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Monday, January 22, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 103

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Ease foreign-ownership limits first, Congress told By Elijah Felice E. Rosales & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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@alyasjah @joveemarie

usiness groups urged Congress to prioritize the amendment of the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership as it moves to revise the highest law of the land, but maintained that the two chambers must vote separately in respect to the Senate’s autonomy. The Makati Business Club, M a n a ge me nt A sso c i at ion of the Philippines and the Financial Executives Institute of the

Philippines said they back Congress’s move to amend the 1987 Constitution. They are most particular with their support on the

It will be unfortunate if the Philippines fails to take advantage of this golden opportunity and realize the potentials that a liberalized trade and investment regime will bring.” proposal to lift economic restrictions in the Constitution, saying this will pave the way for a more conducive business environment. “Since 2000 Philippine business

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Even in policy-making, there is a time for everything BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo

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e all want a perfect world. Just before 2017 came to a close, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) package was enacted into law. Given the state of income distribution in the Philippines, this is expected to spare 99 percent of the Filipino population from paying income tax because those earning not more than P250,000 per annum will now be tax-exempt. Under the new law, there is a “simpler” and “fairer,” income-tax system that will benefit almost everyone.

Dreaming of utopia

Recently, there have been some segments of the community who would like to have another sort of TRAIN. There are banks who were reported to be complaining of “tightness” in liquidity in the Philippine financial system. In fact, some of them are now raising the specter that the financial system is in a very tight liquidity situation that should warrant a reduction in the reserve requirements (RR).

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Antitrust agency to look BMReports into trade practices of rice importers this year ‘Capitalism with a heart,’ v. 3.0 gaining more advocates in PHL

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he Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) vowed to use its iron fist against competition-law violators this year, and one of the industries it intends to investigate is the rice sector. I n a n i nter v ie w w it h t he BusinessMirror, PCC Commissioner Johannes R. Bernabe said the PCC will look into the rice industry to assess if there are anticompetitive practices within the circle of rice importers. “As you know, our chairman, [Arsenio M. Balisacan], is a former National Economic and Development Authority head, and I think he is always concerned [that] poverty has not been alleviated in the Philippines, so he identifies rice

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The number of industries that will be scrutinized by the PCC this year for possible anticompetitive practices

as one of the primary concerns,” he said. The PCC will probe the rice sector, along with eight others, this year for reported anticompetitive practices. Aside from rice, the antitrust agency will also do a market study on meat and poultry, pharmaceutics, land transportation, See “Antitrust,” A2

Long shutdown could hurt US economy, a short one just a ‘blip’

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f the shutdown lasts just days or even a couple of weeks, the robust stock market that President Donald J. Trump has boasted about probably will emerge unscathed. A longer impasse, economists say, could rattle consumer and investor confidence, pulling stocks lower and dragging down the economy. Economists and investment advisers interviewed by The Associated Press generally didn’t foresee the shutdown that began last Saturday lasting long enough to stifle the economy much. With pivotal elections in

November, both parties would want to shield voters from any pain. Investors and consumers are feeling optimistic now based on the tax cut signed into law last month, and the economy is strong enough to power through a short shutdown. But Randy Warren, CEO of Warren Financial Service, a Philadelphiaarea investment advisory firm, said a shutdown that drags on for six weeks or longer—an unimaginable scenario— could kill a bull market and discourage people from spending money. See “US economy,” A12

PESO exchange rates n US 50.7550

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @rizreyes

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Part One

NTONIO S. Yap is a big man with a big heart who wants to go bigger, particularly in the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Yap is the founder and chairman of the Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation (BCYF), a group based in Mabalacat, Pampanga, that has been advocating CSR for the past 24 years. In the past decade, CSR evolved from companies giving to charitable donations to communities where they operate in to ensuring profits were gained from methods that enhance the environment, employees and economy of the community. Referred to as “capitalism with a heart,” the practice of CSR is now concerned with one of the expected outputs of capitalist production: innovation. Attaining social innovation, in general, is the core of “CSR 3.0,” CSR’s current version. For Yap, CSR 3.0 focuses on developing social enterprises. He explained that social enterprises, if harnessed of their full potential, can be effective agents of progress. Moreover, Yap told the BusinessMirror that he believes social enterprises deserve to be supported because they have integrated social objectives in their operations. As it turns 25 this year, Yap said the BCYF is going to further push CSR 3.0 in the Philippines. “We are going to become more

A farmer rides a carabao to go to his rice field in Nueva Ecija. Farmers are one of the many sectors that are expected to benefit from a newer version of corporate social responsibility, or CSR. NONIE REYES

active in the promotion of CSR 3.0 this year. Under our CSR development program, we think that social development is going to create more impact when individuals make a personal socialresponsibility commitment to help society and make CSR a lifestyle of citizenship, sustainability and social responsibility,” Yap told the BusinessMirror in an exclusive interview in San Juan City.

BCYF envisions to have helped at least 100 social enterprises reach at least P50 million (nearly $1 million) in capitalization by 2027.

Programs

THE seeds of Yap’s engagement along the lines of CSR are credited to his father, Catalino D. Yap Sr. According to the BCYF web site, the elder Yap was a moving force behind the First Philippine

Conference on Research in CSR while writing a proposal on how the Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas “might be able to get more involved in CSR, particularly CSR research.” Upon establishing the BCYF in 1993 in honor of the elder Yap, the group created programs for the practice of CSR: the Volunteer Development Program (VDP) and

n japan 0.4570 n UK 70.5139 n HK 6.4927 n CHINA 7.9082 n singapore 38.4420 n australia 40.5837 n EU 62.1241 n SAUDI arabia 13.5343

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Source: BSP (19 January 2018 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, January 22, 2018

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‘Capitalism with a heart,’ v. 3.0 gaining more advocates in PHL Continued from A1

the CSR Development Program (CSR DP). The latter is the other component of BCYF’s Social Development Model. Through the VDP, BCYF believes that harnessing the volunteerism spirit of individuals will lead to the development of a conscious lifestyle of citizenship, sustainability and social responsibility. Meanwhile, the CSR DP aims to make social development a part of the individuals lifestyle through making a “Personal Social Responsibility Commitment to help society and Make CSR a Lifestyle.” This is what BCYF defines CSR 3.0 The BYCF also believes in the importance of inclusive growth in society.

It has established the Social Development Areas (SDAs) to help areas where a “social development intervention”—such as social enterprise, social business and policy work, among others—will produce a significant impact on the area’s economy within the next 10 years. The development of social enterprises in the country is a good response to promote inclusive growth in the country where 25 percent of population is living below the poverty line.

Driver of change

ELMER Lenzen, founder and CEO of Macondo P ubl ish i ng GmbH, said CSR 3.0 is the future that will become one of the drivers of change in society. Macondo Publishing is behind the CSR

Academy and the Global Compact International Yearbook. “CSR 3.0 describes one possible —and desirable—future: a sustainable change in the underlying conditions, a new understanding of economy and value creation,” Lenzen said in his essay, titled “Where does CSR begin? Where does it end?” “It also represents a new understanding of social responsibility and participation.” According to Lenzen, CSR 3.0 “would require a redefinition and rethinking of the relationship of the state, the economic system and civil society.” Lenzen said under CSR 3.0, companies will be more active in carrying out the tasks assigned to them. Instead of companies simply being subject to regulations, he said

business organizations will be crafting the regulations themselves. “CSR 3.0 is concerned with themes in society that influence business activities in a broader and indirect sense, such as human rights and education inside and outside the company.” Instead of bureaucrats and politicians, he sees a group of other actors that will be more active in shared responsibility. Nevertheless, Lenzen warned that the approach is going to be a source of conflict if companies start to develop an influence on state functions, such as education, health and immigration and conflict resolution. “In sum, CSR 3.0 deals with subjects that are highly topical, complex and often controversial,”

Govt agencies, tourism stakeholders unveil MICE Roadmap 2030 Continued from a12

In the 2016 ICCA statistical report on country and city rankings, the Philippines placed 48th out of the 116 countries worldwide and 14th of 35 countries in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions in terms of having the most number of meetings. “The Philippines ranked eighth worldwide and first in the Asian region in the annual listing of leading world convention destinations in 1982. With this road map, we can reclaim our rightful place as a MICE powerhouse,” Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr said. In her welcome remarks, BOI Executive Director for Industry

Antitrust. . . Continued from A1

air transportation, agricultural credit, digital commerce, retail and telecommunications. Bernabe said the market study on rice will try to identify anticompetitive practices in the industry and how this contributes to the capacity of consumers to purchase the staple. He added the PCC will pinpoint if the sector do have cartels. “Rice [is the most] basic staple [in

Development Services Maria Corazon Halili-Dichosa noted that MICE was included in the Department of Trade and Industry’s Investment Priorities Plan for 2017. Describing it as a form of corporate tourism, she added MICE “is a big revenue earner and contributes a major share to the country’s tourism hospitality industry…. It is among the drivers for hotel demand.” MICE also boosts downstream industries, giving businesses to local furniture makers, agribusiness and fisheries, food and beverage and retail , especially souvenir shops. Teo, meanwhile, assured Paceos

that the government fully supported its efforts to bring back the Philippines’s luster as an international event venue. The country was the first in Southeast Asia to host the International Monetary Fund annual meeting in 1976, which was the reason the PICC was constructed. “Since the cooperation between the private sector and the government is very, very good, especially in crafting the road map, I’m very positive that we can reach our goals for the industry. Launching the MICE Roadmap 2030 is the signal that we are looking at the direction for the MICE

industry,” Paceos President Jing Lagandaon said. Among the key strategies of the MICE Roadmap 2030 is to provide enabling policies and institutional support, accelerate infrastructure improvements, develop a highly competitive human resource and strengthen research and development. Accord ing to t he A MR I nter n at ion a l ’s Globe x 2017 Report, the Philippines is the fastest-growing trade fair market in Asia in 2016, where space sold jumped by 9.6 percent and a MICE delegate spends nearly six times more than what an average leisure tourist spends.

our country]. I think beyond whatever policy the government has in place, what is important from the PCC’s perspective is to see whether there are distribution channels that might have certain practices, which we will need to look at from a competition angle,” Bernabe said. However, Bernabe admitted the PCC has yet to consult the National Food Authority (NFA) on the planned investigation into the rice industry, but will do so once the market study is completed. The market study will cover all aspects

of the sectors to be probed and the PCC will make policy recommendations to concerned government regulators based on it. “It can be that the issue paper will say the problem lies elsewhere. It [might] not be anything regarding policies, maybe [it] has got to do with ensuring that distribution channels or the logistics sector is improved and opened up to more competition,” he added. PCC Commissioner Stella Luz A. Quimbo said the nine industries will be scrutinized because

they were deemed by the agency as most crucial to consumers. “As you know, we had identified priority sectors, and these sectors tend to be those that would have a big impact to consumers,” she said last Wednesday. Most of the market studies will be conducted by the state’s think tank, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, in compliance to a memorandum of agreement with the PCC. All of the market studies are expected to be completed within the year.

he said adding that with these, pursuing CSR 3.0 is not going to be a walk in the park. “Great challenges call for great efforts.”

The macro view

BENEFICIARIES of whatever good companies exude are more than a few as government data reveals Filipinos are getting poorer. In its latest report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said five of the nine basic sectors identified in Republic Act (RA) 8425 have higher poverty incidence than the general population. Among the nine basic sectors, the PSA reported farmers, fishermen and children belonging to families with income below the official poverty threshold or poor families posted the highest poverty incidences in

2015 at 34.3 percent, 34.0 percent and 31.4 percent, respectively. The PSA said these sectors placed consistently as the top 3 sectors with the highest poverty incidence in 2006, 2009 and 2012. Furthermore, five of the nine basic sectors consisting of farmers, fishermen, children, self-employed and unpaid family workers, and women, belonging to marginalized families, reported higher poverty incidence than the general population estimated at 21.6 percent in 2015. The PSA estimates poverty incidence for the 14 basic sectors identified in RA 8425, or the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act, using the income and sectoral data from the merged Family Income and Expenditure Survey and the Labor Force Survey. To be continued

Foreign ownership. . . “A Con-con body…will be purposely elected for the specific task of revising the Constitution and, therefore, individuals who wish to be elected for this role can properly present themselves and their views during the campaign period. While such mode would entail greater costs to implement and probably more time, it should be seen as a justifiable investment that will result to significant social returns in the long run,” the groups said. Rep. Roger G. Mercado of the Lone District of Southern Leyte said amending the Constitution through a Con-con is not practical, as it will cost the government around P11 billion. He said it will be economical if senators and congressmen just convene as a constituent assembly (Con-ass).

Federal government The power of legislation and the power of the purse should be given to federal assemblymen alone under the proposed Philippine Federal government, a leader of the House of Representatives said last Sunday. Rep. Vicente Veloso of the Third District of Leyte, vice chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said the power of lawmaking and the power of the purse should be vested only to federal assemblymen to expedite the passage of measures and enactment of laws. “We are thinking that legislation will be basic responsibility of congressmen...we call them federal assemblymen,” Veloso said in a radio interview. Veloso, also chairman of a subcommittee proposing amendments to the 1987 Constitution, said senators should instead focus on the confirmation of appointment of other government officials and treaty ratification. He said the Senate may also be used as “training ground for presidency.” “The Senate, we will make it a point to be the training ground for presidency. They don’t have to concern anymore on the [annual] budget [deliberations] and lawmaking. [But] they could focus on confirmation of appointed government

Farmers. . .

Continued from A12

GSP+ has been an important tool in making the country’s economic growth more inclusive. It also encourages investors to come in and provide job opportunities to many Filipinos,” Lopez said. In its report, the EU also expressed its concern over the country’s human-rights situation under the Duterte administration. The fate of the country’s trade privilege with the European Union remains uncertain, with the regional bloc again criticizing the government for its war on illegal drugs. Though the assessment took note of the country’s progress in addressing areas, such as gender equality, human trafficking, labor rights, among others, it, nonetheless, took note of the “cases of extrajudicial killings” in the country. T he EU also criticized the government’s move to reintroduce the death penalty and seek

Continued from A12

officials, including in the Judiciary and treaty ratification,”added Veloso, a former Court of Appeals associate justice.

