COMBINED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES Discussing the benefits of the acquired equipment are (from left) Dr. Zenaida Javier-Uy, Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) vice president and chief medical officer; Atty. Pilar Nenuca Almira, CSMC president and CEO; Augusto Palisoc Jr., president and CEO of Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc.; Ivan Alexi Arota, country manager (Philippines), GE Healthcare; and Dr. Christine Gruenberg, consultant, CSMC Department of Nuclear Medicine, during the Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography, PET/CT inauguration at the Cancer Center, CSMC. Right photo shows (from left) Nona Ballesteros, AVP and head of Ancillary Services Division, CSMC; Palisoc; Almira; Andrew JK Park, chairman of KHealth Corp.; and Jocot de Dios, CEO of GE Philippines, during the Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography, PET/CT inauguration at the Cancer Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center. NONOY LACZA
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Thursday, March 9, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 148
NFA sees shortfall in rice buffer stock T
@jearcalas
he National Food Authority (NFA) on Wednesday said it would need to import 800,000 metric tons (MT) of rice by June to beef up its buffer stock before the onset of the lean months.
NFA Administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino warned that the food agency’s buffer stock would fall short of the 30-day requirement for the lean months, which will
start in July. “The buffer stock of the NFA by the end of June would be short of three days. That’s why we are pushing for the [immediate] importation of the 250,000 MT,”
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COUNCIL URGED TO IMPORT 800,000 MT OF RICE BY JUNE
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
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32,720 MT
The volume of rice consumed by Filipinos daily Aquino told reporters in a news briefing on Wednesday. He said the 250,000 MT is the remaining half of the 500,000 MT standby authority for buffer stocking approved by the National Food Authority Council (NFAC) in 2015. See “NFA,” A2
BMReports
The making of PHL’s new tourism TV ad »A6-A7 Creating more and better jobs by greening the economy Rene E. Ofreneo
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent
Conclusion
H
ORSES used to graze this land. Hence, most residents on Burgos Street-Makati Avenue did not imagine in their younger years that the area would be one of
the most thriving business locales in the metropolis. Marieta (not her real name), resident of the area for four decades, recalled that the current business area was once teeming w it h talahib (w i ld cane). She said its growth as a business hub began during the term of then-Mayor Nemesio I. Yabut.
PESO exchange rates n US 50.3190
The area continued to witness t he r ise of enter t a i nment establishments afterward. According to a property-management company, land values on Burgos Street, Makati Avenue, can range from P180,000 per square meter (sq m) to P220,000 per sq m. Prices increase relative to a buyer’s level of interest on the
E
alysa salen
Cities reckon with downsides of thriving nightlife industry
laborem exercens
property. Leasing rates here range from P1,500 per sq m to P2,000 per sq m. According to Marieta, incidents she recall occurring in the area involved customers failing to pay streetwalkers and the rounding up of transvestites prowling the area for customers. Continued on A2
nvironment Secretary Regina Paz L.Lopez is right: More and better jobs can be created if we pursue a greening strategy to develop poor communities nationwide. Millions, literally millions, of jobs can be generated by a green development strategy. How? Aside from the ecotourism projects that the good secretary mentioned for communities devastated by unregulated mining activities, the government may institute the following: First, undertaking greening and climate change-proofing for all barangays nationwide. These
are growth locomotives and job generators, especially in depressed barangays that require renewal. Some United Nations agencies, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units have community-rebuilding experiences that show how idle or unemployed workers can be mobilized to do low-cost but climate-change-important fortification projects, such as dredging of waterways; concreting of flood walls and pathways; fortifying or rebuilding of multipurpose community centers (which also serve as refugee centers in times of Continued on A2
n japan 0.4414 n UK 61.4345 n HK 6.4810 n CHINA 7.2881 n singapore 35.6720 n australia 38.1821 n EU 53.1922 n SAUDI arabia 13.4213
Source: BSP (8 March 2017 )
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A2 Thursday, March 9, 2017
Cities reckon with downsides of thriving nightlife industry Continued from A1
“The barangay people apprehend the people who are offering oral sex service in the dark areas in the area,” she said. The area is now under the radar of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Binge drinking
ACCORDING to officials of the MMDA, the unbridled sale of liquor by bars, nightclubs and restaurants, like those operating along the Padre Burgos Street on Makati Avenue, leads to drunk driving. Bars, nightclubs and other business establishments serving alcohol should have a strict guideline or system that will determine if a particular customer has already reached his or her maximum alcohol tolerance level, according to the MMDA. This will help prevent accidents happening during nighttime involv-
NFA. . .
Continued from A1
The council allowed the purchase of rice imports to fill the gap in local output caused by El Niño. “The NFA wants to import the remaining 250,000 MT to boost our supply. Because if, God forbid, we will be hit by typhoons and other natural calamities, we might not have sufficient stock to distribute to those who will be affected,” Aquino said. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and local government units provide NFA rice to victims of natural calamities. Should the NFAC approve the food agency’s proposal, Aquino said the 250,000 MT of imported rice should arrive in the country by April, which will give the NFA enough time to position its stocks before the onset of the lean months. The rice imports will be purchased via governmentto-government deals. Aquino said he would also propose the importation of an additional 550,000 MT of rice to ensure that the NFA would have the required 30-day buffer stock during the lean months. “The NFA will urge the council to allow the importation of the 550,000 MT,” he said.
ing intoxicated drivers who usually come from bars or nightclubs. “It’s about time the government should have some kind of control over these business establishments,” former MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino was earlier quoted as saying. Tolentino has said most of the drunk drivers the MMDA have apprehended or who have figured in accidents are those who just came from a drinking binge at bars and nightclubs. He said these nightspots are making a killing by offering “beer promos” at outrageously low prices, which only encourage customers to buy more and get inebriated. “Those ‘beer bucket’ promos lure customers to drink more,” he said. “And once they are into it, they forget they still have to drive home.”
THE MMDA has formed a team
that goes around the prominent bars and nightclubs in Metro Manila to check on the operation of these establishments. “We have to have a rule wherein a customer should no longer be served any alcoholic drinks if his or her blood alcohol concentration level has already reached, for example, 0.08 percent,” Tolentino has said. Tolentino also ordered a thorough study about the legal implications of this situation. According to the MMDA, other countries have stricter laws against drunk driving and have adopted stringent measures, such as on-thespot breath analysis. Likewise, former president and now Pampanga Second District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has filed a bill seeking to criminalize drunk driving. Her son, former Rep. Diosdado Arroyo of the Second District of Camarines Sur, coauthored House
The importation could be done via government to government. Bidding for the volume, he said, should start by June. The NFA is required to maintain a 15day buffer stock equivalent to around 400,000 MT at any given time. During the lean months, the NFA is required to have a 30-day buffer stock equivalent to 800,000 MT. These volumes are based on the current national daily rice-consumption requirement pegged at 654,400 50-kilogram bags, or 32,720 MT. As of March 8, Aquino said the country’s total rice stock was at 2.6 million metric tons (MMT). Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), he said the NFA’s rice stock is at 400,000 MT, while rice in commercial warehouses and household reached 948,000 MT and 1.269 MMT, respectively. Aquino said the NFAC was scheduled to meet on Wednesday. The council is the highest policy-making body that oversees the affairs of the NFA, particularly in deliberating and approving rice-importation proposals via government to government or the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme. The NFAC is comprised of the Cabinet secretary sitting as its chairman, while the NFA administrator serves as the vice chairman. Other members of the current NFAC include the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, Development Bank of the
Philippines chairman, president of the Land Bank of the Philippines, finance secretary, trade secretary, socioeconomic planning secretary and a representative from a farmers’ group. The NFA is mandated by the LegislativeExecutive Development Advisory Council to maintain a food-security reserve good for at least 15 days at any given time. The NFA is also required have at least a 30-day buffer stock during the lean months of July, August and September when farmers do not usually harvest rice. The volume of rice imports is recommended by the National Food Security Committee (NFSC). It is composed of the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority as chairman and the deputy national statistician of the PSA as vice chairman. Other members of the NFSC are the administrator of NFA and representatives from the Policy Research Service and National Rice Program of the Department of Agriculture, the BSP, Department of Finance, National Irrigation Administration, Department of Trade and Industry, and the weather bureau Pagasa as members. Based on NFSC’s assessment of the local harvest and supply situation, the government imports only the shortfall in local harvest for buffer stocking purposes.
Rules, proposals
Bill 382 that, if passed into law, will slap a P5,000 fine and a twomonth suspension of the driver’s license of first-time offenders. It also sets a P6,000 fine and a threemonth suspension of driver’s license for second-time offenders. For the third offense, the penalty is set at P7,000 and six-month suspension of the driver’s license. Succeeding offenses will result in a P7,000 fine and automatic revocation of a driver’s license. In filing the bill, Mrs. Arroyo cited studies showing that drunk drivers have a higher risk of being involved in a road accident than those who have not consumed alcohol. She also mentioned a Philippine Statistics Authority report showing that in 2009, there has been a 6.2-percent increase in alcohol-related accidents nationwide resulting to death, physical injuries and damage to properties.
Letter to Vietnam In a March 3 letter addressed to Truong Triue Duong, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Embassy of Vietnam, Aquino said the NFA informed Hanoi that Manila did not ex tend the rice arrivals under the 2016 MAV importation program. “The main reason is for the immediate conduct of government-to-government importation of rice which is scheduled this March,” Aquino said in the letter, a copy of which was sent to reporters on March 6. In an earlier statement, Aquino said the subject of the letter sent to the Vietnamese Embassy was for the procurement of the remaining 250,000 MT of the approved standby authority in 2015. “That’s what we were saying, that our current supply is on the critical level but the importation is still subject of the implementation of the NFAC. That was the plan; we were pushing the council for the approval of the 250,000 MT so we can implement that as early as March,” Aquino said. Earlier Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco Jr., ex-officio chairman of the NFAC, said the council has rejected the proposal of Aquino to import 1 MMT via governmentto-government deals. Evasco said the NFA would incur more debts if the council would allow the food agency to import rice.
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Creating more and better jobs by greening the economy Continued from a1
disasters), strengthening of dikes, building cheap but stronger homes, etc. In short, community rebuilding can address the damaging impacts of CC in an economically productive, sustainable, participatory and anticipatory manner while creating jobs for the estimated 3 million unemployed Filipinos. At least, a quarter of the 42,000 barangays in the country need some rebuilding and CC-resilience fortification. Second, strengthening the greening program for our forestlands. Despite the National Greening Program (NGP) of the past administration, satellite maps indicate that we still have a long way to go in greening our forestlands, not to mention the need to reforest mangrove areas around our vast archipelago. The poor who forage the forests or even harvest trees should be transformed into communities of forest keepers, as advocated by Haribon and the Visayas State University. Part of the huge conditional cash transfer (CCT) funds should go to those managing and keeping the forests. In addition, there are other job-creating green programs: enforcing all the environmental laws (air, water, etc.) and transforming the dumps in each city and locality into integrated solid-waste facilities (for example, organic waste transformed into organic fertilizer, nonorganic materials into “brick” construction materials, and methane gas as fuel for power cogeneration). And yes, the greening program should include the greening of the “brown” Philippine economic sectors—industry, agriculture and services. Again, how? First, we need to restore and sustain “industrial dynamism” by pursuing an industrial policy to upgrade and diversify the industrial structure. The various DTI-led industry road maps should focus on how each industry can go up the industry ladder with the help of the academia. As a 2012 ADB study put it, this is the only way we can create more values/jobs and become more competitive. This is also one way of reversing industrial stagnation brought about by the country’s past adherence to neoliberal economic fallacies. Incidentally, this approach will also strengthen industrial peace because going higher means going away from the traditional labor-intensive processes (but not necessarily jobintensive economy-wide) and the practice of short-term hiring, which fuels labor unrest (due to emphasis on wage and union restraint). Finally, going higher value added means getting out of smokestack industries. The point is that the Philippines should get out of the rut of the failed labor-intensive, low-technology, low-skill and uncompetitive industrial production, which is also generally environmentally degrading. Second, we need to modernize agriculture by going organic. Despite the 2010 law promoting a shift to organic agriculture, the percentage of the total farming sector practicing organic farming is still less than 2 percent, per estimates by University of the Philippines Los Baños agronomists, like Dr. Ted Mendoza. Greening the agriculture sector through ecologically sound farming approaches, such as organic, biodynamic, natural farming and quantum agriculture methods, among others, will not only help revive the soil poisoned by a century of chemical agriculture but will also create more agricultural jobs. Modern organic or sustainable agriculture is science- and labor-intensive, for it requires careful seed selection and preparation, and consistent caring of the farm and nature, from seed production to harvesting. Agricultural modernization is also a key in the country’s efforts to regain self-sufficiency in staple crops, vegetables and other agricultural products. Hence, what is needed is more policy consistency in the promotion of organic farming, the greater popularization of good practices in organic farming, and the formulation by the DA of a doable national action program in support of the shift from chemical to organic farming. Third, the huge services sector needs to be greened, as well, through the adoption of more eco-friendly and eco-oriented business practices, including better treatment of workers through the culture of social partnership and respect for the rights of both workers and employers. Some of the premier tourist destinations in the country today are those espousing the principles of ecotourism, such as Subic, Bohol and Palawan. If the country can be cleaned up and greened, it has the potentials of rivaling its Asian neighbors in attracting tourists, from the current 5 million to 6 million visitors a year to 15 million to 20 million. Finally, the government needs to be resolute in its support to the clean renewables (wind, solar, hydro and geothermal). They can all create jobs. And so are the various green industry and green agriculture initiatives of CSR-conscious corporations and civil-society groups. In fact, we have an abundance of green CSR/CSO ideas and projects. The challenge is how to make these initiatives the dominant practices in each town or community. Overall, it is clear that the Philippines has the means to achieve full employment while greening the archipelago. However, for this to happen, economic planners and policy-makers need to rethink the existing development paradigm. A good starting point is to examine if the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 reflects the green aspirations of a nation, which is considered one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate-change risks.
