Businessmirror january 31, 2018

BMReports

Govt addresses major problems in Boracay

By Jun N. Aguirre Contributor

B

ORACAY ISLAND—Despite the huge contribution that Boracay tourism flows into the national coffers, Malacañang has said the national government has no plans to directly manage the affairs of the resort island.

In a recent news conference in nearby Kalibo, Aklan, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said the Duterte administration is respecting the process the local government unit undertakes to address issues and concerns clutching the resort island.

“Despite the planned issuance of an EO [Executive Order] of Malacañang, it certainly will not interfere with the affairs of the local government unit,” Roque has said.

Beanbags litter a beach in Boracay, a resort island already coping with congestion from increasing number of tourists and commercial establishments trying to cash in on the tourism boom. Alysa Salen

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Part Three

A broader look at today’s business

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 112

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM

Special to the BusinessMirror

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HINESE tourists helped boost the tourism industry in the Philippines last year, growing by an astounding 43.3 percent to 968,447 arrivals, or close to the 1 million the Beijing government promised it would send.

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@rectomercene

ormer Polish President and iconic labor leader Lech Wałęsa said he invited President Duterte to Poland during his courtesy call to Malacañang last week, hoping they could continue their exchange of views and learn from each other.

“We invited him to Poland because I think he is much interesting, and [it’s] very important to talk to him,” he told the BusinessMirror during an exclusive interview at a hotel in Makati.

Asked if Duterte accepted his invitation, Wałęsa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his groundbreaking agreement on laborers’ rights between workers and the government, said he left it up to the Chief Executive to decide.

“I did not push to inquire about the date; I understand that his visit must be scheduled.”

“I know very little about him, but it seems he is an interesting man, well-informed about the many problems

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed that total visitor arrivals in the country increased by almost 11 percent to 6.62 million, exceeding the 6.5-million target of the Duterte administration under its National Continued on A12

“But if he [Duterte] is not able [to visit Poland] during his presidency, probably after he retires, so we can talk extensively.”

—Wałęsa

[of the country], including European problems,” he added. “But from those information, he makes conclusion to help his country, [although] he has too little details to be an authority to say something,” the straight-talking Wałęsa, who toppled a communist regime some 35 years ago, continued.

T he ret i red pol it ic i a n, known as the hero of the Polish democracy movement, added that, if Duterte could not make the visit to Poland during his six-year term, the trip to Warsaw could still be scheduled after his retirement.

See “Lech Wałęsa,” A12

More violations of mining moratorium being unearthed

@sam_medenilla

Part One

Continued on A12

By Recto Mercene

The number of tourists who visited the country in 2017, 14.63 percent of them from China

By Samuel P. Medenilla

ive years after its passage, Republic Act (RA) 10361, or the Kasambahay law, has already improved the lives of almost 2 million household service workers (HSW) nationwide.

Among them was Lisa Santa Romana, a 47-year-old HSW in Quezon City, who got a surprise last month when she got her first official pay hike.

The regional wage board in Metro Manila finally used its authority granted to it by RA 10361 to raise the minimum pay for HSWs in its jurisdiction by P1,000 in December 2017.

From her previous monthly pay of P2,500, Lisa is now being paid P3,500 by her employer.

Lisa said the pay hike couldn’t have come at a better time, since she got it just before Christmas, when she is usually slumped with expenses.

But not all of the provisions of RA 10361 have been smoothly complied with by government agencies and employers.

business news source of the year

No losses, butLECH a lotWAłęSA of gain NOBEL WINNER INVITES DUTERTE TO POLAND

6.62M

PHL still far from desired care for 2M ‘kasambahays’

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Arrivals up 11% in 2017 as China delivers on vow

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Continued on A2

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Malacañang may still issue the EO not earlier than March, as the next scheduled Cabinet meeting will be on February 25. That meeting will deliberate the content of the EO, persons familiar with the matter said.

Still, with or without the EO, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said it expects difficulties in addressing complex issues of the resort island.

Already, managers of several large resorts here became upset on reports alleging their respective business is violating environmental laws.

Among the alleged violators included the ShangriLa Boracay Resort and Spa, Mövenpick Resort and Spa, Crown Regency Resort, Asya Premier Suites, Nami Private Villas, Alta Vista de Boracay and the Boracay West Cove Resort, among others. The list was reportedly drawn by the Boracay Island Water Corp., a member

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

T MILD ERUPTION Molten lava flows down the slopes of Mayon Volcano during its mild eruption as seen from Legazpi City, Albay province, on January 30. Mayon’s lava fountaining has flowed up to 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the crater in a dazzling but increasingly dangerous eruption. AP/Bogie Calupitan

he Concerned Citizens of Sta. Cruz, Zambales, is calling for an investigation into the alleged irregularity in the issuance of permit to a mining company to extract nickel in Santa Cruz, Zambales, two years ago despite the existing moratorium on new mining projects.

The group’s chairman, Dr. Benito Molino, said the permit was issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau despite the moratorium on new mining projects through an order dated

June 22, 2016, signed by former MGB chief Leo L. Jasareno.

A Notice of Issuance of Order dated July 13, 2016, was signed by Edgard D. Castillo, officer in charge of the Mining Tenements Management Division with the title “Partial Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility [PDMPF] of Westchinamin Corp. under Mineral Production Sharing Agreement [MPSA] 316-2010-III-Amended I” is addressed to Mary Grace M. de Leon, president of Westchinamin and Lope O. Carino Jr., then the OIC regional director of the MGB region Office III (Central Luzon).

Continued on A2

Govt’s infrastructure push piques interest of SoKor businessmen

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

S

@alyasjah

outh Korea is joining the trend of East Asian countries targeting Southeast Asia as an investment area, as a dozen of Seoul-based businessmen are now looking into the

PESO exchange rates n US 51.0400

prospect of taking part in Manila’s infrastructure program.

In a news briefing on Tuesday, Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Korea Centre SecretaryGenera l K i m You ng- su n sa id South Korea is looking to expand its areas of cooperation with the country as part of efforts to bol-

ster bilateral ties w ith Asean member-states.

“Our President has emphasized the need to improve relations with Asean countries, including the Philippines, especially in the areas of transport, energy and information and communications technology,” Kim said.

He maintained the country, along with Vietnam and Indonesia, remains to be the top Asean partners of Seoul, and he expects these ties will last long given the commitment of the government to strengthen its relations with its Asian counterparts.

See “Infrastructure,” A2

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The number of South Korean firms that visited the Philippines to look into business opportunities presented by the “Build, Build, Build” program

n japan 0.4686 n UK 71.8541 n HK 6.5290 n CHINA 8.0429 n singapore 38.9589 n australia 41.3118 n EU 63.2028 n SAUDI arabia 13.6103

Source: BSP (30 January 2018 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Govt addresses major problems in Boracay of the Ayala Group of Cos.

Private treatment

ACCORDING to West Cove General Manager Ben Mobo, managers of the resorts mentioned “are talking to one another why our names have to be listed as probable violators.”

“In the first place, we did not receive any notice of violation. Second, we are wary of the plans that we are supposed to connect with the drainage system,” Mobo said. “But the problem is the drainage system [has not reached our network] yet. So how could we connect [with the drainage system]?”

The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority announced that it would complete the construction of the drainage system in Boracay by the year 2020.

With the absence of the drainage system, each of the resort mentioned have their respective Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which follows international standards, according to Mobo.

“What is difficult nowadays is that the submission of data as required by the government can be slow due to poor Internet [connection] and that

Infrastructure. . .

Continued from A1

“I hope South Korea finds more opportunities in the Philippines, and that we find greater potential for development,” he added.

He was joined by 12 South Korean firms looking at infrastructure opportunities in the country in its “Build, Build, Build” program. These firms are Seohyun Energy, CNNET Co. Ltd., Aju Corp., Ye Won Co. Ltd., GS E&C, Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants Ltd., K-Water, Daelim E&C, Soosung Engineering Co. Ltd., CJ Human Tech

government web sites are often down,” Mobo added. “We have to wait for few more days to see if government web sites are running again.”

Increasing fees

TO finance the environmental project of the local government of Malay, which has jurisdiction over Boracay Island, the municipal council members are currently proposing to increase the environmental fee imposed on visitors.

Currently, the local government charges tourists coming in and out of Boracay P75 each. The local government of Malay plans to raise it to P100.

Aside from the environmental fee, tourists are also being charged for another P100 each for terminal fees.

Boracay Foundation Inc. President Nenette A. Graf said there is a need to increase fees as tourists coming in are also bringing with them environmental problems. Each tourist coming in contributes to the piling of garbage and human waste, said Graf, who also serves as chairman of the local council’s committee on environment.

Data from the Aklan Provincial Tourism Office showed that from Company Ltd., Korea Electric Power Corp. and Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction.

Kim said he and the business delegation went to Clark, Pampanga, on Monday to see for themselves the potential of the area as an infrastructure zone. He said the Seoul-based businessmen found Clark conducive for their proposed business venture on infrastructure and energy.

Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez said the country aims to promote in South Korea garments, holiday decorations, electronic parts, education services, language courses and information

January to October 2017, the island welcomed a total of 1,669,751 tourists. The resort island has seen an additional 203,005 arrivals compared to the previous year’s figure during the same period of 1,466,796.

The proposal to increase environmental fee has already gained support among several members of the local council, she added.

BORACAY Island almost gained instant fortune and positive publicity when several European backpackers discovered this resort island in the 1970s.

According to local residents, Boracay came from the combination of the native words “Bora,” which means bubbles, and ‘Bocay,” which means white.

The popularity of the resort island heightened when German writer Jens Peter published a travel book, wherein he described Boracay as the most beautiful island in Asia.

Since then, tourism started to grow.

In the 1990s part of the beach of Boracay was reportedly infected by coliform. It was the first issue that raised national concern.

Businesses then was afraid that the tourism industry may be largely affected had it not been immediately prevented.

Since then, Boracay stakeholders tried to manage the issues concerning the tourism industry of this resort island.

However, the local government failed to control the mushrooming of commercial establishments in Boracay. Other problems started popping one after the other, pitting the national government and private stakeholders against another on how these concerns should be addressed.

In 2008 a Supreme Court decision shocked many stakeholders: it placed Boracay as part of the public domain and that its private landowners could not get titles to their properties. The decision of the High Tribunal further added to the already-pile high problems of this resort island.

Aside from the drainage and congestion concerns, other threats Boracay face include the possible dislocation of the indigenous people due to unbridled land development, coral bleaching, land grabbing and the possible peace and order issues that would come with this, and lack of police enforcers. To be concluded

tec h nolog y a nd bu si ness - process management. He explained export potential will be explored to top up the current exports of the country to South Korea, which are mostly agricultural products.

“We have a total trade of about $8 billion to $9 billion, and we would like to increase that in the years to come. One of the things we can focus on now is to continue exporting our agricultural products to South Korea, and explore other exports to boost this already robust trade,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez added Seoul is diverting its investment policy toward Southeast Asian countries, as the East Asian coun-

try finds the region a leading growth prospect across the world, aside from its strategic geographic location. South Korea is seemingly mirroring the trade policy of its neighbors China and Taiwan, both of which have rolled out flagship trade policies involving southern Asian countries.

China, for one, is pursuing President Xi Jinping’s grand plan of reviving the maritime Silk Road that has been critical to the country’s development in its nascent years. Taiwan is implementing its New Southbound Policy that intends to improve peopleto-people linkages with South and Southeast Asian countries.

Island discovery

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More violations of mining moratorium being unearthed Continued from A1

The status of Westchinamin’s operation was not immediately known. But Molino said the fact that the DMPF was approved on June 22, 2016, is a clear violation of the moratorium on new mining projects that is in effect at that time.

The moratorium on new mining projects remains in effect until now, although the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-MGB is pushing for the lifting of the ban to allow investments to flow in.

“The MGB issued a mining permit for the extraction of minerals in Santa Cruz at the height of the crackdown against irresponsible mining operations,” Molino said.

The order, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, states the approval of the company’s DMPF. It says: “…thereby authorizing Westchinamin Corp. and or Hyma Mining Corp. Inc. to proceed to the Development and Operating Periods of the said Agreement, including the extraction of nickel and other associated minerals.”

The permit to extract nickel and other associated minerals is subject to certain conditions, including compliance with existing applicable laws and their implementing rules and regulations and the pertinent provisions of the MPSA. Westchimin Corp. and/or Hyma Mining Corp. Inc. were directed to submit all future pertinent sales agreement and marketing contracts to the MGB. On February 2, 2016, the DENR approved the assignment of MPSA 316-2010-III from R.G. Perlas to Westchinamin pursuant to the April 1, 2015, Deed of Assignment and November 20, 2015, Addendum.

On March 30, 2016, during the validity of the exploration period, Westchinamin filed the DMPF under the same MPSA covering 286.25-hectare contract area in Santa Cruz, Zambales.

The MGB Regional Office III undertook an initial evaluation of the said DMPF and forwarded it to the MGB Central Office.

On April 22, 2016, Westchinamin applied for the expansion of the area under its MPSA by annexing the four areas covered by its application for exploration permits: EXPA-000188-III, EXPA-OOOO99-III, EXPA-000127-III and EXPA -0000188-III, pursuant to the pertinent provisions of Executive Order (EO) 79 and DENR Administrative Order 2012-07.

On May 23, 2016, the company’s MPSA was subsequently amended to include the other areas covered by the exploration permits as the company requested.

The MGB order stated that it has determined that Westchinamin has substantially complied with the pertinent requirements for the approval of a DMPF. Members of the Concerned Citizens of Santa Cruz, Zambales, are currently staging a campout protest in front of the DENR Central Office along Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, to denounce the continuing destruction caused by large-scale nickel-mining operations.

Molino lamented that, while the former DENR chief, Regina Paz L. Lopez, was mounting a crackdown against irresponsible mining, the MGB had approved the DMPF of Westchinamin Corp., paving the way for the company to push through with its commercial operation.

Westchinamin is not the only company that benefited from the scheme of amending the MPSAs to expand its mining tenement under EO 79.

An exclusive report by the BusinessMirror last year exposed that the Aquino administration may have violated its own moratorium on new mining deals when it allowed the areas covered by MPSAs to increase by about 6 percent at the tail end of its term.

Some of the MPSAs that got area expansion were among those subsequently canceled by Lopez, who mounted a 10-month crackdown against irresponsible mining.

Most of the MPSA area-expansion applications were approved in the first six months of 2016, or before the election and subsequent takeover of the Duterte administration.