Voting separately Veloso also said the 1987 Constitution was very clear and not silent on the joint voting issue during a Con-ass. He said Congress, which is composed of the Lower House and Upper House, should vote jointly when it convenes into Con-ass to propose amendments to the Constitution. “Section 23, Paragraph 1 [of the Constitution] shows that only Congress can declare that we are in state of war...Congress voting separately. Meaning, they know how to use the term voting separately. Not only that, Article seven, Section 9, on the vacancy in the Office of Vice President. The president will nominate either a senator or a congressman to become the vice president. And that nomination will have to be confirmed by Congress voting separately. So in two occasions, in two different articles, they used the words voting separately,” Veloso added. “So [the question here is] why they did not mention it in Article XVII on constituent assembly? If we vote separately all that is needed is seven senators or three-fourths of the Senate,” he said. Earlier, Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez said the House of Representatives is maintaining its position on the issue of joint voting. “The 1987 Constitution was clear that Congress should vote jointly in a constituent assembly,” Alvarez said. Senators have earlier argued that voting should be done separately because the greater number of the House would practically drown out the Senate position. Section 1, Article seven of the Constitution provides that “any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by: Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members.” “We are the representatives of the people. We are the nearest link to the people, so why should the senators’ votes outweigh he congressmen’s?” Alvarez added.

the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility. “The way the campaign against illegal drugs is conducted is a matter of grave concern, in particular, the large number of drug-related killings, as well as the sharp increase in prison overcrowding. The government is encouraged to reconsider its approach to drug-related killings,” the assessment read. In a text message to the BusinessMirror, Lopez said he is confident Manila will retain its GSP+ with the European Union in spite of disagreements between the two camps on the thrust on illegal drugs. “Discussions on this continue, and they [the EU] know they have to substantiate first so they continue to monitor [the country’s humanrights situation],” he said. He also said the European Commission has not recommended the removal of the country’s trade privilege. The GSP+ allows the country to export more than 6,000 eligible products duty-free to the large EU market.

The Nation BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, January 22, 2018 A3

Duterte welcomes 2 NPA surrenderees

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AVAO CITY­—President Duterte last Saturday vowed an inclusive government for all as he welcomed two New People’s Army (NPA) rebel returnees. During the presentation of the NPA rebels at Matina Enclaves here, the Chief Executive pledged that NPA surrenderees would be welcomed and accepted. Duterte expressed his gratitude to the two former rebels for deciding to surrender to government.

At the same time, Duterte appealed to the former NPA members for their continued support to his administration. The President assured the rebel returnees of government’s protection and assistance as they begin to immerse in the civilian way of life.

In previous statements, Duterte urged members of the NPA to surrender, vowing to provide them with houses and jobs. Earlier, the President said it is his obligation to protect the rebels who will surrender to the government. Each of the former rebels was given a transitory housing unit, cash and financial assistance, food packs and a smartphone. Meanwhile, Duterte reiterated his desire for peace, noting that the war between the government and the communists has went on for an extended period of time. According to the President, the economy in Mindanao, as well as in the whole country, would improve once peace is achieved. He recalled that, in his years as the mayor of Davao City, his friendship with the communist rebels was forged by the shared experience of poverty. The President referred to this as a common ground in understanding ideology and social issues. Duterte, however, said that, as President, addressing the country’s national security is his top priority and sought for the communists’ understanding. PNA

13K migratory birds seen in Bataan —2018 Asian Waterbird Census

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ALANGA CITY—Some 13,065 migratory birds were present in one day in wetlands in this Bataan city, the Asian Waterbird Census recorded last Saturday. There was a slight decrease compared with15,075 birds counted on January 22. Representatives of the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Tourism (DOT) and the Wild Bird Club made the count in barangays Lote, Sibacan, Puerto Rivas Ibaba, Puerto Rivas Itaas and Tortugas—all seaside villages in this city. The DOT has declared the five villages as among birdwatching sites in the country. The DENR-led waterbird census is simultaneously held in various birdwatching sites every January. It is an

international endeavor of scientists to monitor the population of waterbirds in Asia. The bird count started in Balanga City in 2009. Based on the latest report, there are 63 species of migratory birds, mostly small, medium and large egrets, whis-

kered tern and black-winged stilt frequenting Balanga. The birds arrive in the city’s wetlands starting September to escape the harsh cold winter days in mainland Asia and Europe, and then return to their countries of origin in March. PNA

KMU urges govt to inspect special economic zone locators nationwide By Samuel Medenilla

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@sam_medenilla

ilitant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) called on the government to conduct a nationwide workplace inspection in special economic zones (SEZ) after the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) was hit by another fire incident last week. “We demand an immediate, independent and mandatory Fire Safety, Occupational Health and Safety and Labor Standards inspection in all companies inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone and in all Special Economic Zones all over the country,” KMU Secretary-General Jerome Adonis said. Last Friday two facilities owned by House Technologies Inc. (HTI) and Scad Services, its sister company, were charred by a blaze. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fires. According to the local government of Cavite, no casualty was recorded from the latest fire incidents within the HTI’s compound. Adonis, however, said the fire incidents within the SEZs is getting alarming as they endanger the lives of workers. Last year five HTI workers died and hundreds were injured after a fire gutted one of its facilities in CEPZ.

Meanwhile, 37 employees also perished from the gutted NCCI mall in Davao City last month. The NCCI mall has a SEZ. KMU blamed the fire incidents to the failure of the government to enforce the Fire Code and occupational safety and health standards (OSHS) especially within SEZs. “ The government has fully offered workers’ lives in the altar of super profits for big foreign businesses in special economic zones by allowing them to run their own kingdom free of any government regulation and inspection. Hence, these economic zones have turned into death zones for thousands of Filipino workers,” Adonis said. To prevent similar cases from recurring, Adonis added the Department of Labor and Employment should finally scrap voluntary compliance and selfinspection for establishments. He also said the Senate should also act on the pending occupational safety and health bill, which will provide stiffer sanctions against companies violating OSHS. “The government’s failure to heed these demands will make workers vulnerable to yet another workplace tragedy. We will hold President Duterte fully responsible should another worker die in their workplace,” Adonis added.

Sen. Revilla asks High Court to stop Sandiganbayan plunder proceedings By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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ETAINED Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. has asked the Supreme Court to stop the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s proceedings and from compelling him to present evidence in connection with the plunder and graft cases filed against him for alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel. In a 62-page petition for certiorari filed through his counsel, former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza, Revilla also sought his provisional release from jail pending the High Court’s action on his petition. The senator argued that the proceedings before the Sandiganbayan violate his constitutional right to due process, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusations against him, to have an impartial trial and to meet the witnesses face to face. Revilla is principally questioning the Sandiganbayan’s ruling issued on December 7, 2017 denying his motion to file a demurrer to evidence that would have sought the dismissal of his plunder case in connection with the multibillion-peso pork-barrel scam, as well as its December 28, 2017, resolution denying his motion for reconsideration. The anti-graft court, in the said decision, instead directed the senator to submit his evidence that would disprove the allegations against him.

Revilla is also questioning the Sandiganbayan’s February 23, 2017, resolution denying his motion to quash the case, as well as his motion for reconsideration. For issuing the said resolutions, the petitioner accused the Sandiganbayan of failure to perform its constitutional duty to enforce his rights that resulted to his continued detention in the past four years. “The Sandiganbayan order of December 7, 2017, principally challenged in the instant petition, in ruling that there is a need for the accused to present their evidence, implicitly, by way of defense or more directly put, to controvert the charge in the information and the evidence offered by the prosecution, violates petitioner’s right to ‘due process’ and disregards that petitioner is ‘presumed innocent’ even at this stage of proceedings,” Revilla argued. Revilla insisted that the prosecution has failed to offer any evidence to show that he or his representative personally received at least P224 million in kickbacks or commissions from alleged pork-barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles. “In the instant case, the petitioner has been in the game not just with one arm tied to his back but with both eyes completely blinded,” Revilla lamented. Revilla maintained that his petition for demurrer of evidence should have been granted due to the prosecution’s failure to present evidence linking him to the pork-barrel scam. Aside from the nullification of

the December 7, 2017, ruling of the Sandiganbayan and asking for his immediate release from detention, Revilla also asked the Court to issue a temporary restraining order to enjoin the Sandiganbayan from conducting proceedings on the case for the purpose of receiving his evidence against the case which will start on January 25. Revilla’s camp earlier argued before the Sandiganbayan that the court’s First Division erred in its December 7 ruling denying his motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence. “At bottom, the ruling of the Court that ‘there is a need for the accused to present their evidence’ requires the accused to prove his innocence, reversing the immutable right of an accused ‘to be presumed innocent,’” the senator said. R e v i l l a m a i nt a i ne d t h at t he p ro s e c ut io n’s e v id e nc e against him is “grossly and patently” inadequate in proving that he committed the elements of plunder provided under Republic Act 7080 or the plunder law. Revilla reiterated that the prosecution also failed to establish the “combination or series of overt criminal acts” he supposedly committed in order to amass kickbacks or commissions from the pork scam, which, based on the charge sheet filed by the Ombudsman in June 2014, amounted to P224.5 million. Revilla is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Lawyer protests leaked Comelec decision

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lawyer has lambasted the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division for issuing a decision on a petition filed by a losing mayoral candidate against his client on the same day the petition was filed and for leaking the copy of the said decision to the camp of the petitioner, even before it could have been served to them. In a statement issued by Atty. Manuelito R. Luna, cocounsel for the private respondent Mayor Daphne Lagon of Tuburan, Cebu, he said that he found it disconcerting for the Comelec Second Division, presided by Commissioner Al Parreno, to grant the January 19 ex parte motion for the issuance of a preliminary injunction filed by losing protestee Democrito Diamante, on the very day it was filed, January 19, 2018, without first directing his client, to answer it. The lawyer said he even inquired from the Electoral Contests Adjudication Department (Ecad) of the Comelec on January 19, if there was an order or resolution on the said motion, but the Ecad said there was none. “I find it disconcerting for the Second Division of the Comelec, presided over by Commissioner Al Parreno, to grant the January 19 ex

parte motion for the issuance of a preliminary injunction filed by losing protestee Democrito Diamante on the very day it was filed, January 19, 2018, that is, and without first directing my client, winning PDP [Partido Demokratiko Pilipino] protestant for the mayor of Tuburan, Cebu province, Daphne Lagon, to answer,” Luna said. “Worse, when I inquired from the Comelec’s electoral adjudication department last Friday [January 19] whether there was an order or resolution on said motion, they said that there was none.” But Luna added he and the supporters of Mayor Lagon were shocked when, at 11 p.m. on the same date (January 19), they learned that there has been a leakage of the decision, which they read from a Facebook account, identified with the other camp. In the said leaked decision, the Comelec Second Division has granted the motion for a writ of preliminary injunction filed by Diamante against Lagon. He lamented that he was only informed by Ecad about such issuance at past 10 a.m. on January 20. “Who in the commission leaked the order or gave a copy of the same to the other side even before it could be served to me?” he asked, adding

that this is a gross violation of the Comelec rules of procedure and the due process clause. “In my 20 years of election-law practice at the Comelec, I’ve never encountered such travesty of justice,” he said. “The commission has committed another political injustice against the people of Tuburan, Cebu province, who voted for my client, PDP Mayor Daphne Lagon,” Luna added. “We will assail this injustice up to the highest court if needed.” It was learned that Diamante was the candidate of the Liberal Party in the May 2016 election against Lagon, who ran under the banner of Partido PDP. After the election, Diamante was proclaimed the winner after he got 17,140 votes over Lagon’s 17,094. But, after Lagon had filed an election protest, the court declared that she was the actual winner after a recount. She reportedly got 17,220 votes, over Diamante’s 17,127 votes. The regional trial court decision ordered Diamante’s proclamation as winner to be “recalled and set aside,” but the losing candidate said he would appeal the decision, up to the High Court.

Economy

A4 Monday, January 22, 2018 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

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DOLE urged to exempt skilled workers from OFW deployment ban to Kuwait

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

pact of AO 25, since its members deploy an average of 1,100 OFWs to Kuwait a week. Philaak said AO 25 should only cover Filipino household service workers (HSW), who are usually the victims of workplace abuses abroad. The group made the statement after the DOLE issued AO 25 last Friday, ordering the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to temporarily suspend the processing of new overseas employment certificates (OEC) for OFWs headed to Kuwait. An OEC is a requirement of the POEA for Filipino workers before they could work abroad. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said AO 25 will remain in place until the investigation into the cause of deaths of the seven OFWs in Ku-

IN photo, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) process their documents at the office of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in Mandaluyong City. Local recruitment agencies asked the government to reconsider its ban on the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait. NONOY LACZA

wait has been completed. The seven OFWs have been identified as Liezl Truz Hukdong, Vanessa Karissha L. Esguerra, Marie Fe Saliling Librada, Arlene Castillo Manzano, Devine Riche Encarnacion, Patrick Sunga and Mira Luna Juntilla.

A day before the issuance of AO 25, President Duterte said the government is considering a deployment ban to Kuwait, citing the death of four OFWs due to alleged abuses in the Middle Eastern country. It was reported Kuwaiti officials are now coordinating with

their Philippine counterparts to refute “erroneous information” in Duterte’s statement. Based on its latest data, the POEA said 109,615 land-based OFWs were deployed in Kuwait in 2016. More than half, or 57,726 of them were newly hired HSWs.

Govt wants disaster-proof power facilities in PHL By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

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HE Department of Energy (DOE) signed last week an energy resiliency policy that seeks to strengthen existing energy infrastructure and systems. Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said the “Adoption of Energy Resiliency in the Planning and Programming of the Energy Sector to Mitigate Potential Impacts of Disasters” is meant to aid industry partners to plan and address potential impacts of disasters since the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters. Basically, the policy revolves around four principles: strengthen existing infrastructure facilities; implement the Build Back Better principle in terms of reconstruction and rehabilitation; improve existing operational, maintenance and practices to ensure continuous

operations and energy supply; and develop resiliency standards that will be used as basis in the future construction of energy facilities. “These principles are geared toward mainstreaming disaster-risk reduction to ensure energy resiliency as a priority to protect the people,” said Cusi, who signed the policy on January 17. One of the key features of the policy is the institutionalization of the Resiliency Compliance Plan, which provides engineering and nonengineering measures to ensure infrastructure and human-resource disaster preparedness. “Through this policy, we enjoin all the energy stakeholders to put upfront disaster risk-reduction programs into their respective planning and investments,” Cusi pointed out. To oversee the implementation of the policy, the DOE is strengthening the Inter-agency Task Force on

By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

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group of recruitment agencies appealed to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) last Sunday to allow the deployment of skilled and vacationing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait.

