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Monday, July 18, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 282

Lopez to form commando group versus illegal miners

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

ent on stopping destructive mining projects in the country, Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez revealed that miners operating without necessary permits would also be hunted down, like thugs and drug lords, under her watch.

To do this, Lopez said a joint police-military special action group would be created to go after those engaged in illegal and irresponsible mining activities.

“I am putting up a SWAT [Special Weapons and Tactics] team, ,and will work with the military

INSIDE

Hillary Clinton, the candidate we know so well— and don’t

and the police,” Lopez told the BusinessMirror.

She said Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo R. Visaya and National Police chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa have already committed their support to her campaign.

JDO 02-2012

The joint department order that the DENR wants to fully utilize to end illegal mining “We are good. Digong [President Rodrigo] has amazing, good people. So I am very, very confident. Rule of law, that’s all, and the common good,” Lopez said.

Asked what her SWAT would be like, she said: “It’s a special action group. Like a commando group for the environment.”

See “Illegal miners,” A2

BMReports PHL electric-vehicle dream running on borrowed time

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 36 pages | 7 days a week

‘Nightmares’ after award of PPP contracts PPP Lead Alberto C. Agra

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hat happens after a public-private partnership (PPP) contract is signed? Can the private-sector proponent (PSP) immediately construct the facility after issuance of the notice of award? What are the CPs, or conditions precedent, before the PSP can proceed? Which is more difficult—getting the award, being allowed to proceed or implementing the project?

Continued on A14

10 PPP Post-Award Requirements 1. Incorporation

perspective

2. Financial Closure

₧

‘One-armed’ Wilder retains WBC title, KOs Arreola in 9

BusinessMirror

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| Monday, July 18, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph

By John Zenor

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The Associated Press

IRMINGHAM, Alabama—Despite fighting mostly one-armed for half the fight, Deontay Wilder remained in control in the ring before quickly heading to the hospital.

Wilder retained his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title with a technical knockout when Chris Arreola’s corner stopped the fight after the eighth round on Saturday night at Legacy Arena.

Arreola’s left eye appeared swollen shut. An injured Wilder (37-0, 36 knockouts) knocked down Arreola in the fourth and peppered him with left jabs and hooks after landing hard rights early.

Promoter Lou DiBella said Wilder was taken to nearby UAB Hospital after a doctor confirmed he had a broken right hand and a probable distal tear in that biceps. Both injuries happened early in the fight.

Wilder showed reporters his injured biceps as he headed to the locker room and said he was already certain the hand was broken. He threw the right, his biggest weapon, sparingly after the fourth round.

Even hurting, Wilder didn’t lose his bravado. Before leaving the ring, he was talking about wanting to fight the winner of the upcoming Wladimir Klitschko-Tyson Fury fight or Anthony Joshua.

“My goal is to unify the division,” said Wilder, who didn’t hold a post-fight news conference. “I’m one of the baddest, hardest-hitting heavyweights in the business. Right here from Alabama, baby. I came a long way. So whoever’s got those belts, that’s who I want. It don’t matter if I got a broke hand, got a torn muscle, I’m going to fight like heavyweight champions do. I don’t play boxing. Of course, I want the Furys, of course, I want the Joshuas, but the question is, do they want me?”

It was Wilder’s fourth title defense and third in Birmingham, about an hour from his hometown of Tuscaloosa. Arreola (36-5-1) took the fight on short notice after Wilder’s mandatory defense against Russian Alexander Povetkin was called off in May. Povetkin failed a drug test.

Arreola said he never realized Wilder was injured.

“I just thought he didn’t throw the right hand because I was just waiting for it,” he said. “That was the last thing on my mind, whether he hurt his arm.”

Wilder wobbled Arreola with a right hand then knocked him down with a barrage late in the fourth.

He had Arreola off-balance on the ropes when the round ended.

With his right hand mostly out of commission, Wilder appeared to hurt Arreola again with a left in the final seconds of the seventh. Wilder also broke his right hand in winning the title against Bermane Stiverne in January 2015 and had surgery.

He had a wound on his right elbow going into the fight, and it was bleeding by the end in addition to his more serious injuries. Trainer Jay Deas said Wilder hurt it doing yard work and that it didn’t affect him in the fight.

“I wanted to give you guys a knockout, but I broke my hand and I tore a muscle in my right hand,” Wilder told the crowd of nearly 12,000. “I couldn’t show it, because Chris is a tough, tough man. I had to fight like a champion, like a champion [does] and use my jab all night.”

Wilder connected on 152 of 346 punches (43.9 percent). Arreola landed only once in the first round and connected on 52 of 188 (27.7 percent).

“He beat me with that jab, that strong jab, that smart jab,” said Arreola, who also had seven stitches to repair an early cut over his right eye. “I couldn’t figure him out, very simple.”

Wilder had to go looking for another opponent after his May fight with the WBC mandatory challenger Povetkin in Russia fell through. Povetkin tested positive for the banned substance meldonium.

Wilder has filed suit seeking at least $5 million in damages after losing that $4,369,000 payday plus a potential bonus for a victory. He settled for some $3 million less ($1.4 million) for the fight with Arreola, calling him the perfect opponent because of his heart and toughness.

Arreola indeed withstood a barrage and landed some body shots, at times, after getting Wilder against the ropes. At least twice, Wilder made a gesture with his hips while absorbing those punches.

Arreola, who made $150,000 for the fight, had previously lost title shots to Vitali Klitschko and Stiverne.

Wilder claimed Stiverne’s title with a unanimous decision in January 2015, which remains his only professional fight to go the distance.

Arreola’s majority decision over Travis Kauffman last December was ruled a no contest when he tested positive for marijiuana.

manuel t. Cayon

‘MANX MISSILE’ ATTACKS

gerMany’s Marcel Kittel (right) loses his balance as he crosses the finish line with Britain’s Mark Cavendish during the 14th stage of the tour de france. AP

Kittel swerves out of the way and Cavendish gets win no. 4

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By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press

ILLARS-LES-DOMBES, France—Mark Cavendish approached the finish line with so much speed that German rival Marcel Kittel swerved out of the way.

The “Manx Missile” easily sprinted to his

fourth-stage victory in the Tour de France on Saturday.

“I didn’t see it,” Cavendish said of the incident with Kittel. “I was in front of him.”

Finishing in the main pack during the 14th stage, Chris Froome had little trouble holding onto the yellow jersey.

“Today’s stage was quite welcome after the last few days of racing,” Froome said. “It was really

nice to switch off a little bit and sit on the wheels inside the peloton.”

It was Cavendish’s 30th career win in the Tour, putting him within four of Eddy Merckx’s record. The British sprinter held up four fingers after crossing the line.

Kittel threw up his arm in protest when Cavendish passed him.

“I saw Cavendish overtaking me and, suddenly, cornering me,” Kittel said. “I had to brake to avoid a crash. It’s not for me to say if he made a mistake.”

Cavendish analyzed it only after watching the replay.

“We were next to the barriers and it was him coming off the barriers more than anything,” Cavendish said.

Alexander Kristoff, a Norwegian with Katusha, crossed second, and world champion Peter Sagan was third.

“Cavendish is just faster right now,” Kristoff said.

Kittel came fifth.

“Kittel had already lost and stopped his effort. He had lost his focus. Maybe Cavendish swerved a bit, but it’s nothing,” retired sprinter Laurent Jalabert said.

The peloton stopped for a minute of silence at the start of the stage in honor of the 84 victims of the truck attack in Nice. Froome, French champion Arthur Vichot, and other leaders of the Tour took their helmets off and stood still at the start line.

It was the first of three days of national mourning in France, and fans waved the country’s flag all along the 208.5-kilometer (130-mile) route from Montelimar to the bird sanctuary of Parc des Oiseaux in Villars-Les-Dombes near Lyon.

Cavendish’s personal record for wins in one Tour was six in 2009. His performance in this race has come as somewhat of a surprise, considering that he has been

slowed by injuries in recent seasons.

But Cavendish seems rejuvenated after joining the South African squad Team Dimension Data for this season.

“I’ve been a lot more patient than I was last year,” Cavendish said.

Froome remained 1:47 ahead of second-place Bauke Mollema and 2:45 in front of third-place Adam Yates in the overall standings.

Four riders—Martin Elmiger of Switzerland, Alex Howes of the United States, Jeremy Roy of France and Cesare Benedetti of Italy—formed an early breakaway and opened up an advantage of four and a half minutes before falling apart in the final kilometers.

Known as a “transfer stage” because it was a lengthy leg that moved the peloton from one region to another to set up the ensuing mountain tests, the route took riders by fields of grain and sunflowers amid winds exceeding 35 kilometers per hour (22 miles per hour).

The stage started 15 minutes early because of concerns over a strong headwind and concluded with a 3-kilometer straight directly into the wind.

Matti Breschel, a Danish rider with Cannondale, crashed midway through the stage, and was reported to have broken his collarbone.

The Tour enters the Alps on Sunday with a 160-kilometer (99-mile) leg from Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz, featuring six climbs, including the beyondcategory Grand Colombier.

“It is a tricky stage,” Froome said. “I know the roads there. It’s a stage that has probably been a bit underestimated because it’s not an uphill finish.”

Britain’s Chris froome, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, celebrates on the podium. AP

MolleMa a Big threat to frooMe V

ILLARS-LES-DOMBES, France—As the Tour de France enters the Alps on Sunday, many would expect Chris Froome to be worried of pure climber Nairo Quintana.

The diminutive Colombian rider, who twice finished runner-up to Froome on the Tour, managed to gain time on the British champion in the closing stages last year, and will have plenty of opportunities in the mountains in the coming week.

But Froome landed what seemed to be a decisive blow at Quintana in the hilly time trial on Friday, moving two minutes, 59 seconds in front of the Colombian overall.

So, when asked about his main rival ahead of a tough final week of racing featuring two mountaintop finishes, Froome singled out another opponent.

“Now it’s Bauke Mollema, who is in second place,” Froome said, after defending his yellow jersey on

Saturday during the flat stage in the Rhone valley. “I’ve got to keep a good eye on him, I have got to treat him as my biggest rival. He did a good time trial and, at the Ventoux, he was able to sit in my wheel.”

Courtesy of an impressive performance in the time trial, Froome leads Mollema by 1:47 overall, with Briton Adam Yates in third place, 2:45 back.

“I’m very happy with my time trial, I have more room to breathe, but the Tour is not over, there is a long way to go.”

Seventh overall last year, Mollema is a strong allrounder with excellent climbing abilities, and rides for the Trek-Segafredo team.

He could be even closer to the yellow jersey if the race jury had not reinstated Froome at the top of the standings following the chaotic Mont Ventoux stage marred by a motorbike incident.

Richie Porte hit a TV motorbike, and Mollema and Froome also crashed. Mollema was unscathed

sports

and crossed the finish line first, but race officials ultimately awarded Porte and Froome the same time as the Dutchman, calling the incident “exceptional circumstances.”

Froome defended the jury’s decision on Saturday.

“That moto caused the accident for us, it would be a shame if the race was so heavily influenced by an incident like that,” he said. “I feel they made the right decision.”

Despite Quintana’s lack of impact on the race, so far, Froome remains fearful of the Colombian’s reaction in the Alps.

“No doubt he is going to attack in the Alps. If Nairo’s history has anything to go by, we know he’s very strong in the last week, he is going to be trying,” Froome said.

“My expectations for the last week are that it will be a very testing week, probably tougher than what we had up until now.” AP

Approvals

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‘manx missile’ attacks

Sports

6. Regulatory

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deontay wilder reacts as his glove is removed after his heavyweight title bout against Chris arreola. AP

By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief Lenie Lectura, Lawrence S. Marasigan & Cai U. Ordinario

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First of three parts

AVAO City and Manila—The first thing one hears on an electronic motorcycle—etrike it’s called—is nothing. The e-trike fails to produce the ear-piercing screams of revved-up motorcycle engines running on fossil fuels.

Driver Carlo Bultron, 22, laughed at the levity as he drove his e-trike on Uyanguren Street in the busy Chinatown area here, the BusinessMirror his only

PESO exchange rates n US 47.0990

passenger on the three-tired vehicle.

Bultron, once in a while, pressed a red button and a mild beep caught the attention of pedestrians, some waving as the stealthy e-trike weaved through congested roads, passing by police and traffic personnel minding the traffic flow.

He is careful not to abuse the tolerance extended by the authorities, as the city government has barred e-trikes from plying the highways, and main downtown streets.

“We would be on our own, to pay for the fines or whatever consequence,” if we get caught violating the

7. Right-of-Way

3. LGU Permit

8. Supply contract

4. Environmental

9. Insurance

5. Franchise

10. People’s Support

Clearance

Author: Alberto C. Agra

bm Graphics: Niggel figueroa

Continued on A2

n japan 0.4472 n UK 62.8630 n HK 6.0745 n CHINA 7.0413 n singapore 35.1040 n australia 35.9271 n EU 52.3835 n SAUDI arabia 12.5594

Source: BSP (15 July 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, July 18, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL electric-vehicle dream running on borrowed time Continued from A1

admonition of the city transport authority against plying outside inner streets, Bultron said.

Conundrum

BULTRON’S e-trike is one of a handful still running on the inner city streets.

The e-trikes have only been seen in the city of Davao for under six months, after the first units donated by motorcycle and appliance dealer William Lima to the city government a decade ago became absent in the streets.

Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, chairman of the City Council Committee on Finance, said he could not recall anymore what happened to the electric vehicles (e-vehicles) that Lima donated.

What Dayanghirang knows, he told the BusinessMirror, is that these e-trikes hit a snag in terms of classification at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) of Davao City.

Dayanghirang said the City Council should start looking anew at the operation of the e-vehicles to ensure their roadworthiness and safety of passengers.

“Maybe, we should look at where

Illegal miners. . .

Director Leo L. Jasareno of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said he would request the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reactivate the committee created

by Joint Department Order (JDO) 02-2012 to crack down on illegalmining activities.

Sought for her reaction on the proposal, Lopez said she has not discussed it with Jasareno, but said “it’s a great idea.”

The reactivation of the committee created by JDO 02-2012 hopes to address concerns aired by Lopez on the issue of illegal-mining operations during previous meetings,

it is getting electricity, and can it run on sloping roads?”

Because it runs on electricity, the government remains unable to extend franchise permits or license for the vehicle to take on a particular route. Hence, the e-trikes were barred from running on major thoroughfares.

Csr

THE e-trike that Bultron is driving is one of several units provided by the Dumaguete City-based Racal Group of Cos. “These e-trikes are not intended for commercial purpose and profit,” Rojeto Quimco, area manager of Lvjia, told the BusinessMirror.

“They [are part of] the advocacy of the owner to provide livelihood to pedicab drivers—those poor who have been rejected by motorcycle companies and dealers.”

Quimco said the corporate owner, Junito Racal, already tested the ecology-friendly e-trike three years ago in Luzon and the Visayas. Racal, he said, found the units to be satisfactory for both the driver and the environment.

“It’s a corporate social responsibility to provide for the poor but who are trying to earn a living,”

Continued from A1

Jasareno said.

Credited for stopping the illegal extraction of magnetite sand, or black sand, mostly happening in northern Luzon, the committee was formed in 2012, a year after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) noted a steep drop in gold purchases.