A study conducted by the BusinessMirror revealed that 16 companies engaged in ore extraction, cement production and quarrying were able to expand their mining areas through amendments of their existing MPSAs. With this, mining areas grew by a total of 35,067.35 hectares, the bulk of the expansion happening in May and June 2016.

There are 317 existing MPSAs covering a total of 603,158.21 hectares as of April 30, 2017, according to the MGB’s web site. Some of the MPSAs have expired, consolidated or canceled, but with some still under appeal.

The expansion of mining areas was done through “annexation” of areas covered by existing MPSAs, ironically despite the ban on new mining projects and the processing of mining application following the signing of EO 79 by Aquino in July 2012, which sets the policy framework that will guide the government and other stakeholders in the implementation and operationalization of mining laws, rules and regulations.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, January 31, 2018 A3

Senate acts on ‘fake news’ proliferation

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

he Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, in a public hearing on Tuesday, moved to find ways to “stop the spread of fake news,” even as legislators saw no need to enact remedial legislation to tackle the problem raised in the case of controversial blogger Malacañang Assistant Communications Secretary Mocha Uson.

“It is not necessary [to amend existing laws],” said Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the committee. “We just have to implement the law.”

Most of the resource persons who attended the marathon committee hearing, including veteran journalists, aired similar sentiments.

This, even as Poe admitted that “many things still need to

be fixed.” While she asserts that “we have an existing libel law” to deal with the “ fake news” problem, Poe indicated the committee would still need to address other issues that arose at the hearing, citing, for instance, the case of bloggers in government payroll.

“Should we allow people in gov-

ernment to do blogs?” she asked, noting that there seems to be “no rule on bloggers.”

Before adjourning Tuesday’s hearing, Poe confirmed plans to invite officials from Google and Facebook at the next hearing, as suggested by Sen. Manny Pacquiao, as well as telephone company giants Smart and Globe.

“The weaponization of social media certainly is a new development that the framers of the Constitution, even the most recent one in 1987, could not have foreseen,” Poe said.

She noted that branding the problem as fake news may not be accurate. “It is misinformation and disinformation, it is disrespect, perhaps. To misinform is to inadvertently share false information; to disinform is to deliberately create and share information known to be false. This is what experts termed as “misinformation and disinformation of our ecosystem.”

“Bloggers, although they have a right to criticize, do not have the right to misinform. Opinions passed off as news are as deadly as lies. All the more if you are a

No guns and only nightsticks for barangay watchmen–Año

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ocal Government (DILG) Officer in Charge Eduardo M. Año called on barangay chairmen on Tuesday to ensure that no barangay tanod (barangay watchmen) under their supervision will be armed with guns even in the performance of their duties.

Año reminded barangay leaders that barangay watchmen are not allowed by any law to bear arms, no matter even if they’re mandated to maintain peace and order in their communities.

“As village heads, you are allowed by law to select, appoint and supervise your watchmen, but you also be held responsible in the conduct of their behavior and duties,” Año said in Filipino.

He added watchmen may only use nightstick with teargas with belt and holster, handcuff with holster, whistle, flashlight, raincoat, rain boots, small notebooks and ballpens, first-aid kits and other nonlethal gadgets.

“Village watchmen perform peace and order duties in their localities, but I need to remind them they are not authorized to carry firearms in the performance of their duties, even if they own these firearms. It wouldn’t make any difference even if these firearms come with permit to carry,” he said.

“If our barangay tanods see themselves in a potentially dangerous situation, they should seek the help of their local police officers. That’s

the job of the police,” Año added.

The DILG chief explained that Republic Act, (RA) 10591, known as Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act enacted in 2012, has revoked the authority of police auxiliary unit members, such as barangay tanods to carry firearms, which was previously allowed by Circular 2008-013 of the National Police Commission.

Año called on all local chief executives to ensure compliance with this directive and to withdraw any firearms that have been issued by them to barangay tanods.

He said that registered firearms of local government units shall only be issued to a government official or employee with a permanent plantilla position as provided in Section 5.5.2 of the implementing rules and regulations of RA 10591.

Village watchmen, Año added, are not classified as civil servants holding plantilla positions, which means they are not authorized to be issued firearms.

Village heads, or punong barangays, on the other hand, are entitled to possess and carry firearms within their territorial jurisdiction, subject to appropriate rules and regulations, as stated in Section 389 (c) of the Local Government Code, but only in the performance of their peace and order functions. Rene Acosta

Doc in NY terror plot, 53 others face raps over sawmill worker’s beheading

By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed criminal charges against 54 individuals, including a doctor being linked to the Maute Group for the abduction and beheading of sawmill workers two years ago in Butig, Lanao del Sur. Dr. Russel Langi Salic and his co-accused, who are suspected members of the Maute Group, were charged before the Regional Trial Court Branch 11 in Malabang, Lanao del Sur, with four counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention and two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with murder.

The case stemmed from the abduction of sawmill workers Gabriel Permitis, Alfredo Cano-os, Adonis Mendez, Julito Janubas, Jaymart Capangpangan and Salvador Janubas on April 4, 2016, in Butig, Lanao del Sur. Six days later, Capangpangan and Janubas were beheaded, while the four other victims were released with the help of their employer Hadja Anisah Gunda.

Gunda and the survivors executed an affidavit identifying their abductors, including Salic, whom they saw cleaning firearms during their detention.

The victims recalled that Salic even asked his Maute Group cohorts to serve them coffee and to guard them well so they would not be able to escape.

Salic, in his counteraffidavit, denied the allegation, saying he never set foot in Butig, Lanao del Sur. He said on the date of the abduction, he was working as a resident physician at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) in Cagayan de Oro City. On April 5, 2016, he said he want to Puerto Princesa, Palawan to attend the 26th Philippine Orthopedic Association Mid-Year Convention.

The doctor added that he returned to NMMC on April 10 as proof of his daily time record.

But the complainants maintained that they have no reason or ill motive to implicate Salic in their abduction since they do not personally know him.

In finding probable cause to indict the accused, the DOJ held that, “Criminal liability exists notwithstanding nonparticipation in every detail in the execution of the crime…. Where conspiracy has been established, it is unnecessary to pinpoint who among the accused inflicted the fatal blow…. The inaction of a respondent where he could have prevented the crime only reveal his complicity thereto.”

The DOJ resolution is signed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, recommended for approval by Officer in Charge-Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Amor L. Robles and approved by acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan.

public official,” Poe said. “Public officials, by the nature of their functions, should expect public scrutiny the moment they step into office.”

Poe added: “With fake news threatening our daily realities, I believe that legislative solutions exist.... Media literacy is the best long-term solution but it should not just be the government.”

Wrapping up the second hearing, Poe cited the various options that people aggrieved by fake news, or disinformation, can resort to, without the need for new legislation.

“One solution is education, and a continuing campaig n on proper behav ior in c yberspace.

We a re g r at e f u l for a l l t he pr ivate ent it ies, par t icu larly those coming from the media, that teach the netizens how to disting uish rea l from fa lse infor mation,” Poe said in her closing statement.

She added Senate probers are also looking at the accountability of those in power to fake news from the source, such as socialmedia sites. “Maybe we can ask from them more transparency

in their procedure for takedown, because ultimately, it’s their platform that dictates what to show or hide on our feeds.”

Apparent ly a l lud ing to an earlier remark at the hearing by I ntera k s yon Ed itor i n C h ief Roby A lampay about the “world class” competencies of the Na-

tional Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in fighting cybercrime, Poe said: “It’s also time that we encourage people to use the existing laws and institutions like the NBI Cybercrime Div ision already in place. With technolog y, we can fight back abuses in technolog y.”

With fake news threatening our daily realities, I believe that legislative solutions exist.

One solution is education, and a continuing campaign on proper behavior in cyberspace. Media literacy is the best long-term solution but it should not just be the government.

We are grateful for all the private entities, particularly those coming from the media, that teach the netizens how to distinguish real from false information.”—Poe

Economy

A4 Wednesday, January 31, 2018 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

Finance dept resets submission of new tax-reform proposals

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HE Department of Finance (DOF) has moved back the submission of its proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) Package 2 Plus by another two weeks in February, according to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. “There will be a delay of about two weeks. We are still formulating the Package 2 Plus [and] we are still in consultation with the people who filed bills,” Dominguez told financial reporters.

CTRP Package 2 Plus aims to reform the country’s current tax schemes for tobacco and alcohol products, casinos, mining and coal was originally scheduled for submission within the month.

Last week the DOF said it will be submitting by the end of this month its Package 2 proposal, which includes measures tackling taxes on sin products, namely, tobacco and alcoholic products, mining, coal and casinos.

Earlier in the month, the department had also submitted its Package 2 to Congress, which aims to slash corporate income-tax rates to 25 percent, from the current 30 percent, as well as harmonizing the country’s fiscal incentives.

“Actually, what they only adjusted is the cigarette tax, so there is still the alcohol tax that has not been reviewed. And according to the original sin tax law, that should have been reviewed by Congress,” Dominguez added.

The Tax Reform for Acceleration

and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, which is Package 1 of the CTRP, aims to cut personal income-tax rates and implement a number of offsetting measures, such as increasing taxes on fuel and automobiles. The government had also included provisions on taxing tobacco and coal.

Under Package 1A, the increase in coal excise tax, which was originally proposed to be included in the DOF’s fifth package of the CTRP, was raised from the current P10 per metric ton (MT) to P50 per MT in the first year of implementation, P100 in the second year and P150 in the succeeding years.

The increase in tobacco excise-tax rates was also included, from the current P30 per pack to P32.5 in the first half of this year and to P35 starting July 2018 to December 2019.

The finance chief said Congress is finalizing the other half of the TRAIN dubbed as Package 1B, tackling tax-administration measures, as well as tax amnesty and lifting of the bank secrecy law, with plans to pass the measure by March this year.

The DOF is currently in discussions with Sen. Emmanuel D. Pacquiao who sponsored Senate Bill (SB) 1599 and Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito for his SB 1605, which are both aimed at increasing excise-tax rates for tobacco products.

SB 1599 proposes to double the excise tax on cigarettes from the current P30 per pack to as much as P60 per pack this year, with an annual increase of 9 percent from the initial 4 percent.

BusinessMirror

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BPO workers told: Be fit to keep your jobs

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

he country’s 1.3 million business -process outsourcing (BPO) workers are at risk of losing their jobs if they leave their health unchecked, experts warned on Tuesday.

At a news briefing, former Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell Ubial and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Inc. Voice Your Care Project Lead Karlo Patron said BPO workers are prone to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Patron said these could make them miss work, be late, make them ineligible to qualify for benefits or even work in the industry.

“If you take a leave, for instance, then you’re no longer eligible for incentives, if you’re late, you’re no longer eligible for those.

What we want to be able to say is, you never trade-off your health,” Patron said.

“It’s okay to miss a little bit of this and that because it’s your health we are talking about. If the insight is you are doing this work to provide for your family, then you want to be able to do it sustainably. So, at the onset, get yourself checked,” he added.

J&J and the Department of Health (DOH) has launched Voice Your Care, an advocacy-driven

1.3M The estimated count of BPO workers in the country

campaign dedicated to promoting health and wellness within the BPO sector of the Philippines.

The program aims to address health concerns of the Philippine BPO Industr y through health modules cocreated with the DOH, on-ground activities and workshops with health-care practitioners and information-driven digital content.

Rosell-Ubial said BPO workers are especially susceptible to diseases, since they are exposed to cold surroundings and often lack sleep due to graveyard shifts.

These diseases usually start as simple cough and cold and become full-blown respiratory diseases such as asthma. Many symptoms,

Ubial said, unfortunately are “silent” ones but whose repercussions could be fatal.

Rosell-Ubial also said “common knowledge” about diseases, including among physicians, have also changed. One such example was diabetes, wherein Rosell-Ubial said they were taught that only fat females in their 50s get the disease.

This is no longer the case now, since there are men who have diabetes, and there are women who, even are in their in early-20s, get the disease.

“In general terms in the health sector, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. [Keep your focus on] wellness and prevention. Even if you spend on it, its better than finding yourself sick,” Rosell-Ubial said.

J&J Philippines and the DOH inked a one-year partnership, with options to extend up to two more years.

They will be rolling out more activities throughout the year, including health caravans with health-care practitioners, corporate social responsibility initiatives with private companies and strategic partnerships with BPO companies.

Currently, there is no law mandating annual physical checkups for private and public employees. However, Rosell-Ubial said that before she stepped down as health secretary, she was able to get a policy approved to mandate all government to undergo annual physical checkup.

This, Rosell-Ubial said, is now lodged at the Civil Service Commission, and has now become the standard in all national agencies.

But the challenge, Rosell-Ubial said, is that not all hospitals have the capability to conduct a nnu a l physica l c hec kups of government employees.

Rosell-Ubial said that, in Davao, the Southern Philippines Medical Center has the capability to conduct annual physical checkups for 1,000 people everyday. This is something that other hospitals, including those in Metro Manila, cannot do.

“Our hospitals in Metro Manila are not prepared for that. They don’t have the setup that we have in Davao that can do that, and I told them you have to prepare your hospital for that because that’s the next big thing,” Ubial said.

“If all the teachers, there are 300,000 of them, all the soldiers, all the police will go for annual checkups, I don’t know if our hospitals have the capacity for that,” she added.

The Voice Your Care advocacy campaign hopes to create a behavioral change that would empower every BPO agent to actively seek treatment for their ailments and choose a healthier lifestyle.

In its over 60 years in the country, J&J Philippines has helped Filipinos address the most common ailments and diseases with their high-quality medicine and medical technology in town clinics and hospital operating rooms.

Groups back House measure on labor-employment security

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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HE country’s largest labor coalition defended on Tuesday House Bill (HB) 6908 on the Security of Tenure (SOT) of workers, amid opposition from the business sector who branded the proposed measure as “anti-employer.”

In a news statement, the labor group Nagkaisa said law-abiding employers with contractual workers have nothing to fear once HB 6908 is implemented since it will only sanction those who practice labor-only contracting and other forms of illegal contractualization.

“The fear that the HB [6908] can lead to unemployment is only possible if they are not paying their contractual employees [on] what the law currently demands,” Nagkaisa said.

Nagkaisa maintained that the passage of HB 6908 will be beneficial for the country’s economy.

“Workers with regular employment generate more income, thus, with more purchasing power contribute to increasing demand in goods and services that lead to higher income taxes and VAT [value-added tax] for the government. These are all good for the economy,” Nagkaisa said.