The Philippine Licensed Agencies Accredited to Kuwait (Philaak) is opposed to the DOLE’s Administrative Order (AO) 25 since it would affect hundreds of Kuwaitbound OFWs. “Many skilled workers who have been selected by companies in Kuwait will be most severely affected by the present suspension,” the Philaak said in a statement. “These skilled workers are IT [information-technology] professionals, store managers, maintenance personnel, electricians, plumbers, carpenters have been issued visas and are just awaiting their plane tickets from their employers,” it added. Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the Philaak expressed concerns about the im-

PSA revises Jan-Sept GDP growth figures

Securing Energy Facilities through the creation of the Task Force on Energy Resiliency. The task force is composed of representatives from the National Electrification Administration, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, National Power Corp., National Transmission Corp., Philippine National Oil Co. and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. The task force will continue its partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and the other agencies under the Department of National Defense. Earlier, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it is already implementing various resiliency measures to protect its power facilities in the event that a disaster takes place. “It’s something that we are already doing. We started doing that about three years ago,” Meralco President

Oscar Reyes said. Reyes added the utility firm continues to work on weather- and storm-hardening projects for improved resiliency. “We implement new design standards for our network to be resilient to cope up, for example, with wind speed.” Meralco told the DOE that the adoption of resiliency measures would require additional capital expenditures and operational expenditures. As such, distribution utilities (DUs) would need to be allowed to recover the expenses consequent to these resiliency measures within a reasonable period. “In the case of regulated entities, such as DUs, the recovery of capital and operational expenses is subject to the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),” said Meralco in a position paper. Reyes said he could not quantify the amount needed to implement

Developing countries should invest in electric vehicles in 2018–ADB T D

additional resiliency programs. “It will entail additional spending, but this is part of the norm.” The SN Aboitiz Power (Snap) also told the agency that it has put in place a program to protect its power facilities against natural disasters. Nonetheless, it assured the agency that it will comply with the policy. “As good corporate citizens and energy industry participants, SN Abpitiz Power-Magat Inc. and SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc…have ready and existing plans to protect its power assets, the nonpower components and the communities inhibiting the environs, including farmer-beneficiaries,” Snap Vice President-Chief Technology Officer Emmanuel Lopez said. SNAP owns and operates the 380-MW Magat Hydro-Electric Power Plant (HEPP), the 105-MW Ambuklao HEPP and the 140-MW Binga HEPP.

he Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revised the country’s GDP growth estimates in the third quarter of 2017 to 7 percent, from the initial 6.9 percent released in November last year. The country’s average GDP growth in the January-to-September period last year was at 6.7 percent and fell within the government’s full-year target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent for 2017. “The top 3 contributors to the upward revision were: manufacturing; trade and repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, personal and household goods; and mining and quarrying,” the PSA said. Revised PSA data showed the country’s manufacturing sector grew 9.4 percent; trade and repair of motor vehicles, motorc yc les, persona l and household goods grew 9.7 percent; and the mining and quarrying sector, 20.7 percent. W it h t h i s, t he aver a ge growth for the January-toSe ptember per iod for t he manufacturing sector was at 8.7 percent; trade and repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, personal and household goods, 9.7 percent; and the mining and quarrying sector, 16.1 percent. With the revisions, the Gross National Income (GNI) and Net Primary Income from the Rest of the World were also revised upward to 6.8 percent and 6 percent, respectively. The PSA said these were higher than the November estimates of 6.7 percent for GNI and 5.7 percent for Net Primary Income from the Rest of the World. The average growth for the January-to-September period last year of GNI was at 9.3 percent and for Net Primary Income from the Rest of the World, at 6.1 percent. The PSA revises the GDP estimates based on an approved revision policy (PSA Board Resolution 1, Series of 2017—053), which is consistent with international standard practices on national accounts revisions.

‘Booming stock market to create more jobs for Pinoys’ By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

eveloping member-countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) should invest in solar and electric vehicles, as this year will be the year of the electric car. In an Asian Development Blog, ADB Central and West Asia Department Principal Energy Specialist Sohail Hasne said the battle for solar and electric vehicles has been won and “countries would do well to take these alternative modes of transport seriously.” Hasne added 2018 has been declared as the year of the electric car. He said this year will see greater innovations in electric batteries that can power cars and homes. “[The year] 2018 will be way more exciting, and my slogan for this year is: The battle for solar and electric vehicles is over—either you are in [or] you are out. Make sure you are in, or you will in fact be left out,” he said. Hasne said that in 2018, the solar battery market to watch is Australia, especially with the recent announcement of the South Australian

government that it built the largest lithium-ion battery in the world for electricity network security services. In 2017 Hasne said Australia added over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar and around 17,000 home batteries. He added that the Tesla Battery at the Hornsdale Power Reserve absorbed between 15 to 26 MW for 194 minutes, when the wholesale electricity market had negative prices. Hasne said this meant the battery power station was paid about AU$1,000 or $795 per megawatthour to take electricity, which could be sold back to the grid at a higher price. “A year ago, I argued that with such low battery prices, those who still believe solar energy and storage would never wipe out investments in fossil fuels are living in denial. This still holds true, and the trend will escalate in 2018,” Hasne said. In 2017 the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) formed a unit that will maintain and operate transportation service networks using electric energy.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange last December, Meralco said the new subsidiary will cater to charging stations, batteries and vehicles utilizing electric energy and other alternative energy sources. Japanese automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., also disclosed its plans to offer over 10 purely electric-vehicle models in its pipeline by 2020. Toyota currently does not offer purely electric vehicles but leads in the sale of hybrid models. These hybrids exchanged a gas engine for an electric motor. Last year documents from the National Economic and Development Authority showed the national government canceled $359.76 million of the $400-million loan from the ADB and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). This amount is composed of the $268.06-million loan from ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources and $91.698 million from the CTF, which is managed in trust by the Manilabased multilateral development bank. Cai U. Ordinario

@joveemarie

he country’s booming stock market is expected to help drive jobs growth in the months ahead, a deputy minority leader said last Sunday. Rep. Luis N. Campos Jr. of the Second District of Makati City made the statement after two of the country’s largest lenders—Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)—announced plans to sell P60 billion and P50 billion worth of new common shares respectively via stock-rights offerings. “Some of the nation’s largest listed firms will surely take advantage of the surging market to sell new shares either through rights offerings or private placements, so they can generate fresh funds for business expansion. And when businesses expand, new jobs are always created,” Campos said. “Listed companies find it easier to offer extra shares for sale at a discount when stock prices are going up, and when there is great anticipation of prices rising further,” Campos added. Last week the two banks bared

their plans just as the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index hit a new record high of 8,969 points. According to Campos, the PSE index is so far up another 4.1 percent, or 257 points this year, closing last Friday at 8,915 points. The index closed 2017 up 25.1 percent at 8,558 points. “Both Metrobank and BPI said they intend to use the proceeds from their rights offerings to build up their resources and step up their lending activities to businesses, as well as consumers,” Campos said. Besides Metrobank and BPI, three other PSE-listed firms— Integ rated Micro -Electronics Inc., Robinsons Land Corp. and PetroEnergy Resources Corp.— have also bared plans to sell a total of P26.3 billion worth of new shares through rights offerings to fund their business expansion. Meanwhile, DoubleDragon Properties Corp. is set to conduct a P7.5billion follow-on share offering. Campos also sees the roaring stock market boosting consumer confidence and spending. “Households directly and indirectly invested in the stock market will be encouraged to spend a bit more, as the value of their savings

increase, thus, further driving the demand for goods and services and overall economic growth,” Campos said. He added that the National Treasury is also expected to gain from the “vibrant trading” at the PSE. “The government collects a significant amount of tax revenues from the stock market, including those from the stock transaction tax [STT] that Congress increased effective January 1,” Campos said. Under the new Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, Campos said Congress jacked up the STT to six-tenths of 1 percent from one-half of 1 percent of the gross value of the shares sold. “The STT collection every trading day at the PSE should increase by 20 percent due to the upward rate revision, without adjusting for any increase in aggregate value of the shares sold there [every day],” he said. According to Campos, an average of P8.06 billion worth of shares were sold every trading day at the PSE in 2017. “This implies that the government raked in some P40.3 million in STT revenues alone every trading day last year,” he added.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

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Farm-gate prices up nearly 5% in 2017

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rices received by farmers for their produce rose by almost 5 percent in 2017, as traders were forced to pay more for some crops that recorded declines in output, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In the PSA’s latest report, titled “Performance of Philippine Agriculture,” garlic recorded the biggest annual hike in farm-gate prices at 66.42 percent. Traders bought garlic at P85.82 per kilogram (kg) last year, from P51.57 per kg in 2016. While the garlic output of 7,750 metric tons (MT) last year was higher by 3.76 percent, it was not enough to meet local demand. Data from the PSA showed that traders paid more for mangoes, as the average farm-gate price rose by 37.26 percent to P39.31 per kg last year, from the previous year’s P28.51 per kg. Mango production in 2017 fell by nearly 10 percent to 737,030 MT, from 814,050 MT. The farm-gate prices of eggplant,

coffee, coconut, rubber, hogs, duck and seaweed also recorded doubledigit increases, according to data from the PSA. In the fourth quarter alone, the PSA said average farm-gate prices went up by 6.91 percent, with the crops subsector posting a gain of 4.28 percent. According to the PSA, traders increase their buying price for rice by 6.13 percent in the October-toDecember period as they anticipated the increase in market price due to the diminishing inventory of the National Food Authority. According to the PSA, traders also bought corn at a higher price because of the sustained demand for the crop for feed use, and

File photo

because production was lower. The PSA said the farm-gate prices of coconut, banana and pineapple rose in the fourth quarter due to the higher demand from food processors, local vendors, institutional buyers and tourists. At current prices, the gross value of agricultural production rose by nearly 4 percent to P1.71 trillion in 2017, from the previous year’s P1.57 trillion, according to PSA data. The value of crops output reached P965.12 billion last year, 3.14 percent higher than the P881.42 billion recorded in 2016. Palay production was valued at P349.18 billion, 14.64

percent higher than the previous year’s P304.59 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, agriculture grossed P500.4 billion, 9.27 percent higher than the previous year’s record. The gross value of output in the crops subsector amounted to P289.3 billion, representing a 7.05-percent annual expansion. According to the PSA, palay recorded a 10.76 percent gain in the gross earnings because of improvements in the volume of production coupled with higher prices. Gross receipts from corn grew by27.81 percent due to a significant increase in price in the fourth quarter.

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, January 22, 2018

US government proposes new rules for hog slaughter

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ES MOINES, Iowa—Federal government regulators proposed changes last Friday in the way most hogs slaughtered for meat in the United States are processed in a series of new rules that officials say improve industry practices, but critics say could imperil food safety. The new rules would allow hog- sl aughter pl a nts to voluntarily join a new proposed inspection system that would put plant employees in charge of determining which animals are unfit for processing. Government inspectors who currently per for m this function would be moved to other areas of the plant focused more on food safety, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting Deputy Undersecretar y for Food Safety Carmen Rottenberg said. The proposed rules are similar to ones rolled out in 2014 for the poultry industry. Critics have said such changes turn too much of the inspection and food-safety testing over to the companies, creating increased risk of food-borne illnesses from

Even in policy-making, there is a time for everything Continued from A1

At the same time, they are quick in proposing an increase in the BSP’s policy rate to mitigate any inflationary impact of the proposed monetary move. In theory, RR adds to banks’ intermediation cost and effectively acts as a tax on intermediation. The current RR ratio stands at 20 percent, which means that, for every P1 of deposit and deposit substitute generated by banks, the BSP requires that 20 centavos be set aside as buffer, representing the portion that banks cannot lend out. This is clearly a monetary measure to manage liquidity, as it is a prudential policy to ensure banks have liquid buffers in case of any contingency. There is a clear case to balance the interpretation and subsequent analysis whether the banking system is coming under increased strain to the point that the risks involved warrants a reduction in the RR soonest. Is this certainly the case?

ant, and credit growth is robust. Latest data shows that M3 (an indicator of money supply and liquidity) and bank lending continue to expand at double-digit rates. M3 grew by 14 percent year-on-year to about P10.4 trillion in November 2017, from P9.1 trillion last year. Meanwhile, loans extended by banks continued to expand robustly by 19.2 percent to P6.96 trillion, from P5.84 trillion for the same period.

Looking at the facts as fact IRC has paved the way for active liquidity management First, total placements in the BSP liquidity facilities amounted to almost P1.3 trillion on May 25, 2016 (last Wednesday of May), before the implementation of the interest rate corridor (IRC) system. The volume fell to P571 billion as of January 16, 2018. Ergo, the market must be tight. Is this the correct interpretation? Before the IRC, there was so much placement in BSP facilities but, today, the number says there is less. True. But where did the money go? Banks should be the first to know that they have been funding their clients’ higher need for loans. Loans grew by more than an average of 19 percent in 2017. Banks have also reduced their placements with BSP in order to buy foreign exchange for funding their clients’ imports, external debt payments and prepayments, as well as outward investments. This is precisely what the BSP wants to see happening. Banks should be more creative and aggressive in deploying deposits to fund productive activities, as well as managing their liquidity to minimize idle funds. We want the banks to reduce their reliance on Central Bank facilities and, instead, take on a more active role in increasing the economy’s productive capacity and promoting more economic activities. We want the banks to buy more government securities and help fund infrastructure and, in the process, also help develop and deepen the capital markets. This is what is happening, and it’s therefore puzzling why some would find the evolving condition as tight.

Credit and liquidity remains buoyant Second, there is no sufficient basis to say that liquidity is tight when money supply remains to be ample and buoy-

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Similarly, the liquidity received by the national government (NG) from selling securities would end up with the BSP as its depository or to the government’s own creditors and suppliers, who would place their payments back to the banks themselves. This circling of funds is called the money-multiplier process.

RR as the BSP’s liquidity-management tool and microprudential tool Third, we emphasize that the RR ratio is fundamentally a monetary tool, and reductions in the ratio will tend to have corresponding monetary—and, therefore, inflationary consequences. So, how is the inflation rate doing? The balance of risks to the inflation outlook is on the upside for 2018-2019. The BSP estimates that inflation could settle in the upper bound of the 3-percent ± 1- percentage point target range for 2018-2019 due to the significant upside risks, including those arising from the NG’s fiscal reform program. This means that, if we reduce the RR at a time when prices are expected to rise, then, while that makes a lot of sense for financial intermediation, it is bad for monetary policy. And, if interest rates are jacked up, the banks stand to gain on both fronts: more funds to lend at higher interest rates. They get back their funds from reserves for which they don’t get paid

contaminated meat, as well as an increased risk of inhumane treatment of animals. “We think that food safety is going to suffer from this,” said Tony Corbo, a senior lobbyist at Food & Water Watch, a Washington-based advocacy group that is calling for USDA to drop the proposed rules. “We opposed what they did in poultry, and we’re opposing what they’re doing here. This is a belated Christmas gift to the industry.” Rottenberg insists the changes could improve food safety and said they would still require government inspectors to look at all hog carcasses processed. “There is no single technology or process to address the problem of food-borne illness but, when we focus our inspections on food safety-related tasks, we better protect American families,” she said. The proposed rules would also increase the number of hogs plants could process by revoking limits on line speeds and allowing plants to determine their own speeds. Corbo argued the move could endanger workers and reduce quality control. AP

for, lend them out or place them with the BSP’s facilities to earn interest. Hence, the BSP will have to do its homework in finding the best time to adjust the RR. A good consideration without doubt is that such a move should be consistent with the BSP’s monetary-conditions assessment and the stance of monetary policy. RR adjustment is necessary, but not at the expense of price stability. At the same time, the liquidity released through a reduction in RR could fuel risk-taking activity and the buildup of risks to financial stability. Infusing liquidity into the financial system at a time of robust credit growth through a reduction in RR could fuel: (a) unnecessary lending and borrowing activities in sectors that warrant close monitoring, such as real estate; or (b) speculative activity against the peso.

Activation of liquidity ratios

Fourth, the BSP has just announced the activation of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), a macroprudential tool that addresses excess liquidity in the system. This move by the BSP to preemptively arrest excessive liquidity fundamentally implies that liquidity is not getting tighter. On the other hand, if there is overleveraging or excessive risk-taking activities in some sectors, there are macroprudential regulations, such as the LCR, that are in place. Monetary policy is not the cure for everything. There are more focused tools that directly constrain lending where it is in excess and, therefore, keep financial stability in check.