“I will recommend to the DOJ to reactivate the committee to investigate, build case and file charges against those engaged in illegal mining,” Jasareno said.

Jasareno defines illegal mining as mining operation without necessary government permits, which

he said. The Racal Group of Cos. is credited with the local manufacture of most of the e-trikes seen in the city of Davao.

Pollution

IT was something in the air that brought the government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to plan on bringing e-vehicles to the country’s mass-transportation system. The metals in the air, caused by pollution, has been touted as one cause of climate change.

The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to the ill effects of climate change.

As far back as 2012, the ADB said 13.6 million Filipinos are bound to be displaced due to rising sea levels by 2050.

One of the main reasons for rising sea levels is air pollution.

The ADB has said in the Philippines, the carbon-dioxide emissions level could quadruple in the year 2050.

While this is due to various factors, the ADB said more than twothirds of all air pollution in the country is due to the transport sector.

To prevent this from happening, the previous administration start with exploration. Among those to be scrutinized are exploration activities, extraction, hauling or transport and export of mineral ores.

“Illegal mining is mining without a mining permit from the government,” he said.

Jasareno said transport or export of mineral ores without permit is illegal and warrants the filing of a case for violation of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Jasareno added that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is stepping up the campaign against illegal-mining activities, particularly in the small-scale mining sector, which, he said, is equally liable for causing environmental

decided to help build a national evehicle industry.

The effort began with an ADBsponsored project to support the establishment of an e-vehicle parts industry, battery-supply chain and charging stations, including five off-grid solar-charging stations.

Among the e-vehicles, the government and the ADB chose to begin with the building of e-trikes.

At the time the project started, there were 3.5 million gas-fuelled motorcycles and tricycles operating in the Philippines. They serve as short-distance taxis, with the average tricycle driver earning less than $10 a day.

The ADB extended a loan of $300 million to replace 100,000 gasoline-burning tricycles in the Philippines with clean, energy efficient e-trikes.

Pioneering

multilateral lenders, like the ADB and the World Bank.

According to its web site, a total of $3.5 billion (over 60 percent of CTF funding) “is approved and under implementation and expecting $32 billion in co­f inancing.”

The ADB said the Philippine government is providing $99 million in counterpart funding for the e-trike project. The project will run for five years, with an estimated completion date of December 2017.

The project pushed through despite opposition from civil-society groups. The NGO Forum on ADB, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Freedom from Debt Coalition, among others, urged the Trust Fund Committee of the Washingtonbased CTF to reject the granting of the financing for the e-trike project.

The groups opposed to the project cited that e-trikes are “not needed” in the streets and that the design of these units are flawed. These groups urged the use of the CTF funds for more innovative programs.

BEING the first sustainable transport project in the Philippines, the project also received a $100-million-worth loan and $5-million grant from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

The $5.6-billion CTF is a funding window of the Climate Investment Fund, which is managed by

Bidding

destruction and pollution.

Lopez has already ordered a moratorium on the approval of new mining projects and the conduct of a mining audit, but was criticized for leaving out sma l l-sca le mining. An environmental advocate, Lopez had vowed to stop all mining operations, including large-scale metallic and nonmetallic mines, including quarry and small-scale mining that cause environmental destruction and people in mining communities to suffer.

The DOJ, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and DENR created the fact-finding committee in November 2012 upon the instruction of former President

Benigno S. Aquino III. However, the committee became “inactive” after the campaign against illegal magnetite sand in the Ilocos region and Cagayan Valley region.

The committee is composed of officials, lawyers, investigators and prosecutors from the three departments and concerned agencies and offices under their respective jurisdiction.

The committee investigates, collects evidence, builds cases and files appropriate charges against those involved or responsible for illegal-mining operations, including incidents of violence against, or killing of those charged with enforcing and implementing the government’s campaign against,

DUE to a failure in the first bidding for the e-vehicless, the e-trike project was only awarded in 2015 to a Japanese firm, Bemac Electric

Transportation Philippines Inc. The firm is a domestic subsidiary of Uzushio Electric Co., a company that’s considered a pioneer in the Japanese electric-vehicle industry.

Bemac Sales, Marketing and Dealer Development Division Vice President Yvonne Palomar-Castro told the BusinessMirror the Department of Energy (DOE) required the company to complete 1,200 units by the first week of September and the remaining 1,800 units by the end of 2016.

As of press time, Palomar-Castro said around 300 electric tricycles are in the assembly line and another 400 are being built. She remains confident Bemac is on track to deliver the 3,000 units.

Each unit costs around P360,000 and has a five-year warranty worth around P170,000.

Part of the cost is the importation of the three key elements of e-vehicles: the motor, controller and the lithium-ion battery specified by the ADB. With the successful bidding and the ADB support, the e-trike project appeared to be a walk in the park.

However, things were not as hunkydory for the players as the e-trike project was implemented. such illicit activities.

Meanwhile, Jasareno said the MGB is now eyeing the establishment of four additional Minahang Bayans within the year.

“We are looking at four new Minahang Bayan. We would soon be submitting our recommendation to the DENR secretary for consideration,” Jasareno said.

Small-scale mining activities outside declared Minahang Bayans are illegal under Executive Order 79. There are only five declared Minahang Bayans, where small-scale miners can operate legally under the policy and existing small-scale mining law.

L a rge - sc a le m i n i ng f i r ms, under the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, had earlier complained that the new DENR chief focuses more on large-scale mining and seemingly neglected the existence of illegal small-scale mining operations that are causing the environment and people more harm.

Last year former Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje issued Department Administrative Order 2015-3 revising the implementing rules and regulation of the People’s Small Scale Mining Act of 1991, to improve regulation of small-scale mining, which includes selling their gold to the BSP. The revised guideline for smallscale mining limits activities to extraction of minerals, mainly gold, within a declared Minahang Bayan and centralizes processing in a minerals processing zone within a Minahang Bayan.

This way, the government will be able to monitor gold production by small-scale miners better.

Officials of the DENR and MGB suspect small-scale miners are selling their gold produce to the black market to avoid paying taxes to the government that resulted in the steep drop in the annual BSP gold purchases since 2011.

Small-scale mining contributes around 70 percent of the country’s total gold output before the noticeable drop in BSP gold purchases. In 2010 the country’s total gold output reached 40,847 kilograms. This dropped to only 18,423 kg in 2014, with only 633 kg coming from small-scale mining, or 3.43 percent.

With the new guidelines on small-scale mining, the DENR hopes that small-scale miners will start selling to the BSP again.

The BSP purchases gold from small-scale miners in accordance with the small-scale mining law and from other sources. The BSP only has five existing buying stations in Quezon City, Baguio City, Davao City, Zamboanga City and Naga City.

BMReports BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, July 18, 2016 A3

Angara bills to correct outdated, inequitable tax system

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

emedial legislations indexing and lowering personal income-tax rates, among others, topped the list of tax-reform bills filed by Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara for consideration by the new Congress set to convene regular sessions next week.

Apart from Senate Bill (SB) 129 (Indexation of Personal Income Tax) and SB 130 (Lowering Personal Income Tax), Angara also proposed the enactment of a Family Tax Relief Act under SB 131 and a Taxpayer Assistance Service (SB 132), which are expected to be referred for committee hearings prior to plenary deliberations and approval shortly after the 17th Congress opens for business on July 25.

In pushing for indexation of the 19-year-old income-tax rates, the senator seeks to amend Section 24 of the National Internal Revenue Act, citing the Constitutional mandate that “the rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable.”

Angara said the Constitution provides that “Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation,” where the tax rates must be based on the person’s ability to pay.

“Unfor tunately, indiv idua l

income-tax rates and brackets in the country have remained unchanged since 1997, even when the consumer price index has more than doubled, while inflation rate has steadily risen,” the senator said, pointing out that both factors have substantially decreased the purchasing power of ordinary Filipinos.

He noted t hat, g iven t he “outdated and inequitable tax system,” middle income earners are now listed at the top of the tax

bracket, paying the same tax rates as the billionaires in the country.

“This phenomenon is called ‘bracket creep’ where taxpayers, who are not considered high-earning, are already pushed into high brackets,” Angara said.

He warned that this bracket creep would likely lead to a fiscal drag, where people will not have any purchasing power left to contribute to the economy due to excessive taxation.

First we gave you the Harvard Business Review Monday Morning Then came the Turning Points Philippine Edition On August 2, you will start receiving every Tuesday our latest collaboration with The New York Times‌

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Vietnam detains dozens in Hanoi protest vs China

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ozens of Vietnamese who gathered for an anti-China protest in central Hanoi were taken away by authorities on Sunday, as they tried to rally support for an international tribunal’s ruling rejecting Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. About two dozen people were bused away from around the landmark Hoan Kiem Lake in the capital even before they began their protest. There was heavy police presence around the lake with cars briefly banned from around it.

The rally was organized by No-U group in Hanoi, which opposes China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. It came after The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration last week issued the ruling in a case initiated by the Philippines, which, together with Vietnam, is one of the claimants in the disputed waters.

Vietnam’s Communist authorities have clamped down on such protests before, fearing they could stir dissent.

China rejected the tribunal’s ruling and refused to take part in the arbitration.

The UN tribunal ruled that China violated international maritime law, specifically the Philippines’s maritime rights, by building up artificial islands that destroyed coral reefs and by disrupting fishing and oil exploration. AP

AseanMonday BusinessMirror

Monday, July 18, 2016 A5

Thailand to focus on Myanmar tourists

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he Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) sees the potential to promote Thailand as a medical-tourism hub and family destination for Myanmar tourists.

The agency plans to appoint marketing representatives in the neighboring country in September to promote these segments.

Walailak Noypayak, the TAT executive director for Asean, South Asia and South Pacific, said that, while Myanmar’s economic growth has strengthened the purchasing

345,000 The number of Myanmar tourists expected to visit Thailand this year

New Zealand to hike trade with Indonesia

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ew Zealand Prime Minister John Key will be joined by Trade Minister Todd McClay in Indonesia this week, as he seeks to boost trade between the two countries.

McClay said he is traveling to Indonesia on Sunday to join Key and a high-level business delegation for a two-day visit to New Zealand’s 11thlargest export market.

“Our two-way trade currently sits at NZ$1.6 billion [$1.14 billion], and we’re keen to explore ways to meet the target set by the two countries last year to boost trade to NZ$4 billion by 2024,” McClay said in a statement.

Key will meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and McClay will hold talks with Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Lembong, McClay said. Bloomberg News

power of its citizens, just 1.15 million of its 54 million citizens have traveled abroad.

“Myanmar people are wel l aware of the positive image of Thai tourism regarding its modernity, luxury products and perfect shopping places,” Walailak said at a seminar, titled “AEC Focus: Myanmar 360 Degrees.”

“Thailand is the second-most important destination for Myanmar tourists after China,” she said.

In the first four months of this year, tourist arrivals from Myanmar to Thailand rose by 39 percent to 142,331. The TAT expects 345,000 Myanmar visitors this year, up 26 percent from last

year. Each is estimated to spend 43,000 baht per trip, up 5.7 percent—the highest increase among Asean travelers.

In 2017 the TAT projects Thailand will welcome 370,000 Myanmar visitors, up 7.3 percent from this year, and generate tourism income of 17 billion baht, up 13 percent. Spending per trip for Myanmar tourists is expected to grow 6.5 percent to 45,946 baht next year.

Potential tourists are families and those who are health conscious, along with those seeking medical treatment, Walailak said.

The TAT hopes to woo Myanmar people want to buy famous

Thai and foreign products at shopping malls. For Myanmar tourists, shopping expenses showed the highest proportion of their total spending, or 35 percent, while 33 percent goes for accommodation.

About 55.6 percent of Myanmar travelers surveyed said they liked T hailand ’s beaches and diving opportunities. Although Myanmar itself has beautiful beaches, it is lacking in facilities and luxury hotels.

Private hospitals in Thailand also have growth potential, as there are already hospital representatives in Myanmar who help people come to Thailand to receive treatment, according to the TAT. MCT

PHL, Vietnam vow to strengthen ties V ietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Truong Trieu Duong said the Philippines and Vietnam have lined up initiatives that will ensure healthy relations between the two countries, something they have enjoyed for four decades.

“In the future, it will be more consolidated and there are still rooms for us to develop, to improve. I will try my best to help consolidate wonderful relations, as well as a very, very promising cooperation between our two countries,” he added.

So far, there are nearly 30 bilateral agreements signed since the establishment of relations on July 12, 1976, he noted.

Duong detailed that the two countries committed to increasing the frequency and diversifying the modes of bilateral exchanges at all

levels, including political parties, heads of state, government, departments/ministries and other national agencies.

Meanwhile, in the field of defense and security, he stressed that capacity-building activities should be conducted, saying that “there should be more military exercises that the two countries can do together.” For economic cooperation, the Vietnamese envoy expects to increase trade volume by more than $6 billion by 2021 from $3 billion last year.

The two countries will also convene the Vietnam-Philippines Joint Commission on Trade and reactivate Vietnam-Philippines Business Council to explore ways in enhancing economic cooperation by creating mutually favorable conditions in trade of agricultural and nonagricultural products.

In sociocultural and other cooperation, two

sides will work toward the conclusion of an agreement to open up programs for exchanges of students, researchers, trainers, faculties and other experts in technical and vocational education.

Both sides will also allow the pursuit of accreditation and mutual recognition of education and academic qualifications.

“In the field of education, the Philippines can become a very, very favorable country for Vietnam, especially for students to come and study in the Philippines,” said Duong, highlighting that the Philippines has a good educational system, especially in English training.

“Bilaterally, we enjoy a healthy relationship based on mutual trust and respect. Multilaterally, we share common interests in maintaining and consolidating peace, security, stability and development in the region,” he concluded. PNA

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The World

Monday, July 18, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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Trump presents running mate Mike Pence, but no doubt who is the star

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EW YORK—Donald Trump presented running mate Mike Pence to the nation on Saturday, hailing the Indiana governor as his “first choice” and “my partner in the campaign.” But he left no doubt in a sometimes awkward event that Pence’s role will surely be as sidekick to the businessmanturned-reality-star-turnedpolitician at the top of the ticket.

Glancing at notes, Trump lauded Pence’s personal character and conservative credentials. Then he moved on to draw sharp contrasts between the newly formed Republican team and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Yet, the announcement lacked much of the stagecraft typically associated with the public unveiling of a running mate, one of the most significant moments under a presidential campaign’s control.

The only sign onstage in the Manhattan hotel ballroom bore only Trump’s name. The two men appeared together just briefly. And Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, spoke for nearly 30 minutes before calling Pence to the stage.

His far-ranging remarks devoted more time to recapping his primary victories—and he even found time to tout his new hotel in Washington, D.C.—than introducing the relatively unknown Pence to America’s voters.

“All right, back to Mike Pence,” Trump said at one point after a long tangent talking about the Republican Party’s efforts to overturn rules that limit church leaders’ political involvement.

The event—the culmination of a vice presidential rollout that featured mixed signals, secondguessing and a 24-hour delay—was intended to assert that Trump and Pence would stand up to America’s enemies, while being “the law-andorder candidates” at home.

