Businessmirror july 12, 2016

Beijing’s South China Sea options: From benign to belligerent A

In this May 6 file photo, soldiers from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy watch as the USS Blue Ridge arrives at a port in Shanghai. The United States called on China and other rival claimants to exercise restraint when an international tribunal issues a landmark ruling on the South China Sea disputes that Beijing has chosen to ignore. AP

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n international tribunal will rule on Tuesday on a Philippine challenge to China’s assertion to more than 80 percent of the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways. The Philippines contests China’s “historic rights” claim based on a 1940s map that shows a dashed line covering around 1.4 million square miles (3.6 million square kilometers). China has said it doesn’t recognize the jurisdiction of the tribunal in The Hague and will ignore its findings, which will be binding on both countries as signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) but lacks a mechanism for enforcement. Whatever the outcome, China will

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 276

PHL will not see new mining projects under Lopez’s watch

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By Jonathan Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

side from auditing the operations of existing mining sites, the new chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has also ordered a moratorium on the approval of new mining projects. INSIDE

And Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez will not allow new mining activities even if they would pay higher taxes.

for young social entrepreneur, giving is part of human nature

The Millennials BusinessMirror

For young social entrepreneur, giving is part of human nature

By Oliver Samson Correspondent

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HE number of children in the country who train on financial literacy and entrepreneurship under an “Aflatoun” program grew to nearly half a million from only 3,000 nine years ago. The National Confederation of Cooperatives (Natcco) on its web site explains the word aflatoun as “of Arabic origin and refers to ‘the explorer,’ a person who thinks, explores, investigates and acts.” The Natcco is implementing the Aflatoun concept in the Philippines in partnership with the Aflatoun Child Social and Financial Education Organization, formerly Child Savings International based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. With age ranging from 6 to 14 years, the Aflatoun program cover more than 700 schools nationwide, according to Maria Lasalette M. Gumban, youth program officer for education, training and consultancy at Natcco. Their cumulative savings have reached to more than P100 million, Gumban said in an interview on Thursday. The increase in Natcco’s partner cooperatives over the years was responsible for the growth in the number of Aflatouns in the country, Gumban explained. She added that Natcco is currently in partnership with 116 cooperatives reaching out to more than 37 provinces all over the Philippines. Aflatouns save their money with Natcco’s partner-cooperatives, which manage it and give interest. “Relatively it’s higher than what the bank offers,” Gumban said. The cooperatives give 2 percent to 3 percent interest on the savings. The children deposit a minimum amount of P5 per week, Gumban added. The children are not forced to deposit on a regular basis if they cannot spare some amount from their school

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

Please trace your path in helping promote GKI’s brand Human Nature. “Human Nature” started when I was almost a fresh grad. Upon graduation, my dad sent me to the US to figure out and reflect on what I really wanted to do with my life. In America I explored doing freelance bridal makeup as well as makeup apprenticeships. Despite graduating with a degree in Early Childhood Education, my trip [in the US] reinforced my desire to do something that involves cosmetics. It was also there that I discovered about natural cosmetics because I received a package of natural cosmetics as a gift during one of my makeup gigs. It was basically our upbringing having Tony Meloto as our dad. While other kids would get asked how their school day went, we’d have discussions about nation-building [during] breakfast or dinner. Basically anytime and anywhere, at any given moment, our father would be talking about what he’s passionate about, which is helping the poor and finding ways to get them out of poverty. Even as young as less than 10 years old our Christmases included being in the community celebrating with the beneficiaries. My dad would also often invite them to our house during the holiday season. I saw them not as beneficiaries anymore—I saw them as my ate, kuya, tito and tita. Because of a dad like Tony Meloto, we knew that if we wanted to start a business, it can’t be selfserving. This is why social issues and addressing them is deeply ingrained into our company values. We were taught early on that if we were to succeed, we can’t leave the poor behind.

What are your key focus areas in your job in “Human Nature”? I’m currently the creative director, so I take care of directions of designs for labels, collaterals, in store experience, etc., as well as the [design] and direction for product concepts. I give input on the formulation and advise on upcoming formats, innovations, as well as trends. Aside from that I also work with developing our beauty consultants—giving training in makeup application, handling customers, and other personality development-related matters. As part of the founders, what’s also always in my mind is culture building and overall wellness of the employees, because I closely work with them. I try to think of ways to further develop them, whether it be training, guidance, overall physical environment of the work place, etc. Describe your early years in Human Nature? It was very difficult and challenging. I went to it only with love for makeup and passion—nothing else. I didn’t have a background in chemistry but I had to head product development and learn along the way. I am a total introvert but I had to do a lot of customer interaction because I had to take orders and trouble shoot when they have complaints. It took us three years before [I] claimed [my] two day weekends because [of a lot of] work since [I wear] numerous hats: in sales, customer service, warehouse, product development, marketing—basically everything since the employees back then were so few. It was difficult. But looking back now, it was very rewarding. It felt like hell not having much time for anything else aside from work, but now I feel those experiences honed [me] to have better work ethic than usual. Looking past all the blood, sweat and tears, they were all worth it because [these] give so much value

Meloto

to what I’m doing now. [My hard work] gives me a better appreciation of the people I work with because I now have time to work on other things because they are there. Since the Philippines is still a developing country, how would you describe the challenges faced by Human Nature, which is operating based on the sustainability model? It’s actually very challenging because, of course, we still are a small company, even smaller when we started. Anyone who is trying to pioneer, pave the way or innovate encounters so many challenges, especially [when] it’s something totally new and competing in a field run by multinationals. How do you share the work between you and your sister Ana? We collaborate on a lot of things like new product development and the direction and vision of Human Nature, which we discuss together with Kuya Dylan [Ana’s husband and our cofounder] as well as my other sister, Ate Wowie, who heads marketing, communications and events, and my sister in law, Ate Eena, who is head of recruitment. I consult with her on certain things I’m unsure about and she does the same with me.

What is your definition of a millennial executive? I don’t have a definition for it. What I do have a definition for is I am a social entrepreneur. For us, it’s an entrepreneur that plans to bring her coworkers and coemployees out of poverty. As millennials, we should all be thinking about our passion and using it to do something good for our country, while we still have the capacity and energy. We should not think of doing it after we’ve had some experience or if we’ve earned enough money, because that time might never come for us once we get sucked in the corporate world. Instead, let’s take a risk. It’s a new definition of “YOLO.” It’s more like you’re only young once. Go make a difference! How do you and your sister arrive at or settle business decisions? We discuss it between us. If we’re not quite sure, we discuss it with Kuya Dylan. A lot of our business decisions are done by prayer, fasting and discernment. Once in a while we meet up and just pray about the direction where God is urging us to steer the company. At the start of the year, we also asked the whole company to join us for a week of prayer and fasting for the [year’s] direction.

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The phenomenon indicates that the next megacycle of retail is in full swing, Brown said, and if big retailers ignore it, they do so at their own peril. Millennials are turning streets into cool districts faster than boring, homogeneous malls have sent shoppers online.

What makes a street cool

THE report is based on demographics and other characteristics, including walkability, access to public transportation and the number of locally owned or unique stores. Other regional cool streets that made the list are East Austin, Houston’s Lower Westheimer/Montrose, San Antonio’s Pearl Brewery District, Tulsa’s Blue Dome District, Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District and New Orleans’s Warehouse District. These areas have a more than a few things in common. They are populated by midpriced apparel, accessories and home stores that are tapping into the millennial consumers in a way that mainstream midprice retailers haven’t, Brown said.

Cool streets are often long-standing bohemian enclaves for local artists and musicians or LGBT communities. But the renaissance in nearly all of the cool streets has been driven by new retailers, Brown said. Cool streets gain momentum through social media, which is playing an immense role as a form of word of mouth, Brown said. “Traditional marketing just isn’t as effective with millennials.” And the millennial attitudes toward cars also is shaping these areas. “All the cool streets have a high level of walkability,” Brown said. People live near the cool streets. “It’s a huge part of the millennial urban ethos,” he said. “They’d rather pay a little more for rent than own a car.” The rise of dozens of what the report calls edgy retail districts are almost all organic and are suddenly attracting a flood of interest from the traditional developer community, Brown said. In Oak Cliff, two developers have projects in the works that bookend the Bishop

Arts District. And developers of mixed-use projects, such as Legacy West, which is under construction in Plano next to Toyota’s new US headquarters, are trying to duplicate the ambiance of cool streets.

Desire to stay small

IN the Lower Greenville/Henderson area, like-minded small chains expanding to Texas such as Planet Blue and Kit & Ace and online retailers Bonobos and Knot Standard mix with homegrown retailers such as Bullzerk and Gypsy Wagon. Carley Seale, owner of the ‘Gypsy Wagon’ on North Henderson Avenue, sells apparel and home and gift merchandise at a broad range of prices. She opened her first store in 2007 with the goal of creating a shop with a sense of discovery, that’s off the beaten path, and where shoppers can find a gift for under $30. She wants to keep her business small, but gets calls from developers daily. In 2012, she opened a store in Crested Butte, Colorado and, in 2014 opened her third store in Austin. TNS

FOR Aurora Yumul, artistic director of Fringe Benefits Production, beauty contests are now more commercialized compared to earlier days. “At present, title holders are expected to join show business and hook up with a movie actor to get a bigger mileage,” Yumul said in a text message. It was different in the 1960s, according to Yumul, where women from wellheeled families join the contest. One is Gemma Cruz, who later won

istration. The order takes effect immediately and “shall remain in force and in effect until formally terminated.” The order repealed or modified all other existing orders, circulars and directives that See “Mining,” A2

A closer look at child crime

bautista the 1964 Miss International contest. By winning the 1969 Miss Universe title, Gloria Diaz made the beauty contests more popular in the country. Earlier, a sub culture on beauty contests was reinforced when Filipino businessmen Virgilio Hilario and Jorge Araneta married 1952 Miss Universe winner Finnish Armi Kusela and 1964 Miss International Stella Marquez of Colombia, respectively.

THE height of student activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s had an impact on two beauty-contest participants that they responded to the call of the times. Nelia Sancho and the late Maita Gomez proved that beauty queens are not just for the glamorous world when they joined the underground movement against the Marcos dictatorship. In another interview, Emmie de Jesus, party-list representative of Gabriela, said they are against beauty contest. “We don’t want beauty contests because it is a commodification of women,” de Jesus said. “Despite the good objectives of the contests, a beautiful face and sexy figure are going to be the most important elements in the contest.” Still, Yumul believes beauty pageants will be around for a long time because many benefit from it. The bottom line is, it is business and some people are making money from it, Yumul added. Rizal Raoul Reyes

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luxe country living with plenty of soul Turn toward us

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ORD, answer, for Your mercy is kind, in Your great compassion, turn toward us. Do not hide Your face from Your servants, answer us quickly, for we are in distress. Come close to our soul and redeem us; ransom us because of our foes. Then we will praise God’s name with a song; we will glorify Him with thanksgiving; a gift pleasing God more than oxen, more than a bull with horns and hoofs. The poor when they see it will be glad. And God-seeking hearts will revive; for the Lord listens to the needy, and does not spurn His own in their chains. Let the heavens and the earth give Him praise, the seas and everything that moves in them (Psalm 69: 17-19, 31-35). Turn toward us because You await all of us in Your Kingdom. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY, COMMITTEE ON DIVINE WORSHIP, SHARED BY LUISA M. LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

FAMILY AFFAIR

Rico and Nena Tantoco with daughters Katrina and Beatrice, and Rustan’s Chairman Emeritus Bienvenido Tantoco Sr.

Life BusinessMirror

Sta. Elena began with a vision of Rico Tantoco, son of former ambassador and Rustan Chairman Emeritus Bienvenido Tantoco Sr., and that was putting the Philippines in the world map of golf. He wanted to create a golf course that could compete with the best the world had to offer, a dream that easily became true. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the all-weather Sta. Elena Golf Course has been selected by Golf Digest as one of the top 100 golf courses outside the US. But a world-class golf course was just the beginning of Rico’s vision. As a forester and naturelover, he wanted a place where flora and fauna would flourish alongside living spaces. He envisioned an intimate community with properties luxuriously located around the fairways. For those who love the outdoors but do not play golf, he wanted the area to be a sanctuary where one could commune with nature and bask in its beauty. Sta. Elena today reveals the fulfillment of its founding vision. It has developed into a beautiful golf and luxury residential estate surrounded by clusters of hardwood trees that have been painstakingly planted, cared for and maintained to grow and mature to lovingly embrace everything and everyone within it. Its healthy, oxygen-rich environment, beautiful landscapes and pockets of green provide a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. Certified as a Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International, a society devoted to the conservation of the environment, Sta. Elena passed a strict

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

qualification process to receive this distinction as a nature sanctuary. This citation is a product of over 10 years of reforestation that transformed what was once a sugarcane plantation into a nature haven. It has become home to a wide variety of birds whose distinct squawks, warbles, chirps and whistles provide a musical backdrop to this wonderful piece of paradise. Over the sumptuous luncheon, Rico unveiled the third part of his vision. Sta. Elena has lined up more developments in the future, from a worldclass country club, expansion of current residential villages, to creating new spaces with soul. Rico has enlisted his daughters Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat as general manager, and Beatrice Tantoco-Reyes as marketing manager, to help bring his vision to fulfillment. Both daughters were on hand to help their parents in hosting the luncheon and, later on, tour their guests through the estate’s key interest areas. “The Sta. Rosa area is developing at an exciting pace, with commercial areas and prestigious schools cropping up,” said Bea, who can work her way around a song with the finesse of Lisa Stansfiueld. “But despite the conveniences of living here, Sta. Elena still offers the serenity that you can only find amid a natural environment.” As a resident or member of the golf course, one has access to a myriad of amenities within the estate. There is a river park; the Big Lake, where you can go boating and fishing; Banahaw Fairway Park, where there are benches and exercise equipment; and the bike and running trails that are perfect locations to

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Life

savor the luxury of being within the confines of a truly natural environment. Elegant village clubhouses dot the estate where residents can mingle or spend leisure time with family. Kids also have their share of activities at the Banahaw Children’s Playground, or at the Fun Farm, which encourages a love for animals as they ride horses or carabaos, play with the ducks and chickens, or feed the bunnies and hamsters and sheep. According to Katrina, “Living in the city today has increasingly become a vexation to the mind, body and soul. Peace has become elusive amid the traffic, the pollution, the crowding and the noise. In fact, finding peace in today’s modern world has become the ultimate luxury. And this is what Sta. Elena offers. It is a place where your soul is at peace, where you can breathe, where you can connect with nature and your loved ones. It offers the luxury of living with soul.” During the course of the luncheon, the gracious Nena underscored that travel from Sta. Elena to the commercial and business hubs in Makati and Alabang is a pleasant ride in a half-hour or so via the so-called Skyway of the South Luzon Expressway—minus, of course, the insufferable traffic that has earned the Philippines global notoriety. Then again, we told Nena gesturing at the sublime beauty surrounding her, “If you live amid such loveliness, why on earth would you still want to venture into the city?”

