime minister broke with protocol and personally met with US Presidentelect Donald J. Trump—becoming the first foreign leader to do so. Analysts surmised the hastily organized meeting between Trump and Abe was to clarify several controversial campaign statements of the president-elect and assuage fears about future cracks in the rock-solid US-Japan alliance. No details have been released about the president-elect and prime minister’s meeting, as their conversation was unofficial. But both leaders have since come out with statements of trust and friendship for each other, with the commitment to meet and discuss more at a later time. Such adept diplomacy is also at play here in the Philippines, building on the long history of Philippine and Japanese relations. Despite a cruel past, the Philippines and Japan have only gotten closer since diplomatic ties were normalized over six decades ago. In the intervening years, Japan became a top provider of foreign aid, lending the Philippines up to $20 billion in official development assistance. This includes millions of dollars in endowments for the Asian Development Bank, which has devoted an average $745 million per year since 2006 for poverty

ERC reforms stir controversy

In a petition filed before the Supreme Court, the PCCI-led group asked the High Court to stop the ERC from implementing the so-called Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) policy. The group, in particular, alleged that the ERC has “limited” the choice of retail power suppliers from which the so-called contestable market can buy. This is that segment of the overall electricity market whose power consumption is 1 megawatt or more per month. Unlike those with lower requirements (called “captive market”), these consumers can select who to buy power from under the concept of the RCOA. In its emotional plea before the SC, the group accused the ERC of depriving consumers of “freedom of choice”. They are being made to buy only from a list of some 23 suppliers, the plea said. We do not question bases and the wisdom of the PCCI-led group’s petition. After all, the PCCI is led by some of the country’s most respected business leaders. There is just one thing that puzzled many. Aren’t some of the 23

retail electricity suppliers in the ERC list the very same affiliates registered by the country’s big power-distribution utilities? Aren’t the rest of the power-generation companies acting as retail electricity suppliers? The way we understand it, what the ERC did was to require the current distribution utilities to set up and register an affiliate which is designated as the retail electricity supplier (RES) under the RCOA policy. It is the RES which is allowed to compete for the business of the contestable market. We are puzzled as to why the petitioners object to this list. Does the PCCI prefer that the likes of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) directly take part in the open competition? Again, we can only speculate on why the ERC prefers the round-about way with the RES. We can only surmise that the ERC is preventing current distribution utilities from using their own brand so as not to have an undue advantage within their current service areas. But again, that is for the SC to look into and decide on. Anyway, the point is that everybody is doing their job.

Despite the controversy generated by the petition, the ERC appears to be determined to push the reforms prescribed under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). In fairness to ERC Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar, these reforms— particularly RCOA—gained a lot of headway under his watch. Salazar has been branded as too determined bordering on being pushy. If he is using that trait to push for competition in the power sector, then we don’t mind. At the end of the day, it’s reforms the public wants and Salazar is clearly doing his job. Salazar’s bid to push for more intense competition in the power sector will benefit the public. After all, when there is real competition, prices usually go down. Also, the quality of service goes up. This is expected. That’s the way companies compete for business in a contestable market. The situation is different in the captive market. Here, customers merely groan each time they are saddled with rate increases. Somehow, Salazar’s bid to make sure RCOA is in place creates the hope that larger portions of that captive market can soon be part of the contestable category. It is understandable that certain major power distributors should be averse to Salazar’s policies. First of all, a captive market is a lucrative bread and butter. Second, the franchise area is a territory where they expect to have a natural advantage. Any and all business entity wants and tries to create an advantage over competition. They invest a lot in building that advantage. We are not very clear about the position of the Meralco on the RCOA

higher education for career and educational growth,” meaning students have the luxury to decide when to enter, climb or exit the “ladder” of education. This way, students can temporarily stop their studies and find work when they need to earn income. They can resume their studies anytime. The heart of the law is the provision of a “seamless” transfer of a student from a tech-voc course to a college degree program without losing any of the credits he or she earned previously. This ensures that no student shall repeat any subject because all units earned will be credited to the student no matter how

long he or she will finish a particular course or degree. A student who stops her studies to work can still finish her ladderized degree through the Tvet equivalency program. Equivalency processes can include assessment tests or assignments. This allows a student to continue earning units for his or her course or degree even when he or she is working, thus making sure that the opportunity for education or career advancement is not lost. Also an integral part of the ladderized education system is the Philippine Qualification Framework (PQF) that describes the levels of educational

qualifications based on “standards of knowledge, skills and values” learned or acquired. The PQF aligns local programs with international qualifications that not only support “national and international mobility of students but also recognition of the Philippine educational system.” The coordination of several concerned agencies, such as the Commission on Higher Education, the DepEd, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Professional Regulation Commission, which compose the PQF national coordinating