“What a difference between

crooked Hillary Clinton and Mike Pence,” Trump said. He added: “He’s a solid, solid person.”

Pence, standing alone in front of ten American flags, hewed closely to the populist themes that Trump has voiced on the campaign trail, describing himself as “really just a small-town boy.” He praised Trump effusively as “a good man,” a fighter, a legendary businessman and a patriotic American.

“The American people are tired,” Pence said in remarks that included many of the same talking points that until recently he was using in his bid for reelection. “We’re tired of being told that this is as good as it gets. We’re tired of having politicians in both parties in Washington, D.C., telling us we’ll get to those problems tomorrow.”

The joint appearance was meant to catapult the party toward a successful and unified Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Cleveland on Monday.

Trump conceded that one of the reasons he’d selected Pence was to promote unity within the Republican Party, left deeply fractured by Trump’s ascent.

“One of the reasons is party unity, I have to be honest,” he said.

There was little hoopla—and no questions, though Trump on Thursday had billed the event as a news conference. In contrast, four years ago, Mitt Romney introduced running mate Paul Ryan on the deck of a Navy battleship, the USS Wisconsin, off the shore of swing state Virginia.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (left) introduces Gov. Mike Pence, Republican-Indiana, during a campaign event to announce Pence his the vice-presidential running mate on Saturday in New York. AP/Evan Vucci

One of the reasons is party unity, I have to be honest.”–Trump With cheering flag-waving crowds and a soaring patriotic soundtrack, the pair faced the nation for the first time, flanked by a massive red white and blue banner displaying their new campaign logo.

There were no newly printed banners or logos at the hotel ballroom event, which was set in a state that Trump has little chance of winning in November. The two men, instead of presenting an image of an emboldened, unified front, barely spent any time on stage together, as Trump quickly exited after greeting Pence with a perfunctory handshake and arm pat. He did return for a brief photo-op at the end.

The underwhelming rollout continued when Pence got back to Indiana, where a few hundred people greeted him at a suburban Indianapolis airport hangar bereft

of any “Trump-Pence” signs or other obvious trappings of a presidential campaign. He spoke for only a few minutes, telling the crowd that he and his family were headed home for “pizza night.”

And that was exactly what Pence’s fans at home in Indiana expected.

“Even though the Trump rallies are big productions...for Mike Pence, this is his style: a little more understated, a little more traditional, a little more what you’d expect from a conservative,” said Dana Carroll of suburban Indianapolis.

The lead-up to the low-key Saturday was anything but smooth.

On Thursday Trump had convened a midnight campaign conference call about his pick, even after he’d had Pence fly to New York to accept his offer.

He then announced the choice

on Twitter, though the presentation event was postponed a day after the terror attack in Nice. Through no fault of the campaign, the show ended up on a Saturday morning, competing on TV with two international crises: the aftermath of the France attack and news about an attempted military coup in Turkey.

Brandishing his running mate’s job-creating credentials, Trump— who pushed back against reports of indecision by deeming the governor “my first choice”—ticked through a list of statistics he said showed how Pence had pulled Indiana out of economic recession: an unemployment rate that fell to less than 5 percent on his watch, an uptick in the labor force and a decrease in Indiana residents on unemployment insurance.

“This is the primary reason I wanted Mike—other than that he looks very good, other than he’s got an incredible family and incredible wife,” Trump said.

Just as Trump was settling on

Pence, Republicans gathering in Cleveland essentially quelled the effort to stop him at the convention, all but assuring he’ll be the GOP nominee.

“They got crushed,” Trump said moments after praising party unity.

“And they got crushed immediately, because people want what we’re saying to happen.”

The Indiana governor is wellregarded by evangelical Christians, particularly after signing a law that critics said would allow businesses to deny service to gay people for religious reasons. But his hard line ideology is sometimes at odds with Trump. The two have had differing views on issues including abortion and trade.

Clinton’s team was already painting Pence’s conservative social viewpoints as out of step with the mainstream. Her campaign also seized on Trump’s chaotic process for selecting and announcing his pick, painting him in a web video as “Always divisive. Not so decisive.” AP

US-Turkish tensions rise after failed coup attempt L

UXEMBOURG—US-Turkish tensions escalated on Saturday after a quashed coup in Turkey, as the country’s leader bluntly demanded the extradition of a US-based cleric he accused of orchestrating the violence. Another senior official directly blamed the United States.

After strongly supporting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when it seemed his government might topple and then opening the door to sending home the cleric, a stung Obama administration fired back at its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) ally.

“Public insinuations or claims about any role by the US in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations,” US Secretary of State John F. Kerry told his Turkish counterpart, according to the State Department’s readout of their telephone call.

The back-and-forth occurred against the backdrop of Turkey closing its airspace, effectively grounding US warplanes that had been targeting Islamic State forces in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

At the center of the controversy stood Fethullah Gulen, who lives in

exile in Pennsylvania and promotes a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.

Gulen quickly condemned Friday night’s coup attempt by military officers that resulted in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens dead. Erdogan’s government said Gulen directed the coup all the same.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Erdogan said Turkey had never rejected a US extradition request for “terrorists.”

Addressing Washington, he requested the handover of Gulen and said, “If we are strategic partners, then you should bring about our request.”

Although he didn’t outline any threat, Erdogan’s emphasis on USTurkish counterterrorism cooperation raised the prospect of a prolonged closure of the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey if he didn’t get his way. The Pentagon said it was trying to get permission to resume air operations from the base, while adjusting mission operations in the meantime.

Suleyman Soylu, Turkey’s labor minister, went further than Erdogan, suggesting the US was behind the coup.

In their second call in as many days,

Smoke billows from the direction of the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, on Saturday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking on national television from Istanbul, told the nation on Saturday that his government was working to crush a coup attempt after a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire across the capital that left dozens dead and scores wounded. AP/Burhan Ozbilici

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavosoglu told Kerry the government was in control of state institutions.

Kerry reiterated US support for Turkey’s democratically elected government, according to the State Department readout, and urged authorities to respect the rule of law and safeguard civilian life as they respond to the coup attempt. Kerry also said Turkey needed to respect due process as it investigates those it believes were

involved in the plot.

Earlier, on a visit to Luxembourg, Kerry told reporters the US would entertain an extradition request for Gulen if the Turks provided evidence of wrongdoing. Erdogan has long accused Gulen, a former ally, of trying to overthrow the government, but Washington has never found the claims compelling.

“We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr. Gulen,”

Kerry told reporters. “And, obviously, we would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny. And the US will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it appropriately.”

Gulen is understood to maintain significant support among some members of the military and mid-level bureaucrats. His movement called Hizmet includes think tanks, schools and various media enterprises. Gulen and Erdogan only became estranged in recent years.

A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Turkey was preparing a formal extradition request with detailed information about Gulen’s involvement in illegal activities. He said the coup attempt was seen as “one more thing to add to an already extensive list.”

In a statement, Gulen said he condemned, “in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey” and sharply rejected any responsibility or knowledge of who might be involved.

At a news briefing on Saturday in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, the cleric

noted that he has been away from Turkey for more than 15 years and would not have returned if the coup had succeeded. He cited greater freedoms in the US as a reason.

“In brief, I don’t even know who my followers are,” the frail-looking cleric said through an interpreter. “You can think about many motivations of people who staged this coup.”

The coup failed after appearing not to have been backed by the most senior ranks of the military. Turkey’s main opposition parties, too, condemned the attempted overthrow of the government. Prime Minister Benali Yildirim said 161 people were killed and 1,440 wounded in the overnight violence. He said 2,839 plotters were detained.

Kerry said the US had no indication beforehand of the coup attempt, which began as he and Russia’s foreign minister were in a Russian government villa in Moscow, locked in negotiations over Syria.

“If you’re planning a coup, you don’t exactly advertise to your partners in Nato,” Kerry said. “So it surprised everyone. It does not appear to be a very brilliantly planned or executed event.” AP

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Monday, July 18, 2016 t A7

UK’s May keen on Australian trade after Brexit

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he United Kingdom and Australia are eager to negotiate a free-trade agreement as soon as possible, the two nations’ newly appointed premiers said following a telephone conversation on Saturday.

In this Wednesday July 13 file photo, new British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to the media outside her official residence,10 Downing Street in London. May wanted Britain to stay in the European Union, but the government she unveiled on Thursday leaves little doubt that she intends to take it out. AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth

UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who took office 19 days after her country voted to leave the European Union (EU), and her Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull said they will meet at the Group of 20 summit planned for Hangzhou, China, in September. May, noting that Britain still remained an EU member and was legally prevented from signing trade deals, underlined that she is very keen to to complete an agreement.

“I have been very clear that this government will make a success of our exit from the European Union,” May said in an emailed statement. “One of the ways we will do this is by embracing the opportunities to strike free-trade deals with our partners across the globe.”

After its decision to leave the EU, which negotiates trade agreements on behalf of its members, the UK is being forced to adjust its trading patterns to take account of a new reality in which full access to its biggest market will no longer be a given. Leading eurosceptic and the new Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox will be “taking this forward in the weeks and months ahead,” May told Turnbull.

While Britons have chosen to exit the EU, the process can formally start only once the UK government triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and will take two years to be completed. At the G-20 summit in November 2015, Australia and the EU agreed to open negotiations on a trade deal next year. Bloomberg News

Oil flows through Turkey energy corridor unhindered as coup ends

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il is flowing unhindered through Turkey’s pipelines and waterways, one of the world’s largest energy-trading corridors, after a coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed.

The Turkish straits are open to shipping traffic, an official at the Istanbul-based shipping center said by phone on Saturday. Crude-oil shipments from Azerbaijan and Iraq into Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan are operating normally, a port agent said as BP Plc., operator of the BakuTifilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, confirmed the oil flow was uninterrupted.

“Our facilities in Turkey are open and operating normally,” BP Spokesman David Nicholas said in an e-mail in response to questions. “There are no disruptions to the flow of oil through the BTC pipeline.” At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Turkey is a vital conduit of crude transport from Russia and Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea. Millions of barrels of oil travel through the nation’s waterways and pipelines each day. The country is also on the fringe of broader conflict in the Middle East, with Syria bordering Turkey’s southeastern edge.

Oil futures rose as much as 1.9 percent on Friday after the coup began.

“Any uncertainty in that region almost invariably results in an increase in oil prices, particularly given the interaction between what goes on in Turkey with Syria,” Craig Pirrong, director of the Global Energy Management Institute at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business, said on Friday in a phone interview. Analysts will be looking for whether there’s a “spillover to the major oil producers,” he said.

Oil gains Crude-oil futures rose above $46 a barrel in after-

market trading in New York following the unrest, extending gains from a force majeure declared by Exxon Mobil Corp. on crude shipments from Nigeria.

David Goldwyn, a former State Department special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs in the Obama administration, said it’s too early to assess the impact on energy transportation from the unrest in Turkey.

The coup attempt was foiled after hours of clashes that saw tanks blockading roads, soldiers fighting police and warplanes bombing the parliament in Ankara. Senior generals were among more than 2,800 military personnel arrested during raids on Saturday, after clashes that left almost 200 dead, including several dozen coup participants.

Choke point The Turkish Straits, including the Bosporus and Dardanelles, are one of the world’s major choke points for seaborne crude transit, with about 2.9 million barrels of oil a day passing through in 2013, the latest year of data available from the US Energy Information Administration.

Turkey is home to pipelines that transport crude and condensate from nations, including Iraq and Azerbaijan, to Ceyhan, on the Mediterranean in southern Turkey. BP’s Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline exported 67 million barrels of crude, or about 740,000 a day, from the port in the first quarter, according to the British company.

At least 10 crude tankers were signaling Turkish ports at the time of the attempted coup, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They included six Suezmax and two Aframax ships bound for Ceyhan and two Aframax ships destined for the Turkish Straits. AP

European leaders condemn Turkey coup, call for restraint

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uropean leaders condemned the army faction that attempted to overthrow Turkey’s elected government. But they also had a message for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: don’t over-react.

Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy representative, on Saturday called for “restraint and responsibility” from Turkish police and security forces as she condemned the coup. “We underline the need for a swift return to Turkey’s constitutional order, with its checks and balances and stress

the importance for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms to prevail,” she added.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault coupled denunciation of the attempt with the hope that “Turkish democracy emerges reinforced from this ordeal and that fundamental liberties are respected.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country “stands at the side of all those in Turkey who defend democracy and the rule of law,” including Erdogan’s opponents. Bloomberg News

NextEra’s $2.6-billion Hawaii proposal in doubt as regulator opposes deal H awaiian regulators rejected NextEra Energy Inc.’s $2.63-billion bid to purchase Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., dealing a possibly fatal blow to the deal that had faced opposition from the governor.

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission voted 2-0 against the proposed transaction, saying it failed to show that it was in the public’s interest, according to a statement late Friday. The regulatory panel raised concerns about the benefits to ratepayers, the loss of local control of the utility and the companies’ commitments to deploying rooftop solar systems.

NextEra, the largest windand solar-generation owner in North America, and Hawaiian Electric, which serves 95 percent of the state’s population, said in a joint statement they were reviewing the ruling.

“This highlights the risk associated with getting state approvals for utility mergers and acquisitions,” said Paul Patterson, a utility analyst for Glenrock Associates Llc. “I don’t think NextEra is going to have much appetite for coming back for more in this case.”

The decision may allow

Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra to concentrate on its pursuit of Oncor Electric Delivery Co. NextEra is said to have submitted a bid to buy the Texas utility company, according to people familiar with the talks.

Deal skepticism

Analysts had been skeptical about the takeover gaining state approval given Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, had questioned NextEra’s commitment to Hawaii’s goal of reaching 100-percent renewable power by 2045. On June 29 Ige appointed Thomas Gorak as commissioner, whom analysts said could be more critical of the deal than an outgoing regulator.

Gorak abstained from signing the order.

The state’s Division of Consumer Advocacy, an arm of Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, welcomed the decision while cautioning that it’s still assessing the impact.

“We’re not assuming that this proceeding is over yet,” Consumer Advocate Jeff Ono said in a statement, citing the comments by NextEra and Hawaiian Electric that they were

still digesting the ruling. “We are reviewing the order to determine if any clarification to the order may be necessary.”

Environmental and rooftop-solar groups had opposed the merger, citing concerns about NextEra’s support of home-solar installations and saying the company had pushed back against the systems in its home state of Florida.

Rooftop solar

“Instead of envisioning a 21st-century grid that enables customer options, like rooftop solar, NextEra wanted to double down on its ‘build more, pay more’ monopoly business,” Hajime Alabanza, executive assistant with Hawaii Solar Energy Association, said in a statement. “The commission understood this isn’t the right direction for Hawaii’s customers.”

The ruling comes amid a flurry of utility mergers and acquisitions as customers using more energy-efficient appliances and resources, such as rooftop solar-flatten electricity demand.

There were more than $52 billion worth of utility deals pending or completed across the US last year, the most

since 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Missed deadline

NextEra and Hawaiian Electric said on June 4 neither company had terminated their tie-up, after Hawaii regulators missed a merger agreement deadline for deciding whether to approve the transaction.

When the deal was announced in December 2014, NextEra Chairman and CEO James Robo said Hawaiian Electric could be a testing ground for a transition from fossil fuels to power generated from the sun and wind.