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‘this one’s for me’

Photo shows the main gate of Manila Boystown Complex, a government-owned facility for the abandoned, forgotten, and voluntarily surrendered children, teenagers and senior citizens. The institution is in Parang, Marikina City. ALYSA SALEN

With additional reporting by Gerard Ramos, Lifestyle & Entertainment Editor

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Tuesday, July 12, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

By Joel Pablo Salud

Special to the BusinessMirror

‘IT’S GOING TO STING’ THE 6-foot-5 Milos Raonic, one of the top servers in the game, comes up short against one of the top returners and defensive players in tennis. AP

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ONDON—Milos Raonic blasted a first serve at 147 mph, the fastest delivery of the entire tournament, only for the ball to come rifling back across the net. Not only did Andy Murray make the return, he went on to win the point with a crosscourt backhand passing shot. It was that kind of day for Raonic, who could never get the upper hand against Murray in the Wimbledon final, losing in straight sets in the 25-year-old Canadian’s first Grand Slam title match. Murray broke Raonic only once, but never lost his own serve and dominated both tiebreakers to win, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), securing his second Wimbledon title and third major championship. “This one’s going to sting,” Raonic said after accepting the runner-up trophy. The 6-foot-5 Raonic, one of the top servers in the game, came up short against one of the top returners and defensive players in tennis. Raonic came into the final with a tournament-high 154 aces, averaging more than 20 per match. But he finished with just eight on Saturday, one more than Murray. The second-seeded British player repeatedly managed to make returns off serves of more than 130 mph and 140 mph—including that 147-mph delivery at 4-all in the first set. “Every single time you play him, you know he’s going to get more returns back than anybody else, alongside with Novak [Djokovic],” Raonic said. “That’s what these two guys, especially, do.” Raonic also struggled in rallies to break down Murray, who chased down shots in the corners to keep the ball in play, and hit a series of cross-court passing winners off the backhand wing. “I tried to put the things together,” Raonic said. “I tried coming forward, putting pressure on him. He was playing much better than me off the baseline. He was more effective there. I was keeping up with him. But then when it counted, I wasn’t able to get on top.” That included the second-set tiebreaker, when Raonic missed an easy forehand volley on the first point and then failed to put away a smash to fall behind, 4-1. “I missed that ball, the short ball, on the first one,” Raonic said. “Wasn’t even close. Missed into the middle of the net. Then I had an overhead that I didn’t make the most of on my serve. I’ll sort of look back at that with not too much joy.” Then, in the fifth game of the third set, Raonic had his first, and only, chance to break. With Murray serving at 2-2, Raonic ripped a forehand winner off an 82-mph second serve to give him two break points at 15-40. But Raonic couldn’t handle a deep first serve on the first and netted a forehand return. On the second, he hit a backhand into the net. Murray followed with a backhand passing shot and a 117-mph serve winner to hold. Raonic never saw another break point. “Obviously it does come down a lot of the time to a few important points,” he said. “That was probably the most clear look I had. I had a sense that if I could have gotten ahead there, maybe I could have turned it around a bit.” Raonic was seeking to become the first player representing Canada to win a Grand Slam title. The only other Canadian, man or woman, to get to a major final was Eugenie Bouchard, the women’s runner-up atWimbledon in 2014. Looking ahead, Raonic said he will take strength from his fiveset semifinal win over seven-time champion Roger Federer. “I stepped up,” he said. “I did a great thing there. Came back from two sets to love down, which is a first time for me. I showed guts. I showed vigor. I got to carry that through to the next events.” AP

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‘THIS ONE’S FOR ME’ Dulling big serves with quickreflex returns, conjuring up daring passing shots and playing impressively mistake-free tennis all the while, Murray beat Milos Raonic, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), on Sunday for his second trophy at the All England Club and third Grand Slam title overall.

ANDY MURRAY: It is different. I feel happier this time. I feel more content this time. I feel like this was sort of more for myself more than anything, and my team, as well. AP

China declares an air-defense Id e nt i f i c at io n z o ne ( A d i z), See “Beijing,” A12

By Howard Fendrich

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The Associated Press

ONDON—Andy Murray’s first Wimbledon championship was for his country. This one was for Andy Murray. Dulling big serves with quick-reflex returns, conjuring up daring passing shots and playing impressively mistake-free tennis all the while, Murray beat Milos Raonic, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), on Sunday for his second trophy at the All England Club and third Grand Slam title overall. In 2013 Murray famously ended Britain’s 77year wait for one of its own to win the men’s final at Wimbledon, a quest that became burdensome. Now he wanted a victory to end his personal rut of three consecutive losses in major finals, including at the Australian Open in January, and French Open last month. “It is different. I feel happier this time. I feel more content this time. I feel like this was sort of more for myself more than anything, and my team, as well,” the second-seeded Murray said. “Last time, it was just pure relief, and I didn’t really enjoy the moment as much, whereas I’m going to make sure I enjoy this one.” This was his 11th Grand Slam final, but the first against someone other than Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. The sixth-seeded Raonic eliminated Federer in five sets in the semifinals on Friday, and also defeated the player who stunned Djokovic in the third round, Sam Querrey. Those wins helped Raonic become the first man representing Canada to reach a major final. He did it, primarily, by averaging 25½ aces through six matches. But on a breezy afternoon, at a Centre Court filled with nearly 15,000 partisan fans, Murray shut down that integral part of Raonic’s game. “This one’s going to sting,” Raonic said. It’s been a rough few weeks for Britain, what with its vote to leave the European Union, the drop of the pound’s value, and the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, who was seated in the front row of the Royal Box on Sunday, several seats over from Prince William and his wife Kate. During the trophy presentation, Murray joked: “Playing in a Wimbledon final’s tough, but I certainly wouldn’t like to be a prime minister. It’s an impossible job.” Murray, a 29-year-old from Scotland, long dealt with the expectations that accompanied being Britain’s best chance to find a male champion to succeed Fred Perry, who last won the grass-court tournament in 1936. After

Sunday’s victory, Murray’s mother, former British Fed Cup captain Judy, referred to that old phenomenon as, “The constant, ‘When are you going to win Wimbledon? When are you going to win Wimbledon? When are you going to win Wimbledon?’” But her son has dealt with that and thrived, thanks to a counterpunching game and sublime returns of serve. It took Raonic 36 minutes and five service games to record his first ace, and he wound up with only eight. Over and over, Murray managed to get the ball back, even one that came in at 147 mph. And while Murray only broke Raonic once, to lead 4-3 in the opening set, that was all it took, because the tiebreakers were surprisingly one-way traffic. Murray also took 50 of 65 points he served across the first two sets, not only never facing so much as a break point in that span but also being pushed to deuce merely once. Finally, at 2-all in the third, Raonic got to 1540 for his first—and, it turned out, only—break points, thanks to a forehand return winner off an 82-mph second serve. “Potentially turning points,” said Carlos Moya, one of a trio of coaches for Raonic, including John McEnroe. “If he got that break, who knows what could happen?” But Murray stood tall, taking the next four points to hold, then wheeled toward his box, pumping his right fist and yelling. According to the official statistics, Murray made only 12 unforced errors, two in the second set. While that’s a subjective accounting, anyone watching and listening could plainly tell that he was striking the ball cleanly and confidently, a crisp thwack resonating as racket strings hit ball, much more often than not putting shots right where intended. “Really good stuff,” Murray said. His opponent’s take? “He was playing much better than me off the baseline,” Raonic acknowledged. Taking it all in from Murray’s guest box, with seemingly nary a smile, was coach Ivan Lendl. They worked together when Murray won his first two Grand Slam trophies, including at the 2012 US Open, then split up, before reuniting last month. Once again, that partnership paid off, and at Wimbledon, no less. When he sat in his sideline chair after the match concluded, Murray wiped away tears with a tournament towel. “To do it twice here,” he said, “an event where there is a lot of pressure on me to perform well—I’m very proud with how I’ve handled that over the years.”

sports

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Unemployment and demographic ‘sweet spot’ The Entrepreneur

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Manny B. Villar

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uch has been written about the Philippines being in, or entering, a demographic “sweet spot,” a period during which youth accounts for an increasing larger proportion of the population. This is significant because the aging population in many developed countries is encouraging them to look toward countries with young populations as destinations for investments or sources of manpower. Continued on A10

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DRONES SEE THE WORLD IN A WAY HUMAN PHOTOGRAPHERS CAN’T D4

Luxe country living with plenty of soul I T was not, of course, the first time we enjoyed a repast with the Tantocos, the family behind the retail giant Rustan’s. There was the rather lovely and laid-back dinner we hosted some time ago for columnists and writers of our lifestyle section. Coming in at the appointed hour was Crickette Tantoco, who joined BUSINESSMIRROR as a columnist for the lifestyle section when the paper launched, and is the gorgeous wife of the equally gorgeous president of Rustan’s Commercial Corp. (RCC), Donnie Tantoco. Then, there is the exquisite annual holiday repast ever-so-graciously hosted by RCC Chairman and CEO Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco for the lifestyle media to mark the Christmas season. However, enjoying a repast at a Tantoco home is not something that happens often to people outside of their circle of family and friends, and so when we, along with other members of the lifestyle media, were invited by the charming Bienvenido “Rico” R. Tantoco Jr. and his lovely wife, Nena, for a luncheon at Villa Marina, their sprawling manse—a beautifully tasteful tropical modern affair designed by Arch. Manny Miñana—situated in the languid and very exclusive Sta. Elena Golf & Country Estate in Santa Rosa, Laguna, we accepted. For 25 years Sta. Elena Golf & Country Estate (http:// staelena.com/) has served as a refuge from the city for the urban-weary soul. The expansive property, a mere 40-minute drive from Makati City, is home to one of the world’s top golf courses and several luxurious residential enclaves.

Moderately assertive

Govt to revive ₧122.8-B expressway-dike project

Important element

The millenNials Different take

The memorandum order issued by Lopez placing miners under audit and halting approval of new projects

CHIldren on the run

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ECENTLY crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2016 Imelda Bautista Schweighart, 21, says it is still a challenge to convince people that beauty contests are relevant in today’s society. Even if she is a millennial, the FilipinaGerman beauty admits in a recent interview that promoting beauty contests is a platform to promote worthy causes just like the Miss Earth beauty pageant. “I want more people to know that Miss Earth does only produce beauty queens but also advocates environmentalism and sustainable development,” Schweighart said. As far as the Miss Puerto Princesa City stunner is concerned, her top agenda are soil protection and organic farming. “We are much affected because most of the vegetables have no nutrition,” Schweighart said. “So soil protection from genetically modified organism and chemically engineered seeds are needed.” She added that government must not give a big allocation of resources to infrastructure despite its dismal state which has caused a big dip in the country’s productivity. “Instead of putting the budget there, put the budget to livelihood and [to] the poor [to] educate them, shelter them,” Schweighart said. “The education is toward organic farming.” Schweighart said winning the pageant would allow her to amplify the awareness toward her advocacy. She said Puerto Princesa, Palawan, will always hold a special place in her heart “because it offers good food, great people, beautiful sceneries and adventure.”

Lopez has issued DENR Memorandum Order (MO) 2016-01, dated July 8, 2016, the first to be issued under the Duterte admin-

DENR M.O. 2016-1

BMReports

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allowance. Most do not withdraw their money, Gumban said. “They allow them [deposit] to grow.” Some withdraw to fund class projects and out-of-school activities like camping, she said. Others plan to spend part of it for a new pair of shoes and clothes for graduation. Some Aflatouns have accumulated a saving of more than P50,000 each from Grades 1 to 6. The program, which is transmitted by teachers to the children, trains them to save, plan and do budgeting. It also introduces entrepreneurship, child rights, self-awareness and provides social and financial education. The goal is to help children become financially aware, financially capable, financially disciplined and skilled, The impact of the program is best seen in public schools since most of the parents of the kids do not have access to save with a bank, Gumban said. “The knowledge is translated into actions through actual saving with the cooperatives,” she said. In Oriental Mindoro the program was launched in four schools on July 7, according to Lorielie Bacay Gadon of the Mansalay Agriculture and Fisheries Development Cooperative. The program will teach the new Aflatoun members the importance of saving and how it will help their lives as they grow, Gadon added. Her cooperative will launch the program in four more schools in Oriental Mindoro in the coming weeks. The concept of Aflatoun originated in India. In 2005 Jeroo Billimoria founded it in Amsterdam. It has 40 million members in 110 countries today. It was introduced in the Philippines in 2007. A new tripartite memorandum of agreement, which pushes for financial literacy and entrepreneurship among others, was signed last month by representatives of Aflatoun International, Natcco and the Department of Education.

Miss PhiliPPines earth wants re-viewing of beauty contests

bragging rights: see what two Dallas areas rank for the shopping on their ‘cool streets’ HE Bishop Arts District has done more to get northern local dwellers to go south of Interstate 30 than possibly anything in the history of modern Dallas. And you may have noticed friends suggesting you meet to shop or dine around Lower Greenville and Henderson Avenue more lately. While these Dallas streets have been popular with locals for a while, now they’re being recognized nationally as a draw on a par with places like Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighborhood, Chicago’s Logan Square and Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. Bishop Arts District and Lower Greenville are among the Top 100 “Cool Streets” in the US and Canada, according to a new report from commercial real-estate service firm Cushman & Wakefield. We’ve always had “high streets and main streets,” but new cool streets are emerging and are on their way to becoming mainstream, said Garrick Brown, vice president of retail research at Cushman & Wakefield.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Pinoy ‘Aflatouns’ reach 400,000

AMILLE D. MELoto, 30, does not have a personal definition of a millennial executive. Nevertheless, the current creative director of Gandang Kalikasan Inc. (GKI) points out millennials like her harness their passions and use it for the benefit of the country while they are young and capable. In an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror, the 2011 Ernst and Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year shared her working experience in GKI and her role as a social entrepreneur.

Faced with a nationalistic population demanding China protect its sovereignty, the foreign ministry issues a strongly worded statement outlining its refusal to accept the court’s jurisdiction and vowing to ignore the ruling. Beijing extends its media campaign, proclaiming the support of more than 60 countries for its position (a list it has so far not published in full). On the ground, however, China works to reduce tensions by pulling back on the harassment of Filipino fishermen.

A broader look at today’s business

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Benign

It refrains from adding military installations to reclaimed reefs in the Spratlys chain and leaves the Scarborough Shoal uninhabited. Military ceases its radio warnings to military aircraft from other countries flying over features it claims. Diplomatically, it extends an invitation of direct talks to new President Duterte. What it means: A lowering of tensions allows claimant-states to put the disputes to one side to begin negotiations and potentially jointly develop mineral and energy resources.

BusinessMirror

United nations

2015 environmental Media Award leadership award 2008

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probably respond to the ruling. And unless the report is 100-percent favorable for Beijing, its options could range from benign to aggressive:

Part Two

ongress seeking the lowering of the age of criminal liability is not without some merit. Children in conflict with the law are getting younger, their numbers larger. While statistics on growing trends in child crime are difficult to assemble, classify and obtain, as mostly go unreported, some groups have made it their life’s work to put

PESO exchange rates n US 47.0950

together the little that can be garnered from the government and non-governmental agencies. The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) reported that more than 52,000 Filipino children from 1995 to 2000 were “in conflict with the law.” Data from social-welfare said that, from 2001 to 2010, close to 64,000 offenders were detained by the government, the highest being in Western Visayas, the National Capital Region and Region 11, or the Davao region, throughout the said period.

The 2010 CWC report, titled “Situationer on Filipino Children,” pegged youth offenders’ profiles as “usually male between the ages of 14 and 17; has low educational attainment; belongs to large, lowearning families of six members; charged with property-related crimes; use drugs; alcohol; and has stopped schooling.” A report by an online news bureau had quoted Ma. Raquel Tubale of the Manila Department of Social Welfare (MDSW) that “the rate of Continued on A2

he government plans to restructure the multibillion-peso Laguna Lake expressway-dike development project and redirect the financing options to another funding source or two. For the project to push through in 2017, the government has to address the issues previously tagged on the failed auction of the P122.8billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike contract. To do this, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center Executive Director Andre C. Palacios said his team will meet with its counterpart at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) this week to flesh out how the government will move forward with the project. Most likely, however, the two agencies will agree that the project will have to undergo another round of feasibility study with the

possibility of splitting the contract into different components. Palacios said the DPWH “is very keen with the road and flood-control components of the project,” as these two components are included in the agency’s highway and flood-control master plans, “so they would most likely proceed with these components.” “The technical question for them would be whether to do it together or to do it separately. And if they’ll do it together or separately, how to finance it,” Palacios told the BusinessMirror in an interview. There are two ways to approach this project, he said. First is for the public-works department and the Laguna Lake Development Authority to proceed with the project as a three-component project or a three-component See “Dike project,” A12

We might see it going back to the market, either in the same form or modified. It depends on the outcome of the study.”—Palacios

n japan 0.4681 n UK 61.0116 n HK 6.0711 n CHINA 7.0470 n singapore 35.0097 n australia 35.6085 n EU 52.0588 n SAUDI arabia 12.5533

Source: BSP (11 July 2016 )

A2 Tuesday, July 12, 2016

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CHIldren on the run

A closer look at child crime Continued from A1

crimes involving children mostly from large but poor families are among the highest in the districts of Manila.” “In District I-Tondo,” she said, “some as young as 9 years old are often engaged in property-related crimes, such as theft and robbery, a matter attributed to deprivation and poverty.” These figures were culled back in 2010. Imagine the extent and rise of these figures after six years’ time. Worse, current statistics show that not all child crimes are petty and juvenile. Children are being jailed for crimes like rape and murder, even insurgency. Research groups have yet to delve deeply into the problem of child soldiers. Based on the US State Department 2011 Human Rights Report, the issue of minors in combat is an ongoing problem that involves not only insurgent groups but the paramilitary. “During the year the New People’s Army [NPA] reportedly targeted children for recruitment as combatants and noncombatants. The NPA claimed it assigned persons 15 to 18 years of age to self-defense and noncombatant duties, but there were reports that the NPA continued to use minors in combat. Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] records showed 14 child soldiers, allegedly recruited by the NPA, who voluntarily surrendered to authorities during the year. “The Abu Sayyaf Group [ASG] continued to recruit teenagers to fight and participate in its activities. The May 2010 United Nations report also noted isolated cases of minors, ages 15 to 17, who were voluntarily recruited into the paramilitary Cafgu [Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit] entities that fall under AFP operational

control. The AFP Human Rights Office reported an incident in January of a minor inadvertently accepted for training preparatory to appointment in a Cafgu. Upon discovery of his real age, the minor’s appointment was canceled, and he was immediately reintegrated with his family.” A broader look at the problem of child crime gives us a better understanding of the situation. Take, for instance, the United Kingdom. According to the Daily Mail UK, “Overall, the figures from 34 of the 45 forces in the United Kingdom collated under the Freedom of Information Act show that 5,665 crimes were committed by children under 8 in the last four years. Alarmingly, crimes reached a four-year high in 2014, with 1,713 recorded. Offenses included fire-raising, possession of drugs, violence and causing racially or religiously aggravated public fear. This also comes in the wake of revelations that a total of 154 children, aged 12 and under, were arrested for sex crimes, including rape and sexual assault.” At this rate, England and Wales peg the criminal liability at age 10.