The labor group’s statement came after the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) expressed

its opposition against HB 6908, saying the bill be “detrimental to the economy and job creation.”

Ecop did not specify which provision of HB 6908 it is opposed to.

Nagkaisa slammed the statement, which, the group said, is tantamount to supporting illegal contractualization.

“The fear that the HB can lead to unemployment is only possible if they are not paying their contractual employees what the law currently demands. In other words, their argument is an admission that they are doing business at the expense of workers’ rights—and they want to continue doing so,” Nagkaisa said.

Among the salient points of HB 6908 is its ban on the practice of subcontracting of jobs and fixed-term employment, as well as imposing a fine ranging from P30,000 to P5 million for labor contractors, who will violate its provisions.

Labor Undersecretary Joel B. Maglunsod told BusinessMirror in an interview that except for the provisions of HB 6908 on fines, revised parameters and stricter licensing requirements, the bill is almost identical to the existing regulations of labor department on contractualization.

“This [HB 6908] just defined the parameters. Its general rule is regular employment except those who are probationary, seasonal and project-

based,” Maglunsod said.

“In case it is passed into law, it will just complement our existing regulations,” the labor official added.

HB 6908 was finally passed on third and final hearing at the House of Representatives on Monday.

Nagkaisa is now appealing to the Senate to also fast-track the approval of the bill.

“This is the farthest a proposed law on SOT has gone for decades.

Now, it’s time to get the Senate moving on their proposed SOT measure,” Nagkaisa said.

In a separate statement, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), one of the members of Nagkaisa, said they are hoping President Duterte will sign their proposed Executive Order (EO) on contractualization next week to boost the chances of HB 6908 being passed in the Senate.

“If the EO is signed soon, it will send a strong signal to Congress on how the administration stand on contractualization. It will affect both the House and Senate deliberations given the supermajority of the administration in Congress,” TUCP President Raymond C. Mendoza said.

Labor representatives, including members of Nagkaisa, are scheduled to meet with Duterte on February 9 to discuss labor-related issues, including their proposed EO, which is also being endorsed by the Department of Labor and Employment.

Slower inflation hike for ‘poorest’ Pinoys in last 2 years–PSA data

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or the second consecutive year, the “poorest” Filipinos experienced a slower increase in inflation compared to the average, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

The annual average inflation for the bottom 30-percent income households for the year 2017 was registered at 3 percent, higher than the 1.4 percent in 2016.

Compared to the annual average inflation experienced by all Philippine households, commodity prices rose 3.2 percent in 2017 and 1.8 percent in 2016.

However, inflation felt by the poorest 30 percent of Filipinos living in Metro Manila was still higher than the average inflation felt by all households in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Inf lation experienced by the poorest households in Metro Manila reached 5 percent in 2017. This is higher than the average for NCR of 4 percent last year.

In areas outside of NCR, inflation experienced by the poorest 30 percent of households reached 3 percent, while the average for all households was only 2.9 percent in 2017.

Meanwhile, in terms of specific

commodities, more expensive food items caused inflation to increase for the bottom 30 percent in 2017.

The annual increment of the food alone index at the national level picked up by 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Its annual rate was recorded at 3 percent in the previous quarter and 2.2 percent during the same period in 2016.

Higher annual average rates for the year 2017 were seen in all the commodity groups except clothing index that exhibited a slower annual average growth of a percent during the year from 1.2 percent in 2016. Cai U. Ordinario

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Wednesday, January 31, 2018

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PHL meat imports up 7% in 2017

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

hilippine meat imports in 2017 rose by nearly 7 percent to a record-high volume of 691,462.564 metric tons (MT) due to the growing demand of Filipino consumers for processed-meat products.

bloomberg

Dat a re le a s e d b y t he Bu reau of Animal Industry (BAI) showed that total purchase of meat abroad last year surpassed t he 6 4 6 , 50 3.7 M T re cord e d in 2016.

BAI data indicated that bulk of the country’s meat imports were pork, accounting for about 44.18 percent of the total volume purchased last year. Pork

imports in 2017 posted the highest increment, ex panding by 10.65 percent to 305,479.806 MT, from the 2016 record of 276,066.999 MT. “Pork cuts, bellies and deboned meat constituted about 30.19 percent or [92,234.802 MT], which are mostly used by meat processors, while the 69.81 percent equivalent to [213,245.044

MT] are commonly imported by meat traders, which includes fats, rind/skin and other products,” the BAI said.

Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that offal accounted for the bulk, or 43.17 percent, of the country’s pork imports last year. Pork offal imports in 2017 went up by 11.61 percent to 131,896.656 MT, from the previous year’s 118,180.154 MT. Germany remained as the Philippines’s top source of pork and other meat products last year, according to BAI data. The country’s total pork imports from Germany last year slightly declined to 77,452.402 MT, from the 2016 record of 77,797.212 MT. Data from the BAI also showed that total chicken imports last year grew by nearly 4 percent to 244,104.419 MT, from the previous year’s 234,742.766 MT. “The United States remained the biggest supplier of chicken meat contributing 39.73 percent, followed by the Netherlands with 20.87 percent, Brazil with 13.87 percent, Canada with 10.72 percent, Belgium with 10.63 percent,” the BAI said.

“About 77.44 percent of the total chicken-meat volume was MDM [mechanica l ly deboned meat], leg quarters accounted for 18.37 percent; chicken cuts constituted 2.82 percent, while offals, rind/skin and fats shared 1.38 percent,” it added.

The country’s chicken-meat imports from the United States reached 96,974.25 MT in 2017, 8.33 percent higher than the 2016 record of 89,513.061 MT. L ast October USA Pou ltr y and Eg g Export Council Vice President of Marketing Greg Tyler told the BusinessMirror

House approves bill amending PCIC charter

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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he House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a measure strengthening the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) by expanding its coverage and allowing it to engage in index-based insurance and reinsurance.

Voting 197-0, the lower chamber passed late Monday House Bill (HB) 6923, or “An Act Strengthening the PCIC,” repealing Presidential Decree 1467, which created the governmentowned and -controlled corporation attached to the Department of Agriculture.

In a news briefing, Rep. Arthur C. Yap of the Third District of Bohol, the chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs and principal author of the bill, said the measure seeks to overhaul the crop-insurance system by allowing it to provide index-based direct insurance and reinsurance policies.

“With no real and expansive agricultural, property or life-insurance protection, farmers just watch helplessly, as the weather comes to take away the sweat and tears of investments that farmers have planted,” Yap said.

According to Yap, the measure mandates the PCIC and encourages private insurance companies to offer index-based insurance as one of their products. Index-based insurance is an “innovative and technically sound” approach to manage risks, especially for highly vulnerable farmers in rural areas, he said.

“Unlike traditional crop insurance in which indemnity payments are linked to individual farmer yields and losses, index insurance links payments to independently established data, such as local rainfall, wind speed, temperature, typhoons, cyclones and historical yield data as trigger events to release payments and compensation to affected farmers and fishermen,” he added.

Yap noted that the ability to pay out cash early, at different stages of an unfolding calamity, without having to wait for a total wipeout, will allow farmers to prevent more losses.

In Africa he said payouts prevent farmers from selling their livestock and moving to cities.

“By purchasing risk-insurance, nations can

now shift disaster risk and associated economic, social and medical costs away from local government units and governments to the global capital market. The government can instead focus on disaster preparedness and a system for saving lives and distributing aid and payouts in times of calamities and disasters,” Yap said.

HB 6923 seeks to expand the types of crops that can be insured by the PCIC, and to include life and accident insurance for farmers and fishermen and their dependents.

It also aims to strengthen the financial and organizational capacity of the PCIC while encouraging private insurance companies to offer crop insurance.

Aside from rice, HB 6923 indicated that corn, high value commercial crops, livestock, aquaculture and fishery, agroforestry and forest plantations would also be covered by crop insurance.

The measure requires farmers seeking production loans for rice and other crops essential to food security to insure their crops with the PCIC. The bill also authorizes the PCIC to extend life- and accident-insurance coverage to farmers and fishermen.

It mandates the PCIC to insure properties and facilities of the government used in agri-fishery projects, including reinsurance coverage to agri-fishery-forestry properties underwritten by private and government insurance companies.

Under the bill, the PCIC shall offer weather index-based insurance, specifically for excessive or insufficient rainfall. The bill also authorizes the PCIC to offer crop reinsurance to encourage private commercial banks to sell crop insurance.

HB increased the authorized capital stock of PCIC from P2 billion to P10 billion, as well as the penalties slapped on individuals who would make spurious crop insurance claims.

Yap asked the Senate to immediately file a counterpart bill to HB 6923 to allow the PCIC to engage in index-based reinsurance and insurance and to be recapitalized and supported for it.

“This move will clearly signal to the private sector and capital markets that the Philippines is serious about this program to help our farmers, and secure food production in our country,” he said.

that his group expects poultry exports to the Philippines to exceed 90,495 MT in 2017 due to expected increase in demand from the meat-processing sector.

“We see that the Philippines would remain as a top 10 market as far as our broiler exports are concerned. The meat-processing association in the Philippines continues to develop new products, so we see growth in these markets,” Tyler said.

The BAI noted that the common inputs for meat processing—MDM, fats and rind skin— accounted for the bulk, or 78.7 percent, of total chicken imports last year. Purchases of these raw materials from abroad reached 192,106.442 MT, 12.13 percent higher than the 171,316.846 MT posted in 2016.

The agency attached to the DA revealed that beef imports last year reached 102,920.016 MT, nearly 10 percent higher than the previous year’s 93,721.925 MT. “A b o ut 6 4 . 0 3 p e rc e nt o r [65,904.153 MT] of the total volume was for beef cuts, and the rest were distributed as choice cuts [6.56 percent], deboned [0.48 percent], fats [15.79 percent] and offal [13.14 percent],” the BAI said.

Australia remained the top source of t he countr y’s beef imports, accounting for 36.34 percent of the total volume imported in 2017, according to the BA I. Beef imports from Australia last year rose slightly to 37,396.409 MT. Earlier, the Meat Importers and Traders A ssociation said Philippine meat imports would hit another record high due to the sustained increase in demand for demand for processed-meat products.

Crops damaged by Mayon activity valued at P165.54 million–DA

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ilipino farmers in Albay have incurred losses amounting to P165.54 million due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a report released on Tuesday.

“As of January 30, the damages and losses to the agriculture sector brought about by the activity of Mayon Volcano is now at P165.54 million, affecting a total of 8,138 hectares of agricultural areas in the province of Albay,” the DA said.

The DA pegged the production loss at 36,023 metric tons (MT). Crops damaged were rice, corn, high value crops and fiber crops. Mayon’s activity also affected at least 8,294 farmers.

“Rice contributed the largest share of the production losses at 82.45 percent, or P139.79 million,” the DA report read.

“The affected area of 6,380 hectares is equivalent to 61.35 percent of the total standing crop of 10,399 hectares. The losses were due to the effect of ash fall to the leaves and tillers of newly planted rice crops,” it added.

The DA said Mayon Volcano eruptions affected some 4,253 rice farmers in the municipalities of Santo Domingo, Malilipot, Legazpi City, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao, Polangui and Oas. Damage to high value crops has reached P20.89 million, affecting a total area of 1,049 hectares, with an estimated volume loss of about 36,032 MT, according to the DA. “Affected vegetable crops are ampalaya, baguio beans, eggplant, okra, pole sitao, sayote, sili, tomato and upo, which are on their fruiting stage,” the report read. “Moreover, losses on high value crops contribute to 12.62 percent of the total production losses reported.”

Some 773 corn farmers in Albay have incurred losses amounting to P4.378 million, according to the DA. “Damage to corn has contributed to 2.65 percent of the total production losses affecting 708 hectares of corn at seedling and vegetative growth stages.”

The DA said farmers planting fiber

crops, particularly abaca, have registered production losses amounting to P478,000. The DA added that the estimated volume loss was pegged at 6 MT planted in 99 hectares.

Government aid

The National Food Authority (NFA) said it has released about 13,456 bags of rice to various local government units (LGUs) and agencies as part of their relief operations for the victims of the eruption of Mayon Volcano.

In a statement, NFA Administrator Jason L.Y. Aquino said the food agency’s field offices in Region 5 are closely coordinating with concerned LGUs, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Office of Civil Defense to ensure that the rice requirements of the evacuees are met.

“We have a standing memorandum of agreement with relief agencies, such as the DSWD, Office of Civil Defense and LGUs for the supply of their rice requirements for relief operations during natural disasters, calamities and other emergencies,” Aquino said.

As of January 29, the NFA said the provincial government of Albay received the biggest volume at 3,300 bags. It was followed by the Legazpi City government, which received 2,686 bags.

The NFA added that they gave 1,700 bags of rice to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, while 1,600 bags were released to the Office of Congressman Joey Salceda.

The NFA said it also released bags of rice to the Office of Vice President, Department of Public Works and Highways and various lawmakers and LGUs affected by the eruptions by Mayon Volcano.

“Our operations center is open 24-hours to monitor the situation in the area and provide quick response to queries and accommodate LGUs, relief agencies and other institutions withdrawing their rice purchases for distribution to affected families,” said Aquino. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

briefs Republicans vote to release classified memo on Russia probe

WASHINGTON—Brushing aside opposition from the Justice Department, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee voted to release a classified memo that purports to show improper use of surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation.

The four-page memo has become a political flashpoint, with President Donald J. Trump and many Republicans pushing for its release and suggesting that some in the Justice Department and FBI have conspired against the president.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump’s campaign was involved.

Republicans have said the memo reveals grave concerns about abuses of the government surveillance powers in the Russia investigation. Democrats have called it a selectively edited group of GOP talking points that attempt to distract from the committee’s own investigation into Russian meddling. AP

FBI’s McCabe, a frequent Trump target, leaves post

WASHINGTON—Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a target of frequent and aggressive criticism

by President Donald J. Trump, abruptly stepped down from his position on Monday ahead of his planned retirement this spring.

A 22-year veteran of the FBI, McCabe has been publicly and repeatedly lambasted over the past year by Trump, who has accused him of bias because of his wife’s political connections and an FBI investigation that produced no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton.

McCabe, who has held a number of FBI leadership roles and been heavily involved in investigations into major crimes including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, becomes eligible for retirement in a matter of weeks. AP

U.S. issues ‘Putin list’ of Russian politicians and oligarchs

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration late on Monday released a long-awaited list of 114 Russian politicians and 96 “oligarchs” who have flourished during the reign of President Vladimir Putin, fulfilling a demand by Congress that the United States punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 US election.