Pru Life. . .
Continued from A12
Raffle and other prizes will also be provided by the premier insurance firm. PRU Life UK and the Philippines Graphic have been partners in supporting Philippine literature through the Graphic’s regular literary section and the NJLA since 2011. PRU Life UK has actively participated in the promotion of Philippine literature and support for the Filipino writers whose work sees publication in the Graphic through the NJLA. The financial grant that the British life insurance and fund management provider offered will be used for the NJLA, which was first launched by the Philippines Graphic in 1990. The Philippines Graphic, led now by its Editor in Chief Joel Pablo Salud, has already given numerous awards to Filipino fictionists and poets whose work has made the cut for publication in the magazine’s literary section. Trisha Jean V. de Leon
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The Nation BusinessMirror
Purge of antideath-penalty congressmen set next week By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
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PEAKER Pantaleon D. Alvarez on Wednesday said he would push through his decision to remove from their posts House leaders who voted against the passage of the death-penalty bill. “It is as good as day follows night,” Alvarez said in an interview. The Speaker said he would discuss the matter with Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas. For his part, Fariñas said no replacements in the leadership positions “will happen yet”. “I made a plea to the Speaker that he will allow me to handle the matter, which he has kindly granted while saying ‘only because I trust your judgment’,” Fariñas said. “I’m the majority leader and I handle affairs pertaining to the majority, in the same manner that the minority leader does with his group. The Speaker is the head of the House of Representatives and wants to run the House through his majority and minority leaders. I serve at the pleasure of the Speaker, and I am responsible and accountable to him with respect to the members of the majority,” Fariñas added. House leaders who voted against Alvarez’s proposal reviving the death penalty are Deputy Speaker Gloria Arroyo and committee chairmen—Party-list Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna (Committee on Natural Resources), Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers (Committee on Public Information) and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela (Committee on Poverty Alleviation); Liberal Party Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto of Batangas (Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation) and Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Evelina Escudero of Sorsogon (Committee on Basic Education and Culture). Liberal Party Rep. Henedina Abad of Batanes (Committee on Government Reorganization), Liberal Party Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte of Quezon City (Special Committee on Land Use), Liberal Party Rep. Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands (Committee on People's Participation), Party-list Rep. Michael Velarde Jr. of Buhay (Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs), Party-list Rep. Sitti-Djalia-Hataman of Anak Mindanao
FARIÑAS; “I made a plea to the Speaker that he will allow me to handle the matter, which he has kindly granted while saying ‘only because I trust your judgment’.”
(Committee on Muslim Affairs) and Commission on Appointments member and Liberal Party Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato of Oriental Mindoro may also lose their post for voting against the death penalty. For their part, Bag-ao, Tinio, Zarate and de Jesus said they were willing to leave their post in the lower chamber. Voting 217-54-1, the lower chamber passed on Tuesday House Bill (HB) 4727, which reimposed the death penalty. Under the bill, the death penalty shall be executed through hanging, firing squad and lethal injection. The death sentence shall be carried out not earlier that one year nor later than 18 months after the judgement has become final and executory, without prejudice to the exercise by the President of executive clemency power at all times. Under HB 4727, the drug offenses punishable by penalty of reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million are importation of dangerous drugs; sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs maintenance of a den, dive or resort; manufacture of dangerous drugs; and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals; misappropriation, misapplication or failure to account for confiscated, seized or surrendered dangerous drugs and planting of evidence. Capital punishment was abolished in 2006 by a law signed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. President Rodrigo Duterte, however, has called for the passage of the measure to stop the proliferation of drugs and criminality. Alvarez said Duterte has lauded the passage of the capital punishment bill despite the removal of plunder and rape from the list of offenses that merit the supreme punishment.
‘Usurpation suit vs Abad over DAP fund misuse should include Aquino’
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By Marvyn N. Benaning | Correspondent
CONGRESSMAN on Monday scored the Ombudsman for not including former President Benigno S. Aquino III in the usurpation complaint against former Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad for disbursing billions of pesos for the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). “The Ombudsman finding of probable cause for the filing of usurpation of legislative powers charge against former Budget Secretary Abad over the unlawful Disbursement Acceleration Program issuance is still ‘wanting’ for failing to indict as well former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, the author of DAP,” Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna said. “Bitin ang decision ng Ombudsman dahil dapat kasama si Aquino sa dapat kasuhan,” Zarate added.
Aquino appointed retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio Morales as Ombudsman following the resignation of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who was impeached by an Aquino House of Representatives. Instead of facing an impeachment trial at the Senate that was, likewise, controlled by Aquino allies, Gutierrez resigned. “It is highly unacceptable why Aquino was spared when his very signature appears on the DAP memo. His pronouncements and defense of
@jrsanjuan1573
T
HE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday arrested a computer science student from Isabela for alleged violation of the cybercrime law by phishing. Arrested was Christian Ian Salvador, a 22-year-old computer science student from the Isabela State University, after it was discovered that he obtained sensitive infor-
mation of clients of a local bank, such as usernames, passwords and credit-card number and security code, among others. Investigators said Salvador admitted committing the illegal acts but said “it was for research purposes only”. The NBI said Salvador sold the phished information to third parties. He also used the phished creditcard credentials to purchase electronic gadgets that he sold later. He also allegedly managed to
the DAP clearly point to his authorship of the DAP. Why would an alter ego be punished when his principal remain unscathed? We will file a motion for reconsideration upon receiving a copy of the decision,” the Davao City-based legislator said. “We urge the Ombudsman to restudy the case and include President Aquino for those to be held accountable for the DAP,” Zarate also said. On Tuesday Morales has found probable cause to charge Abad with violation of Article 239 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), or usurpation of legislative powers. The charge arose from Abad’s unlawful issuance of National Budget Circular (NBC) 541 to carry out the implementation of the controversial DAP involving P72 billion. NBC 541 authorizes the withdrawal of unobligated allotments of agencies with low levels of obligations as of June 30, 2012. Likewise, Abad was found guilty of simple misconduct and ordered suspended for three months. However, considering his separation from the service, the penalty is convertible to a fine equivalent to his salary for three months. The cases stemmed from the complaint filed by Zarate, Renato Reyes, Benjamin Valbuena, Dante
LA Jimenez, Mae Paner, Antonio Flores, Gloria Arellano and Bonifacio Carmona Jr. The Ombudsman found that by issuing NBC 541, Abad unlawfully encroached on the powers of Congress by effectively modifying the provisions on savings of the 2012 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Morales said, “NBC 541 provided the principal bases for the withdrawal of unobligated allotments which were declared as savings and used to fund PAPs [programs, activities and projects] under the DAP. The issuance of this circular is an act of usurpation. This is contrary to law.” It can be recalled that in 2014 the SC declared unconstitutional the following acts committed in pursuance of the DAP: withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies; the declaration of the withdrawn unobligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings prior to the end of the fiscal year without complying with the statutory definition of savings contained in the GAA; and the cross-border transfers of the savings of the Executive to augment the appropriations of other offices outside the Executive. With PNA
Consumer group worried over RCOA setback at SC
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CONSU M ER g roup on Wednesday said the move by the Supreme Court (SC) slapping a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the implementation of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) scheme was “a major setback”. The Court recently stopped the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) from implementing RCOA based on a petition by a group, led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). The Action for Consumerism and Transparency in Nation-building (Action), a non-governmental organization advocating consumer welfare, said the Court’s TRO favored “the interest of rich indus-
tries over the interest of millions of household consumers.” Action Spokesman Jake Silo said the TRO was a “turnaround on the part of the SC, which, in the past, was clearly pro-consumer.” Silo added the latest development favored the “last-ditch efforts of rich businessmen represented by the PCCI to prevent the mandatory migration of large electricity users from the captive market to the competitive retail electricity market [CREM].” Silo said the group is surprised by the SC move because “it contradicts an earlier TRO issued by the SC’s Second Division issued in October last year.” “That particular TRO stopped a lower court’s order halting the implementation of mandatory con-
NBI nabs computer science student for phishing By Joel R. San Juan
Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Thursday, March 9, 2017 A3
purchase a brand-new Toyota Vios, as well as a Honda Beat and a Yamaha Mio motorcycles. “Ina-admit ko naman po ako talaga pinanggalingan pero hindi ko po siya ginamit for illegal purposes [I admit I was the source (of the phished information) but I never used it for illegal purposes],” Salvador told reporters. Salvador managed to phish information by sending e-mails to customers of the bank saying informing the clients that due to secu-
rity reasons, the bank was performing an update of its online banking database and the customers need to update their bank information by clicking on a link. Once the bank client inputs the required information and once it was entered, it would be collated and sent to Salvador’s e-mail. But Salvador denied profiting from the phished information but said he shared the information to another person who probable passed the information to other people.
READY TO WORK WITH PARTNERS The littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) transits the West Philippine Sea. The ship is a fast and agile warship tailor-made to patrol the region’s littoral waters and work hull-to-hull with partner navies, providing the US 7th Fleet with the flexible capabilities it needs. US NAVY PHOTO
testability based on a petition by Meralco,” Silo explained. “We had pinned our hopes on the onset of mandatory contestabilty scheduled on February 26,” Silo added. Mandatory contestability advances RCOA in the electric-power industry. It gives the CREM with volume demand from large power consumers with average peak demand of at least 1 megawatt (MW) the choice of which licensed retail electricity supplier (RES) to source their requirements from. Migration to RES has been voluntary since RCOA officially commenced in 2013. Silo noted that smaller consumers whose average peak demand is at least 750 kilowatts (kW) would
have been “next in line to benefit from RCOA if the timetable had not been set back.” “They were due to be part of the CREM by June 26 of this year,” he noted. Based on the guidelines, the threshold would have been brought down to 500 kW by next year. The migration from captured market to the contestable category is designed to continue until it reaches the household level. “The vigorous push for RCOA by ERC Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar brought us closest to this goal enshrined in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act [Epira],” Silo said. “To be denied the fulfillment of that aspiration feels like a grave injustice,” Silo added. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
NPA guerrillas kill 4 cops in ambush By Manuel T. Cayon
@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief
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AVAO CITY—Four Davao del Sur policemen, including a crime scene investigator, were killed in an ambush staged by communist New People’s Army on Wednesday morning in Bansalan town. The policemen were on their way to investigate an alleged killing when the ambush happened. The regional police command here requested the media to withhold the names of the victims pending notification of their next of kin. Another policeman, Police Officer 3 Allen Arnado, was wounded and was taken to a still undisclosed hospital near Bansalan, 71 kilometers southwest of this city. At about 7:45 a.m., just as the joint local police-Scene of Crime Operatives detachment was approaching the outskirts Barangay Sibayan, Bansalan, NPA guerrillas fired at the lawmen from about 100 meters away. One of the Soco investigators was able to call his headquarters about the ambush. The police-Soco team was sent to the barangay to check on the reported killing, that was reported by Barangay Chairman Eddie Dicdican of Sibayan at 6:30 a.m. to the Bansalan police. The Bansalan Police Station sent patrol cars to ferry the policemen, as well as the scene of crime investigators who
fetched from the capital city of Digos. The regional police report said the highway going to the barangay was supposed to have been cleared of rebels earlier. Meanwhile, four rebels were killed on Tuesday afternoon in a gun battle with troops from the Army’s Second Infantry “Jungle Fighter” Division in Quezon. Four high-powered weapons—two AK-47 rifles, an M-16 rifle and an M-203 grenade—were recovered from the encounter scene at Sitio Umagos, Barangay Mabunga, San Francisco, Quezon. Military authorities in the area said the troops were sent to the area after a resident reported the presence of rebels in the barangay. In South Cotabato a militiaman allegedly shot dead two comrades after a spat over kitchen duties on Monday. The suspect, Jeffrey Tante, 23, of Barangay Kablon, Tupi town, reportedly engaged earlier his townmate, Raymund Blanza, 25, and Tupi resident Jose Uganap, in a heated argument over their kitchen chores. The detachment commander said he intervened in the dispute and convinced the three to come to an agreement during which Tante was chosen to man the kitchen. However, Tante suddenly took his M-16 rifle and opened fire on the two other militiamen and then fled. The Tampakan police are still tracking him down. With R. Acosta
Economy
A4 Thursday, March 9, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon
BusinessMirror
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Industry source: Meralco generation charge for March may amount to ₧4.90 per kWh
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By Lenie Lectura
@llectura
eneration charge of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for this month could amount to P4.90 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), higher than the previous month’s P4.32-per-kWh generation charge. The amount already includes the P0.22-per-kWh adjustment in fuel cost brought about by the shift in liquid fuel by the power plants during the 20-day shutdown of the Malampaya natural-gas facility. The remaining P0.58 per kWh, meanwhile, is the actual increase in generation charge for the February supply month. Meralco has yet to announce official figures for March power
bills, but the P4.90-per-kWh generation charge was revealed on Wednesday by an industry source. The Department of Energy (DOE) and Meralco are set to jointly announce the March electricity rates on Thursday. Meralco had sought the recovery of P2.4 billion for sourcing its power requirements from other power suppliers whose generators are fueled by liquid gas during the
Value of construction projects jumped 20.2% to ₧82.4B in Q4 2016–PSA
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he total value of construction projects posted a doubledigit growth in the last quarter of 2016, according to government data released on Wednesday. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the value of construction projects in the October-toDecember period last year reached P82.4 billion, a 20.2-percent growth from P68.6 billion in 2015. The PSA said the total value of construction refers to the sum of the cost of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and others. “The value is derived from the approved building permit and represents the estimated value of the building or structure when completed,” the PSA said. The double-digit growth in total construction value was mainly due to the 58.3-percent growth in the value of residential constructions. The construction of residential condominiums, apartments, single-detached houses and other housing units were valued at P47.5 billion in 2016, higher than the P30 billion in 2015. Further, alteration and repair of existing structures valued at P5.2 billion, a 45-percent increase compared with P3.6 billion recorded in 2015. The growth in these sectors were more than enough to compensate the 4.4-percent decline in the value of nonresidential construction projects and 36.7- percent drop in the value of addition to existing structures. The value of nonresidential construction projects for industrial, institutional, commercial and other buildings declined to P29 billion in the last quarter of 2016, from P33.9 billion in 2015.