Will lowering the age of criminal liability solve the problem? The question is anything but trivial. Yet, according to Circuit Trial Court Judge Gerely C. Rico-Cruz, in a brief interview with this writer, there is reason to believe that an amendment to Republic Act (RA) 9344 may prove effective in lessening cases of child crime. She added that there is no intention of criminal prosecution if current provisions stated in the bills were to be followed. “Presently, the age of exemption from

criminal liability is 15 years old and below, pursuant to Republic Act 9344,” she said. “Exemption from criminal liability means, given the age, the minor cannot be prosecuted for the crimes he or she commits. It’s as if he or she did not commit a crime. “Prior to Republic Act 9344, the age of exemption from criminal liability is 9 years old and below, pursuant to Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code. Hence, this bill being filed by Pantaleon Alvarez is a reversion to the provision of the Revised Penal Code.” Davao del Norte First District Rep. Pantaleon D. Alvarez’s House Bill 002 agrees with Cruz’s statement. It states in Section 6: “Minimum age of criminal liability.—A child under 9 years of age at the time of the commission of an offense shall be exempted from criminal liability. However, such child shall be subjected to an intervention program under Section 20 of this Act [….] A child 9 years of age and above, but below eighteen (18), shall, likewise, be exempt from criminal liability and subjected to an intervention program, unless he or she is determined to have acted with discernment, in which case he or she shall be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in accordance with this Act. The exemption from criminal liability herein established does not include exemption from civil liability, which shall be enforced in accordance with existing laws.” The way child offenders have been managed even after the passage into law of RA 9344 points to the increasing neglect of government in the work to rehabilitate and reintegrate the child offender. To be concluded

Joel Pablo Salud is currently the editor in chief of the Philippines Graphic newsweekly magazine

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Mining. . .

Continued from A1

are inconsistent with the provisions of the order. Lopez’s first, MO 2016-1 formalizes her earlier policy pronouncement when she took over the helm of the DENR on June 30. “In line with the pronouncement on responsible mining by His Excellency, President Rodrigo R. Duterte, ‘that there will be a comprehensive review of the mining claims of concessions given,’ and in the interest of the common good and to ensure that the concerns of the helpless and the impoverished are addressed, an audit of all operating mines and a moratorium on the approval of all new projects are hereby ordered for the guidance and compliance of all concerned,” the order stated. The mining audit covers all mining operations in the country, to determine the adequacy of and efficiency of the environmental-protection measures of each mining firm; to identify gaps in environmentalprotection measures; and determine appropriate penalty/ies in case of violations of mining and environmental laws. In line with the mining audit, the DENR chief also ordered the creation of mine-audit teams per region to be headed by the DENR Central Office, DENR Regional Office, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and a thirdparty expert. The mining teams are required to submit a report to the DENR chief in a month. The approval of new mining projects has been stopped, pending the enactment of a new mining-revenue sharing scheme as mandated by Executive Order (EO) 79, the mining policy of former President Benigno S. Aquino III. The order, which aims to institute mining reforms, also subjected mining contracts under periodic review by the government. As the new DENR chief, Lopez

had vowed to put under strict regulatory process coal and mining ventures, including small-scale mining and other environmentally destructive projects that cause people to suffer. Asked on her stand on the prospect of allowing mining projects/development on account of higher taxes, Lopez said: “I will not endorse anything that allows suffering to go on. Public welfare is my non-negotiable stand.” Asked about the existence of EO 79, which essentially stopped the approval of new mining projects pending the new mining tax or revenue-sharing scheme, she said: “We will do the audit and all those that cause suffering will be suspended. It’s the right thing to do.” On July 7 a preventive-suspension order was jointly issued against Benguet Corp. Nickel Mines Inc. and Zambales Diversified Nickel Corp. by three regional officials of the DENR in Central Luzon—Francisco E. Milla Jr., the DENR’s regional executive director; Lope O. Cariño Jr. of the MGB, and Lormelyn E. Claudio of the EMB. The order, in effect, halted all large-scale mining operations in Zambales, a declared mineral reservation area. On July 1 the provincial governor of Zambales issued EO 1, stopping all mining operations. Local government units have power and authority over small-scale mining, while largescale mining, falls under the national government through the DENR’s MGB, or the Mining Industry Coordinating Council. Meanwhile, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said most of its members have secured the mandatory ISO 14001 certification required under DENR Administrative Order 2015-07. COMP, which represents large-scale mining companies operating in the Philippines, had vowed to adhere to the highest standard of responsible mining, in response to Duterte’s challenge to shape up, with the stern warning that he is ready stop mining operations for destroying the environment.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016 A3

Weaker peso to boost PHL tourism industry

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By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@Pulitika2010 Special to the BusinessMirror

HE weaker peso versus the greenback is seen helping the Philippines attract more foreign visitors, providing them more bang for their buck.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Assistant Secretary for Tourism Planning Rolando Canizal said the weaker peso against the US dollar “will allow the foreign visitors to spend more on tourist products, consume more tourist services and contribute to creation of greater economic activities in various tourism sectors.” But he added, “It will be ideal for both dollars and pesos spent by visitors to increase proportionately as it will have higher effect on GDP.” Banco de Oro Chief Marketing Strategist Jonathan Ravelas, likewise, believes the weaker peso would help increase visitor arrivals and tourism receipts for the economy. He predicts the peso trading between 47 and 48 to the dollar,

P47-48/$1 The “sweet spot” for the local currency, according to Ravelas which he calls the “sweet spot” for the local currency, “which is better for the economy, and will be attractive for investors. Similarly, this will be good for the tourism industry, as the rate will be better for the [foreign] tourists.” Ravelas noted that visitor receipts hit $5 billion in 2015, or P237.5 billion. Last year’s official closing foreign exchange was P47.06 to the greenback, which he says, will likely be replicated by the end of 2016, although the local currency may still touch P48 in the third quarter.

Foreign tourists flock to the world-renowned Chocolate Hills in Bohol, one of the top tourism destinations in the Philippines. Sherriebelle de Leon

The DOT is targetting foreign visitor receipts to hit P242 billion in 2016, on the back of 10 million tourists. Last year’s receipts already exceeded the agency’s target of P199

billion, due to the weak peso. The peso closed at 47.31 to the dollar on Monday, its lowest since May 6. The peso started flirting with the 47 mark in April, on uncer-

3 Indonesians kidnapped by suspected ASG members

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uspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) kidnapped three Indonesian fishermen on the weekend in the latest in a series of incidents highlighting weak security in the Cerebes Sea that borders Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The head of Indonesia’s intelligence agency said on Monday that the men were working on a Malaysian fishing boat off Lahad Datu in the Malaysian part of northern Borneo. Sutiyoso, who goes by one name, said the kidnappers fled with their hostages into Philippine waters. Several crew on the fishing boat escaped

and are now in Malaysia. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines agreed in May to carry out coordinated patrols in border waters, following kidnappings of Indonesian tug boat and barge crews by ASG militants based in the southern Philippines. The three governments are concerned that unchecked kidnappings, piracy and other crime could undermine commerce in the region. The Indonesians, who were held captive in the jungles of Sulu province in the southern Philippines, were later released. The Indonesian government denied it had

been involved in paying a ransom. “We are still investigating this case and continue to coordinate with the related institutions in the Philippines to find the location where the three hostages are being held,” Sutiyoso told The Associated Press. “We suspect that the hostages are held by a militant group, which is part of the Abu Sayyaf network.” T he Philippines, meanwhile, has stepped up its military offensive against Abu Sayyaf, which earlier this year beheaded two Canadians it had held hostage since September. AP

tainty over the election of Rodrigo Duterte as Philippine President. Then came the vote of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (EU), dubbed the “Brexit,”

G-20 trade ministers see big drop in global investments

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lobal cross-border investment may decline by as much as 15 percent this year, as trade remains sluggish, China’s commerce minister said after a Group-of20 (G-20) trade ministers meeting on Sunday. The G-20 representatives pledged to increase their efforts to facilitate trade and urged other World Trade Organization (WTO) member-nations to do likewise to enable global commerce, Gao Hucheng said at Sunday’s briefing. The ministers had met in China’s financial capital for two days of talks on how to boost investment cooperation before heads of state convene for a September 4 and 5 leaders summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. The ministers projected a 10-percent to 15percent drop in cross-border investment this year, Gao said. Britain’s referendum in favor of leaving the European Union will crimp global trade in the short term, and a G-20 workshop will study the potential impact, China’s Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said at the briefing. In February finance chiefs and central bankers from the group agreed to consult closely on foreign-exchange markets and reiterated pledges to refrain from competitive devaluations. Since then, currency markets have been roiled by Brexit, which caused the pound to plunge and helped drag down China’s yuan.

Transparent, predictable

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (left) speaks to the media as Armed Forces Chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo (right) listens after their meeting on the abduction of three Indonesians by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday. The suspected militants kidnapped three Indonesian fishermen on the weekend in the latest of a series of incidents highlighting weak security in the Celebes Sea that borders Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. AP

which further weakened the local currency as “investors found a safe haven in the Japanese yen,” the BDO executive explained. An added factor contributing to the weaker peso is the normalization of remittances from overseas Filipinos, now that they have paid the tuition of their children. Spikes in remittances usually happen in the second quarter, due to the tuition period, and the fourth quarter, due to the Christmas season. “With import demand up along with the regular flows of the dollar, this will create more demand for the US dollar in the third quarter. Added to that is Brexit, which will likely lead EU nations to do their own quantitative easing, along with Sunday’s victory of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s [coalition in the upper house], will eventually create a stronger dollar,” Ravelas said, with the peso possibly depreciating further to 48 to the greenback. He said Abe’s victory at Sunday’s polls would expectedly build confidence in the Japanese leader’s economic policies. The interagency Development Budget Coordinating Council recently revised its assumptions for the economy but kept its forecast for the local currency between 45 and 48 to the dollar.

The G-20 opposes protectionism and supports establishing new investment principles that are open, nondiscriminatory, transparent and predictable, the group said in a statement. The World Bank early last month cut its outlook for world GDP this year to 2.4 percent, a pace unchanged from 2015 and down from the 2.9 percent estimated in January, as business spending sags in advanced economies, including the US, and commodity exporters in emerging markets struggle. The WTO released a world trade indicator on July 8 that projected sluggish trade in July and August. Trade ministers said they recognize excess capacity in steel and other industries is a global issue that needs collective responses,

15%

The foreseen decline of global crossborder investment this year and committed to communicate better to make changes and improve market functions.

‘Market distortions’

“Structural problems, including excess capacity in some industries, exacerbated by a weak global economic recovery and depressed market demand, have caused a negative impact on trade and workers,” the ministers said in the statement. Subsidies and other support from government “can cause market distortions.” Excess capacity has been a sticking point for China and the US, which has called for the Asian country to make cuts. China Finance Minister Lou Jiwei pushed back last month in Beijing at the Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the world’s two largest economies, saying officials are addressing the issue and private companies can’t just be ordered to cut output. Wang on Sunday defended China, saying the country has already taken steps to cut millions of tons of excess steel capacity, while other nations are still discussing how to do so. US Trade Representative Michael Froman said the summit yielded promise by giving momentum to addressing the “root causes” of excess capacity. “The G-20 took an important step in the right direction,” Froman said in a statement. Ministers also made progress toward completing the Environment Goods Agreement, Froman said. The US is working with 16 other WTO members on the pact, which would eliminate tariffs on a range of green technologies, including solar panels and water-treatment mechanisms. China hosts the G-20 this year for the first time since it became a summit-level forum. Finance ministers and central bankers are next scheduled to meet on July 23 and 24 in Chengdu. Bloomberg News

Dulay backtracks on general recall of ‘midnight appointments’ at BIR By David Cagahastian @ davecaga

I

nternal Revenue Commissioner Cesar R. Dulay has backtracked on his decision to recall all “midnight appointments” made by his predecessor, as he upheld the appointments approved by former Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima during his last month in office.

Dulay on Monday said he issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 72-2016 to clarify his earlier order, which revoked all Revenue Travel Assignment Orders (RTAOs) issued by former Commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares from June 1 to 30. The new circular said the appointments that were approved by Purisima are not covered by

the general revocation. “In line with the existing memorandum of the secretary of finance dated October 21, 2010, requiring clearance from the secretary of finance on transfers involving presidential appointees, RTAOs issued and published within June 1 to 30, 2016, involving presidential appointees, are excluded from the general revocation provided under

RMC 71-2016 dated July 4, 2016, having been approved by the secretary of finance,” Dulay’s latest memorandum said. The new circular will affect those appointments and designation of personnel to higher-level positions in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), such as the positions for regional director and assistant regional director.

The procedure in the appointment of personnel to these positions include a recommendation from the commissioner, an approval by the secretary of finance, and finally the President’s signature to make the appointment effective. A BIR source explained the issuance of an RTAO is merely an “assignment” to a particular position. The personnel assigned to that

particular position would, thus, be performing in an acting capacity until the appointment papers are finally issued through the prescribed process of appointment. Thus, the assignments under the RTAOs, which are being upheld by Dulay in his latest circular, would still require the President’s signature before such appointments become effective.

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Is Yasay giving away Bajo de Masinloc to China?

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By Recto L. Mercene

@rectomercene

S Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay Jr. contravening the Philippines’s claim that Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) is part of the country’s territory, as shown by the 300-year-old Murillo map and other proofs submitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague?

The BusinessMirror posed this question to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), after Yasay was quoted on Sunday as saying “the Scarborough Shoal, which is called Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal by the Philippines, is part of international waters.” DFA Spokesman Charles C. Jose did not directly answer the question but said: “Bajo de Masinloc is inside our 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone [EEZ].” Yasay on Sunday said: “Dapat lamang malaman ng ating taumbayan na ang isinumite na kaso na dedesisyunan ng arbitral tribunal ay tungkol lamang sa Unclos [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]... ano ang extent ng ating exclusive economic zone. Hindi ito na kung manalo tayo ay ibig sabihin ay paalisin natin ang kung sinuman ang nandiyan sa area na iyan. We do not have that authority dahil international waters ito,”

Yasay added. He said he is making the clarification, so as not to “raise our people’s expectations.” The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague is expected to hand down its ruling on Tuesday. The Philippines said it is expected that the tribunal will probably favor the Philippines pleading to rule on our maritime rights, which includes the right to exploit the marine resources, including the gas and oil beneath the seabed, based on our EEZ. Jose said the tribunal will hands down its decision first to the contending parties, the Philippines and China at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The Murillo map, which was published in Manila in 1734, is the first and most important scientific map of the Philippines, which at that time was a vital part of the Spanish Empire. The map shows the maritime routes from Manila to Spain and to New Spain (Mexico

and other Spanish territory in the New World), with captions. Out of some 4,000 pages of pleading that the Philippines submitted to the tribunal, the Murillo map was the most telling. The tribunal’s decision, if favorable to the Philippines, would strengthen the country’s bargaining capability if in the end, China would agree to return to negotiation on a bilateral basis. China, since the start of the arbitration, had said they will not participate and will not recognize the ruling. A favorable decision to the Philippines would be the country’s greatest leverage to convince China, including members of the Group-of-20 advanced economies, that a negotiated settlement to the dispute is one of the peaceful ways to address the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) conflict. However, Yasay’s statements ahead of the ruling seems to undermine the Philippines’s position, which the government painstakingly gathered from many sources for the last 17 years. Yasay said: “Gusto ko lang ipaliwanag sa kanila ang katotohanan. Ang desisyon ng international tribunal ‘We just recognize or not recognize’ our rights over these disputed territories as part of our exclusive economic zone,” he said. “Kung sabihin ng arbitral tribunal this is part of our exclusive economic zone, kaya ang ating mga mangingisda ay puwede nang mangisda ulit sa Scarborough ay tiyakin natin na maproteksyunan ng ating gobyerno ang ating fishermen para makabalik sa Scarborough. Iyon ang

In this September 23, 2015, photo, provided by Filipino fisherman Renato Etac, a Chinese Coast Guard boat sprays a water cannon at Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. AP

4,000 The number of pages of the pleading submitted by the Philippines to the international tribunal

ini-expect natin na magiging desisyon ng arbitral tribunal.” He added: “At ang ibig sabihin din ng magiging desisyon kung manalo tayo ay that continues to be an interna-

tional water.” Yasay said the Philippines has an obligation to make sure that “that international water will be free for navigation and free also for overflight operation.” The DFA published in April 2012 the “Philippine position on Bajo de Masinloc [Scarborough Shoal] and the waters within its vicinity.” It says Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc “is an integral part of the Philipine territory.” “It is part of the municipality of Masinloc, province of Zambales. It is 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and is within the 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Philippine Continental Shelf,” the position paper added.