Yet, the administration paired that move with a surprising announcement that it had decided not to punish anybody—for now— under new sanctions retaliating for the election-meddling. Some US lawmakers said President Donald J. Trump was giving a free pass to those Congress intended to target, fueling further questions about whether the president is too soft on Russia.

The list comprises a who’s who of politically connected Russians in the country’s elite class. The idea is to name-and-shame those believed to be benefiting from Putin’s tenure just as the United States works to isolate his government diplomatically and economically. AP

Floods peak in Paris as France sees worst rains in 50 years

PARIS—Floodwaters peaked in Paris on Monday and were threatening towns downstream as the rain-engorged Seine River winds through Normandy toward the English Channel.

Rivers swollen by France’s heaviest rains in 50 years have engulfed romantic quays in Paris, swallowed up gardens and roads, halted riverboat cruises—and raised concerns about climate change.

The Meteo France weather service said, January has seen nearly double normal rainfall nationwide, and the rains in the past two months are the highest measured for the period in 50 years. AP

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

Trump to herald economic progress in State of the Union

Child experts: Just say ‘no’ to Facebook’s kids app

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OSTON—Child-development experts and advocates are urging Facebook to pull the plug on its new messaging app aimed at kids.

A group letter sent on Tuesday to CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues that younger children—the app is intended for those under 13—aren’t ready to have socialmedia accounts, navigate the complexities of online relationships or protect their own privacy.

Facebook launched the free Messenger Kids app in December, pitching it as a way for children to chat with family members and parent-approved friends.

It doesn’t give kids separate Facebook or Messenger accounts. Rather, the app works as an extension of a parent’s account and parents get controls, such as the ability to decide who their kids can chat with.

The social-media giant has said it fills “a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want.”

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ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump will herald a robust economy and push for bipartisan congressional action on immigration in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, as he seeks to rally a deeply divided nation and boost his own sagging standing with Americans.

The approval rating of US President Donald J. Trump, considered one of his weak points The speech marks the ceremonial kickoff of Trump’s second year in office and is traditionally a president’s biggest platform to speak to the nation.

However, Trump has redefined presidential communications with his high-octane, filter-free Twitter account and there’s no guarantee that the carefully crafted speech will resonate beyond his next tweet.

Still, White House officials are hopeful the president can use the prime-time address to Congress and millions of Americans watching at home to take credit for a soaring economy.

Though the trajector y of lower unemploy ment and higher grow th began under his predecessor, Tr ump arg ues t hat the ta x overhaul he signed into law late last year has boosted business confidence and w il l lead companies to reinvest in the United States.

Considering the strength of the economy, Trump will step before lawmakers on Tuesday night in a remarkably weak position. His approval rating has hovered in the 30s for much of his presidency and

at the close of 2017, just 3 in 10 Americans said the United States was heading in the right direction, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

In the same survey, 67 percent of Americans said the country was more divided because of Trump.

It’s unlikely Trump will be able to rely on a robust legislative agenda to reverse those numbers in 2018. Congress has struggled with the basic function of funding the government, prompting a brief government shutdown earlier this month that was resolved only with a short-term fix that pushed the spending deadline to on February 8.

Against the backdrop of the spending fight, Republicans and Democrats are also wrestling with the future of some 700,000 young immigrants living in the United States illegally. Trump has vowed to protect the so-called Dreamers from deportation, but is also calling for changes to legal immigration that are controversial with both parties.

“We’re going to get something done, we hope bipartisan,” Trump told reporters on Monday, before giving his speech a practice run through in the White House map room. “The Republicans really don’t have the votes to get it done in any other way. So, it has to be bipartisan.” Though Democrats are eager to reach a resolution for the young immigrants, the party is hardly in the mood to compromise with Trump ahead of the midterm elections.

Lawmakers see Trump’s unpopularity as a key to their success in November, and are eager to mobilize Democratic voters itching to deliver the president and his party a defeat at the ballot box.

Seeking to set the tone for their election-year strategy, party leaders have tapped Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, to deliver

a post-speech rebuttal aimed at casting Democrats, not Trump, as champions of the middle class.

Democrats are also looking to make their mark in other ways. A handful of lawmakers are planning to boycott the president’s remarks.

And several Democratic women plan to wear black to protest sexual harassment, an issue that has tarnished several lawmakers in both parties.

Trump himself has been accused of assault or harassment by more than a dozen women, accusations he has denied. The Wall Street Journal reported this month that the president’s lawyer arranged a payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, to prevent her from talking about her alleged encounter with the future president.

First lady Melania Trump, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight following those allegations, will attend Tuesday’s address, according to the White House. She’ll be joined in the audience by several guests, whose stories amplify the president’s agenda, including an Ohio welder, who the White House says will benefit from the new tax law and the parents of two Long Island teenagers who were believed to have been killed

by MS-13 gang members. AP

‘Targeting younger children’

But a group of 100 experts, advocates and parenting organizations is contesting those claims. Led by the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the group includes psychiatrists, pediatricians, educators and the children’s music singer Raffi Cavoukian.

“Messenger Kids is not responding to a need—it is creating one,” the letter states. “It appeals primarily to children who otherwise would not have their own social-media accounts.”

Another passage criticized Facebook for “targeting younger children with a new product.”

In a statement, Facebook said on Monday that the app “helps parents and children to chat in a safer way,” and emphasized that parents are “always in control” of their kids’ activity.

The social-media giant added that it consulted with parenting experts and families, and said “there is no advertising in Messenger Kids.”

Kids and Facebook

Lights shine inside the US Capitol Building as night falls in Washington on January 21. AP/J. David Ake

Triple treat: Blue moon, supermoon, total lunar eclipse on Wednesday

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APE CANAVERAL, Florida—The moon is providing a rare triple treat this week.

On Wednesday, much of the world will get to see not only a blue moon and a supermoon, but also a total lunar eclipse, all rolled into one. There hasn’t been a triple lineup like this since 1982, and the next won’t occur until 2037.

T he eclipse w ill be v isible best in the western half of the United States and Canada before the moon sets early on Wednesday morning, and across the Pacific into Asia as the moon rises Wednesday night into Thursday.

The US East Coast will be out of luck; the moon will be setting just as the eclipse gets started.

Europe and most of Africa and South America also will pretty much miss the show.

A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. A supermoon is a particularly close full or new moon, appearing somewhat brighter and bigger. A total lunar eclipse—or blood moon for its reddish tinge—has the moon completely bathed in Earth’s shadow.

“I’m calling it the Super Bowl of moons,” lunar scientist Noah Petro said on Monday from National Aeronautics Space Administration’s Goddard Space Flight

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The moon takes on different orange tones during a lunar eclipse seen from Mexico City on August 28, 2007. On Wednesday, a super moon, blue moon and a lunar eclipse will occur at the same time. AP/Marco Ugarte

Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Others prefer to call it “super blue blood moon.”

Either way, it’s guaranteed to impress, provided the skies are clear. The moon will actually be closest to Earth on Tuesday—just over 223,000 miles (359,000 kilometers). That’s about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) farther than

the supermoon on January 1. Midway through Wednesday’s eclipse, the moon will be even farther away—223,820 miles (360,200 kilometers)—but still within unofficial supermoon guidelines.

While a supermoon is considered less serious and scientific than an eclipse, it represents a chance to encourage people to

start looking at the moon, according to Petro.

“I’m a lunar scientist. I love the moon. I want to advocate for the moon,” he said.

Throw in a blue moon, and “that’s too good of an opportunity to pass,” according to Petro.

As the sun lines up perfectly with the Earth and then moon for the eclipse, scientists will make observations from a telescope in Hawaii, while also collecting data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s mooncircling Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2009.

Just like the total solar eclipse in the US last August cooled the Earth’s surface, a lunar eclipse cools the moon’s surface. It’s this abrupt cooling—from the heat of direct sunlight to essentially a deep freeze—that researchers will be studying. Totality will last more than an hour.

“The moon is one of the most amazing objects in our solar system,” Petro said. “It really is the key to understanding the solar system, through interpreting the geology and surface of the moon.”

Nasa plans to provide a live stream of the moon from telescopes in California and Arizona, beginning at 5:30 a.m. EST. AP

A variet y of experts and technology insiders have begun questioning the effects smartphones and social-media apps are having on people’s health and mental wellbeing—whether kids, teens or adults.

Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, said late last year that the social-media platform exploits “vulnerability in human psychology” to addict users. A chorus of other early employees and investors piled on with similar criticisms.

Many preteens have already found their way onto Facebook and more youth-oriented social-media platforms, such as Snapchat and Facebook’s own Instagram, despite internal rules that require users to be at least 13 years old.

Those rules are based in part on federal law, which prohibits Internet companies from collecting personal information on children without their parents’ permission and imposes restrictions on advertising to them.

Some companies have offered parental controls as a way of curbing unauthorized preteen use of their platforms.

But Facebook’s new kid-focused app, which features animations and emojis, seems to cater to a younger audience, said Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

“It looks like something that would appeal to a 6-year-old or 7-year-old,” he said.

Uncertain impact

Facebook wouldn’t answer questions about how popular the messaging app has been.

But App Annie, an app analytics firm, said Messenger Kids has been downloaded about 80,000 times on iOS since it launched on December 4. It’s been in the top 40 most popular kids’ apps since then. That sounds like a lukewarm reception at best.

University of Michigan developmental behavioral pediatrician Jenny Radesky, who co-signed the letter, said she’s never met a parent who was clamoring to get their children onto social media at an earlier age.

“One can only assume that Facebook introduced it to engage users younger and younger,” Radesky said. AP

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EU warns Britain it can have no say during Brexit transition

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RUSSELS—The European Union (EU) on Monday warned Britain that it cannot expect to have a say in EU decisionmaking once it leaves, including during a transition period from next year meant to help smooth the departure.

The warning came as European affairs ministers adopted—in a matter of minutes— new orders for the bloc’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, laying out the terms of the transition, which would run from the end of March 2019 until December 31, 2020 when the bloc’s current long-term budget ends.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, who chaired the meeting, said the ministers gave “a clear mandate” on their requirements for the transition period.

She said the EU law would apply in Britain during that time and that the country would have “no participation in the EU institutions and decision-making.”

Barnier’s deputy tweeted that the negotiating guidelines were endorsed in Brussels within two minutes, although ambassadors had spent weeks drafting them.

Zaharieva said: “We hope an agreement on this with the UK [United Kingdom] can also be closed swiftly.”

In London Brexit Secretary David Davis played down the impact on Britain’s status during the 21-month transition, saying that it’s “not exactly the same as membership— but it’s very, very similar.”

“The existing regulatory structure will exist, the existing court structure will exist,”

Davis told a British parliamentary committee.

He underlined that Britain would, however, be free during the bridging period to negotiate new trade deals with the wider world, which it is barred from doing while it is an EU member.

Barnier noted that “no accord with third countries engaging the United Kingdom can enter force without the agreement of the 27” EU countries. In a sign of potential tension over the issue, Davis warned that “there will be an argument about the right to negotiate free-trade arrangements.”

In the orders, the EU insists that Britain should also abide by any new rules that are introduced during the transition.

This has already raised concern in Britain, and Davis demanded last week “a way of resolving concerns if laws are deemed to run contrary to our interests and we have not had our say.”

“It’s very, very important,” he said that, “if there are new laws that affect us, we have the means to resolve any issues during that period.”

But, Irish European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said on Monday that “what we cannot have is a position where the integrity of the single market, the customs union, is in any way undermined.”

“When the UK leave the European Union they will not be a voice around the table,” she said.

Swedish EU Affairs and Trade Minister Ann Linde agreed. AP

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

A7

Indonesian finance chief: Trump’s trade policies a risk to progress

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NITED States President Donald J. Trump’s protectionist trade policies are raising concerns of a potential setback to three decades of global economic progress, according to Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

“Globally, we have to recognize that openness and global trade is actually helping a lot of countries to have a shared prosperity and reduce poverty,” Indrawati said in a Bloomberg Television interview in London on Monday. “ T he cur rent protectionist language is definitely going to create concern about whether globally there will be a setback in the progress that has been made over the past three decades.”

Signs of a new era of American protectionism under Trump were underscored this month when his government slapped

tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. While Trump said last Friday that the United States economic growth promoted by his “America First” policies would help the world, his protectionist tone since coming to power has been raising concerns in countries like Indonesia.

Indonesia ran a trade surplus of $12.4 billion with the US last year, a small decline from the $13 billion it notched up in 2016.

That imbalance saw Southeast Asia’s biggest economy earn the ire of the Trump administration, which in April added the country

to a list of nations being probed for potential trade abuse.

But, Indrawati said trade between the US and Indonesia was of mutual benefit.

Market for US

“It would be very useful for many countries in the world, because after all the US is the largest economy in the world,” Indrawati said. “It’s in the interest of the United States to see Indonesia as the largest Southeast Asia economy because this is also a market for many of the US’s products.”

Indonesia is now in a much better position to weather the impact of rising interest rates in the US and elsewhere, Indrawati said. The policy of normalization by the US Federal Reserve is reminiscent of the taper tantrum in 2013 when its signal of stimulus withdrawal prompted an Indonesian sell-off, but Indrawati said the currency had remained stable last year despite increase in US interest rates.

“We have a current account deficit which is below 2 percent

but the growth rate is above 5 percent with a much-better middle class,” Indrawati said. “It’s going to be a very good foundation for us to make sure that the stability on the fiscal side, as well as, the monetary side is going to create a better environment for us to grow further.”

Second stint

Indrawati, 55, returned for a second stint as the finance minister in July 2016 after serving the World Bank as a managing director. Having built a reputation as a technocrat and economic reformer when she first ran the ministry from 2005 to 2010, her return has been lauded by investors as adding impetus to Indonesia’s economic credibility. More recently, speculation has mounted about a possible tilt at higher office.

Asked on Monday if she had been approached to run in the presidential elections due in 2019, Indrawati said she was focused on her current job and the reforms her ministry was undertaking.

Bloomberg News

Metro BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Editor: Max V. de Leon • www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOT to promote Malabon Tricycle Tours

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he Department of Tourism (DOT) is partnering with the local government of Malabon for the promotion of the city’s very own heritage and culinary tricycle tours.