NextEra had promised $60 million in customer savings and pledged support for Hawaii’s 100-percent renewable-energy target. The company said its takeover of Hawaiian Electric had the backing of more than 100 Hawaii-based groups, including chambers of commerce, labor unions and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Hawaiian regulators left the door open for NextEra or other suitors of Hawaiian Electric, saying on Friday it would consider future takeovers if they met certain key elements.

Bloomberg View

The W

Business

A8 Monday, July 18, 2016 • news@businessmirror.com.ph

Paradise lost: Attack dims sunny Nice’s sparkle

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ICE, France—An eerie feeling hung over Nice’s blood-stained Promenade des Anglais as shops and restaurants opened for business on Saturday, with small vigils and flowers peppering the walkway outside.

A jewel in the French Riviera, Nice’s sunny Mediterranean shoreline, artistic heritage and ubiquitous open-air terraces attract some 4 million tourists a year.

And it was precisely this international culture that was hit on Thursday’s Bastille Day in a bloody truck rampage killing at least 84 people that threatened to dim the ancient city’s sparkle.

“The economy on the Cote d’Azur is going to suffer, and we’re just at the beginning of the season,” said Chechen nightclub bouncer Roustam Khaitaev, whose daughter Sabrina was among those injured in the attack. “There’ll be no one else for the rest of the season. Bars, restaurants, they’ll all suffer. I’m grieving, even if my daughter survived.”

Restaurants were largely empty as the sun set, yet, on the promenade a few yards (meters) away, thousands of local residents and tourists enjoying the evening air painted a seemingly familiar picture.

But many had come to pay tribute to those who died.

Tourists and locals walked solemnly among the roses, candles, teddy bears and notes of grief and sympathy that had been placed where the dead lay less than 48 hours earlier—their blood still visible on the pavement.

The solemn silence was briefly punctured when a pair of plainclothes police officers tried to drive through the crowd, prompting angry shouts of “shame.” The officers backed away after a brief standoff.

Most of those interviewed by The Associated Press said they felt it was right to reopen the promenade so soon after the attack.

“I think it’s important for people to be able to reflect on what happened by seeing this,” said MarieFrançoise Hulia, who lives in Nice.

“It’s important not to have a memorial hidden away in some corner of the town.”

Carlo Marnini said he had driven

People pay tribute to the victims at the site of a deadly truck attack on the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France, on Saturday. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says the truck driver who killed 84 people when he careened into a crowd at a fireworks show was “radicalized very quickly.” AP/Francois Mori

all the way from Milan, Italy, to pay his respects to a city he has vacationed in for many years.

“People need to see with their own eyes what terrorists are doing,” he said, adding that people should return to the streets quickly after

the attack. “The world mustn’t stop,” he said. “Terrorism mustn’t win.”

Nice—with its 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) of shoreline—has been synonymous with tourism since the late 18th century, when it became a fashionable destination for

upper-class English holidaymakers who initially sojourned there in winter.

This particular heritage is remembered—and, perhaps, now infamous—in the name of the city’s most famous spot, the Promenade

des Anglais—French for “Walkway of the English.”

In recent decades, Russians, Americans, Italians and Germans have joined the English in flocking to this southern city, many consciously seeking respite from the glitterati of neighboring Cannes and the royal glare of Monaco.

But the myth of Nice has been constructed over millennia— touched not only by sun and celebrity but by divinity and art. It’s never until now, lost its magical vibe.

The Ancient Greeks of Marseille settled here in 350 B.C. and in celebration of appropriating such a beautiful site, called it Nikaia, from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

Over two thousand years later, some of the 20th century’s greatest artists, such as Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse, came here for inspiration, enamored with its clear light and Mediterranean sea vistas, and immortalized in museums that house France’s largest art collections outside Paris.

Mickael Davila, who had traveled from the French capital to Nice for a posh wedding, left the Bastille Day fireworks two minutes before the truck hit on Thursday night and described the normally bustling Promenade on Saturday as a “ghost town.”

“Tourists won’t come back here in the future. The paradise of Nice is gone now,” he said.

Others hoped the city would survive the tragedy. At the Queenie Bar, a DJ played Freddie Mercury’s classic “The Show Must Go On.” AP

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World

sMirror

Monday, July 18, 2016 A9

Pakistani social-media star baloch killed by brother after scandal

SLAMABAD—Pakistani social-media celebity Qandeel Baloch, who recently stirred ontroversy by posting pictures of herself h a prominent Muslim cleric, was strand to death by her brother, the police said Saturday.

Her parents told the police one of her brothers strangled her to death as she pt in the family’s home in Multan, pospokesman Nabila Ghazanfar told The ociated Press.

Multan police chief Akram Azhar said the ice were searching for the brother, identid by the family as Waseem Azeem, who s a local cellular-phone shop.

“Apparently, the lady died of suffocan but final opinion on her death would possible only after report of chemical mination comes,” said Dr. Mushtaq med, who was among the team that nducted Baloch’s autopsy. “She might e been given some poisonous substance ore being strangled.”

Baloch, whose real name was Fauzia eem, shot to fame and notoriety with a es of social-media postings that would be me by Western standards but were deeply ndalous by conservative Pakistani societal ms. She cultivated an outrageous pubpersona, recently promising to perform a blic striptease if the Pakistani cricket team n a major tournament.

Baloch built up a large social-media fane, with 40,000 Twitter followers and more n 700,000 followers on her official Faceok page. Baloch danced in a racy (again by istani standards) video for a popular rap g that immediately went viral. In postings d public comments, she presented herself a symbol of female empowerment in a

SpaceX launching station docking port for Nasa

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APE CANAVERAL, Florida— SpaceX aims to launch another load of space-station supplies for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), including a critical docking port needed by new US crew capsules set to debut next year.

In this photo taken on June 28, Pakistani fashion model Qandeel Baloch speaks at a press conference in Lahore, Pakistan. Baloch, who recently stirred controversy by posting pictures of herself with a Muslim cleric on social media, was strangled to death by her brother, the police said on Saturday. AP/M. Jameel country where domestic violence is commonplace and hundreds of women are murdered by family members each year in so-called honor killings.

On Friday, the day she was killed, she posted a picture with the message, “No matter how many times, I will be pushed down under, but I’m a fighter, I will bounce back.”

On July 14 she posted the following: “As a women, we must stand up for ourselves... As a women, we must stand up for each other...

As a women, we must stand up for justice. I believe I am a modern-day feminist. I believe in equality. I need not to choose what type of women should be. I don’t think there is any need to label ourselves just for sake of society.

I am just a woman with free thoughts, free

mind-set and I LOVE THE WAY I AM. :)” Most recently, Baloch became embroiled in public scandal when she posted selfies with Mufti Adbul Qavi, a prominent cleric, in a Karachi hotel room during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. In one picture, she is wearing the cleric’s trademark fur-lined hat.

Qavi maintained that he only met with her to discuss the teachings of Islam. But the government suspended Qavi and removed him from the official moon-sighting committee that determines when Ramadan starts and ends in accordance with the Islamic lunar calendar.

In the wake of that scandal, Baloch said she had received death threats and asked for Interior Ministry protection. AP

The unmanned Falcon rocket is scheduled to lift off early on Monday.

Excellent weather is forecast for the 12:45 a.m. launch.

Aboard the rocket is a replica of the docking port destroyed in a SpaceX launch accident last summer. This is port No. 2. Nasa needs at least, one and preferably two, of these ports for crew capsules under development by both SpaceX and Boeing.

Americans have been stuck riding Russian rockets to the International Space Station since shuttles stopped flying five years ago this month. The SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules will ease this Russian dependency.

SpaceX, meanwhile, will try to land its leftover booster back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, just a couple miles from the Falcon launch pad. The California-based company wants to reuse its rockets to save time and money. It’s only landed a used

first-stage booster on land once, back in December. Three other boosters touched down vertically on an ocean platform, after delivering spacecraft to orbit.

SpaceX’s Vice President of Flight Reliability, Hans Koenigsmann said on Saturday the company tplans to launch its first recycled booster this fall.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship, meanwhile, holds about 5,000 pounds of food, science experiments and equipment. One-thousand pounds of that is the all-important docking port.

Just ahead of the Dragon, an unmanned Russian Progress spacecraft carrying more than 3 tons of food, fuel and other supplies for the space station crew launched early Sunday in Kazakhstan. The resupply ship is scheduled to dock with the station Monday night, according to Nasa.

For the first time ever, the Nasa press site at Kennedy Space Center

Hundreds of people pack the Canaveral national seashore’s Playalinda Beach, as a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying a US Navy communications satellite, lifts off from Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 24 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Craig Rubadoux/Florida Today via AP

will be evacuated for Monday’s launch attempt, as will the neighboring Vehicle Assembly Building and the rest of the former shuttle-launch complex. A risk evaluation by the Air Force shows that the Dragon capsule, full of toxic fuel, could parachute down into this targeted area in the event of a launch failure. The wind is expected to be blowing right in the press site’s direction, thus the evacuation order. AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, July 18, 2016

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Nasugbu has sustainable ecotourism,

successful livelihood projects

Marine protected areas cover the Hamilo coast

The seaside sanctuary known as the Philippine Riviera Hamilo coast, a premier seaside residential community in the works

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By Leony R. Garcia

have not visited Nasugbu, Batangas, for more than 20 years.

I have frequented it during my singlehood days as part of a churchplanting activity. Today the New Creation Christian Church (NCCF Calayo) along the coastal barangay of Calayo is now a landmark in the area.

I grabbed the opportunity to revisit Nasugbu, particularly barangays Looc and Calayo, upon the invitation of the SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI). To my pleasant surprise, going to Nasugbu is now a joyful ride. With the Ternate-Nasugbu Highway and Kaybiang Tunnel, traveling to Nasugbu is now only 90 minutes or an hour-and-a-half drive from Manila, compared to three to four hours through the old route through Tagaytay.

Further, to my amazement, the Philippine Riviera is safely tucked in Hamilo Coast, a sprawling seaside sanctuary within the municipality of

Nasugbu. Hamilo Coast, composed of 13 coves, is envisioned to become the country’s premier seaside residential community and a showcase for sustainable practices. Three coves at Hamilo Coast have been declared marine-protected areas, namely, Pico de Loro Cove, Santelmo Cove and Etayo Cove.

SM Land Inc. has developed Pico de Loro, the site resembles a parrot’s beak, thus the name, into a 13.4-hectare residential/leisure resort. The development includes residential buildings, the Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club, the Pico Sands Hotel and other facili-

ties, such as a man-made saltwater lagoon, all blending perfectly with the lush vegetation and the towering mountains surrounding it.

Since 2008, when Pico de Loro has become operational, the SM Group of Companies, through the SMFI, has been doing its share for sustainable ecotourism programs, such as coastal-resource management, renewable energy, solid-waste management and ridge-to-reef management. And these include installation of solar posts along selected points of the property, volunteers for bantay-dagat boatmen and strictly nonfishing activities in the protected coves, among others.

Moreover, the SMFI has included neighboring communities of Nasugbu. Aside from Looc and Calayo, SM has targeted Bulihan and Papaya, as well. The SMFI has been providing various training programs to enhance and develop the skills of the locals in the communities around it.

The Nasugbu Community Development Program is spearheaded

by Cristina Angeles, SMFI assistant vice president for livelihood and outreach program, and her team of five locals. Among the agricultural projects is animal-raising and dispersal of carabao, goat, native or organic chicken and hog. To date,

The Pico de Loro lobby welcomes guests with luxury and comfort

these programs have benefited more than 300 families in different four barangays of Nasugbu.

We also visited one of the beneficiaries of the SMFI’s Farmer’s Training program, dubbed Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan, which has been helping marginalized farmers become self-sufficient by equipping them with updated knowledge in doable agricultural technology all over the country since 2007.

The SMFI offers specialized skills training for courses such as hospitality (housekeeping, commercial cooking, and food and beverages), cosmetology, massage therapy and landscaping.

With project partners Taal Vista Hotel, Pico de Loro Beach &

Clark, Pampanga: An ideal home for foreigners

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oving to the Philippines from the United States can be disorienting. Life in the Pearl of the Orient is vastly different from life in the US. Aside from the local climate, safety, accessibility and the availability of a land for a long-term lease have to be considered when in search of a new home in a new country.

Located in the heart of Central Luzon, with no more than 90 minutes travel time from Metro Manila, Clark in Pampanga is one of the country’s fastest-developing free-port zones occupying over 33,000 hectares of prime land. Clark, a place that feels like home to most Americans, is poised to be the preferred destination for foreign investments and tourism, mainly because of its almost zero-percent crime rate. This is due to the continuous and existing cooperation of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and of the provincial and local government officials. The PNP Police Integrated Patrol System and Comparative Statistics became their basis of strategy in alleviating criminal rates. Clark offers a generally peaceful ambience, conducive to hospitality investment projects.

Offering more than just peace and quiet, Clark is home to one of the emerging international hubs in the Philippines— Clark International Airport (CIA)—making it a natural entry point to the Asia Pacific region with only three and half hours flying time from Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, South Korea

The breathtaking view in Clark, Pampanga.

There are several golf courses to choose from in Clark. and other key points in Asia.

With its highly improved road network and continuously increasing flights at CIA, Clark is setting out to become the hub for

business, aviation and tourism in the Philippines. Both foreign and local tourists can enjoy Clark’s numerous travel and leisure destinations surrounded by a breathtak-

ing view of the streams of Sacobia River.

Adventure-seekers can even sneak in some time to take on the adventurous trail at the extinct Mount Arayat volcano.

However, the lack of residential areas in Clark available on a long-term lease for foreigners remains a problem, especially for those looking for a house to own or a place for education and even retirement.

To address this, Donggwang Clark Corp.

(DCC) developed private residential villas within the Clark Sunvalley Resort—an integrated tourism resort estate providing a unique leisure experience in the Philippines.

Here, one can get the perfect balance of enjoying the calm and serene feel of nature, while taking advantage of an astounding array of offerings on education, culture, entertainment, leisure and accommodations.

Aside from its high-end, private residential villas, the resort features two stateof-the-art championship golf courses— the 18-hole Sun and Valley Course and the 18-hole Clark Course, all in full operation.

These masterpiece private golf courses are located at an altitude of 370 meters above sea level and lets golfers admire great views. The development also has a worldclass hotel through DCC’s partnership with Hilton Worldwide.

Soon to rise within the Clark Sunvalley Resorts and Country Club include an international school, indoor water park, world wide wellness spa, kids club and other sports facilities.

Country Club, Pico Sands Hotel, ALS, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Manila South Coast Development Corp. and Costa del Hamilo Inc., the training has benefited 26 participants.

The 50-day hands-on, technical training includes work ethics and an emphasis on character building in Housekeeping NCII, Food & Beverage NCII and Cookery NCII. It aims to tap, guide and educate local talents using the existing educational facility with a high percentage of program completion and outstanding placement rates.