58.3% The growth in the value of residential constructions from the October-toDecember period of 2016
T he const r uct ion of add itions to existing structures only amounted to P700 million in the October-to- December period in 2016, from P1.1 billion in the same period in 2015. Nationwide, the combined construction value of the top 5 regions amounted to P61.7 billion, which comprised 74.9 percent of the total. Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) remained highest in terms of value of construction estimated at P30.3 billion, or 36.7 percent of the total. This was followed by Calabarzon and Central Visayas with construction value of P13.7 billion, or 16.6 percent; and P7.6 billion, or 9.3 percent of the total, respectively. Central Luzon with construction value of P6.1 billion, or 7.4 percent; and Negros Island region, with P4 billion, or 4.9 percent of the total, placed fourth and fifth, respectively. In the last quarter of the year, there were a total of 32,282 in 2016. This was only a 2-percent growth from the 31,638 constructions during the same quarter of 2015. Residential constructions also grew by 2 percent to 24,752, from 24,274 in 2015, while nonresidential constructions numbering to 3,981 posted 7.1-percent increase from 3,717 in 2015. Cai U. Ordinario
₧2.4B The total amount that Meralco has sought to recover for sourcing its power requirements from other power suppliers that use generators fueled with liquid gas during the recent Malampaya shutdown. The ERC, however, approved only P1.752 billion.
Malampaya shutdown. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), however, approved only P1.752 billion. “The ERC’s computation reflected a lower total fuel cost in the
amount of P1.752 billion compared to Meralco’s proposal of P2.417 billion, or a difference of some P665 million,” the ERC said. The amount was lower as the ERC’s calculation made use of the previous month’s actual fuel cost, while Meralco’s computations were based on forecasted fuel cost. The approved P1.752 billion will be collected from consumers through an upward adjustment in the generation charge in the amount of P0.2211 per kWh for three months on a staggered basis from March to May 2017 billings. Meralco filed on January 31 an application for the approval of the staggered recovery and payment of the differential generation charge for the February 2017 supply month, with prayer for provisional authority in view of the Malampaya shutdown from January 28 to February 16, which affected the supply of natural gas to the power plants
of Ilijan, Santa Rita, San Lorenzo, San Gabriel and Avion. These plants supply an aggregate capacity of 3,211 megawatts (MW) to the Luzon grid, of which 2,565 MW is supplied to Meralco’s franchise area. Overall, Meralco proposed to collect a total of P0.9174 per kWh and to collected the amount in three tranches starting with P0.30 per kWh in March electricity bills, another P0.30 per kWh in April, and the balance to be reflected in May power bills. The said Malampaya shutdown coincided with the scheduled maintenance of the other power plants, such as SEM-Calaca Power Corp. Unit 1 and Quezon Power (Philippines) Ltd., which collectively contributes some 585 MW of Meralco’s power requirements. Essentially, Meralco had to source its power requirements from other power suppliers that use liquid fuel, which is more costly than natural gas.
Survey shows most Pinays prefer work-from-home jobs By Cai U. Ordinario
@cuo_bm
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F given a choice, both men and women in the Philippines prefer that women work while staying at home to care for their families. This was based on the International Labour Organization (ILO)Gallup report, titled Towards a better future for women and work: Voices of women and men, which surveyed 1,000 Filipinos in June 2016. The data showed 47 percent of women and 43 percent of men preferred that they or the women in their families work at a paid job while staying at home. “This survey clearly shows that most women and men around the globe prefer that women have paid jobs. Family-supportive policies, which enable women to remain and progress in paid employment and encourage men to take their fair share of care work, are crucial to achieving gender equality at work,” ILO Director General Guy Ryder said. ILO said that currently, around 33 percent of women in the country are working full time and 15 percent are working part time. Only 6 percent were looking for work while 46 percent, or nearly half, are not looking for work. Survey data also showed that among the women respondents, the majority of those who preferred to do both—work at a paid job while providing care for their families— were aged 15 to 29, while 45 percent were aged 30 and above. It was the same trend among the men, since 46 percent of them who said women in their family should do both are 15 to 29 years old and 42 percent were 30 years old and older.
Meanwhile, the survey results showed that around 37 percent of women, said they prefer to work at a paid job while 15 percent preferred to stay at home. Among the men, only 27 percent preferred that women work at a paid job and 30 percent should stay home. “The world needs to advance gender equality and empower women at work. Not just for the benefit of women, but for the benefit of all humankind,” said Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO of Gallup. Globally, a total of 70 percent of women and a similar 66 percent of men would prefer that women work at paid jobs. Women worldwide would prefer to be either working at paid jobs at 29 percent or be in situations in
which they could both work and take care of their families, or 41 percent. Only 27 percent of women want to stay at home. “The 70 percent of women who would like to work at paid jobs notably includes a majority of women who are not in the work force,” ILO said. “This is true in almost all regions worldwide, including several regions where women’s labour force participation is traditionally low, such as the Arab States and territories,” it added. The results come from the Gallup World Poll which was conducted in 142 countries and territories and surveyed almost 149,000 adults. The results are representative of more than 99 percent of the global adult population.
Study notes Internet speed improvement, but more capital needed to upgrade telecom infra
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hile average Internet connection speed is increasing, a study finds that local telecom firms must continue to put up large capital costs and significant annual expenditures in order to maintain and upgrade the network infrastructure, as well as invest in new technologies and facilities. An academic research paper by University of the Philippines (UP) Prof. Emeritus Epictetus Patalinghug, et al., called an Assessment of the Structure, Conduct and Performance of the Philippine Telecommunications Industry, explained that the rate of change of average Internet connection speed in the Philippines is increasing, this gap will soon be bridged by new investments in network facilities. Data from content delivery network ser vices provider A kamai
showed that the average connection speed for fixed broadband in the Philippines in the second quarter of 2016 increased by 23 percent over the previous quarter. Mobile broadband fared even better, with almost twice the average connection speed of fixed broadband in the same period. Akamai’s third quarter of 2016 report, on the other hand, showed further improvement as the Philippines’s average mobile Internet speed of 13.9 mbps for the July-toSeptember period was the fastest in the Asia-Pacific region. Gaining more ground in broadband speed and service delivery will mean overcoming more barriers, however, among them the massive annual capital requirements to continually maintain and upgrade the network infra-
st r uc t u re. Ph i l ippi ne te lecom firms’ investments in major infrastructure programs are expected to continue even beyond 2020. In 2015 alone, capital expenditures amounted to 29 percent of PLDT and Globe’s total service revenues. This ranked second only to China’s 36 percent globally. In contrast, telecoms firms in the US spent only 14 percent of their revenues on network improvements in 2015. For 2017, both PLDT and Globe have raised their capital expenditures for greater expansion of their networks and to improve their quality of service. PLDT reported that it plans to spend P40 billion for capital expenditures this year. The amount will be used for deploying additional frequencies, building up their fixed-line segment, and under-
taking a major network expansion to improve the coverage and quality of its voice, SMS and mobile Internet, particularly its LTE service. On the other hand, Globe disclosed that it had allotted about P38 billion for capital spending in 2017, mainly for deployments of LTE services using the 700-megahertz (MHz) and 2600-MHz frequencies, increased 3G capacities, further expansion of mobile coverage and deployment of fiber broadband technology for homes. While local telecom firms’ capital expenditures have been increasing significantly, this has had an adverse effect on their profitability and cashflow margins through the years. Both PLDT and Globe have, in fact, been earning below the average rate of returns when compared to those of top Philippine firms in other industries.
A look at return on assets (ROA) per industry from 1997 to 2014 shows that a department store, like SM, had an ROA of 14.42 percent, and a beer company, such as Asia Brewery, reached 12.13 percent, while PLDT and Globe recorded ROAs of only 9.18 percent and 6.70 percent, respectively. The market and competitive analysis of the industry by the research paper points to fierce competition between Globe and PLDT, particularly in terms of price competition and the race to install and upgrade facilities. The market realities of capital intensity, sunk costs and economies of network size, therefore, result in lower profitability in the long run. These serve as barriers to entry for new players, especially in less populated “last-mile” areas whose infrastructure deployment cost is far higher compared to dense urban areas.
DOJ: No basis yet to arrest Mighty Corp. owner, execs By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
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HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to give the owner and some top officials of tobacco firm Mighty Corp. due process in connection with its supposed failure to pay its tax liabilities with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). In a news statement, Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II explained that it did not heed President Duterte’s order to arrest Mighty Corp. owner Alex Wongchuking when the latter sought an audience with him last Tuesday, since no cases have been filed against him. “We just talked. He expressed his willingness to fully cooperate with any investigation that may involve him. Why he was not arrested? At the time of our meeting yesterday [Tuesday], there were no cases filed against Mr. Alex Wongchuking yet, that is why I did not order [for] his arrest,” Aguirre said. It can be recalled that Duterte ordered Wongchuking’s arrest for “economic sabotage”. Wongchuking is being investigated by the bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BOC) for alleged tax evasion and other possible charges. Aguirre said, instead of immediately arresting Wongchuking, representatives of Mighty Corp., the BIR and the BOC, together with the DOJ, “should sit down and fully determine the exact liabilities” of the tobacco firm, if any. The DOJ secretary assured that the government is determine to collect Mighty Corp.’s tax obligations once it is established. “If the DOF or the BIR or the BOC will determine that a criminal case should be filed against Mighty Corp., its officers or against Alex Wongchuking with us at the DOJ, then we will faithfully discharge our duty and determine if probable cause exists,” Aguirre said. “There is no reason to have Alex Wongchuking arrested as of the moment. While the Department of Justice is at the forefront of ensuring that our laws be faithfully obeyed, there is a process that has to be observed under the law,” he added. The BOC earlier said it is readying charges of smuggling against those behind the shipments of Mighty brand cigarette bearing fake tax stamps that were seized in successive raids in Pampanga, General Santos, Cebu and Tacloban. The BOC’s legal service is already building a case against those behind the importation of the cigarettes, which it described as “counterfeit.” It can be recalled that the BOC and the BIR confiscated 11,044 master cases of Mighty brand cigarettes worth P215 million in General Santos City and 62,200 master cases valued at P1.98 billion in San Simon, Pampanga. Earlier this week, BOC seized three more containers carrying Mighty cigarettes in the Port of Cebu and in Tacloban in an operation led by Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon himself. Faeldon said the boxes were said to be part of several shipments of Mighty cigarettes bearing fake tax stamps. In a separate news statement, the BOC said it has the authority to seize smuggled cigarette packs bearing fake tax stamps found on the premises of cigarette manufacturing or storage facilities or those found in the domestic market pursuant to its border security mandate under Executive Order (EO) 127. It also cited Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), which gave the bureau the jurisdiction over imported articles until after payment of duties, taxes and other charges due upon the imported goods.
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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, March 9, 2017
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DA: $200-M tire factory to rise in Mindanao China to buy $1-B farm products from PHL–Lopez By Catherine N. Pillas @c_pillas29
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Rubber trees in Mindanao
Photo taken from www.gov.ph
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
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@jearcalas
he Department of Agriculture (DA) said it inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a local farmers’ group and a listed firm for the construction of a $200-million rubber-tire factory in Mindanao. Under the MOU, the DA, Philippine Rubber Farmers Association (PRFA) and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. have agreed to invest in putting up the Pilipinas Agila Tyre Manufacturing (PATM). Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said PATM is the first homegrown tire-manufacturing company. “Other Asian countries have
already established their own tire-manufactur ing company, why can’t we also do that? A tire factory in the Philippines will also mean a stable income for the country’s growing number of rubber farmers,” Piñol said in a statement released on Wednesday. The signing of the MOU was held in Ma lacañang and was witnessed by President Duterte
and Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on Tuesday. Piñol said the DA would assist in conducting the preparatory activities for the establishment of PATM in Mindanao, including its feasibility study. “PATM would be a game changer in the local rubber industry.” The DA said the construction of PATM would be facilitated by Phoenix in partnership with Finnish tire-manufacturing company Black Donuts Engineering Inc. (Black Donuts). Under the MOU, PATM would source its rubber requirement from members of the PRFA. In January Piñol invited the executives of Black Donuts to visit the Philippines for possible investments in the Davao and Cotabato areas, which accounted for a combined 42-percent share of the country’s total rubber output in 2016. In an interview in January,
Rodolfo L. Galang, interim executive director of the Philippine Rubber Research Institute—an attached agency of the DA—said the proposed 50-hectare rubbermanufacturing plant could produce at least 4 million tires a year. The tires are suitable for regular cars, pickup trucks and other small-type trucks, Galang said. He said 40 percent of tire production is made of natural rubber, which averages around 10 kilograms per tire. The goal of producing 4 million tires per year would require at least 16 million kilograms of rubber, or 16,000 metric tons (MT) annually. “We are producing enough ye a rl y re qu i re me nt , a rou nd 110,000 MT a year, but our consumption, according to our data, is only around 30,000 MT,” he said. Mindanao accounts for 99 percent of the countr y’s rubber production, according to government data.