“Hopefully, this will invite foreign tourists, masaya ‘yan dahil wala ‘yan sa kanila [it should be fun because they don’t have it (tricycle tour)],” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo told reporters in an interview. “When you’re in Bangkok, they have the Tuk Tuk. Here, we have our tricycle drivers, magagaling din dahil [they are also good drivers be-

cause] they are trained.”

The Malabon Tricycle Tours offers trips to different churches within the city, which she believes will further boost the DOT Faith Tourism.

“This covers all—from culture, faith and culinary tourism; it covers everything,” Teo said.

“Also, we’ll be able to help the local

community, such as the tricycle drivers, and I really want that, reaching out [to] the community and helping local people,” she added. “We are going to promote this.”

The Tricycle Tours have three different packages to choose from: the Heritage Tour priced at P250 per person; the Food Trip Special Tour at P750; and the combined food and heritage tour at P900 per person.

The Heritage Tour includes 10 destinations, from Malabon ancestral house visits to trip to old churches.

Of the 10 destinations, tourists may get to appreciate the unique Baroque architecture of San Bartolome Church, the Nepomuceno, Ibaviosa, Rivera and Raymundo Ancestral House, the Syjuco Mansion and the El Casa Katipunero.

At the same time, visitors will be brought to the home of award-winning artist Angel Cacnio and to the Artes de Paseo Art Gallery.

Meanwhile, for the Food Trip Special, participants will get to taste unique Malabon delicacies, such as The Original: Dolor’s Kakanin; Nanay’s Pancit Malabon; Hazel’s Puto, Jamico’s Restaurant; Betsy’s Cake Center, known for its soft broas; and the Lugaw Experience.

Since its December 2014 launch, Malabon Mayor Lenlen Oreta said the Tricycle Tours had been gaining attention even from international visitors, and one notable trip was from a group of Harvard students who came in dozens.

Eduardo Ramos, tourism officer of Malabon, said packages are availed of at the City Tourism & Cultural Affairs Office. PNA

Indian passenger sent back for misbehavior during flight

By Recto Mercene

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@rectomercene

n Indian passenger went berserk, breaking two glass panels at the immigration arrival area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 after he was accused

by an airline flight crew of misbehavior while on board Cebu Pacific flight 5J15 from Dubai.

The airport police identified the Indian national as Kalathiparamba Kunjipappu Sarinkumar, who was accused by Cebu Pacific flight crew of consuming a bottle of wine he brought on board.

Sarikumar got drunk and became unruly, causing fellow passengers to panic.

Sarinkumar was prevented by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) from entering the country through the recommendation of the airline. He was later brought to the exclusion room to await for the next flight that will bring him home.

However, while on the way to the escalator, Sarinkumar went wild. He was immediately subdued by the guards and brought back to the exclusion room for deportation proceedings.

Sarinkumar was placed in the BI’s blacklist and later boarded a flight back to Dubai on Tuesday on board flight 5J14.

Demand for office space in Metro still growing

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ith the new year comes renewed hope for a brighter economy. The signs are quite positive. Demand for new office spaces in the Metro continues to grow, and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) remains the preferred business destination.

According to a reputable realestate services firrm, close to 950,000 square meters of office space will be added this year, of which 43 percent, or over 400,000 sq m, are in BGC. Business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms account for the majority of the demand, with online gaming firms coming close. More locators equate to a jump in employment, and with higher employment figures follows the need for practical residences.

Imagine thousands of professionals all requiring comfortable living quarters that are modern, close to the office, and provide

amenities fit for today’s lifestyle but at a reasonable price. This is a modern dilemma that needs to be addressed.

C-5 Mansions Development Corp. believes that the strong residential demand created by the office boom should present professionals and investors opportunities for great-value housing choices.

The boutique developer presents Ridgewood Towers Premier, which is strategically situated along the periphery of Bonifacio Global City.

Ridgewood Towers Premier is only 400 meters from SM Aura and within walking distance to McKinley Hill. Access to Makati’s central business district and the rest of BGC is limited to a few minutes of driving, while the country’s premier airport is a short drive away.

W hether purchasing a unit for your own use or for incomeearning activities like leasing or resale, Ridgewood Towers Premier

Ridgewood Towers Premier is the only residential condominium project that is within walking distance to both Bonifacio Global City and McKinley Hill.

remains an attractive investment versus its more pricey counterparts. Despite being virtually in the same area, Ridgewood Towers Premier offers a lower total investment while providing potential income that is competitive with the more expensive business districts.

The project also features amenities that cater to the modern lifestyle, ensuring maximum comfort and convenience to residents. These include a grand lobby, private theater, function room, lap pool, kiddie pool, jacuzzi, rooftop sky garden and gym.

Due to the gold-rush atmosphere of BGC leading to more office towers and higher employment, Ridgewood Towers Premier is performing quite well. Investors and future residents respond positively to the project’s “strong potential,” according to C-5 Mansions.

Investors and aspiring homeowners may look at the outstanding lifestyle opportunities on offer at Ridgewood Towers Premier by sending an e-mail to ptan.ridgewoodtowers@gmail.com.

Manila probes proliferation of illegal public-utility vehicles

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By Samuel Medenilla

he local government of Manila said it is now conducting a citywide probe on the “alarming” proliferation of illegal tricycles and pedicabs (bicycles with sidecars) in preparation for their planned phaseout this year.

In its Resolution 10, series of 2018, the City Council of Manila (CCM) noted that about 90 percent of the existing tricycles and pedicabs plying the streets in its jurisdiction are operating without any permit from the city government.

There are currently around 20,000 tricycles in Manila.

“The proliferation of these illegal public-utility vehicles (PUVs) are alarming, considering the existence of the Manila Tricycles Regulatory Office for almost two years now, which is primarily tasked to regulate them for public safety,” the CCM said in its two-page issuance.

It ordered its Committees on Laws and Transportation to investigate the matter “in aid of legislation and other purposes.”

Also covered in the probe are all the unauthorized terminals, where the said vehicles wait for passengers.

The CCM said the findings of the investigation will be used to ensure the safety of commuters and boost its regulatory powers.

Last week Manila City Mayor Joseph E. Estrada announced he is planning to replace all three-wheeled PUVs in Manila this year, with electric tricycles, or e-trikes, procured by local government of Manila.

He said the project aims to reduce the air pollution in Manila and make it the e-trike capital of the country.

It was reported that Manila is planning to distribute 10,000 e-trike units this year to qualified drivers.

Meanwhile, as proof that the local government of Manila is serious in ridding the city’s streets of homeless people, 42 street dwellers and unwashed beggars were recently rounded up by the Manila Department of Social Welfare (MDSW) personnel, with the help of some officers from the Manila Police District, Metro Manila Development Authority, Manila Health Department and barangay officials.

This activity formed part of a series of massive clearing and reachout operations of the local government in its drive to stop street begging within the locality.

In response to allegation of his inept handling of such concern, Estrada said the city government is doing its job every day in its “battle against street dwellers.”

“In fact, the city hall personnel are acting on it every day, particularly the MDSW, to save vagrants from accident and provide them temporary shelter. They’re given food and medicine they need,” he explained.

The local chief executive insisted that he is very serious in achieving the “zero street dweller” program embodied in Executive Order 10, which he signed in January 2017.

According to MDSW team leaders Lindsay Javier and Ampi Naron, the persons they picked up came from different areas, such as Liwasang Bonifacio (Lawton), Manila City Hall, KKK Monument and Post Office; Abad Santos and Hermosa Streets in Tondo; Baseco and Plaza Ruiz in Binondo; C. M. Recto at Tomas Mapua Streets in Santa Cruz; and P. Margal and P. Noval Streets in Sampaloc. Of the 42 captured street dwellers, the 34 minors and out-of-school youths were brought to Manila Boystown Complex in Marikina City for their temporary shelter. They were given clothes, food and medicine, and will be enrolled at Fugoso Integrated School.

The six Badjaos are now under the care of the local government of Montalban in Rizal province, while the two adults (non-Manila residents) were brought to Dr. Jose Fabella Center in Mandaluyong.

MDSW chief Nanet Tanyag said they started their clean-up operations since the first week of the month, with the aim of rescuing people who live on the streets, under the trees, parks and abandoned buildings in the city.

From December 2017 to the first week of January, the MDSW has rescued more or less 200 vagabonds.

Her team of social workers has been instructed to regularly make rounds and visit the “hideouts” of street beggars along the Baywalk, Roxas Boulevard and their side streets.

The city’s social workers also made road patrols along the known hiding places in Binondo, Quiapo, Santa Cruz and San Nicolas areas in District 3; Ermita, Malate, Paco, Port Area, Intramuros and San Andres in District 5; and in España, Morayta, Recto, Sampaloc and P. Noval Streets in Distrrict 4.

“We never stop looking for them day and night,” Tanyag said.

With Roderick L. Abad

Refresher course on Business English set

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ngl i sh re lo ade d ! You know your English but, as time passes, we all tend to have lapses in our rules of grammar. This is understandable for non-native speakers of English. To help you re-polish your mastery of English, the Center for Global Best Practices (www.cgbp.org) is holding a special seminar titled “Refresher Course on Business English,” scheduled on February 22 and 23 at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City. It’s a two-day back-to-basics intensive course for professionals, senior executives and entrepreneurs to help them refresh their memory and resharpen their skills once again to master the world’s language for business. As we advance in age, we tend to have lapses in our rules of grammar. With your busy schedules, we’ve designed this English-review program in the shortest possible way with maximum results! No long-winding lectures and never a boring moment. This English masterclass is highly recommended for everyone who uses English as a second language.

This is guaranteed to bring back that zing, whether you are composing a letter, crafting a proposal, editing a document, doing a sales presentation or making a speech for young and old alike, rank and file or for decision-makers. You’ll enjoy with some pinch of nostalgia the verve of verbs, the sizzle of well-constructed sentences, an astounding adventure with adjectives and adverbs, nice notices on nouns and pronouns, and entertain yourself when we reveal those commonly mispronounced words in the English language. For more details, visit www.cgbp.org to see other best practices seminars inc lud ing Write Right for Positive Results, Master Class on English Pronunciation and Effective Presentations, Super Memory Program for Executives and Professionals and many more! Interested participants may avail themselves of the early registration savings and group discounts for three or more participants.

This unique program will feature Prof. Lucris Carina AgnirParaan, PhD, course director at

the Center for Global Best Practices. She finished her doctorate degree, major in English Studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman where she was awarded the “Outstanding Dissertation” of the College of Arts and Letters. She earned her MA in Language and Literature at the University of the Philippines in Baguio, where she graduated with a 1.007 GPA. Her AB in Philosophy was also earned at UP Diliman, and she graduated high school at the International School of Kuala Lumpur where she was the first Asian and first woman editor in chief of the school paper. She conducts regular public and in-house English refresher workshops and seminars on business communication and verbal skills. Among her recent clients are 3M, Aboitiz, American Peace Corps, American Embassy, Anflocor, Chevrolet, Coke, Lifebank, Medicard, PJ Lhuillier, Savant Technologies, UCPB Gen and the offices under the executive secretary in Malacañang. Her program is open to the general public.

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

PHL pushes for sustainability via design at Ambiente 2018

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HOWCASING innovativeness in manipulating renewable sources, 15 Philippine lifestyle brands are set to participate in the upcoming Ambiente 2018 trade event in Messe Frankfurt, Germany, on February 9-13, 2018.

Home decors from Freden Arden Classic Inc., Artisana Island Crafts, Celestial Arts Inc., ChanalH, GSG by Flora Cereatives, MARSSE Tropical Timber Plantations, Nature’s Legacy Eximport Inc., Pumice Unlimited Ventures, Red Slab Pottery, Larone, Finali, Silay Export Inc., Tadeco Home and 33 Point 3 Exports Inc. will embody the theme of “Sustainability through Design” for the Philippines’s third collective participation at Ambiente.

Sustainable design has risen in popularity in recent years for its social, economic and ecologi-

cal principles, such as emotionally durable design, recyclable properties and use of low-impact and renewable materials.

It is a general reaction to the global environmental crises, depletion of natural resources, damage to ecosystems and the environment, among others. With an emphasis for ethics over aesthetics, there is a misconception that sustainable design lacks inspiration.

From conventional local materials like abaca and rattan to hardened lava, the Philippine participation will highlight the inven-

tiveness of Philippine artisans in transforming renewable materials into premium modern pieces.

Pumice Unlimited Ventures creates home décor and accent pieces from all natural volcanic stone taken from the Mount Pinatubo eruption site. The lava rocks are nontoxic and any rock waste is donated to the local government for road construction.

MARSSE Tropical Timber Plantations creates sustainably made home, kitchen and dining accessories from responsibly logged wood.

The company is an avid promoter of sustainable management of forest plantations, as well as promotion of modern forest technologies.

A maker of sustainable and innovative materials, Nature’s Legacy is a global manufacturer of home furnishings and garden accessories.

The company only uses agri-forest debris as raw materials for products, ensuring buyers that no trees were cut for their products.

“We as designers and manufacturers have a responsibility in minimizing the negative impact on our country’s resources and at the same

time, connect with international trade buyers through our products,” said Clayton Tugonon, executive director of the Center for Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), the export promotions arm of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Ambiente 2017 attracted more than 4,400 companies and exhibitors from 94 countries. The trade fair also branches out to international markets, holding shows in the major Asian cities of Tokyo, New Delhi and Shanghai.

Citem is the organizer of the Manila FAME—the second longest-running trade show in the Asia-Pacific, and the only trade event in the Philippines approved

by Union des Foires Internationales, a Paris-based association of trade-fair organizers founded 90 years ago in Italy.

Manila FAME is a biannual business-sourcing platform of export ready and finely crafted furniture and home furnishings, holiday gifts and décor and fashion accessories.

It showcases the best of Philippine design and craftsmanship.

US issues new requirements for seafood sourced abroad

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XPORTERS of seafood to the US were urged to comply with the new requirements of the United States under its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) beginning this year.

The SIMP establishes for imports of certain seafood products, the reporting and recordkeeping requirements needed to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)-caught and/or misrepresented seafood from entering US commerce, providing additional protections for their national economy, global food security and the sustainability of their share-ocean resources.

The new rule is part of a broader seafood traceability program that covers both imports and US domestic production.

Equivalent information regarding harvest, landing and chain of custody of US-produced seafood is being collected pursuant to various other federal and state requirements.

Aside from abalone and shrimp, the other seafood species covered by the new rule effective on January 1 this year include Atlantic cod, Atlantic blue crab, dolphinfish (mahi-mahi), grouper, King crab (red), Pacufc cod, red snaoper, sea cucumber, sharks, swordfish and tuna (albacore, bigeye, skipjack, yellowfin and bluefin).