Now gainfully employed at Pico Sands Hotel were locals Roberto Pahiren and Jen Macreen as room attendants; Abegail Belen as mas-

sage therapist; and Jhosua de la Cruz as landscape supervisor. More than the job they secured for themselves, all of them are thankful for the training, which brings out the best in them and boosted their selfesteem. In or outside Nasugbu, now the future looks brighter, they said.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Looc, Macario Papa, 55, who was employed at sewer in Manila during his younger days, is happily sharing his talent in the community. At the SMFI training center, he learned more, such as pattern-making and cutting. To this day he charges P250 to sew a school uniform. He said he earns a minimum of P500 per day, which goes up seasonally on schoolday opening and Christmas. He said his training with the SMFI also afforded him the skill and confidence to create gowns and dresses for his kababayan, which spells bigger income at his own space at home.

Merlita Tenorio, on the other hand, is able to up her income since her cosmetology training with the SMFI in 1993. On free time and after her duty as barangay health worker, Tenorio attends to beautifying clients with her mani-pedi, haircut, and care and makeup skills.

The Entrepreneurial Skills training of the foundation, in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, has benefited 106 participants. Under this program, the agency conducts the Community-driven Enterprise Development Strategy, a modular activity where local residents are guided how to choose, plan and begin a business.

It also teaches them simple accounting, values time management before lending them seed money through its Bottom-Up Budgeting Program.

With the success of the community project, the SMFI thought it would be wise for the community to start young. So for two years now, every summer, the foundation holds the SM Youth Camp at Bulihan Elementary School for some 80 kids, 14 to 21 years of age, aided by 20 volunteer teachers and church and youth leaders.

The three-day camp is similar to the Boy & Girl Scout gathering and is open to all out-of-school youth.

Activities are geared toward ground leveling, social preparations, values formation and capacity building.

At the end of the overnight camp, the SMFI and the youth, take assessment on how they can work together in choosing programs that will best suit their capabilities to the community.

Year-end profit leap biggest for PAL

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autious fine-tuning of strategic plans, prudent resource management and a fortuitous industry climate combined to produce Philippine Airlines’s (PAL) most impressive financial performance—a $134.42-million comprehensive income for 2015, which is a sixfold leap over the previous year and a fitting prelude to the flag carrier’s 75th year.

The 2015 income—a 560-percent jump over 2014’s $20.38-million comprehensive income—represents PAL’s second profitable year after recovering from a $229.71-million loss in 2013.

It marks the airline’s third dramatic turnaround in the last two decades—in fiscal years 2009-2010-2011 ($297.8-million loss reduced to $14.3-million loss, then to a $72.5-million net income) and in 2002-2003 (P1 billion loss to P372-million profit)—clear proof of PAL’s resilience to rebound from every major slump.

“Carefully calibrated route and fleet expansion programs were augmented by low fuel prices that enabled us to tap the industry’s growth momentum,” said PAL President and COO Jaime J. Bautista after the airline’s annual stockholders meeting at the Century Park Hotel on June 30.

To boost its financial condition and further enhance its operations, the flag carrier implemented innovative revenue enhancement programs, cash generation strategies and cost-control initiatives.

Five new Airbus A321s joined the fleet and five new international destinations (New York, Jinjiang, Cairns, Auckland, Port

Moresby) were added to the PAL network.

The addition of five new aircraft led to an increase in available seat kilometers to 41.44 billion (versus 34.78 billion in 2014), as well as in available ton kilometers to 5.80 billion (versus 4.90 billion).

The airline was able to expand its international network by entering into code-share agreements with WestJet, Turkish Airlines and China Airlines, thus, stretching PAL’s reach within Canada, Europe and China. PAL has eight other codeshare partners.

The domestic network also expanded with the revival of the Cebu hub, paving the way for more inter-island routes within the Visayas and Mindanao, while a new destination was opened—Tablas.

Despite an overcapacity and decline in the global cargo business, PAL maintained its local market leadership in terms of international cargo carriage. PAL carried more than 177,000 tons of freight in 2015. Cargo contributed 6.7 percent of total revenues earned. Operating expenses remained almost at previous levels ($2.221 billion to $2.237 billion). Despite an increase in number of flights, PAL’s fuel bill declined—from $874.45 million to $653.83 million—due to declining fuel prices. PAL’s jets consumed 7.8 million barrels of jet fuel in 2015. Fuel made up 29.2 percent of operating expenses, down from 39.4 percent in 2014.

PAL flew 11.93 million passengers (versus 9.64 million in 2014), while revenue passenger kilometers rose to 28.30 billion (versus 24.82 billion).

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Monday, July 18, 2016 A11

Malapatan: The cultural gem of Sarangani

By Bernard L Supetran | Photos by Jayson Deodor

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ig surprises come in small packages. This adage holds true in Malapatan, a small coastal town by the sleepy shores of Sarangani Bay. It is not the typical tourist destination that we know, but once you have seen it up close, its hidden wealth will be revealed.

Kulintangan entertains with exotic and ethnic sounds.

Handwoven inaul from Malapatan

The festival showcases the traditional Moro sailboat.

This seemingly obscure locality revealed the gem that it is when it celebrated the annual Pakaradyan Festival to mark its 47th founding day as a municipality. And when it throws a birthday party, you can only expect an explosion of colors and merry-making in a cultural showcase on land and in the sea called Pakaradyan Festival.

Coined from two ethnic Blaan words Malah and fatan, which meant place where pepper is abundant, Malapatan is believed to be a settlement where pepper was traded during the pre-Spanish era.

Its ancient inhabitants are the ancestors of the Blaan lumad tribe, where each village is ruled by the so-called Fulong wisemen.

Several of its barrios were carved out of Glan, one of the earliest townships of the Cotabato Empire Province, to constitute the newly formed municipality in 1959.

Literally meaning celebration, Pakaradyan is a cultural heritage preservation project, which aims to promote the town’s socioeconomic and cultural development, and advance Malapatan as a tourism and investment destination.

Now on its 11th edition, the centerpiece of the festivity is the Guinakit sa Sugoda, or the sea float parade, which relived the glory days of the colorful Moro sailboat, which was widely used by the Maguindanaon tribe in the olden days as a means of transportation in the coastal and riverine areas.

The gaily-designed guinakit highlights the travel of Moro chieftains and their entourage in well-adorned boats teeming with provisions, such

as food, musical instruments and royal paraphernalia.

Onboard this kind of boat, Sharif Kabunsuan and other Islamic missionaries forayed into southern Mindanao’s coastal and interior settlements and preached the Muslim faith.

Hence, the guinakit has become an inextricable part of Malapatan’s distinction as cradle of the Islamic way of life in Sarangani province.

The town is also noted for its vibrant weaving tradition of the inaul, the exquisite fabric of the Maguindanaon tribe. To preserve this native craft, the municipal government has organized women-weavers and put up a weaving center for the production of export-quality cloth, which can be made into contemporary-themed garments, handbags, shawls and scarves.

Composed of striking colors, the inaul has have been showcased in fashion shows around the world.

Pakaradyan also puts to the fore the contribution of the town’s tripeople, such as the Blaan indigenous peoples, Moro groups (Maguindanaons, Tausugs, etc.) and Luzon and the Visayan settlers (lumulupyo), who have shaped Malapatan through the decades.

An important event within the festival is the Bangsamoro Day, where the five pillars of the Islamic faith are discussed exhaustively, with special focus on the zakat as a source of fund in the socioeconomic development of Muslim communities. Zakat is the financial dole given

by Muslims to poor brothers after the observance of the prayer to help him meet his material needs.

Colorful Guinakit boat is main attraction of the sea float parade.

The Pakaradjan Festival is not complete without the Sagayan war dance.

MaguindanAoan royalty at Pakaradyan Festival street parade

Kanduli meal setup

Punctuating the event is the kulintangan, where brass percussion players show off their musical artistry, as dancers sway to the beat of the sagayan, a signature Muslim war dance performed by two warriors vying for the love of a princess.

Spicing up the fete is a land float parade depicting the local culture, with mostly miniature replicas of the guinakit, and a competition on the interpretation of tribal dances.

In addition, Moro cottages are set up with human tableaus depicting the vital scenes in a Moro genre.

Festivities conclude with a tradi-

Malong weaving in Malapatan by Cocoy Sexcion

tional pagana, or grand luncheon or dinner tendered by the hosts, in this case, the municipal mayor, to guests and participants.

It is interesting to note that Pakaradyan often falls within the Ramadan, Islam’s holiest period marked with a 40-day abstinence and reflection, hence, making the observance doubly important. The daily fasting is broken with the iftar, a meal shared by the Muslim faithful after the evening prayer.

With its blend of color and culture, Malapatan is, indeed, the cultural gem of Sarangani.

Miss Universe pageant to boost PHL tourism All About Swiss at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila

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resident Duterte has approved in principle Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo’s proposal to host the forthcoming Miss Universe pageant in Manila.

“The President agreed that sponsoring the event would be a tourism marketing coup with Philippines’s Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach at the helm,” Teo disclosed during a meeting with tourism leaders this week.

Teo said Wurtzbach is due to return to the country and call on Duterte, even as she assured that commercial sponsors have offered to put up part of the franchise money.

When asked about the next venue of Miss Universe, Wurtzbach was tight-lipped on giving details but insinuated a possible homecoming.

“I’m going to the Philippines very, very soon. But I’m still

waiting for the confirmation on when it’s gonna happen.

Right now, it’s in the works, but hopefully, fingers cross, it’s the one that I’ve been praying for, and I guess you know what it is. So, let’s just hope for the best,” the reigning Miss Universe was quoted as saying on a Facebook live session on Tuesday, New York time.

“Sponsoring Miss Universe is our focus right now, with the plan and sources of funding in tow. We are ready to seize the moment,” Teo said.

The official hatched the plan to host Miss Universe 2016 as soon as she took over the Department of Tourism (DOT) last week, saying it would definitely have a greater impact than any other event.

“Once Pia announces that Miss Universe is going to happen here, people abroad will start looking at the map and

see where the Philippines is.

And, we’re saying, we’d love to have you in the Philippines,” Teo added.

According to Teo, segments of the monthlong beauty pageant will be in various tourist sites in Palawan, Boracay and Cebu, which topped the World’s Best Islands 2016 awards by the Travel & Leisure magazine.

During the dialog with industry leaders, she tackled issues on tourism security, infrastructure, transportation and hotel accommodations.

The official assured, however, that other major tourism events, such as the Madrid Fusión Manila culinary event, will be up for review but will continue to enjoy DOT’s full support.

“Definitely, our food festivals should be well-promoted abroad,” Teo stressed.

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xperience a piece of Switzerland, as Marco Polo Ortigas Manila invites you to a weeklong celebration of Swiss chocolates, cheese and more at All About Swiss from August 19 to 28.

In line with the World Swiss Day, the hotel will celebrate its very own Swiss promotion, highlighting Swiss traditions from wine and cheese to pralines and watch-making. Launching this is the Swiss Army Band, beating drums to mark the start of the celebration on August 4 at the Grand Ballroom of the only sky hotel in Manila.

Discover the simplicity, but flavorful, Swiss favorites in a cooking class with a culinary expert, Executive Chef Rolf Jaeggi, who is flying from Marco Polo Hong Kong to grace the event. Bringing in his vast international experience, Chef Rolf specializes in Swiss cuisine with over 30 years of distinguished experience by royalties and heads of states from all over the world. He will be joining the hotel for this celebration, holding a cooking class, featuring traditional dishes, such as the tasty appetizer Beef Carpaccio with Beef Tartar,

Chef Rolf Jaeggi

Quail Egg, Mache Leaves and Lemon Pepper Marinade; the tender and filling main dish Veal Zurichoise with Roesti Potatoes; and the scrumptious dessert Plum Tart with Vanilla Snaps and Whipped Cream.

Have a fine dining experience with a wide selection of Swiss wines and cheeses for a wine and cheese buffet at the all-day dining restaurant, Cucina. Enjoy this classic pair as if dining along the Swiss Alps. Delight in a chocolate buffet featuring only the finest pralines from an outstanding chocolatier.

The delicacy does not stop as Café Pronto lets it guests discover the creation of the confectionary dessert with a showcase of pralines making.

A chocolatier will be making these sweets in front of guests for a sweeter Swiss experience.

Watches are part of the Swiss reputation. Take a peak in the artistry that is behind these timepieces, as Swiss watchmakers give a talk about watches and demonstrates how to intricately create these delicate pieces.

Green Monday BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, July 18, 2016

BusinessMirror

PascualLab, WWF promote environment, health solutions

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

Using kelp to reduce CO2 in seawater? Scientists test

6%

The percentage of global malaria cases caused by climate change

School-children at one of Environmental Education program sessions, led by top Filipino pharmaceutical company Pascual Laboratories Inc. and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines). WWF-Philippines

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limate change and human health are closely interlinked. A study from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows how climate change can spread vector-borne diseases like malaria. Climate change causes 6 percent of global malaria cases, and many communities in Asia and Africa will suffer from new disease outbreaks.

In the Philippines flooding caused by excessive rainfall and typhoons has spurred rising incidences of dengue and leptospirosis.

Since 2012, leading environmental solutions provider World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) and top Filipino pharmaceutical company Pascual Laboratories Inc. (PascualLab), through the company’s Sowing to Empower, Educate and Develop (SEED) corporate social responsibility initiative, have been instilling climate change and health solutions through a revitalized education program headed by the WWF’s Environmental Education (EE) unit.

The program has taught over 6,400 students, engaged 1,405 par-

ents, trained 32 teachers and covered 10 schools.

The Kalakasan, Kalikasan program is a multiyear EE initiative that establishes the link between climate change and wellness, highlighting simple ways for Filipinos to protect their health while minimizing their ecological impacts.

“Many diseases stem from changing weather patterns,” WWF EE Unit Head Ruel Bate said. “Strong rains can turn ditches into stagnant pools, which can be prime breeding spots for mosquitoes that carry viruses like dengue. Identifying practical solutions to these problems—like clearing areas in our homes, which can become breeding grounds for insects or rid-

ding our homes of anything that can gather standing water—is an effective climate-adaptation measure. Our aim is simple—to promote better health through a healthy environment.”

A typical session involves teaching students about the importance of washing their hands to prevent the transfer of diseases. The activities also instill the importance of physical exercise, like playing outdoors; eating nutritious food and supplementing these with vitamins; and drinking eight glasses of water daily.

The beneficiaries learn about ridding houses of possible pests and disease-causing insects, the impacts of climate change on the environment and on human health; and utilizing organic, herbal medicine as a solution to illnesses such as cough.

The program started as a means of educating elementary-school pupils and quickly expanded to teaching households. In 2015 and 2016, the program was further enhanced—replacing old multimedia materials with new visual aids. Sessions are now conducted in classrooms, where PascualLab employee-volunteers take on a bigger role in helping to teach the students.

PascualLab Corporate Communications Director Mia Pascual Cenzon said: “PascualLab’s mission is to provide the most family-friendly health and wellness products in every community where we are present. As we aim to build strong, healthy families, we think that one of the ways we

can achieve this is by caring for our environment.

“We share the WWF’s belief that there is a direct relation to the state of every Filipino’s health, and the way we treat our Earth. Not only do we want to be part of the solution through our products, but we also want to take our work a step further and take an active part in educating others about climate change and its effects on health.”

“I want to believe that our efforts in Kalakasan, Kalikasan helped children understand how our small actions greatly affect nature. I hope that one day, the example of at least one of our students will also be mirrored by his or her family, creating new stewards of nature,” added Rea Calingasan, one of PascualLab’s employee-volunteers.