Ernesto M. Hilario

ABOUT TOWN

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ecently, media was flooded with news items regarding the suit filed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and several other groups against the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

reduction in the Philippines. Japanese businessmen have also maintained partnerships with Filipino counterparts for years, making significant job-creating investments throughout the country. In fact, close to 30 percent of locators in special economic zones under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority are Japanese companies. The partnership extends to national security. Last August the first of 10 so-called multirole response vessels from Japan was formally turned over to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), as part of a P7.3-billion loan agreement entered upon with the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2013. Another agreement, worth P6.8 billion, was signed last November for two 94-meter large vessels that will vastly improve the PCG’s capabilities to patrol the country’s territorial waters. Clearly, Japan is a most important friend and ally of the Philippines in Asia. It is a welcome development that the two countries’ ties are deepening even further— thanks to the personal touch of Abe. His diplomacy demonstrates respect, empathy and generosity toward the other party. These are qualities we all need—to keep our rationality, sense of balance and perspective in a world quickly turning unpredictable and untraditional. E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com, Facebook and Twitter: @edangara

and on the RES issue, in particular. If we recall correctly, Meralco had initially opposed the RES-related policy and had announced that it may consider taking the legal route if ERC pushes it to comply. But did not Meralco recently apply for a license for its RES? If this is correct, then it may be safe to assume that Meralco would have anything to do with the move by the PCCI to haul the ERC to court over the RCOA and RES issues. This is contrary to current speculation that Meralco may be behind PCCI on this particular collision with the regulatory agency. Such speculation may have merely been fueled by the fact that it was also PCCI who came to Meralco’s succor several years ago when the latter was under threat of a takeover by the government. That time, the Government Service Insurance System, then headed by Winston Garcia, was poised to use its vaunted financial resources to acquire the majority share of the distribution giant. The PCCI became the voice of sobriety and wisdom as it took a firm stand against a government takeover of Meralco. PCCI is one of the voices of the business sector. It did its job before, it is doing its job now. So is the ERC. The apparent head-on collision between the two is expected and may after all be healthy. Let’s wait for the High Court to do its job, too. Only a ruling by the SC would prove whether Salazar is on the right track or if changes need to be done with the policy reforms.

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

committee, is proof that the government is serious in its mandate to provide quality education for all. These agencies are working together to establish pathways and what the law calls “access ramps” that make it easy for students and workers to shift from tech-voc to college degree or vice versa. If the spirit and intent of the law are faithfully implemented, the Philippines will have attained a borderless and allencompassing program, truly a landmark in the country’s academic universe.

The author is Teacher 3 of the Cabanbanan Norte Elementary School in Gonzaga, Cagayan.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

DTI eyes stiffer penalties vs Consumer Act violators

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By Catherine N. Pillas @c_pillas29

he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it intends to refile a bill amending Republic Act (RA) 7394, or the Consumer Act, which may include provisions on stiffer penalties for violations, in the 17th Congress.

The DTI said the amendment of RA 7394 is just one of the legislative proposals that the Duterte administration intends to push to protect the rights of Filipino consumers. “We intend to introduce reforms in the Consumer Act. We have a lot of changes to revisit and change. We are reviewing a lot of laws at the moment, including the Consumer Code,” Trade Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Teodoro C. Pascua told the BusinessMirror. Pascua said his office is currently coordinating with Rep. Joey S. Salceda of Albay and Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri for the possible sponsorship of the measure amending the Consumer Act. He said the DTI is considering

₧1M The proposed maximum fine against violators of the Consumer Act

the changes proposed by his predecessor, former Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba. Dimagiba sought to impose heftier penalties and the empowerment of the National Consumers Affairs Council in his proposal. The former DTI official wanted to increase administrative fines for

violators from the existing minimum penalty of P500 to P50,000, to P300,000 to P1 million. Aside from the monetary sanctions, the Consumer Protection group had also proposed to include online commerce-related practices in the law’s coverage. Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Sen. Ralph G. Recto have earlier filed measures proposing amendments to the Consumer Act. Their proposals are currently pending at the committee level. RA 7394 was signed by the late President Corazon C. Aquino in April 1992. One of the objectives of the law is to protect consumers against “ deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales acts and practices.”