Compliance date for shrimp and abalone is phased in at a later date.

Over the past year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other US government agencies have provided information to exporting countries through webinars, written materials and in-person technical meetings. NOAA will continue to work with producers, processors, exporters and importers to support and enforce compliance.

The SIMP establishes permitting, data reporting and recordkeeping requirements for the importation of certain priority fish and fish products that have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing and/or seafood fraud.

Traceability measures like the ones SIMP establishes are an internationally accepted method for combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud, and will help facilitate legal trade for law-abiding fishers and seafood producers in the US and abroad.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Wednesday, January 31, 2018 A9

DTI-EMB eyes strategic plan for PHL halal exports with Mindanao halal stakeholders

By Raison D. Arobinto DTI-EMB, Halal Section

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S part of the implementation of the Philippine Halal Development and Promotion Program under Republic Act (RA) 10817, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) will be conducting a Halal Awareness Seminar and Consultation with Mindanao halal stakeholders.

The DTI-EMB, as the secretariat of the Philippine Halal Export Board, will conduct the activity to lay out the strategic plan for Philippine exports of halal products and services at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City on February 1.

The activity will be in time for the inaugurallaunchofAirAsia’sflightfrom Davao City to Kuala Lumpur and viceversa. The EMB is taking this opportunity to invite Mindanao micro, small andmediumenterprises(MSMEs)with halal-certifiedproductsandservices,to present and offer their products to Air Asia since the company is scouting for potential products and services.

The EMB encourages Mindanao MSMEs to bring product samples during the seminar for a product showcase with participants, including Air Asia.

As part of the Halal Awareness Seminar, the EMB will also present, for consultation, the draft of the Philippine Halal Development and Promotion Program Strategic Plan, and how the halal programs of the different government agencies will fit in, particularly the Muslim-friendly tourism program. This program will be initiated by the Department of Tourism in collaboration with the other government agencies, including the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the Department of Agriculture, the Mindanao Development Authority, the Department of Science and Technology, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and the Davao City Halal Development Council.

With the formulation for the Phil-

ippine Halal Export Development and Promotion strategic plan under RA 10817, the Philippines is seen to achieve its objectives to promote the growth and ensure the integrity and quality of Philippine halal exports.

The activity would provide an opportunity for MSMEs based in Davao and nearby regions to participate in the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas 2018), which will be held from April 2-9, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In particular, the activity aims to achieve the following objectives:

To promote market awareness of the Philippines as a supplier of quality halal-certified products, thus promoting also Muslim-friendly tourism in the Philippines, not only for the Malaysian consumers and travelers (tourists) but also to other Muslim markets.

To explore possible tie-ups and deepen areas of cooperation between the PHilippine Halal Export Program and the services that can be offered

by AirAsia Philippines.

To support Philippine small and medium processors and suppliers—particularly those based in Mindanao—in taking advantage of the direct flight serviced by Air Asia from Davao City to Kuala Lumpur and vice-versa, in the growing global demand for halal products through the Malaysian gateway.

To promote MSMEs in Mindanao to introduce their products through Air Asia as a venue to eventually penetrate the Malaysian market for halal-food products.

To increase the participation of MSMEs to Mihas 2018.

The event will feature a total of 200 participants composed of various halal stakeholders, many from Mindanao areas. Apart from Mindanao MSMEs, DTI Regional Offices in Mindanao, representatives from other government agencies, academe, halal certifiers, consumer groups and Muslim religious groups are expected to attend the event.

export potential map

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PHL BOLSTERS INVESTMENT RELATIONS WITH INDIA

During the Asean-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi on January 24, the Philippines and India signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate direct investments by providing practical investment information to enterprises, assistance to visiting investors and support in the promotion of investments between the two parties. The MOU was signed in the presence of Philippine President Duterte (back, left) and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (back, right). Also in the photo are Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez (front, left) and India’s Ministry of External Affairs Secretary East Preeti Saran (front, right).

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATUL TOLIA

foodphilippines wows visitors at winter fancy food show

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OODPHILIPPINES, the country’s signature brand for food items under the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for International Trade Exhibitions and Missions (DTI-Citem), surprised buyers and attendees of the recently concluded Winter Fancy Food Show (WFFS) held in San Francisco, California, on January 21-23, 2018.

Organized by Citem in partnership with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in San Francisco, FoodPhilippines showcased a variety of specialty food-product offerings by 17 of the best and biggest Philippine food exporters.

Specialty Food Association’s Trendspotter panel said Filipino cuisine is among the top food trends anticipated at the 43rd WFFS. Other top trends are plant-based foods, upcycled products, Goth food, altsweet, product labeling 2.0, root to stem, cannabis cuisine, a (deeper) feast from the Middle East and the rise of traditional bread.

The country’s participation at that food show was among DTI’s major efforts for 2018 in advancing the promotion of Philippine specialty-food products in overseas trade shows. The participation attracted

support from many Philippine exporters, including Arko Foods, Bethany Sales Inc. (Tamcor Mexim USA), Century Pacific Food Inc., Hacienda Macalauan Inc., Islamic Da'wah Council of the Philippines, JNRM Corp., Magical Blend Marketing International, Magic Melt Foods Inc., Mama Sita’s (Marigold Manufacturing Corp.), Monde MY San Corp., Pasciolco Agri Ventures, Profood International Corp., Sagrex Food Inc., San Miguel Pure Foods Inc., Seabest Food Beverage Corp., Subic Superfood Inc. and Super Q. Philippine Consul General Henry S. Bensurto Jr. welcomed the delegation in their respective booths in the pavilion during the show opening on January 21, following a discussion with his economic diplomacy team about expanding trade opportunities between the West Coast and the Philippines on January 22. He also hosted the delegates and their prospective business partners in a welcome reception providing an opportunity for Philippine companies to deepen their discussions with importers and buyers.

WFFS is the United States West Coast’s largest specialty and foodbeverage event, with an estimated

HE products with the greatest export potential from world to world are pharmaceutical products, Smart cards, electronic-integrated circuits, other electrical and telephone sets and other voice-imagetransmission apparatus.

Pharmaceutical products show the largest absolute difference between potential and actual exports in value terms, leaving room to realize additional exports worth $568.2 billion.

The products with the greatest export potential from the Philippines to the world are Smart cards, electronic-integrated circuits; other electrical products, computer data-storage units and parts of office machines. Smart cards, electronic-integrated circuits, other electrical products show the largest absolute difference between potential and actual exports in value terms, leaving room to realize additional exports worth $16.5 billion.

The markets with greatest potential for Philippine exports of all products are China, Japan and the United States. China shows the largest absolute difference between potential and actual exports in value terms, leaving room to realize additional exports worth $13.9 billion.

Source: http://exportpotential.intracen.org/#/home

CONSUL General Henry S. Bensurto Jr., with the Philippine food delegation at the 2018 Winter Fancy Food Show, Moscone Center in San Francisco, California

20,000 visitors annually, 1,500 exhibitors and showcases more than 80,000 different specialtyfood products and beverages from the US and across the globe.

During its 2017 participation in WFF, the Philippine delegation se-

cured a total of $48.73-million negotiated sales in 463 inquiries from trade buyers, exceeding targets and recording its highest sales in its four years of participation in the WFFS. The US is one of the largest foreign investors in the Philippines and the

country’s third-largest trading partner. The Philippines has been among the largest beneficiaries of the US Generalized System of Preferences scheme for developing countries, which provides preferential dutyfree access to the US market.

A10 Wednesday, January 31, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Timing is key

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he National Food Authority’s plan to increase its stockpile via importation was put on hold after the interagency National Food Security Committee (NFSC) and the NFA Council recently thumbed down its request to buy 250,000 metric tons of imported rice. The NFAC reasoned out that the country’s total rice stock is good for 90 days, or three months, hence there was no need for the food agency to import the staple. Of the total Philippine rice inventory, the bulk is with households and commercial traders.

As proof that the current national inventory is enough, the NFAC pointed out that commercial prices remain relatively stable. The highest policy-making body of the NFA also noted that top rice-producing provinces would start harvesting rice in March and that production forecast is “bright.” The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier projected that paddy output from January to March would rise by 5.65 percent to 4.67 million metric tons. The Philippines ended 2017 with a paddy production of 19.28 MMT, nearly 10 percent higher than the 2016 record of 17.36 MMT. These figures appeared to have given the NFAC enough confidence that imports are not needed to ensure the stability of the country’s rice supply.

In terms of its ability to influence the rice market, it would seem that the NFA’s impact is miniscule. In a statement, the NFA said it accounts for only 6 percent to 10 percent of the Philippine rice market.

But the NFA’s presence in the market and its mandate to stabilize domestic rice prices have effectively prevented unscrupulous traders from taking advantage of situations when rice supply is tight. There are unconscionable Filipino traders who are not averse to profiting from natural disasters. To keep them in check or correct unwarranted rice prices, all the NFA has to do is channel part of its stockpile into areas where the staple is needed. This and the sale of cheap rice at fixed rates help keep inflation in check.

In keeping with its mandate to stabilize supply and prices, the NFA has to keep a buffer stock of 15 days at any given time, and 30 days during the lean season. The food agency resorts to importation when its procurement program falls short of its target. A few months before the start of the lean season in July last year, the NFA sought the go signal of the NFAC to import rice to boost its dwindling stockpile. The approval was given only last May, after the NFA had complained that it could not compete with traders who paid more for locally produced paddy.

While the decision of the NFAC to reject the food agency’s request to import is lamentable, as the NFA’s rice stock is good for only three days, the council and the NFSC had no choice. The requested volume would arrive sometime in April and May, when farmers in top riceproducing provinces, such as Nueva Ecija, are already harvesting their crop. The arrival of imports would only give traders a reason to slash their buying price.

If imported rice is no longer a viable option for the NFA, the government must find a way to help the food agency buy more paddy rice from farmers. The NFA buys rice from farmers at P17 per kilogram, lower than the farm-gate price of P18 to P21 per kg last year. It’s time for the NFAC to consider increasing this support price to reduce the NFA’s reliance on rice produced by farmers abroad.

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Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

T

he motor car insurance fraud to be tackled here refers to those committed against insurance companies. Although there are issues that have been raised alleging fraud on the part of insurers, such will be tackled separately.

As of 2017, motor car (including motorcycles) insurance claims total about P7 billion annually. Industry leaders estimate that about 10 percent of these claims are fraudulent.

There are no figures, though, to support this estimate. Insurance companies are defrauded through various modus operandi. These would include fabricated claims, staged or contrived accidents, fake carnappings and others. The figures on fraudulent claims are alarming. Fraudulent claims cause significant damage to the insurance industry. More damaging are the fraudulent claims that have

not been detected. In other words, insurers paid for losses that are fictional.

The figures would be more significant if we consider that motor car insurance business is a large part of the total nonlife insurance business.

Motor car insurance premiums in 2014, for example, account for P18 billion out of the P55-billion total premiums of the nonlife business for that year.

In terms of vehicular accidents, in 2014, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority reported a total of 90,258 road accidents, or an average of 248 accidents per day.

Let us take a look at the carnapping figures. In 2014 the total carnapping incidents were at 8,013. This figure increased to 10,556 in 2015, and 90 percent of this figure involved motorcycles. The Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNPHPG) reported in November 2015 that an average of three four-wheeled vehicles and six motorcycles are stolen every day. The PNP recorded that there have been 27,434 carnapping incidents between 2009 and 2015, representing an annual average increase of 66 percent. However, for the first half 2016 (January to June), carnapping incidents decreased from 6,302 to 5,087 for the same period of 2015. The claims ratio was from 40 percent to 45 percent, with the highest annual claims reaching almost P7 billion.

The question that begs to be answered is: How many of these claims are fraudulent? Whatever the figure is, it is definitely significant.

Detecting fraud has become a challenge for insurers and the entire industry. It is also important to ferret out professional fraudsters extorting from the insurance industry. In this regard, insurers must have an

Bubble, bubble, fraud and trouble

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor in Chief

Senior Editors

Motor car insurance fraud

Paul Krugman

new york times

T

he other day my barber asked me whether he should put all his money in Bitcoin. And the truth is that if he’d bought Bitcoin, say, a year ago he’d be feeling pretty good right now. On the other hand, Dutch speculators who bought tulip bulbs in 1635 also felt pretty good for a while, until tulip prices collapsed in early-1637.

So is Bitcoin a giant bubble that will end in grief? Yes. But it’s a bubble wrapped in techno-mysticism inside a cocoon of libertarian ideology. And there’s something to be learned about the times we live in by peeling away that wrapping.

If you’ve been living in a cave and haven’t heard of Bitcoin, it’s the biggest, best-known example of a “cryptocurrency”: An asset that has no physical existence, consisting of nothing but a digital record stored on computers. What makes cryptocurrencies different from ordinary bank accounts, which are also nothing but digital records, is that they don’t reside in the servers of any particular financial institution. Instead, a Bitcoin’s existence is documented by

records distributed in many places.

And your ownership isn’t verified by proving (and hence revealing) your identity. Instead, ownership of a Bitcoin is verified by possession of a secret password, which—using techniques derived from cryptography, the art of writing or solving codes—lets you access that virtual coin without revealing any information you don’t choose to.

It’s a nifty trick. But what is it good for?

In principle, you can use Bitcoin to pay for things electronically. But you can use debit cards, PayPal, Venmo, etc. to do that, too—and Bitcoin turns out to be a clunky, slow, costly means of payment. In fact, even Bitcoin conferences sometimes refuse

to accept Bitcoins from attendees.

There’s really no reason to use Bitcoin in transactions—unless you don’t want anyone to see either what you’re buying or what you’re selling, which is why much actual Bitcoin use seems to involve drugs, sex and other black-market goods.

So Bitcoins aren’t really digital cash. What they are, sort of, is the digital equivalent of $100 bills.

Like Bitcoins, $100 bills aren’t much use for ordinary transactions: Most shops won’t accept them.

But “Benjamins” are popular with thieves, drug dealers and tax evaders. And while most of us can go years without seeing a $100 bill, there are a lot of those bills out there—more than a trillion dollars’ worth, accounting for 78 percent of the value of US currency in circulation.

So are Bitcoins a superior alternative to $100 bills, allowing you to make secret transactions without lugging around suitcases full of cash?

Not really, because they lack one crucial feature: a tether to reality.