BSP’s powerful tools: Patience and time

Source: BSP Overall credit growth is also considered to be keeping pace with the requirements of the economy, with broad-based bank-lending growth reflecting solid demand for loans across key economic sectors and households. Now that the funds have been deployed as loans, payments for FX purchases and government securities, what happens next? There is a cycle here. The funds disbursed by Philippine banks to clients will actually circulate within the banking system. As loans, the liquidity is used by borrowers to pay their creditors and suppliers, who would, in turn, deposit their payments with their own banks. The funds used to buy dollars would also end up with the dollar-surplus banks, which sold the dollars for pesos in the first place.

Source: BSP

The BSP has particular interest in managing and providing the right amount of liquidity in the financial system, but prudent policy-making dictates that policy actions be evaluated vis-à-vis their stated objectives. The BSP’s main objective is to maintain price stability and monetary stability, not simply to reduce taxes (implicit tax brought about by the RR) that may result from its monetary policy. Against this backdrop, the BSP has always exercised patience in collecting data and calibrating policy scenarios. The BSP endlessly conducts surveys and assesses the impact of recent developments to ascertain any second-round effects and evidence of inflation expectations becoming more elevated. The BSP has effectively shifted to the IRC that absorbs liquidity, providing further latitude for the BSP to reduce its reliance on RRs for liquidity absorption at a proper timing, pacing and magnitude. These considerations, as being data-driven, depend on the current outlook for inflation, ample domestic liquidity, robust credit growth and potential risks to financial stability. Indeed, there is a time for everything, and this is also true for monetary policy.

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Monday, January 22, 2018 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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VP Pence: US stands with Egypt vs terror

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AIRO—Vice President Mike Pence and Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi pledged a united front against Mideast terrorism last Saturday as Pence, the highest-level American official to visit the United States ally in nearly a decade, began a trip through the region, amid a government shutdown in Washington. Pence told reporters that he raised the issue of two Americans who have been imprisoned for several years in Egypt and that el-Sissi said “he would give personal attention” to their cases. “We’d like to see our people come home. I made that clear to him,” Pence said before flying to Jordan. Pence and el-Sissi held twoand-a-half hours of talks at the presidential palace in Cairo, with acknowledgements of friendship and partnership between the two countries. Through a translator, Pence listened as el-Sissi cited the need to address “urgent issues,” including “ways to eliminate this disease and cancer that has terrified the whole world.” Pence pointed to President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to forge stronger ties with el-Sissi in his first year in office, “after a time when our countries seemed to be drifting apart.” The vice president said that “we stand shoulder to shoulder with you and Egypt in fighting

against terrorism” and that “our hearts grieve” for the loss of life in recent terrorist attacks against Egyptians. The vice president noted the deadly attack against Christians in late-December, when a militant opened fire outside a suburban Cairo church, killing at least nine people. He also cited the killing of 311 worshippers inside a mosque in northern Sinai last November. “We resolve to continue to stand with Egypt in the battle against terrorism,” Pence said. Pence arrived in Cairo hours after the US Congress and Trump failed to reach agreement on a plan to avert a partial federal closure. Pence went ahead with his fourday trip to the Middle East, citing national security and diplomatic reasons. Pence’s meetings with el-Sissi delved into security cooperation, economic ties and efforts to fight the Islamic State group. The vice president called it a “very productive” meeting and said he pressed el-Sissi to cut diplomatic ties with North Korea, urged him to respect

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi (right) at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, last Saturday, Pence arrived in Cairo hours after the US Congress and President Donald J. Trump failed to reach agreement on a plan to avert a partial federal closure. Khaled Desouki/Pool Photo via AP

religious diversity and told him the United States was committed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. His visit to the region came more than a month after Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a step that’s enraged Palestinians. El-Sissi identified “the peace issue” as one of the most important issues in their discussions. “We heard President el-Sissi out,” Pence said. “He said to me about what he said publicly about a disagreement between friends over our decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

We resolve to continue to stand with Egypt in the battle against terrorism.”–Pence Pence said he assured el-Sissi that “we’re absolutely committed to preserving the status quo with regard to holy sites in Jerusalem, that we have come to no final resolution about boundaries or other issues that will be negotiated.” He added: “I reminded President el-Sissi that President Trump said that if the parties agree, we will support a two-state solution. My

Merkel coalition on the line as SPD votes to talk or walk G

erman Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition plans are facing a make-orbreak vote as the Social Democratic Party (SPD), decide whether to help usher in her fourth term or walk away from government and risk pushing Europe’s biggest economy further into political uncertainty. Germany’s oldest political party is split over its future direction, and those divisions would play out at a national convention last Sunday in Bonn, where delegates were set to vote on whether to move forward on another government with Merkel or go into opposition. Investors were bracing for the outcome, with the euro forecast to drop if the SPD bows out. A “No” vote would rob Merkel of coalition options and force her to choose between a minority government or a repeat election. SPD head Martin Schulz, lawmakers and key labor chiefs lobbied the 600 delegates over the past week to back the leadership’s proposal to begin formal coalition talks, saying the party can achieve more if it stays in government. Kurt Beck, a former SPD chairman, said he expects the plan to pass with about 60 percent of the vote. “The party is very divided, like many Social Democratic parties across Europe,” Guntram Wolff, director of the Brussels-based Bruegel research group, said in an interview, predicting a “very tight” vote. Berenberg economist

Holger Schmieding said there’s a “better than even chance” of SPD backing.

count on SPD and Green party support for her European agenda.

Merkel and Macron

‘Another way’

On the table is a 28-page policy outline agreed by the two sides in a marathon session on January 12. SPD delegates must decide if it’s a sufficient basis on which to forge a common platform for government, even though many of them blame the party’s role as Merkel’s junior partner over the past four years for its electoral decline to a post-World War II low. A vote in favor would signal that Germany’s political center is holding and point toward an exit from a deadlock that’s held up policymaking in Europe. Merkel is already returning to the world stage, visiting French President Emmanuel Macron last Friday and scheduling her first speech in three years to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for Wednesday. “We’re waiting for the SPD conference and we’re hoping to start talks on forming a coalition and a stable government,’’ Merkel told reporters in Sofia during a visit to Bulgaria last Saturday. Merkel and the Social Democrats have governed together for eight of her 12 years in office, united by a pro-European stance that’s reflected in the preliminary deal. Even if efforts to set up a formal coalition pact fail and lawmakers elect Merkel chancellor of a minority government, she could broadly

Former Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a Merkel party ally, said a “grand coalition” is the preferred option but not the only way, according to an interview with Die Welt newspaper. “If it doesn’t succeed, it’s not a catastrophe,” he was quoted saying. “Then there’s another way.” It’s Merkel’s second attempt to form a government after her party won an inconclusive federal election last September. Even if the SPD vote goes her way, the party would still put any coalition pact to a ballot by its more than 400,000 members. Merkel, 63, remains popular with the voting public, with 54 percent in favor of her serving another term, according to a January 16 to 18 FG Wahlen poll published last Friday. Yet surveys also suggest her struggle to build a government and the prospect of another grand coalition of the two biggest parties is diminishing her standing. “The message of this government would not be one of a new beginning, but one of pragmatism and responsibility,” said Josef Janning, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “This grand coalition will symbolize the beginning of the end of one era, rather than the launch of a new one.” Bloomberg News

perception was that he was encouraged by that message.” When Pence’s motorcade arrived at the palace, journalists traveling with the vice president were initially barred from exiting their bus. After they were taken into the palace, media were not allowed into a photo session with the two leaders. Negotiations between US and

Egyptian officials followed, and Pence personally requested to elSissi that American media be allowed to cover the event. Members of the media were eventually taken into the meeting and heard the leaders deliver short statements. Pence was meeting last Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman and visiting with US troops in the region. He was traveling to Israel later last Sunday but was not expected to meet with Palestinians officials. El-Sissi has built a strategic alliance with Trump and urged the American president to become more involved in the fight against Islamic militancy in the Middle East. Trump has praised el-Sissi for the April release of EgyptianAmerican charity worker Aya Hijazi, who had been detained for nearly three years. But Trump’s designation of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital poses a dilemma for Egypt, which receives extensive military and economic aid from Washington but does not want to appear dismissive of Palestinian concerns. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has condemned Trump over the Jerusalem announcement and warned that the US can no longer play any role in future peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. El-Sissi has tried to reassure Abbas of his continued efforts to secure an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital. Pence had initially planned to visit the region last December, shortly after Trump’s announcement, but the trip was postponed after Abbas’ refusal to meet the vice president in Bethlehem. AP

Myanmar soldiers jailed for killing civilians in rare trial

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ANGKOK—A Myanmar military tribunal has sentenced six soldiers to 10 years in prison with hard labor for killing three civilians in war-torn Kachin state, officials said last Saturday, in a move welcomed by rights groups. The Kachin state police office said the tribunal handed down the sentence last Friday after finding the soldiers guilty of killing three ethnic Kachin civilians last September. The prosecution came after an internal investigation by the military. Min Zaw, a Kachin state police officer, said that during the hearing the six confessed that they were responsible for the killings. Kachin state is home to an ethnic rebel army that has been fighting the Myanmar military for more than seven years. More than 100,000 people have fled the fighting and live in refugee camps. Calls to the military information office rang unanswered last Saturday. The three civilians were among a group of five detained by soldiers last May while they were heading back to their refugee camp after gathering firewood near Hka Pra Yang village. Two of the men were released and

returned to the camp, while the bodies of the other three were found in a shallow grave three days later. Rights groups said the prosecution of the six soldiers was rare and the first step down a long road to ending military impunity. Still they raised concerns about the trial being held behind closed doors. “There’s a good reason for the military to keep these trials behind closed doors. It makes it a lot easier to cover up widespread and systematic abuses,” said David Baulk, Myanmar human-rights specialist for Fortify Rights. Myanmar’s military has been accused of violating human rights with impunity for decades, including in its conflicts with rebel groups. Most recently it has been accused of abuses during what it calls “clearance operations” against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. More than 650,000 Rohingya have left Myanmar for Bangladesh, fleeing what the United Nations calls ethnic cleansing. Myanmar’s military last week made a rare public admission of killing 10 Rohingya Muslims, whose bodies were found in a mass grave in a village in northern Rakhine. AP

Nafta talks to start early as teams push to deliver results; to be the longest round

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he North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) talks that are set to begin in Montreal will start on January 21, two days earlier than planned and last for nine days as teams from the United States, Canada and Mexico push to deliver results for a Cabinet ministers’ meeting on the final day, according to two people familiar with the plans. Two full days, January 27 and January 28, have been tentatively

reserved for reports to chief negotiators, who handle some of the toughest issues, and preparing for a January 29 ministers’ meeting, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the schedule isn’t public. Talks will begin on Sunday, with energy, investment, financial services, agriculture and other issues on the agenda, according to one of the people. Rules of origin—one of the thorniest subjects, related

to manufactured goods, such as cars—will be reserved for the final days of talks, as in previous rounds. The US is running out of patience with Canadian and Mexican resistance to key American proposals, according to two other people familiar with the matter. The United States is serious about its threat to withdraw if there’s no breakthrough on proposals the Trump administration

has made that are intended to rebalance trade, said one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations aren’t public. T he Trump administration wants to see serious counteroffers to US demands like tightening content requirements for cars. The tension between the US and its trading partners, especially Canada, sets up a pivotal round of talks.

W it h t he negot i at ion s on home turf, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will want to be seen standing up to Canada’s bigger neighbor and its Republican president. For its part, the US won’t be happy with merely procedural discussions on how to address the administration’s toughest demands. “There are indications that negotiations could produce some preliminary agreement on key

points,” said Benito Berber, senior Latin America economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. Those are “the comments from Economy Minister Guajardo from Mexico suggesting flexibility on rules of origin, comments from Minister Freeland from Canada suggesting some possible counterproposals to controversial issues and the mere length of the Montreal round of nine days, the longest round so far.” Bloomberg News

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Bitter bickering muddies path to end US government shutdown

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ASHINGTON—With the federal government one day into a shutdown, the House and Senate reconvened last Saturday for a new round of bitter partisan bickering and public posturing that seemed to cloud the path to a resolution despite initial talk of a compromise. The shutdown unfolded one year to the day after President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, and the political peril it risked for both parties was evident as they traded blame for the crisis. The Senate met for a rare weekend session at noon—less than 11 hours after it adjourned—and an exasperated-sounding Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican-Kentucky, the majority leader, took the floor. “Well, here we are,” he declared. “Here we are. Day 1 of the Senate Democrats’ government shutdown. We did everything we could to stop them.” He went on to point a finger at his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, saying that Schumer had created an “unfortunate hostage situation and led his party into this untenable position.” Schumer, in turn, blamed McConnell and Trump. “He’s turned blowing up bipartisan agreements into an art form,” Schumer said of the president, adding that “negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with Jell-O.” In the House, the proceedings at one point were interrupted by a dispute over whether a poster of Schumer, placed on an easel as a Republican lawmaker gave a speech denouncing Senate Democrats, was appropriate for display on the floor. The likeliest route for lawmakers to reopen the government is to agree on a stopgap spending measure that stretches longer than the few days that Senate Democrats want, but shorter than the four weeks that the House approved last Thursday. But agreeing on the length of the stopgap bill—essentially, a matter of circling a date on the calendar—is complicated by a number of contentious issues that lawmakers have yet to resolve, particularly the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, known as Dreamers,

“He’s [US President Donald J. Trump] turned blowing up bipartisan agreements into an art form…. Negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with Jell-O.” —Schumer brought to the country illegally as children. In an ominous sign for those who had hoped for a quick resolution, Trump’s campaign released an ad last Saturday, saying that Democrats who stand in the way of cracking down on illegal immigration “will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.” And while the government is closed, the White House is taking a firm stance against entertaining immigration demands. “The president will not negotiate on immigration reform until Democrats stop playing games and reopen the government,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary, who late last Friday night described Senate Democrats as “obstructionist losers.” McConnell is proposing to shorten the temporary spending bill so that it would expire on February 8, instead of February 16—an extension of three weeks instead of four. Senate Democrats did not immediately get on board with that idea, but McConnell said he would move

Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, speaks to reporters last Friday, as Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, looks on as the United States government enters a shutdown. Al Drago/The New York Times

ahead with a procedural vote on the proposal at 1 a.m. on Monday, unless Democrats allowed it to be held sooner. A bipartisan group of roughly 20 senators, who call themselves the Common Sense Coalition, met last Saturday afternoon in the office of Sen. Susan Collins, RepublicanMaine, to forge a compromise. Members said they were working on various proposals to present to McConnell and Schumer, with the hope that they would talk to each other. “We’re going to have to go back and reassess and try to give people a landing spot, a place where everybody feels like they can save a little face and at the same time move forward with getting government running again,” said Sen. Michael Rounds, Republican-San Diego, who participated. The Senate was scheduled to convene at 1 p.m. last Sunday, and the House at 2 p.m. Several members said they worried that if the shutdown dragged on, people on both sides would dig in, making it harder to come to terms on substantive issues like the fate of the Dreamers. “There is no defense to what we’re doing,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican-South Carolina, who also participated in the meeting. He added: “I think we look petty. We look that we care more about the party flag than the American flag.” The shutdown, the first since 2013, took effect after the vast majority of Senate Democrats, as well as a handful of Republicans, voted to block the spending bill that had

passed the House. Among that bill’s provisions was a six-year extension of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Earlier last Friday, Trump and Schumer had closed in on an agreement, but those talks eventually fell apart, and Schumer later blamed the president for backing away from a possible deal. To reopen the government, at least a dozen or so Senate Democrats will most likely need to agree to any deal, since 60 votes will be required for the measure to clear the Senate. The House would then have to give its approval, as well. House members had been scheduled to leave town last Friday for a weeklong recess, but members were advised to remain in Washington, given the possible need to vote on a Senate compromise. After Friday’s midnight deadline came and went, Schumer called for the president to sit down with congressional leaders from both parties to work out a deal that would allow the government to open on Monday. But Republicans, who moved swiftly to brand the crisis as the “Schumer shutdown,” did not seem eager to make concessions, and, in effect, reward Democrats for largely opposing the stopgap bill. “We do some crazy things in Washington, but this is utter madness,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, Republican-Wisconsin, said, adding, “Senate Democrats shut down this government, and now Senate Democrats need to open this government back up.” Trump assailed Democrats on

Twitter, pointing to the shutdown as a reason that more Republicans need to be elected in the midterm elections this year. “Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border,” the president wrote. “They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead.” The fate of the Dreamers is central to the standoff between the two parties. Last September Trump moved to end an Obama-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), that shielded those immigrants from deportation. The president gave Congress until earlyMarch to come up with a solution, and Democrats are eager to secure a deal that would protect them. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, RepublicanCalifornia, argued that Senate Democrats should not “hold 320 million Americans ransom” over helping “a handful of illegal immigrants.” But Democrats argued that it was, in fact, the ineptitude of Republicans—particularly of Trump, whom they describe as an erratic and unreliable negotiating partner—that had led to the shutdown. “Despite controlling the House, the Senate and the White House, the Republicans were so incompetent, so negligent, that they couldn’t get it together to keep the government open,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, said last Saturday morning after the House came into session. New York Times News Service

Monday, January 22, 2018 A7

Biz group: UK must stay in customs union with EU

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he United Kingdom should ensure it stays in a close and comprehensive customs agreement with the European Union (EU), providing tariff-free trade in all goods after Brexit, according to the leader of a major business group. Remaining in a customs union with the EU will be far more valuable than striking trade deals elsewhere, Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), will say on Monday, based on excerpts from her prepared remarks. “The idea behind a customs union is simple: a single set of tariffs for goods imported from outside the EU, enabling tariff-free trade within it,” Fairbairn will say. “It brings no obligations over freedom of movement, or payment and removes some of the heaviest trade barriers.” Prime Minister Theresa May aims to take Britain out of the EU’s 28-country customs union to gain the freedom to sign new trade agreements with other nations, such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Brexit-supporters in her Tory party say winning back the power to make Britain a “global trading nation” is a key prize of escaping the EU’s rules. But Fairbairn and other business leaders, such as Mike Thompson, who represents the country’s pharmaceutical industry, disagree. “Any change to existing customs arrangements could create border chaos, cause damaging delays and ultimately put patients and public health at risk,” Thompson, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said by in e-mailed remarks last Sunday. May’s ministers and officials are working to hash out what they want the final Brexit trade deal to look like. French President Emmanuel Macron last Saturday said the country will likely end up with something “between full access and a trade agreement.” The UK and EU aim to negotiate a transitional phase by the end of March, before moving on to map the future trading terms by October. The CBI, which represents 190,000 UK businesses employing 7 million people, wants Brexit negotiators to step up the pace of talks. “Time is running out—by March next year, our country will be out of the EU,” Fairbairn will say. “We need to end this game of who-blinks-first and, instead, find a new spirit of urgency.” Speaking at the University of Warwick, near the city of Coventry in central England, Fairbairn will call for a trade accord with the EU that is better than Canada’s, which excludes financial services. Customs union membership would also resolve the question of how to keep an open border between Ireland and the UK, seen as important for maintaining peace, she will say. Bloomberg News

Marches all over US in support of women’s rights slam Trump, encourage voting

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OS ANGELES—Demonstrators from Los Angeles to New York marched in support of female empowerment and denounced President Donald J. Trump’s views on immigration, abortion, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights and women’s rights last Saturday, the anniversary of his inauguration. People marched in Casper, Wyoming, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Houston. In Park City, Utah, where the annual Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, actress Jane Fonda and nationally known lawyer Gloria Allred joined the women‘s march. In Morristown, New Jersey, that state’s new first lady told a crowd she was a victim of sexual violence while attending college. Tammy Murphy, the wife of Democrat Phil Murphy, said the attack occurred while she was a sophomore

at the University of Virginia. She said she was walking along a path when a man grabbed her and pulled her into some bushes. She said the man tried to take her clothes off and put a crab apple in her mouth to silence her but she bit his hand and fled half-dressed to a nearby fraternity house, where students called police. In Los Angeles Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard, Scarlett Johansson, Constance Wu, Adam Scott and Rob Reiner were among the celebrities who addressed a crowd of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators. Longoria, who starred in TV’s Desperate Housewives, told marchers their presence matters, “especially when those in power seem to have turned their backs on reason and justice.” Portman, an Academy Award winner, talked about feeling sexualized by the entertainment industry from the time her first film, Leon: The Professional, was released

People take part in a Women’s March, highlighting equal rights and equality for women, walk past Trump International Hotel and Tower, last Saturday in New York. AP/Craig Ruttle

when she was 13 and suggested it’s time for “a revolution of desire.” In the 1994 film, Portman played a young girl taken in by a hit man after her family is killed. Woodard urged everyone to register and vote, saying, “the 2018 midterms start now.” And Davis spoke

with the passion of a preacher as she discussed the nation‘s history of discrimination and her past as a sexual-assault survivor. The 2017 rally in Washington, D.C., and hundreds of similar marches created solidarity for those opposing Trump’s views, words and

actions. Millions of people around the world marched during last year‘s rallies, and many last Saturday talked about the news avalanche of politics and gender issues in the past year. Critics of the weekend’s marches said the demonstrations were really a protest against Trump. More rallies were planned at other cities last Sunday. Meanwhile, Trump last Saturday tweeted that it was a “perfect day” for women to march to celebrate the “economic success and wealth creation” that’s happened during his first year in office. “Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months,” the Republican wrote. “Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!” Trump’s main opponent in the 2016 presidential election, Democratic former US first lady Hillary

Clinton, said the Women’s March last year was “a beacon of hope and defiance.” “In 2018, it is a testament to the power and resilience of women everywhere,” she tweeted, urging people to show that power at the voting booth this year. Demonstrators last Saturday denounced Trump’s views with colorful signs and even saltier language. Oklahoma City protesters chanted “We need a leader, not a creepy tweeter!” One woman donned a t-shirt with the likeness of social justice icon Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land Is Your Land.” Members of the group Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Seattle burned sage and chanted in front of Seattle‘s rainy march. In Richmond, Virginia, the crowd burst into cheers when a woman ran down the middle of the street carrying a pink flag with the word “Resist.” AP

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Monday, January 22, 2018

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

Water, water everywhere, costs more than you might think

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ASHINGTON, D.C.— Without reliable access to water, human beings cannot survive. Yet, three out of 10 people do not have a safely managed water supply, and six out of 10 lack safely managed sanitation. Over 2 billion people drank water that was contaminated with feces in 2015.

A woman in Rajasthan, India, fetches water from a source at several meters away from her house. Lyn Resurreccion

T he World Bank estimates that the annual cost of poor sanitation is in excess of $260 billion annually. The technologies that can address these shortages are not complicated, but their upfront cost remains unaffordable to many low-income families. In Indonesia, for example, connection to piped water systems averages $150, while a flush toilet can cost around $250. For comparison, 11 percent of Indonesians live on less than $27 per month. Microfinance offers an affordable and accessible remedies to these market barriers, but water

and sanitation are not traditional targets for microcredit. Loans for water supply and sanitation (WSS) improvements require technical knowledge that many financial institutions lack, and the improved water or sanitation facilities do not usually generate cash flows that repay the loan. WSS loans often produce economic impacts, but they are more diffuse, easier seen in aggregate: the child that does not fall ill, the hours not spent walking to a well. Yet, as we have seen with the f i n a nc i ng of sol a r produc ts, there may be room for a broader role in financing assets that

improve quality of life and alleviate human miser y. By that standard, WSS loans are incredibly sound investments.

Early successes in water supply and sanitation credit

The nonprofit Water.org is one of the global leaders in facilitating WSS investments through its global WaterCredit program. WaterCredit programs are often set up as tri-parte arrangements. A prospective borrower applies for a loan to install a toilet, buy a water tank or finance a piped water connection (among other uses). If approved, the money either disburses directly from the financial institution to the contractor, generally a local artisan, or to the client, who then use it to buy or build the WSS product they need. The ideal option for the financial institution is to deliver the loan capital straight to the vendor, which reduces the credit risk of funds being diverted to other uses. This is more easily written than done, of course. As you might expect, most financial institutions lack technical expertise in the requirements of latrine construction or indoor piping. Management is often unaware of the benefits and needs assistance in structuring a loan product, staff require training on the features of WSS loans and credit officers may need to deliver very different sales pitches. In Tanzania, for example, a WSS program ran into difficulties when loan officers were embarrassed to discuss clients’ toilets. Financial institutions benefit from established relationships with third parties who can offer capacity-building support for WSS lending. This is where Water. org comes in. By partnering with financial institutions, Water.org offers technical and financial support, helping these institutions overcome barriers to WSS microfinance and demonstrating the impact that such loans can have. This is not a limited engagement. A deep, long-term relationship is often needed to build financial institutions’ capacity, but the sustained effort can produce dividends. Water.org has helped catalyze $602 million in WSS finance to 1.9 million borrowers in 11 markets. In India, Grameen Koota has been perhaps the most successful adopter, issuing almost 600,000 home-improvement loans in the last four years, with upwards of $144 million lent in 2016 alone. In 2015 repayment rates across WaterCredit providers exceeded 99 percent.

Motion-activated cameras capture animals being wild, weird

Digital finance in the water sector

Since WaterCredit loans are so small ($311 on average), there is an urgent need to bring costs down for long-term sustainability. In India, for example, Water. org provides a “smart subsidy” to par tner f inancia l institutions, with 78 percent reporting a profit on the WSS lending. But 50 percent of these institutions reported that their WSS lending would be unprofitable without the subsidy, highlighting the need to reduce costs. Digitizing water credit will be crucial to overcoming this challenge. By lowering costs related to loan application processing, disbursement and repayment, WSS-specific digital credit can enable microf inance inst it utions and larger banks to finance important household improvements while still maintaining robust quality assurance. Water.org has already experimented with digital loan repayment in Cambodia, where borrowers used the mobile transfer service Wing. In Kenya with more mature digital credit options already available, extensive work was done with Equity Bank to digitize their existing Maji loan, creating an easier-to-use, more profitable product that leveraged the existing Equitel platform and mobile app. Unfortunately, the interest rate cap imposed in 2016 has—at least temporarily—scuttled those plans, although the loan remains available in-branch. Despite the lack of a fully digital WSS loan to date, the case for digitizing water credit remains strong and, in fact, many digital loans are already being used for these purposes. Water.org commissioned a loan-utilization study in Kenya that focused on undifferentiated digital Equity Bank loans issued from October 2015 to March 2017. The study found that over 21,000 loans (3 percent of total), amounting to $2.2 million, were used on water and sanitation products and services, indicating a sizeable latent demand. Dig ita l water loans linked to vendors and products will hopefully lead to even better outcomes for the households, although it’s also possible that undifferentiated loans will allow consumers to allocate more efficiently. Either way, digital credit appears likely to take water and sanitation lending mainstream, helping millions to live cleaner, healthier lives. IPS

This 2011 photo from a US Fish and Wildlife Service motion-activated camera shows an elephant seal in the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Southern California. US Fish and Wildlife Service via AP

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HEY ENNE, Wyoming— How does a bighorn sheep say “cheese?” Some charismatic critters caught by motion-detecting wildlife cameras seem to know how to strike a pose. But it’s not just show business. As these devices get ever smaller, cheaper and more reliable, scientists across the United States are using them to document elusive creatures like never before. “There’s no doubt—it is an incredible tool to acquire data on wildlife,” said Grant Harris, a United States Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Remote cameras have photog r aphed e ver y t h i ng , f rom small desert cats called ocelots to snow-loving lynx high in the Northern Rockies. Harris cited images of javelinas, pig-like desert mammals, and coatimundi, members of the raccoon family, captured at higher latitudes in recent years. That could mean global warming is ex panding their range northward, he said. Scientists deploy ing remote ca meras in t heir work inc lude researchers w ith the Wyoming Mig rat ion Init i at ive, who use globa l posit ioning to map t he movements of el k , mu le deer a nd a ntelope i n a nd a rou nd Yel lowstone Nat iona l Pa rk. They only have so many collars to track animals, meaning there‘s a limit to the GPS data they can gather, said Matthew Kauffman, a University of Wyoming associate professor and initiative director. “You see one animal migrating, you don‘t know if it’s migrating by itself, if it’s migrating with a calf, or if it’s migrating with 40 other animals,” Kauffman said. Remote cameras—which can be

US EPA awards Samsung for sustainability initiatives

Biz sector urged to reuse materials to reduce garbage S

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he business sector was urged to reuse discarded materials in other produc tive applications in their operations in order to help reduce garbage, which is projected to grow with the economy ’s expansion. The call was made by Geocycle, the wastemanagement arm of building solutions provider Holcim Philippines Inc. Geocycle Head John Alindao called for businesses to adopt a circular economy mind-set, which favors reusing materials instead of immediately disposing them in order to maximize resources. Th e approach allows businesses to increase their positive impact on development, par ticularly on waste management, Alindao said, during the waste-management service provider’s second Business Dialogue for stakeholders. Alindao cited cited Holcim Philippines’s use of qualified waste materials as alternative fuel and resources in cement

production through its coprocessing technology. The prac tice allows the c o m p a ny to re d u c e i t s t r a d i t i o n a l fuel consumption while providing a sustainable waste-management option that helps lessen the trash that ends up in landfills, he said. H e n o t e d t h a t i t i s i m p o r t a n t for the countr y to be more mindful about waste management, as garbage generation is expec ted to grow with the economy ’s expansion. In a recent repor t, the National Solid Waste Management Commission estimated that waste generation in the Philippines will reach 16.6 million tons by 2020, from 14.6 million tons in 2017. Alindao said this provides Geocycle an opportunity to steadily increase its waste-management services as demand from companies and local governments for such services grow. Geoc ycle’s Business Dialogue was

held recently at the Fort in Taguig City. It was attended by over a hundred 100 guests from the industrial, manufacturing and consumer goods sectors, as well as government officials and environmental organizations. In D ecember 2017 Geoc ycle was cited by the Depar tment of Finance for helping destroy more than 115 million cigarette packs bearing fake tax stamps seized by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs from Mighty Corp. in March 2017. The items were coprocessed as alternative fuel in Holcim Philippines’s cement manufacturing facilities. Holcim Philippines Inc. is one of the leading building-solution companies in the country. It has cement-manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao, as well as aggregates and dr y mix business and technical support facilities for building solutions.