Phase one of Kalakasan, Kalikasan was completed in 2012 with two schools reached: Krus na Ligas Elementary School and Esteban Abada Elementary School.

The phase covered 955 elementaryschool pupils, parents and a dozen teachers.

In 2013 the program’s second phase reached four public elementary schools—Esteban Abada, Batasan Hills, Old Balara and Kamuning. It taught 1,805 pupils and trained 20 teachers.

The third phase in 2014 covered 1,285 pupils and three schools: Esteban Abada Elementary School, Santo Cristo Elementary School and Old Balara Elementary School.

The recently concluded fourth phase retained two elementary schools: Santo Cristo and Kamuning, while adding two more: Tomas Morato Elementary School and General Roxas Elementary School.

This phase covered over 2,000 pupils and was passionately facilitated by employee-volunteers, showing the continuing impactful partnership between the WWF-Philippines and PascualLab. Bate said, “It’s very important for schools and households to be educated about environmental and health solutions. It’s also crucial for students, parents and teachers to be reminded that small lifestyle changes will benefit not just the planet—but ourselves.”

New prosecutors urged to boost law enforcement in protected areas

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n environmental cases, everybody is an offended party,” Supreme Court Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta said.

In a training coorganized by Oceana Philippines, Peralta urged the newly appointed special prosecutors for protected areas (PAs) to make use of the innovations under the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases (Rules) to go against violators.

As one of the High Court’s justices who drafted the Rules in 2010, Peralta acknowledged the inputs of members of non-governmental organizations and peoples’ organizations whose experiences in helping prosecute illegal fishers and loggers and polluters provided the basis for changes from the rules of court.

One of these is the use of authenticated photographs in lieu of physical evidence, such as fish or timber, that either spoil easily or are difficult to bring to the court.

“Everybody has a cell phone now, so it is very important for law enforcers to always take a photograph and do an inventory in the presence of witnesses,” Peralta said.

In 2015 then-Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima appointed 10 new prosecutors for PAs in compliance with Section

Supreme Court Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta 19 of Republic Act 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992. It provides that, “The Department of Justice shall designate special prosecutors to prosecute violations of laws, rules and regulations in PAs.” As of 2014, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had listed 240 PAs in the Philippines.

Peralta urged the special prosecutors,

who attended the training in early June together with DENR enforcers, to ensure that judicial affidavits are done properly.

Such documents, which are mandatory in environmental cases, speed up the resolution of cases by doing away with lengthy narratives in court and allowing immediate cross-examination of witnesses during trials.

Peralta also encouraged the prosecu-

tors and enforcers to make use of the provision on Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), often known as harassment suits.

He called on prosecutors to dismiss criminal cases against law enforcers and advocates at the preliminary investigation stage if there are grounds to do so, citing the anti-SLAPP provision in the Rules.

For instances where cases had been filed in court, he advised the enforcers to use it them as defense prior to their arraignment. The SLAPP defense gives environmental defenders an additional layer of protection in court when they are sued in performing their duties.

“If it’s a SLAPP suit, file a motion to dismiss at once if there is no cause so that it can no longer be refiled,” he said.

Lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president for Oceana Philippines, called on civil society and the government to continue working together in prosecuting environmental cases.

“As an advocate, I firmly believe that the law has to be alive. I hope workshops like this can be replicated in other departments. Our collaboration in upholding the law is crucial in protecting our natural heritage,” she said.

Scientists Joth Davis (left) and Brian Allen, of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, hold kelp that naturally grew on a buoy line in Washington state’s Hood Canal. An experiment will test whether a seaweed farm can take up carbon dioxide from surrounding waters to combat ocean acidification.

AP/Manuel Valdes

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OOD CANAL, Washington—Scientist Joth Davis unspooled 150 feet of line holding thousands of tiny spores of kelp into Hood Canal in Washington state, while Brian Allen dove underwater and affixed the line to a buoy.

Submerged about 10 feet underwater, the bull kelp seedlings will eventually form thick, slimy ribbons of brown seaweed and in the process take up carbon dioxide (CO2) and other nutrients.

Researchers hope it could offer a local strategy to ease the effects of ocean acidification—when seas absorb carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activity, a phenomenon that raises acidity and threatens marine life.

Davis and a team of scientists are investigating whether growing kelp can reduce CO2 levels in the inland marine waters of Puget Sound. They also want to find ways to market that harvested kelp for food, fuels or fertilizers.

“We know that kelp plants take up carbon dioxide and incorporate that carbon into their plant tissues. So we’re very hopeful that not only carbon but nutrients can be taken up and essentially removed from the water column,” said Davis, a senior scientist with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

To test that hypothesis, a team led by Davis and Betsy Peabody will grow sugar and bull kelp over the next two years in Hood Canal, a fjord west of Seattle. The five-year project, involving many partners, is paid for by a $1.5-million grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Scientists from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and University of Washington (UW) will monitor seawater chemistry in and around those farms and measure whether and how much CO2 the marine macroalgae take up.

“We know the reactions. But we don’t know if they scale to be significant in nature,” said Jan Newton, a UW oceanographer who codirects the Washington Ocean Acidification Center and is on the team assessing the project.

“We know this isn’t a solution on a global scale. The oceans are huge compared to a little bay where you might be able to make a difference. This is not a fixit sort of solution,” said Newton. But “can we make a difference on a local scale that buys us some time?”

Research has shown that ocean acidification has damaged certain marine organisms, such as oysters and corals.

Ocean acidification interferes with the

ability of oysters to build strong shells, and threatens Washington’s $184-million shellfish industry.

Kelp “has the potential for taking up a significant amount of carbon out of the water column. The question is: Is that going to be significant to help abate ocean acidification?” asked Richard Feely, senior scientist at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, who is also assessing the project.

If successful, it could provide a local adaptive strategy for ocean acidification, he said.

In Maine, the nation’s top seaweed producer, scientists report early but promising results during the first year of measuring the carbon uptake at a commercial kelp farm in Casco Bay. Using sensors inside and outside the kelp lines, scientists took measurements of the ocean’s chemistry to determine whether the ribbons of macroalgae captured enough CO2 to improve surrounding waters.

Nichole Price, a senior research scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, said they found what she called “a halo” of changed seawater chemistry around the farm.

The carbon saturation rate of seawater inside the farm was 25 percent higher, which would make it easier for organisms, such as oysters, clams and mussels to form hard shells. Conditions in the kelp farm came out of the winter low saturation state one month earlier to surpass critical saturation thresholds when mussels start growing again in the spring.

“The worry is that ocean acidification is going to slow the growth rate of cultured oysters, mussels and others to a point where they’re not going to be sustainable or profitable in the future,” Price said. Growing kelp near shellfish farms could help mitigate ocean acidification on a small, local scale, she said.

While people harvest kelp recreationally in Washington state, there is no commercial seaweed aquaculture in the state.

The pilot project would be the first, said Davis, who is also an oyster farmer.

After planting out kelp seedlings grown in a lab, Davis pulled from the water, thick, glossy bands of seaweed to demonstrate what the plant would look like by the end of summer. They’ll harvest the small test plot and plant out another farm in the fall.

Davis took a bite of the seaweed. “It’s crunchy,” he said, smiling. “That’s our future.”

AP

Laguna Water promotes used-water management

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aguna Water, in coordination with Metro Manila’s East Zone concessionaire Manila Water, began to implement the Mobile Lakbayan and Toka-Toka programs to stress the importance of proper water management as a significant contributor to clean water systems to Calamba, Biñan, Santa Rosa and Cabuyao in Laguna.

In bringing these programs to the province, the company aims to raise environmental consciousness and stewardship among Lagunenses.

The Mobile Lakbayan is an information program that showcases not only the various stages of transforming raw water into potable water that reaches the household taps but also the stringent steps of treating used water prior to discharge to the bodies of water.

The program promotes the wise use of water and the need to protect water sources.

On the other hand, the Toka-Toka program solicits cooperative volunteerism across different sectors of society to do

their share in reviving rivers and waterways and reduce, if not eradicate, pollution in the different water bodies.

This advocacy program also encourages people to pledge simple acts for the environment, such as proper disposal of waste, desludging of septic tanks every five to seven years, as well as community participation in used water and sanitation programs.

A Pledge for the Environment was signed by Laguna Water and representatives from local government units, national agencies, barangay offices and socio-civic organizations, representing their commitment in upholding the value of stewardship carried by both programs.

More than 2,500 Lagunenses have already participated in the two programs and have pledged their commitment to help save and rehabilitate rivers and water systems in Laguna.

Laguna Water is expected to bring these environmental programs to more cities and municipalities in Laguna.

Science Monday

Monday, July 18, 2016 A13

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

Country’s best performance since 1989

PHL team wins 2 gold, 2 silver medals at IMO

17

The Philippines’s rank at the International Mathematical Olympiad, an improvement from last year’s rank 36

The winning Philippine team to the 57th International Math Olympiad held in Hong Kong arrives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday. They are (from third from left) Farrel Eldrian Wu and Kyle Patrick Dulay, gold-medal winners; Albert John Patupat and Clyde Wesley Ang, silver medalists; and Shaquille Wyan Que and Vince Tan Torres, honorable mention awardees. With them are their coaches Dr. Louie Vallejo (left) and Dr. Richard Eden (right), and Ruby Cristobal (second from left), chief of Science and Technology Manpower, Education, Research and Promotions Division of Science Education Institute. Marco Melgar

A

harvest of medals. That exactly was what the Philippines got when its team of student contestants to the 57th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) won two gold medals, two silver medals and two honorablemention awards on Thursday.

The gold-medal winners are Kyle Patrick Dulay (Philippine Science High School Main) and Farrell Eldrian Wu (MGC New Life Academy).

Silver-medal winners are Clyde Wesley Ang (Chiang Kai Shek College) and Albert John Patupat (De La Salle University Integrated School), while the honorable men-

tion awardees are Shaquille Wyan Que (Grace Christian College) and Vince Jan Torres (Santa Rosa Science and Technology High), Dr. Richard Eden and Dr. Louie John Vallejo said in their report for Go for Gold: Philippine IMO Team Facebook page. Eden and Vallejo are theteam’s coaches.

This is the country’s best finish since it first participated in IMO in 1989. This year’s a total score was 133, improving its rank to 17—from last year’s 36—among 111 participating countries.

This new rank brought the country closer to Southeast Asian powerhouses, like Thailand (12) and Vietnam (11); and ranked higher than the usually strong countries, like Bulgaria (18), Germany (19) and Romania (20), Eden and Vallejo said.

The scores

Ang got a score of 24; Dulay, 29; Patupat, 23; Que, 15; Torres, 12; and Wu, 30.

The cutoffs this year were 29 for gold, 22 for silver and 16 for bronze.

Thus, Dulay and Wu won gold medals; Ang and Patupat won silver medals; and Que and Torres won honorable-mention awards.

The competition

Contestants battled questions

at the IMO from four subject areas: geometry, algebra (polynomials, inequalities and functional equations), number theory and combinatorics, Eden and Vallejo said.

Months before the IMO, participating countries submit candidate problems, which were then screened by a committee.

The roughly 30 preselected problems were presented to the IMO jury, composed of the team leaders of each participating country. For this reason, the team leaders had to arrive at the host country earlier than the deputies and contestants, and were forbidden from interacting with them until the end of the exams.

For four days, the jury then deliberated and finalized the six IMO problems, their various translations and marking schemes.

The six problems at the IMO were certainly very difficult that even the easiest was several times harder than the math problems that

were usually encountered by highschool students.

The six problems were administered to all contestants for a span of two days, and the three problems in each day were tackled within fourand-a-half hours.

Each question at the IMO was worth seven points. Owing to the difficulty of all six problems, a contestant who completely solved one problem was immediately given an honorable-mention award.

After all the papers have been marked jointly by an IMO committee and the country’s team leaders, cutoff scores for gold, silver and bronze medals were decided by the IMO jury. The total number of medals that were awarded was no more than roughly half the number of participants.

Philippine team

The country’s team was selected from the 20 national finalists of the Philippine Mathematical Olympiad.

The finalists were invited to join the Math Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSC), which took place in April and May at the Institute of Mathematics of University of the Philippines Diliman and the Mathematics Department of Ateneo de Manila University.

This year the MOSC trainers were Eden (AdMU), Vallejo (UP Diliman), Jose Ernie Lope (UP Diliman), Ma. Carmen Amarra (UP Diliman), Christian Chanshio (AdMU), Gari Lincoln Chua (AdMU), Jerome Dimabayao (UP Diliman), Job Nable (AdMU), John Gabriel Pelias (UP Diliman), Adrian Reginald Sy (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Timothy Robin Teng (AdMU).

Eden is the country’s team leader and Vallejo, the deputy team leader.

The MOSC and the Philippine participation to the IMO are joint projects of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Science Education Institute and the Mathematical Society of the Philippines, and supported by the UP Diliman Institute of Mathematics and the AdMU Department of Mathematics.

Most prestigious math competition

The IMO is the most prestigious mathematics competition for high-school students and is the oldest of all the international science Olympiads.

This year, there were over 600 students coming from 111 countries. This makes the IMO the largest of all math competitions in terms of participating nations. Each country can send at most six contestants, accompanied by a team leader, a deputy team leader and possibly some observers.

The IMO was first held in 1959 in Romania, and has been held annually in various host countries. This year it was held in Hong Kong from July 6 to 16. Lyn Resurreccion

Filipino scientists, regulators look into GMO perceptions Story & photo

by Stephanie Tumampos

Special to the BusinessMirror First of two parts

G

enetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been controversial, with a number of people around the world saying they have negative impacts to the environment, can cause “genetic pollution” and are not good for human consumption.

Yet, as of June 30, more than 110 Nobel laureates and over 3,500 scientists all over the world have signed a letter addressing and urging Greenpeace International “to reexamine the experience of farmers and consumers worldwide with crops and foods improved through biotechnology; recognize the findings of authoritative scientific bodies and regulatory agencies; and abandon their campaign against GMOs, in general, and Golden Rice, in particular.”

According to the World Food Program (WFP), about one out of nine people in the world do not have enough food to live a healthy life.

This amounts to 795 million people in the world who are hungry, most of who come from developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the total population lack food to eat.

Furthermore, vitamin A defi-

ciency (VAD) is a public-health problem. A World Health Organization (WHO) data say an estimated 250 million preschool children suffer from VAD together with pregnant women, with 5 percent of this number leads to death every year for children within 12 months of losing their sight.

In the case of the Philippines, it has the highest poverty incidence among its Association of Southeast Asian Nations peers. With a national poverty of 25.8 percent, according to World Bank data, the Philippines has a lot of work to do to alleviate poverty and address issues of public health, such as VAD. This is where GMO, such as the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn, Bt talong (eggplant) and Golden Rice, enters as a solution to relieve and, eventually, end the battle against VAD and hunger; and give the farmers a chance to provide food while farming sustainably and efficiently without the threat of having shortage or attacks of insects that kill their crops, GMO experts and advocates say.

GMO issue

“The real debate is safety,” said Benigno Peczon, chairman of the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines Inc. in an interview with the BusinessMir-

rent parent plant with desirable characteristics, such as high yield and adaptation.