Although the modern dollar is a “fiat” currency, not backed by any other asset, like gold, its value is ultimately backed by the fact that the US government will accept it, in fact demands it, in payment for taxes. Its purchasing power is also stabilized by the Federal Reserve, which will reduce the outstanding

internal anti-fraud mechanism.

One initiative of the industry is by coming up with the Motorcar Claims Information System (MCIS), which monitors the vehicles that have been reported as total loss (stolen, carnapped or totally wrecked) as a measure against paying fictitious claims for the same vehicles. The system also prevents alleged totally lost vehicles from being resurrected. The MCIS was initiated by the Association of Insurance Claimsmen, Inc. and the then Insurance & Surety Association of the Philippines (Isap, now Pira) on May 14, 1996. The MCIS called for a monthly reporting by insurance companies. MCIS is now online and 24/7. On May 31, 2016, Pira and the PNP-HPG entered into a memorandum of agreement, where Pira agreed to provide information generated by the MCIS to the PNPHPG. There is proposal to integrate the MCIS with the Confirmation of Cover Authentication Facility.

Lawyer Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

supply of dollars if inflation runs too high, increase that supply to prevent deflation. And a $100 bill is, of course, worth 100 of these broadly stable dollars.

Bitcoin, by contrast, has no intrinsic value at all. Combine that lack of a tether to reality with the very limited extent to which Bitcoin is used for anything, and you have an asset whose price is almost purely speculative, and hence incredibly volatile. Bitcoins lost about 40 percent of their value over the past six weeks; if Bitcoin were an actual currency, that would be the equivalent of a roughly 8,000-percent annual inflation rate.

Oh, and Bitcoin’s untethered nature also makes it highly susceptible to market manipulation. Back in 2013 fraudulent activities by a single trader appear to have caused a sevenfold increase in Bitcoin’s price.

Who’s driving the price now? Nobody knows. Some observers think North Korea may be involved.

But what about the fact that those who did buy Bitcoin early have made huge amounts of money? Well, people who invested with Bernie Madoff also made lots of money, or at least seemed to, for a long time.

As Robert Shiller, the world’s leading bubble expert, points out, asset bubbles are like “naturally See “Krugman,” A11

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

TRAIN leaks

‘Loco’ motives behind railway locomotive financing?

BusinessMirror

Ernesto M. Hilario

Michael Makabenta Alunan

ABOUT TOWN

N

o less than Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has ordered the Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BOC) bureaus as early as September last year to intensify the campaign against smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes in the wake of multibillion tax-evasion charges filed against a local industry player.

on the contrary

A

S massive railway and subway projects with funding and technologies from Japan or China are being offered, we need to scrutinize them and learn lessons from past dismal experiences with Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT), to which we are still shouldering the onerous financial burden from foreign-exchange (forex) risks.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018 A11

At stake now are some P1.235 trillion worth of railway projects, which include the P450 billion in Mindanao Railways, the P175-billion Luzon North Line, the P175-billion Luzon South Line Project, and the P355-billion Japan-funded Mega Manila Subway. On the financing side, it is wise to incorporate some forex cushion or insurance.

selves with trends and take caution, lest we end up as a dumping ground of old technologies.

Citing records, Yuseco reveals “railways globally are losing ventures. Germany spends €17 billion a year in railway subsidies; Switzerland, €4.3 billion; France, €13.2 billion; China, $130 billion; Italy, €7.2 billion; Spain, €5.1 billion; the United Kingdom, €4.5 billion; Japan, $300 billion; and the Philippines, P21 billion a year. Only Hong Kong is earning, not from railways, but from real estate and commercial operations.

While magnetic-levitation (maglev) railways may be the transportation of the future being of capable of shortening travel potentially from Manila to Legaspi City to 30 minutes given China’s mag-lev breakthroughs, regular railways have reached their levels of obsolescence and inefficiency. Perhaps, railwaymakers are being helped by their governments to market or dump their old technologies elsewhere, just like Japan’s subway offer, which is packaged with sweeteners like a 0.1 percent per annum payable in 40 years, with a grace period of 12 years, but passing on the burden by bloating the price to P355.6 billion, from an original cost of P227 billion.

Bus trains edging out railways.

Bus trains are increasingly becoming the transport of choice in many countries and are now established in 189 countries, many replacing their railways being costlier as you need a complex of power systems, coaches, electronic signal system and railway tracks. In contrast, bus trains are 20

The good secretary instructed the two tax-collection agencies to watch out for counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes and even cited the brand “Two Moon” as one of them.

He repeated the same marching order on January 24 and even expressed hopes that the “close coordination” between the BIR and BOC would again result in catching the next big tax evader in 2018.

But even before the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) was formally signed into law, smuggled cigarettes like Two Moon, Far Star, Fort and D&B and even fake versions of legitimate brands are being openly sold in some provinces of the country.

These brands are not registered with the BIR and bear no tax stamps, which should indicate that these are contraband and should be removed from the shelves and the perpetrators prosecuted.

Post-TRAIN signing, Two Moon and similar smuggled brands continued to be rampantly sold in Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Cebu, Batangas, Mindoro, Laguna, Mindoro, General Santos City and Zamboanga, to name a few.

The illicit cigarettes are sold for as low as P25 to P30 per pack, below the TRAIN excise tax of P32.50 per pack.

Because these products do not bear tax stamps, there’s already a nonpayment of P32.50 tobacco excise tax per pack as mandated in the TRAIN. For every 21,000 master cases of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes sold openly in a month, the government loses about P1.8 billion, plus the millions worth of tax stamps that were never purchased and affixed on the packs.

If the TRAIN leaks continue up to a year, the state losses would be a staggering P12 billion to P13 billion just for this year.

This means less cash to bankroll the construction of ​629,120 publicschool classrooms, the hiring of 2,685,101 public-school teachers; the establishment of 6 ​ 0,483 rural health units, 484,326 barangay health stations and 1,324 provincial hospitals; or building 35,745 kilometers of paved roads, 786,400 kilometers of temporary bridge upgrades; or 2,665,763 hectares of irrigated land that were identified as TRAIN beneficiary projects.

Meanwhile, the syndicates running this racket would be earning a

conservative P1.08 billion per month, or a minimum of P17.2 billion in 2018.

Local Government Units, where the rampant selling takes place, are likewise victims since the groups behind this nefarious activity do not apply for and pay business permit and local tax.

Unsuspecting smokers are also put in much-graver health risks since smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes are made of questionable materials.

Anti-tobacco groups and government health advocates should have reason to be worried since this reverses their success in cutting down smoking incidence as illicit cigarettes are priced so low that they become more accessible to everyone.

In 2012 as the sin-tax law was being rolled out with calibrated tax hikes, there were an estimated 25 million Filipino smokers consuming 110 billion cigarette sticks, or about 5.5 billion cigarette packs.

Fast forward to 2017, the number of smokers dropped to 16.5 million, lighting up 72 million cigarette sticks, or 3.6 billion cigarette packs, translating to a reduction of 8.5 million Filipinos who finally quit smoking.

All these translate to a dramatic slide in smoking incidence from 40 percent in 2012 to 30 percent in 2017, despite the fact that almost 8 million more Filipinos joined the population during the five-year period.

But with smuggling on the rise and fresh attempts to include again the tobacco sector in the next TRAIN package, we could be just aiding the smugglers and counterfeiters.

Abrupt tax increases could turn the Philippines into another Malaysia, where the total industry size is 16 billion cigarette packs with 7 billion being legit consumption, while 9 billion are smuggled cigarettes from its neighboring countries.

Our law-enforcement agencies, if only aware of the impact of smuggled cigarettes to nation building, should immediately seize the unregistered cigarettes with no tax stamps since this is clear proof of tax evasion.

The challenge of Secretary Dominguez to the BOC and BIR is timely since the next big-time cheat is just lurking in the corner, peddling Two Moons and other fake brands.

Thus, before higher “sin” taxes are discussed again, let’s fix the TRAIN leaks first.

Krugman. . .

This physics breakthrough could help save the world

continued from A10

occurring Ponzi schemes.” Early investors in a bubble make a lot of money as new investors are drawn in, and those profits pull in even more people. The process can go on for years before something—a reality check, or simply exhaustion of the pool of potential marks—brings the party to a sudden, painful end.

When it comes to cryptocurrencies, there’s an additional factor: It’s a bubble, but it’s also something of a cult, whose initiates are given to paranoid fantasies about evil governments stealing all their money (as opposed to private hackers, who have stolen a remarkably high proportion of extant cryptocurrency tokens).

Journalists who write skeptically about Bitcoin tell me that no other subject generates as much hate mail.

So no, my barber shouldn’t buy Bitcoin. This will end badly, and the sooner it does, the better.

E-mail: ernhil @yahoo.com.

By Mark Buchanan Bloomberg View

I

f humans want to avoid boiling the oceans, we’ll have to find ways to use energy more efficiently.

This, in turn, requires solving a problem that people don’t typically connect to climate change: the turbulence created when we pump air, water, oil, gas and other substances through countless miles of ducts and pipes. Thanks to its confounding effects, fully 10 percent of all the electrical energy produced on Earth gets wasted.

Fortunately, some recent breakthroughs in the realm of physics might point the way to a solution.

Physicists have long been perplexed by turbulence—the way fluids and gases, if moving fast enough, inevitably dissolve into a messy chaos of whirls and eddies. It’s theoretically tricky because it’s erratic and intermittent, and often can’t be captured

Beware hook, line and sinker.

Our government economic managers must conduct due diligence and not be duped into swallowing hook, line and sinker the sweeteners and baits from glib-tongued foreign brokers in collusion with local gullible counterparts, at least in the past administration, who were more after making fast-bucks than achieving effective performance.

The P3.8 billion worth of some 48 rail coaches from Dalian, China already delivered partially turned out unusable for many reasons. They do not match MRT 3’s electronic signal systems. Moreover, MRT 3 rails can carry a maximum of 48,000 kilograms (kg), but the Dalian trains weigh heavier at 49,000 kg per coach, which can subject all passengers to danger. Our policy-makers must learn from what Spanish philosopher-poet George Santayana said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Chained to a “debt sentence?”

Indeed, we must learn from history, says Francis Yuseco, a former investment banker, who claims forex risks are huge if we get locked-in into these long-term foreign-funded projects.

When LRT 1 was clinched in 1981, (Forex was P7.80 per dollar), the government had to raise only P15.60 per dollar of debt based on the rule-of-thumb operating costs double the foreign exchange rate.

With current forex at P51.77 per dollar, the government has to raise P103.54 for every dollar of debt, or 1,227.43 percent more in effective costs than the original forex rate.

For foreign-funded projects built in 1994 when forex was at P24 per dollar, the effective costs are 331.41 percent more than its original cost on a per dollar basis. For projects transacted in 1996 when forex was at P26 per dollar, effective costs today are 298.23 percent more than in 1996.

We only pay mostly interests, and not yet mainly principal loans, we have thus been chained to a debt sentence. Perhaps, we may have already overpaid these loans, and are still paying them indefinitely due to continuous peso devaluation, resulting partly from the fact we import more than we produce and export. Foreign funders are lucky they are protected by automatic debt appropriations and by sovereign guarantees.

Caution and cushion on technology dumping. At stake now are some P1.235 trillion worth of railway projects, which includes the P450 billion in Mindanao Railways, the P175-billion Luzon North Line, the P175-billion Luzon South Line Project and the P355-billion Japanfunded Mega Manila Subway.

On the financing side, perhaps, it is wise to incorporate some forex cushion or insurance. On the technology side, we must update our-

percent of railway costs without the rail tracks, power generators, etc.

Even China’s Xiamen converted its LRT into bus trains, popularly called Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which are articulated or jointed buses that look like trains. Even our own Department of Science and Technology has designed its BRT version. China has also stopped its three-subway rail projects because of mounting debts.

It has also developed recently an innovative railless road train and wants to banner it as the first railless road train in the world, but Yuseco claims that as early as 1989, he developed his PhilTrak concept long-before BRT became popular.

A Filipino started it all? It got approved during the Ramos administration, but was effectively rejected during the Estrada administration.

He is, therefore, one of the pioneers of BRT, although Brazil developed independently its own version about the same time. Yuseco claims his concept triggered the popularization of BRT for two reasons. For one, World Bank, in its April 10, 1990, memorandum written by World Bank transport expert Gerhard Menckhoff, who met and praised Yuseco’s innovation, disseminated the idea to all World Bank offices worldwide.

Second, American Bus Association President Georg Wynn on August 31, 1999, cited US Federal Transit Administrator Gordon Linton declaration to “reinvent bus service in the US, with the features and characteristics identical” to Yuseco’s PhilTrak PRT, but baptizing it with the catchy but awkwardly phrased BRT, when it should be phrased as RBT, or a bus transit that is rapid.

Apart from onerous financial conditions, we get dependent on the importation after sales parts numbering over 2,000 costly moving parts.

Foreign suppliers are, indeed, loco (insidiously crazy) to sell us down the drain, and we may be crazier (more loko) when we shoot ourselves.

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com

Teaching children to become responsible citizens

By Reymundo A. Seguirre

C

hildhood forms a person because those early influences are the key to everything in human development. The importance of children feeling loved, and the absence of self-esteem in those who do not, has been the subject of countless research projects. It is difficult for children to be happy if they do not feel secure. And happy childhood makes children aware that the world is a wonderful place to be in. In turn, this makes them capable of loving and respecting other people. Where love and respect abound, prosperity can’t be far behind.

There’s a general consent that happy and protected children are the future builders of a prosper-

with the smooth mathematics used in most of science. Even the concept of velocity makes little sense: Movements grow so tangled and mixed up that any tiny parcel will have parts flowing in different directions.

When, back in the 1920s, weatherprediction pioneer Lewis Richardson wrote a paper titled “Does the wind have a speed?” he asked the question seriously.

Yet, even the hardest problems can succumb to persistent investigation, as two recent discoveries demonstrate. One clarifies how smooth flows fall apart into turbulence. The other shows how that undoing can sometimes be avoided in clever and somewhat bizarre ways.

There seems to be a fairly sharp threshold at which fluid flowing smoothly in a pipe becomes turbulent, yet the precise mechanics have long been a mystery. Does it happen all at once, or in stages? In a series of landmark experiments, German physicist

ous nation where peace and equality thrive. This is the underlying rationale behind the United Nations Declaration of Child’s Right, which demands all countries to promote children’s rights to protection, education, health care, shelter and good nutrition.