John Alindao, head of Holcim Philippines’s waste-management unit Geocycle, calls on local businesses to consider more productive uses for discarded materials in their operations during a recent forum for business partners at the Fort in Taguig City.

left in the backcountry for days, weeks or even months—help fill in blanks by showing how many animals are on the move over a given period, he said. Where to position them requires careful forethought. Clustering several around a watering hole, for instance, might produce many images but not a thorough profile of a population. “There’s this tension between subjectivity in where you put your camera and where it’s statistically sound,” Harris said. Sometimes, smart-alecky humans turn up among the images. “I’ve seen people moon cameras, and that’s always funny,” he added. Remote video can also reveal details about animal behavior, including the mewling sounds of migrating mule deer. And livestreaming cameras for everything from bison in Saskatchewan, Canada, to the underwater kelp forest off California’s Channel Islands are always popular. As with all human intrusion into nature, remote cameras have downsides. Animals, such as wolverines and bears, have been known to attack them, though whether out of curiosity or aggression is hard to say. Also, the devices have become popular tools to help hunters scout for game, sparking a debate over fair-chase ethics. Then there’s the whole subjective thing about going into nature to get away from it all, including surveillance cameras. Anyway, to answer the question: A bighorn sheep that looks like it’s smiling probably isn’t say i ng c heese, “ but sn i f f i ng pheromones and other scents in what’s called a flehmen response, Harris said. In other words...bleats us. AP

amsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in technology and innovation, has received two awards for its sustainability initiatives from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA awarded Samsung with the 2017 Cutting Edge Champion Award for its innovative Galaxy Upcycling program and its US e-waste collection efforts with the Gold Tier Award for the fourth consecutive year. The Galaxy Upcycling program allows Galaxy phone owners to retrofit the hardware and software of antiquated, used Galaxy phones into new technology products, such as closed circuit TVs, gaming consoles and Internet of Things devices. The program puts the tools for transforming devices into new technology in consumers’ hands by providing them with necessary software changes and suggested hardware changes that enable new functionality. The program was created from the company’s innovation hub, C-Lab, and will be launched this year. The Cutting Edge Champion Award

was presented to S amsung for the Galaxy Upcycling program’s innovative and environmentally responsible ways to use a product’s materials throughout its entire life cycle. “In an effort to curb e-waste and extend the lifecycle of our existing technology, we introduced the Galaxy Upcycling program, which repurposes technology resources into new devices,” said Michael Lawder, senior vice president of Customer Care at Samsung Electronics America. “We’re honored to receive the Cutting Edge Champion Award for this program, and our efforts to extend a products’ life cycle by repurposing its functionality.” The Gold Tier Award was given to Samsung for the company’s long-term commitment to the proper recycling of e-waste in the US. In 2016 the company’s electronicsrecycling program collected and recycled over 118 million pounds of e-waste in the United States, which made it one of the world’s biggest collectors of e-waste. Samsung is being recognized in this category for the fourth year in a row.

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Monday, January 22, 2018 A9

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

Seized ivory probed for clues that could help save elephants

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LBANY, New York—Scientists are using information gleaned from both illegal ivory art and elephant dung to provide clues that could help save the lives of pachyderms that are being slaughtered for their tusks in Africa. The wildlife detective work involves cutting up seized artifacts—including bangle bracelets and statues of Chinese deities—and subjecting them to carbon dating to determine when the elephants were killed. D NA f ro m t h e i vo r y a r t i s t h e n compared to a DNA database derived from elephant dung to pinpoint where they lived. What scientists learn may not put a particular poacher in jail, but will tell the story of where and when an elephant died on an African savannah so its tusk could be carved in Asia to make a goddess statue priced at $72,000 in a Manhattan antique shop. “It’s going to be really helpful, not only for scientific purposes but also to be able to tell people about the individual lives of elephants that ended up as artwork on our streets,” said Wendy Hapgood, director of the Wild Tomorrow Fund, which supports African wildlife preserves, anti-poaching enforcement and efforts to shut down the ivory trade. The group cut chips from 21 statues, bracelets and mounted tusks that were among $4.5 million in illegal ivor y a r t i f a c t s s e i ze d f ro m a M a n h at t a n antiques shop and dramatically destroyed in a rock crusher in Central Park last August. The chips will be analyzed by scientists at Columbia University and the University of Washington. Previous work by the researchers has provided valuable information to focus poaching law enforcement in Africa and prosecute ivory traffickers elsewhere. O n ce n u m b e re d at m o re t h a n a m i l l i o n , t h e p o p u l at i o n o f Af r i c a n elephants fell 30 percent between 2007 and 2014, to about 350,000, according to the Great Elephant Census funded by wildlife organizations. The decline, at a rate of 8 percent per year, is attributed mainly to poaching for ivory. The sale of ivory across international boundaries has been banned since 1990. Last year the United States Fish and Wildlife Service instituted a near-total ban on the domestic commercial ivory trade and barred sales across state lines. Hapgood and colleague John Steward were in Albany recently to saw samples from two massive tusks that were spared the Central Park crusher and locked in a state Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse. The chips will be sent to Columbia U n i ve r s i t y g e o c h e m i s t K e v i n U n o, whose radioisotope analysis measures carbon-14 deposited by atomic bomb tests to date the ivory and determine when the elephant died. Samples were also sent to biologist S a m Wa s s e r o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Washington, who extracted DNA from elephant dung all over Africa in the 1990s to map elephant genetics across the continent. Now he compares DNA from seized ivory to the map to determine where it came from. Uno and colleagues published a study in 2016 looking at 230 elephant tusks from 15 seizures of shipping containers being illegally transmitted out of Africa. The goal was to determine whether the ivor y wa s f ro m o l d e r s to c k p i l e s h e l d by African national governments or from elephants recently poached. “We found 90 percent of the ivor y was coming from elephants that died within three years of the seizure date,” Uno said. In a study published in 2015, Wasser’s DNA studies on large seizures of ivor y found shipments tended to come from a few poaching hot spots. Identification of areas of Tanzania and Zambia as hot spots helped persuade a United Nations agency to deny requests from those countries to sell their ivor y stockpiles. AP

Environmental fears stirred as huge oil spill spreads in East China Sea

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ONG KONG—An oil spill from an Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea is rapidly spreading, officials said last Tuesday, alarming environmentalists about the threat to sea and bird life in the waterway.

The tanker, the Sanchi, was carrying 136,000 tons of highly flammable fuel oil when it crashed into a freighter on January 6. On January 14 the Sanchi sank after a huge blast sent up a great plume of black smoke and set the surface of the water on fire, China Central Television said. The bodies of three crew members have been recovered, and the remaining 29 were presumed dead, the Iranian government said. Thirty Iranians and two Bangladeshis were believed to have died. The oil slicks from the sunken tanker were growing in size, China’s State Oceanic Administration said last Tuesday. There are now two huge slicks covering 52 square miles, compared with just 4 square miles the previous day. Strong winds were pushing the spill toward Japan, away from China, and it was now less than 200 miles from Naha, Japan. One concern is that, since the Sanchi sank, marine life will be endangered by the fuel oil’s spreading instead of burning off. And experts are further concerned that the even dirtier bunker fuel powering the tanker will be released into the sea, exposing

136,000 tons The volume of highly flammable fuel oil tanker, the Gandi, was carrying when it crashed into a freighter on January 6 delicate marine life to the extremely toxic substance. Greenpeace expressed alarm about the threat to the marine ecosystem in the East China Sea, which is one of the world’s most heavily trafficked waterways, saying the disaster occurred in “an important spawning ground” for fish. “At this time of year, the area is used as wintering ground by common edible species, such a s h a i r t a i l , y e l lo w c ro a k e r, chub mackerel and blue crab,” Greenpeace said. “ The area is also on the migrator y pathway of many marine mammals, such as humpback whale, right whale and gray whale.” The tanker was carrying more than 1 million barrels of condensate, an extremely light crude oil, to South Korea when it collided

The burning Iranian oil tanker Sanchi is seen partially sunk in the East China Sea off the eastern coast of China on January 14. The fire from the sunken Iranian tanker ship in the East China Sea has burned out, a Chinese transport ministry spokesman said last Monday, although concerns remain about possible major pollution to the sea bed and surrounding waters. Ministry of Transport via AP

with the freighter. When spilled, the condensate can produce a deep underwater plume damaging to marine life. T he Japa nese coast g u a rd said the fire on the sur face of the sea was exting uished early last Monday. “Given the poor condition of the ship after a week of fire and explosions, it is likely that all cargo [and fuel] tanks are breached, and a l l of this toxic hydrocarbon mi xture has now been released into the env ironment,” said R ick Steiner, a marine conser vation specia list for merly w ith the Universit y of A lask a. “If so, this is the single largest env ironmenta l release of

petroleum condensate in histor y,” he said. The Sanchi disaster appears to be the largest tanker spill since 1991, when an unexplained detonation caused the ABT tanker to leak 260,000 tons of oil off the coast of Angola. Hiroshi Takahashi, a fisheries official in Kagoshima prefecture in Japan, said the government was “monitoring the direction” of the spill because of fears it “could direct toward Kagoshima.” T he deaths of the Iranian crew members on the tanker prompted Iran’s government to declare a day of national mourning last Monday to honor “the brave mariners who died in the course of their mission.”

Eshaq Jahangiri, Iran’s first vice president, said that efforts to recover the bodies of 29 crew members ceased when the tanker sank off the China’s coast on January 14. Because of the release of toxic gases in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, there was little hope that the crew members survived, but efforts to recover their bodies had continued, Jahangiri said. “Unfortunately, the ship sank, and we could not access their bodies.” Officials still don’t know the cause of the collision between the Sanchi and the CF Crystal, a Chinese freighter that was carrying grain. New York Times News Service

Largest sea turtle could come off ‘endangered’ list F ederal ocean managers say it might be time to move the East Coast population of the world ’s largest turtle from the United States’s list of endangered animals. A n ar m of the Nationa l Oceanic and Atmospheric A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ( N OA A ) h a s received a pet it ion f rom a f i sh i n g g roup a s k i n g t h at t he Nor t hw e s t A t l a nt ic O c e a n’s leatherback sea tur t les be l i s t e d a s “ t h r e a t e n e d ,” b u t not end angered, under t he E nd a n ge re d Sp e c ie s A c t . T he g i a nt re pt i les, wh ic h can weigh 2,000 pounds, wou ld rema in protected under federa l l aw, but t he i r st at u s wou ld be moved dow n a notc h. NOA A officials have said the agency has reviewed the petition from New Jersey-based Blue Water Fishermen’s Association and found “substantial scientific and commercial information” that the move might be warranted. The agency now has about eight months to make a decision about the status of the turtles. Leatherbacks live all over the world ’s oceans and have been listed as endangered by the US since 1970. Deciding whether the listing should be changed will require deter mining t he st abi l it y of the population, said Jennifer Schu ltz, a fisher ies biolog ist with NOA A Fisheries. “We’ ll look at scientific papers, we’ll look at the best available scientific and commercial data,” she said. “And then we’ ll say, ‘W hat does the status look

A rare leatherback sea turtle named Yawkey moves off the beach and returns to the Atlantic Ocean at Isle of Palms, South Carolina, after it was treated at the South Carolina Aquarium on March 12, 2015. Federal ocean managers are collecting information and comments until February 5 on a petition from a fishing group asking it to move the leatherback off the United States list of endangered animals. Leatherbacks live all over the world’s oceans and have been listed as endangered by the US since 1970. AP/Bruce Smith

like? How are they doing?’” The fishing group that requested the change wants the Northwestern Atlantic’s leatherback population to be considered a distinct segment of the population. That segment would include all

of the leatherbacks that nest on beaches in the eastern US states. But NOAA Fisheries is going to look at the status of the turtles worldwide, said Angela Somma, chief of endangered species division with NOAA Fisheries.

Blue Water Fishermen’s Association requested the change of listing in part to spur new research into the status of the leat herbac k popu l at ion, sa id Ernie Panacek, a past president of the organization.

Data about species, such as sea turtles and marine mammals, play a role in crafting fishing regulations, and fishermen fear the government is using outdated data about leatherbacks, he said. “I get a little frustrated in the fact that they are making regulations without scientific data in front of them,” he added. “The more turtles there are, the more interactions you are bound to have with them.” The leatherback sea turtle has been the subject of intense interest from conservation groups over the years. It’s listing as endangered by the US predates the modern Endangered Species Act that was enacted in 1973. The Costa R ica-based Leatherback Tr ust, an inter nationa l nonprof it g roup, desc r ibes t h e m a s “a n c i e nt c r e at u r e s celebrated in creation my ths belong ing to diverse cu ltures around the world.” The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the leatherback sea turtle as “vulnerable,” which is one notch above “endangered ” on the IUCN’s scale. It ’s one of t he l a rgest rep t i les on Ea r t h, feed ing most ly on je l ly f i sh , wh ic h h a s le f t t hem at r isk to pl ast ic in t he ocea n, wh ic h ca n k i l l t hem if t hey ingest it. They are also notable for being the deepest diving and most migratory of all sea turtles and for their lack of a bony shell. NOAA is collecting information and comments on the subject until February 5. AP

A10 Monday, January 22, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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Press freedom: Losing the public’s trust

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E at the BusinessMirror, along with our sister companies CNN Philippines, radio station DWIZ and the Philippines Graphic magazine have a vested interest and are deeply committed to freedom of the press and media. The collective freedom of the press is the mirror image of the individual’s freedom of speech and expression. We cannot have one without the other. An assault on one is a restriction of the other. The American Declaration of Independence reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That one sentence reversed millennia of the “Divine Right of Kings” to the divine right of the people. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution qualified the foundation of those rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press....” Yet, over the past 230 years, nations around the world have continuously struggled with the practical reality of how those words apply in everyday life. Does freedom of speech allow for materials that fit the changing definition of what is obscene and pornographic? Does freedom of the press give the right to call for the unconstitutional overthrow of a legally elected government? While it is easy to dismiss these as extreme examples, it is always the outliers that challenge our core beliefs. The press and media are always under scrutiny and even attack, and press and media practitioners must be vigilant. However, as we have written in the past, it seems that the public, which we say that we serve, is less concerned than maybe it should be. The last decade has been a literally dangerous time for those in the press and there is little public outcry. There may be a reason for that. A recent Gallup opinion poll in the US recently showed that 84 percent of the people said that the news media was “very important” or “critical” to democracy. Yet, 43 percent also said that media did a “very poor” or “poor” job of supporting democracy. A poll conducted by the Media Research Center found that 69 percent do not believe the news media are “honest and truthful.” Only 41 percent “trust” the press, and a meager 36 percent said, “news organizations generally get the facts straight.” A press and media that are perceived in these ways are going to be subject to reactions like this. “A [Philippine] House subcommittee is proposing that the 1987 Constitution’s bill of rights provision protecting press freedom be changed to a right to responsible exercise of free speech.” With that kind of language as law, both a free press and free speech is doomed. But Jonathan S. Tobin wrote this in the National Review magazine: “The worst thing those who care about press freedom can do is ignore the public’s justified concerns about polarized and politicized media.” The Chicago Times wrote in 1861, “It is a newspaper’s duty to print the news and raise hell.” However, that requires the public’s trust and the best way to protect and even increase press freedom is for the press and media to be held to account—and not by the government. News must always be absolutely factual, and bias views placed clearly in the “Opinion” section.

A woman named Cory Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

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N Thursday, January 25th, it would be the birth date of former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino. She was born in 1933 in a farming town in Tarlac as the sixth of eight children of wealthy Chinese-Filipino parents. Today would be a good opportunity to honor her memory by remembering a few things—some of them perhaps not common knowledge— about her in this column. Perhaps, some readers know that she was an excellent student and, in fact, graduated valedictorian from grade school in Saint Scholastica’s College in Manila. Cory was also quite a multilingual, as she was able to converse in English, Filipino, French, and Japanese, aside from her native Kapampangan. Based on online sources, the ex-president learned Nihongo during the war as a child, and then

studied French in the United States when she enrolled at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. While she was there, she also volunteered as a supporter for New York Governor Thomas Dewey when he was running against the Democrat Harry Truman during the 1948 elections. In 1953 Cory returned to the Philippines, where she eventually decided to enroll in law school

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U

nder Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution, there are three methods by which amendments or revisions to the Constitution may be proposed, namely:

1) By Congress, as a constituent assembly (Con-ass), upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members (Section 1[a]); 2) By a constitutional convention (Con-con) called for the purpose by Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of all its members or by majority of all its members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such convention; and 3) By the people directly, through initiative upon a petition of at least 12 percent of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3 percent of the registered voters therein (Section 2). The raging debate now between the Two Houses of Congress, which appear to have ruled out a Con-con and Peoples Initiative, is the issue of convening and voting jointly. The House of Representatives by a voice vote (“viva voce”) of the 186 members present approved the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 9 (in Substitution of 28 separate House Bills/Resolutions) “To Constitute The Congress of the

Philippines as a Constituent Assembly For The Purpose Of Proposing Amendments To, Or Revision Of, the 1987 Constitution.” The House position is that voting is done jointly to determine the three-fourth vote. The senate has always rejected joint voting for the obvious reason that the Senators are outnumbered by the congressmen. This is the sore issue of institutional equality. Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Sr. has proposed PS Resolution 580 “Resolution Calling For the Constitution of the Senate of the Philippines Into a Constituent Assembly To Propose Amendments To or Revision of the Constitution And Upon Approval of The Three-Fourths Vote, Vote of Its Members Adopt The Same.” The effect of Sen. Lacson’s proposal, if approved by the Senate, would result in two Con-ass convening separately and voting separately, and by three-fourth vote of its members, adopting amendments, which may conflict with each other. A third Bicameral Assembly or Committee will have to thereafter meet to reconcile conflicting proposals of the

at the Far Eastern University. She failed to finish the course as she got married to Benigno S. Aquino Jr. one year later. Popularly known as the supportive wife of politician Ninoy, Cory was uncomfortable and disapproving of her husband’s political aspirations in the beginning. She was not used to going on campaign trails or receiving too many people in their house—sometimes even in their bedroom—when Ninoy was mayor. It was obvious that she was used to quiet, private and peaceful living, something that was difficult to achieve as their family became more and more high profile politically in the succeeding years. She, however, showed strength and devotion to her husband, especially during the difficult years after then-president Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and imprisoned Ninoy and other personalities. Cory was a picture of grace and composure. She later on admitted that she had to make

a vow to herself that she would be strong for her husband and not let his opponents see her in a moment of weakness. She showed solidarity with her husband’s suffering while he was in prison and told her children to avoid parties, as she herself sacrificed by stopping to buy new clothes or going to salons. Three years after Ninoy was murdered, Cory Aquino was swept into power by an army-backed people’s revolution. Also in 1986 she was voted as Time magazine’s Woman of the Year. When she retired from the presidency in 1992, Cory still participated in politics, although not actively. She also opened a foundation to help disadvantaged Filipinos create small businesses, helped churches in poor communities with their social projects and assisted rescue centers for street children. It was a life lived for others and we could only be grateful for the grace and wisdom that she had shown us, for the lessons she imparted through her actions, and the legacy she left for the Filipino people.

Senate and House to come out with one version to be presented to the Filipino people in a plebiscite. House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez retorts that “the 292-member House could go it alone, if worse comes to worst. A three-fourth vote in the House could still satisfy the threefourth vote of Congress, considering the disparity in numbers” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 19, 2018, at p.2). Sen. Francis N. Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said the House “should think twice about forcing the issue and proceeding with Cha-cha even without the concurrence of the Senate.” “It takes two to Cha-cha” added Sen. Ralph G. Recto (Ibid). It seems this issue will end up in the Supreme Court, which may or may not want to intervene on a “political question.” But should the Supreme Court determine that there is a justiciable issue to resolve, the opinion of the Framers of the 1987 Constitution is enlightening. Fr. Joaquin Bernas, distinguished constitutionalist stated that: “But where in the Constitution does one find this mode? The elements of this mode are all in Article XVII. The fundamental principle is that what is not prohibited by the Constitution, either explicitly or implicitly, is left to the discretion of Congress provided it can be traced somehow to the powers of Congress. It is clear from Article XVII that the power to propose amendments can only be activated by Congress. The two houses of Congress are not required, as they were under the 1935 Constitution, to be in joint session. Hence, it is

quite possible for the two Houses to formulate amendments the way they formulate laws—as they are, where they are. Once one House is through with a draft, it is passed on to the other House for action. If there is a prohibition, it can come either from the letter of the Constitution [and there is none] or from the fundamental structure of our constitutional government. Thus, for instance, the implicit prohibition of joint voting comes from the bicameral structure of Congress.” (Whereas Clause, Senate Resolution 580) Retired Justice Adolfo Azcuna, who was also a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, likewise opined that: “As long as it is within the terms of Article XVII…. Article XVII says Congress may propose amendments by three-fourth vote. I examined the proposed bill and it contains a very key provision. Pursuant to Article XVII, it’s not an ordinary legislation being proposed. It’s being taken up pursuant to Article XVII in the exercise of constituent power. It signals that Congress is exercising constituent powers. If you omit the phrase, it will have doubtful validity. You’re exercising constituent powers. There is no general provision, which says that Congress, when tackling not legislation, must meet in joint session. There is none. When it comes to amendment, it doesn’t say you have to meet in joint session. (Ibid). Likewise, the Supreme Court has ruled that when Congress meets to propose amendments to the See “Kapunan,” A11

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Improving math competency of Filipino students

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By Elisa P. Ferrer

very three years, a mathcompetency assessment is held worldwide by the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) for junior and senior high-school students. The latest result has Singapore on top, followed by Macao, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. The Philippines is not even on the top 50 list. These five countries also topped the same mastery ranking in the fields of science and reading. The United States placed 10th over all. What could be the secret of Singapore teachers, and what can we do to at least appear on the top 20 the next time Pisa will conduct the same assessment? International math teachers are looking at Singapore’s mastery approach to learning and teaching, which forces students to achieve a high degree of competency in a certain topic before moving on to the next. In contrast, the mind-set approach, widely adopted by the US and the United Kingdom in the last 10 years, starts with exposure to broader concepts, which are then broken down into smaller steps. Students are encouraged to develop an intuitive understanding of a mathematical concept before moving on to more specific operations. In order to have competitive or world-class students, the Philippines must required our teachers to make changes in their strategies and teaching tools that are acceptable and manageable to both teachers and students. One idea is to try alternating the instruction: Teach how to add fractions, and let the student practice. Then explain why it works. Go back to some practice. Do this back and forth. Sooner or later, the lesson should “stick.” The simple rule of constant practice is always effective, especially in math. According to Professor W. Stephen Wilson from Johns Hopkins University, the core concepts of

basic math must be mastered before students are able to move into a more advanced study. Repetition is a simple tool that makes it easier for students to master the concepts without wasting time. According to the University of Minnesota, daily relooping or reviews will bring the previous lesson back into the spotlight and allow teachers to build on those previous skills. Another very important goal of mathematics education as a whole is to enable the students to understand information around us. In today’s world, this includes quite a bit of scientific information. Being able to read through it and make sense of it requires knowing big and small numbers, statistics, probability and percentages. Group work is another strategy that allows students to work with their buddies to solve a problem. When a teacher has provided the basic instruction, it’s helpful to split the class into pairs or groups to work on math problems. Since the pairs or groups are working as a team, the students can discuss the problems and work together to solve the issues. The goal of group work is to teach students criticalthinking skills that are necessary to solve future math problems, and this can also be applied in real life. We need to prepare our students for further studies in math and science. Not everyone ultimately needs algebra, but many do, and teenagers don’t always know what profession they might choose or end up with. Mathematics teachers in the country are now working to bring students into the process of learning by using formative assessment to help the students themselves articulate what they understand, or what they are still trying hard to learn. In the 21st century, schools and math classrooms now have a different function: To ensure high levels of learning for all.

The author is Master Teacher 1 at the Santa Teresita National High School in Santa Teresita, Cagayan.

Bitcoin isn’t the future of money

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f the Bitcoin bubble has a redeeming feature, it’s that it has started some interesting conversations. One is about whether governments should get into the cryptocurrency business for themselves. The unsatisfying (though undoubtedly correct) answer: It depends. A cashless future is indeed on its way, and governments and central banks have no choice but to prepare for it. But a cashless future doesn’t necessarily require government-backed digital currency. And, while the technology underlying Bitcoin and other such cryptocurrencies will almost certainly have many useful applications, replacing physical cash is unlikely to be one of them. Blockchain technology gives Bitcoin two crucial characteristics—it can be exchanged peer-to-peer without the need for a trusted intermediary, and it lets transactions be anonymous. In both these ways, Bitcoin resembles physical cash. But whereas physical cash is the liability of a government, with a central bank controlling its value, Bitcoin is a liability of nobody. This is its fatal flaw as a currency. There’s nothing to stop its value from falling to zero. Granted, governments could issue their own Bitcoin-like digital currency, make it legal tender, and stand behind its value. The question is, why would they want to? The anonymity that physical cash provides is a drawback, from the government’s point of view, because it cloaks tax evasion and crime. Centralbank digital currencies, if they’re ever issued, are unlikely to be anonymous. There’d be no reason, either, for central-bank digital currencies to dispense with the trusted intermediary— because that’s what a central bank is. And, as it turns out, trusted intermediaries would make it easier for digital currencies to work at scale. Lacking

such intermediaries, blockchain-based systems are much more complex, and require vast amounts of computing power. So government-backed digital currencies, if they’re ever introduced, won’t work like Bitcoin. But there is an even more basic question: Will government-backed digital currencies be needed at all? Don’t take it for granted. To be sure, physical cash does seem increasingly anachronistic. In Sweden, for instance, some stores no longer accept bills or coins. Developing countries are making increasing use of money moved from balance to balance by mobile phone. But none of this electronic-money innovation has required digital currency, much less digital currency backed by governments. Economies are happily going cashless without it. Moreover, a widely held centralbank digital currency might have farreaching unintended consequences. Unlike physical cash, it could be a close substitute for a checking account at a commercial bank (with no risk of the bank failing, either). This new, government-backed competition might require banks to rethink their business, and governments to rethink their approach to financial regulation. That certainly shouldn’t be out of the question. The financial system that could then take shape—one relying less on the dangerous alchemy of traditional banking, which uses short-term deposits to finance risky long-term loans — might be an improvement. On that, as they say, more research is needed. So for now, central banks are wise to be cautious. This much is already clear, though: The future of money may or may not include digital cash—but such government-backed currency, if it’s ever issued, will be very different from Bitcoin. Bloomberg View

Bounce back Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

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ll of us, in some way or another, are of service to people. For example, political appointees serve the public in general. And, once displeased, the appointing authority has the authority to remove such officers from their posts. All public officials are accountable to the people and must serve them with utmost responsibility. Some public servants apply for the opportunity to serve. Some are elected to the position. Some are invited. A few are chosen. And, in exchange of this opportunity of serving our country and our people, they run the risk of being fired. When we talk of servants, the first few people who come to mind are housemaids, waiters, helpers or any other person in any service-oriented establishment. These people are paid to serve and to please those who pay their wages. These people are happy to receive tips, bonuses, a pat in the back or any other compliment from the people they serve. Unfortunately, they are prone to be fired, especially when expectations are not met. Just think of Peter Lavina. Ismael Sueno. Jose Vicente Salazar. Dionisio Santiago. Terry Ridon. Marcial Amaro. All of them were unceremoniously fired by President Duterte. Some were fired due to some excessive official trips abroad; others due to corruption allegations (not charges). Public humiliation fosters employee resentment, harms morale and destroys motivation. In

hindsight, there must be a better way of letting them go. I personally know some of the aforementioned public servants. Their careers and personal lives undoubtedly suffered after their abrupt termination. In life, we have all experienced being a servant to others—through our family, the community and our employers. And, while being servants, we all experience some form of setback, personally and professionally. Whenever we receive disheartening news, it is normal to be discouraged, although such feelings should only remain for the time being. Some become stuck in self-pity or resignation. It takes courage to regain our composure from a setback. But pastor and inspirational author Joel Osteen considers a setback as a setup. It all boils down to a

Monday, January 22, 2018 A11

matter of perspective. In Osteen’s words, “But if we’re going to see God’s best, we have to have a “bounce back” mentality. That means, when you get knocked down, you don’t stay down. You get back up again. You have to know that, every time adversity comes against you, it’s a setup for a comeback!” My golfer friend Natus always tells me that there is opportunity in every adversity. After all, as Nelson Mandela once said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Take the case of a dear friend whose student record is blemished by one failed subject, pediatric dentistry. She felt humiliated to a certain extent considering that academic failure in her family is unacceptable. But she managed to bounce back later in life as she now has a flourishing dental practice in Taguig and is now known, ironically, as one of the better pediatric dentists in the Philippines! A former student of mine also experienced the same fate as my dentist friend. Vincent Bartolome has never failed in any subject until he had me as a professor. He had to take the subject, wills and succession, more than twice as a law student. Instead of quitting law school, he took the subject year after year, and, audaciously enough, under the same professor! He even had to take the Bar examinations more than once. But his eternally optimistic spirit never wavered. His bounce-back mentality eventually bore fruit as he is now, fatefully, the chief legal counsel of that same school in Manila and is a

The making of a global professional

sessions with my manager, who was Korean. She told me that Westerners like to have regular catch-ups for status updates. For Asians, we solve problems on our own and tell our team when a solution is either elusive or found. Working in a totally different environment is not easy. You have to face a lot of challenges—culture shock, homesickness and language barriers, among others. However, looking back at my experience, it was all worth it. I salute all the Filipinos working around the world. PwC’s “NextGen: A global generational study” concluded that more millennials (those born between 1980 and 1995) view the opportunity to work overseas as part of their desired career path than their

prospects for global exposure. Understanding how the global economy works is a challenging task, but the long-term benefits of having an improved global acumen are endless. During my first few months in New York, I struggled, just like other first-time overseas workers. But, with patience, determination, and willingness to learn, I was able to understand the culture, adjust, and adapt to it. My experience has taught me to have a different view of the world and appreciate diversity and inclusion. Focusing on improving my global acumen has helped me engage in better and more meaningful conversations with the team and clients. I became more comfortable working with diverse teams and across geographic boundaries. I still have a lot to work on professionally, but I can say that my global acumen has improved significantly. Now, I am back in my home country. I have returned with these experiences I had with my team. It is now my turn to help others build their global confidence.

own Fundamental Law. Congress may propose amendments to the Constitution merely because the same explicitly grants such power. (Section 1, Article XV, Constitution of the Philippines) Hence, when exercising the same, it is said that senators and members of the House of Representatives act, not as members of Congress, but as component elements of a constituent assembly. When acting as such, the members of Congress derive their authority from the Constitution, unlike the people, when performing the same function. (Of amending the Constitution)—for their authority does not emanate from the Constitution—they are the very source of all powers of government, including the Constitution itself.” Unlike the 1935 Constitution (Article XV, Section 1 thereof),

Section 1(a) of the 1987 Constitution does not mention Congress having to convene in ”joint session assembled” for the purpose of proposing constitutional amendments. Some commentators claim that this could be an oversight—we had shifted from a unicameral congress to a bicameral congress, and the Framers may have failed to correct Section 1 to reflect the bicameral nature of the House. It could also be just poor draftsmanship. Or, the most logical is that the omission was deliberate and that the intent really of our Framers was that Congress does not need to be in joint session assembled when it proposes amendments to the Constitution. It can meet and vote separately. The House and Senate will continue to bicker with each other, ad nauseam—such is the nature of the

beast! But the white elephant in the room is the issue of, “Do we really need to amend our 1987 Constitution?” Is it really “imperative that reforms be introduced to the present Constitution for it to be responsive to the exigencies of the times” and “to make it more attuned and responsive to the demands of present conditions and economic realities?” (Whereas Clauses, House Concurrent Resolution 09) Or do we just need to enact implementing legislation to breath life into our national aspirations as a “Sovereign Filipino People” as expressed in our 1987 Constitution to build a just and humane society “xxx under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace.” There is conventional wisdom in the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

DEBIT CREDIT Conclusion

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lobal acumen, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), is the ability to operate and collaborate effectively with a mind-set that transcends geographic and cultural differences. A global citizen understands differences while working with diverse people—either culturally or geographically—to produce the best results.

Kapunan. . .

continued from A10

Constitution (and not merely ordinary legislation) it acts not as members of Congress but as component elements of a constituent assembly. As ruled by the Supreme Court in the case of Tolentino v. Comelec, GR L-34150, October 16, 1971, thus: “Indeed, the power to amend the Constitution or to propose amendments thereto is not included in the general grant of legislative powers to Congress (Section 1, Article VI, Constitution of the Philippines). It is part of the inherent powers of the people—as the repository sovereignty in a republican state, such as ours (Section 1, Article 11, Constitution of the Philippines)— to make and, hence, to amend their

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

non-millennial counterparts. Learn from other people. If you are not working abroad, it does not mean that you don’t have opportunities to hone your global acumen. As companies increase their diversity, you can improve your global awareness by working with people who have worked overseas. Even if you are not working directly with them, you can ask about their experiences and, in the process, you can make new friends. I’ve worked with seniors and managers who were assigned to other locations, and they gave me valuable advice that helped me in my secondment. When I traveled to Peru, I met a Venezuelan who traveled across South America and now works at a start-up in Lima. We became friends, and I’m still in contact with him. Did you know that, in Latin America, they also celebrate the Lenten season the way we do, and call it Semana Santa? I’ve also met a Japanese consultant who works in a Big Four firm, and we trade insights on business culture differences. There are now more foreign professionals in the Philippines. Look at these as opportunities to invest in relationships with them while growing your own global acumen. Understand how they work. If you have a professional services job or any other client-facing job, you might have the chance to work with international teams. Build your network and proactively seek

Kevin M. Aycardo

Last week I gave the first suggestion for improving one’s global acumen, from my point of view as a millennial who survived a two-year assignment in the concrete jungles of New York. Here are the rest: Work overseas. I believe that working and living abroad is one of the best ways to develop global acumen. Having spent two years in the West, I now have a better grasp of the differences between Western and Asian cultures and, I tell you, there are a lot. I won’t say that I am an expert, but I now understand better how to interact with different people from different cultures. In New York City, I had a very diverse team with people of at least eight different nationalities. I remember one of my coaching

partner in a thriving law firm based in Quezon City. Vincent displayed not only courage but also tenacity, which, to me, is a higher form of courage as it denotes controlled audacity and unlimited persistence. Amid all the setbacks, Vincent just kept on bouncing back. Regardless of our setbacks, how we see these events ultimately dictates their impact in our lives. In the Bible, Proverbs 24:16 says, “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…” While we can fall many times, we can just bounce back as many times! A setback is merely temporary, and it is almost always His way of testing the fortitude and faith of those who believe. For those who were removed from their government posts—Peter Lavina, Ismael Sueno, Jose Vicente Salazar, Dionisio Santiago, Terry Ridon, Marcial Amaro and those who have served the public under the Duterte administration but lost the trust of the President—be reminded of what the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:10, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” Whether we have setbacks in our work, in school or in relationships, let us all be assured of what American novelist Harper Lee said in her best-selling book, To Kill a Mockingbird: “Things are always better in the morning.”

Kevin M. Aycardo is an Audit Manager in the Financial Services Industry Practice of Isla Lipana & Co. He just completed his 24-month posting in PwC Coopers New York, USA. This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, January 22, 2018

Govt agencies, tourism stakeholders unveil MICE Roadmap 2030 By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE country’s tourism stakeholders, along with key government agencies, aims to enhance the Philippines’s desirability as a destination for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE). The Department of Tourism (DOT) led colleagues in government and industry stakeholders last Thursday, in unveiling the MICE Roadmap 2030, which was drawn up by the government agency and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, in partnership with the Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers Inc. (Paceos) and the Board of Investments (BOI). In her keynote address at the

road map’s launch at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo revealed the goal of the MICE Roadmap 2030 was to put the countr y among the top 10 destinations of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). “By taking the lead in the development of the Philippines’s MICE road map, we place ourselves within striking distance of our 2018

teo: “We continue to recognize MICE as a highimpact and high-value added sector. This is why MICE is once again identified by the National Tourism Development Plan as one of the country’s nine tourism products.”

target for international tourist arrivals.” This year’s target for foreign visitor arrivals stands at 7.4 million, up from 6.5 million in 2016. Under the road map, the country targets to increase the gross value added (GVA) of the MICE industry to P1.4 billion in 2030 from P415.3 million in 2013; raise the GVA of MICE to 0.01 percent of the GDP from 0.04 percent in 2013; improve the delegate expenditure per meeting to 19 percent by 2030, from 5.4 percent in 2016; and hike the MICE revenues to some P25 billion by 2030 from P4.6 billion in 2016. The tourism industry also aims to increase the total number of

usable space for exhibitions to over 170,895 square meters (sq m) by 2030 from some 71,000 sq m in 2017, and an annual 3-percent rise in MICE arrivals, although the plan failed to give a baseline number of arrivals in 2016. “We continue to recognize MICE as a high-impact and high-value added sector. This is why MICE is once again identified by the National Tourism Development Plan as one of the country’s nine tourism products,” Teo said. She pointed out that the country’s successful hosting of events, such as the Madrid Fusion Manila, the Eight United Nations World Tour ism Organizat ion Congress on Tourism Statistics, the World Street Food Congress, Miss Universe beauty pageant, the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for ums and last year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings “proves that we are on the right track, and we should continue to strike while the iron is hot.” Continued on A2

China to US: Abandon ‘Cold War’ mind-set

FARMERS, FISHERMEN AMONG TOP RECIPIENTS OF E.U.TRADE PERKS By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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@alyasjah

armers and fishermen were among the top beneficiaries of the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) last year, with the trade privilege allowing the country to export €2 billion worth of domestic products to the regional bloc. “We are pleased to hear of the significant increase of our exports entering the EU market through the GSP+. This trade preference has benefited several communities in the Philippines and opened opportunities for our micro, small and medium enterprises,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement last Sunday. “In the same manner, it has allowed our micro, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs] to be more competitive in the local and foreign markets,” Lopez added. He made the remark after the EU reported Philippine exports to the regional bloc under the GSP+ jumped by 31 percent year-on-year. The increase in merchandise exports to the EU amounted to as much as $8.4 billion last year, making the EU the country’s third-largest export partner. The EU’s assessment of the country’s GSP+ reported Phil-

US economy. . .

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hina’s National Defense Ministry said the United States should abandon a “Cold War” mind-set and view Chinese national security and military efforts “rationally and objectively.” The instigators of militarization of the South China Sea are “other countries” that don’t seem to want to see peace in the region and are using the banner of “navigational freedom” to undertake military activities in a tyrannical manner, Ministry Spokesman Ren Guoqiang said in a statement released late Saturday. The statement was in response to a US Defense Department strategy report, released last week, that singled out China’s military modernization and expansion in the South China Sea as key threats to US power. China has undertaken massive land reclamation in the contested waterway that hosts $5 trillion in trade a year, to strengthen its claim to more than 80 percent of the area. That has strained ties with other claimant states, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as the US. The National Defence Ministry’s statement last Saturday came shortly after China’s Foreign Ministry vowed to take “necessary measures” to safeguard its sovereignty after a US warship entered waters surrounding the Huangyan Island in the South China Sea. China’s activities in the South China Sea are “a matter within China’s sovereign rights,” Ren said, adding that the country is committed to a path of peaceful development and a harmonious world order. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

NEW BRANCH San Pablo, Laguna, Mayor Loreto S. Amante (from left); Planbank President Dominga Rufina S. Cabangon-Chua; Planbank Chairman of the Board Harriet O. Demetriou; Maricel Perez, representative of Rep. Sol Aragones; San Pablo, Laguna, Vice Gov. Karen Agapay; and San Pablo, Laguna, Vice Mayor Angie Yang lead the cutting of the ribbon to open the 15th branch of Planbank at San Pablo, Laguna. ROY DOMINGO

“These things start to pile up,” he said last Saturday. “When you start to doubt the future, then you start to doubt investing.” And that’s among the reasons Warren and others don’t see a lengthy stalemate. “It seems unlikely at this point that it would be a four-week shutdown,” said Beth Ann Bovino, chief US economist at Standard & Poor’s. “It will hopefully be a blip.” The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite closed at record highs last Friday. The Russell 2000 index, composed of smaller, more domestically focused companies, climbed more than 1 percent and also finished at a record high. “Unless it meaningfully impacts the US consumer and leads them to spend much less money, leading to some kind of major [economic] slowdown, it’s not a big deal,” said Sameer Samana, global equity and technical strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The economy could take a hit if

ippine exports to the regional bloc last year was valued at €2 billion, higher than the €1.66 billion in 2016. The upsurge was attributed to the increase in food and agriculture exports, such as animal products, fish and related products, prepared food and edible fruits, as well as automotive parts, leather, textile and footwear. The report highlighted 28 percent of merchandise exports to the EU were animal and vegetable fats and oils; 10 percent were machinery and equipment; 7 percent were prepared meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates; 5 percent were optical and musical equipment; 5 percent were chemical products; 5 percent were prepared vegetables, fruits, nuts and other parts of plants; 4 percent were rubber; 3 percent were nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; and 3 percent were plastic. Other exports made up the remaining 30 percent. Local communities in farflung areas benefited the most from export opportunities under the GSP+, according to the Department of Trade and Industry, such as fishermen in General Santos City and coconut farmers in Lanao del Norte. “We acknowledge that the See “Farmers,” A2

Continued from A1

national parks and monuments are closed or operations curtailed for a long period. Trips could be canceled, cutting vacation dollars that roll into communities near the parks. The Interior department pledged to keep as many parks and public lands open as possible, but the pattern last Saturday was spotty. Some parks, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, were open with limited services, but the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia were closed. After the 16-day government shutdown in October 2013, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated that it trimmed an annualized 0.3 percent from growth during the final three months of that year. The reduced growth was mostly because federal employees worked fewer hours. Leslie Preston, a senior economist at TD Bank, said the economy is currently “strong enough to withstand” a similarly sized hit because growth is projected to be nearly 2.5 percent in the January-to-March quarter. AP

Ease foreign-ownership limits first, Congress told Continued from A1

leaders and economists have recommended replacing the constitutional restrictions on foreign equity with specific laws,” the groups said in a statement. They argued amending the Constitution is “crucial” to the fulfillment of this reform. They also took note that, in many countries, restrictions on foreign ownership are not indicated in their Constitution, but is embodied in laws passed through legislation or executive action. The groups said this fluidity allows countries to change economic restrictions at any given time to suit shifting national interests. “If approved by Congress and, subsequently, in a plebiscite, the amendments would allow Congress to pass future laws to change the current constitutional restrictions. The usual legislative procedures would be followed, with hearings and full consideration in both the House [of Representatives] and the Senate and possible

presidential vetoes,” they said. The groups made clear, though, constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership on selected industries will remain in place until specific laws to amend or lift them are enacted either by Congress, or the President. “In the meantime, each restriction will remain in place.” They added relaxing economic restrictions will be significant in the country’s role as one of the major players in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as in its intent to pursue better trade relations with nontraditional partners, such as Russia, under President Duterte’s self-styled independent foreign policy. “[The] government should maximize the amount of foreign investments generated as a means to drive down unemployment and underemployment,” they said. “Considering the above points, it is our strong position that there is no better time than now to begin the process of updating the outdated economic restrictions in our Consti-

tution. The Philippines has enjoyed the enhanced growth prospects and is on the radar screen of the international investment community—and these will be further improved by higher foreign investments coupled with improved environment in doing business in the country,” the groups said. Easing restrictions on foreign ownership will work to the country’s advantage, they said, as it will lead to “fresh infusion of financial resources for our undercapitalized sectors, the introduction of new technologies to spur greater innovation and efficiency in our industries and the promotion of healthy competition.” “It will be unfortunate if the Philippines fails to take advantage of this golden opportunity and realize the potentials that a liberalized trade and investment regime will bring,” the groups added. The groups also called on the House of Representatives to recognize the autonomy of the Senate and allow it to vote separately. “We deem it more democratic for the two

[chambers] to vote separately so as to recognize the autonomy of the Senate body and to avoid diluting the voice of our senators in this critical process.” Senators reached a consensus last Wednesday not to join congressmen on a joint voting in amending the Constitution. Lawmakers from the upper chamber stood firm on their position they will be voting separately in revising the highest law of the land. “We understand this be the intention of the framers of the 1987 Constitution and this is also consistent with the legislative process. The proposed amendments shall then be presented and discussed with the public before seeking approval via nationwide plebiscite,” the groups said. They also recommended Congress to make use of a duly-elected constitutional convention (Concon) in amending the Constitution. They said a Con-con body will present a more diverse, independent and prospective approach in revising the highest law of the land. See “Foreign ownership,” A2