A look at how Trump might shake things up in Asia

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ATTENTION-SEEKERS Chinese zodiac decorations are displayed at a mall in Quezon City in preparation for the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 28. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2017 is the Year of the Fire Rooster. According to Chinese mythology, people born under the sign of the rooster are said to be trustworthy, hard-working and sociable but also shameless attention-seekers. Ed Davad

EIJING—Donald J. Trump has offered views on US relations with Asia that could indicate radical shifts in long-standing policy toward the region. From opposing free-trade agreements to confronting China and questioning Japan-South Korea alliances, he appears set to be charting a course far different from previous administrations. Yet, in other areas, including North Korea, India and Pakistan, Trump appears ready to carry forward well-established US policy. As Trump prepares to be sworn in as president on Friday, here is a look at some of the stand-out issues and how developments might play out: ■ Trade—Trump says he plans to scrap the 12-nation trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, (TPP). The pact was the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s outreach policy to America’s Asian partners, known as “the pivot”, which also involves a greater military commitment to the region. Obama said the TPP would allow the US to impose higher labor, environmental and humanrights standards, as well as give US businesses access to some of the fastest-growing economies. The deal would have slashed 18,000 taxes that other countries impose on American goods and services, but Congress failed to act, amid skepticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Trump’s opposition to free-trade agreements has fueled fears of protectionism and puts him at odds not only with US trading partners but also with many in the Republican Party. Killing the TPP may open the way for other regional free-trade initiatives, including those pushed by rival China. “With the US withdrawing from TPP, Japan will have to redesign its external economic policy,” said Harukata Takenaka, politics professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Other options “may not be easy,” Takenaka said. ■ China—Trump raised China in speech after speech during his campaign, at times accusing the country of ripping America off in trade and threatening a 45-percent tariff on all Chinese imports. Things turned far more serious after his election win when he took a phone call from the president of self-governing Taiwan, upending four decades of diplomatic protocol barring such direct contacts. Critics accused him of ignoring the “one-China policy,” long considered unassailable in China-US relations, to which Trump responded by questioning why the US should be bound by such an arrangement without economic incentives. He again touched on the issue in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Friday, saying “everything is under negotiation, including ‘one China.’” While the Chinese government’s response was muted, the official China Daily newspaper said he was “playing with fire.” Trump has also criticized the Chinese military’s island-building program in the South China Sea, and accused it of blocking US imports through high taxes and manipulating its currency to the detriment of American exports. AP

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‘No grounds to impose martial law at this time’ By Butch Fernandez

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@butchfBM

ENATOR S are war y over President Duterte’s disclosure made over the weekend about exercising his option to run the country under martial law if the administration’s bloody antidrug war becomes “really virulent”. While Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said “there was nothing to worry about,” Sen. Leila de M. Lima warned that “such adventurism” could lead to Duterte’s downfall. Asked if there was a legal basis for the Palace option to impose martial law, Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III replied: “None...at the moment.” For his part, Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin M. Drilon, who once served as secretary of justice, reminded Duterte that two requisites must be present to legally enforce martial rule. “The 1987 Constitution only allows the declaration of martial law upon concurrence of two requisites: when there is actual invasion or rebellion and when public safety requires it,” Drilon said. He also defended the media who, he noted, were again blamed by the Palace of allegedly misreporting the President’s remarks. “The way I see it, the news reports were devoid of any interpretation by the media,” Drilon said, noting that “the reports were based on the President’s speech and the statements were quoted verbatim.” We should not blame the press for reporting what the President said, Drilon said, adding, “The truth is, mere talk of martial law is enough to send chills to the spine of Filipinos. Therefore, it should not be taken lightly.” Pimentel promptly played down concerns triggered by Duterte’s admission that the Palace was not ruling out the imposition of martial law to crush illegal-drugs syndicates. “Don’t worry about martial-law declaration,” Pimentel said in a text message to the BusinessMirror. “I am sure the President would make a lot of consultations before doing that.” And when Duterte does consult other government leaders and his legal advisers, Pimentel said the President “will be reminded about the constitutional provisions about martial law, the key words of which are: 1. Invasion or rebellion; and, 2. Public safety requires it.” This developed as neophyte Sens. Sherwin T. Gatchalian and de Lima gave contrasting positions on Duterte’s option. Gatcha l ian just laughed it off when asked about Duterte’s martial-law threat made over the weekend, even as de Lima said it could backfire on the President if the Palace goes ahead with such drastic option. “By now we should get used to the fact that rule of law is not one of the platforms of this administration,” de Lima said. “The President just does not care about it. A regime that tolerates and encourages, if not masterminds EJKs [extra-judicial killings], cannot be expected to do the least observance of the rule of law, like respecting the constitutiona l niceties of checks and balance in the declaration and imposition of martial law.” De Lima added: “So, even if there is no legal basis whatsoever for Duterte’s opinion of when he can or cannot impose martial law, it is already irrelevant in a regime that has discarded constitutional government and the Bill of Rights at the very start of its term.” See “Martial law,” A2