In our schools, it is the responsibility of the teacher, administrator, custodian, driver, security officer, coach, counselor, maintenance staff member, building manager and administrative staff member to ensure that students continue to learn and thrive in a safe environment.

The school provides an invaluable environment in the human development of students. This is the place where they learn their ABCs, how to interact with others and

develop physical, intellectual and moral well-being.

Children have a right to express their opinion, which should be given due weight. But children must also be taught about their responsibility to respect the rights of others, especially those of their parents, teachers and everyone around them.

The learning environment of child-friendly schools is characterized by equity, balance, freedom, solidarity, nonviolence and a concern for physical, mental and emotional health. These lead to the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and morals so that children can live together in a harmonious way.

A child-friendly school nurtures and supports children’s development to enable them to become respon-

GO with the flow. Greg A. Syverson/Getty Images

Bjorn Hof and colleagues offer new insight: Turbulence emerges in the form of little puffs—tiny regions of confused, disorganized flow—which can then split, creating more puffs. Below a certain speed of flow, the puffs die out more quickly than they split: Even if you create some turbulence by putting your finger in the flow, it will soon subside. But above a critical

speed, the splitting happens faster than the dying out, causing the turbulence to spread. Weirdly, it seems to grow following precisely the same mathematics as diseases.

This discovery alone is a major breakthrough. But Hof and colleagues went further, exploring how turbulence might be controlled.

They investigated, for example, the

sible citizens when they grow up. It is therefore important that teachers adopt teaching methods focused on a child-centered approach. Lessons for children include essential life skills aimed at keeping them safe and building the skills they will need to fulfill their potential as future nation builders.

If we allow children to feel more comfortable in learning environments, they will have the opportunity to experience true, authentic learning with joy. This experience leads to a lifelong love of learning, which will hone them to become responsible members of Philippine society.

The author is teacher in charge at Gonzaga National High School, Santa Clara Annex, in Gonzaga, Cagayan.

effect of extra stirring from rotors placed inside a pipe, or by the injection of jets of fluid along the pipe walls. Intuition suggests that these would increase turbulence, and they do, but in both cases the flow downstream quickly returns to the smooth state. More important, the interventions can reduce the overall friction associated with turbulence by as much as 90 percent, something few researchers would have expected.

These experiments, addressing a classic problem in physics, are some of the coolest science I’ve seen in a while. Esoteric as they might seem, they can have big practical consequences—eventually helping engineers avoid turbulence, and energy losses linked to it, in anything from household plumbing and city sewers to transcontinental pipelines.

Such breakthroughs are more than just thrilling to see. They may be necessary for the survival of the human race.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Wednesday, January 31, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Meralco: Expect rates in Feb to go up

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Tuesday said power rates in February could go up after seeing two consecutive months of decrease in overall electricity rates.

“We may recall that the January generation-charge reduction was largely due to lower capacity fees following the annual reconciliation of outage allowances. As in prior years, we expect capacity fees of PSAs [power-supply agreements] to normalize in February. Hence, we see an uptick in the generation charge next month, though we still need to await final supplier bills to see the effect of such factors as WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] charges, foreign exchange rate, fuel prices and others,” Meralco Utility Economics head Lawrence Fernandez said.

Last month charges from PSAs

registered a decrease of P0.9810 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The lower PSA charges were brought about by a reduction in capacity fees as a result of the annual reconciliation of outage allowances done at the end of each year under the PSAs agreements approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission. The reduction in capacity fees of generator companies represents savings immediately passed on to consumers by way of lower electricity rates.

The capacity fees from PSAs are expected to return to normal levels after the downward adjustment last month. PSAs provided 40 percent of Meralco’s total energy requirement

Lech Wałęsa. . .

Overall, power rates last month went down by P0.5260 per kWh, mainly due to a P0.5277 perkWh reduction in the generation charge, which decreased from P4.6045 per kWh in December last year to P4.0768 per kWh in January this year.

Separately, power rates in February are expected to go up by 8 centavos per kWh as a result of the new Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law. “We estimate that the effect of the value-added tax on transmission would be 7-c/kWh, while the effect of the excise tax on coal would be 1-c/kWh, for a total of 8-c/kWh,” Fernandez said.

PHL still far from desired care for 2M ‘kasambahays’

Continued from A1

“But if he is not able [to visit Poland] during his presidency, probably after he retires, so we can talk extensively.”

When asked whether United States President Donald J. Trump will succeed in his “America First” policy, this is what Wałęsa had to say: “He has a good diagnosis. But healing it, trying to cure the problem in the hospital is not right,” insinuating that America’s ills are too serious for Trump to cure.

“He does not have the idea, he doesn’t like what it is. But what you don’t like is one thing, what you want to do is another thing.”

Wałęsa said there was lack of discussion on how to address America’s unemployment, just like the other problems of the US. “But there was no discussion about it; he’s still using old ideas, painting himself into a corner and pushing out others. And the world is going in the other direction, the world is saying: ‘Open up, remove your boundaries.’”

Wałęsa said Trump wanted to be far away from the rest of the world. “That’s his mistake, but [it’s] good that he has diagnosis, so something good might come out of it.”Wałęsa noted that Trump is now facing a new world order.

“Look at Europe, two World Wars, revolutions, communism, France, solidarity, a lot of blood, but we finished it; we removed boundaries. We now have one monetary system; we’re building one Europe—the world should go into this direction.”

“And he’s [Trump] trying to push it back and come back to the past, he cannot do this as long as he has not tried to stop for a while and think about new developments.”

Wałęsa flew in on January 22 to give a lecture at the Asia Pacific University in Manila. He left on January 29.

Asked how he feels about his visit, he said: “This is a beautiful country; it is in development; there’s a lot of contrast, lot of beautiful things, but also some bad things.”

The 75-year-old Wałęsa, who has not lost his chubby physique, said he noted the big disparity between the rich and poor in the country.

“We have to level [the disparity]; the more we have equality, the better your situation. But it does not happen overnight, this is a country with lots of possibilities...and beautiful women.”

On seeing BusinessMirror photojournalist Alysa Salen, he asked to have a photo-op with her and commented: “Had I known her earlier, I would have stayed longer.”

Duterte, according to a Palace news release, recognized Wałęsa’s role as a labor leader and as president of his country. A politician who professes to stand up for rights of laborers, Duterte was reported to have sought advice from Wałęsa.

Poland opened its Embassy in the Philippines only on January 4 with the designation of its chargé d’affaires, beginning a new chapter in the Philippines-Poland relations after it closed its chancery in 1994.

Poland’s Ambassador to the Philippines will be selected soon, according to Malacañang. Wałęsa served as Poland’s president from 1990 to 1995.

during the December supply month, which was reflected in the January bills of consumers.

Aside from lower capacity fees last month, WESM charges also decreased by P1.6943 per kWh due to lower spot prices resulting from a reduction in power demand in the Luzon grid. The share of WESM purchases to Meralco’s total requirement in January was 19 percent.

On the other hand, charges from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) increased by P0.3808 per kWh due to lower average plant dispatch. The share of IPP purchases to Meralco’s total requirement in January was at 41 percent.

Continued from A1

In Lisa’s case, she said she had to demand from her employer to grant her a regular day off.

“The biggest change given to me by the Kasamabay law is it allowed me to take day off twice every month. But I had to demand this from my employer before it was given to me,” Lisa told the BusinessMirror.

RA 10361 states that HSWs are entitled to four days off in a month. Lisa said she agreed to a two-day off agreement, saying she couldn’t be away from her employer for very long, since she was taking care of their special child.

Vulnerable HSWs

POPULAR TOURIST SPOT A trip to Manila would not be complete without visiting the statue of the country’s national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

Foreign tourists and visitors from other parts of the Philippines flock to Rizal Park to see the statue for themselves and take a picture of it. ROY DOMINGO

Arrivals up 11% in 2017 as China delivers on vow Continued from A1

Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) for 2016-2022. This was lower, though, than the DOT’s 7-million “fighting target” for 2017, which took into account the 1-million commitment of Beijing.

Topping the list of source markets for the Philippines was still South Korea, which sent 1.61 million tourists, up 9 percent from the same period in 2016. It accounted for 24.3 percent of total market share, slightly lower than its 24.72-percent market share in 2016.

The mainland Chinese market ranked second among the top sources of tourists for the Philippines last year, edging out the usual No. 2, the United States. It accounted for 14.63 percent of the market share of tourists in the Philippines, a bump up from its 11.32-percent share in 2016.

The US slipped to third place with 957,813 tourists last year, up some 10.2 percent from 2016. It also accounted for some 14.5 percent of total market share, almost unchanged from the previous year.

Japan was in fourth place, with visitors growing by 9.14 percent to 584,180 in 2017, and accounting for a market share of 8.82 percent. This was also unchanged from 2016.

In fifth place was Australia, with arrivals up 3.3 percent to 259,433, which accounted for some 4 percent of total market share. This was slightly lower than the 4.21 percent market share recorded in 2016.

In a text message to the BusinessMirror, Tourism Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy Czarina Zara-Loyola expressed op-

timism that this year’s 7.4-million visitor arrivals target would be met, as well.

“Hopefully with the lifting of martial law in Mindanao, the availability of more airline seats and flight frequencies, and arrival of more cruise ships, we’ll be able to meet this year’s targets, too,” she said.

In a news statement, the DOT said it sees an even larger increase in Chinese visitors, as flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) brings in tourists from Xiamen, a city in the Fujian province, to Puerto Princesa starting February 10.

The PAL flights were chartered by C&D Travel Service China, with the carrier using a 160-seater Airbus 320. More flights are scheduled on February 14 and 18.

“We continue to welcome more Chinese tourists to the country as part of the improved diplomatic relationship between Manila and Beijing since President Duterte’s state visit to China in 2016,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said.

For his part, Tourism Undersecretary for Tourism Development Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said the DOT developed the Xiamen-Puerto Princesa route, which is expected to produce an additional 480 seats during the charter period. “This is on top of the other new routes that Chinese carriers have opened up direct to other tourist destinations in the Philippines last year,” he added.

The DOT is also working on developing a Tianjin-Puerto Princesa route in time for the Chinese New Year on February 16. “The development of new routes is in conso-

nance with our NTDP’s strategy to improve air connectivity from major tourist source markets to the Philippines,” he stressed.

To also meet the growing demand of Chinese tourists wanting to visit Boracay, Xiamen Airlines mounted direct air commercial services from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, to Kalibo, Aklan using a 197-seat Airbus A321.

Launched on January 12, the carrier partnered with local travel agency Uni-Orient Travel for the three-times weekly flights. The new route will produce an additional 591 air seats per week.

Meanwhile, the DOT was unable to release the visitor receipts data for the entire 2017. But based on the latest data as of October last year, it is likely that the agency missed its P407-billion receipts target under the NTDP. From Ja nu a r y to October 2017, cumulative receipts reached P274.35 billion, up some 41 percent from earnings generated by the tourism industry in 2016. For the DOT to meet the receipts target, however, the industry needs to earn P132.65 billion in the last two months of the year, or at least P66.32 billion each month. Average earnings for each month last year was about P30 billion.

For October 2017 alone, visitor receipts grew some 89 percent to P31.12 trillion, with tourists spending an average of P6,862.03 per day. Each tourist also spent an average of P54,004.19 for their entire stay last October, when it was estimated that they stayed about 7.87 nights in the country.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Vice President Julius H. Cainglet said HSWs with stay-in status like that of Lisa are the lucky ones when it comes to the enforcement of RA 10361.

The landmark legislation was signed in 2013 as part of the requirement of the country’s ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189, or the Domestic Workers Convention.

RA 10361 effectively professionalized HSWs by providing them with basic labor benefits, including a mandatory standard minimum wage, day off, paid leaves and even social-protection benefits.

While the legislation drew international recognition for improving the rights of HSWs, it also got criticisms from local labor stakeholders, since many of its provisions are still not effectively implemented up to now.

“We might look good in the eyes of other countries [because of the RA 10361], but there are still many challenges in its implementation,” Cainglet said. Citing data from the government, FFW said less than 10 percent of the estimated 2 million HSWs in the country are members of the Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG fund). “Data from September 2015 show that SSS has 158,567 registered kasambahays, with PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig having worse numbers at 60,603 and 86,562,” FFW said in a statement.

Cainglet blamed this on the policy of the SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig to discriminate against HSWs with a live-out working arrangement.

“Because of the simple fact they have numerous employers, they [SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-Ibig] define her as a service provider,” Cainglet told the BusinessMirror in an interview. He said live-out HSWs are not also covered by the minimum-wage orders issued by the regional wage boards.

Except for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the regional wage boards in the country’s 16 regions have already raised the minimum wage of HSWs in their jurisdictions.

Central Luzon has the highest minimum-wage bracket for HSWs nationwide at P4,000 to P3,000, while Calabarzon has the lowest at P2,500 to P1,800. “When the new minimum wage was released by the wage boards, they explicitly excluded those with a live-out status,” Cainglet said.

Unimplemented provisions

For her part, Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) Director Ma. Karina P. Trayvilla said the low turnout of HSWs with social protection was due to the still-unimplemented Unified Registration System (URS) by SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig.

RA 10361 mandates the government to develop the URS, which will allow a HSW to have a record in the three government agencies by just filling up a single form.

“This is the No.1 provision, which stakeholders would usually ask us for us to give an update, since it is still not implemented up to now,” Trayvilla said. She said the three government agencies are having a hard time implementing the URS, since it will require the integration of their different database system.

With the absence of the URS, employers are still faced with the time-consuming chore of enrolling their HSWs in SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig fund separately.

Trayvilla, however, noted a breakthrough on the issue, after Pag-Ibig offered to host the database for the URS, so that their system integration will no longer be necessary. “By February, we might be able to get an update on this issue,” Trayvilla said.

Incomplete master list

Trayvilla said there is also similar problem in terms of the enforcing the registration of contracts and the names of the HSWs in the barangay level as mandated

by RA 10361.

The measure was supposed to allow the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to create a master list of HSWs for monitoring purposes.

“There are some regions, which are already regularly submitting their reports on this, but there are some regions with still low frequency of reporting because they have few number of employers who are registering their kasambahays in the barangays,” Trayvilla said. “This is very important, since it would have allowed us to know how many kasambahays are in a certain locality,” she added.

She said they will use the master list to monitor and rescue abused HSWs, aside from policy-making purposes.

The labor official said they are now planning to increase their advocacy campaigns in the barangay level to reach out to more employers and encourage them to register their HSWs. To be concluded