An online article on The Wire said the PCA opined that, when it delivers its verdict today, “it is likely to stay clear of three sensitive issues.” First, the PCA will not decide on the validity or legality of the “ninedash line” rule that has been invoked by China to assert its “sovereignty” over islands and other maritime features in the South China Sea. Second, the PCA will not assess whether new “islands” created by China through sand-dredging and land-reclamation since 2013 constitute sovereign territory. And third, the arbitral tribunal will make no attempt to delineate a maritime boundary that is acceptable to China and the Philippines.

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Editor: Max V. de Leon • Tuesday, July 12, 2016 A5

Hun Sen orders probe into critic’s killing

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ambodia’s prime minister said on Monday authorities will conduct a vigorous investigation to uncover any conspiracy behind the shooting death of a government critic, and urged the opposition not to use the assassination to incite people.

Kem Ley, 45, was killed at a gas station mini-mart complex in Phnom Penh on Sunday and his attacker was arrested shortly afterward. The police said the suspect claimed to have shot Kem Ley, a high-profile political analyst, because he failed to pay him back for a loan. But Cambodia’s opposition, which has long been suppressed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, have suggested that Ley was a victim of a conspiracy for his outspoken views about government corruption. His friends and supporters have decided to keep his body at a Buddhist temple for 10 days before holding the funeral to allow people to pay their respects. Speaking at the inauguration of a new military police headquarters, Hun Sen condemned the

killing and offered his condolences to Ley’s family. “I have ordered the competent authority to conduct a vigorous investigation into the attacker and the conspirators to face justice,” he said. The killing comes at a time of political tension that began last year with legal and other pressures on the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party by Hun Sen’s government. Kem Ley was often critical of the government, and was widely known because he was frequently heard on the popular Cambodianlanguage services of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, US government-funded services that are among the few independent news sources in Cambodia.

Cambodians cry outside a shopping mall where prominent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday. National Police Spokesman Gen. Kirth Chantharith said a dispute over money led to the shooting death of Kem Ley on Sunday morning and his attacker arrested shortly after. He said the suspect claimed to have carried out the shooting because Kem Ley allegedly failed to pay him back for a loan. AP

He was also frequently quoted in the country’s handful of independent newspapers.

One of his most recent commentaries was about a report issued last week by the London-

based research and advocacy group Global Witness, which alleged that Hun Sen and his family have

enriched themselves and kept power through corruption. The Interior Ministry identified the attacker as Chuob Samlap, 38, one of the many migrant Cambodian farmworkers in neighboring Thailand. Hun Sen said he hoped the killing is not used to incite the public. “Hopefully, our people will give authorities time to perform their duties by not turning this tragedy into something politically motivated,” he said. Violence has long played a prominent part in Cambodian politics, though it often is carried out in the countryside, where it gets little attention. Activists and members of the political opposition are frequent targets, and attackers are rarely brought to justice. Kem Ley is the most prominent Cambodian government critic to be killed since trade union leader Chea Vichea in 2004. Kem Ley’s body will be moved from the Buddhist temple in Phnom Penh on July 19 and taken to his hometown Takeo in the south for cremation, said Sum Po, one of the funeral organizers. For now, his body was placed on a bed covered by a Cambodian flag up to his neck. Buddhist monks sat nearby to pray for his soul. AP

Picking sides: A world of opinions on South China Sea

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case brought by the United States ally the Philippines against China represents a diplomatic dilemma for far-flung nations. Ahead of a ruling on Tuesday, Washington and Beijing have rallied support for their respective positions on the use of international arbitration in South China Sea disputes. The US has been building diplomatic pressure in the West and in Asia on China to abide by the decision by a tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. China, which maintains it won’t be bound by the ruling, has been pushing back by building support from nations mostly in Africa and the Mideast. The US is not a party to the South China Sea territorial disputes, nor to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which the tribunal has been formed, but says it wants China to play by international rules. Since there is no enforcement mechanism for the ruling, any impact will depend on how the international community reacts. Here’s a look at where dozens of countries stand:

resistance to arbitration to resolve its disputed maritime border with tiny East Timor.

India

India has not issued a categorical position on the arbitration case, but has been broadly supportive of the application of international law. India shares US concerns about Beijing’s rising ambitions in the seas of Asia. India’s External Affairs Ministry says that “all countries must abide by international law and norms on maritime issues.” India set an example in 2014 when it accepted a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that ruled in favor of Bangladesh in a dispute over the countries’ maritime boundary.

Japan

Asean

The Asean has been trying for years to achieve diplomatic solutions in the South China Sea, making little progress and exposing divisions in the 10-member bloc, which includes the Philippines. It is unlikely to reach consensus on the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling. When President Barack Obama met Asean leaders in February, they agreed on “full respect for legal and diplomatic processes” in accordance with the UN convention. But Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in late June he opposes any Asean declaration to support the tribunal’s decision and efforts by countries outside the region “to mobilize forces against China.” Vietnam, which has fought China over competing South China Sea claims, has been most supportive of the Philippines’s case and submitted a statement to the tribunal. Hanoi has said it supports “full compliance” to the procedures of the convention. But other Asean nations are generally wary of speaking out for fear of alienating China, the region’s economic heavyweight. Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam have said little about the case, though they, too, are South China Sea claimants. Indonesia and Singapore are not claimants but have been a bit more outspoken. Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said

In this June 10 file photo, protesters shout slogans and display placards outside of the Chinese Consulate, in protest of China’s occupation and island-building in the disputed Spratly Island group in the South China Sea, in Makati City.

We cannot subscribe to the principle that might is right.” —Balakrishnan last month that the ruling could have implications beyond the South China Sea and “we cannot subscribe to the principle that might is right.” Indonesian President Joko Widodo has underscored his commitment to protect Indonesian sovereignty over its Natuna Islands at the edge of the South China Sea, where he flew last month after the Indonesian navy detained a Chinese fishing boat and arrested a group of Chinese fishermen. His Foreign Ministry has declined to say whether the ruling should be binding on both sides but says international law must be respected. In another indication of Asean discord, its 10 foreign ministers agreed on a tough statement of

concern on the South China Sea issue after meeting their counterpart in China. The statement was not issued publicly, however, after one or more had a change of heart while in China and withdrew approval of the communique. Even the Philippines’s position is unpredictable, as a new government has just taken office. President Duterte has expressed willingness to restart bilateral negotiations with China.

Russia

Moscow, which shares China’s suspicion of Washington, is Beijing’s most prominent supporter on the issue, although it has not explicitly said how it will respond to the tribunal’s ruling. On a visit to China in April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia is against any interference from outside parties in the South China Sea—a reference to the US—“or any attempts to internationalize these disputes.” Like China, Russia says disputes should be resolved through talks between the parties directly involved.

China supporters in Africa, Mideast China’s state media has reported that about 60 countries have expressed support for China’s stance on the arbitration case. The Foreign Ministry has in recent weeks given prominent mention to support its claims to have from nations, principally in Africa, the Mideast and Central Asia. But relatively few of those foreign governments have issued statements independently. Some, including Fiji and North Atlantic Treaty Organization member Slovenia, have disavowed China’s description of their position. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said it could confirm official statements from Afghanistan, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Niger, Sudan, Togo and Vanuatu.

European Union and G-7

The EU has urged all South China Sea claimants to resolve disputes through peaceful means and “pursue them in accordance with international law,” including the UN convention. The Group-of-Seven wealthy nations, which comprises

Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the European Union, has called on all states to fully implement decisions binding on them in courts and tribunals provided under the convention. In June French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian proposed that European navies coordinate patrols in Asian waters to reinforce a rulesbased maritime order. He warned that, if the laws of the sea are not respected in that region, they could also be challenged in the Arctic Ocean or Mediterranean Sea.

Australia

IN January Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the China-Philippines ruling will be “extremely important” as a statement of international principle and will “settle once and for all” whether artificial reefs are entitled to territorial waters. China has built up several artificial islands to advance its sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea. Australia has been less outspoken in support of arbitration than the US, perhaps, mindful of Australia’s own

Japan was an early supporter of the Philippines’s pursuit of arbitration and says both China and the Philippines should abide by the outcome. Japan sees that, as upholding international law, but it also reflects concern that historic rival China seeks strategic control of vital sea lanes in the South China Sea that carry 80 percent of Japan’s crude-oil imports. Japan’s support of third-party dispute resolution is not universal. While it has sought to take its dispute with South Korea over the South Korean-held Dokdo or Takeshima islands to the International Court of Justice, it says no such action is needed in its dispute with China over the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, which are administered by Japan.

South Korea

Like Japan, South Korea is heavily dependent on fuel imports that pass through the South China Sea, but it has closer ties with China and has been less inclined to speak out. The Foreign Ministry says South China Sea disputes should be resolved under internationally established regulations and that it is “looking with interest” at the Philippine-China arbitration case.

Taiwan

Taiwan has complained that the tribunal has not solicited its views. While Taipei officially exercises the same nine-dash line claim as Beijing in the South China Sea, it is primarily concerned about Taiping island in the Spratlys. Taiwan administers that remote land feature and is concerned it could be designated as a rock without the rights granted to islands. AP

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Indian firms best, China worst Scores bigger than expected in election for upper house seats on transparency, survey says

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ONG KONG—India has the most transparent companies, while Chinese firms are the most opaque, according to a global antigraft watchdog’s survey released on Monday that assesses efforts by emerging market companies to fight corruption. Transparency International said the report’s findings were “pathetic” and highlighted the urgent need for big multinational companies to do more to fight corruption. The report covered 100 companies in 15 emerging-market countries that also included Brazil, Mexico and Russia. The overall score slipped since the last Transparency in Corporate Reporting survey in 2013, falling a fraction to 3.4 out of 10, with three quarters of companies scored less than half. The Berlin-based watchdog warned that the failure of a vast majority of companies surveyed to operate transparently risks creating an environment for corruption to thrive both in their businesses and the countries where they operate. Thirty-seven Chinese companies were

evaluated, making them the survey’s biggest group, but they had the weakest overall performance. The three companies that scored zero out of 10 were all Chinese: automaker Chery, appliance maker Galanz and autoparts maker Wanxiang Group. The list’s bottom 25 spots were also dominated by Chinese companies. “The very weak Chinese results stem from weak or nonexistent anticorruption policies and procedures, or a clear failure to disclose them in line with international practice,” Transparency International said in a press release accompanying its report. Indian firms, on the other hand, dominated the top spots, in part because of strict government requirements for financial dislosures, including subsidiaries operating in different countries. Telecom company Bharti Airtel took first place with a score of 7.3 out of 10, followed by six units of conglomerate Tata and technology company Wipro. Only one Chinese company, telecom gear maker ZTE, placed in the top 25. AP

Japan ruling coalition wins

Obama urges ‘thoughtful’ tone in protests vs police

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ADRID—President Barack Obama said on Sunday that protests against police violence in many cities over the weekend are “legitimate,” yet cautioned that attacks on law enforcement officers undermine public support for the Black Lives Matter movement. “Any violence directed at police officers is a reprehensible crime,” Obama said at a news conference in Madrid. Demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest the most recent deaths of black men at the hands of police. A peaceful protest on Thursday in Dallas erupted into gunfire, when a black man, Micah Johnson, shot 12 police officers, killing five of them, in what he termed payback for earlier police actions. Protests continued over the weekend, and police arrested several hundred demonstrators on Saturday evening in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Saint Paul, Minnesota and Chicago. The Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) said via Twitter on Saturday that protesters had thrown bricks and stones toward officers there. Demonstrators blocked highways, marched down streets and chanted slogans decrying “racist cops” in several cities. In open-carry states like Louisiana, some protesters marched with guns displayed. Police, wearing body armor and riot shields in some cases, arrested several protesters, and in some cities used smoke and rubber bullets to disperse some of the protests. “At least five SPPD officers were injured by people throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks and bricks,” the SPPD said in a Twitter post early on Sunday morning. “None seriously.” Obama said protests were part of the longstanding tradition of free speech and the ability to demonstrate in the United States. He spoke a day after saying, at a news conference in Poland, that the nation was not returning to the “enormous polarization” of the 1960s.

Other social issues, including women’s suffrage, the abortion-rights debate and the civil-rights movement, have had moments of incivility, the president said. “In a movement like Black Lives Matter, there’s always going to be some folks who say things that are stupid or imprudent or are harsh,” Obama said. “I don’t think that we can hold well-meaning activists who are doing the right thing, peacefully protesting, responsible for everything that is uttered at a protest.” Yet he derided those who, in raising the issue of fairness in the criminal justice system, attack police officers verbally, or worse. “You’re doing a disservice to the cause” with heated rhetoric, Obama said. “Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change—and that is our ultimate objective,” said Obama, the nation’s first black president. “This week people felt hurt and angry. And so some of this was just venting, but I think that the overwhelming majority of people who are involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, what they really want to see is a better relationship between police and the community,” he said. If police acknowledge there is a problem in their communities, “that, too, is going to contribute to real solutions,” Obama said, and, ultimately, make the job of being a police officer safer. He also praised actions taken in the past by the Dallas police force to deescalate racial tension. “Just as my hope would be that everybody who is involved in the Black Lives Matter movement or other civil rights organizations or who are protesting, just as I want all of them to maintain a respectful, thoughtful tone...I would hope that police organizations are also respectful of the frustrations people in these communities feel, and not just dismiss these protests and complaints,” Obama said. Bloomberg News

Japanese Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Shinzo Abe (center) smiles as he places a red rosette on the name of his Liberal Democratic Party’s winning candidate during ballot counting for the parliamentary upper house elections at the party headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday. AP/Shizuo Kambayashi

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OKYO—Japan’s ruling coalition scored a strongerthan-expected victory in parliamentary elections, results showed on Monday, as voters chose stability and hopes for economic revival over opposition pleas to stop the prime minister from building a more assertive military. Half of the seats of the less-powerful upper house, or 121 seats, were up for grabs in Sunday’s vote. There had been no possibility for a change of power because the ruling coalition Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, already controls the more powerful lower house, but the balloting was a key gauge of how much support Abe’s coalition has among the public. The Liberal Democrats won 56 of the 121 seats, official results showed on Monday. The party’s coalition partner Komeito won 14 seats. The total of 70 seats was far better than the goal of a combined 61 seats set by Abe. That number may grow if independent candidates join the coali-

tion, common in Japanese elections, and if there are defections from the soundly defeated opposition—less common, but what analysts are predicting might happen. Abe appeared before TV cameras at party headquarters late on Sunday to pin red flowers, indicating confirmed wins, next to his candidates’ names written on a big board. “I am honestly so relieved,” he told NHK, promising new government spending to help wrest the economy out of the doldrums in a “total and aggressive” way. He declined to give details. With their probusiness policies, the Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost continuously since World War II and, until recently, en-

joyed solid support from rural areas. The few years the opposition held power coincided with the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that devastated northeastern Japan. The opposition fell out of favor after being heavily criticized for its feeble reconstruction efforts. Robert Dujarric, professor and director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University Japan in Tokyo, said the win reflected voters’ disenchantment with the opposition, rather than their excitement about Abe’s policies. “The public is old. It doesn’t want change,” he said. “It doesn’t want what Japan really needs—more structural reform, less money for the old, and more funding for families and children.” Combined with other conservative politicians, the coalition has a two-thirds majority in the upper house, which is needed to propose any referendum to change the Constitution, written by the US after Japan’s defeat in World War II. The Constitution has a clause that limits Japan’s well-equipped army, navy and air force to self-defense. Many members of Japan’s military don’t anticipate becoming involved in overseas wars, expecting their work to be limited to disaster relief. But some Japanese increasingly agree with Abe’s views on security because of growing fears about terrorism, the recent missile launches by North Korea