For Peczon, one of the main objectives in agriculture is to ensure that only the desired plant grows.

He added, “as far as the farmers are concerned, anything that competes with the crop of choice is undesirable, getting rid of weeds is not easy and can be costly.”

Bt corn in the Philippines

Benigno Peczon, chairman of the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines Inc., and Atty. Edgardo Carlo Vistan, OIC of the Institute of International Legal Studies, talk about issues on genetically modified organisms in the forum on GM Crops: Public Perception and Trade Regulation Practices held recently at the University of the Philippines Diliman Law Center.

ror. “We already have overwhelming evidence for 20 years’ use that they are safe,” he emphasized.

In his presentation at the forum on GM Crops: Public Perception and Trade Regulation Practices held at the University of the Philippines Law Center in Quezon City, Peczon discussed how the applications of modern biotechnology in the agriculture area has ben-

efited farmers.

Bt corn has been planted in the Philippines for more than 14 years now, or since 2002, in more than 800,000 hectares by farmers.

“In traditional plant breeding, related plants are interbred until the desired trait emerges,” Peczon said, noting that it costs time and effort to do this kind of technique, where they shuffle and crossbreed recur-

Leonardo Gonzales, founding president and chairman of Sikpa/ Strive Inc., said at the same forum in his lecture, entitled “Socioeconomic Impact Assessment: The Bt Corn Experience,” Bt is “a naturally occurring soil-borne bacterium where it produces crystal like proteins that selectively kill specific groups of insects.”

The Bt corn is a GMO which, through genetic engineering, the Bt gene was incorporated in the corn plant’s DNA to enhance its resistance against insect attacks, such as the Asiatic corn borer. This method helped many farmers produce corn resistant to insects and saved them money from using pesticides.

“Bt corn required 54-percent less pesticides than ordinary hybrid [OH] corn in order to produce the same amount of corn grain from 2003 to 2011,”Gonzales said.

For Gonzales, Bt corn has had other empirical findings. One of which is on fertilizer use.

He said, “Bt corn adopters, on the average, were 9-percent more efficient in the use of fertilizer than ordinary hybrid corn-seed users.” This, after more than 10 years of planting the GMO plant, has indicated positive environmental impacts among corn producers.

Another finding, according to Gonzales, was that the average yield advantage of Bt corn over OH corn, was 19 percent and a cost advantage of 10 percent compared to OH corn, with a 42 percent higher return on investment from 2003 to 2011.

Last, Bt corn consistently outperformed OH corn by 29 percent in meeting food and poverty thresholds in the same timeframe.

“Technological innovations, like the GM products, are sustainable if they provide socioeconomic impacts to society. They are either compliant with the basic requirements of the natural resources, and if it does not comply with that, it will die a natural death,” Gonzales said.

He added, “We believe in the hypothesis that in the long term, the role of new technology is to lower your cost so that you will become efficient in the production of that commodity.” To be concluded

A14 Monday, July 18, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Campaign pork barrel

T

he arbitration decision in favor of the Philippines. The terrorist attack in Nice, France. The attempted military coup in Turkey. It is hard to realize that each of these major news stories of global impact could all happen in a single week.

However, there are other stories going on that could have a great impact on the Philippines. In 2016 it seems that nothing is “normal” or simple.

Philippine Senate Bill 226, or the Political Party System Act, was filed this past week aimed at promoting “party loyalty, discipline, and adherence to ideological principles, platforms and programs.” This legislation was authored by Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, the vice chairman of the Liberal Party (LP).

The bill will penalize political “turncoats”—to use Drilon’s words—by barring them to run under any party for any elective position in the succeeding election after changing party affiliations. Party turncoats will be also obliged to refund all amounts they received from their political party, including a 25-percent surcharge.

But this is the critical part of the bill. Drilon also said the law will establish a state fund that can be used to augment campaign expenditures and operating funds of accredited national political parties “for party development, which include, among others, party administration and recruitment, research and policy development, and education and training of members.”

Switching allegiance by office holders to the political party of an incoming president is common practice. This year was a little different, as the LP’s influence in Congress was severely gutted. Concerns are that there will not be a substantial and organized opposition to President Duterte’s administration in the legislature. We find that hard to believe, as there is always House and Senate opposition to a standing president.

We know that a strong political party system is an imperative if the government is going to change to a Parliamentary system from the current presidential system. We will let the legal minds decide if this law might or might not be an infringement on the constitutional protection of free speech.

But the idea that the taxpayers should be forced to fund “traveling expenses of the candidates and support personnel in the course of the campaign; hiring of personnel and secretariat; setting up of headquarters, production and distribution of campaign paraphernalia; and other relevant electoral expenditures” makes our skin crawl.

This is nothing more than “campaign pork barrel”. Taxpayer money will help fund the political party, which, in turn, will fund the expenses of particular candidates who, of course, show extreme loyalty to the party.

According to reports, the three losing presidential candidates had no problem raising and spending nearly P3 billion for “noncampaign” advertising even before the election period started. Officially, the LP spent nearly P500 million during the campaign.

Apparently, our political class has not gotten the message from the people as demonstrated in the “anti-epal” movement and the huge demonstrations against the “pork barrel.” How many more times is it going to be necessary for the people to repudiate the political establishment before it hears our voices?

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PCSO helps many people in different ways Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

F

or many Filipinos, when the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) comes to mind, they think first of “Lotto,” but only have a vague idea of what “charity” the agency provides.

The PCSO Lotto, or lottery, games are, indeed, popular and well-known around the country through its more than 9,000 outlets and media advertisements.

It’s also understood by its players that every Lotto ticket purchased contributes to charitable endeavors. The PCSO was, after all, established more than 80 years ago to operate lotteries in order to raise funds for social-welfare programs and other worthy causes.

But what exactly constitutes these char it y components of the PCSO? By law, 55 percent of Lotto revenues are placed in the Prize Fund (for the prizes of Lotto and other PCSO games); 15 percent in the Operating Fund (for the agency’s operating expenses, because as a government-owned and -controlled corporation, it receives no budget from the national government); and 30 percent in the

Charity Fund, for the agency’s social-welfare programs.

Over the past several years, the amount that goes into the Charity Fund averages around P8 billion annually. Of this amount, a part goes to various government agencies as mandatory contributions under the law, and the rest to the PCSO’s service programs.

A couple of examples of agencies receiving mandatory contributions from the PCSO are the Commission on Higher Education and the National Shelter Program.

Both, in fact, received a total of P254.7 million on July 5 in a turnover ceremony at the PCSO’s head office in Mandaluyong City.

I turned over five checks totaling that amount to Purita Belgica, collecting officer of the cash division of the Bureau of the Treasury.

Of the PCSO’s own charity endeavors, its flagship service program is the Individual Medical As-

By Alberto Agra

PPP Lead

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

HOM

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regional offices n DXQR -93dot5 HOME RADIO CAGAYAN DE ORO E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecdo@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Archbishop Hayes corner Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro City CONTACT NOs.: (088) 227-2104/ 857-9350/ 0922-811-3997 n DYQC -106dot7 HOME RADIO CEBU E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecebu@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Fortune Life Building, Jones Avenue, Cebu City CONTACT NOs.: (032) 253-2973/ 234-4252/ 416-1067/ 0922-811-3994 n DWQT -89dot3 HOME RADIO DAGUPAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiodagupan@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Orchids Hotel Building,

Rizal Street, Dagupan City CONTACT NOs.: (075) 522-8209/ 515-4663/ 0922-811-4001 n DXQM – 98dot7 HOME RADIO DAVAO E-MAIL ADDRESS: home98dot7@gmail.com ADDRESS: 4D 3rd Floor, ATU Plaza, Duterte Street, Davao City CONTACT NOs.: (082) 222-2337/ 221-7537/ 0922-811-3996 n DXQS -98dot3 HOME RADIO GENERAL SANTOS E-MAIL ADDRESS: homegensan@yahoo.com ADDRESS: 2nd Floor, Penamante Clinic Tiongson Street, General Santos City CONTACT NO.: 0922-811-3998 n DYQN -89dot5 HOME RADIO ILOILO E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeiloilo@yahoo.com

ADDRESS: 3rd Floor, Eternal Plans Building, Ortiz Street, Iloilo City CONTACT NOs.: (033) 337-2698/ 508-8102/ 0922-811-3995 n DWQA -92dot3 HOME RADIO LEGAZPI E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiolegazpi@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Fortune Building, Rizal Street, Brgy. Pigcale, Legazpi City CONTACT NOs.: (052) 480-4858/ 820-6880/ 0922-811-3992 n DWQJ -95dot1 HOME RADIO NAGA E-MAIL ADDRESS: homenaga@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Eternal Garden Compound, Balatas Road, Naga City CONTACT NOs.: (054) 473-3818/ 811-2951/ 0922-811-3993

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sistance Program, which extends financial assistance for hospitalization; medical treatment, including chemotherapy, dialysis and medicines; and related forms of assistance to individual patients.

There are various criteria for PCSO assistance, which generally covers the cost of a medical procedure, excluding physician’s professional fees, and hospital room and board. Most illnesses and confinements are covered, except childbirth.

Another program, more wellknown in the provinces, is the PCSO Ambulance Donation Program, which gives brand-new ambulances to local government units, public hospitals, government agencies and charitable organizations around the country.

In June, for example, we donated

ambulances to the following: municipality of Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte; Villareal, Samar; Alcantara, Romblon; to the Romblon Provincial Hospital; to an infirmary of the Philippine National Police; and so on.

The PCSO Endowment Fund grants certain public hospitals an annual amount for the care of indigent patients, while the PCSO Institutional Program bestows grant for patient care to orphanages, homes for the aged, shelters for street children and battered women, and the like.

The PCSO also donates medical equipment and supplies to government hospitals and rural health units; basic medicines to barangays; conducts medical and dental missions upon request; and runs other medical- and health care-related programs.

We, the PCSO family, look forward to the energized and vibrant efforts of the new administration under President Duterte, and to working with his new team as they craft a vision and implement programs for a Philippines that continues to grow and develop in all the meaningful aspects.

As always, the PCSO is ready and happy to help. n n n Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

‘Nightmares’ after award of PPP contracts

Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Frederick M. Alegre Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Dante S. Castro

Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

Of the PCSO’s own charity endeavors, its flagship service program is the Individual Medical Assistance Program, which extends financial assistance for hospitalization, medical treatment including chemotherapy, dialysis and medicines, and related forms of assistance to individual patients.

Continued from A1 Contrary to what others might say, it is not smooth sailing after an implementing agency (IA) and a PSP seal a PPP contract. After going through a bidding process, which on the average takes 29 months to complete for national projects, there is no assurance that the IA and PSP will have no more headaches. History has taught us that, like in any partnership or project, there are stress points. n Post-notice of award (NOA)-Prenotice to proceed (NTP). The PSP

cannot immediately undertake the PPP project right after the signing of agreement with the IA and issuance of the NOA. The PSP, with the help of the IA, must comply with the CPs before it obtains the go signal to proceed with the construction and implementation.

Financial closure is needed. A

special project company must be incorporated by the PSP. Insurance and supply agreements must be obtained. When required, an environmental compliance certificate must be issued. The franchise and approvals must be secured from the regulatory agency. For toll-road projects and reclamation projects, the Toll Regulatory Board and Philippine Reclamation Authority, respectively, must give their thumbs up.

And let us not discount the possibility that taxpayers, affected sectors, even public officials may assail the PPP contract in court or subject the same to congressional inquiry. The modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center and Mactan-Cebu International Airport Passenger Terminal were the subjects of disputes.

Post-NTP to Pre-start-up. After getting the NTP, the PSP can

n

There will be changes in leadership during the project term, which may last for 25 to 50 years.

PSPs hope that their contracts will not be unilaterally rescinded; no new tax regime will be enforced; no law will be given retroactive effect; no new opinion and no new interpretation of a contractual provision will be issued that will materially and adversely affect their interests. now start constr uction. T his presupposes that local government permits have been secured.

Right-of-way problems must be contended with. Further, delays may be brought about by supply and importation concerns. At this point, no revenues will come in, as the water, power, terminal, toll road or health facility has not been turned over by the contractor to the PSP or its implementing or management unit.

n Start-up to end of contract. Proj-

ect life begins here. Experts call this the contract-management phase.

Consumers can now use the toll bridge, lounge in the terminal and enjoy 24/7 water supply. The PSP, if authorized, can now collect from the end-users and/or from the government. But first, the concerned regulator must set the tariff. Variations or amendments, if permitted, may also happen during the term of the project.

The PSP must fulfill all its contractual commitment, otherwise, it runs the risk of pretermination, arbitration, litigation and a call on its performance security.

There will be changes in leadership during the project term, which may last for 25 to 50 years. PSPs hope that their contracts will not be unilaterally rescinded, no new tax regime will be enforced, no law will be given retroactive effect, no new opinion and no new interpretation of a contractual provision will be issued that will materially and adversely affect the interests of the PSPs. These are instances of successor risk.

All these are the postaward nightmares. Future-proofing PPP arrangements is the challenge we all must face.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

The right of inspection

Zero contractualization: Threat to ordinary workers

BusinessMirror

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

Jeffrey Salazar

legally speaking

O

ne of the most basic rights of a stockholder is the right to inspect the books of the corporation so as to investigate and know in detail, the dealings and transactions entered into by the directors and officers of the Corporation, on behalf of the corporation. As the case of Enron, Theranos and other highly publicized corporate scandals show, however, everything is not what is seems.

In response, stockholders nowadays are more wary of their investments and business interests, and rightfully so.

The right of a stockholder to inspect the books of the corporation is rooted in Section 74 of the Corporation Code, which states that: “The records of all business transactions of the corporation and the minutes of any meeting shall be open to inspection by any director, trustee, stockholder or member of the corporation at reasonable hours on business days and he may demand, in writing, for a copy of excerpts from said records or minutes, at his expense. Any officer or agent of the corporation, who shall refuse to allow any director, trustee, stockholder or member of the cor porat ion to e x a m i ne a nd copy excerpts from its records or minutes, in accordance with the provisions of this Code, shall be liable to such director, trustee, stockholder or member for damages and, in addition, shall be guilty of an offense, which shall be punishable under Section 144 of this Code.”

In the case of Tiong Shiou vs.

Chan Sy, GR 174168, March 30, 2009, the Honorable Supreme Court had the occasion to enumerate the requisites before the penal provision under Section 144 of the Corporation Code may be applied in a case of violation of a stockholder or member’s right to inspect the corporate books/ records as provided for under Section 74 of the Corporation Code.

The elements of the offense, as laid down in the case, are: (1) A director, trustee, stockholder or member has made a prior demand in writing for a copy of excerpts from the corporation’s records or minutes; (2) Any officer or agent of the concerned corporation shall refuse to allow the said director, trustee, stockholder or member of the corporation to examine and copy said excerpts; (3) If such refusal is made pursuant to a resolution or order of the board of directors or trustees, the liability under this section for such action shall be imposed upon the directors or trustees who voted for such refusal; and (4) Where the officer or agent of the corporation sets up the defense that the person demanding to examine and copy excerpts from the corporation’s records and minutes has improperly used any information secured through any prior examination of the records or minutes of such corporation or of any other corporation, or was

As with any other right, the right of inspection is not absolute, and must always be balanced with other interests in play. In Puno v. Puno Enterprises Inc., GR 177066, September 11, 2009, the Supreme Court clarified that the right of inspection may only be exercised by a stockholder of record. As such, the corporation may validly set up the defense in its refusal to grant a claim of the right of inspection on the ground that the person is not a stockholder of record. not acting in good faith or for a legitimate purpose in making his demand, the contrary must be shown or proved.