El Niño seen arriving too late to hurt India’s monsoon rains
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ndia’s monsoon may escape the effects of a possible El Niño as the event that can bring dry weather to the world’s top cotton grower and secondbiggest wheat and sugar producer. “Mostly it may not have any impact on rains” because the El Niño probably won’t develop until later this year, said D.S. Pai, head of the long-range forecasting division of India Meteorological Department. “As of now it’s not indicating. There will be clarity when more information is available in April and May.” Forecasters globally have been increasing odds that El Niño will develop this year as temperatures in the Pacific Ocean rise. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology issued an El Niño “watch” on February 28, indicating the likelihood of the pattern forming this year is about 50 percent. Six climate models suggest thresholds may be reached by July. The US Climate Prediction Center raised its odds to 50-percent by the end of the year, while Malaysia puts a 50 percent chance of development between September and November. The 2015-2016 El Niño was the strongest since the record event of 1997-1998. A late El Niño may miss India’s monsoon season that runs from June through September, accounting for more than 70 percent of rain and watering more than half of all farmland. Rainfall was normal in 2016 following two years of
hina will import some $1 billion worth of agricultural products from the Philippines following the visit of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang this month, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Trade Secretar y R amon M. Lopez told reporters on Wednesday that a purchase agreement covering farm products will be signed during the visit of the Chinese official. “The Philippine government will include durian, avocado, banana, pineapple, coconut, mango, dragon fruit, mangosteen, marang, rice, coffee, cacao, fisheries, chicken and duck meat in the agreement,” Lopez said. China lifted its ban on the Philippines’s pineapple and banana exports last year before President Duterte’s state visit and signed a $100-million contract for fruit imports. Aside from bananas and pineapples, China is also keen on importing seafood from the Philippines, including crabs, shrimps, prawns, tuna and milkfish or bangus, according to the Department of Agriculture. Amid the territorial dispute bet ween Beijing and Manila, China suspended Philippine exporters who supposedly shipped bananas, where the pest Dysmi-
Farmers work on paddy fields near Nuagaon, Jagatsinghpur District. Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg
deficit that curbed output of sugar cane, wheat and pulses. The good monsoon rains encouraged farmers to expand crop planting and the government predicts India’s grain harvest will reach an alltime high on record rice, wheat and pulses production. Farmers are watching the rain and temperature outlooks, especially for wheat crops that are to be harvested from this month. Wheat production will probably fall short of a government forecast, spurring imports, according to a Bloomberg survey published
last month. India’s Meteorological Department said last week that abovenormal temperatures are likely across India from March to May after 2016 was the warmest year since 1901. While weak La Niña conditions have been prevailing over the Pacific Ocean since July, forecasts indicate the pattern will weaken and reach neutral levels during the premonsoon season, it said. “Any temperature that is above normal will have a direct bearing on the crop, be it north or central
India,” said G.P. Sharma, a former president of India’s Skymet Weather Services Pvt. “The crop needs cooler temperatures and a spell of rain also. The combination of the two decides the size of grain and yield.” Rain is likely in parts of wheatgrowing states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan this week, according to India’s weather department. Temperatures rose in the north parts of the country in the second half of February, it said. Bloomberg News
coccus neobrevipes was detected in March last year. The pest was found by the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ ) in the shipment made by NKM Import/Export Inc. AQSIQ also destroyed the banana shipment of Sumifru to Shenzen Everglory Trading Co. Ltd. for supposedly containing carbendazim level, which exceeded China’s maximum residue level of 0.1 milligrams/kilogram. In the first half of 2016, China bought 139,263.718 metric tons of bananas valued at $68.748 million, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). China accounted for 26 percent of the country’s total banana exports during the period. China is the Philippines’s second major trading partner, fourthlargest export market and top import supplier in 2015.
PCA raises concerns over impacts of drop in global copra prices
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Farmers work on paddy fields near Nuagaon, Jagatsinghpur District. Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg
Lopez
ACLOBAN CITY— Global copra price has decreased steadily in the past two months, raising concerns that downward trading value may lose farmers’ interest to seriously cultivate coconut in Eastern Visayas region. The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said United States’s production of soybeans, one of the leading competitors of coconut oil in the international market, has soared since last month, prompting some buyers to shift to alternative oil. The situation forced Philippine coconut-oil producers to adjust prices, according to the PCA. From an average copra farm-gate price of P39.06 per kilogram, it went down to P36.44 in February. In the first week of March, its value further dipped to only P30.96. PCA Eastern Visayas Regional Manager Joel Pilapil is anxious that if prices of copra will continue to drop in the next months, farmers may lose their interest to join in the coconut-replanting program and process less productive trees into logs. The government embarked on massive replanting activities after Supertyphoon Yolanda that either uprooted or sheared 16.1 million coconut trees when it struck on November 8, 2013. “If prices are high, farmers are more motivated to replant, make existing trees more productive,” Pilapil said. The official, however, noted that this year’s prices is higher than the pre-Yolanda years, where it dropped to as low as P10 to P15 per kilogram. Copra is the dried meat, or dried kernel, of the coconut used to extract coconut oil. The oil is extracted from it and this has made copra an important commodity for the coconut-producing Eastern Visayas region. Other competitors of copra in terms of oil extraction in the global market are soya, palm, rapeseed and sunflower. A third of the region’s farming communities are dependent in coconut production, hence, copra price adjustments have huge impacts to the local economy, according to Pilapil. Before the 2013 monster typhoon struck, the region has been producing 2 billion nuts, the second highest in the country. In 2016 the projected coconut production is at 1.6 billion nuts. The goal is to restore the output to pre-Yolanda level within two years. PNA
TheBroad
Business
A6 Thursday, March 9, 2017
The making of PHL’s P
By Roger Pe
ICTURE-pretty. Pictureladen. That’s all. Back in the 1990s, our tourism commercials had that kind of formula. The usual mandatory slogan was also all over, as if mentioning it at the end shot was not enough. It was always a menu of the usual, like going to a bookstore’s postcard section, and you see the same pictures over and over again. You leaf through the pages of a tourism book or a magazine for expatriates, and you see the same batch.
You pick up a twofold leaflet in the airport, and you immediately recognize them. You look around, and you see big bold lighted billboards of the same. Oh, they are also on the inflight magazine’s cover. What happened to the rest? We’re supposed to have 7,641 islands, to be exact, some of them more spectacular and jaw-dropping. Why are they not being promoted? On January 25 the muchawaited Department of Tourism (DOT) television commercial had its soft launch, aired without much fanfare. It was coming from the heels of an era where tourism advertising in the region was being eagerly watched and global advertising award shows have elevated it as a mainstream category.
Endearing
TOURISM advertising in the Philippines has leapfrogged, from a pro bono exercise to a legitimate business, in the last seven years. The acquisition of the contract for tourism advertising gives the winning ad agency some kind of a prestige and a halo of importance, far from the age of yore when it could be had without having to pitch. People were also itching to see what a less award-conscious agency would come up with. Would it fall short of the standard that has been set like those on the Cannes reel? Would it raise the ante and escort its predecessor to the archives of the 1990s? When “Anak” broke on traditional and social media, Filipino viewers, as well as global audiences of the 2016 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, saw something different. Not the usual fare but something that touches on one of the most important components of Filipino society: family. The ad was simple, unassuming and told a heartwarming story why “It’s more fun in the Philippines”. Finally, the campaign was strategically tighter, and did not just resort to word pun to escape scrutiny. It presented a universal truth about Filipinos, and that made it doubly endearing.
‘Anak’
THE commercial shows foreign traveler Jack Ellis being offered a local food by a Filipina mother who addresses him as her own anak (child). Curious, he nonchalantly asks his tourist guide the meaning of the word. He looks back with a sense of wonder. That ad got good reviews on social media, and even top advertising creative directors publicly announced their positive sentiments for the spot. Anak is said to be part of a series of video campaigns that will be shown locally and internationally. At a news briefing before pro-
Former Hollywood actor James Gaines (Apocalypse Now fame), now associate producer of Actor’s Prime
duction of the material began, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said they stuck with the current slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”. Still, they deemed it more appropriate to focus on the traits of the Filipino people, as suggested by United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. Rifai said the slogan should answer and define “why it’s more fun in the country”, and stressed that most countries have already beaches, malls and restaurants. “But being Filipinos makes you different, you are Filipinos.” There lies the unique selling proposition. Previously, Tourism Undersecretary Kat de Castro also said the new campaign would be more specific in terms of the destinations and activities tourists can do in the country.
The Enchanted River of Hinatuan, Surigao
The agency
HAVING said that, McCann World Group Philippines, once famous for its “Truth Well Told” dictum, rolled up its sleeves and buckled down to work. The agency recently rebranded to be more relevant to the industry’s climate change. On the wall of its posh Bonifacio Global City office boldly stands its raison d’etre: “Transforming Brands and Growing Businesses”, as if trying to say that it is putting sense back to the ad industry. The brief given to the agency was clear. Teo had given McCann a single-minded task: Focus on people to give answer and meaning to the slogan, and make the beauty of the place as just a backdrop. “The agency embraced it, it also confirmed our research that it is the people that tourists remember when they travel abroad, including their warmth, hospitality and generosity,” Sydney Samodio, McCann executive creative director, opened during the interview. How well did the agency put its creativity principle into use? “We utilized our global strategic and communication plan. We asked: ‘What’s the best way to tell the
Franco Marinelli, Australian director of the tv commercial
McCann WorldGroup Philippines Executive Creative Director Sydney Samodio and Managing Partner Gerald Gonzalez
story?’ We worked as a lens to come up with something like this, a perfect case study zeroing in on a general truth,” McCann Managing Partner Gerald Gonzalez said matter-of-factly.
Day One
TO squeeze more truth and leave no stone unturned, the agency
treated the Filipino as “a client from Day One”, a brilliant probing statement from Samodio. The agency gathered as much culturally rich insights as it could, profusely inspired and very vocal about working with a government account that it described as refreshing, and its people, pleasant, supportive and appreciative.
How does it feel to have done an ad for the country, personally and on a larger perspective? Gonzalez says he is proud to have worked on the new DOT campaign. “When I was tapped to do this, I thought to myself that this may be the only time in my career that I would be able to directly contribute to the country. Personally, it is rewarding to see that people are reacting positively to what we’ve created and have featured unique places that only the Philippines can offer. I hope that tourism becomes a strong pillar of our economy moving forward,” he said.
He mentions, however, that the logistics of tourism are some of the major challenges our tourism industry is facing. “Transportation and accommodations for travelers, especially in remote areas, the infrastructure that would allow easier access and stay would be our biggest opportunities to further boost tourism in the country,” he said. The agency worked on an extremely tight timetable. It was in the middle of 2016 Christmas break, made tougher by a strong typhoon that visited the production locale in far Mindanao. But at the end of trying
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s new tourism TV ad ing visuals of adventure and ended with an emotional connection between a young foreigner and the Filipino mom. He relates his shooting experience as unforgettable, waxing nostalgic about the “enchanting river”. “The river itself is really enchanted. It exudes its own natural positive energy that seems to come directly from the bowels of the earth. It’s hard to explain, but it seems to be a very feminine type of energy,” Marinelli fondly explained. “I always felt as though the river was allowing us to show its most beautiful faces. It’s amazing and a very special place.” Before he flew to Manila, Marinelli made “City of Inspiration”, a tourism spot for the Shanghai city government. The Information Office of Shanghai was his client, the film is showcased on its web site. He also recently made a new tourism film for Dalat City, Vietnam, which will be released soon, and a series of six commercials for Perth, Western Australia.
Scene from the tv spot
PHL capabilities
circumstances, the result was a material truthfully and beautifully told, set in a place many people call an enchanted river in Hinatuan, Surigao province, on the southeastern board of the Philippines.
The director
THERE was a lot of pressure for Franco Marinelli, the Australian film director (of Italian descent), to deliver a wonderful ad. To do that, he stuck to the brief and executed the film intuitively. Marinelli’s biggest challenge was the weather. “There was a big typhoon when
we arrived in the location area,” he said. “We barely checked the location but found ourselves retreating back to Manila to avoid it.” When Marinelli and everyone else returned, it again rained every day of the shoot, except for the last day. In one of the finished scenes— traveler and mother—there were actual raindrops in the finished shots and they had to remove them during postediting. Marinelli is all praises in working with the Filipino crew. He particularly mentions Aaron Farrugia, a half-Filipino, half-Australian cinematographer, who gave life to his masterpiece. Albeit born in Australia, Aaron’s mother is a Filipina who was originally from Baguio. “It was also nice working again with Ross Misa of Abracadabra after a long break, a guy who always supported my ideas 100 percent,” he said. Marinelli worked with several foreign government tourism projects and local commercials prior to his DOT assignment. He gushes at the support given to him by the DOT, McCann and the production staff, describing them as world-class. “I created a very thorough shooting board that covered many facets of the story,” he said. “I kind of saw it as a travel and adventure story, with an emotional twist.” Marinelli said he is thankful for having a supportive McCann team for his creative development of the story. “The emotion essence was already very clearly evident in the agency’s script, and the storyboard was very clearly thought out,” he said. The film started with refresh-
AFTER shooting for many years in the Philippines, Marinelli said the country’s film-production capabilities are extremely high, “because it has an established local film industry with very experienced production staff and top-of-the-line equipment and facilities.” “The fact that I have shot so many successful foreign productions in the Philippines is testament to this,” he said. “I plan to shoot more in the future.” With a master’s degree in Fine Arts, majoring in painting and photography, Marinelli achieved considerable recognition as a painter who had mounted a number of standalone exhibitions. He then decided to further utilize his artistic talents by working as a film director. In 1992 he began directing music videos before focusing on commercials. Since then, Marinelli has directed hundreds of commercials in almost every region of the world. “My commercial directing style has evolved from my background as an artist. There is a strong link between my painting style and directing style. Hence, I approach a commercial production with the same discipline as I would on an oil painting,” he said. Despite his roots in traditional art forms, Marinelli is not averse to advances in digital postproduction. In fact, he believes that technology has allowed his work to be more “painterly”. He is highly experienced in digital visual effects and computer animation.
Marinelli’s roots
MARINELLI started doing commercials by accident. After graduating from Sydney University Art School, he opened a café in the city to make ends meet. One of Marinelli’s customers was a cinematographer and, knowing he could draw, asked his help to do a storyboard project. A few months later, he was chatting with a café supplier and mentioned about it. He told him he needed to shoot a commercial for one of his wine brands and asked if he could help. With a small budget and working with the same cinematographer and a producer friend, they shot the film. When they presented it, the client was so amazed by the result he had tears in his eyes. They all made a 50-percent profit on the project and the rest is history. A great commercial for Marinelli is one with a very simple idea, executed in an amazing way. A good example for him is the old British Airways commercial “Face” done by Saatchi & Saatchi in 1989. “There is a new generation [in the ad industry] with fresh approaches and philosophies,” he said. “They seem to be more in-
Abracadabra Production
dependent and locally focused in their thinking—which is good to see, both in [the] film and advertising disciplines.”
Production house
BECAUSE of Marinelli’s film style and the ad was to be shot in Mindanao, Abracadabra went into preparation way ahead to avoid logistical nightmares. The production house also tapped Actors Prime, a unit within its vast technical capabilities with expertise on remote, far-flung communities. The outfit drew simultaneous, parallel approach to the normal preparation being done by the ad agency at the onset. For one, James Gaines, the American guy who was part of Francis Ford Coppola’s shooting crew when Apocalypse Now was shot in the Philippines years ago, made it a lot easier. “This is where you separate the men from the boys,” Gaines said. He picked three battle-tested Pinoys whom he had worked with on foreign productions in the Philippines in the past. They were award-winning cinematographer Jun Periera, seasoned art director Andy Andico (he last worked on Hollywood’s Bourne Legacy) and production manager Manix Leonardo, three musketeers whom he had a reunion of sort in doing this commercial.
Homegrown agency
A couple of years ago Gaines worked with Andico for a Japanese film in Subic. Midway into the production, a typhoon struck and the whole production staff, including the Japanese director, was marooned in the jungle. “We can do this realizing that making a film is like doing a long form versus a short one, or like night and day,” he said he told himself. So when a typhoon lashed through Surigao during the DOT shoot, the case was nothing new for Gaines. “[Despite] of bad weather, the fear of a rebel ambush along the highway that we traversed every day, the director’s boat that also served as our camera boat—that almost sank and, God forbid if it did, I am sure all the women would
grieve, not for Marinelli, but for Faruggia, our good-looking cinematographer who could give any actor a run for his money,” he said. “I could just imagine the agency and our female staff if the banca [small boat] did sink. Their reaction would be worse than seeing Titanic sink with Leonardo DiCaprio.” Abracadabra is a 10-year-old Filipino production house that debuted with an Anchor Beer TV commercial shot in China, in collaboration with ad agency Leo Burnett Guangzhou. It won gold awards from the local industry’s Oscars: Ad Congress, Kidlat Awards, and in regional and international award shows like Spike Asia, Cannes and One Show. It even made a fulllength movie entry for Sundance Film Festival. “We evolve with the times and equip Abracadabra with up-to-theminute equipment to be competitive in the digital landscape,” Ross Misa, founding chairman and CEO, proudly said. “From content concepts to storyboard production to preproduction to the finished material, we put our years of experience and expertise on each of them.”
Slogans’ history
THE DOT was created by thenPresident Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1973, splitting the Department of Trade and Tourism into separate departments. Alongside the new department were the Philippine Tourism Authority and the Philippine Convention Bureau. There were no recorded official advertising campaign slogans from that period but, unofficially, the country referred to itself as the “Pearl of the Orient”. Under Secretary Richard J. Gordon in 2003, the tourism department initiated one of its most successful tourism promotion projects, Visit Philippines 2003. It then made a nationwide effort to launch “Fiesta Islands Philippines” and “Wow, Philippines”. As its neighboring Asean countries were experiencing unprecedented tourism boom, the Philippines launched “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” (Beautiful Philippines) in 2010, a short-lived catchphrase that received huge criticisms from the public for its uncanny similarities to Poland’s tourism logo and slogan. So controversial it was, it led to the resignation of then-Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, The Pilipinas Kay Ganda plagiarism brouhaha bordered on the use of the fonts of Polska and Pilipinas Kay Ganda that were similar. Both slogans have their letter “L” stylized into trees. The only difference was the latter’s letter “L” was stylized into a coconut tree as against the Philippines’s “L”, which was stylized into a generic tree. Lim acknowledged that the Philippine slogan had some similarities with the Polska logo but commented that his country’s was more colorful. After a much-publicized pitch
among high-profile Philippine ad agencies, a new slogan was launched: “It’s More Fun In The Philippines”, a tagline that also was not spared of copycat issues. Netizens flooded social media arguing that it was a ripoff of the “It’s More Fun In Switzerland” slogan. The DOT was preparing to say good-bye to the It’s More Fun In The Philippines slogan until it had a change of heart toward the last quarter of 2016.
Team effort
MEANWHILE, Teo reactivated the tourism council recently to spur “team effort” among sectoral stakeholders in the tourism industry. “It is imperative that we collaborate as a team of stakeholders in the implementation of the NTDP and realize the government’s vision of Ambisyon Natin [Our Ambition] 2040 for the benefit of all sectors, at the same time, deliver the best tourism packages to the world market,” Teo said. The tourism chief said the TCC, which had not convened in the last two years, is mandated by the Tourism Act of 2009 to help set the direction for the country’s tourism program and address urgent issues confronting the country’s tourism industry. Government agencies lauded the DOT for succinctly capturing the social development agenda of the President in the NTDP. However, issues and concerns, such as high hotel rates, insufficient infrastructure, poor access roads, lack of direct flights to tourist destinations and adverse travel advisories over security threats, remained. These issues and concerns were raised during the TCC forum.
Room gap
TRAFFIC congestion, destruction of historical sites, massive number of street dwellers and colorum tour guides and taxi services were also mentioned in the open forum. “We cannot sweep these issues under the rug. It is the mandate of the Tourism Coordinating Council to address such concerns,” Teo stressed. A longtime travel professional herself, Teo also brought up the issue on pricing of travel packages, which has been a stumbling block in the Philippines’s global tourism competitiveness. “Our neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, and even Japan, sell reasonably priced packages, especially after a natural calamity or political upheaval, so foreign travelers would still be enticed to visit after a crisis,” she said. “Due to the supply-demand factor, we have to keep our room rates high and allow us to keep up with high cost of energy here,” Leni Fabul of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association said. She added there is also the need to encourage more hotel investors to correct the room gap of about 75,000 more rooms in the next five years.
The Regions BusinessMirror
A8 Thursday, March 9, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos
news@businessmirror.com.ph
New Nlex lanes eyed to support BCDA sees Clark Green City as PHL’s first smart, govt’s infrastructure projects disaster-resilient city
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HE new projects of the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) in the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex), which include 64 new-lane kilometers in Bulacan and Pampanga, are envisioned to support the government’s big-ticket infrastructure projects that include building of roads, bridges and railways and the improvement of airports to spur development and ease traffic congestion in the country.
The mantra of the administration’s planned infrastructure program is “build, build, build”—with the government eyeing to spend P8 trillion for infrastructure projects in the next five years to move the country forward and improve the lives of the Filipino people by generating investments, creating jobs and lowering prices of commodities. This particular battle cry of the government is something that the MNTC, concessionaire of the Nlex, strongly believes in, as it recently announced that the P2.6-billion new expressway lanes project will help improve travel convenience and promote growth of local businesses in the Central Luzon region. When finished, the expressway road capacity of the stretch from Santa Rita in Bulacan to San Fernando in Pampanga will be expanded from the existing 2x2 lanes to 3x3 lanes in each direction, giving motorists a faster, more seamless travel. The new projects also include the construction of new expressway lanes on both sides of the 5-km-long Candaba Viaduct. When completed, the road capacity of the Candaba Viaduct will be expanded for the first time since it was constructed in the ’70s. MNTC also built a new 2x2, 4-km
expressway in the Mabalacat City portion of the Nlex, including two new bridges. This new project, which was completed in October last year, will henceforth segregate northbound and southbound motorists along separate carriageways and promote road safety. MNTC is awaiting government approvals, through the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), before the new expressway lanes are opened to the motoring public. “The new expressway projects support the government’s mission to boost socioeconomic growth with infrastructures that facilitate more efficient and faster transport of good and services within Central Luzon, MNTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco said, adding that “once inaugurated, the new expressway lanes will not only provide faster, safer and more convenient travel to motorists, but will also decongest traffic in the urban areas.” MNTC had also installed 800 expressway-standard LED road lighting between the Balagtas section all the way to San Fernando City. It will also light up an additional 33 km along the Nlex to improve safety of motorists. The tollways firm cited that the opening of the new expressway lanes will provide motorists with easier ac-
AES Philippines, LGU open recycling facilities to strengthen Zambales’s waste-management program
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ES Philippines Power Foundation Inc. (APPFI), the corporate social responsibility arm of AES Philippines, and the local government unit (LGU) of Candelaria recently opened its Plastic Waste Recycling and Material Recovery Facility Project at Lauis Sanitary Landfill in Zambales, creating greater environmental awareness among community members and strengthening the LGUs’ implementation of its wastemanagement program. The community-based initiative, a response to the municipality’s plastic-waste management challenge, ensures a correct recovery mechanism of plastic wastes to produce plastic chairs and desks to be given to different schools for targeted LGUs in Zambales. The project is estimated to save 30 tons of soft plastic waste for every 1,500 plastic chairs produced. “We are grateful we can make a step toward a more proactive waste-management initiative. This project will not just benefit us environmentally, but also socially. The plastic chairs and desks as end-product of the recycling facility will provide great assistance in our school facilities,” Candelaria Mayor Napoleon Edquid said during the turnover ceremony. The project also aims to provide livelihood program for its Pina-
grealan and Lauis Upland Farmers Association (Pilufa), where 12 individuals from the people’s organization will be trained to manage the recycling-plant operation. The process starts by collecting the sorted soft plastic waste from each of Material Recovery Facilities located in select barangays in Candelaria. The residual waste will be collected and segregated for nonbiodegradable and biodegradable products. After the collection, it will be delivered straight to the plant and will be processed to produce the by-products. To ensure success of the project, AES, Pilufa, along with other line agencies, will assist the LGU of Candelaria to sustain operations and maintenance of the recycling and material facilities. The Department of Education (DepEd) of Candelaria and Masinloc will be supporting the project by contributing plastic- waste materials collected from their campuses and by assisting the team in the information and educational campaign activities. “AES Philippines believes it is our responsibility to contribute to the welfare of our host communities and its nearby areas to better themselves. We hope that with this project, we can work together to provide a better environment and future for the children,” APPFI Deputy Executive Director Enrico de la Torre said.
cess to the Clark International Airport and the Clark Green City, the 9,450-hectare development project located within the Clark Special Economic Zone in Tarlac. The expressway is now 55-percent complete and is expected to be operational by the end of 2017. The P10.5billion project connecting Segment 9 begins at MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela, passes through Governor Pascual Avenue in Malabon, and ends at C-3 Road in Caloocan City. Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar led on Wednesday the ocular inspection of the construction of the Nlex Harbor Link. He was joined by MNTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco; Romulo S. Quimbo Jr., head of the legal and regulatory affairs of Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp.; and Francis Gerard E. Aberilla, the vice president of traffic operation of Tollways Management Corp. Franco said this project will provide seamless connection between the North Harbor and Central Luzon provinces through the Nlex. He said it consists of two segments, such as 2.42-km Segment 9 and 5.76-km, four-lane divided elevated expressway Segment 10. He said Segment 9 was opened in March 2015, while the construction of the Segment 10 was started on May 22, 2014, expected to be done by December this year. He said an exit ramp to R-10 will eventually be built to connect Segment 10 with the port area. He said they already invested P2.7 billion for Segment 9; P10.5 billion for Segment 10; and another P6 billion is still awaiting Transportation Research Board (TRB) approval for the extension road to R10 that is more or less 19 billion for construction alone and the government also spent approximately P7 billion for the rightof-way. He said the R-10 exit ramp is a 2.6-km, four-lane divided elevated expressway extension from C-3 Road to Radial Road 10 in the area of Caloocan and Navotas, which costs P6 billion. He said the construction of this project is expected to start by the first quarter and to be finished by the fourth quarter of the year. Franco said it will decongest Met-
ro Manila as it provides alternative access to mainline Nlex, bypassing Edsa and the Balintawak Toll Plaza, shorten travel distance by establishing direct routes between the North Luzon, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela City (Camanava) and Northern Manila areas; cut travel time by almost half, as it allows an average speed of 80 kilometer per hour; improve movement of cargo; more trips for trucks because there will be no more truck ban; lower incidence of road accidents due to better road pavement; and tighter traffic management which will increase travel convenience. He said this project will spur economic activities in the Camanava area and increase land values; improve transport logistics with more efficient movement of trucks in and out of the ports located in Manila; stimulate commerce between port area, Central and Northern Luzon; and generates about 10,000 jobs during the construction period. He said they are doing their best to finish this project to minimize the traffic problems and to give better service to their customers. He also said that there is an investment recovery proposal that will be discussed with the TRB. Franco said about 3,000 families are affected by this project who need to be relocated to Valenzuela and Caloocan sites. He said the relocation is to be funded by the DPWH. He said 2,500 settler families remain who need to be also relocated. Villar said they are currently working on the creation of a DPWH task force to speed up the construction and to handle the right-of-way issues. He said the task force will be composed of legal team, the Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, regional offices and among others. He said 35 percent, or approximately 700 meter, located in McArthur to Karuhatan River to Karuhatan, is the remaining right-of-way, which is still under negotiation. He said support must be given to this project because it could help to decongest the Metro Manila traffic. With Catherine Joy Maglalang
By Catherine Joy L. Maglalang Correspondent
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ITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—Clark Green City (CGC), one of the big-ticket projects under President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build”Infrastructure Program, is designed to be the country’s first smart, green and disasterresilient city. “Initially, the National Economic and Development Authority Board approved in May 2014 the master development plan, stating CGC will feature commercial and/ or financial center while sporting industrial, institutional and residential zones. Furthermore, urban farmland and public realm are also included in the picture,” Bases Conversion and Development Authority Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications Leilani Macasaet said. CGC is also expected to be disaster-resilient because its lowest elevation is 56-meter above sea level, so it will not be prone to flooding. Its central park will serve as a flood catchment basin and water reservoir. “Since there are no fault lines under and within its vicinity, it is relatively safe from ground rupture. It is also protected from supertyphoons from both sides—the Sierra Madre to the west and the Zambales mountain range to the east,” she said. “Strategically located, it is 120 kilometers away, from Manila via the North Luzon Expressway, a mere 20 kilometers away from the Clark International Airport, and 90 kilometers from the Subic Bay Freeport,” she added. Seemingly, CGC will have access to major expressways, such as the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union expressway. “The city will be covered by the future Manila-Clark railway, a commuter express railway connecting the CGC with Manila and Clark airports,” Macasaet said.
Aside from these, there will also be fiscal and nonfiscal incentives since, as a special economic zone, CGC will offer various incentives to export industries and other locaters/ developers as provided by the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995. “These include income-tax holiday for up to six years for pioneer projects four years for nonpioneer projects and three years for expansion projects; tax- and duty-free importation of raw materials, capital equipment and machineries and spare parts; simplified import-export procedures; and employment of foreign nationals in supervisory, technical, or advisory positions,” Macasaet said. In terms of green and sustainable development, CGC will adhere to the principles of sustainable development to create the most livable environment possible while preserving the environment and natural resources. Advanced technology solutions will be seamlessly integrated in the development of the said project to effectively manage its operations. “Underground utility corridor will house major utility lines for better installation, management, upgrading, and protection from disasters, such as flooding and earthquake. Meanwhile, integrated operations center will coordinate all utility operations and facilitate remote management of various city operations, where reliable telecommunications facilities and Internet everywhere will keep the CGC connected to the rest of the world,” Macasaet said. In addition, CGC will be accessible to people from all walks of life and foster genuine communities. “Mixed-income housing will be provided and be made available to all future employees working within CGC. Also, its public realm will be made to be enjoyed by the public. Local farmers and residents, as well as indigenous peoples from the area will be provided with opportunities for livelihood and find their niche in the CGC,” she said.
Residents of Camp Rajamuda benefit from P8.3-M projects By Recto Mercene @rectomercene
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EARLY 7,000 residents in Camp Rajamuda will benefit from infrastructure and livelihood projects funded by the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF) administered by the World Bank. Representatives of the government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and MTF formally handed over to local communities in Camp Rajamuda the management of several projects, including an 84-meter suspension bridge, two warehouses and solar dryers worth P8.3 million. CampRajamudaisoneofthesixMILF camps recognized by the government in the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). The camp covers communities in remote valleys in Maguindanao and North Cotabato. Also, 280 widows and out-ofschool youth have benefited from training in dress making, cattle raising and adult literacy projects to help improve their income. Chairman of the MILF implementing panel, Mohagher Iqbal commended the local communities for taking ownership in addressing their most pressing livelihood needs. “The dividends of the program are the first of a long series of steps toward attaining our hopes for the Bangsamoro,” Iqbal said. “I call on you to sustain the gains of this support to merit the trust placed by donors whose funding have come from the taxes of their citizens. Man-
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING Students from Isabela State University who undergo on-the-job training at the San Mateo Techno Farm attend to their respective plot assignments. The local government, in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, aims to develop the place as a training ground for agri-business students and farmers, as well. LEONARDO PERANTE II
aging these projects well will honor the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters. We are responsible for the direction of our future, so let us continue to work together so our children and grandchildren can finally lead lives of peace, equality and dignity.” Many residents have been displaced because of recurring armed conflicts since the 1970s, which destroyed their livelihoods, their schools and mosques, pushing many of them deeper into poverty. Financed by the MTF, these com-
munity projects are part of the camps program designed by the government and MILF as part of the confidencebuilding measures under the CAB. “The government and MILF are addressing the immediate socioeconomic needs of communities to help them stand on their own,” the chairman of the Government’s Implementing Panel Irene Santiago said. “We are also strengthening their capacities as formal organizations in preparation for a more comprehensive strategy, wherein the Bangsamoro people
themselves will direct the transformation of their areas into peaceful and productive communities.” The MTF Camps program has provided livelihood support, infrastructure and literacy programs to about 68,000 beneficiaries living in 31 conflict-affected communities inside Camps Bad’r, Bilal, Bushra, Rajamuda and Omar and Abubakar. It has helped strengthen social unity among these communities and helped build trust in the government and MILF’s commitment to delivering on the promises of the peace agreement.
AseanThursday BusinessMirror
news@businessmirror.com.ph
Why women are taking over banking in Thailand
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s one of four presidents at Thailand’s biggest lender, Kasikornbank Pcl., Kattiya Indaravijaya often conducts interviews for senior positions. The job candidates are impressive. And almost always, they’re women. “I’m wondering, there’s no guy?” Kattiya, 51, said in an interview in her office along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. “It’s not that they didn’t pass the screening process, they didn’t apply. Perhaps, women’s interest is in banking and finance. Perhaps guys have a different passion.” In Thailand, where years of educational equality have combined with a profession that rewards math skills and merit, women comprise 31 percent of board and executive committee members in financial services—some way short of parity but the highest proportion in the world after Norway and Sweden, according to a study last year by consulting firm Oliver Wyman. In the US the representation of women in similar positions is 20 percent. Japan is at the bottom of the list, with 2 percent. “Men probably look for more exciting and challenging jobs than the financial industry, where work requires more patience, detail, caution and rule compliance,”said Voravan Tarapoom, president of the Association of Investment Management Companies, a mutual funds trade group, and also chairman of BBL Asset Management Co. “They may feel financial industry work is so boring.” BBL has to pay special attention to the number of males hired, or else women will dominate the firm, Voravan said. “Financial jobs require very detailed and cautious persons,” she said. “This may fit the female character more.” Women account for 57 percent of Thailand’s finance and insurance workforce, according to government statistics. Yet the fact that two-thirds of senior management and executive roles are filled by men indicates Thai women still face challenges in achieving equality, said Joni Simpson, a specialist on gender, equality and nondiscrimination at the International Labor Organization in Bangkok. “Accounting is a field that is accessible to women in Thailand and, therefore, they have been able to advance in this sector and are highly visible across several levels of jobs,” she said, citing cultural norms and attitudes in Thailand. “The chances are better for women to advance to the highest levels.” Yet across all industries, Thai women account for less than 10 percent of executive and management roles on average, she said. More work needs to be done in all sectors, including finance, to encourage mentoring, access to childcare and eldercare, and chances for advancement, she said. Still, Thailand’s high proportion of women in senior financial roles happened without government legislation, said Bandid Nijathaworn, CEO at the Thai Institute of Directors and a former deputy governor of the Bank of Thailand. Norway and Sweden, like other countries in Europe and elsewhere, have enacted laws requiring companies to have 30 percent of their boards comprised of women. The Thai central bank has had a female governor, from 2006 to 2010, and at least half of its managerial staff is female. At the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the president is female, as are almost 70 percent of workers. Thailand has also had a female prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of the ruler deposed in a 2006 coup. “Female executives must show much more superior or outstanding managerial skills and competency over male colleagues to receive promotions,” said Kesara Manchusree, the president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. “It’s a very tough job to balance business and family roles.” At Kasikornbank, Kattiya remembers a male-dominated organization when she joined about three decades ago, after her father suggested banking as a career rather than her initial choice of advertising. Kasikornbank had almost no female employees until around 1984, according to Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, who worked there for about three decades, including as a senior executive vice president. He’s now president of the state-owned Government Savings Bank.
Bloomberg News
Editor: Max V. de Leon • Thursday, March 9, 2017 A9
Malaysia faces 2 challenging mysteries
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wo of the world’s most intriguing mysteries are in the hands of Malaysian investigators. Will they ever find all the answers to either? One of them—the fatal poisoning of the half brother of North Korea’s ruler with a banned nerve agent—happened long after the other—Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished three years ago on Wednesday. Investigators have far more evidence in the death of Kim Jong Nam, including his body and two suspects in custody, than they do in the disappearance of the plane, whose 239 passengers and crew could be forever lost in the Indian Ocean. Yet, there are reasons to wonder whether Kim’s death may prove just as difficult to solve completely. While seven North Koreans are suspected of involvement in the apparent assassination, Malaysian authorities may be unable to arrest any of them. Here’s a look at the challenges investigators face in each case:
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Hopes that the world’s greatest aviation mystery would soon be solved crumbled in January, when officials called off the years-long, deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The $160-million search of a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean off Australia’s west coast failed to find any trace of the Boeing 777, which vanished on March 8, 2014, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. For the families of the 239 people onboard, the decision to suspend the search was devastating. For the wider aviation industry and the flying public, it was unsettling. Would there ever be a resolution to the tornado of questions about how the plane vanished and why? Still, while the deep-sea search has ended, the wider investigation into the plane’s disappearance continues. In Australia an international team of experts is studying whether an area north of the previous search zone could be the plane’s final resting place. Last Saturday Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said there was an “85-percent” chance that the aircraft is in
$160M
The funding for the search of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean off Australia’s west coast
the new 25,000-square-kilometer (15,535-square-mile) area. An important caveat: Investigators previously expressed confidence that the plane was in the original search area—and it wasn’t. A search of the area to the north would also require fresh funding. Australia, Malaysia and China—the countries that paid for the original search—have said they have no plans to fund a new one unless they receive evidence of the plane’s exact location. So the families of those onboard have launched an effort to come up with the money themselves. Some of the victims’ relatives initially said they had a goal of raising at least $15 million for the search, but others later said they had not agreed on an exact figure. Investigators in Australia are also analyzing the way a recovered wing part known as a flaperon could have drifted through the ocean. The flaperon that washed ashore on Reunion Island off the African coast in July 2015 was the first piece of wreckage to be found. Investigators are conducting drift analysis on a different flaperon, hoping that will help pinpoint where the wing part from the Malaysian plane originated. Malaysia, which is leading the investigation into the plane’s disappearance, said authorities would also boost efforts to look for parts of the plane along the African coast. More than two dozen pieces of debris believed to have come from Flight 370
In this March 4 file photo, a man with a painted face attend the Day of Remembrance for MH370 event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AP
have been found so far, including two new pieces found off Africa about two weeks ago. Investigators are clinging to hopes the debris will yield clues to the main wreckage’s whereabouts. Finding the main wreckage— and the all-important “black box” data recorders—is the key to unraveling the mystery of Flight 370. Yet, given the limited information available to investigators and the vastness of the Indian Ocean, the prospects of finding the devices without a major breakthrough in data analysis or advancement in underwater search technology are slim. Malaysia expects to release a final technical report on what happened to the plane based on the available data and evidence sometime this year.
Killing Of Kim Jong Nam
Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died less than 20 minutes after he was accosted on February 13 by two women in the budget terminal of the Kuala Lumpur airport, officials said. Malaysian authorities have learned much since then, but they’ve hit a North Korean brick wall that could
prevent them from fully solving an apparent assassination by chemical weapon. Two women charged with murder—one Vietnamese and one Indonesian—are accused of smearing Kim Jong Nam’s face with the nerve agent VX. No one else is in custody, but the police are seeking seven North Koreans. Four left Malaysia the day of the attack, but the other three are believed to still be in the country. They include a North Korean Embassy official and an employee of Air Koryo, North Korea’s state airline, and the police believe they may be hiding in the embassy. North Korea has scoffed at the VX claims, saying it would be impossible for the women to have poisoned Kim without sickening or killing themselves or others. It opposed the autopsy work the Malaysians have done and has not complied with Malaysian requests to interview suspects. Lawyer Sankara Nair said it would be a tall task for Malaysia to get hold of the four North Koreans who returned to Pyongyang, as well as the North Korean diplomat still in Malaysia. Malaysia has sought Interpol’s help to put the four men
on its wanted list, but they would be vulnerable to arrest only if they leave their homeland, Nair said. The embassy official is protected by diplomatic immunity and is untouchable unless North Korea waives his immunity, the lawyer said. Nair said the police can arrest the Air Koryo employee if he is still in Malaysia. If he is hiding in the embassy, the police cannot enter the embassy compound and must wait for him to step out, Nair said. In the absence of these suspects, the case against the two women would depend on the evidence that the police have. The women have reportedly said they believed they were taking part in a prank. “If evidence is lacking and there is a need for further corroborative evidence, then the case could be weak,” Nair said. “The women’s story is simple: prank. You must show that there’s motive. You must show beyond reasonable doubt that there’s intention to kill.” If prosecutors can’t prove intent, the charge could be reduced to causing death by a “rash or negligent act”, which is punishable by a two-year jail term and a fine. AP
Myanmar’s ex-colonial capital captivates with faded glory
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n the stairway rising to Moulmein’s great Buddhist shrine, the visiting British writer Rudyard Kipling was inspired to pen one of the most anthologized poems of the English language. “By the old Moulmein pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea/There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me,” go the opening lines of “Mandalay”, verses imbued with nostalgia for the wind-swept palms and twinkling temple bells the young poet left behind for the gray skies of England. Today, 128 years later after Kipling’s infatuation, the Kyaik Than Lan pagoda remains a prime attraction for pilgrims and tourists. Its soaring, gilded stupa gleams on a ridge overlooking a city of greenery and watery expanses, which has retained links to the British colonial past that Kipling chronicled. The Burmese women he noticed can be seen there, too, some wearing the traditional sarongs long discarded in most of Asia, some chatting on smartphones as they circumambulate the stupa in proper Buddhist fashion. Despite the intrusions of modern technology and being Myanmar’s fourth-largest city, Mawlamyine (as Moulmein is now officially spelled) still maintains an air of distance from the world’s mainstreams, in part because of its geography. It’s a long, 300-kilometer (186-mile) road journey from Myanmar’s international gateway of Yangon, the other options being a rickety train ride or sporadic flights. For decades, foreigners were banned from the area due to an insurgency. Tourists are still few compared to an influx to other areas of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, that followed the end of military rule in 2011 and the electoral victory of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last year.
This January 24 photo shows one of the exquisite carvings that adorn the palace of Queen Sein Don in Mawlamyine, one of 45 consorts of Mindon, the next-to-last king of Myanmar. AP
Our party recently took the most scenic route to Mawlamyine: by car from Yangon to Hpa-An, the pleasant capital of Myanmar’s Karen State, and from there by hired boat down the Salween, one of the world’s longest, still free-flowing rivers. Before it empties into the sea, the Salween enhances Mawlamyine’s charm, flowing past its Strand Road, where families stroll to view the sunset across the broad stream. Mawlamyine wasn’t always a byway. After
the first Anglo-Burmese war, the British made it their capital between 1826 and 1852, building government offices, churches and a massive prison. They started business enterprises and the country’s first newspaper. Many of these relics of the British Raj remain along with mosques, Hindu temples and even a slice of Americana, reflecting Mawlamyine’s great diversity. One of the earliest American missionaries to foreign lands, the legendary Adoniram Judson,
built the town’s First Baptist Church in 1827, going on to write an English-Burmese dictionary and translate the Bible into Burmese during his nearly 40 years in the country. Nearby stands the Saint Mathew’s Anglican church, erected in 1887 and still in use, although like many of the city’s heritage buildings in a state of picturesque decay: Vegetation sprouts from peeling brick walls and the tower clock is perpetually set at 6:54 p.m. Given Mawlamyine’s numerous Buddhist temples, one can succumb to pagoda fatigue. But aside from “Kipling’s”, said to date back to 875 and enshrine a hair of the Lord Buddha, the Yadarbon Myint Monastery is a must although rarely visited. The monastery’s small palace contains some of Myanmar’s most exquisite carvings, commissioned by Queen Sein Don, one of 45 consorts of the Mindon, the penultimate king of Myanmar. The queen came here after Mandalay was seized by the British in 1885, bringing with her craftsmen from the royal capital. What they created has special value since Mandalay’s royal palace and most of its artistic treasures were destroyed in World War II. While Mawlamyine’s Buddhist shrines will surely be preserved, the colonial heritage, along with the city’s unique character, is imperiled. Dr. Tin Soe, a longtime resident, says the fledgling local government lacks expertise, the still powerful military has sold public land to line its pockets and the public sees little value in the old buildings. “The government has no time, no budget and no brains,” he says. But a glimmer of hope comes from Yangon, where the Yangon Heritage Trust is, spearheading a generally successful campaign to save the city’s magnificent colonial architecture from the bulldozer and decay. AP
A10 Thursday, March 9, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso
Opinion BusinessMirror
editorial
Jail the tax cheats
E
ight months ago, President Duterte threatened to publicly name wealthy personalities who do not pay their taxes. On Tuesday Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said the President has ordered the arrest of Mighty Corp. owner Alexander Wongchuking for alleged economic sabotage, following reports that someone tried to bribe the Chief Executive and after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated P2.3 billion worth of Mighty-branded cigarettes with fake excisestamp tax in a series of raids.
On the alleged bribery attempt, Mighty Corp. issued a statement categorically denying “any occasion or participation by the company in the supposed incident. Mighty has never taken part nor has it ever indulged in such activity, especially with officers of the incumbent administration”. This statement notwithstanding, the president of Mighty Corp. showed up on Tuesday at the National Bureau of Investigation offices to deny accusations that the cigarettes seized from the company’s warehouses were fake. However, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the BOC are currently consolidating evidence for submission to the Department of Justice in preparation for the filing of a tax-evasion case and other charges against Mighty Corp. The finance chief said: “We must make sure the charges stick not only to haul the guilty parties, including their possible cohorts in the government, into jail but to send a clear message to big-time tax dodgers that the Duterte administration is dead set on putting an end to their nefarious activities and sending all of them behind bars.” In a report, Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon said the BOC confiscated P2.3 billion worth of smuggled and fake cigarettes, “including cigarette brands manufactured by Mighty Corp. that contained fake tax stamps”. The BOC has seized a total of 73,244 master cases that contained 36.622 million packs, which at an excise tax of P30 a pack would result in more than P1 billion in foregone revenues for the government. This is a serious offense. Under Section 263 of the Tax Code, “any person who is found in possession of locally manufactured articles subject to excise tax, the tax on which have not been paid in accordance with law…shall be punished a fine of not less than 10 times the amount of the excise due on the articles found but not less than P500 and suffer imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than four years”. The Tax Code says manufacturers, as well as owners of bonded warehouses found with products having unpaid excise taxes would also be fined 10 times the amount on top of imprisonment of one to two years. The law also provides that “the mere unexplained possession of articles subject to excise tax, the tax on which has not been paid in accordance with law, shall be punishable”. The finance chief said the BIR and the BOC have teamed up to strengthen the tax-evasion charges against Mighty Corp. If there is strong evidence to pin down the cigarette manufacturer, it is best to file the appropriate charges in court as soon as possible. However, authorities must not only punish the tax cheats. They must dig deeper to determine the possible involvement of bureaucrats acting as protectors of big-time tax evaders. Since 2005
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
The Philippines’s quiet invasion of China John Mangun
OUTSIDE THE BOX
C
hina and its territorial claims have been pushed off the front pages lately in lieu of more domestic issues. The latest news is that the United States sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the area. Chinese media, on the other hand, reported a new passenger ship made its first voyage from the southern province of Hainan carrying 300 tourists to visit the disputed Paracel Islands.
The economic ties between the Philippines and China stretch back to the Manila Galleon trade route, carrying largely Chinese goods between Manila and Acapulco, which lasted from 1565 to 1815. After World War 2, San Miguel Corp. opened its first brewery in Hong Kong. We know that the Chinese sailed around the Philippine islands in the 9th century based on the artifacts found in Philippine waters. Unfortunately, genuine historical documents show Chinese presence in the Paracels dating from that same period. With the Chinese immigration to the Philippines over the past 1,000 years, it was inevitable that close associations would result.
The 21st century has seen increasing business interests in China from the Philippines regardless of periods when Chinese businesses posted signs saying “No dogs or Filipinos allowed”. Maybe better realizing the future potential, SM built its first supermall in Xiamen City in Fujian province when the Chinese per capita GDP was less than $2,000 in 2001. The SM Tianjin mall—its seventh—opened last year. The Chinese economy now produces $6,500 per year per person. Many other Philippine companies have a strong and growing presence in China, investing through a variety of schemes. The Philippine National Bank has two branches in China
Peso loses luster
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ithout doubt, the way the government is run and its disciplined economic fundamentals are executed greatly affects fiscal progress. Grandstanding politicians, their disregard for the rule of law and the relentless wagging of their tongues have a negative impact on the economy, too.
The Philippines has hogged the world’s headlines lately, due mainly to President Duterte’s war on drugs and his apparent bullheadedness in accepting even constructive criticism. The situation is exacerbated by the incarceration of Sen. Leila M. de Lima, which local and international rights observers believe is politically motivated. Recent congressional actions have, likewise, been dividing our already confused nation. One of the fiscal casualties is the value of the peso, which has plunged into a 10-year low. As of this writing, the peso stands at 50.27 to a dollar, waylaid by—as analysts believe—a host of issues, such as worries about the leadership at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the rise in humanrights violations. ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng says: “Add to
these the market expectation that larger fiscal deficit spending would widen the trade deficit and possibly bring the current account to a deficit due to the strong demand for US dollars.” Records show that between January 3 and February 27, 2017, the Philippine peso went down 1.09 percent against the US dollar, while other currencies were experiencing an uptick against the greenback in the same period: the Indonesian rupiah expanded 0.96 percent; the Chinese yuan gained 1.04 percent, and the Malaysian ringgit went up 1.06 percent. The Thai baht, Singaporean dollar, Japanese yen and South Korean won, likewise, did well. On February 17 the peso broke the 50 to $1 threshold for the first time since November 2016. Duterte’s braggadocio has horrified the world with his contentious
operating under the Allied Commercial Bank name. Metro Bank as Metropolitan Bank (China) Ltd. has three offices. A variety of Filipino companies have used different approaches to doing business in China. SM did not build “ghost malls” and is competing for local consumer spending. Robinsons Land Corp. is building a 1,300unit master-planned township project in Chengdu, still seeing a future in the Chinese property sector. While Jollibee Foods Corp. has its own brand in various countries, it chose the joint venture route with existing Chinese “fast-food” firms with some if not outstanding success. Publicly listed Agrinurture Inc. took a different approach. While it intends to raise capital to expand its own Big Chill brand operation into China, it also has a joint venture with the Japanese founder of Tully’s Coffee Asia to enter the Chinese market. Agrinurture has also taken a majority interest in a Chinese fruit trading company and is exporting soughtafter Philippine fruits, including mango, banana, pineapple and papaya, to customers in China. Philippine beverage company Zest-O Corp. joint ventured with a Chinese firm to form Huadong ZestO Beverage Co. Ltd. as its entry into
behavior and declarations. One controversial gaffe after another has chilled the country’s business climate. As congressional leaders made use of their constitutional immunity to mock the rule of law, investors and the business community retaliated by expressing their disgust in selling off their parked funds from the stock market. As Sen. Ralph Recto points out, “Words matter.” Economic markets and government policies mirror investors’ confidence in the economy. The merger of politics and the economy have exposed that political ambiguity is a key obstacle to economic growth. Even the faintest of policy confusion can disrupt investment opportunities. The European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines has raised the alarm that numerous firms wishing to set up shop here are now in a “wait-and-see” mode, uncertain of what our future political climate holds.
Shutting down the environmental ‘cleaner’
A strange thing has happened in the recent campaign to close mining firms, which were alleged to have violated the tenets of responsible mining. Even the firm contracted to perform the function of cleaning up the environment has been ordered closed by Environment Secretary-designate Regina Paz L. Lopez. Lopez shut down the operations of local firm Westchinamin Corp.,
the carbonated-beverage market. Privately held Liwayway Marketing Corp. now has 16 factories in China, making its Liwayway Marketing Corp. Oishi snacks. The firm has risen to the top 5 snack-food producers in China. With the potential now of improved, if not totally acceptable, government-to-government relations, Filipino companies are eager to tap or expand in the Chinese market. Diverse local companies from the Sterling Paper Group to power companies are currently turning toward China. Let’s be practical and realistic. Revenue and profit opportunities will always be narrow in the Philippines and we need outside sources of both. While several local companies have expanded into Africa, that is a comparative drop in the ocean of financial promise. Filipino companies never received and will never get similar growth opportunities in the United States, Japan, Australia, Europe, or anywhere else like China offers in terms of size and economic potential.
E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.
which has been allowed to collect abandoned nickel laterite ores in Zambales through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the provincial government. The job involves the collection and disposal of nickel stockpiles, which small mining operators have abandoned. No less than Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso has confirmed the firm’s participation in the cleanup. In an interview with ABS-CBN, which is ironically owned by Lopez’s family, Deloso admitted that he has authorized the firm to remove laterite ores from the province. The cleanup started as soon as the MOA between Westchinamin and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan was firmed up in December 2016 under Resolution 2016-247. The agreement was signed by Vice Gov. Angel E. Magsaysay and all Sanggunian representatives, namely, Jury L. Deloso, Renato H. Collado, Samuel D. Ablola, Sancho A. Abasta Jr., Rolex E. Estella, Saturnino V. Bactad, Jonathan F. Khonghun, Wilfredo C. Felarca, Jose M. Gutierrez Jr., Gigi Ejanda-Juarez and Romelino R. Gojo. “We are involved in the cleanup and rehabilitation, not mining activities,” explains Engr. Cesar Estrada of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of Zambales. It seems that the DENR has dropped the ball on this one, too. For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com
opinion@businessmirror.com.ph
Opinion
Fire knows no mercy
The road to Easter
BusinessMirror
Ariel Nepomuceno
Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.
DECISION TIME
Alálaong Bagá
I
T is far better to get robbed several times than to fall victim to fire even once, goes the old saying. And for the families who lost lives and properties in the reported 259 cases of fire in the National Capital Region alone, the wretched char that this reality has left in their scarred beings will leave them damaged for a long time. The scent of burning flesh and the memory of homes— built with love through blood, sweat and tears—being reduced to ashes will not be easily forgotten. The suffocating smoke and the last embers might have been put out for good, but they will only be remembered for evil. Indeed, fire knows no mercy. Considering that the number of the reported fires covered only January 1 to February 15 of this year, the number is certainly high. While the updated data are not readily available, the sound of blaring sirens that we have been hearing more frequently lately should validate this. According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), there is an increase in the number of fires in Metro Manila in 2016, with 5,121 cases, compared to 2015, with 4,374 cases. Quezon City ranks first as the city with the highest number of fires, with 1,023; Manila is listed second, with 470 fire cases.
Better be safe than sorry
AS the temperature rises with the onset of summer in March, fire incident risks increase, as well. Hence, the government’s declaration of March as Fire Prevention Month, when the biggest number of fire cases are also recorded nationwide. At this particular season, more than ever, it is prudent to exercise the greatest caution to prevent fire cases from happening. And as always, fire prevention must begin at home—and for a good reason. According to the BFP still, most fires happen at residential areas. The common causes are accidents that are mostly electrical in nature, lighted cigarette butts, or open flames due to unattended cooking, candles, or torches.
Fire-safety tips
There are plenty of fire-prevention and safety tips online. Here is a quick list of 10 preventive measures from the Fire and Safety Enforcement branch of the BFP-National Capital Region: 1. Place the phone numbers of the nearest fire station right beside your telephone. (For Metro Manila residents, you may dial (02) 426-0219, (02) 426-3812, (02) 426-0246.) 2. Eliminate combustible materials through good housekeeping. Dispose of waste, such as papers,
In 2016 fire incidents in the NCR alone resulted in P601-million damages in property. But beyond the peso figures are lost lives, hopes and dreams that are priceless. Fire knows no mercy; of this, we can be sure. It’s about time we made a conscious effort to always make safety a daily priority. rubbish and other materials that can easily catch fire. 3. Keep matches out of children’s reach. 4. Oil lamps, gas lamps and candles should be placed away from curtains. Put out the flame before going to bed. 5. Do not keep flammable materials like gasoline, alcohol and paint inside the house. 6. Regularly check your electrical installations, and have all frayed wiring and electrical fixtures changed or repaired by a licensed electrician. 7. Do not overload electrical circuits by plugging additional lights and electrical appliances. 8. Blown fuses should not be replaced with wires or any metal. 9. Never leave a lit cigarette or cigar on pipe unattended. It may fall on flammable materials that could start a fire. Easily combustible household items are clothes, curtains, furniture and appliances, as well as items that are made by paper, wood, plastic and rubber. 10. Always have a handy firstaid kit. In 2016 fire incidents in the NCR alone resulted in P601-million damages in property. But beyond the peso figures are lost lives, hopes and dreams that are priceless. Fire knows no mercy; of this, we can be sure. It’s about time we made a conscious effort to always make safety a daily priority. For comments and suggestions, arielnepo. businessmirror@gmail.com.
F
ollowing the tensions of the temptations in the desert, we are led by the Church to another corner of the wilderness, the mountaintop, to contemplate Jesus in glory (Matthew 17:1-9), and thus enable us to take on the trials we are to bear on the road to Easter.
In His Father’s glory Jesus had just announced to His disciples His approaching passion (16:21) and the conditions of discipleship, which means self-denial and the taking up of one’s cross (16:24). He also informed them of his eventual return “in his Father’s glory” (16:27). Now the three disciples who were to witness Jesus’ agony in the garden (26:36ff) were given a glimpse of Him in that glory, a vision that anticipated His appearance at the end of time on the last day. On a high mountain, where humans ascend and God descends to meet, the face of Jesus “shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light”. The divine presence is indicated by the luminous cloud and glory (shekinah) as in the meeting tent of the
We are under way on the road to Easter, and we are not just groping in the dark in pain. The mountaintop is aglow, and the luminous cloud illuminates the way. The glory of Jesus enfolds us, and the voice of the Father resounds in our hearts: “This is my beloved Son... listen to Him”. Israelites in the desert. As at the baptism in the Jordan, the voice from the cloud echoes the designation of the chosen servant foretold in Isaiah (42:1). The beloved servant’s mission of suffering and death (Isaiah 50:4-9) makes the association with Jesus more obvious. The strong invitation “Listen to him” as one should listen to
database
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ighty Corp. is right not to answer the relentless attack in the media by its multinational rivals, using expensive studies on so-called illicit trade, paid ads and now a bribery attempt arising from the so-called multibillion-peso fake tax stamps.
“Just look at the operative words of what its multinational rivals have been using, and you’ll understand how they have become desperate and annoying in trying to destroy the oldest Filipino firm as a tax evader without an iota of evidence,” said Dr. Ernie Gonzales, a British-trained economist and trustee of the Philippine Council of Management Research Institute, who strongly supported the passage of the “sin” tax-reform law in 2013. From the start, after Mighty had breached its rivals dominant mar-
ket share on account of its excellent use of the economy of scales and the timely passage of the sin-tax law, the latter have been using abstract operative words to destroy it, such as “illicit trade”, “estimates”, “alleged”, “possible”, “could be”, “would have” and “if evidence warranted” in describing Mighty, not as a fair competitor, but as an alleged tax evader. “These are abstract words that have no probative or judicial meaning to describe one as a tax evader,” Gonzales said, adding, “its rivals have not offered any concrete
wisdom (Proverbs 5:7; Sirach 6:35) presents Jesus as the embodiment of wisdom, the teacher of God’s mysteries. Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, by their presence testify that Jesus as divine wisdom is the fulfillment and conclusion of which both the law and the prophets waited: Jesus is the ultimate Word, once and for all, that is the key to everything spoken earlier (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Do not be afraid
The three disciples were not mere spectators of the transfiguration of Jesus. They found themselves overshadowed by the bright cloud, immersed in the divine presence. They were addressed by the voice from the heavens to listen to Jesus the Word incarnate. They fell prostrate before the divine in fear; Peter called Jesus “Lord” in adoration. The vison of Jesus in glory is not only a special favor but a responsibility, as well. This Jesus later on after the resurrection and on another mountain in Galilee would delegate them: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Terrified and felled, the disciples
were told, “Arise, and do not be afraid”. They have a mission to carry out, and they still have to go through the trials of Jesus’ passion and death. To preach the crucified and risen Lord to the world in season and out of season is their mission as the community of disciples. The vision of Jesus in glory is to stimulate the disciples’ zeal and to renew the faith and hope of the ecclesial community. Alálaong bagá, we cannot be just lost in wonder of Jesus in glory. To build tents there on the mountain must not mean residency, for we have work to do down on the plains and in the valleys. We are under way on the road to Easter, and we are not just groping in the dark in pain. The mountaintop is aglow, and the luminous cloud illuminates the way. The glory of Jesus enfolds us, and the voice of the Father resounds in our hearts: “This is my beloved Son... listen to Him”. Indeed, we need wisdom and deeper reflections on the mystery of the Savior subjected to suffering and death by His enemies and raised by God on the third day. Listening to Him, we know that to follow Him, one must, likewise, deny oneself and take up the cross. Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on dwIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.
Creating the National Revenue Authority Atty. Rodel C. Unciano
Tax Law for Business
A
nother proposed tax-reform bill being pursued in the 17th Congress is House Bill (HB) 695, which seeks to create a new internal-revenue agency. Introduced by Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the bill does not only seek to overhaul the present structure of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), but to replace it with a new organization to be known as the National Revenue Authority (NRA). Unlike the BIR, which is an attached agency of the Department of Finance (DOF), the proposed NRA shall be established as a public organization with an authorized capital of P10 billion, to be fully subscribed by the Republic of the Philippines. All powers, duties and functions vested by law in the BIR shall be deemed transferred to the NRA. As currently structured, the BIR is headed by a chief known as the commissioner, and four assistant chiefs, known as deputy commissioners. The BIR operates under the supervision and control of the DOF. In comparison, under HB 695, a Revenue Board shall be created,
composed of the secretary of finance, as chairman, and the following as members: the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, secretary of the Department of Budget and Management and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and three representatives from the nongovernment sector to be appointed by the President. The Revenue Board shall adopt and promulgate policies and rules for the effective enforcement of the provisions of all revenue laws. The NRA shall be headed by a CEO, who shall be appointed by the board from a list of at least three nominees.
Mighty is right not to dignify its rivals’ web of lies Cecilio T. Arillo
Thursday, March 9, 2017 A11
and quantifiable proof beyond merely issuing convoluted statements in the media and paid ads.” To date, they have used five highly questionable studies and reports as their references to destroy Mighty. One, is an elusive AC Nielsen report, which “estimates” illicit cigarettes using a questionable survey method. So far, nobody, except Mighty’s rivals, has seen an actual copy of the study. No government agency has been furnished with one, as well. Two, is the Asia-11 Illicit Tobacco Indicator that you can throw away after reading the disclaimer that says: “The International Tax and Investment Center [ITIC] and Oxford Economics [OE] prepared the report in accordance with specific terms of reference agreed between Philip Morris Asia Ltd., an affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc. [PMI], and ITIC. PMI has provided financial support for the report. However, ITIC and OE assume all responsibility for the report’s analysis, findings and conclusions. “The report is to serve as a public-
policy resource pursuant to ITIC’s mission. Nevertheless, should any party choose to rely on the report, they do so at their own risk. ITIC and OE will not accept any responsibility or liability to any claim in respect of the report.” Three, is the Senate Tax StudyResearch Office report that was obviously twisted by Mighty’s rivals. The report itself offers the recommendations that the data therein is inconclusive and subject to further analysis whether there are taxes and duties leakages. Fourth, is the 2015 questionable study released to a selective media group in Hong Kong, allegedly showing that the government lost P22 billion in taxes to illicit trade. This particular report drew a sharp retort from then-Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. JacintoHenares, who said the study is biased and inaccurate, as it was funded by a multinational firm. Fifth, is the most serious one when it was reported that Alex Wong Chu King, Mighty executive vice president, was reportedly
The creation of the NRA is in line with the State’s objective to reform tax administration to meet the need of the government; satisfy the requirements of taxpayers as customers; and help ensure the efficient and effective collection of taxes necessary to defray government expenditures.
The positions and bodies embodied under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 may be changed, abolished, combined with another position or body, or substituted with another. The CEO shall exercise the powers and functions of the commissioner of internal revenue, as outlined under the present Tax Code, including those enumerated under Section 15 of the bill, among which are as follows: Execute, administer and implement the policies and measures approved by the board; direct and supervise the operations and administration of the authority; represent the authority in all dealings with offices, agencies and instrumentalities of the government and with all persons and entities, public or private, domestic or foreign; establish a performance-
arrested for economic sabotage and bribery attempt the other day, which turned out to be a big boner, prompting Mighty counsel Sigfrid A. Fortun to categorically deny any occasion or participation by the company in the supposed incident. “Mighty has never taken part nor has it ever indulged in such activity, especially with officers of the incumbent administration,” Fortun said, adding, “it was plain that the information on the matter as disclosed by Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo is wrong, as the news on the matter pertained to an incident when President Duterte was still mayor of Davao City, the boxes of money used were promptly returned to the giver, who was already onboard a plane bound for Manila.” Mighty was never involved or identified as the giver of the bribe, but another cigarette manufacturer unrelated to the company. It turned out that Panelo was a victim of misinformation, hence, he has unwittingly disparaged Mighty, which has no connection to that
based management system that shall govern the selection, hiring, appointment, transfer, promotion or dismissal of all personnel; promulgate, with the approval of the board, all necessary rules and regulations for the effective enforcement of the provisions of all revenue laws; determine the organizational structure, including the geographical location of the branches and offices, of the authority; and exercise such other powers and functions as may be vested in the CEO by the board. The creation of the NRA is in line with the State’s objective to reform tax administration to meet the need of the government; satisfy the requirements of taxpayers as customers; and help ensure the efficient and effective collection of taxes necessary to defray government expenditures.
The author is a senior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed, as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at rodel.unciano@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001, local 140.
bribe incident that occurred several years back. Meanwhile Mighty Corp. confirmed last Tuesday the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) malfunctioning taggant excise-stamp validating devices, which produced varying results when used against its products that were seized in last week’s unlawful raid on its warehouses in Pampanga. Fortun said that, when the devices were used by BIR examiners on the confiscated cartons bearing Mighty cigarettes, they registered a green light, indicating they were genuine stamps and, later, registered red or bogus marks for stamps in the same cartons. Worse, when the same devices were used to test tax stamps on products of its competitors brought in by one of the agents, the device also turned red, indicating that the competitors stamps were fake. Fortun said the BIR should also sue and send notices of tax assessment to Mighty’s competitors. To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.
2nd Front Page BusinessMirror
A12 Thursday, March 9, 2017
CA rejects Yasay, defers Lopez’s confirmation T
By Butch Fernandez
@butchfBM
HE Commission on Appointments (CA), voting 15-0, unanimously thumbed down on Wednesday the nomination of Foreign Secretary-designate Perfecto R. Yasay Jr. owing to questions on his dual citizenship, even as CA members agreed to hear more protests on the confirmation of Environment Secretary-designate Regina Paz L. Lopez.
“We are not voting today [on Lopez’s nomination],” said Sen. Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, chairman of the CA panel reviewing the appointment of the environ-
ment secretary, after which Sen. Franklin M. Drilon moved to suspend consideration of Lopez’s appointment until next week, citing nearly two dozen more opposers
blocking her early confirmation. Under questioning at his confirmation hearing, Yasay insisted he did not intend to “mislead” lawmakers screening his qualification, when asked about his alleged US and Filipino citizenships. “I did not lie. I may not have fully disclosed what was required in my answering this question, but this is really normal in a process like this, when you are asked before in an august body like this, questions like the one that have been asked of me, you get nervous,” Yasay said. “You somehow come out with answers that you do not intend.” Ya s a y t h e n p r o c e e d e d t o
apologize for any misleading statements he made. “But now, precisely, I came out with my statement in writing to make sure that I will not be misunderstood on this respect. And for that, Mister Chairman, your honor, I apologize for any inadvertent or misleading [statements] that I may have made.” Liberal Party members sitting in the CA also confronted Yasay over his claim in a radio interview, where he voiced suspicion that those questioning his citizenship in the commission could be “part of the destabilization effort against the [Duterte] administration”.
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Pru Life UK supports ‘Philippines Graphic’s NJLA
T. Anthony C. Cabangon (from left), Philippines Graphic publisher; Lee C. Longa, Pru Life UK executive vice president and CFO; and Marvin Nisperos Estigoy, vice president for advertising
P
RU Life UK, one of the leading insurance companies in the Philippines, reaffirmed its partnership with the Philippines Graphic magazine to support the annual Nick Joaquin Literary Awards (NJLA), which will be held in September. The Graphic, represented by Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon and Vice President for Advertising Marvin Nisperos Estigoy, and Pru Life UK Executive
Vice President and CFO Lee C. Longa entered into a one-year contract continuing the magazine’s partnership with Pru Life UK. Under the agreement, Pru Life UK will provide prizes for recipients of special awards, such as The Philippines Graphic Pru Life UK Achievement Lifetime Award in Literature, during the awarding ceremony. See “Pru Life,” A2