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The total number of seats won by the coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito Party and China’s military assertiveness. Tetsuro Kato, professor of politics at Waseda University, said Abe won’t rush to change the Constitution, saying he needs better timing because the recent strengthening of the yen—a minus for exports— and concerns about global economic growth. Yukio Edano, the legislator who ran the campaign for the main opposition Democratic Party, acknowledged that while the public agreed with his party’s message that Abenomics wasn’t working for regular people, he told NHK that the “...people felt we did not offer enough of an alternative.” Abe said during the campaign that his “Abenomics” program, centered on easy lending and a cheap yen to encourage exports, was still ongoing and that patience was needed for results. He downplayed the constitutional question during the campaign, saying only that discussion was needed. AP

Nepartak batters China’s coast, killing at least 6

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A villager walks around a destroyed house, after torrential rainfall brought by Typhoon Nepartak in Lingcuo village of Xindu Township in Putian, southeast China’s Fujian Province. Nepartak weakened to a strong tropical storm on Saturday as it lashed China’s east coast, bringing powerful winds and heavy rains that toppled houses and inundated roads. Zhang Guojun/Xinhua News Agency via AP

EIJING—At least six people were dead and eight others missing after Typhoon Nepartak battered China’s coastal Fujian Province with heavy rain and strong winds that toppled homes and triggered landslides, government agencies said. Fujian’s water-resources department said more than 438,000 people had been relocated. Hundreds of flights and train trips were canceled, while damaged power stations left swaths of the province without electricity. Nepartak, the first typhoon of the season, first struck Taiwan on Friday with even greater power, leaving two people dead and 72 injured. It weakened into a strong tropical storm after making landfall in Fujian on Saturday, but continued to soak the region, where emergency workers scrambled to reach residents trapped on the upper floors of submerged buildings and collapsed homes. The Chinese civil affairs ministry said late on

Sunday that six were dead and eight others were missing in Fujian Province, but did not give details. The storm moved on Sunday into neighboring Jiangxi Province, where 500 people have been evacuated, the ministry said. Unusually heavy rain has pounded southern China in recent months, triggering severe flooding along rivers, including the Yangtze. Meteorologists blame the floods on a particularly intense El Niño weather pattern, which has resulted in up to a 50-percent increase in rainfall in certain areas. The government said on Friday that 164 people have been killed by floods, hail and landslides since June 30, while 32 million people across 26 provinces have been affected. Dramatic pictures have emerged of people pushing cars through waist-high water and a soccer stadium with rainwater filled to its upper rafters in Wuhan, a central Chinese city that has been particularly hard hit. AP

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India’s Modi, signs deals, plays drums in Tanzania

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AR ES SALAAM, Tanzania—Visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli on Sunday signed five agreements, including one to provide credit of $92 million to improve water accessibility on the island of Zanzibar. Modi arrived here on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa. Upon arriving at State House, the president’s residence, Modi joined Magufuli to play traditional Tanzania drums at a colorful ceremony. Earlier, he received a 21-gun salute from members of the uniformed forces before inspecting a guard of honor. According to the agreement on water, India will extend a line of credit for the rehabilitation and improvement of the water-supply

Drugmakers’ shaming seen to discourage price spikes

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ACRAMENTO, California—Frustrated by the rising cost of prescription drugs, California health advocates hope sunlight and a dose of shame will discourage drugmakers from raising their prices too quickly or introducing new medications at prices that break the bank. They’re promoting legislation that would require drugmakers to provide advance notice before making big price increases. Pharmaceutical companies have come out in force against the measure, warning it would lead to dangerous drug shortages. Attention to prescription drug pricing has mounted since Turing Pharmaceuticals bought an old drug commonly used with HIV patients and raised the price from $13.50 per pill to $750. The company’s combative chief executive, Martin Shkreli, was widely castigated for the price hike. “Yes, they should make a profit, but not so much they gouge the public at the expense of the consumer and the taxpayer,” Sen. Ed Hernandez, a Democrat from Azusa who wrote the legislation, said of drug companies. “There needs to be a balance.” Vermont passed the nation’s first drugprice transparency legislation earlier this year, and similar measures were introduced in at least five other states, including California. California voters also will decide in November on a ballot measure that would prohibit the state—which covers millions of poor people, inmates and government retirees—from paying more than the US. Veterans Administration (VA) for drugs. The VA’s massive negotiating power allows it to secure some of the lowest rates for drugs. Both presumptive presidential nominees have cited drug prices in their campaigns. Republican Donald Trump suggested ending a restriction on Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices. Democrat Hillary Clinton has slammed drug pricing she labels predatory. Drug costs represent about 10 percent of overall health-care spending and about 19 percent of costs for employer-sponsored health plans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. After several years of modest growth in drug spending, which even decreased in 2010 and 2012, pharmaceutical spending spiked 11.4 percent in 2014, according to the Kaiser’s analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Estimates for 2015 suggest prices rose 6.8 percent. Experts attribute the recent rise in drug spending to the proliferation of new specialty drugs, many of them used to treat cancer, and fewer patent expirations that allow for generic competition. Sovaldi, which can cure Hepatitis C without the excruciating side effects of earlier treatments, debuted in 2014, at a shocking cost of more than $80,000 per course of treatment. The price has since come down. California’s SB1010 would require pharmaceutical companies to provide advance notice to drug purchasers before increasing the price of a drug by 10 percent, or $10,000 a year. AP

system for the semiautonomous island of Zanzibar. Describing India as a trusted partner in helping Tanzania’s development, Modi said they had agreed to deepen the two countries’ defense and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain. “Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern,” Modi said. Modi’s trip is meant to raise India’s profile in energy, trade and investment in Africa, where China’s presence has been strong. He began in Mozambique and South Africa and will be heading to Kenya later on Sunday. India’s foreign ministry has described the four countries on the Indian Ocean as economic gateways to landlocked African states. AP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and his host Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli beat drums at the entrance of State House at an official welcome ceremony for Modi in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Sunday. Modi is on his third leg of his Africa tour. AP/Khalfan Said

Old Mideast foes unite over gas deals, fighting militants

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hen Egyptian President AbdelFattah El-Sisi turned a standard speech on electricity supplies into an unexpected appeal for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, one man who wasn’t surprised was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The televised address in May capped months of backstage diplomacy by a group including former British premier Tony Blair. With Netanyahu wary of a separate Frenchled proposal that could impose a solution to the Palestinian conflict, almost every step was coordinated with his veteran negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, according to people familiar with the secret talks. Nearly four decades after their peace accord changed the face of the Middle East, Israel and Egypt are slowly turning a cool relationship into an alliance. They have tightened security cooperation to unprecedented levels and have been laying the legal groundwork for a multibillion-dollar energy contract, as gas discoveries in the Mediterranean and the persistent threat from Islamist militants shift the political dynamics across the region. “In this time of turmoil and instability all around the Middle East, it’s very important for reasonable countries to keep some kind of cooperation,” Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in an interview in his office in Jerusalem. In the latest sign of the warming relations, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Israel on Sunday to discuss efforts to renew stalled Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the first public visit by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years. “My visit to Israel today is a continuation of Egypt’s long-standing sense of responsibility toward peace for itself and all the peoples of the region, particularly the Palestinian-Israeli peoples,” Shoukry said, standing beside Netanyahu at a news conference. Netanyahu said it “illustrates the change that has taken place in Israeli-Egyptian ties, including President El-Sisi’s important call to advance peacemaking, with the Palestinians,

$1.7B

The cost of fine international arbiters ordered Egypt to pay for an earlier, broken gas contract, half of which Israel may forgo as well as Arab states.”

New era?

In his speech at a new power plant in Assiut, 400 kilometers south of Cairo, El-Sisi said he saw “a great chance for a better future” between Israel and the Palestinians. An ensuing statement by Netanyahu championing Egypt’s involvement was coordinated, the people familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was “complementary” to his country’s effort. Returning as a key power broker in the region would help burnish Egypt’s international image as it struggles to revive its economy. Potential rewards would mitigate any increased risk of attack by militants because of closer ties to Israel. The affinity between El-Sisi, 61, and Netanyahu, 66, is also remarkable given that antipathy toward Israel still runs deep in Egypt. The government in Cairo and civil-society groups typically have sought to keep dealings with Israelis to a minimum, and official contact is frequently kept secret. Tawfik Okasha, a lawmaker, was attacked with a shoe in February by a colleague then expelled from parliament for meeting with Israel’s ambassador to Cairo. Dozens of militant attacks by an Islamic State (IS) affiliate on Egyptian security personnel have allowed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) shakes hands with Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry in Jerusalem on Sunday. Shoukry’s trip was the first official visit to Israel since 2007 and reflected the strong, but discreet, ties that have developed between the two countries in recent years. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Sameh’s visit was aimed at reviving the IsraeliPalestinian peace process. AP/Dan Balilty

El-Sisi to pull closer to the Jewish state. Israel, also targeted by militants operating in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, has let him boost military operations along their shared border beyond what the 1979 treaty permits. “There is definitely a high level of cooperation that could be unprecedented, especially in the field of combating terrorism,” said Mohamed Kamal, a former lawmaker and a political science professor at Cairo University. “Egypt will handle this issue in a rational way, based on national interest.”

Sharing intelligence

El-Sisi has acted with a fervor his predecessors lacked against armed groups and weapons moving between Sinai and Gaza, destroying and flooding hundreds of cross-border tunnels. Israel has responded to El-Sisi with financial gestures and, according to the Israeli military’s deputy chief of staff, increased intelligence-sharing. “The level of cooperation is something we’ve never experienced before,” Major General Yair Golan said. “It’s not about love, it’s not about common values. I wouldn’t describe it as the relationship we have with the United States of America, but I think it’s a good starting point.” A former senior Israel official said his country has conducted numerous drone attacks on militants in Sinai in recent years with Egypt’s blessing. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential military activity.

Energy deals

Israel’s closeness to El-Sisi precedes his presidency. When he was defense minister, Israel lobbied the

US to release a military aid to Cairo suspended over Egypt’s deadly crackdown on Islamists. They argued it was needed to address security threats in Sinai, the former senior Israeli official said. Potential gas deals would take cooperation to another level. Israeli supplies would ease Egypt’s energy crunch until it can develop its own field, the largest in the Mediterranean. After Israel and Turkey ended a six-year rift last month and said they would start talks on energy supplies, Netanyahu publicly sent a message of reassurance to El-Sisi. Israel’s Leviathan field “can supply Egypt, and that is something we are working to advance, as well as Turkey,” he said at a news conference in Rome last month. Idle Egyptian liquefaction plants could be reactivated to convert the Israeli gas for export to Europe and other international markets. Israel may forgive as much as half of a $1.7-billion fine international arbiters ordered Egypt to pay it for an earlier, broken gas contract, two people familiar with the matter said in May.

Listen up

For Egypt, there’s more at stake than energy supplies: assuming a leading role in peace talks is an opportunity after criticism that longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak had allowed Egypt’s influence to wane, and El-Sisi had expected his words to resonate. “I’ll talk on a subject that could be totally unexpected and it is not a simple one,” he said. “I hope everybody listening to me in Egypt, the Arab region, the Palestinians and the Israelis, will pay attention.” Bloomberg News

Nafta a sore spot for some Democrats on Clinton

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OUNT CLEMENS, Michigan— Michigan is trickier than it may appear for Hillary Clinton, a Democrat whose party’s presidential nominees have carried the struggling manufacturing hub for decades. Bernie Sanders beat her in the state’s Democratic primary by railing against the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Republican Donald Trump is more popular with Michigan’s working-class white voters than past GOP candidates, and has pledged to back out of the treaty some blame for the loss of countless Rust Belt jobs. While Clinton’s history of supporting free trade may not cost her the state, it is costing campaign staff and money to defend its 16 electoral votes. “It’s an issue that Sanders used to his advantage in the primary and obviously was successful,” said Michigan Democratic organizer Amy Chapman, who was Barack Obama’s state director in 2008 and a senior adviser in 2012. “Obviously, it’s something they need to figure out as they figure out what it takes to win Michigan.” Trump last week blasted the pact signed by President Bill Clinton and predicted that backing out would restore millions of vanished factory jobs. At stake is the white, working-class vote, which Trump says he can turn out in droves, thereby putting upper Midwestern battlegrounds long carried by Democrats into competition in his quest for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Trump says his appeal to disaffected workers has taken hold, and can put in play Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, states carried by Democratic presidential candidates since the 1980s. Hillary Clinton supports renegotiating Nafta, signed in 1992 and in effect since 1994, with Canada and Mexico. She also has said she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious agreement with Asian nations. But she also has demonstrated that Trump’s argument is worth her time to rebut. Last week Clinton criticized Trump’s business practices and sought the help of US Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Democrat-Michigan, to argue Trump’s practice as a real-estate mogul contradicts his talk. “What happened in the Trump Casino in Atlantic City was the fact that he did not honor contracts,” Lawrence told Michigan reporters after Clinton spoke in Atlantic City, New Jersey. “He did not pay for services.” Trump’s trade position, a sharp departure from Republican orthodoxy, has the appearance of moving to Clinton’s left on trade, and sounds an alarm for her to address the treaty in Michigan, say Democratic activists in the state. “She has to admit that Nafta hurt people here tremendously,” said Ed Bruley, Democratic chairman in Macomb County, a largely white, working-class suburban area stretching northeast from Detroit. AP

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Police tactics may be changed at protests

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INNEAPOLIS—In the wake of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, where authorities were criticized for what some called heavy-handed tactics against demonstrators, many departments took a more restrained approach. Now, after the shooting deaths of five officers at a Dallas protest decrying last week’s police killings of two more black men, some experts are suggesting it’s possible the pendulum could swing from hugs back to flash-bang grenades and mass arrests. After days of peaceful protests in Saint Paul, officers in riot gear met protesters who blocked Interstate 94 late on Saturday in the biggest confrontation between the police and demonstrators since an officer fatally shot a black man during a suburban Twin Cities traffic stop last week. About 100 people were arrested—half during the highway standoff and the other half early on Sunday in another part of Saint Paul. Twenty-one law-enforcement officers were hurt during the protests, including six state troopers. Police Chief Todd Axtell called the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles, firecrackers and other objects “a disgrace.” The police used smoke bombs to clear the crowd of more than 200 people blocking the interstate. It was a contrast to their approach at protests outside the governor’s mansion in the wake of motorist Philando Castile’s police shooting death on Wednesday in the suburb of Falcon Heights. Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, has praised the calmer demonstrations outside his home and said he won’t try to have people removed. Protests have broken out nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Castile and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In Dallas five police officers were killed when a gunman opened fire on a protest march on Thursday. But most of the demonstrations haven’t been as tense as the scene in Dallas that night or the highway standoff in Saint Paul. In Oakland, California, police ceded a highway to protesters last week and did not stop them from shutting it down. In Philadelphia plainclothes officers have mingled with protest crowds. Even in Dallas before the shooting, officers mingled and posed for photos with people at the demonstration. “I think officers are vigilant every time they put the badge on and the uniform on. I don’t think it’s going to stop the officer from interacting with the men and women who are out there at a peaceful protest,” said Sean Gormley, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services, Minnesota’s largest police union. Craig Lally, president of the union representing Los Angeles police officers, said he suspects changes will be made at departments across the country when it comes to staffing protests and similar events. “I think they’re going to have to be much more aware of their surroundings. The next march in Dallas, I guarantee they’re going to have sniper teams all along the march, cops with high-powered rifles, to see if anyone is going to be a copycat,” Lally said. Former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent James Wedick envisions departments having officers stake out high areas with binoculars and possibly sniper rifles, but keeping them out of sight to avoid causing panic. “It’s not just to defend the cops, it’s also to defend the protesters,” said Wedick, who was with the FBI for 35 years. AP

Protests against police killings

Dozens arrested in Louisiana

THE police arrest protesters in a residential neighborhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sunday. After an organized protest in downtown Baton Rouge protesters wondered into residential neighborhoods and toward a major highway that caused the police to respond by arresting protesters that refused to disperse. AP/Max Becherer

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ATON ROUGE, Louisiana— Officers stared down hundreds protesting against police killings near a ramp leading to an interstate in Louisiana’s capital on Sunday night before another squad in riot gear arrived and authorities took dozens into custody.

Earlier on Sunday some 2,000 people rallied outside the Capitol building to protest police killings of black people, State Police Maj. Doug Cain said. “They didn’t have any problems out there. They seemed to be very organized and peaceful,” Cain said. But by nightfall, a few hundred people aimed for an on-ramp of Interstate 110, trying a tactic protesters were using over the weekend in multiple cities. And after a lengthy standoff, more police in full riot gear moved in, pinning some of the protesters as others fled. Some 30 to 40 people were taken into custody for trying to block a highway, sheriff’s Spokesman Casey Rayborn Hicks said. That could push Baton Rouge’s weekend arrest total above 160, with just one reported injury to a police officer. Gov. John Bel Edwards said he was “very proud” of the Louisiana law enforcement response to the protests that have followed the fatal

shooting of a black man by white police officers in the city. Flanked by law-enforcement leaders, Edwards said he doesn’t believe officers have been overly aggressive by using riot gear to push protesters off a highway. “The police tactics in response have been very moderate. I’m very proud of that,” said the Democratic governor, who comes from a family of sheriffs. Tensions between black citizens and police have risen palpably after the police shootings of AfricanAmerican men in Minnesota and Louisiana, and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation. Activists said they were dismayed by the police response. “I remain disappointed in the Baton Rouge police, who continue to provoke protesters for peacefully protesting. There’s a lot of work to be done, with this police department specifically,” said De-

Ray Mckesson, a prominent Black Lives Matter activist. Baton Rouge police Spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola blamed some violence and the large number of arrests on outside agitators. One officer lost teeth to a projectile thrown outside police headquarters, and the police also confiscated three rifles, three shotguns and two pistols during that protest, he wrote in an e-mail. “It appears the protest at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters have become more violent, as out of town protesters are arriving,” he said. But most of those detained live in Louisiana and faced a single charge of obstructing a highway, Hicks told The Associated Press. The tumult reached well beyond Louisiana. In Minnesota authorities said 21 law-enforcement officers were hurt and about 100 people were arrested late on Saturday and early on Sunday during clashes in the state capital over the police killing of Philando Castile. There was very little violence by comparison in Baton Rouge. “I can assure everyone we are hearing the protesters,” the governor said. “We are listening to their voices. But I’m especially gratified that our citizens here in Louisiana, to a very large degree, have decided to protest in a constructive and peaceful manner.” Edwards said hundreds have marched around the city, with only one injury to an officer and mostly misdemeanor arrests. Protesting peacefully is the best way to honor those killed, he said, adding that authorities won’t allow people “to incite hate and violence.”

160 The total number of protesters who were taken into custody over the weekend in Baton Rouge

“I want to be clear that will not be tolerated. We don’t operate like that in Louisiana,” he said. The list of those arrested released by the sheriff’s office included two homeless people, and 18 are from out of state. The vast majority of the Louisiana residents were from the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. Demonstrations also occurred on Saturday, beginning near the convenience store where 37-yearold Alton Sterling was killed by the police. The protests then fanned out through the state Capitol. Over the weekend, members of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense called for the arrest and indictment of the officers involved in Sterling’s death, shouting “Black Power” and raising their fists. The US Justice Department has launched a civil-rights investigation. “These are human-rights violations,” Krystal Muhammad shouted to the crowd at the convenience store. “They are not operating as human beings. They are being predators on our communities across America.” AP

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Heavy arms fire rocks South Sudan capital

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UBA, South Sudan—South Sudan’s capital was rocked on Sunday by heavy arms fire between forces loyal to the president and those of the vice president, causing widespread casualties and raising fears the country is returning to civil war. The fighting began in the morning and continued until about 8 p.m. local time, when a large thunderstorm seemed to put a damper on the violence, said UN mission Spokesman Shantal Persaud. She confirmed that a UN armored personnel carrier was hit by a shell at a camp to protect civilians. UN peacekeepers in the vehicle were wounded, witnesses said. “The condition is really very bad. We have a lot of casualties this side, I think around 50 to 60 besides those of yesterday,” said Budbud Chol, who oversees security at a clinic in the base. “We have civilian casualties. We have rocketpropelled grenades that have landed in the camp, which has wounded eight people.” Among the wounded are five children and two women, while the rest were men, he said. At least one person has died in the camp, he said, but he did not know about casualties outside where the fighting was heavy between government troops supporting President Salva Kiir and opposition forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar. The opposition side blamed government forces for starting the fighting on Sunday morning with an attack on a rebel base in the Jebel area of the capital. Three helicopter gunships bombed rebel camps, said William Gatjiath Deng, a spokesman for the rebel forces. South Sudan’s army confirmed the Sunday clashes but it is not clear how the fighting started, said Army Spokesman Lul Ruai Koang, who is in the SPLA general headquarters at Bilpham. The UN Security Council, in a statement released after a nearly three-hour emergency meeting on Sunday, “condemned in the strongest terms” the escalation of fighting in Juba and expressed “particular shock and outrage at the attacks on UN compounds and protection of civilian sites. The council members urged an immediate end to the fighting, stressing that “attacks against civilians and UN premises and personnel my constitute war crimes.” One Chinese officer was killed, and several Chinese and Rwandan peacekeepers were wounded in the attacks, said Japan’s UN Ambassador Koro Bessho, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency. Security Council members also expressed their readiness to consider enhancing the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan in an effort to prevent and respond to the violence. Earlier, UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon condemned the fighting. “I am shocked and appalled by the heavy fighting that is currently taking place in Juba. I strongly urge President Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to do everything within their power to de-escalate the hostilities immediately and to order their respective forces to disengage and withdraw to their bases,” Ban said in a statement. “This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process.” About 10,000 Juba residents fled neighborhoods where there was fighting, said Jeremiah Young, policy adviser for World Vision in South Sudan. AP

Dallas suspect had plans for larger attack, authorities say D

ALLAS—The gunman in the deadly attack on Dallas police had plans for a larger assault and possessed enough explosive material to inflict far greater harm, the city’s police chief and top elected official said. Micah Johnson, a black Army veteran, began firing on officers while hundreds of people were gathered in downtown Dallas to protest recent fatal police shootings. Authorities have said the 25-year-old kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home that included bomb-making materials. “We’re convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous and believed that he was going to target law enforcement—make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement’s efforts to punish people of color,” Dallas Police

Chief David Brown told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. The fact that Johnson had material for explosives and talked of using homemade bombs during a standoff with the police before he was killed indicated he could have inflicted more damage with more time, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. “If this had not been a crime of opportunity where the protest was quickly organized in response to events in the same week...he could have caused a lot more harm than he did,” Jenkins said. Five officers were fatally shot in the attacks, and at least nine officers and two civilians were wounded. Also on Sunday, Brown revealed new details about Johnson’s negotiations with the police, saying that Johnson taunted authorities, laughing at them, singing and, at one point, asking how many officers he had shot.

Johnson, who served in the Army Reserve for six years starting and did one tour in Afghanistan, insisted on speaking with a black negotiator and wrote in blood on the wall of a parking garage where the police cornered and later killed him, Brown said. The gunman wrote the letters “RB” and other markings, but the meaning was unclear. Investigators are trying to decipher the writing by looking through evidence from Johnson’s suburban Dallas home, Brown said. The writing suggested that Johnson was wounded in a shootout with police. An autopsy will confirm exactly how many times he was hit, Jenkins said. Authorities do not “have any independent report from an officer saying, ‘I think I hit him,’” Jenkins said. The police chief defended the decision to kill Johnson with a bomb de-

livered by remote-controlled robot, saying negotiations went nowhere and that officers could not approach him without putting themselves in danger. Brown said he became increasingly concerned that “at a split second, he would charge us and take out many more before we would kill him.” The shootings just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963 marked the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Federal agents are trying to trace the origin of the weapons used, including a military style semiautomatic rifle. About 30 agents are also involved in identifying bullet casings, said William Temple, the Dallas agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The large crime scene includes the parking garage where Johnson was

killed, and at least two other sites where he is believed to have fired at officers. Dallas police said on Sunday that neither they nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation would confirm that photographs circulating on the Internet—two pictures that show an assault rifle in rubble and the bloodied body of a black man wearing an armored vest amid building debris— were from the parking garage. The attack began on Thursday evening during protests over the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover. Among those injured were two offi-

cers from El Centro College, the school said on Sunday night. El Centro said in a statement posted on its web site night that Cpl. Bryan Shaw and Officer John Abbott were hurt in Thursday’s attack. Shaw was struck by a bullet as he guarded an entrance to the college, the statement said. The school said Shaw was treated on scene and returned to protect other officers and civilians. Abbott was also guarding the entrance. The school said he sustained injuries to both legs from flying glass after it was struck by bullets. Abbott tended to his wounds at the scene and then returned to assist others, the statement said. Both men were resting at home. Dallas police previously said seven officers and two civilians were hurt in the attack. Its number of wounded did not include any El Centro College officers. AP

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briefs

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • Tuesday, July 12, 2016

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Texas jail inmates saved ill guard

WEATHERFORD, Texas—Authorities say several inmates at a Texas jail broke out of a holding cell to help save an armed guard after they saw him lose consciousness. WFAA-TV reports the jailer continues to recover from an apparent heart attack. The June 23 incident was captured on surveillance video at the district courts building in Weatherford. At least eight inmates were in a basement holding cell when the lone guard slumped and fell. Inmates yelled for help, broke out of the cell and banged on doors. Sheriff’s deputies rushed to the basement, corralled the inmates back into the cell and summoned paramedics, who revived the guard. Parker County sheriff’s Capt. Mark Arnett cited the inmates’ quick response, saying 15 minutes could have passed before a staff member found the guard. AP

4 runners injured in bull run, none gored in Pamplona, Spain PAMPLONA, Spain—Spanish medical officials say four people have suffered bruises but no one was gored in the fifth running of the bulls at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival. More than 1,000 people took part in the 8 a.m. run on Monday, which lasted three minutes. Many runners and several of the bulls slipped and fell during the crazed dash though the city’s narrow cobblestone streets to the bullring. The nine-day fiesta, which ends on Thursday, became world famous with Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises and attracts thousands of foreign tourists. AP

Migrants look out from the Aquarius rescue vessel over the Mediterranean Sea with more than 600 migrants aboard the ship rescued by SOS Mediterranee and the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres on June 25. By trying to prevent migrants from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming them to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the country’s many militias, rights groups warn. AP/Bram Janssen

In journey from Libya to Europe

Migrants face torture, rape

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BOARD THE AQUARIUS ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA—The young Liberian man went through hell, but when he reached Libya he hoped that there he’d be able to make a living and get an education. Instead, he entered another hell of imprisonment, then near death at sea. The ordeal of Laye Donzo is a cautionary story for the tens of thousands of Africans each year who take the migrant road to Libya, seeing it as the gateway to life and prosperity in Europe. Instead, for many the war-torn country has meant only torture, imprisonment, rape or death. It also illustrates the problem for European countries trying to stop the stream of migrants to their shores. By trying to prevent them from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming the migrants to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the country’s many militias, rights groups warn. Donzo was among dozens of Italybound, would-be migrants rescued off the coast of Libya on June 23 by the Aquarius, a boat chartered by the charity Doctors Without Borders and the rescue group SOS Mediterranee. On that day the Aquarius rescued two boats, one of them after nightfall when the captain happened to spy it in the spotlight, just as he was giving up the search. Then it took on hundreds more from an Italian navy ship so it could deliver them to shore, while the navy vessel continued the search. So as it headed back to Sicily, the Aquarius was swelling with more than 650 migrants, well over its official capacity of 400. The exhausted migrants—men, women and young children—crowded on the ship’s decks and in the halls, wearing white overalls distributed by the aid group and wrapping themselves in gray blankets. After the initial shock from days on open water subsided, the tales of trauma and torture they endured in Libya poured out. Donzo and his family had fled the civil war in his homeland Liberia to neighboring Sierra Leone. There, many in his family died in an Ebola outbreak. So, Donzo made his way to Libya, where he did various jobs, mostly construction. Early this year, he was detained by armed men at a checkpoint. He spent the next five months imprisoned in a house with hundreds of other Africans, eating a single meal every three days. He’s not even sure who detained him. In lawless Libya, the lines between criminal gangs, militias

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The number of migrants rescued in Sicily by the boat Aquarius, which swelled over its official capacity of 400

and the security forces of rival governments are often blurry. “They beat you like animals,” he said. “As long as you’re in prison they would beat you. I don’t know how many times they beat me. They beat everyone.” He showed scars running along his back, legs and arms from being bound and hit with rubber tubes. Then one day they blindfolded him, took him to the coast and forced him into a boat. He has no idea why. After the fall of Moammar Qaddafi in 2011, Libya was plunged into chaos, with rebel groups evolving into militias loosely aligned with various competing governments or operating on their own and carving out fiefdoms around the country. The collapse of state control and enforcement of borders proved a draw for migrants. Some militias use smuggling as a revenue source. But the chaos has also made Africans vulnerable to abuse, whether they are working in Libya or seeking to head on to Europe. Armed groups often detain Africans, ostensibly claiming to be enforcing the laws but really just to extort money or labor. Various factions run detention centers largely on their own without answering to central authorities. On the Aquarius, Baba Ali, from Mali, said he was detained by local fighters in the town of Bani Walid, east of Tripoli. He was held captive in a factory-turned-prison, along with 1,500 other Africans. He sat down and hugged his knees to show how tightly they were squeezed in. “It was packed,” he said. “We couldn’t sleep, we had to sleep sitting down.” Ali said he and the others were forced to work in construction and menial labor and were beaten regularly. Their captors fired in the air to intimidate them. Ali escaped during the holy month of Ramadan. Others had to pay to get out. “We were looking for a job and got kid-

napped by people with police uniforms,” says Mostafa Dumbia, a native of the Ivory Coast. He said he was held in a prison for six weeks. His captors only released him and piled him onto a boat after his family sent payment of $1,000. Erna Rijnierse of Doctors Without Borders says the accounts are consistent from dozens of survivors who passed through Libya. The scars on many survivors, including the combination of fresh and older scars, amount to evidence of “long-term torturing.” “I see a lot of bruises on places it’s impossible to bruise yourself,” Rijnierse told The Associated Press. For the past year, EU naval vessels in the Mediterranean have been working to intercept smuggling boats in a program called Operation Sophia. In June the operation was extended for another year and expanded, with the EU now training the Libyan coast guard and navy in stopping smuggling. The EU also asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) to get involved, a request that will be discussed at the alliance’s summit in Warsaw that began on Friday. The aim is in part to save lives. In 2015, at least 3,771 would-be migrants died in the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). So far, 2016 is looking as bad if not worse. The IOM has so far documented nearly 2,920 deaths, the vast majority of them from African nations. Operation Sophia is also aimed at deterring migrants from coming by shutting down the smuggling routes. Europe absorbed more than a million irregular migrants in 2015, a fivefold increase compared to 2014. But in a report released on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the effort “risks condemning migrants and asylum-seekers to violent abuse.” “It’s unacceptable to save or intercept people at sea and then send them back for abuse on land,” said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). “The EU—soon perhaps with Nato’s help—is basically outsourcing the dirty work and deputizing Libyan forces to help seal Europe’s border.” Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Nato leaders meeting in Warsaw that the organization had decided to launch a new security operation in the Mediterranean, Operation Sea Guardian, which will have a broad range of missions, including counterterrorism.

EU to China: Give European firms fair market access

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EIJING—The European Union (EU) trade commissioner said on Monday that China has to give European companies the same kind of market access that Chinese companies enjoy in Europe before discussions can start on a bilateral free-trade agreement. Cecilia Malmstrom said market access and other issues need to be ironed out first in an investment agreement, which is currently being negotiated, to establish “a more level-playing field.” In a speech at a university in Beijing, Malmstrom said the 28-member EU supported Beijing’s path toward a more market-oriented economy promised in 2013, but hadn’t seen “much progress.” “The free-trade zones have made relatively limited progress or been abandoned and there are still

“We intend to work closely with the EU’s Operation Sophia in the central Mediterranean, building on our swift and effective cooperation with the EU to cut the lines of international human smuggling in the Aegean,” Stoltenberg said on Saturday. The HRW report and another issued in June by Amnesty International include accounts from dozens of migrants that document rampant torture, beatings and sexual abuse in Libya. HRW’s Associate Program Director Fred Abrahams noted that Sudanese women migrants take contraceptives before reaching Libya, because the problem has become so well-known.

concerns about the enforcement of intellectual property rights, [and] discrimination against EU businesses remains a fact,” she said. She also said there had been “steps backwards” in laws concerning national security and non-governmental organizations, and in the field of cybersecurity. Concerns remain “about the predictability and transparency of the legal and regulatory systems.” In the past year, Chinese authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on lawyers and A 26-year-old Ivorian woman interviewed by HRW said she was detained in June and July 2015 at an official facility in the Libyan city of Tajoura. She spoke of being forced to give oral sex to a Libyan guard almost daily. A failed attempt to escape by a group of women only led to further sexual violence. “Seven girls got away but they caught the rest of us,” she said. “The guards stripped one of us, a Nigerian girl, and raped her in front of us in the courtyard.” On the morning of June 26, the Aquarius pulled along the Sicilian coast and into the port of Messina. The migrants are given medical checks and registered and housed

human-rights defenders, passed a law that they said would help nongovernmental organizations but that subjects them to police supervision, and enacted a national security law that particularly targets online activity. “Moving China to the next phase of development requires that rule of law be part of that,” Malmstrom said. She criticized “limitations on lawyers” and restrictions on online freedom. “Barriers to that, whether it’s banning social platforms or by requiring storage of content locally, impinge China’s economic progress as much as freedom of expression,” she said. Malmstrom said that the EU’s long-term goal is a free-trade agreement with China, “but we need to get this investment agreement first.” “This is to establish a more level playing field in investment, and until we have that it will be very difficult to enter into the specific free trade negotiations,” she said. Malmstrom spoke and answered questions from students at the University of International Business and Economics, ahead of a China-EU summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. AP in so-called hot-spot migration centers so authorities can process their asylum applications. Some, however, leave the centers and head elsewhere in Europe as undocumented migrants. As the ship cruised past the Sicilian hills, women looked curiously out the portholes as others went up on deck to get a view. Like others, one man from Mali who gave his name only as Suleiman was weeping. “I’m thinking about everything I’ve been through,” he said. And he was thinking of his parents and siblings left behind in his homeland. “My brothers and sisters, that’s why I’m crying.” AP

A10 Tuesday, July 12, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Balancing the law and order

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iven the choice, would you choose peace and safety or individual liberties and freedom? Every authoritarian ruler since time immemorial and every modern government have asked the people that question. The powers in control would prefer that citizens stay calm and relatively compliant. Therefore, the question is always framed that giving up a little amount of freedom would return a great amount of security.

Remember when you had to undergo a drug test each time you renewed your driver’s license? We all had to put up with more inconvenience and give up some time and money—it is always about the money with the government. But we were told that this is in the best interest of everyone. Of course, a person could go without drugs for a few days, pass the test and spend the next years driving around high as a kite. And how many bus drivers were prevented from using shabu (methamphetamine)? That statistic was never provided by the government. We put up with a reduction of our individual freedom—not to do drugs but not having to be tested—in the name of peace and safety. However, it is not the people that are entitled to make the decisions about balancing law and order. It is the government. We are bound by the rules. The government is not. It is the government that can decide spending of public money that is the responsibility of the legislature can suddenly be made by the Executive branch. It is government officials who can decide that “intent” and “good faith” determines if a law has been broken; not an average citizen. In return for this inequality of power between the people and the government, we are told that it is for the best interests of all. There is a trend—a disturbing trend—happening around the world. It is a clash between governments telling the people what is best for them and the people wanting a voice in the decision-making process. That is not to say that the people are always, or even often, right but that citizens need to be part of the outcome. The French government is attempting to reform its labor laws to make the country more competitive and efficient. Years of government pandering to the voters with too much unsustainable benefits and giveaways can no longer continue. French labor has become somewhat lazy and bloated. Massive strikes have hit France. But when you have treated the people like ignorant children for decades, the government cannot expect them to act like responsible adults overnight. Illegal-drug use in the Philippines is real and serious, and has been growing for many years. But the people really do not want to hear the facts and the government really does not want to be the bearer of bad news. It hurts during elections. Now we are faced with deciding how much of the law are we willing to give up in this fight against illegal drugs to gain the benefits of increased order.

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Unemployment and demographic ‘sweet spot’ Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur Continued from A1

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demographic sweet spot is expected to accelerate economic growth in the Philippines. One study from a private research group says young Filipino professionals 25 to 34 years old are expected to contribute as much as 25 percent of the country’s GDP by 2020. Benefits from a demographic sweet spot are known as the demographic dividends. In a presentation at the University of the Philippines School of Statistics, Prof. Dennis Mapa explains that, as countries move from large families (high fertility rates) into small families (low fertility rates), they pass through a “Goldilock” period, which consists of one or two generations with fertility rates that are neither too high nor too low. This is the demographic window of opportunity, or sweet spot. Mapa lists the dividends from a demographic sweet spot as,

The monster in the closet John Mangun

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first, higher per-capita income due to higher productivity as a large percentage of the population enter the labor force, which allows the government to shift spending from education and health to investment; and second, individuals accumulate savings in their working years to prepare for retirement, which accelerates economic growth. Mapa estimates that demographic dividend contributed about 35 percent of the average annual economic growth of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand during the period 1965 to 1995.

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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nyone who has invested in the stock market has heard that the market moves on alternating investor sentiment of greed and fear. That is only true for the “experts.” In truth, prices go higher—not on greed—but on optimism. Prices go lower—not on fear—but on disappointment.

That other old saying about stock prices “climbing a wall of worry” is also wrong. Prices climb a wall of increasing and spreading optimism about the future. Did you ever hear someone say, “I just bought a new car because I am worried about losing my job”? It is: “I just bought a new car because business is growing and I expect a promotion and a raise soon”. The nonsense that passes for most stock-market analysis is about the same as a parent telling an unruly child to go to sleep now or the monsters in the closet are going to come out. The monster that we have been

told to fear is a global interest-rate increase led by the US Federal Reserve Bank. For the last 18 moths, I have said repeatedly that it is not going to happen and if a rate increase comes— which it did last December—it will be insignificant. I will say it again; no interest-rate increase of significance in the foreseeable future. Here is why. The benchmark “Fed fund rate” —the interest rate that banks loan money to each other—is now effectively zero percent. It is actually 0.40 percent but that is zero because the US inflation rate is 1 percent. In 1982 the Fed rate was 19 percent. Prior to the 2007 debt crisis, the rate

What is disturbing is the unemployment rate among the youth, or those aged 15 to 24, which reached 14.6 percent in April 2016, or more than double the overall unemployment rate. About 23.8 percent (4.7 million) of the total young working population was neither in school nor in the labor force, implying that these young Filipinos are underutilized because their skills are not being honed by education, training or employment.

However, having a large population of young people does not necessarily mean, by itself, good, according to Mapa. Demographic dividend, while essential to growth, is not automatic. For instance, he says, the growing number of adults, particularly those 15 to 24 years old, must be productive workers and not just consumers, to contribute to the economy. The country’s unemployment rate went down to 6.1 percent in April, from 6.4 percent in the same month in 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The

Had the Federal Reserve started raising rates in 2014 as they should have, the pain would have been manageable and spread over time. Now, a series of rate increases would be a disaster. It will not happen. The Philippine stock market, as measured by the All-Share index, is at an historic high. The New York Stock Exchange, as measured by its S&P 500 index, is also at an historic high. Don’t worry. There is no interest-rate monster hiding in the closet. was 5 percent. We keep hearing that we must worry about the Fed raising rates back to “normal,” whatever that means. Maybe a Fed fund rate of 1 percent would be normal. Here is what would happen. Currently, there is $13 trillion worth of government debt at negative interest rates. You pay the German government to loan it money. There was no negative interest-rate government debt before 2014. The safest longterm debt in the world is the 30-year US government bond. The interest

decline was small, but it was still good news. What is disturbing is the unemployment rate among the youth, or those aged 15 to 24, which reached 14.6 percent in April 2016, or more than double the overall unemployment rate, the PSA also noted. About 23.8 percent (4.7 million) of the total young working population was neither in school nor in the labor force, implying that these young Filipinos are underutilized because their skills are not being honed by education, training or employment. Unemployment has long been a persistent problem that has not been addressed adequately, despite the continuing growth of the economy. What makes it disturbing is that the young people entering the labor force are not able to find decent jobs that will allow them to improve their lives and contribute to the national economy. I hope the new administration’s economic agenda will include generation of more decent jobs to cope with the increasing labor force. Otherwise, we may lose the opportunity to realize the benefits from our demographic sweet spot. For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

rate on that bond is now 2.1 percent. The price of a bond goes down if interest rates go up. If the Fed fund rate went up to 1 percent, the value of the existing 30-year US government bond would fall 19 percent. The more widely held 10-year bond would drop 8.7 percent in price. In other words, trillions of dollars of value would be wiped out while holding the most conservative and safe investment possible: US government debt. The negative interest-rate debt would be nearly worthless. Had the Federal Reserve started raising rates in 204 as they should have, the pain would have been manageable and spread over time. Now, a series of rate increases would be a disaster. It will not happen. The Philippine stock market, as measured by the All-Share index, is at an historic high. The New York Stock Exchange, as measured by its S&P 500 index, is also at an historic high. Don’t worry. There is no interest-rate monster hiding in the closet. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Can we run solely on renewable energy at this time? Ernesto M. Hilario

ABOUT TOWN

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f we’re to believe what the environmentalists are saying, we should close down all power plants running on coal and natural gas because they are pollutants and, instead, build new ones relying solely on renewable energy (RE), such as solar and wind power.

But is that a realistic proposition? Or will it only plunge us into a new Dark Age of even more expensive electricity at this time? Considering that clean energy is still expensive at present and we face financial constraints as a developing country, the Duterte administration has to come up with a practical mixed-energy use policy that requires the presence of both baseload plants, such as those running on coal and natural gas, along with renewables, as we navigate the transition to a low-carbon economy to protect the environment. New Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has indicated that he would aim for reliable, steady and affordable power supply and greater energy self-sufficiency to help achieve the national government’s agenda of sustained economic growth in the next six years. “Coal is the more dependable, the more reliable source for baseload. As a developing country, we have to find a happy balance. We cannot afford to rely solely on renewables,” Cusi said. He is right. Thus, the Duterte administration is likely to retain coal as an integral part of the country’s electricitygeneration mix while expanding the use of renewables. This combination of coal, renewables and alternative power sources would ensure adequate and stable electricity supply while keeping rates within the reach of consumers. The Department of Energy under the previous administration pursued a 30-30-30 energy mix of coal, natural gas and RE, with the remaining 10 percent for other technologies. But the Climate Change Commission frowned on coal-power generation as part of government efforts to cut greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 70 percent by the year 2030, under its commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. A developing economy, like the Philippines, however, cannot make a drastic shift to expensive renewables at the expense of available, reliable and affordable sources, like coal. Sustained Philippine economic growth requires a rapidly increasing demand for energy. The country’s power demand could double to 20,000 megawatts (MW) to 24,000 MW in the next 15 years, if the economy continues to expand by at least 6 percent per year. Mindanao requires an extra power capacity of 500 MW this year, another 500 MW by 2020 and 1,600 MW more by 2030. New powergeneration facilities are expected to provide a total capacity of 720 MW this year and another 550 MW in 2017, but most of these plants will be coal-fired. The Duterte administration’s economic agenda seeks to create other growth centers in the countryside. With the projected requirement of an additional 10,000 MW to 12,000 MW between now and 2030, the government cannot afford to ditch plans to build and operate coal-fired power plants, unless we are prepared to deal with a devastating energy shortage. Coal power, in fact, is readily available and remains the most affordable option at present. This energy source is highly efficient and cost-effective, and utilizes

A drastic shift to renewable energy at this point, we repeat, is not a prescription for sustained economic growth but a step backward. The Duterte administration will be unable to bring inclusive growth to the countryside if it allows an abrupt shift to renewable energy as the country’s main source of power supply. clean technologies favored by such countries as Finland and Germany. The Philippines has one of the highest electricity rates in Asia. This is one of the reasons foreign investors are reluctant to come in. As we transition to an industrialized economy, we have to fully utilize coal and other traditional sources of energy that comply with global environmental standards. Coal-fired power plants undergo a rigid process of approval. Before they can secure an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and other permits, they must go through a tedious process that includes consultations with the community to address their concerns. RE sources also depend on weather conditions, which compromises the availability of supply on a 24/7 basis. At this point, baseload plants, powered by coal that are available on demand, can provide industries with a reliable, continuous supply of power. With renewables still in the early stages of development in the Philippines, electricity prices will certainly double if the country uses renewables, such as solar and wind power, as its primary energy source. Expensive RE sources at the expense of cheaper coal entails not only economic costs, but also social ones. Prohibitive electricity prices mean increased production and distribution costs for manufacturers and producers of basic goods. And manufacturers will pass on their rising overhead costs to consumers. The number of jobless Filipinos will multiply as factories downsize to cope with escalating production expenses. High-power rates would have an adverse impact on the poorest of the poor, as well as on the low- and middle-income consumers. Beyond this, foreign investors will park their money elsewhere and choose other countries where power costs remain manageable and energy supply is sufficient and reliable. A drastic shift to RE at this point, we repeat, is not a prescription for sustained economic growth but a step backward. The Duterte administration will be unable to bring inclusive growth to the countryside if it allows an abrupt shift to RE as the country’s main source of power supply. We may have to continue traditional energy sources, like coal power, until renewables become widely available and affordable. In other words, we should go “green” only when we are really prepared for it. E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016 A11

Smart traffic makes for healthy living Edgardo J. Angara

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he Healthy Living Index 2016 rated the Philippines among the least healthy in Asia. Filipinos were found to be among the most sleep deprived in the region and do an average of only 2.1 hours of exercise a week, far below the regional average of three hours. Ariel G. Cantos, CEO of Philam Life—who commissioned the survey—said that, while Filipinos generally know that they lead unhealthy lives, this awareness has not translated to action. The survey did not look into the root causes of why Filipinos live so unhealthily. But when Filipinos spend anywhere from 46 to 81 minutes on average per commute from their homes to their workplaces, one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to identify the metropolis’ monster traffic as the culprit. Urban Filipinos

simply have no opportunity to breathe fresh air, spend quality time with family and lead ordinary lives, like normal people. Various studies have shown how horrible traffic jams inflict negative effects on a person’s health. And with Japan International Cooperation Agency estimating that the productivity losses are already in the billions, there appear compelling arguments for granting the President emergency powers to solve the traffic crisis. Several bills have already been filed in Congress, giving the President

emergency authority, among other things, to adopt alternative procurement methods, expedite bidding and construction, and control traffic management, aimed at breaking up the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila and other urban areas. The urban traffic horror is indeed of crisis proportion. It demands swift and strong action. But while activating the President’s emergency powers should be reserved for extraordinary occasions—grave calamities or civil disturbances that threaten the state security, for example—unjamming the current traffic mess is readily doable through existing institutions. Mayors, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for instance, should sit down and discuss a smart-traffic management plan in Metro Manila. They should agree to give the Metro Manila governor full powers to prepare traffic routing and formulate other policies on traffic decongestion. The PNP should follow this traffic plan, while the DPWH should coordinate with him all urban works construction. Such arrangement will only be an

experiment, temporary and timebound. If successful, it will prove that our traffic problem is primarily an issue of leadership and management capability—hence, solvable by people who created it in the first place. If it fails, it will prove that the problem is structural and expose the lack of long-term planning and coordination. That’s the time the President and Congress should come in and intervene—to formulate, by law or executive order, the needed edict. And put the fear of President Duterte in their hearts! Either way, a facelift of our urban landscapes is welcome and, with it, should come more pedestrianfriendly, walkable pavements to promote healthier living. Solving our traffic woes in a speedy manner is imperative. In the long run, we need to plan now on building up our urban environments, so that they will foster healthier lifestyles and a healthy population. But if need be—if politicians and bureaucrats remain obdurate—let’s grant the President emergency powers.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.

Capturing entrepreneurial spirit the Enactus way Cecilio T. Arillo

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NACTUS, an engaging global acronym that stands for “Entrepreneurial Action for all of US” for a better world, is an international organization that brings together students, academic and business leaders who are committed to use the power of entrepreneurial action to enable progress around the world.

Enactus Philippines, a nonprofit organization, is a country member since 2002 of the Enactus Network, an international organization that operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, France, Japan and 30 other countries with over 1,600 member-colleges and-universities that bring together students, academic and business leaders who are committed to use the power of entrepreneurial action to enable progress around the world. Guided by faculty advisors and business experts, participating students from the 45 colleges and universities in the Philippines annually formed teams on their campuses to create and implement community projects that empower people to improve their quality of life and standard of living and participate in the national and global competitions. Attended by 1,177 students and 48 entrepreneurial projects, the wholesome event not only transformed lives, but also helped students develop the kind of talents and perspectives that are essential to becoming effective, values-driven leaders, Enactus Philippines Chairman and CEO Dr. Jose P. Leviste Jr. explained at this year’s annual championship competition held last Saturday at the SMX Convention

Center in Mall of Asia in Pasay City. The winner will represent the coveted Enactus World Cup in Toronto, Canada, in September. This writer and Dr. Nerza Rebustes, deputy customs collector at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and a noted academician, joined scores of senior executives from large corporations, highranking government officials and distinguished representatives of embassies/consulates and chambers of commerce as final judges for this year’s 2016 Enactus Philippines Championship event. After a strict vetting and selection process, the judges finally picked the winning team that represented the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte, as the champion for its clean and green production of dragon fruits, mushroom and seaweeds; production of organic fertilizers from vermicomposting and production of quality shell craft, among others, in a coordinated way through research, production, inventory and quality control, and by establishing community-wide outreach activities and marketing linkages. The team from the University of the Philippines Los Baños won the first runner-up award; the team from the Holy Trinity College of

General Santos City, second; and the team from the Sultan Kudarat State University, third. Leviste explained that the annual series of national competition provided a forum for teams from the participating local colleges and universities to showcase the impact of their outreach efforts, which were evaluated by the judges. “In addition to the community aspect of the program, our leadership and career initiatives created meaningful opportunities for crossgenerational learning and exchange, as well as the placement of students and alumni with companies in search of emerging talents,” he said. Among the teams who joined in the final championship competition were those from Adamson University; Aklan State University-Ibajay Campus; Aquinas University of Legazpi; 
Baliuag University
; Batangas State University-Arasof, Nasugbu Campus; Bohol Island State University; 
Central Luzon State University; 
Central Philippine University; Columban College; De La Salle University-Dasmariñas; Divine Word College of Calapan; 
Holy Trinity College of General Santos City; Lorma College; 
Lyceum Northwestern University; Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite; Sultan Kudarat State University-Sunas Campus; Sultan Kudarat State UniversityTacurong Campus; University of Antique; 
University of La Salette; University of Northern Philippines; University of Luzon; University of San Carlos; University of the Philippines-Los Baños; University of the Philippines-Visayas; Mariano Marcos State University; Miriam College-Manila; Negros Oriental State University-Main Campus; Nueva Vizcaya State University; 
Palawan State University-Main Campus; Pangasinan State UniversityBayambang Campus; Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Santa

Learning from the errors of Iraq

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he lon g - aw a it e d C h i l cot report on Britain’s role in the Iraq War, despite its many thousands of pages, isn’t going to be the last word on that painful subject. But it ought, at least, to stifle one main line of criticism of the government then in power—that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his team lied to the country and acted in bad faith. For more than a decade, that charge has dominated British discussion of the war. Sir John Chilcot’s exhaustive report does not support it. To be sure, the report is highly critical of Blair, his Cabinet and Britain’s intelligence agencies. Mistakes were made at every level of planning and preparation. Too much faith was placed in Britain’s partnership with the US, with its own, sometimes differing aims. Much of the intelligence was wrong. Too little attention was paid to the threat that

war would destabilize the region, even though the risk was “explicitly identified” beforehand. Much of this was well-known already. Even so, a detailed and dispassionate catalog of policy mistakes is valuable and sobering. The report emphasizes that the decision to go to war is always rife with danger and the possibility of unintended consequences—a point that can’t be stated too often. Nonetheless, the distinction between errors and lies is important. Citizens can’t expect their leaders to make no mistakes underpressure of events; they can and should expect them to be honest. The unsupported claim that Blair lied has wrecked his reputation and, more important, obscured the real lessons of the conflict—which are about the mistakes to which any leader might be prone in testing circumstances, and not about

bad men doing evil things. The report says that right up to the start of the allied attack, “Mr. Blair was being advised by the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, the means to deliver them and the capacity to produce them. He was also told that the evidence pointed to Saddam Hussein’s view that the capability was militarily significant and to his determination—left to his own devices —to build it up further.” That understanding was accepted by French, German, Russian and other intelligence services. Europe was, by no means, united on the war, but there was plenty of expert support for the US-British position. It’s worth remembering that a broad coalition of countries supported the effort to remove Hussein. Denied support for the claim that

Mesa Campus; Saint Louis College of San Fernando City; Saint Mary’s University; 
San Beda College; 
Sultan Kudarat State University-Access Campus; and 
Sultan Kudarat State University-Isulan Campus. Enactus Philippines is supported by EEI Corp. (red diamond sponsor), OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. (diamond sponsor), AG&P (diamond sponsor), Unilever Philippines (platinum sponsor), Philippine Airlines (gold sponsor), Orica Inc. (silver sponsor), KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co. (institutional partner) and Quisumbing Torres Law Firm (institutional partner). Last year the Enactus team at the University of Luzon showed the way to make the dying bukayo industry profitable. The team determined that coco-charcoal briquettes, made from coconut shells, paper and animal waste, would not only make use of available items in the community, but it would be a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to wood fuel that is traditionally used. Just as beneficial, this form of fuel supplied more than half of the city’s business centers and generated a new source of income for local entrepreneurs.The team started by teaching 10 of the candy makers how to create the coco charcoal, including the process of carbonizing the raw materials to mixing, binding, drying and packaging the new product. As a result of Project RISE, bukayo production is no longer a dying venture. Even more impressive, the newly created coco-charcoal product has saved 86,667 cubic meters of wood fuel, reduced carbon emissions and made it possible for a group of entrepreneurs, who were once wrestling with everyday necessities, to increase their incomes by 60 percent. To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

Blair simply lied, critics have seized on the report’s account of memos in which he pledges support for the US president. Here’s proof, they say, of a blank-check policy that betrayed British interests. This is absurd. The memos offered strong moral support—rightly, since the US-British alliance is enormously valuable—but warned that delivering that support was not a forgone conclusion. There was no betrayal. Blair and George W. Bush made mistakes over Iraq, and with terrible consequences. Those errors of planning, execution and foresight deserve the most careful scrutiny and a full measure of criticism. But the instinct to condemn their actions as undertaken in bad faith is grossly unfair, and adds nothing to the wisdom that must be brought to bear when such fateful choices next have to be made. Bloomberg View

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

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PWPA optimistic on Lopez’s appointment

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By Jonathan Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

ike their counterparts in the mining sector, woodindustry players appear shaken, but remain hopeful of better days ahead with the appointment of environmental advocate Regina Paz L. Lopez to the top Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) post. Maila Vazquez, executive director of the Philippine Wood Producers’ Association (PWPA), said the group’s board of directors is set to meet in preparation for a courtesy call and, at the same time, seek an audience with Lopez. PWPA is the national association of corporations, partnerships and individuals involved in forest management, logging, forest-plantation development, manufacture of lumber, veneer and plywood, pulp and paper, and other wood products, as well as in trading, shipping and sales of these products. Pressed for comment on Lopez’s appointment, Vasquez said the PWPA board will be meeting soon to discuss the industry’s prospects under the Duterte administration. “We congratulated her [Lopez] for the appointment. The PWPA

board is scheduled to meet before we request for an audience with her,” Vasquez told the BusinessMirror in an interview. “Based on the congratulatory letter we sent to Secretary Gina, we are hoping that she can help us to improve the industry and we also promised to support her programs,” she said. T he meet i ng w it h L ope z , Vasquez said, would hopefully pave the way for members of the industry to present their petitions on how to help the industry grow in the face of the many problems besetting its members and the industry as a whole. Lopez has been known to be vocal against the use of coal fuel and mining, declaring that these will be put under strict regulatory process under her watch. Last week

the DENR, through the regional director of Central Luzon, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, and Environmental Management Bureau, issued a preventive suspension order against two large-scale nickelmining companies, which, in effect, stopped all mining activities in the province of Zambales, a declared mineral-reservation area. Two other nickel mines in Za mba les rem a i n su spended since 2014. On July 1 the Provincial Governor of Zambales Amor Deloso issued Executive Order (EO) 1, stopping all mining activities in the province. The stop-mining orders were in response to numerous complaints that mining in Zambales had caused environmental destruction and pollution. Lopez had repeatedly said she is not antimining per se, but wants destructive development projects or activities that causes environmental degradation and suffering to the people stopped. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the country’s forestry sector as a contributor to GDP has declined significantly from 12 percent in 1980 to less than 1 percent in 1994. Under the Aquino administration’s six-year term, the wood industry faced serious supply shortage following the issuance of EO 23, which effectively banned the harvesting of trees in natural and residual forests. Along with EO 26 that establishes the National Greening Program (NGP), EO 23 was meant to prevent environmental degradation as manifested by massive deforestation over the past decades,

which was pegged at 150,000 hectares every year before former President Benigno S. Aquino III took over. The NGP, which aims to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares between 2010 and 2016, is now in its last year of implementation under the Expanded National Greening Program. On November 12, 2015, Aquino signed EO 193, which expanded the NGP to cover the remaining 7.1 million hectares of open, degraded and denuded forests until 2028. The massive reforestation effort included the establishment of plantation forests to boost the income of upland dwellers by partly supplying the local wood requirements, particularly in Mindanao, where the bulk of the countr y’s wood manufactures are located. Before EO 23 and EO 26, the wood industry rely on supply from forest plantations, as well as natural forests, whose permits to harvest are issued to logging companies. Still facing an uphill climb, the country’s wood industry is still faced with supply shortage of commercially viable wood and wood products and needs to import wood and other wood-based products. The country is also exporting wood, mostly timber and manufactured wood articles. “We are still struggling, that is why we will appeal to the new DENR secretary for help,” Vasquez added. The group will be hosting the Philippine Wood Expo in October, its way of promoting the industry’s various products and advocacy. PWPA is also pushing for the idea of forest certification to boost

Dike project. . .

Continued from A1

project with enhancements, both of which would be private-funded. The second approach is for the agencies to completely restructure the project and proceed with just one or two components that could either be government-funded, foreign-funded, or private-funded. These approaches, Palacios said, are terms already approved by the Aquino administration’s National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board. “So, we might see it going back to the market, either in the same form or modified. It depends on the outcome of the study,” he added. “There’s a possibility that, if the study will show that the optimal financing option is either government-funded or foreign-funded, it’s not going to be private-funded.” Should the new study point to the project remaining as is—a three-component infrastructure project— Palacios believes it would be best to push for its private-funding aspect. “The repayment scheme, the reclamation, which is able to attract a lot of interest on the part of the sponsors, makes the project viable as a PPP,” Palacios said. But if the project is to be broken down into different components, it might bode well under the key infrastructure scheme. The land-reclamation aspect was supposed to be the project’s “main sweetener,” as traffic estimates for toll road were considered “low” and the flood-control dike would not make money. But the legal issues on the repayment scheme proved too challenging and risky for bidders that no one submitted offers on March 28. The parties that were initially interested in the deal are Team Trident—composed of Ayala Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Megaworld Corp.; Alloy Pavi Hanshin LLEDP Consortium—composed of Alloy MTD Capital BHD, Prime Asset Ventures Inc. and Hanshin Engineering Constructions; and San Miguel Holdings Corp. The parties cited issues pertaining to land reclamation and connectivity to growth areas. They also said the project is “too complex.” The project involves the construction of a 47-kilometer flood-control dike—on top of which will be a six-lane expressway—on an offshore alignment 500 meters away from the western shoreline of Laguna Lake. It includes interchanges, bridges, floodgates and pumps from Taguig to Los Baños in Laguna. It also involves the reclamation of 700 hectares of raw land adjoining the expressway dike. The thoroughfare-cum-dike project will help mitigate flooding along the western coast of the Laguna Lake running from Taguig to the town of Bay in Laguna. It will also serve as an alternative transport route to the congested South Luzon Expressway and enhance the hydrology for the ecosystem of Laguna Lake. Dale V. Calanog

Philippine-made wood and woodbased products. While the industry is pinning its hope for a more stable policy environment that will revive the “dying industry” through sustainable forest management, it believes that forest certification will benefit the wood industry, in general. PWPA sits as a member of the National Governing Board, which is crafting the draft EO on forest certification. According to Vasquez, wood certification has been existing since the 1990s. Wood certification is a result of the market-driven trend, which Vasquez said, the PWPA hopes to cope up with. “Our neighboring countries have a policy that they will not accept wood products if they are not certified,” she said. While saying that some countries are not as strict in requiring wood certification, the impact of climate change and the clamor for sustainable forest management could prompt most countries to adopt similar polices. She said the country’s wood industry is evolving because of climate-change issues. “This is one way of contributing

to the global effort to mitigate the effects of climate change,” she said. Contrary to popular belief, Vasquez said the use of wood is, in fact, the best solution to climate change. Wood, she said, is a carbon sink. “Unless it is burned, it will not release carbon into the atmosphere,” she said. “What we really need is a stable policy. I am not saying the industry is dying, but we are fighting for survival,” Vasquez said. She added that the group continue to promote the use of wood being a renewable source of materials for construction and furniture, and as a way of increasing the country’s carbon-absorption capacity. “If you plant a tree, it absorbs carbon dioxide. The tree releases oxygen, while the carbon is retained in the wood, Vasquez said. “If the tree grows and its marginal utility is reached, the trees are cut, but the carbon remains in the wood. The wood captures carbon and it will stay there, unless it is burned,” she added. Vazquez said the industry remains hopeful that under the Lopez’s watch, the industry will finally get the much needed boost to grow and increase its contribution to the local and national economy.

The PWPA board is scheduled to meet before we request for an audience with her. We are hoping that she can help us to improve the industry, and we also promised to support her programs.”—Vasquez

Beijing’s South China Sea options: From benign to belligerent Continued from A1

ordering commercial and military aircraft to lodge flight plans with it. It announced an Adiz over parts of the the East China Sea disputed with Japan in 2013, but in practice has had difficulty enforcing it, and the US would probably ignore one over the South China Sea. Steps up patrols by its coast guard and navy, recommences harassment of fishermen and its blockade of the BRP Sierra Madre, a former naval vessel run aground by the Philippines on the Second Thomas Shoal. China leaves Unclos, unwilling to accept the constraints of international law when it clashes with its own interests. What it means: None of these actions would necessarily trigger a major response from the US, which has set itself up as policeman of the waters. But it may step up its military patrols, perhaps in conjunction with vessels from other navies. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in June called for joint European patrols of Asian waters.

Assertive

China starts building on Scarborough Shoal, which it seized from the Philippines in 2012. Radar, aircraft or missiles based there could reach Manila and bases in the Philippines to be used by US forces. It also turns existing artificial islands into mini-

bases by finishing runways, expanding port facilities and installing offensive missile systems and troops. Drags the Sierra Madre off its position on the Second Thomas Shoal, as suggested in a June editorial by the People’s Daily. Specifies the coordinates of its nine-dash line, declares it to be a territorial demarcation boundary and solidifies its claim for all the waters, resources and features that lie within it. What it means: This would put the US in a difficult situation. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in June the US— as an ally of the Philippines— would take action should China build on Scarborough Shoal, without elaborating. But the US has not followed through on previous “lines in the sand” in other parts of the world, including Syria, and it probably has no interest in picking a real fight thousands of miles from its own coastline. Washing ton cou ld face a “disastrous choice,” says Hugh White, a professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. “Either it backs down, thereby acknowledging China’s growing regional ascendancy and the corresponding decline of US leadership, or it launches into an armed clash, which might well escalate into a major conflict.” Bloomberg News