As with any other right, the right of inspection is not absolute, and must always be balanced with other interests in play. In Puno vs. Puno Enterprises Inc., GR 177066, September 11, 2009, the Supreme Court clarified that the right of inspection may only be exercised by a stockholder of record. As such, the corporation may validly set up the defense in its refusal to grant a claim of the right of inspection on the ground that the person is not a stockholder of record. “The right of inspection granted by Section 74 of the Corporation Code is not absolute, as when the stockholder is not acting in good faith and for a legitimate purpose [Gonzales v. PNB, 122 SCRA 489 (1983)]; or when the demand is purely speculative or merely to satisfy curiosity [Grey v. Insular Lumber Co., 40 OG, 31st Supp. 1 (1939].”

In other words, the inspection has to be germane to the petitioner’s interest as a stockholder, and has to be proper and lawful in character and not inimical to the interest of the corporation.

For su re, a ny cor porat ion should not be burdened with the badgering of unreasonable stockholders invoking their supposed right of inspection, lest its business and other worthwhile endeavors suffer.

In the same vein, a mindful stockholder must be afforded their rights when warranted.

DEBIT CREDIT

‘I

f it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not.”

I want to focus on this saying in connection with the zero contractualization plan of President Duterte, which our President hopes to put in place to improve the welfare of our workers. That appears to be the good news. But is this really the case?

Contractualization is rampant in the Philippines. Many Filipinos are dependent on this kind of job arrangement as source of their living. On this kind of arrangement, contractual workers, also termed as fixed-term contract workers, are hired by the employer for a particular period of time. After the contractual period, the employer will evaluate the performance of the contractual employee and, depending on the requirements of the business, may promote them to probationary or regular status.

Most of the jobs being subjected to contractualization are production operators, sales personnel, cashiers, baggers, security and maintenance and janitorial personnel. These jobs are more routine and clerical in nature, which any Filipino can perform and can easily learn through trainings and orientation. These job opportunities give employment to workers with low educational attainment or graduates of technical and vo-

cational courses.

Republic Act (RA) 6715, or the Herrera Law, and RA 6727, or the Wages Rationalization Act, were enacted during the time of President Corazon C. Aquino. The purpose of these laws are to protect the labor workers, to resolve labor disputes peacefully and to provide the appropriate rates per area or region to match workers’ salaries with the cost of living expenses in the area.

If zero contractualization will be implemented, what will happen to these workers? I believe this may result in substantial number of workers losing their jobs once companies start resorting to other options for their labor requirements.

I anticipate also that we may see more and more of the developments enumerated below.

Automation and robotics— Replacement or reduction of certain processes and people by automation and robotics may result. These machineries can work 24 hours, seven days a week and can work more

F

rance is in the line of fire. Of the 16 terrorist incidents that took place in Western nations this year, five were in France, including the deadliest one—Thursday’s apparent lone wolf attack in Nice, which killed at least 84 people.

A little more than a week before the attack, a commission set up by the French parliament gave its version of the reasons for France’s endangered state in a massive report. Apart from an objective threat the country faces, thanks to its colonial past and a failure to integrate North African immigrants, it also suffers from

inadequate policing.

“All the French citizens who struck within the nation’s territory in 2015 were known, in one capacity or another, to judicial, penal or intelligence services,” the report says. “They have all been on file, watched, listened to or incarcerated along their path of delinquency toward violent radicalization.”

efficiently than humans.

Business-process outsourcing (BPO)—Companies may opt to outsource labor requirements to BPOs rather than hire regular employees.

Payroll, customer service and bookkeeping services are some of the processes that can be outsourced.

Lack of opportunities to inexperienced workers and fresh graduates—Companies may prefer experienced and professionals to become part of their organization rather than new graduates.

Increase in part-time working students and interns—Fast-food chains will continue to hire more and more part-time working students for their operations. Demand for interns, or on the job trainees, will also increase to provide clerical and administrative services in the office.

Agencies and subcontracting—Clerical process are inevitable in any business. More companies will be dependent on agencies and subcontractors to provide clerical support and services.

Working overseas—Zero contractualization will result in the reduction of the various labor arrangements, including the fixedterm employment, seasonal workers, piece-work jobs and no project-based employment. These have traditionally provided work opportunities.

With these being limited, more Filipinos may be forced to leave their families to work abroad and become overseas Filipino workers.

Do we really need to abolish contractualization, or should we instead pursue amendments to the labor law or rules? I believe it is better just to have stricter monitoring of companies or instituting effective

rules to prevent abuse of contractual employees. These include setting of boundaries on the number of times an employee can be hired as contractual worker; coming up with rules on acceptable regular to contractual employee ratio; identification of what jobs can or cannot be contracted; monitoring the employers if they are providing all the mandated benefits to their contractual employees; and providing a rule that employees cannot be contractual again if they transfer to another company, which is a branch, sister company, affiliate or belongs to one group of companies.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) must be vigilant on the complaints to ensure that workers should be treated fairly by the organization.

If the Duterte administration is really intent in protecting the welfare of workers, it must thoroughly study their proposed platforms. Issues on labor and employment will not be resolved by just abolishing contractualization. If this matter is not addressed properly, the problem on employment being addressed may result in dire consequences with more workers losing their jobs.

Jeffrey Galang Salazar is a Certified Public Accountant and Master in Business Administration degree holder. He is currently connected with Tong Hsing Electronics Phils Inc., Mold Parts Manufacturing Asia Inc. and Pamantasan ng Cabuyao.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa. secretariat.@gmail.com

Understanding negotiation Cecilio T. Arillo

DataBase Part Two

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ix barriers to cooperation Dr. William Ury said the principles of joint problemsolving, some skeptics say, are like marriage vows of mutual support and fidelity: they no doubt produce more satisfying relationships, but they are hard to apply in the real world of stresses and strains, temptations and tempests.

At the start, you may try to get your opponent to tackle the problem jointly, but instead, you may find yourselves in a face-to-face confrontation. It is all too easy to get drawn into a ferocious emotional battle, to fall back into the familiar routine of adopting rigid positions, or to let the other side take advantage of you.

There are real-world barriers that get in the way of cooperation.

Ury identified five most common ones: Your reaction, their emotion, their position, their dissatisfaction and their power.

The first barrier lies within you. Under stress, or when you encounter a no, or feel you are being attacked, you naturally feel like

striking back, thus, perpetuating an action-reaction cycle that leaves no one a winner.

Or, alternately, you may react impulsively and give in just to end the negotiation and preserve the relationship. If you do this, having shown your weakness, you’ll only expose yourself to exploitation.

In negotiation, you not only face the other side’s difficult behavior but your own reaction, which can easily perpetuate that behavior.

This second barrier is the other side’s negative emotions. Behind their attacks may result to anger and hostility. Behind their rigid positions may spark fear and distrust. Convinced they are right and you are wrong, they may refuse to

Why terrorists keep succeeding in France

By Leonid Bershidsky / Bloomberg View

Monday, July 18, 2016 A15

As in the case of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, the French security services watched several of the terrorists who later committed the worst attacks of 2015— such as the Kouachi brothers, who massacred the staff of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. They failed to put any surveillance on Amedy Coulibaly who took hostages in Paris directly after that attack. Samy Amimour, who last November fired into a crowd of concertgoers in Paris, had traveled to Syria, had been questioned and placed under administrative surveillance; but nothing was done after he missed several weekly

checks in a row, and a lack of coordination between the police and intelligence services made sure he wasn’t tracked. Another shooter from the Bataclan theater, Omar Mostefai, had been identified to the French authorities by Turkish intelligence as a dangerous radical.

He wasn’t watched either.

The list goes on. It’s not that the French security agencies lacked the resources to watch the suspected terrorists: According to the report, in 2015 the French security services had a quota for 2,700 people whose communications could be intercepted, but actual monitoring never even approached that

listen. Seeing the world as eat-orbe-eaten, they may feel justified in using nasty tactics.

The third barrier is the other side’s positional behavior: their habit of digging into a position and trying to get you to give in. Often, they know no other way to negotiate. They are merely using the conventional negotiating tactics they first learned in the sandbox.

In their eyes, the only alternative is for them to give in—and they certainly don’t want to do that.

The fourth barrier is their satisfaction. For instance, your goal may be to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement, but you may find the other side not at all interested in such an outcome. They may not see how it will benefit them. Even if you can satisfy their interests, they may fear losing face if they have to back down. And if it is your idea, they may reject it for that reason alone.

The fifth barrier is their power.

If the other side sees the negotiation as a win-lose proposition, they will be determined to beat you.

They may be guided by the precept “What’s mine is mine. What’s yours is negotiable.” If they can get what they want by power plays, why should they cooperate with you?

Jeswald W. Salacuse, also a prominent lecturer at the Harvard’s Program on Negotiation

and author of the best-selling book Making Global Deals, (Times Books, 1991), added ideology as the sixth barrier.

According to him, ideology has an adversarial quality and it affects the negotiating process and influences the nature of the transaction ultimately agreed upon.

“Ideological differences between two sides can complicate the deal-making process in numerous ways. Ideologues usually have their good guys and bad guys, friends and foe, right and wrong ways. Thus, ideological differences at the negotiating table can create mistrust between parties and raise suspicions on the other side’s intentions, honesty and reliability,” said Salacuse, adding that, as a result, the parties may come to see themselves not as jointly engaged in solving problems, but as ideological adversaries to be watched very carefully.

Effective negotiation requires breaking through each of these six barriers to cooperation.

It is easy to believe that stonewalling, attacks and tricks are just part of the other side’s basic nature, and that there is little you can do to change such difficult behavior. But you can affect this behavior if you can deal successfully with its underlying motivations. To be continued

number. French law-enforcement agencies have prevented nine terror attacks since the beginning of 2015, mostly by watching known suspects with Islamic State sympathies, but they have missed too many others. T he French lawenforcement bureaucracy is in a permanent state of reform, but the services still often work in their own silos. For example, there is a cooperation gap between the gendarmerie, which polices rural France, and domestic intelligence.

Many of the future terrorists are radicalized in the French prisons, but only a “prison intelligence” force of 114 people is supposed to

monitor such developments in a prison population of 68,000 and among 235,000 parolees.

R e p o r t e d l y, 6 0 p e r c e nt o f French prisoners are Muslims, c o m p a r e d w it h 8 p e r c e nt o f France’s total population. France has a well-known problem with integrating its Muslim community: It is afflicted with high unemployment and concentrated in ghettos on the edge of big cities, breeding grounds for all kinds of crime, from petty drug dealing to terrorism. Youths with a criminal record are excellent material for radicalization: It gives them a cause for which to fight.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A16

Monday, July 18, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Manila eyes WTO compliance panel

T

By Catherine N. Pillas

@c_pillas29

he Philippines will be making a bold move to demand compliance from Thailand on a long-standing World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute on tobacco imports, proposing to convene a compliance panel at the WTO by the end of the month.

Trade Undersecretary for Industry Development Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the creation of a compliance panel has been proposed by the Philippines on the agenda of the next meeting of the Dispute

Settlement Body of the WTO, as the country continues to pursue fair tax treatment for its tobacco exports to Thailand.

The prerogative to convene a compliance panel (Article 21.5

Belmonte to pursue bid for economic Cha-cha

utgoing Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr. assured local and foreign businessmen that he would still push the proposal amending the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution during a constitutional convention (Con-con) or constituent assembly (Con-ass).

Belmonte said businessmen are still supporting his proposal seeking to amend the 60-40 rule that limits

O

of the Dispute Settlement Understanding) is afforded to complainant-countries at the WTO whenever they think that a dispute ruling continues to be ignored by the erring country.

T he Phi lippines brought a formal dispute charge at the WTO against Thailand in 2008, stating Bangkok is unfairly imposing taxes on its cigarette imports from the Philippine unit of Philip Morris.

Among other charges, the Philippines said Thailand’s customsvaluation agreement ran counter to the WTO customs valuation agreement that dictates transaction value as the primary basis for customs valuation.

The Philippines won the case against Thailand in 2011, with the WTO agreeing with the Philippines’s valuation methodology,

and issued a ruling directing Bangkok to adjust its customs-valuation methods.

The Philippines has long noted the slow compliance of Thailand to the ruling, but has refused to formally initiate compliance proceedings at the WTO. That is until the Thai government filed a tax-evasion case against Philip Morris Thailand in January, threatening the firm with a $ 2.2-billion fine for 272 batches of cigarettes brought in from 2003 to 2006.

According to lawyer Anthony Abad, the country’s representative in the WTO case, the tax-evasion rap covered the same shipment of tobacco that was in dispute at the WTO, thus, pursuing prosecution of the case is a violation of the WTO ruling.

Given the ongoing legal dispute

of the Thai government with Philip Morris and its perceived nonaction on the WTO ruling, the compliance panel will be convened with or without Thailand’s consent.

Rodolfo said that in 2011, the Philippines concluded the terms of the compliance procedure with Thailand, insisting that Bangkok cannot object to Manila’s right to call for a compliance panel if it deems that the ruling is not

foreign ownership of certain activities in the Philippines. “They [local and foreign businessmen] are really concerned about it [proposal lifting the economic provisions of the Constitution]. They really want it to be passed,” Belmonte told the BusinessMirror.

“However, the proposal should still be included in the Con-con or Con-ass that will tackle all the proposals changing the Charter,” he added.

Several bills have been filed at the House of Representatives calling for Charter change (Cha-cha) through the Con-con and Con-ass, with the aim of shifting to a new form of government.

President Duterte and presumptive Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez of Davao del Norte are both pushing for Con-con in tackling the proposal changing the form of government from republican to federalism via Cha-cha.

Under the Constitution, amendments to the 1987 Charter could be introduced via these three modes: a duly elected Con-con, Congress convening itself into a Con-ass or a People’s Initiative.

Earlier, Alvarez said the House, under his leadership, will prioritize a measure changing the country’s form of government from republican to federalism.

Alvarez has also said he is open to Belmonte’s proposal lifting the economic

being implemented.

“They will be directed to comply by the compliance panel. In the discussions, if we get to prove that we were right in saying they haven’t complied with the ruling, we will also be given the right to retaliate,” Rodolfo added.

Rodolfo said bilateral consultations with Thailand will likely be conducted simultaneously with panel proceedings.

They [Thailand] will be directed to comply by the compliance panel.

In the discussions, if we get to prove that we were right in saying they haven’t complied with the ruling, we will also be given the right to retaliate.”—Rodolfo provisions of the 1987 Constitution in the 17th Congress.

He added the next Congress will not only focus on the proposal changing the form of government from republican to federalism.

“When you revise the Constitution, you have to change everything, we need to tackle everything either in Con-con or Con-ass,” Alvarez said.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz